CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10674, 14 December 1896, Page 2

CURRENT TOPICS.

Sun Vat Sen is a Mongolian who has resided - for some years in London. a This individual with the sensational luminous appellation h&a been abduction, for upwards .of two years "wanted" by the Chinese Government, but for what reason is noi very apparent; nor does it bear materially upon the cate. During that-period he has been dogged by emissaries from the Chinese Court. Them, however, had never been able to bag their g'<:nfl, so; strategy of another Mn'd'wa? resorted to. Sun waa enticed into the Chinese Legation and was immediately locked up in a room. He was.told that within the preciacti oE the i legation he was virtually on Chinese soi), and that it was intended to »«nd him back to Cbino, dead or alive. He wonlij ba bound in a "nag and pub into a box and smuggled en board ship, and if that failed he would be killed, embalmed, and sent to Chins, where the form of execution would be ffone through on his body. Poor Sun Tut Sen was naturally distressed upon hearing this, and fcantig they were about to poison him, nearly starved himself. After many attempts, te bribed * servant to make hia plight known, ths case got into the newspapers, and Lord Salisbury .promptly compelled t'ue officials to disgoi'go their prisoner. after a detention. eE 12, days.. .Therefore Suii Yafc Sen rejoices that he" is in a land where the ilitg wavea over tho free alone. But the question had an international as well as a, personal aspsc*. By courtesy the person of an ambasoador is sacred, snd he suid his attendants are exempt from arrest aud from rates, taxe', and customs duties. But when this v?n.s interpreted to mean thai (he aaibaisador could convert his legation into an anbnsh for the detention of real oc snpposcd eouoiies it wan mother matter. Th:s was fortunate for Suu YatSea. , ■ '- ' ' ■•

When Li HuDg Chang returned to Chiua from his vice-regal progress he I m htjnu w&s by an Imperial sdiofc chang. simultaneously promoted and I censured. A cbanga in the policy of China was indicated by Li Hung Chang's appointment as the first'.Minis'er ?or j Foreign Affairs. The traditions o£ ages were thus nullified, bat they were at the fame ti'ma reepected by coaßUtmg nirh for what seems the very venial offence of vis King the mined [ Summer Palace white visiting tha Dowager Empress. No information lias beßn givan as to the natnre of the punishmsjit W bs inflictf-d. The Daily Graphic says: " It may be the publication of an insult to his i ancestors in the PekiDg Gazette; it' may be | something with boiling oil in it; but, in the j present condition of Chinese finances, it is more likely to be aomothicg with the option of a five. | 'Sb at, at all events, is the inference that may legitimately be drawn from the declaration of j another great Celestial—San Y»t Sou—to.the j interviewer of a contemporary, that his Excel- I lency would probably have to pay his tooting I to the tone of i!50,000dol before he would ba allowed to set nis foot in tha1 capital of the country whose foreign policy he directs." | The Emperor of China and tha Dowager , Emorees. who is his adoDted mother, were not

on particularly cordial term) at the moment, and it may have bcea suspected that Li was trying fo influence tha Imperial policy by bringing to bear upon the Emperor pressure from the lady mentioned. Bat then he might have been calling, B&ys another paper, in a friendly «oit of w»y, to giro to that august lady one of thoso sewing machines' which ho managed with infinite addrers to capture without payment from tho pawky, Scotch ? None of us like to have our policy influenced by pre;sure from an adopted mother. We all resent it naturally; It Booscks of the reiga of the mother-in-law. Bat if Li Hung Cbaog was merely call;ng ruiiud in a friendly way to leave a sewirg machine at the ruined palace, and perchance to relata a few of his European exp?rienoefl, I hen our sympathies are all with him. It is surely a pleaa&nt and kindly set. Who would not like to drop in at a palace, ruined or not, and exchange chin chin with an Empress-Dowager ?

