NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10479, 26 June 1897, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

A WBiTEB j|i one of the magazines an the subject of ''Tobacco in Relation to Health and Character," makea an calo«la.tion that the smokers of Great Britain and Ireland, whom he calculates a.t) otjefourth of the population, or, say, (en qijlltone, epend. on an aTer»ge 2i 6d a year on the accessorise of tobacco, and pay on an average 6d an ounce far the seventyeight million pounds of tobacco which they consume every year. The tobacco bill of those island; amounts to thirtytwo and a half millions a year, Now the whole cost of the wheat oonsurqed in the United Kingdom was only thirtythree millions ; so that tobacco runs wheat within half a million as an item in John Bull's annual expenditure, Yet the British do. nob consume two pounds of tobacco per head, which is very moderate compared with the conßo,mptiqn oi other nations. Holland uses the leaf at the rate of a trifle over 71b per head of her population ; Austria, 3'Slb : Denmaak,3,7lbj Switzerland, 3'3lb Belgium, 321b; Germany, 31b; Sweden and Norway, each 231b; France, 211b; Italy, Russia, and Spain may be classed together, with a consumption of lilb; while the United States rises in the scale to 4Jlb for each inhabitant;. The writer thinks thai; the practice of using tobacco has contributed greatly to convert the unspeakable Turk into a mild and sedate Oriental. If this be true, the Eastern Question may yet be solved by increasing the consumption of the fragrant weed,

The New Century Review opens with an article by Mr. Justin McCarthy on Sir William Harcourt as a type of Victorian statesmen, He says :—There is a common impression abroad that he is an over-bearing and uncongenial man. I have always found hipi most genjaj, most kindly, and moat sympathetic. Mr. McCarthy thinks that Sir William Hareourliis a great parliamentary debater, but nob a great parliamentary prfltpr. ?le ma.jfes soma interesting comments concerning £he art) of quotation a? practised by eminent debaters. Mr. McCarthy says:-" Bright and Gladstone and Disraeli were always happy in their quotatfP!»9- They never cjiipted anything sljaje, and indeed Gladstone occasionally ventured on. Aris()ppha,iies au.d Lucretius apd Dante and Goethe and Schiller, but then the House wpultl stajid anything from him. Bright ventured on Spenser and Milton and even on Dante; apd Disraeli, I fancy, wa,s for the most part in th,e habit of striking off hjs quotations on the spur of the moment. But Sir William Harcourb always stuck to the safe familiar ground. He did not want tp give (ih audience mpre than the audience could readily understand and easily follow, and therefore his quotations were always, welcqtngd with thunderous cheers end"laughter by the, members o\ bis own party, were admitted (9 be right, good things even, by mpst of the members pf Sty pt|)er party, '

Aflpthgr write.r on the tame subject remiitka thit jt u nq(i fanqifui to say "that >vll»l»yer W»8 Nit in tin' lust ce«t«ry— its robqatcpm|U9!i,fM()ie ( its raoy honour, it? thorough, and unaffected learning, its ceremonious courtesy for great occasions, its jolly self-abandonment, jtj s,pc{a} jnjer : flPß.rje.-js exhibited in the demeanour and pqnvet W tiipi, o( Sir William lUrcaijrG, h« i««n W?injr»Wt hpet, »nd R borrow « phrase Um Sydney |oii(|i « receives hie friends with that honest joy which wwine tpprei (i|)M pinner pr wiqe.<' A| a gVe'j't ~hs \» 4 SPlSßdic! ac.(j»i§itipni e!w i«ys ready to m un and to be amused, delighting in the rapid o»Mnfttl)FH9!i sf pmomi'b»R(«r,'ind bringing put of hi? treasure thing* new ftl>4 «14 (or the aunwment »i)d the. benefit of » later a|!«fi leas, instructed Rener#iii, Qo§ q£ g|r . Wjiiiie'i- : gnotations was,so extraordinarily ipt th>| it deeerresa wr|!iHi(enb place jit the an n a|a of table-talk, T.h»t fampua old country gentleman (the \m Sir • Rtinald |tnrshi!»y) whq was (|)e living double <?( Oickene'e Sir Leicester Pedlocfc, had beet) equating af r dinner H!«!oub.&&d glpfie'e, 8 f hi, famous pedigree. .The company was getting a little restive under iKf .mittiigii, when Sir W|l|ij(n was heard to lay in ai| » p , . pr«9i»tivs mM«i "Pβ ! yea' rti? r§^ tyißdi ffle Pf AddJsßn'« hyp- '. ,' . . - AuilKnlghtley to the IfsUninr earlh "''' : ' , ■: , Jty!ttHmiM9ffPlh!«W!tP 7 Surely the force of apt citation can . nq farther go. -; \i "l 'J'-''„'.[ ., ,; The jubilee festifitiei, which haveproved, such a iplend jd luccejj, have new practically concluded, , and Hie f Queen has re-i turned to.. AVindior. somewhat fatigued on account of the heal and ex-

■d London, Her Majesty r?£ 1> ' of some ten thonHßd-BItal?'"* ohildren, on whe? 1 Wdon and Cardinal V W™. The ch.ldren ,vith refre ß bment s/2fethem received a medal. Her J***. , . expressed herself as deeply 25fk '1 Mty and "ffeotian of h l J*' , ' throughout the empire, andh' • ■'. j pleasure at the presence of the r^?*?^ ndian roop ß The Ti mej d £J«J •. the celebrations have had t h J* ' of quickening the aeuseof I rapeH , -•*' l and the America,, paper, state. '&£& ■ he Queen herself the colonial t S--the central fiRU « of g■ gj^ Uiunera Wore provided (or oyec ' the London poo, The confere*^ thaColon.all'remienaudlWwniZ.r Uvea of the Colonial Office has COS'" Mr. Chamberlain mM the prncS ! . ■ w.th an important speech, exnES'» V policy of Great Britain on coloniE^M The Foreign Relations Committee fe United btatea Senate are lidS£s> ! regarding the attitude of'"the"^≤!fe towards the annexation of Ifaw»ii T?' ; '' pvotest from Japan is regarded; a, ?O L£ 1 closelyapproachiugan ultimatum' "M, S*, ' Wl»N^tedth^BriH,h , rjj,t, , j VBf l' ; tion with Hawaii will b 9 fully m>iot Xy I