NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10032, 20 January 1896, Page 5

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

ifISD Hopetook, in his article in the i L e of the Badminton Magazine on Sport in Victoria," thus refors to stcoplechasiug in the colonies "I <wnnot MP th " ' (hflC colonial Steeplechases must tii J iter from England more forcibly than cny other form of racing. After a!, one flat raco is very much like anor ei ordinary onlooker, but .teepleclmsing m the colonies is an entirely different busme from steeplechase at Home. The fences have no variety about them they are al timber (log fences or posts and rails), a thick as railway deeper* A horse cannot brush through them or take any liberties; nipping them hard means an almost cor am fall They aro high, too—from four feet to four feet seven inches-vet horses are rarely steadied at them, the jockeys treating these uncompromising obstacles very much as though they were but glorified hurdles, Oi course falls do occur, but not as often as the manner in which horses are ridden would lead one to expect; and jockeys seem to have a hippy knack of falling clear and gettins away from their horses beforo the animals can roll oil them. 1 have seen many /alls that looked appalling, but I am thankJul to say nono of these liavo proved fatal to the jockeys, nor have the injuries received by them been of a permanent nature. On all tho regulated courses there are three very high and stiff fences just opposite the grandstand, in order that the janeraj public may have a comfortable view If the jumping; tho distance between these fences is very small, and, in consequence, a ijieat many falls occur at them—for tho benefit of the spectators. I always feel that thi) arrangement savours a little bit of the Spanish bull-ring." Trua sport in all its multifarious forms has an ardent friend in Bishop Julius, of l.'hristchurch. Being an old Australian, ho naturally had a hearty word of welcomo for the New South Wales cricketers on thoir arrival; and ho also made an interesting speech at tho official recoption of the Australian Amateur Athletic team. The bishop believes that genuine sport, entered into in a sportsmanlike spirit, is a factor in nation-building not to be despised. He considers that such visits as those mentioned above have great value, not only as regards athletics generally, but also upon our life as a nation. Speaking upon one of the occaions referred to, Bishop Julius said he thought his audieuce would agree with him that the chaffy telegrams passing between London and Now York exchanges hnd done more to fhow the absurdity of war between England and America than anything else, anil yet it had arisen out of sport. They might not get Australian Federation for many a long day to come, but gatherings liko the contests for the championships brought us more together and made us more and more feel liko brothers. Men could not wheel together or run together without becoming belter known toeachother and learning to respect each other better, The lore of athletics seems to bean ineradicable element in the Anglo-Saxon character, Its influence is a factor which has to be reckoned with, and it is gratifying to «:o the lenders of national morals claiming this widespread instinct as a lever for tho elevation of our race. Professor Max Miiller sends to the Times a letter describing his last conversation with the lately deceased French statesman and litterateur, Barthelemy Sainb Hilaire, We quote an important passageWe discussed the last volume of my Gifford lectures on " Thecsophy, 1 ' in which the history of the Logos had been treated, and I ventured to ask him the question which I had to leave unanswered in ray volume— namely, in what sense the Logos was said to have become incarnate in Christ. Was it meant that the Logos in all His fulness, what is called the Son, who from the beginning was with God, and by whom all things were made, had become flesh in Jesus ? Or was it meant for no more than that the Logos dwelt in Christ, as He dwell, according to Philo, in Abraham and other prophets? Or, lastly, was the Logos here meant for the highest of all the Logoi—viz., the Logos of manhood? And was this Logos believed to have been fully realised in Christ and in Christ alone —was Christ to be accepted as the perfect ideal of man as conceived by the Father before all the world? All these thoughts were perfectly familiar to him, for he had been, before all things, an historian of human thought from tho beginning to the end of his literary career. But he seemed to think that the answer to this question was to be found not so much by historical research as by our own insight, our own enlightenment. I could not summon up courage to controvert this, or to enter more fully into the historical side of our problem. The Pacific Gable Conference has concluded its sittings in Sydney, and lias resolved upon tho route to bo recommended. Tho line is to touch only on British territory. I; that point was in disputesomo timo since, recent events have made it; imperative. The route ie by Fanning Island, Fiji, and Jiorfolk Island, thence dividing to New Zealand and Brisbane. It was thought that Mr. Reeves would be appointed one of tho delegates to the London Conference on the cable question, but the Agents-General for hew South Wales ana Victoria have been appointed. The cost is to be borne in Equal thirds by the Empire, Canada, and the Australian Colonies. We presume that there is no doubt now that the commencement of operations will not be long delayed.

The death is announced by cable of M. Charles Thomas Floquet, an eminent French statesman, at the age of 68. Born in 1828, and called to the bar in 1851, he was ongagod in a great number of political cases. When Prince Pierre Bonaparte was tried for the murder of Victor Noir M. Ploquet pleaded successfully for damages on behalf of the family of the victim. He entered the National Assembly in 1871, his subsequent political career being a varied and exciting one. He possessed great talent as an orator, and was the principal author of the proposition for the expulsion of all members of the royal families which had reigned in France, and depriving them of all political rights. Urgcnoy for this proposition was carried in the Chamber in 1883, but the matter went no further at the timo. He subsequently became President of the Chamber, and was at one time one of the editors of the Temps and the Si6cle. In 1888 he fought a duel with M. Boulanger, severely wounding him in the throat. In 1892 his name was mentioned in connection "i'h Panama, ana he was not re-eleclod to 'he Chamber in 1893.

ft is very clear, from tho cable messages fro publish to-day, that the martial spirit, aroused in England by the unfriendly attitude of Germany concerning the troubles in the Transvaal, has nob yob sank back to slumber. Lord Wolseley, the Commander-in-Chief, states that the British army as never better prepared for war, and Mr. Chamberlain truly says the recent threats of foreign Powers have proved that the old warlike spirit of the nation, though it has romaiued dormant for a time, is still alive, and the Empire stands ready for any emergency, As one illustration of this

comes the news that the Electrical Engineers' Society has offered to organise a service for the defence, of their country. The privates of Dr. Jameson's regiment have at longth arrived in England, and have been releaßed from custody. The Emperor of Germany has been making anothor of those military speechos for which he has already become famous. Ho has under consideration a scheme of defence, and desires the united support of his people. There are no new developments from Armenia. The Queen's letter warned the Sultan that ho was endangering his throne by his conduct, and the Sultan replied that the reports concerning the massacres were exaggerated. It is gratifying to be able to state that the Ashanti difficulty sooms to be on a fair way to settlement, and that without bloodshed. Tho British force has been allowed to occupy Kumassi, tho headquarters of King Prempoh, without any resistance, and tho native rulor is prepared to accepb the demands of England. The Foreign Committee of the American Legislature now goes so far as to propose that the Unitod States should resist the cession or purchase of any territory in the Western Hemisphere. Great Britain and France have arrived at an amicable settlement) of their customs disputes in connection with the Tunis and the Niger boundary,