BY THE WAY

Evening Star, Issue 20316, 26 October 1929, Page 2

BY THE WAY

[By Q.V.]

“ The time has come.” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things.”

The Bishop of Exeter has decided that England, though not yet decadent, has begun to decay He has noticed the little pit within the garnered fruit, the little nit within the lute, and, like most candid triends, is happy to let us know the worst. He does hot give any particulars tr justify his lack of faith, but merely utters an ex-cathedra opinion whicu will be accepted as gospel by many—more’s the pity. If a sufficient number of people can be got to believe that England is down and out why. soon England will be down and out On the other hand, if _ there are enough optimists who believe that then country is good for another round or two, there is no saying how the fight will end, but very probably it will end in our favour. No doubt during the .Restoration period man-y thought that we had shot our bolt, but it was not so. We went doggedly on to become the greatest and most powerful nation in the world, against which even the genius of Napleon beat itself in vain. Like individuals nations have their changes of fortune, some gradual, some sudden. _ A decade or so ago who would have given much for the chances of Italy? Now, thanks to judicious physicking (with castor oil and other things), by Dr Mussolini, Italy claims to be one of the great Powers, and in secret dreams of reviving the glories of Roman times. It is seldom safe to tip unless you are riding the horse yourself and even then the trainer may have given it something for breakfast which did it no mannei of good. The Bishop of Exeter may be a great ecclesiastic, but that docs, not imply that he is a great statesman or a great prophet. Many a doctor knows a lot about the median sm of the human body, but very little about the mechanism of his own motor car We admit that we felt despondent when we rend that the egg-eating championship had gone to Berlin, but we cheered up when we remembered that the oyster-eating record still remains at the Bluff. ft • » « The Italian Embassy has been changed at Berlin following the theft of a secret code book. Suspicion rests on a fascinating blonde. Amid the dreary, drab array Of politicians such as we, In this utilitarian day. Are privileged to hear and see, There looms a lovely mystery, The story of that foolish, fond Young man who gave the cypher-key To please the fascinating blonde. She must have been as, sweet as May, Or Venus rising from the sea; Her eyes as blue as Naples Bay, Her hair like wheat in Sicily. 111-natured folk might say that she Was merely of the “ demi-monde ”; But still, she did it cleverly, That fair and fascinating blonde. Perhaps she stole his heart away Beneath some scented orange tree; And made that hapless youth betray The secret that was meant to be Reserved and guarded jealously. For love’s a more compelling bond Than any patriotic plea, i She scored—-that fascinating blonde. L’Envoi. Benito, let the boy jjo free; Don’t drown him in the nearest pond. You might have fallen —even ns he— Before that fascinating blonde 1 * « * » Captain George Bolt (whp by the way is a Dunedin boy, his grandfather being the Hon. W. M. Bolt, one of our most respected Labour leaders in the early days), arrived here rather unexnectedy this week Dunedin’s chief ‘citizen, His Worship the

