CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12540, 29 June 1901, Page 7

CURRENT TOPICS.

J C UNIVERSITY , VOLUNTEERS.

The reception accorded to Sergeant A: H. Norris, of the Second New Zealand Contingent, when he had the

. idegree of Muster of Arts conferred on him tat. Canterbury College yesterday, shows that '.the martial spirit is still alive in the University. Sixteen years ago an attempt was actually made to establish a volunteer corps in connection! with the college, but the idea had'Ultimately to be abandoned. The story as told ia the current number ofthe “ Canterbury College Review.” On April 18, 1885, when the “Russian scare” was at its height, and the spirit of militarism had takers hold of the students, •al meeting of graduates and undergraduates was held to Consider the advisability of forming a jTolunteer corps. The lute Mr H. Gross Was the chairman, and tie mover andl seconder of the principal motion were Mr T, ,W. Rowe, now of Wellington, and Mr 0. T. J. Alpers, of Christchurch, respectively. A. committee set up to make the necessary arrangements very soon interested a large ■body of enthusiasts in the movement, and about seventy men signed l the following .declaration: —‘“Wo, the undersigned residents of Christchurch, andl for the most ■part graduates and under-graduates.of Canterbury . College, hereby offer our service to the Government as a garrison rifle 'corps, to be called ‘TheUniversity Rifles.’” iThe services of the corps were then offered to the Government. Professor Hutton was . elected,Captain, and Professor Haslam and Mr P. G. Stedman, lieutenants.. In due course 'the application for enrolment was made, but the Defence Department wag unable to grant it. The chief objection was that the absence of a large number of men during the long vacation, would tend to ! prevent the corps from earning its capitation. As this 'difficulty proved’ insuperable, the enthusiastic volunteers were forced to curb their ardour, and thus waa ended use only attempt of Canterbury College to f take Or place among the defender? of the Empire. It Was militarism pure and simple that, affected the people in those days, for the Imperial spirit had not had time to develop. Now the college has proved hs patrktisiit'byoEtnding its sons ;to tha front. The Second Contingent alone included..two of as Bishop (PuHiis * shad" yesterday, they-were not worse soldiers for their education.

Fads, like literary periods, appear to run in cycles, and

FLAT.

■■ it ia not surprising to find a modem scientist , rising up to proclaim that the earth is flat. It seems ai rather early English problem to be reviving, bat Mr Scott, who has -written a book upon the subject, is triumphantly satisfied' of the correctness of his thesis. Else, why write'a book, and why entitle it bravely “.Terra Firma,” a direct challenge to a criticism by suggestive comparison? Mr Scott calls a lot of evidence in support of his Contention, but it as Evidence which loses all representative vain© in the mystery of'its individuality. For instance, Mr i Beach', of Southsea, thinks that the world! £ is flat, and Mr Spott regards this -as ini- £ valuable, if net strictly judicially perp mittable. evidence. Perhaps it is flat at Southsea. But Mr Scott’s theory as dep. structive'rather thaxi creative. One of his p arguments is that if a projectile is fired P from, a moving body there is a difference r in the distance to which it carries aot cording. jto the direction in which it is sent. f But as 4n practice there is not the slightest £ difference whichever way the thing is > done in the case of the earth, “we have a forcible overthrow of all fancies relative to the "motion' of the earth, and a striking , proof , that the earth is not a globe.” This , appeals to ‘‘The Speaker” as one of the , x quaintest arguments it has ever seen. The | author forgets that when the firing and > falling of the shot take place upon the ■’ : moving body there is nothing whatever to compare them with. Sir Scott is ready L with another proof. “If the earth were a . glebe,” he writes, “the distance round the surface, say, at 45deg south latitude, could t not 'possibly be any greater than the same f. latitude north; hut, since it is found by i navigators to be double the distance it r ought to be according to the .globular ) ■ theory, it is a proof that the ; earth* is p not a globe.” This our contemporary, who j admits to having grown pulpy in mind j under the strain’ of a course of Mr Scott’s ~ reasoning, promptly reduces to a reduotio , ad absurdum. “We can,” it says, “ faintly resist when a man says that if the' earth .were a globe oats would not have four legs, But when he says that if the earth were a globe 'Cats would not have five legs, we axe helpless.” Mr Scott appears to - have proved that something is flat, but whether himself or the earth we may leave ■ to a discriminating public. 3

A PERSISTENT CANDIDATE.

