THE HEAT-RAY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1508, 24 January 1901, Page 9

THE HEAT-RAY.

(By J. L. Hornibrook.)

The scientist was the silent man of the party. His name was Quinton, I remember —Leopold Quinton, if I am not mistaken—a staid young man in spectacles and a squash hat, who seemed: to have chalked out for himself a certain line through life, and never diverged a hair’s-breadth from it. We were on a holiday trip in Switzerland, some five of us, all young fellows who had been drawn together for the occasion, and who were destined to scatter and lose sight of each other again on our return to England. I cannot say we had much in cpnhncn, taking us as a whole. Individually, we differed as widely as it was possib’e for young men to do. In some respects, indeed, it was a case of extremes meeting : for instance, the noisy Chartetris or “Chatter-is,” as somebody dubbed him — on the one hand, and the precise, uncommunicative Quinton on the other. Still, we held tog either fairly well, considering all things. There was no split, or likelihood of a split—at least, so long as no disturbing element found its way into our little circle.

At we fell in with a very pleasant English family—a Mrs Rouped and her two daughters, Mabel and Claire, with whom we joined forces for the time being. Mabel was a quiet, agreeable, sensible girl: Claire a vivacious young lady, not yet out of her teens, and inclined bo be a wee bit wilful, I rather imagine. She was pretty, too —uncommonly pretty, if it comets to that—and very soon had a strong following amongst us. Some ofour fellows, indeed, were buzzing arc and - her from, morning till night. Oharteris, who was well in the running, succeeded in elbowing all other competitors out of the way, and fairly monopolised the pretty Claire. Under his tuition she became an adept at hillclimbing, and thought nothing of tackling the stiffesfc of the Alpine, monsters in company with him and the retet. Por myself, I am not ashamed to say that I stuck consistently to U-vel ground. So far, I had not developed that incipient mania which has for its sole aim and object the jeopardising of one’s neck in scaling* precipices, 'crossing slippery glaciers, panting and puffing up to an almost inaccessible point called the- summit : and then, when you. have d me. me ordinary amount of looking round, straightway clambering down again. Besides, I found Mabel very much of nay way of thinking, and delightful company into the; bargain. We lounged about comfortably on the little lake steamers, while the rest of the party, including Claire, did the panting and puffing* Quinton, who was strong on geology and all kindred subject, always attached himself to the mountaineers. One day, when Mabel and 1 I were walking back to the hotel from the landingstage, she surprised me rather by abruptly turning'the conversation on to the scientist. ‘•'There is one of your party, Mr Halswell, who interests'me very mfu : ch,” she said. ‘•lndeed!” I returned, with the! secret hope that it might prove to be myself. “And who is the favoured mortal ?” “Mr Quinton,” she answered. “You have been studying our friend Quinton, then?’" I said,' devoutly wishing I had. been a little more stand-offish myself; so as to have aroused her interest, in an equal delgreee. “I have,” she replied. •: “Any startling discoveries yet?” “Well, in the first place, Mr Quinton has conceived a deep-rooteld attachment for my sister Claire,” she; returned. “What ?” I cried, stopping short in amazement. “It is true, nevertheless,” she said. “But I was rather of opinion that my friend Charter^ 1 found most favour in that quarter,” Tobsreved. - “Y—os,” she replied, in a thoughtful mariner., “That is certainly the: case-"’ “And Quinton appears to be q'uite left out in the cold ?” He has managed to cloak his secret very well. I do not imagine that Claire has the! least- suspicion of it- as yet. But it is bound to come out, sooner or later ; and the chances are that in a case of this kind it will come like a bombshell.” She said no more; but in spite of the improbability of the thing, I couldn’t he/lp thinking that she might possibly be rirdit, and that more would come of it. I determined to follow her example and keep an eye on the scientist, Hoping that I

