NEWS AND VIEWS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1200, 1 March 1895, Page 13

NEWS AND VIEWS.

By ." Aunt Ellen."

, RATIONAL DRESS. National'dress, so it is proudly claimed ; byii# skdyocates, is making great strides in popularity in Australia, but judging by some very curious pictures recently published in the Australasian, I hardly think the craze—if it be a craze—will be long lived. There is a theatrical appearance about the ladies depicted by the Australasian, a distinct dash of what might be called by an irreverent writer the "bounder," or second-rate masher style of dress, which I feel sure will not commend itself to New Zealand ladies. The fact that these picnicing patronisers of the " bifurcated skirts " and all the rest of it, only donned them when they got to the end of their journey by train would seem to argue none too great a confidence on their, part as to the way in which the innovation would be received by a scoffing public. Later on, howeveri the " emancipated " ones recovered their natural confidence and were solemnly photographed, the most prominent figures being a distinctly * mannish person, and a stout female whose liberal embonpoint is made all the more prominent by the fact of her wearing a "weskit" with such a generous garniture of buttons that it reminds one of a London coster's Bank Holiday best coat." For the sake of womanlike grace, modesty "and other virtues, I do most sincerely trust that -the " rational " (irrational I call jt) dress won't make serious headway in this Colony.

WOMAN'S WORK IN THE STATE. Daybreak, the various comments upon the first numbers of which have afforded me some very j amusing reading, should reprint an'article which appears in the January issue of Harper's Magazine. The writer points out that even if, as in Ainerica at present, women cannot get the franchise they can do a great deal for the benefit of the community. The writer (a woman) says:—Without erasing worn -'male" from the constitution——startling phraseologyl the' State has ample power to-day to enlarge the scope of their work. In the expenditure of the vast sums of public revenue to which /womenlargely contribute, there are ipany directions in which the watchfulness of well-chosen competent women would tend to increase economy and honesty. In the management of State hospitals, asylums, land prisons; women should be allowed an influential voice. Over every public school for girls there should be the superintendence, official; but voluntary, of •properly qualified women. In municipal matters that concern health and cleanli- ' ness,vthe purifying rand beautifying of .waste places, the enforcement of .tene-ment-house and, poor laws, and the /reform of/the rules that govern the employment of women and children in factories and shops, the woman's hand l should be. felt and her special knowledge be utilised." ; What one woman can do has been well-exemplified in Wellington by 1 Mrs Neill, who, as so many of us were glad to notice, has been appointed -a factory inspector. I hear ihafshe has in several cases successfully insisted upon better ventilation of work rooms where females were employed. She id an extremely able woman, and the Government are to be congratulated upon having availed themselves of her services.

"NOTABLE WOMEN AUTHORS. It is significant of the increasing interest taken in wocan's topics that in two of the English magazines there should recently have been published " inter--1 views" with woman novelists. Sarah Grand, the author of that much discussed book " The Heavenly Twins," is, I see, the subject of an interview in The Woman a* Borne, a capital sixpenny magazine started last year, and which, I believe, sells well in New Zealand. The second article is one on Miss Edna Lyall, the popular novelist who made her first hit with " Donovan," and whose latest story ■«« Doreen," the story of a singer, is now on sale in every book shop in Wellington. Sarah Grand, I notice, sturdily defends certain features in "The Heavenly Twins, which gave rise to a storm of adverse comment. She says :—"I have had the kindest letters from entire strangers, thanking me for speaking_out so fearlessly. Medical men, too, have written, commending the accuracy of the physiological part? Of the book. One reviewer, fmay mention, suggested that it would be. well for me to take a course of physioloirVi The fact is, that for five years I ■made a*close study of the subject under iminent; medical men. I should greatly deprecate any change that would tend to make 4men less womanly. My theory of the delations of the sexes is not to lower the woman, but to raise the man.

