CURRENT TOPICS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1424, 15 June 1899, Page 42

CURRENT TOPICS.

Tlio three hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great Protector

CROMWELL TERCENTENARY.

passed almost without recognition by the people of his native town on April 25th. This is a utilitarian

' age, and one resident of Huntingdon ex- ' pressed the general sentiment - retty clearly in the remark—‘‘lf there v-as going to he a tercentenary eve-y year, and a lot of folks were visiting the town we might; but a.s there won’t be another for • 100 years I don’t see what we’ve got to go • wild about!” But as any cele- ; bration of the birth of a man who had been dead for generations would necessarily be calculated to damp enthusiasm instead of to kindle it, the townsfolk could not even bring themselves to the point of keeping holiday for one afternoon. There was no money in it. But about a couple of dozen admirers of Cromwell ran down from London for a few hours to his birthplace, much to the astonishment of the population, who wondered what on earth they had come for. They spent a mournful hour or two in looking at various relics; and the rector, good soul, permitted them to inspect the register entries at a reduced amount per head. Taken all iu. all, the tercentenary of one of the greatest of Englishmen created far Jess attention than Guy Fawke’s Day. Such, is posthumous falne. The tercentenary was, however, made the occasion of a service at

SB!! MON BY Dll PAR.ICEU.

the City Temple, London, when Dr Parker preached his now famous “God Damn

the Sultan’' sermon, to which reference has already been made in our cable messages. He started off with Cromwell — “a right valiant and outspoken man who would have a. bad time of it if he lived now” —this forming tne general exordium to a sermon of sensations. He denounced the "sins and sinners of the day, from “a certain cord ploying Prince” to the ‘"Great Assassin,” from “Nonconformist backsliding Cabinet Ministers to ritualistic clergy.” “When the Prince fails, then lot the country mourn. We look to princes for noble deeds, for high example. "When I find my prince, my Premier, on tlio racecourse, I do not like it.' The answer from his audience was a wild burst of applause. But a discussion of Cromwell’s strenuous character led the preacher into the by-ways of general de--1 nunciation, which reached a climax at the conclusion of his remarks : —-“W hen I heard,” he said, “that the Kaiser went to a dinner and said in a speech, ‘My friend the Sultan,’ my blood boiled with rage. The 'great assassin who had insulted civilisation, outraged every Christian sentiment, defied and insulted Europe! Down with such speaking! Let every man’s voice be heard on the matter. He may have been the Kaiser’s friend, but in the name of God —speaking of the Sultan, not as an individual, but as the Great Assassin-—in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I say: God damn the Sultan!” All this was no doubt very dramatic and unorthodox, but the last words must have made the few remaining bones of old Oliver turn in their grave. Slow-moving as “the mills of God,” the French Court of Cassation,

THE STATE OF FRANCE.

after patiently grinding ont a mass of lies and corruption and injustice-, has de-

cicled that ex-Captain Dreyfus is entitled to a fresh trial on the charge of treason which led to lus conviction and degradation nearly five years ago. So far from the decision giving rise , to civil war and foreign complications, as was at one time feared would be the case, it has been received with acclamation and with the approval of all save the lowest rabble element in France. The rioting at the Au.teu.il races the other day appears to have been the expiring effort of the monarchists, who had hoped that the revelations in the Dreyfus case would shake the foundations of the Republic and give an opportunity for restoring the Bourbon dynasty. The anti-Semitic cry, which was all along a, mere pretext, has long since been silenced, and there is every prospect that Dreyfus will not only get an impartial trial, but that the Republic ,will emerge from the ordeal stronger than ever. The real danger to France lay in. the attempt to conceal and bury up tile gross scandals that had led to the false conviction and cruel punishment of a presumably innocent man. The danger of popular tumult is not yet quite past,

for the arrival and re-trial of the prisoner may give rise to custurbances; but as he will not be tried at Paris, that danger is minimised. The vile military conspiracy having been exposed, oven the excitable French people will no longer be deluded with the notion that an attack on the honour of the army was behind the demand for justice to Dreyfus. It was an attack on dishonour, dishonesty, perjury and other forms of vileness that was delivered ; anti it says something for the good sense and morality of the bulk of the French nation that the attack has so far succeeded. The corrupt and turbulent elements will, it may be hoped, be cowed by the firmness of the Executive, so that the cause of justice, though long delayed, will triumph, and France be vindicated befpre the nations, who had begun to speak of her in terms of contempt. If European experience goes for anything, it proves that there are two

NO KATES TAXES.

ways whereby communities may live in happiness and comfort without being worried by visits from the ratecollector or tax-gatherer.

