TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4294, 1 March 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

THE ROYAL VISIT. It lias been definitely decided that the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall arc to arrive at Auckland 1 on tho llth Juno, and take their departure from the colony on the 29th of that month. Their Royal Highnesses will thus, have seventeen clear duvs in the colony, and will have an opportunity cf visiting Rotorua, arrangements are to be made to give pleasure to as many jieople in the colony as possible, and at the same time mimstci to the convenience and comfort of our Royal guests. RELIGIOUS UNITY. In tho course of an, address at the Wesleyan Conference last night, the Rev C. H. Garland, the ncwly-clcmod president, maintained that divisions among evangelical churches were the outcome of efforts to find the truth. For his part, he said, lie would rather have the divisions than a unity bought at the price of crucifying liberty or thought. Ho expressed a holier that the tendency of tho churches was towards union. The sentiment—tho tiesir© for union was in the atmosphere. He had been deeply impressed with tins at tho united general service, for the late Qncen held at Napier.

OUR THERMAL SPRINGS. Cabinet last week decided to authortiio expenditure of £2OOO on the Rotorua baths. This is very well so far as it goes, but it is not nearly cn.ougnThe following, contributed by Mr James Muir, R a short account of one of the European Spas that wo have to compete with, if wo would make Rotorua the sanatorium of the world:—Carlsbad is about eight hours by rail from Berlin and Vienna. In 1899, 30,900 “invalids” and 108,000 tourists and travellers visited Carlsbad Sixty-two trains cl© luxe, express and ordinary, arrive daily. Tim scene at Carlsbad in the early morning is very curious. As early as lour o’clock tho first ‘‘cure guests” take their stations at the springs, and by six o’clock, a huge crowd of, perhaps, ten thousand people is assembled. In order to prevent confusion they arc lined up in single, file at each of the eighteen springs, and the row is sometimes nearly a mile in length. Everybody carries a little glass fastened on a strap. • At the spring a bevy of young girls are in attendance to fill your glass with the hot wader, and it is gratifying to notice that rank or station is of no account. If a working man comes before a. peer, his glass is filled first. The season at Carlsbad begins on April Ist, and lusts till November; hut invalids come all/ the year round fio drink the water-;. Drinking constitutes tho principal part of the cure, but bathing, exorcise, ami judicious dieting all play their parts. There are baths of all kinds in the town, and the Kaiserbad. erected in 1895 at a cost of something like £IIO,OOO, is a veritable bathing palace. It- contains a Swedish gymnasium and Turkish amt Roman baths. No one need fear having to go without expert medical advice,, frr there arc no less than 125 physicians resident in the town, many of them English .and French, and all specialists in tho particular diseases—stomach tnnl liver troubles, gout, etc.—which the waters benefit. The usual length of the cure is from four to six weeks, but in many cases patients’ break off the course after about a month, and rest in some quiet Swiss or Tyrolese resort for about a fortnight or so. This is called tljo af-ter-cure, and is much recommended.

SPREAD OF THE KING’S ENGLISH. A cablegram, dated London. 27th February, announces that English ice-, become a compulsory subject of examination for French public appointments, forms part of the German day schools’ curriculum, and is an optional subject iu commercial schools iu Russia. This (writes “Moana”) is o'matter of particularly keen interest to students pf our noble tongue, and will attract rncic than casual attention: from John MorIcy's “maix-in-the-street.’’ That love of the British nation has not brought about this striking development is, of course, patent to the dullest. The antipathy to Englishmen and their ways was made clearly manifest by tho Continental press a few months ago, when dark South African clouds o’erluing the nation. It was only a day or two since that tho *' North German Gazette ” was compelled to denounce as brutal the venomous attacks made b_y other German newspapers upon King Edward. Keeping. all this in view, what is the motive which has caused, the two great, expanding Continental nations, Germany and Russia, coupled with la belie Francs, to so favour the English language'/ It is the knowledge of the fact that English is the language or commerce. The idea taken up by some persons when tho Kaiser recently promulgated his decree making English an obligatory subject in. all tho gymnasia, or public schools, of his hereditary school.-; that in so doing he was bent on conciliating England and consequently snubbing France, docs not bold good. France has now followed suit to a certain extent by requiring her future public officers to be speakers of English,

;- - . a.li hough pmiiaps they may b.j b:tte> liniri's of Alhioji. As the “Spectator’ puts i(, tho Emperor believes that “it hi ; subject liad hut the English re'■(iiii'v, he could a!, once place Keraion al. Hie top of tii;. world. He wants user, revenue Irom lighter taxes better credo. a. larger national reserve, vliioi '•■onbl embolden his pimple to n.n • Tiat.'i- risks.’ 'I ho Kaiser looks opor. eolomsation as the secret of much' of kiurlr : i wealth, and so he wishes hi; nierohau(s_ and others to enter those colonies with their manufactures or pro. leedons on eiptal tern;;, lingui-tie,op; uith the British themselves. V/hcthcr (■eimany with the English tongue and bounty-led manufacturers will conquer ihe world of commerce remains to i•;

seen. Certainly, the experiment i:; most interesting. France and E’nssia, in their own ways, have taken the example of English expansion very much Hr heart, and will make a big bid to achieve similar success.