might be equally fortunate in surprising his secret, if there really was one. That very evening I commenced my process of observation, but with most disappointing results. Either I as extremely dense, or Mabel was labouring under a totally false impression, one of the two. Though I watched Quinton narrowly I could detect no change in him, nothing to show that his pulses quickened in the slightest degree as he approached the pretty Claire. He was a positive dead wall to my scrutiny. I was completely —utterly at fault. Miss Claire, I must explain, had a favourite hobby, to which she devoted a good deal of her time. it very rare flow-er-or plant which she came across in her excursions was carried home in triumph, and, when dried, carefully stowed away in an album. Mosses, ferns, and lichens helped to swell the collection which had already assumed considerable proportions. Quinton, whose knowledge of botany was profound, was of no small assistance to her in classifying her speclmens. Whenever she.' was- in a difficulty she a-iwavs appealed to him; but to see them poring over the album together one would really have thought that the flora- of Switzerland was the one thing uppermost in his mind, and that the mrl herself took quite a secondary place in' his thoughts. It was a day or two after my conversation with Mabel, when we had foregathered for the evening, the whole of us, that Claire betook herself to a corner, and commenced to turn over the leaves of her album. Charteris edged his way to her side at once. “Gloating over your treasures, eh?” he said, as he stood looking down at her. “Any important ‘finds’ lately?” “One or two,” she answered, glancing up at him with a smile. “Which be they ?” _ “This beautiful little Tarn, for instance,” she said, raising it gingerly from the page with the tip of her pretcy finger. “It grows on the! walls of the old St. Gothard monastery, which is built on the summit of a crag, and can only be approached from one side. Karl, that handsome, dark-eyed Swiss lad who comes here occasionally, brought me this specimen a few T days ago. Mr Quinton says it is a very rare soecies, and quite a curiosity in its way.” The scientist, who was standing near, corroborated her statement, giving a brief disquisition upon ferns in general, and this unique species in particular. “It is the gem of your collection, then?” said Cbarteris, trying to look as if Quinton had not taken him oat of nxs depth. “It certainly hold's the position of honour at present.” she replied, “but I hope it will be eclipsed before long. There is one plant that grows amongst the Swiss mountains which I should dearly love to possess/’ “What is that?” “The eidehveiss.” “The eidelweiss!” said Oharteris. “All, I think I know where- I could secure you a specimen.” “Do vou really ?” she cried, eagerly. “Where?” “At the nearest florist’s, perhaps,” put in Dick Kennedy, with a grin. Oharteris withered him with a look. “The eidelweiss is not found growing by the roadside, let me tell you,” he answered loftily, “nor in the window of a florist's shop. Even here it is, an extremely rare flowed, and is always planted in the most out-of-the-way nook or cranny” (he must have been pumping the guide, I thought), “where it is next to impossible to reach it. To get at. it, you have either to climb half-way up a precipice, or let yourself down from the top by. a rope.” “And which are you most in favour of, Oharteris—the climb or the rope ?’’ asked Kennedy. , “Oh, I shall try the rope,” he answered in an off-hand way. “But it would be a very dangerous feat, wouldn’t it?” objected Claire. “Well, of course there is a certain amount of risk,” he said, “especially if anything should go wrong with the rope. But X have done 1 a good deal r of this sort or thing, and never had an accident yet. I rather enjoy the thrilling sensation of finding myself hanging in. mid-air, with a sheer drop of a hundred feet or so below me.” “When will you make the attempt r I asked. • “To-morrow morning,” he replied. The place I have in my mind is not very far away, and it will bev easy to reach it by noon.” - . Quinton, who had taken little part in the conversation, left the room soon afterwards, and we saw no more of him that night. Nor did' he put in an appearance next morning when Oharteris, equipped with a stout coil of rope-, was ready to start., though all the rest collected to give him a send-off. Kennedy and I accompanied him on the expedition in order to lend' a hand with the rope and make ourselves generally useful. I don’t know what prompted me to- do so, but I took my little re-

volver out of my trunk and slipped it into my pocket.

