CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CIV, Issue 12323, 13 October 1900, Page 7

CURRENT TOPICS.

' m scale Of THE COLONIES.

Sir Robert Stout has written in the “Contemporary,” on “Australasia: Her Resources and Foreign Trade;,’ with an edge to his pen

kWch,. says Mr W. T. Stead, will neb be '•ltbgebher liked in Paris and Berlin. In •tea. Sir Robert tells bis readers, Australia is the equal of half-a-dozen European {Powers .of the first rank. Her population, jthtnigh small at present, is as-great as was the white population of the United States i the beginning of the century, while the taco is pure, with less admixture of other Nationalities than exists in either Canada or |the United States. She has already made 'jhwmif felt as a mercantile power, her feceign trade per head, being treble that of. the United States, while, with only a twelfth of Germany’s population, she has 1 .to third of her revenue. Sir Robert goes on ifco show the advantages under which this {wonderful development ha® been possible., S“We live under cne flag. We have no nor have we on our borders -ibofltale nation®} with millions of armed men. jWe can provide, at small expense, for our (defence from foreign foes. We have only a InnoU. navy, but we are under the aegis of (the greatest navy in the world. If we are {attacked we are ready, and in time all our {youths will be drilled, for the necessity of doing this is now being everywhere recognised.” The most striking part of the {Chief Justice’s article is that dealing with the development of colonial loyalty. “To-day,”-he says, “ the feeling for the Empire is bo strong that no inquiry, concerning the propriety or consequences of the Transvaal fwar is deemed proper. The fact that Euro-; Ipean nations display strong animosity pgaiuet' Britain draws the colonists closer {to the Mother Land.” France’s abuse of ; the Queen and hitter hatred of Britain have {offended Australasia, and if the French public persisfcrin -their present attitude towards lour Empire, they will soon discover that trade with France will decrease. German Wf -assertiveness, too, has left the Fatherland with a second; Alsace to threaten her [peace. “Samoa,” Sir Robert says, “has (always been the pet group of the colonies, Wd its suirender has been deeply felt. If (there had been an Australasian navy, I I doubt if the German nation would have been permitted to seize Sayaii and Upolu.” The inddent can never be forgotten, arid 'will have it® effect on trade.

f CRICKET 'ANECDOTES.

Messzs Methuen 'and Co. have just published a charming history ol the Walkers

of Southgate, the famous (cricketing family, whose names may be (found running through all the records of (the national game from the beginning of Jfche century down to the present day. The book has been received with warm approval by all the reviewers—who might, by the {way, have been forgiven if they had looked (with souse wearirress upon any addition to (the recent flood Of. cricket literature—and i many of the amusing anecdotes it contains jfaava been reproduced in the daily newsjpapew. Two of these illustrate the zeal that vaa brought into the game fifty years before it Was surrounded by a ll the Eeniences and luxuries of the modern C!b field, in. the course of a match bell Past and. Present of Cambridge, Mr |P. H- Neman made 112 runs for the Pre•enfc, bring missed before he had 1 got into (double figures by Mr Sale, who was playpng as a substitute for the Past,. As a penance for his fault, Mr Safe playedi for (the rest -ef the match ' without shoes or jJoAs,” and nis suffering was increased by a jhWffo*B » ball which hit him on . the |foob. And the professionals of these days Wore no less keen than their amateur rivals, jas the anecdote. of the famous bowler BarTOtt will show. A very useful ball with jßarratt was one which pitched some dis-tance-outride of the’ leg stump, and, if (missed, took - the middle or off stump bail. tOnce, when a hitting batsman was in, Barratt dropped this ball very short, and in pis excitement called out, in heartrending ’* r ’ rU give you ;fonr. The result was nearly fatal to the (batsman, who, however, recovered himself [sufficiently to scoop the ball to the corner of the ground. It was not the injury to his (average that Barratt feared, but the humiliation of sering one of his deadly deliveries pit away to the boundary. Cricket was a game then, not a- business; it was played perioualy, but not solemnly, and it is pleasant to know that New Zealand players at [Wy rate, are preserving its old characterisjtics.