Mayor, it seems, sometimes snatches a few momenta respite from tin cares of his high office by looking out of his window. On this occasion one would naturally have expected that he would cast his eyes on the Hindenburg lines at present being dug up, filled and dug up again by his minions in the vicinity of ,the Town Hall, or perhaps at the wall of the cathedral grounds shored up against possible disaster. But no, “ his eyes were fixed above the sullen, shields. He gazed into the heavens and there he spied the Avro-Avian gliding gracefully on its way to the south. A lesser man. aware at that moment he was due at Green Island, might have been flustered, but not our mayor. So calm was he tha.t ho calculated unerringly that his visitor was just 1,600 ft above Princes street. Not 1,599 ft mind you not 16S), but the neat 1,600 We wish the members of the Water Committee—if there he such a body—had eyes and brains like that. We might then have a better water supplv than we have at present. When next thev < uild a dam to banish water famines ror ever, they might borrow the mayor for a few days. His aerial mensuration was a mavellous feat, and one which Dunedin may well bo proud of. •»• • e ■ « Although a very large and very sinful city, Buenos Ayres - does not contribute much news to this part of the world. The principal interest of the Argentine for New Zealanders lies m the fact that it exports a very largo amount of frozen meat, and occasionally buys stud rams here to improva the quality of its flocks, so that later on it may compete with us in tha wool markets, though, for climatic and other reasons, it is doubtful whether this ambition will be attained, .Its present appearance in the limelight, however, is due to parrots, or rather one particular parrot. This gifted fowl, >t se-'ms, plaved a minor part in a theatrical performance, and unfortunately, fell ill. The bird was a favourite, and several members of tho company visited it in >ts affliction, so contracting th; disease (one of them oven d : ed), which does not seem- to fife in with the theory that a kind eord or action is never thrown away. Tho real interest fit any) of the story, however, lies in the fa"t that it introduced newspaper readers to a new word. “ psittacosis.” It is evidently derived from “ psittacus,” a parrot, which is the best one can say about it. We can see som- Echoojnvmtar seizing upon if with glee, and 'in duo course producing it to the .discomfiture of a class which has annoyed him. Schoolmasters h~ing but human, though to speak to them yon would hardly believe it. are prone to snch actions. Wo remember one ! ng from us with a warning wave of his cane, “ Who wao chroronhotonMiolocus. and what was he fpmena for?” In Inter'life we used to ''ra the same question at any schoolmcs’er who cam” within raime, with poop results. However, we fra rkly . confess “psittacosis” would havi left ns sending at the post, had we not ,clmrc"d to run against it some t>me. ago. and looked it up in the dictionary out of curiosity. • • * • For ages woman has been struggling hard to attain equality with man. Now we may say that she has arrived. Tho battle has been a long one. We can only dimly guess at woman’s position in prehistoric times, but apparently it was unenviable Later on things improved considerably. She went into politics, and by brains oi beauty, or both, exercised much influence on history. As Queen she proved her equality with man by poisoning, st bbing, or otherwise removing obstacles with a nithlessness born of hei common sense, which instinctively adopted tho Machiavellian doctrine that he or sho who is feared is bettm served than the person who is loved. The advent of Christianity gave a set-back ■ St. Paul, in modem phrase, “ had very little time ” for women, and the temporal power was delighted tjp have such high authority to quote againsi dangerous rivals. The revival in the days of chivalry (if they ever existed) was more apparent than real, and in any casa the movement touched only the topmost layer of society. It is only to-day, which’ can Hardly be called ar age of faith, that woman has really come into her own. She’ has equality with man in the shape of a ten thousandth share in the services of a member of parliament, and ill some lands has invaded Parliament herself quite successfully. Did not the redoubtable Mr Wheat.y himself appeal to the Speaker of tho House of Commons to “ protect mo from this wummon,” the “wummou” being Lady Aster. Here in this dominion did not the law in all its majesty decline lo sanction a lady being included in the sale of a farm with its live stock? Commerce, ever anxious to buy in the cheapest market, has welcomed the services of the flapper. Tho learned professions have opened their doors to women, though it must lie confessed very grudgingly. Only this week a Reverend, or ex-Reverend, gent.eman in America sued a lady for breach of promise of marriage. He lost his case, but it, shows how the wind blows. ■

The tramcars ran in Shanghai. Then The luckless Shanghai rickshaw men, Who found their profits “ going west,” Were unmistakably distressed. They stood for hours without a fare, Because the people went elsewhere, And found far greater satisfaction in using the electric traction. The rickshaw men, in common with Demetrius, the silversmith, Perceived their craft to be in danger, And proved that grief’s akin to anger By rising up in righteous wrath To sweep the tramways from their path. They smashed the trams, and when they’d ended, Considered the result was splendid. They have a pretty drastic way Of settling matters in Cathay. It wouldn’t do for ns to try it, Supposing there began a riot, Because our tramw: ys f-an’t compete With motor buses on the street. And motor lorries rob our trains, And take away their lawful gains. The Minister of Railways might Gird up his loins to start a fight, And give a passionate address, Exhorting the A.S.R.S. To arm themselves with bar and ase, And smite the motors in their tracks (The quickest and the cheapest course In dealing with competitors). The tramwaymen might function thus In dealing with the motor bus; And, mustering in serried ranks, With ticket punches, motor cranks, And other weapons of offence, Remove the filehers of t' l '' And Pave the ruins on the street. v So perish all who dare compete!