It was a glorious day, I remeinbeir, the sun shining with dazzling brilliancy upon the snowy mountain uea-ks in the distance, shedding a warm glow on all around. We trudged along in the best of spirits, all three of us, Oharteris being more riotously gay than usual, if anything. When we got up amongst the hills he led us to the brink of a deep gorge, where he flung the coil of rope on tne ground, and looked around him. “This is the spot,” he said. Chart eris proceeded to fix his rope with a skill which showed that cliff-climbing was nothing new to him. When all was ready he let himself down gently over the edge, and the next moment was dangling in mid air. Besides the rope, he took down with him a thin cord, to- which lie intended to attach the eidelweiss if he were fortunate enough to secure it. In this way we could draw it- up without the! risk of having it crushed or damaged. This line, too, afforded a means of 'signalling to us. Kennedy was placed m charge of it, with instructions to haul it up if he felt a jerk. Oharteris must have descended' to a considerable distance, judging by the length of rope we- paid out. At" times the strain upon it slackened, as if he had got his ieeit upon a ledge, and was groping about there. But his search was evidently unsuccessful, for he went lower and lower by degrees, until at last- he must have reached a point over a< hundred feet from the top. Then came a pause. It lasted so long that we began to grow a- trifle fidgety, wondering what- on earth Chart eris was up to. Me could tell by the- rope that his full weight was- not upon it; he seemed to be- partly resting on a. ledge and taking it easy. We waited and waited, but- there was nc signal from him, nothing to show that lie intended to continue his search, or thought it better to give it up. We couldn’t make it out. , “Hullo!” cried Kennedy, suddenly, as he began to haul up the cord. “I’ve got a bite at last! T hat was. a. distinct tug.” “He has secured the prize, then ?’ r I said. “Looks like it,” replied Dick, hauling away for all he was worta. In a very short time he had almost the entire length of the line drawn in, and we were looking out eagerly for the coveted. eidelweiss. But judge of our 'surprise, our utter amazement, when, instead of a flower, or anything of that kind, a slip of white- paper came fluttering oveh the brink or the precipice, and was landed at our feet. “What on earth is this?” said Kennedy, as he pounced upon it, detached it from the line, and smoothened it out. The. next second a startled cry broke from him. “Good Heavens!” he exclaimed, holding the paper out to me. “What is the meaning of this?” I glanced at it ; and there-, in a pencilled scrawl, read : “For Heaven’s sake put no strain on rope. _ It is nearly burnt through. Look opposite.” In an- instant- I had twisted the rope round an iron stake which we had driven, into the ground, and secureVd it, so that it could not slip. Then, with a sense that Chart eris was ijn danger-—deadly, imminent danger-—lJhurried to the edge of the cliff, threw myself flat on the ground, and looked over. G ood Heavens! The- sight that met my gaze made by blood run cold. The diabolical ingenuity of the thing so- staggered me that I could 1 only gape! at it helplosslv for a moment or two. D own there, on the opposite side of the gorge, a sort of tripod had been fixell, supporting! a curious; arrangement of convex mirrors. - These were so skilfully set that they caught the rays of the sun, focussed them, and directed them full on the, rope, which was already smouldering under the intense-, concentrated heat. If the line swayed to right or kit, a hand stole cautiously out from behind one of the boulders, and directed that deadly heat-ray upon the same spot again .

“A stone!” cried Kennedy, who was down on the ground beside me. “A stone—quick!”

I fumbled around me, and luckily found one close at hand, which. I sent crashing into the diabolical contrivance. Kennedy was not slow in following my example. We pegged away at it as if it had been some venomous reptile, and in less than a minute had completely wrecned it.

My last shot had a most unexpected result. It- fell just behind the boulder, and drew a. squeak from someone! whowas crouching there. Before we knew what was happening, a man sprang into view, and glared up at us-. The moment we clapped eyes on him a cry broke from both of us. It was Qufntcn! —Quinton the scientist!

But, good Heavens! now lie was changed! He looked mere like a fiend than a. human being. After glaring up at us for a moment, like! a wild beast, he pounced upon a stone at liis feet, and raised it in the air, evidently with the intention of hurling it across, at Chartei'is.

But I was too quick for him. In an instant- I had slipped my hand into my hip pocket, whipped out my revolver, and fired at the man below. With a. yell Quinton dropped the stone, and went staggering back, winged just in the nick of time.