The interviewer, so I note with pleasure, states that Sarah Grand has a very practical sympathy with the poor of her own sex. She works hard amongst the poor factory girls of the East End. This, however, does not prevent her being one of the best dressed women who frequent the now well known ladies' club, the Pioneer. Although advanced in other subjects she does not like "rational" dress —"she regards, with disgust the pleasure that some women take in dressing like men." Which shows her common sense.

MARRIED WOMEN AS TEACHERS, There is considerable excitement I hear down in Christchurch, over the appointmet of a married woman, whose husband is in receipt of a good income, to the position of mistress at the East Christchurch School. It is held by the objectors that such a valuable appointment should not be given to one whose,husband enjoys a good income, and with this I am prepared to agree. On the wider question as *to whether any married woman should hold an educational appointment, there will be however considerable diversity of opinion. There are cases in this island personally I am /aware of two such where married/ women who occupy positions as teachers possess husbands who seem to be unable to earn an income for their families. In such cases it would savour of hardship were the " no married woman employed " theory to prevail. On the whole, however, such cases are very rare, and as a general rule I think my readers will agree with me that educational appointments should not be held by married women. And for the wisdom of such a theory many grave and weighty reasons—physiological reasons amongst others—might easily be adduced. I shall be curious to see what is the outcome of this Christchurch case. .

THE LATE LADY WILSON. 'Many Wellingtonians I daresay, had never heard of the late Lady Cracoft Wilsoni whose death at Cashmere, near Christchurch, was reported last week, but in Canterbury the deceased lady was widely known and universally respected, for she was one of the most benevolent of ladies, and being blessed alike with wealth and with the kindest of hearts, she did a great deal of good in her own unobtrusive way. Lady Wilson was a native of Lerwick, in the Shetland Isles, and went out to India at the age of eigteen, soon afterwards marrying the late Sir John Craeroft Wilson, who was then a district judge in the north-west provinces. With her husband she came to New Zealand early in the fifties, and remained to look after his property when he returned to India. The Mutiny, however, breaking out, she rejoined her husband and saw many stirring deeds, and witnessed many' painful scenes in those terrible times which followed the revolt. Later on she came back to New Zealand and resided with her husband at Cashmere, a beautiful place near Christchurch.

A CLEAN V. A DIRTY STAGE. One hears a good deal about the spread of immorality in America, and of the looseness of convex sation and general conduct which is alleged to be prevalent amongst the so-called " upper ten" in the States, but I am glad to see that the Americans insist : upon keeping their entertainments V clean" —that is, they won't countenance any improper illusions or gestures on their stage. Mr Richard Harding Davis, a well-known American author, has an article on the " The Show Places of Paris" in Harper's Magazine, and refers at length to that unsexed creature, the music hall singer, Yvette Guilbert, who was such a success in London last year. Mr Davis says the French audiences revel in her thinly veiled indecencies and then goes on to remark : " At Pastor's Theatre, New York, last year a French girl sang a song which probably not one of three hundred in the audience understood, but which she delivered with such appropriateness of gesture as to make her meaning plain. When she left the stage there was absolute silence in the house, and in the wings the horrified manager seized her by the arms, and in spite of her protests refused to allow her to reappear." . And in this connection I might say that it would be well were Wellington audiences less tolerant than they are. In some of the so called comic operas we have had recently, doubles enUndres and equivocal situations havebeen too numerous. To see quite young girls giggling in the circle over doubles entendres j is as discredited fco faem, fls to thejr

parents who accompanied them and who ought to have hissed instead of applauding.

BABIES AND MONKEYS.