| There is now lying in the hospital ward of I . the Benevolent Asylum at Mel- | an alleged bourne a man named John | veteran. P'Kenfe who has been telling I an Argus contributor'the story iof his life. O'Knefe s&ys he was 10 years of j age. at the tims of the battle of Waterloo, and Ihe and his mother npent the night after tho I French attack on Quatre Br»3 amoag the eon- | fusion of a .battlefield.' Hin father was.killed by a French cuirassier in Ney'd first assault. i Mother and son rebutued to Wicklow, whore in : due ooune of time tha' former died, and O'Keefe took the Queenly shilling. He had ' hardly learnsd the goose step when the Crimean war broke out. As he at this time was, according to his own account, 4-9 years of age, ha was rather old for a recruit, and this tend* to throw doubt on his'story. His first battle was on the heights o£ Alms, and he descri'oec the sensations of a ri-cruit the night before going into action. " The night before," he says, " was a i terrible one tv all of us. I didn't sleep a* all, thinking «f what might happen in the inomiog, and, most of all, whether I might uot show the white feather. A man doesn't know whether he in a. coward or not till he has been in action once. I don't know whether j jou can exactly call it fear, but there's a sort j of horrible linking sensation at the ait of the ■ slomacb, Mint makes you feel as though you were : going to be sick. I believe in speeding,the ! nijjht before a battle in the canteen. Bat after ] the first volley that passes off. It's the waiting ■ that's the worst part. After a little bit you get | used to the feeliug that you are going to ba shot j the next moment; nnd, besides, you seldom see anything of the fight, except a cloud of i smoke, until you get to haud-to-h*nd work, ! and that doesn't ofteu happen. Whan you j do get to the bayonet it is almost a relief, became - thtn you are only fighting. At other times a man never sees his' enemies and □ever knows what kills him." He fought all j through the Crimea, ami was wounded severely several times. Then he was sent to India, and went through the relief of Ciwnporeand the. capture of Delhi down to the battle of I'oonaa. Wheu he gat horns he received £200 compensation money, and went out to Adelaide, and lost his money farming. Since then he bad worked J about, had bad luck all through, aud will no v j probably end his days in the asylum. Not a ! very glorious termination to his exciting martial i career. ■ "

Ofl November 23 there was, held at Korumburra, in Victoria, a meeting of heaping ok cial miners to urge upon the j protection. Government, the necessity of I placing an import duty on coal iof2s 6d per ton. Thara is some difficulty in ! arriving at an opinion about the geouinoness of J the demiud, for the newspaper accounts of it j differ widely. The Freeirada journal in Mcl- ] j baurneheads its report: ''L^bourauiiP.oteclion. A D»y at Korumburra. Wanted, a CosJ Duty. Ludicrous Demonstrations. Mint vi Indifferent." j The Protectionist joum*! h'ip.ds its accouut • , ! "Import Duty oa Coal. Muss Meeting at! Korutnburr.l. Strong DsmaniJ for Protection." j Tha reports themselves differ a« widely as the j titles. Victoria his now two coal mines at j work—Outtrim and Koruaabtirrs, —and those ] interested allege that all the wants of Victoria j can be supplied from them. "The mover of tho \ chief resolution in&dvortently let drop soma of j the reasens in favour of protecting- coal. He attempted to justify the duty on the ground ! that the'mines at Kormniiurr* could never compete witb. those of New South Wales I " because one seam at Newcastle is »s big as I all tho seams in this district pat together." j Besidei the fisld was so poor that they '• didn't ! know when they had it or when they hadu't." | They "could not turn out sufficient coal to meet requirements without it duty." He bkm-jd the Nencistls roiner3 for the ruisi fortunes they h*d brought on thomselvas by j their attitude towards the owners, when they (the owners) were in difficulties. If the Turaer ! Government wore not prepared to do what tbey ! required " the Booner they were turned out the batter." He bad to pay dnty on a hftt if ho ' wanted one. Surely if Protection ever went : mad it is in Victoria. " I

A writer ia tho Cinterbucy, Times askj whtthtr it is immoral for a woman to A question work for pocket-money, and con- ! of elude, that it if, and merits the MORAUTi'. condemnation of evary loyallyminded woman. The young woman who plays the piano, takss a faw pupil. Jnsfc to make a little packet-nioney. It matters nob whether sbe takes them from the trained aud con;cienticu3 music teacher, nor does she consider' whether she i» hurself I competent. SUa generally charges less than & ' professional instructor, and there are always parents who consider economy a matter of mi I portance wheu their children's education is ' concerned. There is also the «oraau who sioga ] at concerts free of charge, while professionals arß passed by. Men are aioo guilty of this, but women are the greatest c-ffendtjrs. They do not see the .disloyalty of which they arc guilty- The writer concludes this :—"lf the comiorcably circumstanced ■woa.au feeis it to be her mis- [ aion to become a hospital nutsfi or a bsidiy paid governess, let her question the moi'ality of her conduct and change her tactics. If fbe is firmly convinced that in work oav&ide h™z I home alone lies salvation, then let her iike up I comething that will not disturb tta normal I supply and demand, for women workers. Let I her take up di'trict nutsinjand visiting ; there ' ia work enough in the homes of the poor, sym- | pathy to be given and plenty of lovipg care — | work that is not always pleasant, but is neveri tbe'iess its own reward. Ifc is helpful to others as wall as tha doer, and it injures no one." There is something tc be raid on tbe other side lof the question also. Many a youog woman :s apparently well-to-do, but is aot so really, and ths ferr pounds she may «am are as welcome ss th.y would be in i buaa'ule home. It would be hard to o»ll her 'conduct immoral if she were helping a struggling. parent, or practising self-sacriflce in some other way.

