BY THE WAY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXI, Issue 15210, 22 January 1910, Page 4

BY THE WAY.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. There probably would be a large accession to the ranks of the vegetarians everywhere if the general public were compelled to witness the slaughtering of stock destined for human consumption. But “what the eye does not see the heart does not grieve about,” and in all likelihood this is a matter that few people ever give so much aa a thought to. And yet, if only on the score of common humanity, it assuredly merits attention. Latterly the “pithing” of cattle ( by which tli* spinal cord is severed) has been objected to as entailing unnecessary suffering, and this week a trial was made locally of the “stunning” method. But it is very questionable whether th* latter is an improvement on the other way, and, in any case, the fact.remains that every method of killing so far introduced leaves very much to lie desired. It seems an extraordinary tiling in this progressive age when 60 many wonderful inventions are before the public that, so far as the slaughtering of animals intended for food is concerned, we should be still following the antiquated procedure that obtained forty or fifty years ago. Can our electricians find no solution of the slaughtering problem. Surely this ■ ought not to be beyond their ability. .Probably it would be well if all fathers who happen to be millionaires and who do not consider that their sons are fit to be entrusted with great wealth were to follow the example of Mr Pullman, who, dying worth between three and four million sterling, bequeathed to his boys, for the reason already stated, only £6OO a year apiece. Perhaps Dr Johnson was right in de-. claring that the man who spent money j freely and thereby encouraged industry, was a greater public benefactor than he who gave away his substance in charity aiid thus fostered thriftlessness and idleness, but what a wealthy father in naturally enough chiefly concerned about (or •• should be), is the effect that the squandering of money must necessarily have upon the squanderer. . Mr Pullman was a man of humble origin, who in his time had worked as an ordinary mechanic for wages, and who, of course, learned the value • of money, ! and it was doubtless because he knew its value so well that he could not endure the thought of the possibility of his huge fortune being thrown away. Probably there is nothing Avorse for a young man than to be born ‘with a silver spoon in his mouth, and to be thus deprived of th© chief incentive to work. A few years ago a young Englishman earned for himself a fleeting notoriety as the man who contrived to run through a quarter of a million of money in about a twelvemonth, and cases of the kind are by no means uncommon. Cremation, it is interesting to note, is making steady headway in Eng L and rapid progress m Germany. Dui g the year 1908 the total number of cremations in Great Britain amounted to 871, against 715 in the previous year. In Germany, while there were 29/ / cremations in 1907, the number for 1908 was 4050, an increase of more than <o per cent. These figures would have deiglited the late Sir Henry Thompson who nearly forty years ago directed public attention to the urgent need that existed for some more sanrtaiy method of disposing of the dead than bv earth, burial, which he persistently pointed out was frequently to the health of the living. It is the famous surgeon’s untiring advocacy oi cremation that must be held accountable for the interest that was first created in the subject, and winch has Sown greater year by year ever since One of the principal objections urged against cremation is that it facilitates the commission of crime by effectually destroying all traces of it. But, as the English Cremation Society puts it, tins objection is groundless, emce all crematinns are carried out under Act ot 1 ar fiament passed in 1902, and regulations framed by the Home feecretary u ider the Act. It is only, urges the Society when a cremation is to bo that there is any satisfactory mjestiga turn made as to the cause ot death, ( or even of death having taken place, as the ordinary certification ot deathjs very imperfect, whereas before cremation it is of a searching nature and so thorough that it is impossible for. foul play to escape notice. It tory to find that cremation is fast find in® favour with the people of Jellmg; ton, who now a properly-eqmp-ped crematorium at Karon. When will Christchurch follow suit to the Empire City? Dunedin is even nmv talking ot doing so. The Tramway Board continues to be much exercised in mind, it seems, touching the best method of preventing passengers from making fools of themselves by quitting ears ivhilst they are in motion. It has been suggested that illustrated diagrams, showing what may be expected to happen to Jones (or anybody else) if lie persists m risking, life and limb in this way, should be prominently exhibited, and it has also been suggested that notices urging “ fares ” to “ wait until the. car stops should be displayed; but it is felt that some more effectual method of dealing with the difficulty should bo sought, and the Board, it is said, Avill welcome suggestions on the subject. The matter appears to be an extremely simple one. All that- should be necessary is to enforce the by-law framed expressly to meet this case, but which, for some inexplicable reason, is practically a dead-letter. It is an everyday occurrence to see people jumping on and off the cars before they have come to anything like a full stop. Indeed, young fellows may often be seen chasing cars and boarding them while they are travelling at considerable speed. A few' police court prosecutions would doubt-' less be the best way to step a senseless practice. People will do a good deal to avoid a “presentation at Court.”