CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11402, 20 April 1899, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

The brief cable messages which we received

at the time seem to have but kudyaud faintly expressed the depth and KirLrtfG:"' width of the interest which was

: ■ taken-in the fate of Mr Rudysird Kipling when lie wveslled with death a few weeks ago at the Hotel Grenoble in New York. The civilised world crowded in spirit around the sickbed on which the young writer fought for breath. In New York itself the public interest shown in tlio bulletins which the doctors issued from time to time was described as unprecedented. People gathered about the hotel to await the news. When the nurses appeared in the hotel lobby one .morning, about the time of the crisis of the patient's illness, to take Mr Kipling's children ■ out for outdoor exercise, they were instiintly surrounded by a group of .ladies who were waiting for the issue of a bulletin, and the children had to submit to a prolonged ordeal of petting and fondling—an incident which would not be worth recording if it did not serve to manifest the sympathy of the ladies with the patient. Only- by th'o | deathbeds of Grant, Beeeher, and Sherman, it I is said, had New York been similarly affected. I'raycr meetings were held at Trinity and other churches, and quite a hysterical'crowd-1 hung about the hotel corridors whore special telegraph operators received messages, from all quarters of the globe. Mr Kipling's own request to. Ins medical attendants was, /'Don't give ov.t degrading bedroom details. ( about me," but the public and press of New York were evidently determined that if their visitor should be fated to leave the world's stage it should be in the full blaze of the limelight. From the fact that the patient pulled through lii 3 illness a wholesome moral may, .I) 6' extracted. ' When his recovery wa? assured, we quoted the words in which he pictured the entrance of a friend through the ever open gate—a friend who, from his birth, had walked "in simplencss and gentleness and honour and clean mirth." It is fitting that it should now be recorded that it was owing to Mr Kipling's own regular life that he has been spared to the world. One of those who was most frequently present at the sickbed put it that Air Kipling, (when recovering, was drawing golden dividends on the frugal life he had always led and the outdoor exercise he had indulged in, and the British Medical Journal remarked at-the time of the crisis iu< the illness that "it is'in such emergencies as that which Mr Kipling is now encountering with so much courage that, as he hiniijeif paid of the hero of one of the storios in his last volume, clean living tells." To the relief of tlie civilised world, clean liv-. ing told in his ensc. From lingland and the Continent, during the period of suspense, cablegrams FKOlt containing kind inquiries and palace expressing sympathetic wishes to poured in upon Mr Kipling's juratACKS. devoted wife, who was constant in attendance) at his bedside until the illness of her daughter necessitated the division of her time between two patients. The German Emperor was one of those who cabled inquiries. His message, which was addressed t^i Mrs Kipling, read as follows: — " As an enthusiastic admirer of the unrivalled book's'of your husband. I am most anxious for news about his health. God grant that he may be spared to you and to all whe are thankful to him for the soul-stirring way in which ho lias sung about the deeds of our groat common r.icc." The publication of this »ncssage, it is to be observed, led to an amusing exhibition of ignorance on the part of the German press, which assumed that Mr Kipling was an American. The Vossischo ZoUuug and the Tost both spoke of the patient as "the American author," and while tiio former paper interpreted the Kmperor's telegram as "a fresh link in the chain of official evidences that Germany desires to bo on the best of terms with the United Slates," the Post urged that " the great cordiality with which our Sovereign disregards many a. national prejudice in order to do honour to Kipling ought to serve the purpose~of remindir.y; the Americans, after a period of ailificmlly created estrangement, that they nowhere find readier and more joyful recognition of the splendid aspefls of their national life than among their cousins of the German Empire." 