One is by nationalising or municipalising the land; the other is by carrying on various public services and manufacturing enterprises by the city or borough council. The little republic of Andorra, in Spain, lias no taxation. Situated on the northeast border of Catalonia, with a population of between 15,000 and 20,000 on its 150 square miles, tins little community derives its revenues from the letting of its pasture lands, and from royalties on its minerals. The rents and royalties thus received are amply sufficient to defray the expenses of the Government, and the citizens cf Andorra are therefore not liable to the disease known elsewhere as “ignorant impatience of taxation.” There is at least one borough in England which has no local rates except a poor-rate. This is Penryn, in Cornwall. The borough owns the freehold of the town, and is its own “lord of the manor,” drawing its municipal revenue from the rents cf the corporate property. There are quite a number of towns in Germany and other European countries where the profits on various industries, and on such undertakings as tramways and gasworks, are sufficient to provide all the municipal revenue required. It will doubtless be some time before the enticing prospect of freedom from rates will be realised in Wellington ; but the fact that this happy condition has been attained elsewhere should give courage to those who are bent upon making the experiment of municipalising various public services in this city. Mr Samuel Yaile, of Auckland, has, in one sense, chosen an unfor-

soctal problems,

tunate title for his heavy pamphlet of about a hundred pages, dealing chiefly

with the question of railway administration. By entitling it “Social Problems” he has copied the name of one of the works of the late Henry George ; and the irony of the thing is apparent when R is remembered that the railway reformer is the deadly opponent of the land reform-er-holding that the single tax movement is “a propaganda of deception, fraud and robbery.” In another aspect, the title, though misleading, correctly describes Mr \ aile’s conception of the importance of his stage or zone system of railway administration. All the social problems of the day are, to his way of thinking, wrapped up in the question of transit. He believes, apparently, that if the people and their belongings could only be shifted about from one place to another, cheaply and expeditiously, all the evils that afflict humanity would disappear. His favourite- axioms are: “Without motion there cannot be any life,” “On the power to move the whole social and commercial fabric rests,” “Nothing pays a country like a large transit traffic,” and “The transit question underlies every other social question.” Now, it is evident that by exaggeration of this kind Mr’Vaile is injuring the cause of rational railway reform. It is folly to pretend that the transit question underlies the land question. It is nonsense to assert that people can make themselves prosperous by shifting their goods from place to place and spending a great portion of their time in travelling. In the main the zone system is sound, and it-' application to New Zealand railways would do much for the prosperity of settlers ; but a moderate statement of its advantages would carry more weight than sweeping and erroneous assertions like those we have quoted. A good deal is

made of the extra traffic and additional revenue resulting from the zone system being applied in Hungary ; but it would be more to the point if it were shown that “social problems” had been solved in that country; that the people had been made happier, healthier and wealthier, or that the land had been made more productive by the change. That is exactly what has not been shown. In fact, Russia, which adopted the zone system on some of her railways four years ago “with astounding financial results,” is now in th© throes of one of the worst famines ever experienced there. Mr Yaile also weakens his case by wholesale abuse of certain railway officials and exofficials for incompetency, perjury and various other grievous sins. The vices of exaggeration and personal recrimination are not the best things to recommend any movement to the thinking public; and we could have wished that Mr Yaile had left these elements out of his otherwise valuable booklet. Certain occurrences during the recent An gl o-Egypt ia n cp era tions

the makdi’s tomb.

in the Soudan were of such a character as to give rise to a considerable amount of

adverse criticism in England. The allegations made by one of the war correspondents, Mr Bennett, regarding the slaughter of the wounded dervishes at Omdurman, for instance, provoked much indignation. These charges, however, have been satisfactorily answered, and there remains no reason for believing them to have been aught but gross exaggerations. The desecration of the Malidi’s tomb is an entirely different matter. The fact that the bones or the deceased “prophet” were dug up and thrown into the Nile has not been denied ; on the contrary, it has been readily admitted, and pointed stress has been laid upon the circumstance that the deed was carried out in the full light of day. It is therefore not surprising to learn that during the discussion in the House of Commons on Tuesday regarding the presentation of a Parliamentary grant to -Sir Herbert Kitchener, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and Mr John Morlev should have entered a vehement protest against what had been done. It is deplorable to read, in this connection, that the excitement engendered by pretesting against the inhuman and barbarous deed has caused the death of Dr Wallace, one of the members for Edinburgh, and a gentleman of great ability and varied usefulness.