Mr Eden George, whose public career in, Christchurch was never: (taken„ $ ■ • '' *

quite seriously even by his p, personal friends/ seems to be in a fair way [ to make a place for himself in Australian politics. , He took what he afterwards call* t ed . a “preliminary”canter” in the Comfiaonwealth elections, and* though he was no higher than twentieth or thereabouts on the Hew South Wales poll for'the House of Representatives he had, considering all the circumstances, no reason to be discouraged by the result. He is now contesting the Belmore division of Sydney in the . State Parliament, being “ the selected Government Progressive candidate,” and ' is hacked up by all the influence and elo- : f quence of the Ministry, Before addressing' an open air meeting a few evenings ago, he was introduced by Mr O’Sullivan, the Minister of Public Works, who said that Mr George had always been a true friend of the Government, and that the Government was snow trying to get him into Parliament in order that he might help it there. Mr Secldon has certainly never urged one of his nominee’s upon the electors with half the enthusiasm displayed by Mr O’Sullivan. “Mr George,” the Minister . told the electors, “ will prove a thorough democrat, and as a politician I can recommend him to you unreservedly.” The candidate himself was not oppressed by any false sense of modesty. He explained that when -a young man, “struggling to ma&t a fortune,” he had resided 1 in a humble dwelling in the electorate. Since then he had been elected by the people of Christchurch, New Zealand, as their Mayor, though 1 he had not previously been “an alderman/' and had succeeded in removing “a number of municipal abases,” Passing from personal matters to public questions, Mr George appears to have based his chief claim for the support of the constituency upon his determination to have hot .water delivered to every working man’s dwelling at any hour of the day or night freeVof cost. But he prpmisfct to. go more,fully, into “politd- ,, subjects on" some ' future - occasion

iig first object was-td let the electors know all about himself. If they desired democratic legislation, he said in conclusion, let them return him to the Legislative Assembly, and he would d'o all he oould to assist Mr O’Sullivan—“ who is the Richard Seddon of New South Wales in passing measures that would benefit the masses. At present it looks quite possible that the confiding people of Belmore will accept this pushing young man’s advice.

WOMAN, THE QUEEN.

Max O’Rell is never happier than when ■ writing about the fair sex, and in

his recently published book, “Her Royal Highness, Woman,” he says much that is amusing as well as gallant. He does not attempt to disguise his dislike for the new woman, the woman who contrives to make herself prominent. His hatred for her is as intense as his love for the ideal “ female woman,” whom he knows so Well how to describe. She need not be beautiful, but she should be pretty, with a good figure. Then she should be clever, very cheerful, as punctual as a military man, not very serious, just a little frivolous, artistic and with literary tastes. But she must not be scientific; the mere thought of it makes the genial frenchman shudder. Above all, this ideal woman should be a ; “ keen, sensible, tactful little woman, who Would make it the business of her life to study me, as' I 'wenld make it the business ,of my life to study her; a woman who, coaild be in turn, according to circumstances, a housewife, a counsellor, a ‘ pal,’ a wife, a sweetheart, a nurse, a patient, the sunshine of my life, and always, a oonfidante, -a friend, and a partner.” Accord- : ing to Max O’Rell, there is no poetry in an Englishman’s married life. • He cannot make love, and ho behaves before his wife as ho would not before any other woman. Contrasting English and American women, it is plain that his sympathy and admiration are reserved for the latter. ■ They despise their English cousins, and while they envy their beautiful complexions, think them “silly, sat-upon, ignorant creatures, seedy and dowdy, badly shaped', badly dressed, and able to talk only of their babies and* their servants.” Englishwomen, for their part, have no great love for American women, and while they admit .their , smartness and freedom, think them “bumptious, vulgar, overdressed l , loud, indifferent mothers, selfish wives, and bad housekeepers,” Max O’Rell agrees with none of this. “If I could choose my sox ■and my birthplace,” he says, “I would shout to' the Almighty at the top of my voice: ‘Oh, please make me an American woman!”’