'J'lm wave of sympathy which Mr Kipling's illness aroused passed, hewevur, as The Times remarked, over people in whose lives, as a rule, books count fov little, and who are not disposed to mate ' heioes of men of letters. No class in the community, we may be sure, was move keenly ' touched than the class of which Mr Tommy Atkins is the type, whose sentiments may be taken to bo faithfully expressed in thres stanzas which appeared in The Times over the initials of "J. O. 0.," addressed "To Kudvaid ICinlinjr. J'lsa.. from Thomas At-

■;..■'' kins." Tlio writer has rather suecossfull; "Tl -■, . | (.'blight llio Kipling style m these stanzas, it |s»»"P-:-j the following will show *f:^::| Tho sergeant said : '•'X won't get round. It' ji ■ ' ■ | -three rounds blank' for 'mi! ■'. . . j 'J3 .won't writo no more storiesl" And on ■. - f But you 'ml always 'ulnecl T. Atkins, an' thougl •;' things did look blue— ;i_ ~ Well! we nin'l liuiuh 'ands lit prayin', but w :!"" did our best for you. ;! - '"E mustn't die; we wiuit 'im j." • J 0 Gawd, don't tuko 'im yet; i'1 ' ; Spare 'im a little longer! S'V-j'1.:'? 'X wrote 'Lest wo forget' I" • • We 'card that you was fightin' 'ard—j'ust a: .O-;--; we knew you would; .V■■■,-, But we 'ardly 'oped you'd turn 'is flank; the; ,i ;.. said you 'ardly could. ■-;■;:. But tile news 'as come this inoriiiii', an' In (..'■■>'■. I writ in' 'ere to sny, ( .' I {There's nn British son more 'appv. tiian you; I ■'■:■■ ;, old friend Thomas A. .'■:..■ .;•■■<•] ("OGiwd, worn all so grateful 1 •■'■;.•.'' " You 'aye loft 'im with us yet, h.--| To 'old us in, and 'alt us, j ,-• j Lest we, Lcbl wo forget!" w! >Tho prosecution by 11 sclioolmaster at Miltor '; "j on Monday of an irate parenl ■>»;j coiu'okal for assault, amlthomagistrate'! ; ; ."\:J l'UNl.sn- comments when giving- judg !;;';; -MKXT. nionl iii llio case, raise tin :'*:i'V whole question of eorpura] vj'f. punishment in schools. Mr Hawkins doe.----i;; :; not belieye in corporal punishment. "It cor- ;''.;£";; tainry seemed an extraordinary thing to him,'1 .'v',y he said, " when the rest of Hie world was ..: abandoning corporal punishment and was ;■?:• relegating it to the extremest eases of erimi- /,:"■■: "nl conduct, that it should he considered >■;.;' necessary to apply it in any form to small ;; .'■', children in elementary schools." He .furtlior -■':'■,"• eensidered that to admit that a teacher could ■;-'X not conduct a .school without the constant ;.«;, use of the strap seemed practically an ad•y. mission of want of moral control of tho elulV- dren. Mr Hawkins claims to speak from ex- .;/■'' penonue, as hi: liad done a good deal of v;.s teaching in a voluntary way; but clearly the ■';. circumstances arc not Analogous. In Sunday . .' schools the children at least are on their ■V" best behaviour, and a different class of cliil- ■■".;. dren are dealt with from some of those that > attend the. public schools. In tho case Mr ■,:';- Hawkins had undoi' review, the teacher cvi- :*' dently showed want of discrimination bey ' tween llio character of the offence of the :■< child and the punishment awarded. A hasty ; smack across the fingers with a strap seems ;';., a strange corrective for cheating, which lie i;. alleged to be the offence. That the assault .■; by the girl's father was not a serious one is ;r: .proved by the willingness of the teacher to (iceept an apology, and, failing (hat, he, look '■■:>. the case into court. lint we should imagine the schoolmaster now regrets that course, as V; it led to.an exposure of his methods. The J* total abolition of corporal punishment advo- ;■■ ealed try Mr Hawkins is, however, beside the '■■ , question, or, at any rate, is open to debate. *..j The class of children the magistrate appears to have lmd in his mind's eye are such children as have been brought up in a good homo ;; "' by educated parents, and in whom obedience .'