CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIII, Issue 10566, 28 January 1895, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

How many fatherlands can a man have ? M. Zola, 'the great French novelist, is apparently trying to find

A CITIZEN OF THE WOELD.

out the anawer to this question. Ha has bean mating a tour of Europe, and when at Rome poaod as almost an Italian. Going further, he was splendidly entertained by the municipality of Venice. The reason they gave-was that his father - was a Venetian, and was exiled by the Austrians. At a banquet given at tho Hotel Bauer in honour of the novelist, he spoke of his visit to Venice as a pilgrimage. It did his heart good to find himself in Venice. He felt at homo there, and indeed in the bosom of his family. He closed his speech by proposing as his toast. “ Venice the Enchanting, where my father was born, and where I myself might also have been horn.” The London Daily News correspondent remarks that this last phrase, though so manifestly true, is sure to give offence in Paris. When M. Zola was presented to Admiral Avellah at the Hotel da Ville in Paris, the Russian expressed the pleasure he felt at meetings writer from whom he had learned bq much about Paris. M. Zola, nob to be outdone, answered that but for Russia ho could never have made his way as an author. When he was being scoffed at and abused in Paris, a Russian review was open to his work, and dazzled him by the rich honorarium it offered for his first article. Indeed, ha looked on Russia as a fatherland. “Is that so?” said the Admiral. “You surprise me. I always thought there was only one fatherland for each of us—the fatherland, you know, of our birth.” It io cuiious to note that so sturdy a Briton as Mr John Burns was tempted to pose as an American citizen during his recent visit to tho United States. Whether by inadvertence or design ha addressed a meeting as “fellow-citizens,” whereat the frae-fcora Americans laughed, as though they had caught the “ British subject” tripping. If the use of tho phrase was accidental, Mr Burns showed a readiness of recovery that would not have disgraced William tho Conqueror himself. “I am a citizen. of the world,” he said, “and to do good is my religion.” This retort, aptly reminding the Americans of Paine, who ■ was one of their earliest “citizens,” at once restored good relations between Mr Burns and his audience. The phrase might be of use to M. Zola when he returns to France.

There was towards the end of last year au epidemic of smallpox in Scotland, originating in Edinburgh

A SMALL- " ros SCABK.

and spreading to Glasgow, Aberdeen and elsewhere. The virulence oE the outbreak is ehown by the fact that in one week there were ninety-six deaths from the disease in Edinburgh alone. As a means of staying the epidemic the authorities were gratuitously re-vacoinating all who availed themselves o£ the offer i A case is cited by way of proving the danger of neglecting this precaution. An old man, employed in the office of the city medical officer, who hud bean vaccinated in boyhood, declined to he re-vaccinated, and within a short time both ho and his wife took the disease and died of it. The controversy as to the efficacy of vaccination as a preventive of smallpox, or as tending to mitigate its effects, will thus have a striking fact of a kind which advocates of Jenaer’a process are fond of citing. It ia not forgotten, however, that the'town of Leicester, in

England, is a standing protest against thq practice of vaccination, and results seem to justify tho people of that town in defy-, ing the compulsory vaccination law. Mr ;Win." Tebb, a well-known anti-vaccina-tionist, baa quite recently pointed out that 'Leicester has had two smallpox epidemics during the present generation. The first occurred when the town was well, vaccinated, and the second when it was. practically not vaccinated at all. The respective results were these.

Cases. Deaths, (1) 1871-78.- -6000, ... 860 (2) 1892-94 , 362 , 21 It will bo seen that both in number of cases and'virulence of attack the facts are all against the theory that Inoculation wit the virus of smallpox is beneficial. The advocates of vaccination have claimed that there never was a death from smallpox of ,r a vaccinated Child under tea years, of age,” but evidence laid before the Eoyal Commission on the subject has just elicited the fact that ia tho smallpox epidemic of 1870-72, there were 2240 vaccinated ohildcfltt 1 attacked in Berlin, and 706 vaccinated children under ten years of age actually died.

raBdAUTIONS IN , AJIEEICA.