"Without attempting in any way to discount the Sirdar’s brilliant

British honoitr stained.

military services, or suggesting that he was an undeserving object for the bestowal of national honour

and reward, it is hard to believe that there are many of liis countrymen who can look upon this episode of the campaign with satisfaction. The general feeling no doubt will be one of regret that such a step should have been thought necessary, combined with one of pain that British officers should have had any connection with it. Had the war which culminated in the fall of Khartoum been confined to savages, the outrage offered to the remnants of frail mortality would have been looked upon by more civilised communities as affording the strongest evidence of the need that existed for carrying the light of civilisation to them without delay. But occurring, as it did, during the wholesale butchery of. wild desert tribes by one of the best equipped and drilled military organisations in the world, the explanation that it was necessary in the interests of civilisation to completely break the Madhi’s mans,” cannot be looked upon as disposing of the w hole question. No such quibble deserves to be regarded seriously, and we have no hesitation in saying that we look upon the business as entirely discreditable—the one dark stain on an .otherwise striking achievement, The college at Khartoum, so generously endowed for the education of the natives, may be viewed as a visible act of penance for the sin committed in the name of the British people. If, after a free use of machine guns, lyddite shells, dum-dum bul-

some possibilities.

lets, and all the other latest warlike devices, British

troops still found it necessary to destroy the remains of a former national leader of the wild spearsmen of the Nile Valley, and if such tactics are to be defended in connection with civilised warfare, some interesting developments may be looked for during the next Euro-

pean war. Supposing a German army were to enter Paris and throw the ashes of Napoleon Bonaparte to the four winds of Heaven, some more skilful apologist would be wanted than the one who laboriously explained that it was necessary to obliterate every trace of the man whose memory still stimulates his countrymen’s patriotism. What would have been the verdict of the world if the Americans at .the surrender of Havana had rifled the grave of Columbus and dropped the great navigator’s bones into the nearest gutter ? Or if the Spaniards had, in the event of the war terminating differently, offered the same indignity to the dust of Washington, Lincoln and Grant? An answer need not be formulated; it at once suggests itself. The positions are exactly similar; and General Kitchener will, like every other famous soldier, have at least one act- of inhumanity recorded against him. The course he took in this instance was hasty, and it may prove effective; but it savours too much of revenge and brutality. The Roundheads thought they had quenched the “.superstition” of monarchy in England when the headsman did his work on Charles Stuart at Whitehall; but a few years saw the principles of monarchical rule re-established on a firmer basis than ever. The same may happen with the dervishes, and the work of re-conquer-ing them may have to be undertaken ere long. In Scotland, although there have been no changes of late years in

some licensing expert-ti--.NTS.

the licensing laws, the local authorities are contriving to introduce experiments in the control of the traffic, sometimes with very gratifying

results. For example, at the village of Hill of Bea-th, in Fifeshire, the public house has been for some time managed by the people themselves. The statement of accounts, as submitted to the West Fife Licensing Committee some six weeks ago, showed that the income for the past year had amounted to £2210 9s 2d, and the net profits, after meeting all expenses were £SG2 ISs 7d. Off the profits the electric light had been introduced into the village, a bowling-green was being made, a- considerable sum had been expended on the village reading-room, and other improvements carried out. The general results, so far as the habits of the people are concerned, are said to have been very satisfactory. Another experiment is in the direction of owners of large collieries and public works becoming licensees, with a view to controlling the traffic so as to conduce to sobriety, while yet catering to the wants of the workers. At a licensing meeting in Stirling, Messrs James Nimmo and Co., a firm of coalmasters well known for the philanthropic character of its members, obtained a public house license for the village of Muiravonside. There was considerable opposition, on the grounds that the carrying on of a public house business by employers would be a breach of the Truck Act, and that it was not right to introduce the Scandinavian system without legislative authority. The Licensing Committee, by a majority, set aside these objections and granted the application. What is being done elsewhere in the way of establishing municipal or community owned public houses might well encourage temperance reformers in New Zealand to make a similar experiment; for presumably the law of this country would allow of that being done. Much more good would probably be achieved by intelligent effort in the directions indicated than by agitating for an impracticable ideal. An American Protestant sect, which has obtained some footing in

