CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12427, 16 February 1901, Page 7

CURRENT TOPICS.

Mr W. 11.I 1 . Stead, who, despite his idiosyncrasies rif persripajity, inay still be regarded as speaking ’with the vriiefe cf on& having authori-

SHE TWEKtieth cenTtr&T newspaper.

ty upon the subject of jouri. nalism in the abstract, has been- interviewed by thfe ‘ Daily News” Tip on “The Newspaper of the Twentieth Century.” The cetttury will, Mr Stead, thinks, “see the rise of, a group of newspapers which will wield an influence greater than that of the ‘Times’ in its palmiest days, and which Will appeal to the democracy of this country as- the ‘Times’ never even attempted! to do.” The first cf this cycle of journals whidh he deems necessary is “a two-penny Times,” to be devoted to verbatim reports and detailed chronicling of the news of the day, primarily f6r the use of the twenty or thirty thousand men who. constitute the governing class. Besides being a chronicler of news, it will he -a digestei; of other journals, and as foreshadowed by Mr Stead, sounds suspiciously like a daily “ Review of Reviews.” Contemporary with this staid journal must come “ a sane and sober half-penny daily ” for the masses. Eight pages of the best sub-edited matter that brains can secure, is Mr Stead’s ideal for’ this publiCati-Cn, feftttites of Which would be ft thorough provincial service -and a page Of topics for the ybufig, in large type, to remove the reproach that children are entirely neglected by the daily papers. His next suggestion is the possibility of the appearance of a free paper, delivered daily at every home in the metropolis', living by the rush Of advertising which its gigantic circulation would command. The experiment, he says, has already been tried with success in Berlin. The telephone newspaper, already established on the Continent, Mr Stead expects to spread rapidly. Subscribers Will have the latest news telephoned to them throughout the day, at stated hours, Or when any special event Of importance is reported. Coloured illustrations in the daily papers, Mr Stead thinks, are Only » matter qf a little time, am* have already got a footing in the American Sunday and special editions. Another idea Which he hopes to see realised is the publication ofea newspaper tract which will undertake the evangelistic work of instructing the citizen in the duties of citizenship. This tract would utilise all the resources of journalism, and b e supplied at a half-penny a copy to religious institutions and benevolent agencies, Which Would sell it at ft penny, adding what local matter they desired.

glarice . backward

A CEXTIIftT’S DEVELOPMENTS.

over the century just ended, shorvs that woman has developed so greatly during that period as to seem al-

most a different creature. In the year 1801 women habitually wore low-necked dresses in the daytime and endangered their health in many similar nays through their utter ignorance of the simplest laws of hygiene or even of commbnsense. Their minds were uncultivated, they had ho opinions about anything, and would have lacked the power of expressing themselves if they had. Neither had they any sports, or influence upon, public life. They had little education, and read little. Their' chief accomplishments were fine sewing and playing the harp, but they could not nurse an invalid or cook a dinner, considering it work fit Only for servants. The first decade of the century saw the birth Of Harriet Martineau and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and the second witnessed the birth of Queen Victoria, and the death of Jane Austen, the novelist. About this time Elizabeth Fry began to visit English prisons. In the third decade the Royal Astronomical Society presented a medal for the first time to a woman, • Miss Jane Herschel. In 1834 the sowing machine was invented, setting women free, from the drudgery of hand sewing, and four years later the British Association began to admit women to its meetings. Then, too, Grace Darling showed-the world what a brave woman could do by saving the passengers of the Forfarshire. The employment of women, in factories and mines was first regulated by law about this time. Then came the Great Exhibition of 1851, causing the intellects of women to expand, and giving an impetus to feminine education. The same decade saw the generous selfabnegation of Florence Nightingale, and exactly .ten years later Mrs Garrett Anderson took the first medical diploma granted to a woman in England. It is not surprising that shortly afterwards Disraeli should have brought forward a Woman’s Suffrage Bill, or, that three years later, in 1869, the municipal franchise should have been granted to ' English women. Since then gates hitherto closed to the sex have opened on every side. The passing of the Education Bill. in. 1870, and the establishment of Girls’ High Schools three years later were followed Up by admission to the Universities and medical schools. The rapid progress made by the sex during the last twenty years in arts, sciences, literature, and the learned professions, is sufficiently well-known to make their enumeration unnecessary, and now at the end of the century woman stands on a vastly different footing. She is interested in every phase of life, she can. cycle, mote, shoot, row, and she has even appeared on the cricket field. She holds championships in golf, tennis, and croquet, and she makes a better wife, sister and mother, as well as a better comrade for man than she ever did before.

Professor W, B. Bottomley is a vandal of the first water, inasmuch as, lectur-

IMMORAL FLOWERS.

ing to a large gathering of children at the London Institution he made a forcible and vigorous attack upon the morality of our flowers, attributing to them all the crimes in the calendar, from vanity and drunkenness to bigamy and murder. “I'lowers,” he assured his little listeners, “ put on gorgeous hues to attract insects, just as girls who wish to attract attention put on bright dresses. It Was an advertisement to the insects ‘ nectar kept here. Please enter.’ ” The Professor, indeed, proceeded to embellish his simile even more outrageously. “They might be likened,” he said, “ to the signs outside public houses.” “The buttercup, monkshood, nasturtium, iris and violet were signalled out as specially vicious in their desire to attract insects to drunken orgies. And then the arum was made the victim of a grossly persona] attack. It deliberately made flies tipsy, be said. Elies found sweet drops of honey upon the green surface, and further p&Jiey fbtihd sweeter drops. Tha Mfiudhj

became stronger and stronger. Not quite knowing What they were doing, the ip sects Went through the “lobster-pot hairs, and! in the inner chamber they found an extraspecial strong champagne, with the result that the wretched little creatures tumbled about and knocked their heads against the sticky surface, of the seed box. This brought about -the dissemination of the seeds. But a lower depth of depravity still remained to be disclosed in regard to the -wretched flower, which is apparently one of the most immoral plants known. .Recalling the later stage, when nothing remained but a bunch of red berries, each containing a matured seed, the Professor explained that. this time the. bright colour was a trick to attract birds. The diabolical treachery of the plant is simply appalling. Being anxious to have its seeds placed in Suitable soil, and knowing their poisonous nature, it deliberately induced the birds to eat them, whereupon each unsuspicious little songster promptly, and pathetically died, and became a small heap of excellent manure for the arum seed in the centre. Could the philosophy of a Nero go further than this? No wonder that the children listening were moved to -open tears. Henceforth the arum is ostracised from all respectable gardens. ...