The Oamaru Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1911.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10673, 24 January 1911, Page 3

The Oamaru Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1911.

Recently was held the fortieth anniversary of the proelnThe Cerman matioii in the great Empire. Hall of Mirrors at

Versailles of the German Empire and the establishment of the King of Prussia, as Kaiser and King. Some old men are still alive who remember what a period of stress and danger that was, both in war and peace. During the deliberations of the Ministers of William I. in the Council room of Bismarck the artillery of the besieged French was constantly thundering. The matter was not easy, because the behaviour,, of South Germany was doubtful. Bismarck was for conciliatory measures, the Crown Prince Frederic, who never bowed to the rule requiring the heir apparent to efface himself political] V, was for coercion. In the end Bismarck wrote the draft of a letter for the King of Bavaria to address to the Reichstag suggesting the Empire under William 1., wkieh that potentate readily copied, forwarding his own original to the Reichstag—the original which produced the epochmaking resolution of that body. The fact is now forgotten that the Empire thus started was all in all to the Crown Prince, whereas his old father thought everything of the Kingship of Prussia and nothing of the new dignity, which he did not anticipate would last long. Peace was made five weeks later, the occasion serving Bismarck with an opportunity for insulting the Crown Prince by withholding from him the news of the signing of the treaty, so that he showed unbounded astonishment when, on entering lijs father's Council Chamber, he was asked what lie thought of the news of the tremendous doings of the day previous. This was typical of the behaviour of Bismarck to the Crown Prince when he in his turn became sovereign. That pathetic period of suffering nobly borne and of the heroic attempts to realise high ideals of kingship is one of the finest in his history. Willi the accession of William LI. came retribut ; on for Bismarck. The pilot was dropped overboard, as Punch put it with mordant power. This William II was then thirteen years of age, and concerning him we find a note in his father's famous diary from which we extract these few words: "May he grow up an able, honest, and thorough man, a, true German, prepared to continue without prejudice what has now been begun. It is really a painful reflection when one realises what hopes have already been placed on the head of this child, and how great is our responsibility to the nation for his education, which family considerations and questions with the Court life at Berlin, and other thingswill tend to make so much more difficult." That the Imperial career of William 11. has been a. happy commentary on the whole of these words weighty with tender thoughtfulness and the burden of responsibility few will deny. The episodes of the reign and of the whole period of forty years, it is unnecessary to go over in detail. Enough that after peace came the upbuilding of the fabric of the German .Tmpire. Bismarck ' thirsted to humiliate France once more, and was checkmated, the progress of the Empire was peaceful throughout, the trade and population of Germany have gone ahead, her navy has come to the front by a magical process which makes it look dangerous, but for the moment there appears to be no reason to doubt the assurance of peaceful relations with the world for many years. Oho of the greatest facts in history is the establishment of this Empire, A thing even more wonderful is that the petty jealousies of what the Emperor Frederic was accustomed to call the thirty-odd little Fatherlands were able for -centuries to prevent it. Its overturn by any dissensions from within would be most wonderful.

During the quarter ended December, 31st, 1910, the quantity of.gold entered for export from WaitaM County amounted to 311oz,: valued at £1245. The quantity exported from Waihemo County for the same period was-2350z valued at £935. The monthly meeting of the North School Committee was held in the School last evening, there being present Messrs J. Mitchell (Chairman), R. C. Young, R. Rusbatch. W. F. Meldrum, Geo. S. Jones, T. Jones, and N. Meldrum (hon. sec). The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. It was decided to place on record the excellency of the work done by the Sixth Standard in the proficiency examination, and to forward copies of same to the headmaster and first assistant. Accounts amounting to £22 9s lOd were passed for payment. Messrs W. R. James and R. C. Young were appointed a Visiting Committee for. the month.

The tables of Government tenders from time to time published in the Gazette occasionally afford an interesting comparison of the favor in which British manufactured goods are held and the foreign competition which they have to withstand. In this week's Gazette is published the result of tenders for various telegraph office supplies. For hard-drawn copper wire, there were 24 tenders, and all but three of them were for the supply of British goods; for Leclauehe zincs there were 25 tenders, which the departmental officer classified as 24 British and one Australian; and for ga'vanised-irou wire there were 23 tenders, of which two were foreign. In each case the contract was secured by Joseph Nathan and Co., who tendered for the supply and delivery of British manufactured goods.