-.' is inculcated as a cardinal principle of con- ■■,'; duct for its own salcc. When children from such homes, where the parents have a due appreciation of their responsibilities, enter ',■:■ .'school, a verbal reprimand or a word of acl- ' vice is generally sufficient to insure obedience ,\ and good conduct. But, unfortunately, the ■; schoolmaster in a public school lias to deal > not only with such children, but with a ; ' class not quite so Easily reconciled to V discipline. The children who are brought up j in homos where the parents utterly fail in : what ought to be their mosysacred obligar tk.ns, and where every merely: animal charac- ;■ teristie is permitted to grow unchecked, know } scarcely any appeal to their better nature, f artel how are they to be controlled? If cor- \ poral punishment is to be relegated to the' :,' bail methods of the past, we fear that school i discipline will have to be .onsidered an ' anachronism. Tho only appeal, in the first : instance, to the thoroughly wayward child, '"■ is a physienl one, whatever the diameter of the" punishment may be. Solitary ' eanfine- ;, nient now lakes the place of corporal punish- '; (ment to'a great extent in dealing with criminals, but it is just a question whether the : mental anguish engendered is less brutalising '■■ than the infliction of bodily pain. While |- the abuse of the strap in schools must be de- • plored, it appears to us to be a useful ap- ; pendage of school discipline. Us hasty, iliconsiderod, o. too frequent use, however, must be condemned as worse than useless, and those who habitually so use it are quite unfitted to'teach the young. J The City Council, at last night's meeting, adopted a by-law for the suppressipn of sfreet gambling and betting, the voting being six votes to four. The by-law,, will be brought : up for confirmation at a special meeting to be held at the end of May. His Worship the ; Mayor says that, in the opinion of the police, by-law No. 2 is quite inadequate in its power ■ to prevent street blocking, hence the necessity for tho now law. j A deputation, comprising Messrs T. Brown j ■ (vice-president), J. Robin, J. H. Morrison, A. Thomson, J. C. Thomson, a,nd A. Bnlhgate (representing the Reserves Conservation . Society), together with Dr Brown, Messrs W. Wright, S. M'Donald, W. Emery, George Esther, and J. Davie, waited on the mayor' yesterday to solicit his support in favour of a donation from the corporation towards tho improvement of the Anderson's Bay road, particulars of which are given in an article in another column. The mayor expressed himself favtfur- , able to the project, and it was arranged that the society <jhoul.il write formally to the council on tho matter. This was done, and on the matter coming up last evening it was , agreed to vote the sum of £100 for the prosecution of the work, the amount to be distributed over two or three years. A sitting of the Old-age Pensions Court was held before Mr E. H. Carew, S.M., on Tuesday, when 13 full pensions we're granted, ! one for £9, one for £6, while two claims were ' rejected. I Dr Brown was yesterday re-elected chair- ! man of the Education Board. | regular meeting of the Benevolent InI Btitution Trustees was held yesterday after- [ nqpn, and was attended by Messrs Solomon (chairman), Haynes, Wilson, Watson, and ; Green. The accounts passed for payment amounted to £182 19s. Forty relief cases were dealt with. | At a recent meeting of the Standing Com- ! mitteo of the Diocese of Dunedin, Bishop Ndvill took the opportunity of mentioning that the seehouso fund had now readied over £1450, and trusted that further efforts would be made to increase the amount, especially as the Site Committee had under its consideration several properties that had been offered to it. The bishop also expressed his hearty thanks to all those who had laboured so energetically in the effort to raise the money. The ease M'Phee v. Wright, Stephenson, and Co. was resumed at the Supreme Court at 10 o'clock, yesterday morning. One witness, an expert, was recalled aud gave cvi- - dence as to the result, of an examination of all the sacks of oats in question. Mr Hosking commenced his address for the defendants at twenty rninuteu past 10 o'clock, and concluded at 3 o'clock, speaking for three hours and 40 minutes. Mr W. C. iMacGregor then commenced, continued speaking ■jnlil the adjournment at half-past 5 o'clock, and is to resume at 10 o'clock this