Goodness gracious, and to what length will not the modern scientist go in order to prove, or attempt to prove his theories. I picked up a copy of the Nineteenth Century at the Library, the other day and, oh, dear, oh, dear, was simply horrified to find that a Mr Buchanan claims to have discovered several resemblances to monkeyish traits in—the babies! For instance, he asgerts that the babies' fat cheeks " recall the cheek pouches possessed for storing away food" by certain monkeys. The " deep circular impression " in baby's body he compares to a" scar left by the loss of the monkey's tail." Again he points out that the babyj like the monkey, does net use the thumb in grasping an object. In baby's desire to crawl upstairs the wretch positively discerns the old climbing instincts of life—monkey life-—in the trees, and the habit of picking at anything loose, specially.ac " a piece of wall paper " so as to fear it off, is reminiscent, so he says, of the monkey habit of picking the bark of trees so as to search for insects. Upon my word this is too much. Surely the scientists should leave baby alone. Poor little chap, he gives plenty of worry without being made an excuse for a bolstering up of the Darwinian theory. But the article, I must confess, is decidedly amusing.

AN EASTERN ELIZABETH. The Dowager Empress of China is evidently a sort of Eastern Queen Elizabeth and now that everything Eastern is so interesting, in view of the war between China and Japahy Zealanders will no doubt be specially interested in the very strong minded lady who is so powerful in Pekin. In the Fortnightly Review for December there is a long article on the capital of China and here:,is a pen portrait of the Dowager Empress :—Of course, she is swindled arid humbugged right and left by her army of understrappers, but she has her way, or fancies she has, and this amounts to the same thing in the end, while it satisfies all parties. It would be interesting to know exactly how far her hand appears in recent actions. She is generally allowed to be an .exceedingly clever and astute woman. She was at the head of affairs during the Tae-ping rebellion and during the war with France. It is said thatshe persists in doing everything through the Emperor; that she seldom allows herself to be seen ; that in receiving an audience she sits on one side of a screen, whilst the audience kneels on the other; that'/she has the choosing of the ladies of the harem, and mak-es them skip on occasion ; that she sells appointments through the favourite official/pf the court, and shares the proceeds with/; him. These are a few of the rumours diligently circulated about the influence and, importance of the Empress Dowager. She probably aspires many of the comments on the official reports and acts. "A BABY KINSWOMAN." '* To many readers of the Mail no doubt has occurred the thought, " oh, if Our dead dear ones could only see those Who remain, that we could be sure that the love that exists here below may be continued when some cherished member of the family departs." The same thought has recently struck the English poet Swinburne who has written a very beautiful poem entitled " A Baby Kinswoman." A little girl loses her mother by the cruel hand of King Death, but the poet suggests that the mother still enjoys the sight of her child —that, as he beautifully; puts it, she can still see the ." v •

Sweetest sight that earth can give, Sweetest light of eyes s that live. • ■„,. V Mr Swinburne further, suggests that "the child is conscious of the presence of the departed:— Thine above is now the grace; Haply, still to see her face; Thine, thine only now the sight, Whence we dream thine own takes light. Comfort, faith, assurance, love, Shine around us, brood above, Pear grows hope, and hope grows wise, Thrilled and lit by children's eyes. Very beautiful lines, are they not ?

A GOOD ADVERTISEMENT. Whatever be the result, politically, of woman's franchise in this Colony, the new departure has had one effect, and that ia to give the Colony an excellent advertisement all over the civilised world. In America, in Australia, and in England, the leading newspapers have given long and interesting articles on the now famous

new departure by which our little Colony has led the way in the grand battle on behalf of justice to and for women, and there are many no doubt who, having never previously had their attention drawn to New Zealand, now find themselves taking the keenest interest in our country and its institutions. At the same time many of the articles betray an ignorance of the conditions of our social life which is highly amusing, and some of the references to that famous lady Mrs Yates, of Onehunga, are almost riotously funny. There seems to be an impression abroad, especially in some of the English ladies' papers, that practically the whole of New Zealand womanhood is now devotedly attached to the " rational dress " theory, whereas the truth is that beyond a few well meaning but, in my opinion, exceedingly silly people down in Canterbury the " divided skirt " and other dress innovations are really unknown.