AX IMPORTANT LAND QUES- - ' question of some importance cropped i: ( j before fho Land Board yesterday, it was proposed that a section of hind in the Mount. Ceriums district formin'; a corner of the Masterton T’.ci'orm Block .should be offered on the optional system. In reply to questions, the Commissioner stated that the land a,as not included in the special settle. ni< nt. Mr Horn stated that; objection had been taken to the acquisition of the freehold in Dio neighbourhood of small i.'irm homesteads. When homestead sections wore surrendered or forfeited they v.eie re-otfered under Bart 111. of the .Laud Act, 1802, under v/hieh the freehold could ho acquired. This left the gate open to the evils of absenteeism ami landlordism, and the .surrounding .•filler:) naturally were apt to complain of non-occupancy and its drawbacks. .Mr Jtceso said the,evil referred to was very obvious. It .seemed unfair that in the midst of special settlement hlocl;; a means should' he allowed whereby the Crown grant could bo "acquired. The Commissioner said the metier had not been ovor-lookcd. Apparently the law only provided lor forfeited. sect ions facing offered on the optiomd system. Mr Tfogg observed that before the A-ct of 1802, under the deterred payment system, dummyism, and the conversion of small, homesteads into large estates was rampant. Mr Stevens remarked that when a- settler once acquired a leasehold his desire was to get a freehold, ami when he had secured his freehold, lie then wanted to , enlarge his possessions. The Commissioner said the question of tenure would , he duly considered in connection with the disposition of similar sections in the future. Mr Hogg: What wo wish to ascertain is. whether, in dealing with forfeited or .surrendered lease in perpetuity section!), the Board can restrict flic tenure to lease in perpetuity. The Commissioner: Exactly. /

A NEW INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. A Scotch firm —Messrs Morton .and Darvol, Ayrshire—are building a place at Killybcgs, Donegal, to accommodate over lour hundred workers, for the purpose of producing “Turkey” carpets by hand-loom weavers. Mr James Muir, who has a technical knowledge of the business, sends us the following notes on tho subject:—The ditferouco between a carpet produced in this way is much tho same as that between an oil painting and a coloured lithograph. 'Tho method requires human thought in tho process; it is, therefore, an industry which cannot be superseded by power loom. The price per square yard varies from 17s to I". . World-wide attention has beeni called to this industry, from tho fact j that tho lato Queen Victoria ordered, a. Donegal carpet. Tho desigu chosen is . in shaded red' of a very fine quality, and on handsome rose-coloured ground. | The variety of beautiful designs was J particularly remarked on by Sir Fleet- j wood Edwards when conveying the order. This new industry will give employment to many hundreds of girls ami boys, and one of the most important features will bo tho rearing of sufficient sheep on these western higb-j lands to supply the full requirements of I a business whoso goods are made entirely of wool. This wool will bo spun I and dyed oh tho spot. Turning to tho statm tics on which this industry is based, it is reckoned that one girl will work up in a. year tho wool of 225 sheep. When the number employed' increases to 1000, as is expected in a very few years, it will mean the consumption of the fleeces of over 10,000 score of sheep annually, and a sura divided among the sheep farmers of something like £15,000. For the., spinning, dying and weaving of this j wool the families of these farmers, or small holders, would earn in wages from £20,000 to £30,000, making a total of perhaps £40,000. For scattered and outlying parts, whore girls could not walk night and morning to a factory, a simple ‘ device has been invented 1 , whereby, after the girls have acquired the art, they can take tho frame loom to their homes and weave the quaintly-designed rugs or tapestry panels in their homes, or as they watch the sheep on the hillsides.

INTERESTING EARTHQUAKE ' INFORMATION. Mr Gen rye Ilogbon. who is a member of the Permanent Committee of the International Scismologloal Society, lias just received the first four-monthly report from the central earthquake-ob-serving station at Strnsburg, Germany, up to and including the report for October of last year. This contains particulars of all the earthquake shocks recorded by the delicate instruments at iho Strasburg Observatory’ and other stations, from which records have been received. Mr Hcrgbou informs us that he has been aide to idontfy three of the f-hooks in October last with the photographic tracings taken by tho instrument under ins charge. Moat interesting is the seismogram:, as it is vailed, of sv very considerable earthquake in Alaska on the 10th October, 1000, the vibrations of which lasted for three or four hours, and left their mark on the seismograph at, Victoria i '.C.), at Toronto, and at all tho principal European stations. One of the other shocks, lie thinks, probably comes from a. spot beneath the Pacific, which eauuot bo exactly defined until the other returns are in. Nevertheless it raises the hope that the work of station,-. surrounding the Pacific Ocean may result, at no distant date, in the discovery of the dangerous ‘ earthquake centres beneath that ocean, and so enable the scientists' to give warning to the promoters of the Pacific - cable to avoid dangers similar to those which, in all probability, were the cause of the failure of tho first Atlantic cable.

During the month of February eight old-age pensions -were granted by Dr McArthur. S.M. The recipients were tlio following persons; Catherine Cooper, 67 years of ago, 37 years in (ho colony; David Lewis, 65. 26 in colony; John Thompson, 71, 40 in coloin': George Hill, 82, 38 in colon.' - ; George Snow, 68. 08 in colony: C. D. Evans, 60, 84 in colony; E. McNamara. 65, 27 In colony—all the above £lB pensions; James May. aged 60, 2V years in tho colony, £l3 pension.