With tho New Year an international and organised crusade against hotel Ihievos and swindlers has been started in Europe, headed by tho Swiss hotolkeepers, who will be assiste'd by their colleagues in every country, writes the .Geneva correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette. , Already seventy-one of the principal towns in England, Germany, Austria, ~ France, Italy, Holland, Bel-: ,giiim,, and: Denmark, have joined the : movement to stamp out the modern Dick Turpin of the road. The Swiss hoteliers, in order to protect themselves and their numerous visitors from paying an annual and illegal toll, which amounted, and amounts, to several thousand pounds each season, hit upon the, scheme of publishing descriptions in their papers of well-known international thieves—who are known as "hotel rats" on the Continent—-with very promising results. In Switzer-land-the police have promised the hoteliers every assistance, and the crusade is well organised in every -small resort and large town, and it is believed' that other countries will adopt the same measures in the near future.

Notice is given in this week's Gazette of the intention to take land in Block I (portions of sections 92, 93, 94), Awamoko Survey District, Waitaki County,- for protective works, Awamoko Stream, Steward Settlement.

The ruin tree of Peru grows very large, is rich in leaves, and is called hy the Indians tamaicaspi. 11, lias the power of collecting the. dampness of the atmosphere and condensing it into a continuous and copious supply of rain. In the dry season when the. rivers are low and the heat great the tree's power of.■condensing, seems at the highest and water falls in almndance from the leaves and oozes fnun the truuk. The water spreads around in veritable rivers, part of which niters'into the soil and fertilises iL. These rivers are canalised so as tu regulate the course of the water. It.is estimated that one of the Peruvian lain trees will on the average yield nine gallons of water per diem. In a field of an area of one kilometre square —that is, 3250 feet each way—can he grown 10,000 trees separated from each other by 25 meters. This plantation produces daily 385,000 liters of water. If we allow for evaporation and infiltration, we have 135,000 liters or 29,531 gallons of rain for distribution daily. Tho rain tree can lie cultivated.; with very little trouble, for it seems indifferent as to the soil in which it grows. The tree increases rapidly and resists both extremes of climate.

Rottnest Island, off the West Australian coast, has an amusing derivation. Mr George CoUingridge told about it in a paper on the early dis--1 covery of Australia, read before the geography and history section of the Science Congress. "This island," lie says, "is plainly shown on the old Lusitano-Spauisli charts, but bears a strange name, which has led to some stranger mistakes. It is called 'Hamo de Sille.' Now, in these days, navigators and geographers were constantly in search of more or less fictitious islands, among which the 'lsland of Men' and the 'lsland of Women' had been sought for in vain. Could this be one of the lost islands? The oldfashioned letter s, resembling an 'l',' made 'Hame de Sille' look like Harae de Fille,' and a. French geographer jumped at the conclusion that- the word was 'fille.' and that he had found the long-lost island. He called it accordingly 'I des Filles'—'lsland of Girls!' The* Dutch translated the name on their charts, appropriating other national discoveries as was their wont; they called it 'Meisje Eylandt,' but- instead of the girls they expected to see the island peopled with, they found it overrun with beautiful creatures, it is true; but, alas, of the small wallaby kind: that pretty, brindled kind peculiar to the outlying islands of West Australia. It goes without saying that they did not know of the term wallaby, and, taking these, pretty creatures for overgrown rats (they described them as being as large as a cat), they called the island 'Rat Island,' or 'Rat's Nest,' and Rottnest is the Dutch form thereof, preserved to this day."

One of the most interesting papers, from a woman's point of view, that have been read at the Science sitting at the Sydney University was that given by Miss Allman Marchant, M.A., principal of Otago Girls' High School, Dunedin,. N.Z. The subject of the paper was "The Evolution of Girls? Education," and the speaker sketched the position of women in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and the effects of the teaching of Christianity on women's place m the social world. The outburst of culture of the Renaissance brought women to the fore, while the Reformation put her hack again into the domestic spheru. The Teutonic ideals gave our forefathers a respect for womanhood; hut tho English system of education for women was very ' meagre till late on in • the eighteenth century, though men like Steele and Defoe had warmly advocated women's claims to educational rights equal to those of men. The growing recognition of this could be traced in literature through Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Scott, and Dickens. In Tennyson's "Princess" and in Ruskiu the modern ideas were developed, while in practice Miss Buss and Miss Beale established the modern girls' schools. This system had had distinguished successes,* but a reaction had set in, and. the question now was whether the old literary standards were to be discarded for a more modern course of work. There were many drawbacks, but great caution must he observed before changes could he made. The paper concluded with a sketch of Ibsen's and Meredith s attitude towards women's rights.

