NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12708, 10 November 1904, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

ESSATS IN* ENGLISH.

The report on tils papers on the English language worked in this year's examination of the English Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce is not encouraging. To one or two of the questions good answers were so rare, says the examiner, as to point to'.-, a general neglect by teachers of the subjects touched upon in them.: "The analvsif and parsing of the passage from Wordsworth's 'Ode tro Duty' 'Were often very imperfectly, done, and the absurdities of : interpretation ; into which some fell ' will iseem almost incredible. 11l like ;manner; the : passage-': from 'Mai*mion' was amazingly perverted in some of the would-be paraphrases; ,; : and on the whole one could not help feeling that to many of the 1 - writers the language of English poetry was almost as much a foreign tongue as French. The essays were in some instances well written, "but taken altogether .were- less,"; interesting , than the letters '■ of application for agencies and the answers thereto. Some of these were most amusing from the confidence with which the applicants stated their qualifications, the readiness with which the :heada of firms received the statements,, and the magnitude-of the [ salaries which were offered. On no subject | was the ignorance shown more profound than in the history of the English language. Over this, in spite of all the light which has been-, shed upon it in the last hundred years, y Cimmerian darkness still broods in the minds of large i numbers : . who pass as educated Englishmen. It seems to be still a widespread conviction that the English language has flowed on in this country' with .pomp of waters unwithstood ' ever' since the time : of toe Ancient ■ Britons, 1, bringing in its course many Latin words from the period- of the Roman, occupation, beginning with the invasion of .Julius Cffisnr, some Saxon from times before; the Norman : .Conquest/i and a good 1 deal' of .'..-Norman-French', -front the centuries immediately (succeeding it. In-* deed, within the last week, I have heard a' well-known member of Parliament, a .man,' of great capacity and good education in many respects, assert that '-English - became; lor a while Norman-French after the -Conquest." It is satisfactory to note from the full report, however, that the number of students who enter for all the society's examinations still continues to increase, and the reports from the inspectors bear high testimony. to' the manner in which the 7 examinations are conducted by tho voluntary committees who undertake the work.

COSTLIEST STEAMERS AM) CHEAPEST FAKE*. The summer of 1904 lias witnessed the cheapest ocean passenger' fares on record, ; at the same time when both in the United Kingdom and in Germany the largest and most costly steamers in the World are being built for .the two'- great steamship companies, which are the keenest of all the competitor : ; on the Atlantic. Two pounds by third-class to New York from Dover, Liverpool, or Southampton means about eight miles for. one penny, and in. addition board and lodg- i frig,; for a week in steamers, many of which provide accommodation for, their third-class passengers such as could '.'not be obtained by hrst-class passengers 40 years ago, when the largest steamer on the Atlantic; was the famous Scotia, of 3871 tons, the last and! largest of ocean paddle-steamers-.' .;■ The cost of the vessel's that cany passengers at these cheap rates, and still more' the cost yf the steamers now building for the lines that .are carrying on th© rat© war, is in striking contrast to the fares charged.;; When I the Canard lino came into existence it began operations , with a subscribed capital of £270,000,' and that was sufficient to build four steamers for the Atlantic mail service, as well as three other (Smaller vessels lor the intercolonial mail service, with Halifax 'asthen starting• point. It is certain that; not .one steamer intended for the Atlantic mail service has been built for so small a sum as £270,000 within the last '15 years,; or, to put it more accurately, since 1888, when the City of New York and the City of Paris,' the ; first ''Atlantic mail steamers 'of over 10,000 tons, were, launched. The latest addition to the list of German ocean racers, the Kaiser Wilhelm II. > was insured for over one. million sterling when she was ready to run hei trial trip. It is evident,? however, that the Kaiser Wilhelm 11. will not long be -the most costly ■ merchant steamer in the world. The two great vessels building for the Cunard line will be of at least 30,000 tons gross, as compared with | the 20,000 tons of the Kaiser Wilhelm 11., and their engine power will exceed that of ! the German steamer by at least 20,000 horsepower. So that if the cost of the vessels is increased in proportion it cannot well bo less thau one million and a-half; and as it is : reported that one, if not two, ships are now building at Stettin; to:: exceed the - largest of the Cjuiard line, if possible, boiih in tonnage and in speed,; their cost mil be more than that of the largest Canard liner. i The White Star and the American lines are now carrying third-class passengers at the cheapest rate by their - largest aud . most costly: steamers, so that if the rate war goes on i with -as much; intensity on .'both sides as is I shown now, it' is possible ;that the ; thirdclass passengers may bo carried ; in stealers'' I that cost nearly two ; millions at fares wiiqh' i leave not a penny; of proflt to the owiiera I of the steamers.

. THE JAPANESE ' ENftmEER IK WAS,. Notwithstanding' all : ■'" that Z' has "- been written about Japan, people in the West have still, says Engineering,, a very, inadequake" idea of the importance of th« services which engineers have j performed in Japan. The engineers of Japan have been I the chief means of developing the resources | of the country, and raisins it from a state--'

of feudalism to owe of mdustn... -,_„ ... rt>i merei;;! activity: They have Improved tin roads, built railways and telegraphs,- hav< developed the shipping and the navy, anc applied their engineering skill to those in dustries ■which were necessary to develop the resources of the-country. On previous occasions : we (Engineering) have ■ given' some details of their work in various- departments, although a full account has still ■to be written. Most important of all, they have mads Japan strong and able to resist foreign aggression. This was clearly shown in the .war. with China in 1894-5. .The sound of the Japanese cannons at the mouth of the Yalu Stiver awoke the ■: nations of the world to a sense of the fact that a strong nation had arisen in the Far East, which would exercise a. profound influence in the Pacific area. Meantime the engineer has ; been-at work, and :in .the present wax* the Japanese would have been impotent, either for offence, or defence, without the work of the engineer. The railways built in Japan have been fully utilised • to'•' convey, men ;' and J materials, and the ships of the- mercantile marine to, transport : them oversea. The . telegraphs have been used to communicate instructions, and to keep the I authorities informed regarding movements and requirements. ■ The dockyards and shipbuilding yards have been ready to undertake repairs,* and" the arsenals i and ■: machine shops to turn out war materials of all kinds - as well las appliances which aid operations in the field. Light railways have been laid down on the way to battlefields, and wireless telegraphs and telephones to convey, instructions to the soldiers; in short, all the latest applications of mechanical, electrical, and chemical science have been '■ freely and f intelligently I used. Among the inventions -which have added materially and conspicuously to the fighting efficiency* of the navy 'ma J be in-' j stanced the gun-rack of Eear-Admiral I Yamanbuchi, the water-tube boiler of EngiAdmiral Miyabara, the smokeless 1 powder "• of "/ Dr. • Shimose," V the :; percussion cap' of : Vice-Admiral Ijuiu, the floating; mine of Commander Oda and Captain Tawada, ■ and several others which ■ might be mentioned, all of great practical utility in real warfare.".-''; The Japanese officer is a: highly-trained scientific man, and a survey, of all the conditions shows,' that the ■ success;' of the 'JapaneseVnavy" is not of a haphazard nature, but is the result:of a long, systematic training, ; combined, of course, with the fearless bravery of the officers and men. What has been said of the Japanese naval officers might also be* said ofi the officers of the army, although there are not the same opportunities for the display ! of i engineering ;■ skill. Japanese military j officers devote themselves absolutely to j their profession, living for nothing else, and fearless of death. j