NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9810, 3 May 1895, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Those indefatigable contributors to the literature of the single tax—Messrs. Withy and King — might with same profit and interest turn their attention to the operation of their favourite hobby in the only country in the world where it is in operation—China. Lecturing at Toynbee Hall on *' The Daily Life of ~t he Chinese Labourer," Sir John Gorstsaid that there were no landlords in China. The land was the property of the State, and the occupier paid a small tax— tho only tax which existed— to the,! State for the land which he occupied. But as this tax had to be paid whether '? the land was cultivated or not no one ever took more land than he could cultivate, and the State reserved its righto where the Occupier did not use his holding to take it from him and let someone else have it. The , tax varied from 6d to Is 8d per acre, and the size of the holdings Was on an average about nine acres. Besides this land every family possessed a holding which could not under any circumstances be alienated. So, as every Chinaman wan a member of a family and every family had a home, there was no necessity for a Poor Law. All men who failed in the towns had to do was to return to their ancestral homes and resume work upon the land. This state of civilisation has existed in China for hundreds of year?. There the principles of Mr. Henry George have been in force for centuries. If the single tax is the royal road to universal happiness and general well-being, China ought to be the most prosperous and contented nation on the face of the earth. But we know she is not. In spite of the manifold blessings of land nationalisation and single tax her teeming millions are not always able even with incessant toil and the most frugal fare to keep starvation from their doors. The squalid living of the Chinese in the large I cities is well known : while Messrs. Withy and King, who surely do not desire to see Englishmen reduced to the level of the Mongolian for the sake of the single tax, know that if the Australasian colonies were to throw open their doors to Asiatic immigration, the first who would flock here would be the Chinese, who for centuries have been " enjoying the blessings" of the single tax and land nationalisation.

We ib not know how fur the scathing criticism on the English army system, which our cable messages the other day informed us had been published in the London Times, may be justifiable. That is a question which only military experts are entitled to be heard upon. But one does nob require any special knowledge to be able to realise that the relations which at one time existed between the men of the old army and their officers exist no longer. This is duo to two causes—the short service system and the long duration of peace. In Mr. Archibald Forbos's little biography of Colin Campbell, which has just been added to the " English Men of Action " series, there is a characteristic anecdote of the great soldier, and of the army as he knew it, which serves to illustrate the close bond which in the brave days of old linked officers and men together, and which we are afraid is to be looked for in vain in these changed times, " while," said Campbell, who tells the story himself, "I was inspecting the depot ab Chichester, I noticed that an old man, evidently an old soldier, though in plain clothes, was constantly on the ground and apparently watching my moveraents. As I was leaving the barrack yard ab the end of the inspection, he came towards me, drew himself up, mad? the military salute, and with much respect said, 'Sir Colin, may I speak to you? Look ab me, sir, do you recollect me?' I looked ab him and replied 'yes, I do.' ' What is my name?' he asked. I told him. ' Yds, sir; and where did you last see me V In the breach ab San Sebastian,' I replied, 'badly wounded by my side.' 'Right, sir,' answered the old soldier, ' I can tell you something more,'l added, 'you were No. — in the front rank of my company.' ' Right, sir,' said the veteran. I was putting my hand into my pocket to make the old man a present, when he stepped forward, laid his hand on my wrist and said : ' No, sir, that is not what I want; but you will be going to Shorncliffe to inspect the depot there. I have a son in the Inniskillings quartered at that station, andjif you will call him out and tell him that you knew his father, bhab is whab I should wish.'" The anecdote is a typical sample of the kindly and self-respecting relations between the highest and the lowest in the old army which won the victories that have made England great.