Sir John Hare, in his speech at the unveiling of Sir Henry Irving's statue, observing that Irving did not know the value of money for himself, but knew its value to others, related that not long before his death, playing a three nights' engagement in an unpretentious Midland town, Irving's habit was to drive nightlv to the theatre (a very short distance from his hotel) in the same dilapidated fly, the fare Is. The conveyance was shabby, the driver old, poor, and worn out. " At the conclusion of the engagement, on entering the hotel, Irving said to the landlord, "Have you paid the cabman?" "Yes, Sir .Henry." "What did you give him for himself!"' "I gave him halt-a-erown, Sir Henry." "Give him a sovereign," was the rejoinder; "he drives very well, and he doesn't drive often."

The English revivalist, Wilbur Glenn Voliva, who came from London a few years ago to take spiritual charge of Zion City after the deposition of John Alexander Dowie,.ha.<? just acquired title to the entire settlement. The Zion City property consists of 2400 city lots, 2700 acres of farm land, 850 acres of lake front, £20,000 worth of'buildings,-and £40,000 in cash, personal property, notes, and bonds. The title is in the form of an 1100-year lease. Using tobacco in any way in Zion City is prohibited, and a fine of £5 follows a violation of this law.

The trials with the new projectile, apparently fired from, a rifle, for use against airships, which were carried out at the experimental institution for hand firearms at Halensee, outside Beriin ? are understood to have yielded. surprising results. The projectile, which is described as a small shell, set fire to the balloons through which it passed, with results that would have been immediately fatal to any airship in like case. Previous trials had led to the conclusion that airships were practically immune against ordinary-rifle bullets. If, however, the new amimiuitiou should fully justify the claims made for it, and should not be ruled out by the Geneva Conventions, it would go far towards rendering the bellicose employment of airships impossible.

An incident which occurred in one of tlie matches which Iho Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society played on their tour in the Stater, a year or two ago is a good example of how the sporting spirit differs in the two count rios. One of the English team, says Mr Gardon G. Smith, in iho Globe, lost bis ball, and after he and ln's opponent and their caddies had Rpaichcd for it for about five minutes, the Englishman said, "Well, I suppose its no good, we had better go on." "Do you give it up?" said his opponent, in the manner of asking a conundrum. "Yes," said the Englishman. "Well," said the American sportsman, pointing to some loose

grass where the ball lay embedded, "there's your-ball." ' The will of Count Tolstoy was as follows: —"I, the undersigned, sane in mind and of good memory, make the following decisions, in view of my pos\ sible decease:—All my literary works,' no matter at what time they were written, and ; botk those that have been.: published and those that have notj ; in- : eluding those of an artistic nature;'and all others, completed or not, either dramatic works or others, translations,' adaptations, newspaper articles/ pri-; vute letters, note-books, detached papers, or notes—that is to say, everything that I may have written until'tfie day of my death, no matter where- and in whose hands it be found, either in' manuscript or in print—l grant the literary right of ownership of all these works, and the ownership of the manuscripts themselves, and of all other;: papers that may remain, entirely to, my daughter Alexandra. Should my daughter Alexandra die before me, I leave all to my daughter Tatiana.—(Signed) Lao Nikolaievieh Tolstoy." This testament was ratified by the local police court of Tula on November I6th last.

Ninety-two gates have just been completed and shipped to Panama for use lin constructing the canal. The gates are to make 46 pairs; each gate is B'2ft high, a pair Is 65ft wide and 7ft thick. Each separate gate weighs 600 tons. Twenty pairs of these gates are to be at the Gatun Dam, on the Pacific side, 12 at Pedro Miguel, and 14 at Mirallores. The purpose of the gates is to hold hack water that will be 47ft deep, and in a channel 110 ft wide, and they are supposed to resist any ordinary explosion or earthquake. Insomuch as each lock on the canal is built in duplicate, the destruction of one set of gates by more than an ordinary explosion or earthquake would cause no serious inconvenience. The total weight of the steel used in the entire 46 pairs of gates is 60,000 tons, or more than eight times as much as was used to build the Eiffel Tower. The heaviest single piece of steel used in the gates weighs 18 tons. The cost is £1,100,000 for the 46 pairs. Steelworkers to the number of 400 were to have leit Patsburg (U.S.A.) last month for Panama to set up the gates. The setting up will, it is expected, begin next month.

