CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12422, 11 February 1901, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

IBBIGATION. \

The mature of the great

works now being carried on in Egypt by Messrs John Aird and Co., has been de-

scribed in our columns in the past, but in view of the message announcing recent progress the bare details will be of interest. The last channel of the'Nile,, at Assouan, it seems, has been closed, and it is now po'ssible to walk from one bank of the river to the other dryfoot. On Feb. 20, 1893 the Khedive in Council approved Si a contract with Messrs John Aird and Co. to carry out the necessary irrigation works. Two great dams were to be constructed, one at Assouan and the second at Assiout, to be completed in five years from July 1, 1898, and the contractors agreed to accept payment by annual instalments of £160,000, beginning on the completion of the dams, and extending over thirty years, thus receiving about £4*800,000 in deferred "payments. The Assouan dam is being built on the granite reefs of the cataract, and consists of granite) ashlar; it is 76ft above the ■ river bed, and the head of water is estimated at about' 46ft, so that the famous temple at Philae, concerning which so much ■ anxiety was expressed will, after all, ba safe. The approximate length of the dam is .about 6000 ft, and tho amount of water to be stored is estimated at 1;065,000 cubio metres. The Assioufc dam is intended for raising the level of the river during the summer for the benefit of Middle 'Egypt and the Fayum. Both dams will be provided with navigation locks, and the regulation of the supply will be by means of sluices. Sir Benjamin Baker is the chief engineer of the scheme. Operations were begun immediately after the signing of the contract, and during the ' past two yesrs fully 14.000 natives have been constantly employed. The value of these works can hardly bs estimated. In 1399, when the Nile floods completely failed. ,the barrage and the portions of the two dams then constructed saved the whole country from a dire calamity.

Not the least interesting

A CUEIOT?S FnochxiiAfncyx.

of the • many "growths" r. which eharacicrkud the late Queen's reign, must", to her

Majesty herself,:.have bean the evolution of 'the proclamations which she was called upon to issue. One of the;last of any importance was the sedate, fonmilal ia academic English, summoning Parliament \ to meet in December. Side by side with this, someone who has- burrowed into the' . musty recesses of British history as recorded |n the the columns of the," London Gazette," publishes em of the first .proclamations issued by the .Queen after her, accession. It is a curious dissertation upon the observance of the Sabbath which would form a quaint Parliamentary paper nowadays, enjoining* as it does,'..' 4 the encouragement of piety and ■virtue," and tha "pie-> ■ vention of vice, profaneness and immorality," and such practises- as "may justly bring down Divine vengeance on our kingdom." "We do hereby;strictly enjoin and prohibit all our loving, subjects of what degree .or quality soever," : the prociamWioa ran, "from playing on the; lord's D.ay at dice, cards, or any other game whatsoever, either in public or private house or other place whatsoever; and we; do hereby ' require and command:-them i: and every one of tlwin' : 'decently :aind reveireatly to'attftd the worship of,. God:'; on/■'every;''Lord's Day, on • 'pain'.of our :.\ ; and! of being.- the 'utmost ; rigour' : 'that : u\d ivs 'the ■more: effectualliTelorffipg!;of tubV persons, livts 'and " conversations, to our king-■ ''<k>in..i'. '-. - :v !-fffij;^|fi : t^;?'' a * magistrates /'. ■■ : ar*i . commandsdt 'ss b|: vij|il!wt. and si rict in, ,' the' who drink • " too' : mu'e!r;;md; , . ." . " .TEtrte''^ : mo^;i| ! pf supcrla- ':' tire'virluey" tqt:a".b~ with. '<:> the probabiyl '-be Tj

The latest American health an gospel,, -which, -would limit infamous our meals to two a day, teatfic. while it might seriously prejudice our Customs tariff if universally adopted, might at. least save us from the possibility 'cf unconsciously participating in such gaslr'.c horrors as have been recently disclosed by a London County ■ Council officer regarding London's food. It seems from Dr Murphy's annual report that a large trade is being permanently done in London, in unsound meat. He instances the case of a cats-meat man in London, who was drawing large supplies of animal flesh from a provincial' knacker, and yet whose books disclosed the significant fact that his principal customers weie "a manufacturer "-of high-class meat-pies and a large sausagemaker at Hackney." There is no doubt eays the officer " that there is a definite trade carried' on in meat of a quality which would never knowingly be allowed to be used in any civilised community." Equally dan- • gerous is the diaea.se lurking in the gaily- . labelled tins of salmon, lobster, sardines, . condensed milk, and similar luxuries. The tina become bulged, or what is technically known as " blown," by the gases produced by the putrefaction of the contents, and l it is a regular practice to prick the bulges and relabel the tins for subsequent sale. The fact that the law allows these " blown " tins to be sold for pigs' food gives the dealers a loop-hole through which to conduct their , horrible operations. At certain wholesale ' premises in Shadwell, the medical officer for Limehouse seized nearly 4000 assorted tins. The merchant produced invoices for the goods, in which they were' specified as " pigs' food," but Dr Thomas says he failed to show that he had ever sold a tin for pigs' food in J-'- 1 " . '" - "lndensed milk finds a - r - itmong the manu- ■ I i ..... .._-\; confectionery, and moi-e c. ; jy:ci:illy as an essential ingredient of that delectable luxury of youth known as caramel toffee. A large trade is also done in unsound eggs, no fewer than 6400 having recently been seized in one lot. Severe -.punishments are meted out to the offenders .when caught, but for one who is trapped a hundred escape. The comforting adage "What the eye doesn't see, the heart will mot ache for" loses much of its erstwhilesolace in the light of these revelations.