When we saw him fall, and knew that there was nothing farther to be feared

from him, we turned our attention to the unfortunate Charters. By craning our necks we could just get a glimpse of his white, unturned face far below, thrilling in its silelnt- appeal. His position was indeed a precarious one. Afraid to trust his full weight to the- damaged l rope, he was clinging desperately to the rocky wall, his feet resting on a narrow ledge, whicli barely afforded him a. foothold. “What shall we do?” I said to Kennedy. “Would it he better for one of us to run back and procure assistance ?” “No,”- lie answered, summing up the situation at a glance. “There is no time for that, he cannot hold on there much longer, and will have to trust himself to the rope in any case. We must try and get him up at •once.” We shouted something to this effect down to Chart eris, and ne nodded ins head in reply. Instantly we fell back and commenced drawing in the rope, but with a sickening fear that we might feel it snap at any moment. Oharteris eased the weight considerably by using his- feet against the cliff, planting his toes, wherever it was possible to find an inch or two of space. Still, it was an anxious time—a, terribly anxious time—and to this day it gives me a shiver to think of it At last, after maiiy breathless pauses, we got him up to- the brow of the cliff. The moment his head and shoulders an pea-red above it, Kenned}?’ grabbed him, and dragged him over. And then—well, I rather imagine- that we felt, rdgularly played out, the whole three of us, for we simply sat on the ground staring stupidly at each other. Kennedy was the first to null himself together. “Quinton!” he cried, jumping to his feet, “we must secure the rascal.” I sprang up too, and we set off together to make: our way round to the ether side G-f the* gorge. But we reckoned without cur host. When we reached the spot where we had seen him drop, Q.um- ‘ ton was gone. He must have managed to dracr himse'f off in some way, and from that day to this we never laid eyes upon him again. . » * * * ■* On our way back to the. hotel, Charteris told us that the first inkling he had of the dastardly attempt was when, much to his amazement, a. smell as of burning, tow reached him. When he discovered how matters stood he was. afraid to call cut-jest we should mistake it for a signal that he. wished to be' drawn up, and the rope give way under the strain. And so, with much difficulty, he managed to scrawl a line on a piece of paper he' had in his pocket, sending it up to us by means of the cord.

He came back empty-handed, of course, but he had his reward for all that. Ciairef when she heard cur story, was so visibly touched that Charteris took heart and proposed to- her straight off. She did not keep him long in suspense, for he came in to> us soon afterwards to declare, in the regular, orthodox way, that “he was the happiest fellow in existence.”

For myself, I was so profoundly impressed- by Mabel’s clear-sighted judgment. and had such a deep admiration for her into-the bargain, that- I lost no time in following Charteris’s example, and, X am thankful to say, was equally fortunate in mv answer.—“ Pearson’s Weekly.”

THE COMMONWEALTH ACT WHAT IT PROVIDES. (The "Australasian.") The leading features of the constitution on which the Commonwealth is founded are here .set out. divested, as far as possible, of legal and technical language. The constitution provides for a federation under the down with the name of the Commonwealth of Australia., and the constitution is indissoluble. It comes into force oy Imperial proclama_ tion. The Executive power is vested in a Governor-General, to oe appointed by the Queen, assisted by a Federal Executive Council or appointed by the Governor-General. The seat of Government is to be determined by Parliament, subject to the condition that it is to be in New South Wales, and distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney. The area is to be not less than one hundred square miles, and such portion of it as is Crown.lands is to be granted to the Commonwealth without payment. The Parliament is to sit in Melbourne till it meets at the seat of government. The Parliament is to consist of two Houses—the Senate and the House of Representatives —and both are to he elected by the people on the franchise existing in the various states for the more numerous House at the time of union. The Senate is to be elected for a period of six years and the House of Representatives for three years. Every state joining the federation at its inceptiou is entitled to an equal representation of six members in the Senate, and half the number of senators are to retire every three years, but are eligible for re-election. The number of members of the House of Representatives is to 'be as near as possible twice the number of senators, the states to be represented in proportion to population, provided that no state entering the federation as an original state is to have less than five representatives. The numbers of representatives are as follows: —New South Wales, 26; Victoria, 23; Queensland, 9; South Australia, 7; Western Australia, 5; Tasmania. 5. No elector is to have more than one vote. The qualification of members is the same for each House. He must be twenty-one years of age and entitled to vote as an elector of the House of Representatives, or qualified to become an elector. He must have been resident for three years within the Commonwealth, be a naturalborn, or for five years a naturalised, subject of the Queen. Any person under allegiance to a foreign power, any criminah any undischarged insolvent, any person holding an office of profit under the Commonwealth, or having pecuniary interest in any agreement with the public service of the Commonwealth otherwise than as a member of a company of over 25 persons is incapable of sitting as a senator or member of the House of Representatives. An allowance is to be paid to members of both Houses of £4OO per annum. The Ministers of state are not to exceed seven in number, and an annual sum not exceeding £12,000 is provided for their salaries. The appointment of judges and puiblic servants is vested in the Governor in Council, who will have control, subject to the authority of Parliament, over the state departments. The customs and Eixcise Departments are to be transferred to the Commonwealth on the establishment of the Commonwealth, and the following' departments on a date or dates to be proclaimed by the Governor in Council: —Post, tele_ graphs and telephones, naval and military defence, lighthouses, lightships, beacons and buoys_ and quarantine. The Parliament has power over such matters only as are specifically transferred to it, all other matters remaining within the control of the states. Parliament has power to make laws with reapeet to the following subjects : Trade and commerce with other countries, and among the states. Taxation, but not to discriminate be_ tween states or parts of states. Bounties on production or export of goods j bounties to be uniform. Borrowing money on credit of Commonwealth. Postal, etc., services. Naval and military defence, and control of forces. lighthouses, etc. Astronomical and meteorological observations. Quarantine. Fisheries. •Census and statistics. Currency coinage. Ranking. Insurance. Weights and measures. Bills of Exchange. Insolvency. Coyyrights, patents, trade-marks. and aliens. Trading and financial corporations. Marriage. Divorce and matrimonial matters, including parental rights and custody of infants. Invalid and old-age pensions. Service of process.