An amusing and very human explanation is forthcoming (says the Berlin correspondent of the Daily Express on November 27) of the mysterious journey which the deposed Shah of Persia, Ahmed, hns been undertaking through Europe during the last week or -two. When the ex-Shah left his place of exile in Russia, to proceed to Vienna, and thence to Paris, during a crisis in Persian domestic affairs, there was a general belief that his movements were connected with a plot to overthrow the present regime in his country, and to regain for him the throne of which, he was deprived last year. Emissaries of the present Persian Government were despatched to shadow his movements and report all his doings to Teheran, and the chancelleries of Europe watched his proceedings with keen interest. Day by da 3- some important development iu the direction of a*campaign to conquer Persia was expected. It has now been ascertained that the ex-Shah was driven across Europe not by politics, but by love. When he was dethroned and left Persia he kept three of his many wives, and now he wants to supplement them by a fourth. The lady on whom he has placed his affections is a charming and beautiful Irish girl, aged 19, by profession a public dancer.. The ex-Shah saw the quartet performing at a music-hall in Russia, and fell in love with her, and made up his tniud that she should. become his fourth wife. One of the Persian gentlemen in attendance on him was despatched to negotiate with tho lovely dancer, to offer her presents in his Majesty's name, and to invite her to join his harem as his legal wife. She rejected these overtures, declaring that her principles would not allow her to marry a man who already had three other' wives.

We, have all heard (says the Paris correspondent of the Daily Telegraph) of tho romantic heroes who at the festive board spilt the mead and sack under the table when they perceived distinct intention in their hosts of intoxicating them in order to have them flung helpless down oubliettes afterwards. A new invention is a modern adaptation of this method. Why do men drink? Because other men insist on standing them drinks. Many a big business deal is done over a glass, especially in French cafes, and commercial travellers would lose half their custom if they refused an appetiser offered h3 r a client, to whom they must, of course, stand another in return. They don't want the absinthes or the bitters, but it is as much as their business is worth not to drink them. The invention is a walking stick, which makes them temperate b3 r drinking for them. Hero is tho inventors description of it:— The stick is hollow. The handle is pierced with several holes, and an

indiarubber tube inside forms a syp_hon. The air being expelled, the liquid_ is sucked up. The stick is emptied simply by turning a valve, and the liquid absorbed can thus be poured out into the street on leaving the plaee_ of refreshment. The walking-stick is warranted to sip up six, eight, or ten average gin and bitters, according to the size and price of the can bought. It is simple to use, as the top need only he put into the liquid at intervals when the other man is not looking.

The movement in favor -of a universal Saturday half-holiday is growing in Auckland, and the association which has been formed to bring about this objective intends* making strenuous efforts to have special legislation dealing with the subject passed nest session. At present agents are canvassing the city and suburbs, and at- least 20,000 signatures will, it is hoped, he obtained to the petition to Parliament upon the need for a compulsory Saturday holfholiday.

The ladies of Oamaru and districts will be delighted to learn that Mrs Hemsley Burnet, principal of Hemsley Burnet, Ltd., Ladies' Hair Specialist. Lias opened u" a branch of the business in Tyne street, next Hjorring's, solicitor. * The new business will carry full stocks of ornamental hairwork, nets, etc., just imported from the best Paris houses. Mrs Hemsley Burnet will be in Oam - u personally for a few days, and extends a general invitation fdr a visit to her rooms. 1000

Have you the springy step and buoyant spirit of perfect health? Stearns' Wine of Cod Liver Extract will supply it—strengthens blood supply, muscles and nerves —builds them up. 22

MR J. SWINDLEY, Surgeon Dentist, will visit Hampden on Thursday nest, 26th instant, and may be consulted at the Hampden Hotel. 125

Nature's Embrocation. ROCKE'S Eucalyptus Oil. The finest that Australia produces. There's' "something" distinctive about "ROCKE'S." 2