NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9495, 26 April 1894, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The Melbourne Argus is mildly sarcastic on the subject of the female franchise in New Zealand, and the demand of the ladies' deputation which recently waited upon the Premier, and asked that the franchise should be carried to its logical conclusion, and fchab women should bo permitted to take seats in the Legislature. " A number of good people," it says, " Were quite sure that women would be content with votes, and that they would meekly leave the work of politics to men. Bub the outcome in New Zealand is already contradicting this amiable assumption. The fact is thab no matter how blandly the dear creatures may simper before hand, yet all students of human nature agree thab woman Is a long long way ahead of man in discerning an accrued right and in insisting upon it. We are bound, therefore, to see the lady candidate and the lady member. How women will fare as members no one can venture to say. The Lady Mayor of Onehunga rules with a rod of iron, because she has only men to deal with. Bub suppose the Opposition included another woman with no opinion ab all of her feminine would-be ruler ? Might nob a wondering world then see continually re-enacted the, quarrel scene of Madame Angob's Daughter." Our contemporary, however, is quite content that New Zealand should offer itself as a field for all sorts of risky political experiments. Bryce, ib reminds us, tells his readers bhab bhe thinkers ot America do nob object to the "wild cab" Stabes, bub on the contrary they are most grateful to them for putting into effect and showing the utter folly of many plausible but hollow theories which otherwise might be tried upon a larger scale. So with New Zealand. Let it, says bhe Argus with a passing sneer ab " the colony of volcanic eruptions and of hob water," show the way.

We have had much talk about setting apart reserves for the preservation of the original fauna and flora of New Zealand. We observe that the Government of Western Australia have set apart a largo area of suitable land in the ranges between Bannister and Pinjarrah as a reserve for the preservation of the native fauna of th» colony. The land is said to be especially suited for such a purpose, being rugged and of diversified character, and affording abundant cover for the marsupials and emus, of which already a considerable number roam at large. In the interests of science and posterity it is most desirable to prevent the complete extirpation of the interesting native fauna of the colony, and it is urged that reserves in suitable lo-

calitiea should be sol apart In other districts, as the animal as Well as the " vegetable life of Western; Australia i varies considerably.' The most remarkable reserve of this character is in the United States, on which roams at will and secure from the huntsman's rifle the last remaining herd of buffaloes, which once had almost undisputed possession of the plains and prairies of America. The reserve in Western Australia has been placed under the control of Mr. H. B. Woodward, a scientific gentleman who has already done much good service in the colony. <

There are signs that Australia is beginning to recover some of its lost ground. The trade returns for Victoria, are showing a very hopeful change. During the three years 1888, '89, and '90 the total imports amounted to £71,328,000, and the total exports to £39,823,000, the difference—the enormous sum of £31,500,000— representing to a considerable extent the borrowing which took plaoe in the period in question. Bub in 1893 the imports were £13,280,000, and the exports £13,300,000, showing a. small balance in favour of exports. In commenting on these figures the Argus says:—"We have turned the corner in Victoria, and that is the all-important point, but we have to go on and to do much better. No doubt it id an abnormal feature that exports should have to exceed imports. The balance in the natural state of things will always be the other way. The position of the nation is that of the trader whose incomings from his customers ought always to be larger than his payments to the men he buys from, bub we have been borrowers of late rather than traders, and first the inordinate borrowing and next the heavy interest) account, upset all ordinary calculations. Whether Australia as a whole is doing more than pay for goods received and for interest due, or whether she is also paying back loan money, cannot be exactly said, but there are reasons for assuming that the latter is the case."

Just two hundred years ago yesterday, the royal assent was given to the Bill authorising the foundation of the Bank of England, the mojt powerful financial institution in the world. The Bill was signed on April 25, 1694, a period prolific iu speculative schemes. William Paterson, the originator of the scheme, was a native of Scotland, who had lived in the West Indies, though what his business in those islands was seems to have been a mystery. His friends said he had been a missionary ; bis enemies, that he had been a buccaneer. At this time ib was absolutely necessary to find some new mode of defraying - the expenses of the war, and so Paterson's scheme found favour. Of course the goldsmiths and pawnbrokers of the time howled with rage, and some Tories pointed out that it would ruin the monarchy. Banks and kings, they said, had never existed together. There were flourishing banka at Venice, Genoa, Amsterdam, and Hamburg ; but who had ever heard of a Bank of France or a Bank of Spain ? These statements create amusement in these days, for it is easy to be wise after the event; but two hundred years ago, while Parliament was embarking upon an uncurtain scheme, they had great weight in the country. Little did even the most sanguine of the promoters dream that they were founding an institution destined to become the centre of the financial world.

To give some idea, though bub a very inadequate one, of the amount of business transacted by the Bank of England, take for instance the note circulation. The number of notes coming in to the bank every day is aboutso,ooo,and 350,000 aredestroyed ; OUUIOBMIIKI* IIK« 13,WW,WW every year. The stock of paid notes for five years is about 77,745,000 in number, and they fill 13,400 boxes, which, if placed side by side, would reach two and onethird miles. If the notes were placed in a pile, they would reach to a height of five and twa-third miles; or, if joined end to end, would form & ribbon 12,455 miles long. With the Bank of England, the destruction of its notes takes place about once a week, and at se*g ri p.m. Ib used to be done in the daytime, bub made such a smell that the neigh stockbrokers petitioned the Governors to <i o it j[ n the evening. The notes are previously cancelled by punching a hole though the att* unt (in figures) a „d tearing off the signature** the chief cashier. The notes are burned in Closed furnace, and the only agency is h av ings and bundles of wood. They \, e( j to be burned in a cage, the result of Wfta thab once a week the City was darw ene( j with burned fragments of notes. For fut Ure purposes of reference, the notes are left fot five years before being burned. Everything is unique about this vast monetary institution, and quite as unique as its notes and its position in the world are the locks on its treasury doors, which are called upon to guard the enormous wealth in its possession. The making of each of these marvels of mechanism occupies three men for six weeks, and costs £75.