Recognition of Commonwealth laws, etc. Special laws for people of any race. Immigration and emigration. The influx of criminals.

External affairs. Relations with Pacific Islands. Acquisition of property. ■ Control of railways for naval and military purposes. Acquisition of state railways, with consent of state. Conciliation and arbitration. Matters in respect of which this constitution makes provision until Parliament otherwise provides. [Matters referred to the Parliament by the states. Exercise of any powers which can now be exercised by the British Parliament or by the Federal Council (with the concurrence of states.) Mattel's incidental to the execution of any powers vested in the Parliament. Proposed laws appropriating revenue or imposing taxation are mot to or iginate in the Senate. The Senate may not amend laws imposing taxation or appropriating revenue, or any law so as to increase any proposed burden on the people, but the Senate may return to the House of Representatives any such proposed law, requesting the amendment or omission of any items. In all other matters the Senate has equal power with the House of Representatives. Appropriation and taxation bills are to deal only with such appropriation or taxation. Laws imposing Customs duties are to deal with Customs only, and excise bn vs with excise only. These provisions prevent the “tucking” of any other proposed law to money bills or taxation bills. Money votes can only originate bv message from the GovernorGeneral.

Provision is made for dealing with disagreements between the two Houses "’as follows: —If the Senate rejects or fails to pass any proposed law passed by the House of Representatives twice with an interval of three months between the Governor-General may dissolve both Houses simultaneously, provided that the House- of Representatives is not within six months of its expiry by effluxion of time. If the House still disagree after the dissolution, the GovernorGeneral may convene a joint sitting, at which the two Houses will deliberate and vote together. If the bill is then passed! by an absolute majority of the total number of both Houses the bill will be passed. The judicial power of the Commonwealth is to be vested m a Federal Supreme Court, to be called the High Court of' Australia, and • suclu-other courts as Parliament may create. The High Court is to consist of a Chief Justice and not less than two other justices. The justices are to be appointed by the-Gover-nor in Council, and may only be removed! on an address from the two Houses of Parliament, and may not be diminished duffing their term of office. The High Court is to have jurisdiction to hear and! determinate appeals from justices exercising the. usual federal jurisdiction, or from the Federal Supreme Court of any state, and from the Interstate Commission, as to questions of law only. In all such cases its decision is final and conclusive.