| The meeting convened by the Cliambsr of : Commerce to-day to consider the circular issued by the shipping companies that in future 4K)»mi?w are to discharge at Port Chalmers j instead of at Duuedin should be largely atteuded, us the matter is one which .vitally eoncsrne all j business people. Mr P*ulin telephoned at-9.50 last night:— " Strong to light N. to S.E. winds; fine for about 16 hours; electrical disturbances will occur to the soulowsrd of 4'Vdeg. S. and to the westward o? 170deg. B.; after that vims barometer unsteady.'' i For Wednesday*) meeting of the City Council notice has been given by Cr Gore that he will propose that the salary of the clerk of works at tho abtttoir contract be r&isod to £+ per weak. The exfcraordiuary business includes ths appointment of sinking fund commissioners for the ensuing year, filing th? roayo?'« salary, and fixing the date of tha conference j of delegates under the Shops and Sh:-.p Assistauts Act, and if considered advisable j appointing delegates to th 3 conference, ' lv the election for O&rnaru 3903 tro.ed ont of .] 4-315 on the roll. Of men 2152 out of .2524 j on the roll voted, audof women 3751 out of 2091 j voted. At Invercargill 2255 out.of 2835 women j on the roll, aad o£ men only 1941 out of 2877 Toted. The Post hints thit tho Premie: intends to ask his Excellency the Governor to appoint j four more Legislative Councillorc. !

The following are tho hospital returns for tha w(e { ;—Patients remtioing from the provioui wi.-tk, 87; admitted diniog the past week, 20; discbargerl, 16. ICnte" 81'Loun»n, James. Drysdale, and William Hunt, diud during too past week, and.tho total number of patients remaining is 83.

Mc3sm \V. H. Pearson and P. G. Pryde worn the presiding justices at tho City Police Court on Saturday raornjag. The only caso brought udder their-notice was that of Mary O'Neill,' who was charged with drunkenness. Accufo I was in such a deplorable condition from the effecti of drink that tho oaao had.to be remaDd^d for a week to allow oE her receiving mfidicsl treatment.

An examination of candidates for certificates as mine managers and battery superintendents under the Mining Act, and for mine managers under the Coal Mines Act,1 will be held ou the 261h of January nest.. Applications, with the necessary fee, must ha in Wellington by the 20th oE January.

The Otsgo Education Board's junior and senior ccholarship examinations will commence to-motrow morning. The test examination for candidates for pupil fcetcUerships, will be commenced on .Wednesday. '-..'.* . The Prohibitionist, referring to the l'qanslng poll, says!—"Xhe result!of- the local option. poll will, we are sure, be disappointing ti miny ; but wo do not for a moment propose to look b».ck or weary iv well-doing, for we know that j by p&lient, steady effort liur csuno willsdvanco though it may take longer than we at first anticipated to rc.\ch the goal. One thing is certain. that the women have not dono what wan expected of thfm, and have do 1, with almost unanimous!, vote, tried to sweep away ] an evil which brings 'much* sorrow to their own ' sei." , • ■ ■ ,■■..;, Suveral of the oat crops in the district (says tbe Tiiori Advocate) are so heavy this year that it has been found necasaary to turn the sheep into the fields to eat them down. Speaking to a farmer the other day, he expressed his opinion that with good, weather the crops,] especially oat*, in tue district would be \ery large. ■ ■ ■ .

The Evening Post states that the Wellington Land Board last week forfeited '27 sections which had bsen taken up under 'improved farm settlement conditionu, under ' which settlsrß were paid for felling und growing, and also received a contribute-.! towards building. This eeeins to indicate either that the land was, unsuitable for settlement purpotes or that the selectors were not of'; ihe • class supposed to represent the " backbone acid'ainew" of the country.

The Kegistrar - general's statistics show that tha number of Sunday school children aud teachers last - April wa3 greatly in excess of the figures for- that month in 1891, when the previous census was taken. In April last'there were 104,931- children, as sgiiiist 92 13' Vin April of 1891, an increaae of 12,750, equal.tol3'33perc:iit. The number of teachers in April of 1896 was 11,111, or 1320 mere than tbere were five jc«s before, an increase of 13 tS per cant. The increased attendance by school children in. the five sears is greater than the increase per cant, en the total population (12-24). i. Tfce attendance at public worship showed an iccietise from 177,055 to 209,731, or at the rate of'lß 46 per cer.t. It has already been shoTfn that the number of Freethinkers and Agnostics in the colony had decreased front 4-797 to 4515, or at the rate of 5 54- per cent.