Speaking of the looks and keys, it is interesting to be told that the little fluted pieces of steel in the bead of the key (technically called " steps ") are nine in number, and are capable of 362,880 different combinations. If a banker whose safe was fitted with this lock should chance to lose his key or if he had reason to suppose that a wax impression of it had been taken, all that would be necessary in order to baffle burglarious designs would be to unlock the safe with the duplicate key, unscrew the head, and change the position of the steps, and then re-lock the safe or strong-room. The mechanism of the lock would instantly adapt itself to the changed combination, and could never be unlocked by the former key. This, however, is not an unmixed blessing. One afternoon a certain city merchant was amusing himself by unscrewing the steps of both his keys, when it suddenly occurred to him that he had forgotten the combination. An the keys in question were capable of thousands of combinations, there was nothing for it but to set to work on a system of numbered tables, and tick off each combination as it was tried. " But that may take months," objected the merchant, ruefully. Well, as the only other alternative was to build a furnace round the door of the safe, it was decided to try the combinations first. The makers of the safe sent two men and an apprentice with the printed tables—great sheets of paper several yards long— after nine days' tedious labour, during which about 13,000 different combinations were arranged and tried, the right one was hit upon by accident), and the door opened.

The treasury doors of the Bank of England measure seven feet by three, and weigh about two and a-half tons. Besides being fitted with the above-mentioned .changeable locks they have violence locks five feet long, each of which weighs 2001b, ; and gunpowder-proof locks, having blowholes on every side, even through the massive bolt. These blow-holes alloys the gunpowder pumped in to escape, and reduce the force of a possible explosion to a mere harmless puff. It is worthy of note ; that there are more than 10,000 locks fitted in I the Bank of England. v Then comes the | Savoy Hotel with 1800 controlled by one

master key. The manager of each«of the sir floors at the Savoy, however, has a mas ter key which controls the lock 0 f every room - under his supervision Her Majesty's safe at) Windsor Castle i which the gold plate is kept, weighs eight tons, and is" protected hy a violence lock eighteen inches long, a changeable l ock and a gunpowder lock, all of which can be mechanically covered by an undrJllable steel plate, which renders It impossible to insert even a hairpin into any of the key. holes. The last new suite of locks that was made for the Tower of London consisted of twelve of the latest pattern, all save one of which were controlled by a golden master-key. Only a few days before the latter was presented to the Constable (Lord Napier of Magdala), that nobleman died, - and the coveted key subsequently passed into the hands of the present Constable of the Tower, General Sir Daniel Lysons.

. The beatification of Joan of Arc, which which has just been accomplished by an imposing ceremony at the Notre Dame in Paris, is the outcome of a long series of negotiations between the French ecclesiastical authorities and the Court of Rome. Canonisation was at one time proposed, but this was not agreed to. However, it wag eventually decided to accord the Maid oi Orleans the inferior status of beatification, which appears to recommend the deceased person as a fit object for the cultus of his coreligionists rather than to enjoin this. In ithese later times the Court of Rome has shown itself extremely adverse to promis- ' cuouß canonisation, and since the days of Benedict XIV, the promoter of the faith, generally known as the Advocatus Diaboli (the Devil's Advocate), has exercised extreme severity in examining the claims for canonisation. Moreover, it is necessary that a period of 100 years should elapse between the death of a saint and his admistion to the calendar. It has been said thab the real greatness of Joan of Arc did nob consist in her military achievements, bub rather in her pure, true, and ardenb. character.

The proposal of the New Zealand Govern' ment to undertake the administration of Samoa, has not been favourably received by the Imperial Government, so far as can be gathered from the guarded official references which have been made to it. The Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, alluding to the matter in the House of Commons, declared the proposal to be inconsistent with the provisions of the Berlin agreement. . The proposal, however, is now engaging the attention of the Foreign Office, and probably some definite decision will be forthcoming at an early date. In Germany the proposal is opposed by the leading journals, which insist on Germany's claims in Samoa. While it does nob appear at) all likely thab New Zealand will be permitted to "annex" Samoa, the proposal cabled Home by the Seddon Ministry as a sort of " happy thought," will serve to advertise the colony, which is < perhaps all that was really intended, and may possibly have the effect of changing for the better the present unsatisfactory arrangement under which Samoan affairs are conducted. Serious rioting has occurred in Hungary, between Socialists and the police. The latter were compelled to fire on the rioters, many of whom were wounded. The labour army now pouring into Washington will be treated as vagrants, and the laws against that class rigorously enforced. It is, however, almost as difficult to imprison an army as it is to draw up an indictment' against a nation. The German Emperor is weeding the army of aged officers and supplying their places with younger men. Thirty generals toresiern. ' .