sabbath or Sunday,

this country, has for cue of its distinctive tenets the dogma that it is a Christian duty to rest on the seventh

day of the week (Saturday) instead of on Sunday, the day generally observed throughout Christendom. The contention is based upon the command in the book of Genesis, and it is well known that the Jews in all countries adhere, as far as possible, to the seventh day Sabbath. It is very significant, however, to find that a large section of American Jews is in favour of departing from the traditional custom and observing the Christian Sunday. The Rabbi of a congregation in Chicago makes the astonishing statement that ten years ago in Chicago, “before we dropped our Saturday services, the attendance got down to three, the sexton, the organist, and myself,” whereas now, he adds, “our congregation numbers between 1500 and 2000, representing nearly 500 families,” and he continues, “within

another decade I expect to see practically every Jewish congregation worshipping on Sunday.” This shows how things are in Chicago; but it is said that the proposal to change the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday meets with strong Objection in other parts of America. The Jewish character has a strongly Conservative cast, and it is considered certain that the proposed change will meet with no favour among European Jews.

London newspapers give some particulars of the special observances

CATHOLICS AND THE . NEW CENTURY.

that are projected by the Catholic Church in connection with the beginning of the twentieth century of the Christian era. As distinguished from other branches of the church, which are to

signalise the event by great subscription lists, the Catholic Church intends to mark the occasion with acts of devotion and religious effort. Cardinal Vaughan stated, at a meeting of the Catholic Truth Society in London in April last, that the project to spend the last year of this century and the first year of the next century in a solemn international and world-wide act of homage to the Saviour had taken its rise in Rome, had been blessed by the Holy See, and was being taken up in the various countries of Christendom. Preaching, prayer, and pilgrimages were to be the chief means employed. The pilgrimages are to include visits to Loretto, Jerusalem, and Rome. Crosses are to be erected in cathedrals and all the principal churches, hearing a Latin inscription commemorating the movement. The Blessed Sacrament is to be solemnly exposed from the evening of Dec. 30, 1900, till the morning of January 1, 1901,, when it will be administered to the people. On the same night, in country places, and especially on lofty eminences, bonfires are to be lighted to attest mankind’s gratitude to, and adoration of, the Redeemer. Rome is to he the crowning point of the celebration, by solemnities which will take place at that time. The Roman Pontiff will celebrate the beginning of the new century when he will raise the Precious Blood of the Lamb in a golden chalice, which is to be given by the clergy and laity as a sign of the perfect loyalty binding the Catholics of' the world to their supreme pastor and infallible teacher. Thfe solemn act of homage is to conclude with Epiphany of 1991. No doubt New Zealand Catholics will take some part in this, world-wide movement by the church to-which they are attached.

Amidst the clamour of international rivalry for the requirement

•. the s s ■ trade, 2 r

of “open doors” to those portions , of the world hitherto closed to European trade", "therelmay occasion-

ally be heard a voice warning the British ‘ manufacturer of the dangers threatening him -by his neglect • of . old markets. Thirty' years ago. Great Britairi held supreme sway in the world of commerce; no other country could compete, with her at home and abroad. Shipbuilding went ahead by leaps and bounds; railways and rolling-stock were extensively constructed by enterprising capitalists ; the textile and other staple industries flourished under the stimulus afforded by an almost inexhaustible demand. A. new era had commenced with the growth of mechanical invention and the spread of settlement, from which a stream of gold poured into the “workshop. of the world,” But the success so quickly achieved led to complacency, which in turn gave place to insular contempt for foreign rivals. Unmoved by the strenuous efforts of Germany to become a competitor in the world’s markets^’the British merchant went on conducting his business, without variation in methods, from year to year. Meanwhile America had entered the field of universal commerce. The industrial

progress of Germany and the United States has been one of the wonders of the last twenty years. The Republic is the only one of the six great manufacturing countries whose exports are in excess of her'imports'. " In fact, her external trade has almost reached a level with that of Great Britain. Thus has there been brought about an almost entire alteration in the conditions of trade, for'predominance in which a fierce war is being waged between the three nations.

