NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10836, 20 August 1898, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

' 0 . The Chronicle of New York, a journal de- : voted to the interest of fire insurance com- ' panics, is in the habit of collecting and . carefully tabulating all the information 1 respecting the subject of losses by fire in the i United States. Once a year the interesting publication containing this matter is . given to the public. The edition for 1898, ! which has just been issued, contains a com- , parativo statement on the title page which | seems to have some significance. It is as j follows i LOSSES BY FIRE IN THE UNITED STATES. • 1893 $168,000,000 ' 1894 140,000,000 1895 ' ... 142,000,000 1896 118.000,000 ; 1897 116,000,000 i There are other interesting facts brought . out in the pages of the Chronicle. We learn from it that the total losses by fire dur- , ing the nast 25 years aggregate 2,454,592,481 ', dollars, on which there w.as insurance to , the amount of 1,438,902,448 dollars. At [ the beginning of the period indicated, that is, in 1875, the total annual loss averaged' ' about 65,000,000 dollars. The destruction j ' of ( property by firo has thorefore almost' • doubled! since that date, ; An analysis of I 1 • the cause' of the fires, of which there were'! ' 61,133 in 1896, shows that only 7.32 per cent. : ''were attributed to incendiarism 34.99 per ;.:■• cent.' are classed as of exterior origin,' that is i' to say, due to exposure to burning property/ j ; j lightning, prairie fires, etc. Defective flues : t

'were responsible for 7.* per cent- and Tves and stovepipes for 3.57 per cent. A Si study of the tables leaves the .mpresirdestruotivenessaswellasintheraptd accumulation of wealth. ' r

While modern English S engineers are rt carrying out a plan for trngattg Snrt that-* to restore prosperity to to to£datffieri.konpolisth records of a prinS of irrigation that was carJed out no lea than 6000 years ago The tel East has rarely nndioated the re--3 ofitsUWorvinsuchconvmcngsort, SZ the Pyramids of Giseh were planned Tthe mighty steps of Sakkaracompletod, a eery dawn of those earliest of p53 monarch* who ruled to the hoary dawn of Egypt's history, the limestone il offing Nar-Mcr recorded « Ling of the first sod in some primitive Sme of canalisation. ***»««* tincttypesofFPuUtioncanbetraced! Wd on the pivot of an ancient door is caned the bent figure of a bound captive supporting its weight upon his back, exactly like those Romanesque or early Gothic figures to which Dante compared the suffering souls in 111 Inferno. Even so long ago, the vase of sculptured diorite shows a skill in working bard material that would be difficult to surpass to-day ; and the toilet dish from Denderah, dating about 2450 8.C., is as delicate a bit of workmanship in the same stone as could eve! be produced. Professor Peine found an ordinary coat-button, too, carved roughly in bone, that opens up quite novel problems of attire before the days of" doublebreasted vests." The land of slaves and warriors and priests has always been the same in its essentials. The beauty of its art alone has perished.

One of the most striking articles in the Nineteenth Century is from the pen of a Russian gentleman named Shishkoff, living at Sunbirsk, on the borders of Astraclian, a quiet village beyond the Volga, to which it seems, English periodicals succeed in finding their way within a fortnight of their publication, It is a calm and dignified plea for international civility on the part of those who are engaged in the formation and education of public opinion in Europe, and more particularly in Great Britain ; and for the exercise of mutual courtesy and consideration in the criticism and discussion of national affairs and national characteristics. English writers can; far more, he says, for the accuracy of their statements and the justice of their views than for the pleasant or unpleasant effect which then presentation of them may produce on others. But their courago stops tliore, and does not go to the extent of daring to assert that other nations are not always stupid, rapacious and contemptible. If, however, they would resolve upon treating international questions from an impartial and equitable point of view ; if they would be as heartily ashamed of using ungentlemanly language to foreign peoples and to foreign Governments as they would be of vilifying an opponent at home, M. Shishkoff is firmly convinced that England might safely remain isolated, because war WMild soon become an impossibility. He is confident, moreover, that " it would not take half the trouble to bring the great nations of Europe into close and friendly communication with each other, that it has taken to make them enemies." Therefore, he advocates the commencement of an agitation in favour of international amity and confidence. But, we must remark, the effect of such an agitation upon personal and dynastic ambitions, the lust of territory, the thirst for military and naval glory, which actuated so many commanders, would probable be infinitesimal ; and these are, after all, quite as likely to set nations by the ears as popular passions. The Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines appears to be neither a good soldier nor an astute diplomatist, After the surrender of the town lie was sought for, and at last found with a number of women and children who had sought refuge in a church. The terms of the capitulation which he appears to have signed without demur cedes the whole of the Philippines to America. The American press is delighted, and is now urging the Government to keep the islands. The Protocol, however, which was signed before the surrender of the city, controls the situation. The insurgents demanded that there should be a joint occupation of Manila by the American troops and themselves, but General Merritt, acting on instructions from Washington, refused to agree, and took precautions to exclude them from Manila. It is reported that Russia is parleying with Spain to obtain a coaling station in the Philippines. America is evidently determined to have a powerful navy, in view of the new departure which has been made from her traditional policy. In addition to the eight warships at present being constructed it is likely that li more will be ordered. The death is announced of General Tchernaicff, a distinguished but erratic Russian soldier.