TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4317, 28 March 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

GOVERMENT HOUSE SITE FOR • VICTORIA COLLEGE. The "field of attenuated possibilities’ 1 in the matter of a site,, for the Victoria College) buildings shows once more a tendency to addon. The suggestion iS - now*advanced that the Goveminent House, sit© be given up for College purpose:. “Citizen” elaborates the matter, and proposes, a new location for the vlco-regal residence. • • “It has,” he writes, “struck me more .than once that -the -present Government House wonld bo a mutable-and:conveni-ent sito whereon to erect a college. It must be obvious to the most careless, observer that the situation is most’unsuitable for the Governor’s residence. The Louse itself lias > been erected for a great number, of years, and must, according to the.nature of wooden buildings, be xeuewed before long. 'The position is central; and in the midst of a thickly populated district. This would he a_ great advantage to the College, but is detrimental- to the residence of the Governor. There can’ be no doubt, that, a: more palatial' residence is needed for the Governor of the cclcny. Would it not be a good plan for the Government to take some of the unused portions of the Botanical Gardens and thereon erect a- suitable residence? This would obviate the necessity of robbing the city of its central recreation ground—Kelbumo Park.” It is doubtful whether tbs Goy-

eminent will view tliis suggestion with any more favour than it did tho proposal to give up the Mount Cook site; but in the general perplexity that prevails. this solution of the difficulty may well be considered.

THE ROYAL INVITATION DESIGNS.

The Government has now decided to award a premium of j£ls 15s ta the best design for invitation cards connected ,vith the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit- Five guineas will bo awarded to tho second best set of designs in order of merit, and two guineas to each of six of tho more meritorious of tho rejected designs. Without binding com. pot-itors in any way. it is suggested'that portraits of tho King and’ Queen, tho Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke’s and New Zealand’s coats of 'arms and cue or two vignettes of scenes apnronriate to the centre or district whore the" celebration or gathering is to be hold (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) might be suitably introduced in the design. Tho text cf the invitation card will be something like the following :—“ The Government of New Zealand has tho honour to ;n----vito [leave lino for name of person in. vitedj to tho military display to he held in Wellington on Friday, 7th Juno, 1901, in commemoration of the visit of their Roval Highnesses tho Duke and Duchess of‘Cornwall and York to Now Zealand.” Designs should reach tho General Post Office by the 13th proximo, and null ho judged by three competent Gentlemen, who will be selected before tho receipt of tho designs.

DECLINING BIRTH RATE. Franco, hitherto the “frightful example” of tho evil effects of limiting the birth-rate by mechanical means, or prudential restraint, is beginning to piumo herself upon being “less given to these practices than Now Zealand is. M. Paul Robin, of Paris, writing in tho January! number of ‘•Regeneration/’ the organ of tho French nco-Mnlthusian League, thus speaks of the neo-Malthu-, sian experiment of New Zealand; “Thd. annual, number of births in Franco is 122 per 1000 inhabitants. Franco is decreasing more .slowly than other nations. In New Zealand tho birth-rate in 1879 was 41 per 1000; and in 1899 it was 25 per 1000. In twenty years it has diminished its birth-ratd by 16' per 1000. No such decrease' has ever occurred in any other country. In 1902 Franco will be excelled in parental prudence by the wise New Zealander, unless . . • Hero wo hear tho great wrath of the patriotards break forth; that is to say, the false patriots, Tartuffos of patriotism, who are afraid of the foreign nr, and are also afraid of tho poorer classes.” AN INSULT TO SCOTLAND. From the Scottish Home Rule Association w© have received a copy of a printed circular, in which is set forth at great length, and! with much heat, the! views of the society on the question of the title assumed! by the reigning monarch. According to this document, “there is a wide-spread feeling of indignation against the Ministers of tho Crown offering a gratuitous insult to the Scottish people by advising the King to assume the title Edward VII.” This was done, it is further alleged, despite a warning from the Scottish Heine Rulers that such title svas “false to history and unconstitutional 'in its bearings.” The circular proceleds te‘ sketch British constitutional history from the time of the first Edward, '“the murderer of our hero, Wallace,” down to the choice of the Elector, of Hanover as King. of i Great Britain and Ireland. “This,” proceeds the circular, “is the Charter of our Constitutional Liberty. The King, by the assumption of the title, Edward VII., tacitly ignores the Acts .cf _ the Succession, and brackets himself with the PlantagOnets and Tudors of Divine Right origin, who; for centuries trampled oh the liberties of the English people, and to whom Scotland never owed allegiance,” As to the practical measures to be adopted to remedy the evil; the manifesto proceeds : —“lt is the duty of Parliament to compel the -Ministers qf the King to retrace their steps and keep within constitutional lines; if they will ignore the first name of the King, Albert, which would have been acceptable to all, then let them advise the King to, call himself Edward I. of the British Empire.” Ilf this is not done, the fearful threat is held out of an agitation for tho restoration of Scottish independence, the undoing of “the fraud! of 1707,” and tho establishment of a Parliament at Edinburgh to protect the honour and interests of Scotland. “Tliis,” concludes the memorable document, “is the true remedy for our grievances; the mare spluttering of rage at some new indignity offered to our country only affords amusement to the English Philistines.” At the risk of being classed as English Philistines, we must say that this fustian effusion has afforded us a good deal of amusement. The Scottish Home Rulers started with some decent claim to attention, buFthis latest outburst is a descent to puerility.