In the Governmenfa Central Museum at Madras the fin de siecle globe-trotter may see preserved in a glass case some relics of Buddha, which tor 2000 years lay undisturbed in the elaborate and costly resting place erected for them by King Asoka in the remote past. Many such relics have been found in various parts of India, usually small pieces of bone, believed to have been collected at the saint's funeral pyre, and enclosed in crystal caskets. Mr. Robert Sevvell, who has devoted much attention to the subject, read a paper recently before the Asiatic Society on some discoveries of the kind made nob long ago on the banks of the Krishna in the Presidency of Madias. The belief of the people in the genuineness of the relics was attested, he said, by the splendour of the structures in which they were carefully deposited, and the lavish wealth of adornment. That at Bhattiprohi, discovered by Mr. Rea in 1892 , may be described. It contained when he unearthed it three caskets, and among the inscriptions found was one, in characters nob later than about 200 8.C., which runs thus :—" By the father of Kura, the mother of Kura, Kura himself, and Siva, the preparation of a casket and a box of crystal in order to deposit some relics of Buddha. By Kura, the son of Banava, associated with his father (has heen given) the casket." Inside was a globe-shaped black stone casket, and inside that a crystal casket containing a small fragment of bone.

The monument was of the most elaborate construction. First, foundations were dug deepin thesoil,andagreatcircular base built of solid brick 148 feet in diameter. Above ground was a solid superstructure 5 feet high of large bricks, and in the exact centre of this was left a small cylindrical hollow, and the relic caskets were placed one above the other, firmly built into the brickwork, the hollow being about 9 inches in diameter. The outer caskets measured 2 feet 11 inches by 2 feet 6 inches, and 2 feet 10 inches by 2 feet 3 inches respectively. Above all this was constructed a dome, also of solid brick, having a base of 132 feet diameter, round which was a procession path of 8 feet broad. The whole of the outside surface was encased in marble slabs, so as to present a pure white glittering surface, visible from a great distance. Though in process of centuries, during twelve of which the religion of the district was Brahminical and not Buddhist, this groat edifice had been sorely injured, the marbles being partially pulled down, and a quantity of the enclosed brickwork pulled to pieces by the villagers, probably for house-building, it remained till a % few years ago;' in a confused bub generally circular mass 30 or ,40 feet high, ruined at the top. At that period, a zealous

officer •of the Public Works Department utilised a quantity.'of the; bricks far roadmaking, and most of the marble for the floor and walls of a small sluice in the canal close by. ; He dug so. deep that the topmost relic casket was found, aud . this led to the subsequent discoveries, and ! the relics, together with a quantity of gold flowers, coins and precious stones, after lying untouched by the hand of man fop two thousand years, were taken from their resting places and put in the Madras Museum. . '<~. Japan is actively preparing to renew the war in the event of China refusing to ratify the treaty of peace. The Russian and German press assail England because of her action in declining to join in the protest. Some of the former newspapers threaten retaliation on the Indian frontier. A statement attributed to an intimate companion of the Czar, credits Russia with desiring to dominate the whole of Asia. English troops have been landed at San Juan.-' The Nicaraguans offered ho opposition, but as a measure of precaution the British destroyed the railway line to hamper any movement against them. The Governments of the United States and other Powers are endeavouring to bring about a settlement of the dispute. The first person to reach the besieged garrison at Chitral was the special correspondent of the London Times, who forwards to his journal a graphic account of the heroic defence made by Dr. Robertson and his little band. The jury in the Oscar Wilde case were unable to agree, and were discharged. The judge's summing-up was in favour of the prisoners, apparently on the grounds that many of the witnesses, for the prosecution were acknowledged blackmailers. The accused remain in custody, and the whole' case will have to be gone over again unless the prosecution decide to abandon, it. Mr. William Saunders, M.P., whose death is announced to-day, was a well-known newspaper proprietor, having established the Western Morning News, and the Eastern Morning News. He was also the chief originator of the Central News, which he controlled and managed until 1884. He was a native of Market Lavington, and was 72 years of age. For many years he was an active worker in the temperance cause, and in all social and political movements. His brother, Mr. Alfred Saunders, sits in the New Zealand House of Representatives as member for Seiwyn, The court-martial on the doctor of H.M.S. Ringarooma has concluded. The court found the doctor guilty of the charges made against him, and ordered him to be dismissed the service. He was not allowed to call witnesses, although he had thirty in attendance, who were prepared to give evidence which presumably would have been in his favour. Doctor Lea made a long statement in his defence, justifying bis action in ordering the captain of the Ringarooma on the sick list. He also gave instances of the eccentric behaviour of the commander, whom he regarded as unfit to have charge of the vessel. The finding of the court is likely to give rise to much unfavourable criticism.