The people of the United States; have,.yerjf strict laws for the suppression of epidemics, as. the members dg the English ,

” Gaiety Girl ” Company, which Was in New York in December last, have, had forcibly brought home to them. On ® Sunday morning the -whole ‘company was summoned to Daly's Theatre, on Broadway, when it was intimated that owing to Mr Monkhouee, the leading comedian, having developed varioloid, a mOd form of smallpox, all the company were required by the Board of Health to be vaccinated* It was explained that Mr Monkhouso had been sent to the Pesthbusa at North Brother Island, and that the Board had sent down two doctors, viz,. Dr Harrison and Dr Yatter, to perform the work of inoculation. There were indignant protests from some of the actors and actresses, and there was talk of appealing to the British Consul against the ccntesjuplated outrage; but by degrees they all recognised the futility of Bachacoiireeandßubmitted with the best grace passible. Tka account of the proceedings states-s — cc Sghiq of the actresses treated the ■; matter with levity, but little screams were heard-in various parts of the room as the sharp lances made their incisions. After all the company had; teen vaccinated, tikeproperty men and scene-shifters had to submit to the process. One ledy threatened to cauterise the incision, so that -the oper- . ation would be ineffective, but she was told that unless the vaccine ‘took' she would have to undergo the process again. It is probable that a scene of the kind never before witnessed iaa theatre either in this country or in. America. As Mr Monkhouee had evidently got the infection in the States, it was suggested by dneTOf the company that the audiences and not the actors should bo vaccinated.’* It certainly seems a stupid thing to Insist upon the vaccinatioh of a company of. artistes under such circumstances, but when a “ smallpox ” scare breaks out anywhere, it is the; only thing, apparently, that is thought of, after isolating the cases. Happily, the disease is unknown ia Now Zealand, And - there is no great stringency in- administering the . compulsory vaccination laws but if a case or cases of the dreaded disease ’ were to be landed on our shores, w© doubt not all the symptoms of “ scare ” would be repeated hero.

CHAMOIS AND - BED DEEB.

Some years ago there was some talk in the Hew Zealand. Parliament oa the subject of acclimatising the : chamois in Hew Zealand,

ahef much fan was extracted from the Speech of a member who had been crammed ■ with information about the “ shammy,” which he gravely discussed as being a parasitic insect akin to the common flea. It seemp that the .question., pf introducing the chamois has recently been under the, consideration * of the Otago Acclimatisation Society. At the last meeting of that body a letter from Mr G. M. Thomson was read, ‘ stating :—" I have been making" inquiries again, in the Old Country in regard to the ' possibility of introducing the chamois into these islands, but the results are not , encouraging. As I bad urged this matter ■ on your society X think it only right to , communicate tho result of these inquiries. A. E. Jamrach, the well-known London > dealer, to whom I wrote, informs mo that '. he can get a few tame ones, about eighteen months old, at"£so per pair. At the same ; time he states that at low altitudes, and especially la hot weather, it is mostdifficult to keep these animals alive, and he r is almost sure that they would die on the voyage out to Hew Zealand. Altogether his report is quite adverse. Under the ; circumstances I am reluctantly compelled ; to admit that the game is not, worth the candle.” Ibis not surprising toleara.that the Chairman of the meeting agreed that the introduction of the chamois was “not practicable,” and that the society ought to give its attention ' rather to the red deer. There was a great deal of country in the west only fitted for dbet and in some parts of the interior goats were increasing to a great extent. Their presence was especially noticeable about Cromwell, and they had proved a great nuisance there. A battue was made there every year at sonfe stations, and by that means numbers were killed. At the same meeting of the Dunedin Society a' letter was read from Mr A. A, Blackwood, of Melbourne, stating the steps taken by him to secure red deer for Otago. He was eending a number of young animals of that opecies—it being almost impossible to catch the older ones. It is hoped that the society will not have cause to repent; its action with.regard to the rod deer,. In some parts of Otago the deer already acclimatised have proved great ; pests to the settlers—no crop, however well fenced, being secure from their depredations. The; red deer has a good character at present, but no one knows what traits he may develop under new conditions of life.