NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2519, 24 May 1895, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Mr Nathan, we observe, is carrying on iiis campaign with undiminished ardour against muddle and mess and mawlers and mountebanks. - Which is well. Everything is well which proves that a man has_ something more in him than will sustain the fire of a “ flash iu tho pan,” as they used to say in -the days of Brown Bess, which never hit anybody outside of twenty yards, and missed fire oftener than she went off. Everything of that sort is specially well when a great national industry requires a united public effort to lift it of the morass iu which incapacity and disunion has sunk it fathoms deep.

Has anybody ever heard an old story about a hat? A certain hat was seen moving on the surface of a certain road m a season when things were slushy. Kindly Jehu passing by and catching a glimpse of a hair or two under 'the hat calls out compassionately, “Take you aboard?” No thanks. I’m all right. Got a powerful horse under mo. He’s got his toes on the bed-rock. Thanks all tho same.” That story is not new. It was not now in tho days when Mark Twain was blowing a tin trumpet. But it bits off tho situation which Mr Nathan is trying to improve. At present tho morass of incapacity, stagnation, “ don’t know ” and “ don’t care " is tho main condition of tho road to Progress. The only thing that breaks tho monotony is Mr Nai ban’s hat. Let us hope that ho has a good nag under him, and that tho beast’s toes aro on tho bed-rock.

The fact that tho Agricultural and Pastoral Association of Wellington thinks well enough of tho proposal to ask for a most comprehensive conference to discuss it makes as strong a measure of success as any young man making his first attempt at a big public thing need ask for. The Government has, by agreeing to call such a conference, and got for it Mr Ward’s cooperation in London, very properly carried tho subject a long way towards practical solution. It is going to be a case of “ all’s well that ends well.”

“Fire!” “Whore?” “ Government Insurance.” “Don’t say so.” “Why not? Aro they exempt from burning when matches are about and shavings are handy ?”

It was an interesting little colloquy overheard In the street. We happened at tho time to bo walking with a man who was positive; one of those refreshing fallows who is absolutely certain about everything; i.e., about everything that does not exist ; being as to all else discreetly ignorant. Wo woro talking about this very fire iu the Government Insurance -Building. Our friend had a theory. “Tho waterpipos did it.” We expostulated that, whereas water can never got hotter than 212 degrees Fahrenheit, wood will not burn under a hundred or two degrees more. Ho waved aside tho objection with “ steam—superheated—devil of a jam —devil of a temperature.” And thou he added “ devil of an architect.”

This was interesting. But the fact happened to bo that there can be no accumulation of steam unless the water supply fails. Then tho water in the boiler not being cooled by the constant addition from the supply becomes steam, and wants to know why in thunder it can't get out. The cunning designer, however, has provided an answer for such an exciting query. There are escape valves which open and the steam fiend goes off to put his question to everlasting space. Ergo there is no superheated steam.

“If the valves don’t work ?” Bravo ! friend of tho positive word. To he sure, if the valves don’t work? Why then the whole thing bursts, and if the premises take fire it will bo because the contents of the furnace have been scattered by the explosion.

But as a matter of fact the valves did work, for they were found to be in good order immediately after tho fire was discovered. Moreover, we understand that the temperature has been tested since, and on the fiat on which the fire occurred it was found that the temperature did not rise above 90 degrees. In fact, in spite of every offort on the part of tho.se in charge, tho temperature remained at that point. Clearly it was not above it on the night of the tire, Now, had the temperature been at boiling point iu the pipes, the matches would have remained intact. Further, it takes a good many degrees above boiling point to ignite wood-

We get back to that box of matches and the shavings. That the remains of a box of matches were found after tho fire, with one match-head intact, the public has on good authority. It has it also on good authority that there were shavings inside the boards covering tho hot water pipes. Thw'O ought not to have been matches, and thorn ought not to have been shavings. But there they were, and given rats—a not improbable thing the presence of rats —-we need not go to the sp.opke to find out the cause of the fire.