Until Parliament otherwise provides the conditions and' restrictions on appeal to the Queen in Council from the Supreme Courts of the several states are to be applicable to appeals from them to the High Court. The High Court is to exercise original jurisdiction in all matters arising under any treaty, affecting consuls or representatives of other countries, in which the Commonwealth is a party; between states, residents of different states, or between a state and a resident of another state; mandamus, injunction, etc-., against an officer of the Commonwealth. Additional jurisdiction may be given by Parliament in matters _arising under constitution, or involving its interpreta_ tion; arising under any laws made by the Parliament ; relating to same subject matter claimed under the laws of different states. No appeal is permitted to the Queen in Council from a decision of the nigh Court upon any question, howsoever arising, as to th© limits inter se of the constitutional powers of the Commonwealth, and those of any state or states, or as to the limits inter s© of the constitutional powers of any two or more states, unless the High Court certifies that the question is one that ought to be determined by Her 'Majesty in Council. The High Court may so certify if satisfied for any special reason the certificate should be granted, andl thereupon an appeal will lie to the Queen in Council without further leave. Excepting for the preceding provision, the constitution is not to impair any right which the Queen may be pleased to exercise by virtue of her Royal prerogative to grant special leave of appeal from the High Court to Her Majesty in Council. The Parliament mav. make laws limiting the matters in which such an appeal may be asked, but such proposed limitations are to be reserved by the Governor-General for Her Majesty’s pleasure. Trial for any offence is to be by jury, andl is to be conducted in the state where the offence was committed. Provision is made to protect the rights of public servants of any state who are transferred, to the service of the Commonwealth. When any department is transferred to the Commonwealth all property of the state exclusively used

in connection therewith is to be vested in the Commonwealth, but in regard to customs and excise for such time only as the Governor in Council may declare necessary. The Commomveiath is to compensate the state for the value of the property so transferred. For ten years at least three-fourths of the revenue from customs and excise is to be returned to the states, or applied to the interest on debts of tile states. Filiform duties of customs are to be imposed within two years. Until they are imposed the balance of customs duties collected is to be returned in proportion to the contribution of each state after it is debited with its share of the federal expenditure according to population and the cost of administering the departments transferred. From the time of the imposition of uniform duties of customs the power of the Commonwealth over customs and excise becomes exe'usive, but if the Commonwealth Parliament consents states may grant bounties in aid of mining or export of produce. As soon as the uniform tariff is imposed intercolonial free trade will prevail . During the first five years aiFter the federal tariff is imposed an account is to be kept of the duties' collected in each state or allowable to each state, and the surplus is to be paid back in proportion to the amount collected, but after five years it may be distributed as Parliament may deem fair. During five years Western Australia is allowed to reduce its intercolonial duties by one-fifth per cent. During ten years Parliament may grant financial assistance to any state on such te.ms and conditions as it thinks fit. The.power of Parliament to make laws with respect to trade and commerce extends to navigation and shipping, and to railways the property of any state, but the Commonwealth is not by any law to give preference to any .state or part of a state, over another state or part of a state ; nor is it by any law or regulation to abridge the right of a state or the residents therein to the reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation of irrigation. An Inter-State Commission is to be appointed, with power to secure the execution and maintenance within the Commonwealth of the provisions of the constitution relating to trade and commerce, and of all laws made thereunder. The members are to be appointed by the Governor-General in Council, and are to hold office for seven years unless removed by an address from both Houses, and their remuneration is to be fixed by Parliament. Parliament lias power to make laws forbidding as to railways any preference or discrimination which may be deemed by the Inter-State Commission to be undue and unreasonable, regard being had to the financial obligations incurred by the state in connection with the construction and maintenance of its railways, but any rate will be allowable which is deemed by the Inter-State Commission to be necessary for the development of the territory of the state, and if the rate applies equally to goods within the state and to good's passing into the state from other states. Parliament may take over the debts of the states, or any portion thereof, for purposes of conversion, renewal, or consolidation. The laws of the states and the powers of the state Parliaments (except such as are vested in the Commonwealth) are to continue, but if a law of a state is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter is to prevail to the extent of the inconsistency. Power is given to the Parliament of a state to surrender territory to the Commonwealth. The states are forbidden, without the consent of the Parliament of the Commonwealth, to raise or maintain any naval or military force, or impose any tax on property belonging to the Commonwealth, nor is the Commonwealth to tax any property belonging to the states. A state is not to coin money or make anything but gold and silver coin legal tender in payment of debts. The Commonwealth is prohibited from making any law establishing any religion or prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test is to be required as a qualification for any office or public trust. The Commonwealth is required to protect every state against invasion, and! if applied to by the Government of the state against domestic violence. Parliament is empowered to admit to the Commonwealth or establish any new states, and may impose such terms and conditions, including the extent of representation in either House of Parliament, as it thinks fit. The Parliament may, with the consent of the Parliament of a state, and the approval of the majority of electors of the state voting upon the question, increase, diminish, or otherwise alter the limits of the state. A new state may be formed' by separation of territory from a state, but only with the consent of the Parliament of such state, and a new state may be formed by the union of two or more states, or parts of states, but only with fhe consent of the Parliaments of the states affected. In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a. state, aboriginal natives are not to be counted. The constitution cannot be altered except in the following manner: —The pro-