Pessimists there are without number

British decline.

who assert that England is being worsted in the coikmercial struggle by her

rivals. Mr A. J. Wilson is one of these. He not long ago predicted “a period of reactionary fiscal legislation appalling to think of,” and pointed out that while during a quarter of a century Great Britain has added nothing to her accumulated wealth, she is now drawing in her investments abroad and actually living on her capital. Mr Wilson is a notorious Cassandra, however. Though his dismal wailings are doubtless unjustified, the belief that a very great danger does threaten English foreign trade finds credence in many quarters. Mr Frederic Greenwood, a well-known authority, contributes an article to the “Nineteenth Century” in which he roundly condemns the trade sloth of his countrymen. He turns to the trader in particular and asks if he is doing his duty in maintaining the commerce which every nerve is being strained to defend and extend with increasing fleets? “Our captains of industry and merchant princes,” lie proceeds, “remain heedless. They do not fill the markets they have got, and if they do not fill them more nearly, it is because they will not- rather than because they cannot. By sloth, by dullness and ignorance born of sloth, by disdain of small business, by contempt for the little cares that win small business, by a preposterous Philistine habit of treating foreign tastes and preferences as ‘fads’ Unit ought not to be humoured, but also, perhaps, by something else to be presently mentioned—British commerce shortens the harvest of its opportunities whde ever reaching forth for more. And German commerce, growing rich upon the despised small trade and the gleanings, is fast taking unto itself capital, in which, as I understand, lies England’s only remaining superiority.” This indictment of English traders finds,, corroboration in a recent how Board of Trade publication Germany containing the “Opinions of succeeds Her Majesty’s Diplomatic and Consular Officers on British Trade Methods.” This compilation contains 171 reports from all parts of the world. The same story is told in each. Many declare that foreigners prefer English goods and praise their quality, hut they agree that the traders of other nations pay much more attention" to the 'needs and convenience of the customer. Some of the figures are startlingly significant. For instance the report from St. Petersburg says : —“lt was more supineness than anything else on our part that allowed Germany to supply Russia in 1895 with sixty-four per cent, of all metals imported, fifty-nine per cent of all manufactures in metal and forty-nine per cent, of all the machinery.” Generally speaking, the English seenl to have a serene disregard for the convenience of their customers. Our extraordinary table of weights and measures, for instance, is always puzzling to a foreigner. The German manufacturer’s price list, on the other hand, is always printed in the language understauded by the customer, and on it the measurements and prices are worked out in the local terms. In the same way the British exporter refuses to meet local requirements. One example from among many may be quoted. English sewing machines held the field in Japan until buyers fancied a machine with a higher arm. The English makers refused to supply it. The Germans, who quickly turned out what was wanted, now monopolise the market. The reports teem with such instances of want of adaptability on the part of the British to suit the tastes and circumstances of buyers. It is contemplation of these things which moves Mr Greenwood to remark :—“To decline acquaintance with strange languages; to send out catalogues in English where English is unreadable, leaving the natives to take the consequences; to quote prices in a currency not understood; to sell by weights

and measures that may or may not he convenient to a Whitakerless people who have first to make them out; to refuse to supply small-handed foreigners with tools correspondingly ridiculous ; to land none but the usual large bales of merchandise, where little ponies are the only means of transport—these are but illustrative examples of a high style of business carried on in the spirit of the good lady our kinswoman, who never spoke French in France because ‘it only encouraged them.’” Mr Greenwood grants that trade enterprise cannot halt; "that it must add field to field. And, considering the extent of the commercial area open to the British people, he sees no reason why English factories should not continue to be glutted with work, if the field were only cultivated with assiduity. The signs of the times all point to the awakening to greater activity of the Britisher. He would not be where he is in the affairs of the world but for his tough fibre, and that is doubtless still strong enough to enable him to

retain supremacy even in the great commercial struggles of to-day.