CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7974, 4 December 1911, Page 6

CURRENT TOPICS

THE SHINING CUCKOO

Mr Jules Tapper, Clifden, writes to the “Southland Times”:—"! send you the body of the shining or bronze wing cuckoo which I picked up in the bush. This bird has been the subject of more controversy in the columns of, the press of New Zealand than any other bird that inhabits our bush', and it was only a fortnight ago that Dr Robert Fulton, of Dunedin, who is most enthusiastic in search of knowledge in respect to this bird, had an interesting article in your columns in regard to its habits. Dr Fulton has also lectured before - the members of the Otago Philosophical Institute on the subject. The shining cuokoo arrives in these parts. each year during the months of October and November after a long and perilous flight of over 1000 miles of sea from the tropical islands of the Pacific. The bird has handsome plumage, his back and wings being of shiny bronze green, whilst the breast is striped with green and -white bars. Its silvery and long sustained whistle is not easily forgotten and by soma is known as the “dog whistle." To the Maoris the bird is known as the Pipiv.harauroa, of which, according to Mr B. Percy Smith, an authority on the Maori language, says: “Pi" is the young of any bird; "pipi" means to make a chirping noise; "Wharau" in this respect has no sense in the Maori language, but in other Polynesian dialects it means "long spread- out”; "roa" means for a long time.’’ Mr Smith, therefore, translates the word, which has puzzled many people, as "the bird with the long call or whistle.’’ WHOLES ADD DESTRUCTION. Tho plea of guilty entered by the brothers McNamara at their trial for the Los Angeles dynamite outrage has evidently surprised tho people of the United States. It will probably surprise other people also, for whatever may have been the opinion as to the guilt of the two men, no one expected them to admit it. The plea is the more surprising following, as it docs the desperate efforts of tho defenco to delay the empanelling of a jury, or, at all events, to obtain a jury which was likely to bo favourable to tho accused. As the McNamaras were accused of many other outrages besides the two—those at tho “Los Angeles Times" office and the Llewellyn ironworks—to which they have pleaded guilty, there is, perhaps, room for a supposition that the admissions ot the two brothers are the result of an arrangement under which they "owned up" to two charges, on the understanding that the others would not be proceeded with, and that a capital sentence would not be .passed on them. The authorities, under such an arrangement, would bo spared the difficult task of carrying through proceedings in the other oases, and would also escape the necessity of hanging the McNamaras, which would have been a decidedly dangerous duty in view of the very strong feeling prevalent. The crimes in which the McNamaras and theit fellow pri-

soncr, Or He McManigal, were alleged to have been implicated involved the death of 120 persons and tbo destruction of proper!)' valued at over .£700,000. The explosion at tho “Los Angeles 'Times" offico caused a score of deaths and a loss of property valued at .£IOO,OOO- Xho other outrages included tho destruction of a car dump of the Susquehannah Coal Company at Erie, Pennsylvania; tvo dynamite explosions at the now plant of the Iroquois Iran Company, in South Chicago; the blowing up of a big viaduct on the McKinley tractioy - system; tho wrecking of tho unloading bridge of the Milwaukee-Western Fuel Company; two dynamite explosions at property of tho Caldwell and Brake Iron Works, at Columbus, Indiana; tho damaging of an oro-conveyer on tho Brio railroad right-of-way at. North Randall, Ohio; tho destruction of Streeter's viaduct at South Bend; tho blowing up of tho tower of tho municipal building at Springfield, Massachusetts. It will bo observed that tho majority of the explosions occurred on tho works or other property of iron or coal companies. John McNamara, it may be noted, ivas secretary of the International Association of Structural Ironworkers.