posed amendment must first be passed by an absolute majority in each House of. Parliament, and must then be submitted to the electors in each state who are qualified to vote for the House of Representatives. If a proposed amendment lias been passed twice in one House by an absolute majority, and the other House twice rejects it, or passes it with an amendment to which the first-men-tioned House will not agree, the Gover-nor-General may submit the proposed amendment to the people. Until women hate totes throughout the Coinmouv ealth only one-half the electors voting for or against the proposed amendment in the states where adult suffrage prevails are to be counted. If in the majority of the states a majority of the electors voting approve the proposed amendment, it will be presented for the Queeißs assent. . No alteration diminishing the proportionate representation of afij state in either House of Parliament or the mimimum number of representatives of a state in the House of Repre sentatives or increasing, diminishing or other altering the limits of the state, or in any matter affecting the provisions ot the constitution thereto, is to be made unless tlie majority of the electors voting in that state approve. '

THE HOOLIGAN "That's what cames of your eddication - ; said the country carter to ,the crowd as he saw a man dangling f rom the ga i lows for forgery And as he.craeked his whip he tnankecl God he/had never learnt to read or write It will hardly do for some supenor people amoiigst us to laugh at the carter's logic. Their own is nSbettei Ihere are educated people who attribute the present outbreak of Hooliganism to the board schools. Their theory is that the future Hooligans acquire just enough of the) art of reading to enable them to master story books of violence and crime We know that the suoerhv tendents of boys refugees give the'name or blood books' to these abominable publications. That the youthful fancv is sometimes led astray by the "blood book ' is likely enough.. But shall Ave therefore shut up the board schools? Because stories of sea adventure sometimes tempt small boys to "stow" themselves aboard ©utward bound ships, is that a reason why books on Nelson, Captain Cook -Lord .Dundonald, and Paul Jones should be prohibited to young readers ?The somewhat barbaric argument that board schools manufacture Hooligans received one kind of answer, and a telling one, in a letter from the president of the Metropolitan Board Teachers' Association. Mr Litt points out that of the seven hundred thousand children of school age in London, a hundred thousand "are always absent."' Allowing for illness and other legitimate excuses, the vast majority of the absentees are, says Mr Litt, the children of parents who, in defiance of the law, keep them at work, or who merely regard their children's future with a criminal indifference. These last are the parents of the genuine truants," and from truancy, with its total freedom from anything resembling moral restraint, springs Hooliganism. This explanation of the origin of crime which, by the way, existed .generations before school boards were thought of, is more worthy of respect than that of which the country carter's self-complacent observation is the type. Truancy may not be the sole; cause, but certainly it is a most fruitful cause. The board schools, says Mr Litt, "can show hundreds of reclaimed truants where the parents have seconded the efforts of the teacher." "Lax administration of the law" is also alleged to Be an encouragement to the savages who are making themselves a terror in the southern and eastern districts of London, and who have lately perpetrated many murders with all the impunity of Jack the Ripper. There is much truth in this complaint about laxity. The Hooligans must have been vastly amused at the leniency of some magisterial sentences. As regards truancy there is a most important" point—in connection with magisterial intervention—to which public attention should be; seriously directed. The London magistrates are simply overwhelmed with cases of absenteeism. What with the pressure of their ordinary work, they are unable to give them adequate attention. The number of the metropolitan [police! courts is scarcely larger than it was in 1839, when the Courts* Act was passed, and when the population of London was under two millions. Some new means must be devised for catching those scoreis of thousands of genuine truants and getting them to school.