The New Zealand Times says tbab since she was bailt in 1864, tbo Delmirs, which was wrecked near Wellington a fow days ago, h»s bid Eoaie thrilling experiences, .sufficient to fill a toree-volnmo novel. Originally . the was engaged in the slave trade, running under the Spanish fl-ig as the Guarntz, which name 'till remains oa portions of the vessel's fittings. Subsequently sho was sold to Liverpsol owners, and at lha time of her wreck was tun by the Melbourne firm of Grice, Bumaer, and Co. Oa a recent voyage the Delmira left the Bluff last Christinas, ani had a ioog and eventful trip of five months and a week. : Soon after leaving, the wife of the ciptsia (who was accompanying liiaa) was seized with typhoid fe7er. She, however, recovered, and .the secocd mate took her ploce on tbo sick list, suffering from the same illtesa, but fortunately he also regained his health. Further trouble, however, was in store for the barqueutiue, for B6veral of the crew were attacked with scurvy, and, to finish up, it was discovered that they had run short of provisions. ~ Efentually the ship reached her destination. Several of the crew of the vessel have been previously shipwrecked, fend one of the most interesting stories told is that by Mr White, the ship's steward. He was on the steamer Bemptou about eight ye»r.i ago, bound from Calcutta to Antwerp, and the vessel was lest on a reef near Lisbon, sinking iv l«ss than fire minute*. All on board had to swim for their lives, but not all reached the shore, which wan only about 220 yards &way from where tho 'Bemntsu went down.

According to the Melbourne Argus, a new i church has sprung into existence under peculiar circumstances. K> csutly a member of an undertaking firm was sa«d by a Church of England minister for couiiucfcing a funeral service iv the suburban burying ground where the prosecuting minister was licensed to officiate. The minister won the day-, but tho undertaker quickly turned tli'j tables. According to the prevailing methods of licensing clergymen, it | appears that any man who can get himself I nominated by 40 householders, who join them- | selves together as a church congregation, is I registered forthwith, and as a aaiter'of course j is entitled to celebrate marriages sad conduct '■ burials iiko any clergyraau of a recognised church. Taking advantage of this provision, the usdertaker in question gathered fcogstker' 40 people and established a new church, which jhe called the Reformed Chnroh of England. A j petition asking that the decomin*fcion be reeogi niaad and that the undertaker with, the title of i "Itav." be recognised xs its head was preseutod in the ordiuary way fca the authorities and gvaiited. (The undertaker with " Key." preceding bis .name cow 'advertise* that ha is prepared to conduct .' _.arriages' and funeral ! services as we'll as undertaking ia nil its branches. | Mr Thomas Inglis, whose death was | asnuKoced ou Thursday list, waa a son of the j late Mr Thomas Inglis, of Shaw Hill, Toma- : kaw'x, Peninsula, and ivas born at Bridgeton, Glasgow. He 'arrived in the colony with his i '.atiter and the rest oE the family ia Jz.uat.ry, j 1858, in tho ship Stirathallau, and was a ! shipmate of tho . late Mr Sandeman, whose death we noticed on Saturday. Mr luglis was fct the plumbiug trade in Glasgow, bat the first employment he had .in t-lw colony waa on & farmatihe Clatha, and ho was afterwards in the employ of Ilr G, Proudfoofc, surveyor. Mr ingi:?, ntu., h«.viD(j taken up land in the Tomahawk district of the Feninsula/the nuVjject of this notice assisted hii father to make the first | clearing in that locality, snd they named the ! pUcs Shaw Hill, after » hill between Glasgow I and PoUoetehAirg. On the discovery of gold as I Gabriels Mr Inglis add his brothers went up j there, snd were fairly successful. Afterwards jhe returned to the Peninsula and worked with' ' his father till the middle of the seventies, when !he went to the Osmaru district, where he i shortly afterwards obtained work with the Oamaru Harbuar Board, and in the employ of which body he remained almost continuously j till the time of his death. Mr Inglis was greatly respecter! both on the Peoinsuh and in i Oiktuaru, his genial and syrapithslic nivtura making him many friend?, by whom be will bs greatly missed. Mr logliJ was in his fifty-sixth year, was married twicn, »ud leaves a widow but no family. j

The series of entertainments, in aid of tho funds of St. Jobn's Church, Jloslyn, was brought to a close on Saturday. In the afternoon an open-air felt was held, •,ti w'uich thera was a " largo attendance. The Industrial School Band was present, and played a nnm'oer of Detections. Light refreshtaenU were handetl rouud, and a golf putting contest toak pUce, the winner being Miss Izsrd (of Wellington). A singing competition was also held, the pme-takera in which wore Masters J. Arthur and A. Child. During the evening songs were contributed by Miss B. 'J?ro«eder nud Messrs Eva and A. Ross, Mis.? West acting as accompaniste.

Mr D. M. Speddins'will'nel'l fmit this morning, and on Wednesday .nc^t ho will offer some superior ciriioa. ,