Linn Asians’ WOE3UXS.

“ W.J.8.,” m the “Publishers’ Circular,” gives an account of some amusing in-

cidents that help to lighten jfche burden of the librarian in a circulating library. Most poor beggars who earn a trust behind-the - circiUating library counter wear a worried look, but there are times When a wan smile comes, when the sunlihihe of a joke pierces the gloom. The poor Jbarassed individual has much need of diversion when assailed by a bevy of up-to--date ladies, all claimouring for- the latest 'book, and giving unmistakable evidence pf wrath if they are disappointed. Not that ladies are always to blame in this matter, but as “librarians’ worries,” “ W.J.E.” -would give them first place. Who has not taet with the dear, spectacled, tottering old lady, deficient of hearing,. and generally accompanied by a wheezy pug dog, who pants ip to the counter, heedless of those already^

waiting, and makes her desires known in a shrill voice, with, the consciousness of the homage due to her age and infirmities? Her impressive “young man!” is «i lesson in womanly dignity, and the librarian cannot refrain from joining in the general titter whan she exhorts the “young man” to be careful in future, and not send her books with swear words in them, adding as a rider that “ Crawford’s books are rubbish, but she doesn’t mind Kipling now and again.” Another dear soul once cam a in, brimming over with a desire to get a book that a friend had recommended —“a beautiful book, too ” —but the title and author’s name were a myth to her, and all she could say about it was that “ it was about Monday.” The poor mortal serving her did his best, but the book on Monday, author unknown, came not to his mind, and the lady went her way sorrowful. A few days later in she came, her face radiant as a sunlit poppy in a cornfield, and the librarian knew, with an instinctive thrill of delight, that the title was found which had been lost. It was “Gloria Mundi.” Other anecdotes are toldl of the Scotchman who went, blue with rage, because he had not received the “ Quarterly (for Febreeary and Marsh,” and of subscribers with the instinct of the litterateur oozing from their finger-tips, who do not read Marion Crawford because they really cannot bear books written by women, and who talk of Sydney Grier and John Strange Winter as “ he.”

TROUBLES OF AX HEIRESS.

Miss Helen Gould, rich, powerful, and well-beloved though she is, seems to have a very unhappy lot. According to an article in an

American magazine dealing with millionaires and their troubles, she is constantly threatened even with violence, and has to take great precautions, finding it necessary to surround herself with shrewd detectives,and to exercise the utmost caution in all her actions. The Gould mansion in Fifth Avenue, New York, is the Mecca for. every kind of beggar, andno day passes without a number of visits from these people. It is seldom that they have any evil intentions, but they are always regarded with suspicion. The butler who opens the door to them is ‘himself a pretty 'good detective, and Whenever his suspicions are aroused, the Detective Bureau is at once communicated with by telephone, and detectives are hurried to the place. Scarcely a day passes without such a call being made. The un--1 welcome visitors are told to come later, and, on their second visit, are confronted' by some experienced detective. If the beggar threatens to call again, detectives are kept in the house until long past the hour appointed, and frequently the Gould house entertains detectives in this manner for a day or more. All kinds of excuses are given by Mss Gould’s visitors, and recently one man who appeared announced that he had come to ask for the heiress’s hand in marriage. If alms are refused threats are very often used, and Miss Gould states that every month she receives about thirty letters of a threatening nature. These are handed over to the Detective Bureau for examination. Sometimes the threats are definite, a particular hour being set aside for their fulfilment. If the threatening letter affords any clue, the detectives follow it up, and very often several detectives are employed in investigating one letter. When she is driving about, Miss Gould depends for protection on her footman and her coachman. Only old and trusted servants are allowed to occupy these positions. The footman is a strong fellow, who, if necessary, could give a good account of himself. He always keeps close beside the heiress as she walks from her carriage to her door, and stands at the portal, in readiness to escort her hack.