morning. The Education Board yesterday received a letter from the Committee of Management of the Otago Educational Institute asking for a conference between a committee of the board and one representing the teachers on tho subject of the scale of salaries recently issued by the board. The reason of tho request being made, it was stated, was that widespread dissatisfaction prevailed among teachers on the subject. The board, however, declined to accede to the request. A Washington newspaper announces that Mr Thomas A. Edison, jun., son of the great inventor, has discovered a process of hardening steel .which may revolutionise that industry. A six-inch plal.o treated by the new process is superior in power of resistance to 15-inch Harveyised plates. Edison's is said to be also much superior to the Krupp process. The steel rails, Mr Edison declares, manufactured. under his process will not spread. Tools and bearings are made practi-cally-everlasting. The process is to be kept secret until after the Government has experimented with ft on armour plates. Mr Edison ie 22 years old, and'was brought up in his father's laboratory. The Dairy Commissioner has decided that all butter, and cheese shipped to Australia and Fiji shall be dated at the time the grading is done. This is because produce is often held for some time after the grading is done without cool storage, and deteriorates in conEcquence. There was an excellent attendance at Fuller's Waxworks last evening, and the entertainment was evidently thoroughly appreciated. The song '•There'll come a time,',' with its catchy air, has evidently taken the public fancy, and will doubtless become a craze.

Mr Myles Hirlcet Foster, wln> .nailed the colonies about four yours ago as examiner for Iho Trinity College (London) musical exuminations, has been again appointed to visit this colony and Australia. He will reach Now Zealand in October next. Some important changes have hren made in oonneclion with the practical examinations, inclutU ing:—(l) The issue of the new syllabus, including a iirepiiratory grado in pianoforte playing, for which grade the examination fee is one guinea. (2) 'I lie abolition of all age restrictions or limitations for the local examination eerlilicntcfl. (3) The titles of divisions are now senior, intermediate, and junior (formerly primary), in the old syllabus, and senior, intermediate, junior, and preparatory, in the new syllabus. (4) Puss certificates and honours eerlilicales will be awarded in each of the three divisions—senior, intermediate, and junior (both syllabuses). In the pro paratoiy pianoforte grade (new syllabus) there will be no honours, but candidates, obtaining 80 or more marks will be " specially commended." (5) Candidates passing in any division or grade will receive a certificate without reference to any previous successful examination in Iho same division or grade. (6) After -1599 the old syllabus and oflicial lists will be withdrawn. The ordinary monthly meeting of tho Dunodin Photographic Society was held in their rooms, Liverpool street, last' evening. The president (Mr 0. W. Ken-} occupied the chair, and there was a good attendance of members. The report on tho competition for "Animal Life was received from the honorary judge, Mr .7. H. "Morris, the result being:—llr Hume 1, Mr Crichton 2, Mr Fletcher 3, and Mr Maekcllnr 4. A letter was received from tho Nelson Camera Club announcing that their annual exhibition was postponed until tho 10th May. It was decided to forward a representative exhibit, members to forward their frames to the local rooms by tho sth prox. Mr 11. K. Fletcher gave a very interesting demonstration of "Tho Ke-developmeni of Hard Negatives," which was watched very closely by members. Tho methods adopted proved very effectual, and the results obtained were good. A pre-. eis of the same will appear in the next Budget. A vote of thanks was accorded to the demonstrator. One new member was elected. Schedules of the noxt^Wellington exhibition, to be held in June next, were laid on the table for the information of members.. The subject announced for the next monthly competition was " Landscape 'Enlargements." Some extraordinary accounts from Man- | ehuria are reaching Hongkong of Russian tyranny there. At Kinchowan unarmed deputation, currying a petition for. the reduction of tho new land tax imposed by the Russians, was fired upon by Russian soldiers, 100 being killed or wounded. Other almost incredible stories of outrages perpetrated in enforcing Hie new laws are being published in the China papers. Referring to , what" is, described as "the massacre at.