How oamo thaso matches and shavings to be there ? Carelessness, of course, of somo of the workmen. The whole thing lies in a nutshell. Strip the pipes,. There is no reason whatever why the pipes of a heating system should be covered up in a box. I'lje box is bad economy, because it prevents the heat from getting out into tho rooms which it is the object of the heating apparatus to warm. If they are good pipes nothing can harm them. 4-n office, let us remember, is a place for business of a sedentary, sedate, orderly character j. not a bear garden, not a place whore men fight each other with sledge hammers, which are; about tho only things you can damage an iron pipe with. Boxing those pipes is clearly absurd. Moreover, it is dangerous, as those matches, and shavings hayo proved by their presence in a ; box. that makes the very best cover for rats. Strip off the boards from top story to basement, let the pipes be seen, and there will bo no more fires'in the fine building of the Insurance Department.

The sequel fa? the Wilde scandal would not have astonished anyone who has road the reports of tho Qneensborry.-W'ildo case had the fracas in Piccadilly take? place between the Marquis of Queensborry and Lord Alfred Douglas. Those reports contain sprae correspondence between tho Marquis apd his son Lord Alfred Douglas which pointed to the possibility of something even worse than the fracas in the street chronicled by the cable .on Thursday morning. It opened with a letter from the Marquis adjuring his son to leave the .company of Wilde, and threatening vioiencelo Wilde iu case of nou-oomplianoe. To that letter .the hopeful youth replied with a telegram winding up with the dutiful words; " What a funny little man you are.” He was at once called ,( an impertinent young jackanapes,” and told that the first opportunity would be taken for “ marking ’’ Wilde.

The young man answered with the following precious epistle : As yon return my letters .unopened lam obliged to write a postcard. I write to inform yep that I consider your absurd throats with absolute indifference. Ever since your ■Just exhibition at O.tJVs house I have made a point of appearing .with him at many public restaurants—such as ' the Berkeley, tyjllis’ JtoouiSj the Cufi Hoy a!, &p., &c.—and I shall continue to go to these places when and with just whom I cbooad. I an of age. and ipy own master. You have mo at least a dozen times, and hare very meanly deprived mo of money. lon hnVO, therefore, ne rights over me, legal or moral. It Q. \V. was to prosecute you for libel in tho criminal courts yon would got seven years’ penal servitude for your outrageous libels. Much as I detest you, I am anxious to avoid this for the sake of the family, but if you try to assault me I shall defend myself with a loaded revolver, which I always carry, and if I shoot you, or if ho shoots you, wo should be .completely .justified, as wo should, be acting in self-defence against o violent and dangerous rough-/and 1 think if you wore dead not many people would miss yoti. A.D.)

TYhat reply the Marquis made to'.the « impertinent ■ young jackanapes ” was not recorded at the tiiuo j but the kind of reply he intended to make the cable account of tho fracas in tho street has.explained. Put it has deepened the mystery of tho ; Wilde case by telling us that anpther Douglas got tho benefit of the paternal intention.

Yesterday we had the record in railway deputations. Wo have heard every kind of story about the speed of the railways, from tho story of the old woman who declined the offer of a seat on a railway carriage on the ground that being in a hurry she preferred to walk, to the tale el the

globe-tiotter’s astonishment on hearing the Tuesday train to New Plymouth called an express. But never have we heard of a deputation which actually complained to the department of thr excessive speed of a train. It breaks the record.

Of course, this was a protest against going down hill too fast. Tho fears of travellers on this score are natural enough, and they are not infrequent. But after Mr Eonayne’s lucid account of the several methods iu use of controlling the speed on down grades, which will bo found in the report of the deputation, these fears, we feed sure, will be allayed. They ought to give place to the knowledge that the railway men know their work, and are thoroughly well supplied with the means for doing it properly.

It appears that there was some element of danger after all in the little Nicaraguan affair the other day. The American Admiral has been dismissed for bis method of asserting the famous Monroe doctrine. .But the fact that he did so proves that there is a real American sentiment that way, which has to be reckoned with. On our side the prompt vindication of the honour of the Hag is of course popular, Aud that sort of thing would be more popular if there was more of it. For instance, there is the case of tiie Costa Rica Packet. In that the honour of the flag required vindication " just as promptly as it did in Nicaragua. But curiously enough, though the Dutch insult occurred two years ago, the cable only announced the assent of the Dutch Government to submit to arbitration after it had announced tho settlement of the Nicaraguan affair, which is only a few weeks old.