TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 24 September 1909, Page 2

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Dr Arthur," president of the Immigration League of AustraBoy Immigrants. Jasia, who has been on a six months' visit to the United Kingdom, has returned. In an interview at Adelaide, Dr Arthur said: — "I found there was much interest being tafcett hi Australia as a . nation, but the gcnoral opinion was that Australia might do a deal more in this direction than she was doing at present. There was a feeling that in no way could the colonies help the Mother-country more than by assisting her to dispose of some of her surplus population. The unemployed problem is very acute at the present time in tie United Kingdom. I pointed out that the difficulty was in Australia, in dealing with adults from cities, and that my ex-, perience had been that they were mostly unfitted for the kind of work we were able to offer them, namely, work in.thebush. My proposal, however,- to" send lads of 15 years and upwards from the cities to farms in Australia, met With a favourable reception, A strong committee has been formed in London to give effect to this proposal. I hope the first batch of 50 lads, who have been selected carefully by this committee, will be sent to Australia. In all probability they will-come at the expense of the central body in London, which has a large fund at its disposal, for the purpose of paying the fare o femigrants. If the first batch are all successfully placed with farmers, and do well, it will be followed regularly by others. As the boys will have had no previous experience, they will start with the small wage of 6s a week and their keep ; this to bo increased gradually as they gain experience. There can be no opposition from the labour unions to this form of immigration, as the lads should make good farm workers, and will not interfere with trades or any employments." In the late sixties of last centuTy the fashion for cutting Return women's hair straight of the Fringe, across the brow, and of letting it drop without any curl in that position, was very popular, and for 20 years the vogue continued. It lasted longest of all in the nursery, and is, indeed, still a well-liked mode for small girls and boys. It is rather remarkable that the , fringe has not been revived ere this for women. But now that it has come it ! is almost sure of a welcome, says a ' writer of English fashion notes iii the. Sydney "Daily Telegraph." It possesses | a distinctive fascination. There is r something intensely juvenile, something peculiarly sweet in its utter simplicity. ' The effect it produces upon the features is that of a serious and yet not oversolemn gravity. One thinks of the Pompadour as stately, and of the Georgian drapery as debonair, but the fringe carries one's memory back to portraiture of '. the Stuart period, when men, to whom it gave a wonderful degree of picturesqueness, wore it, and secured for their appearance a very full measure of nobility and an - immense attractiveness. The fringe as we behold it now, conti- : nues the correspondent, iB being allied by the coiffeurs to various styles of hair-dressing. In one case the new liking for the round Dutch-doll swathery of hair is indulged, and the heavy plait that is added is bound round the head closely. Then the thick strands of hair , above the brow are waved and draped in their place with a slightly puffed effect. When the straight fringe was last worn the rest of the hair was left straight, and was either carried back smoothly over the crown of the head and i twisted up into a knot above the nape of the neck, or parted on the crown of the head, and after that knotted or dressed en chignon. So drastic a change would not ' be met to-day with gratitude. Hence the fringe is the only unwaved part of the coiffure. The rest is carefully and prettily ondule, and should the central parting appear above the fringe the hair falls away from it in the most elegant "natural" undulations. It is also puffed above the ears, or at least that is one way of arranging it, but one's individual taste comes in, and many styles equally becoming have been adopted. The straight fringe, if disliked, may havo its rigid line broken by the hair being slightly curled and left to drop over tne brow.