-Liuchiatien."' (he report says " over 40 dead have been reported to the Kinchow magistrate, and these, it is believed, do not exhaust the list. Among them are women, children, and'olhers quite unconnected with the meeting fired upon by thd Russian soldiers, who were hunting -for fugitives, and coming across these helpless people cut them down." The' Tsung-li-Yamen has brought the matter before the Russian Minister at Pekin. A number of pictures executed by Mrs Myra C. Strack, who has recently returned from Europe, are on exhibition in Mr D. Scott's rooms in Princes street, where they will doubtless be inspected with interest. The pictures are sixteen in number, eight of them being original works and the balance copies in oils of works of old masters. Mrs Slrack, who was a pupil of Mr Moult ray, sen., studied last year in the chief European galleries—among others, at the National Gallery, London, whet-3 some 300 students were at work. On (he two copying days of the week persona desirous, of securing copies of j pictures by the old masters- aro in the habit of examining the work of students with the object of discovering the best copyists with whom to place their orders, the prices they pay varying, according to subject, from about four guineas to 80 guineas. There are'some ' students who earn their living entirely by 'i copying, which they have practised for ten, : fifteen, and even twenty years,, and it. may ' be accepted as evidence of Mrs Stack's -, fidelity as a copyist, that, as we are informed, j the orders she secured kept her busy during the whole of the six months she spent in London. Two of her copies now on view in Dur.edin are after Turner; and there aro others after. Constable, Stacy Marks, Stanfield, Cuyp, Van der Capelle, and Wynants. • The ' originals are either in the National Gallery, London, or the South Kensington' Museum. To those who are precluded from seeing th? vorks of the old masters themselves, there is some consolation in the contemplation, and ] possibility of possession of copies. .

A congregational social was tendered to tho Key. P. W. Fairclough at the Trinity Wesloyan Church last evening. The schooiroom was crowded to excess, many having' to be contented with standing room. Mr Ernest itoscvear occupied the chair. ' The following speakers represented different departments of the church work, and assured the rev. gentleman of Hie heartiest of welcomes and support in all his labours—viz., Key. T. G. Bicoke, Messrs J. C. Stephens, A. Beck' W Lewisham, "W. Bull, G. Ealfour, A. Garclneand R. N. Vanes. The choir contributed an anthem, and solos were rendered by Misses tj Jiremner and K. Shepard, and Messrs W Manson anil J. P. Lane. Misses F. Harland and hhzabeth Hartley acted as accompanists

Bishop Nevill will officiate at the dedication of the trumpet stop erected to thft memory of the late Arcndeacon Fenton at St. Matthew's e^ing ofX Cr° ny WiU tllke Pl"Ce °n lhC The directors of the Mosgiel Woollen Factory Company have declared /an interim dividend for the half-year at the rate of 0 per cent per annum. * M^T^f-n Of IjOyal M°ssiel iodi?e, M.U.1.0.0.F., are invited to attend the funeral of tlie late Bro.'David Lccden NC Applications by those who desire'to entrfr for tho Trinity College higher practical Sinations in music must be made by June 1 Iho annual meeting of the Otago Heforees' Association will be held on Friday evonii-o-The N.Z.L. and M.A. Company will hold a sale of stock at Clinton on Thursday, 27th hist A sale by tender of £500 will be held by the Southern Starr-Bowkett Society on Friday 1 evening. .. . • At to-night's meeting of the Fabian SocicU- I Mr Barclay will open a discussion on " The Municipabsation of the ..Drink Traffic," and Mr Chambcilain's proposals'^ respect thereto. The genera: public are invited to be present, and may join in the discussion. j John Hislop, oldest, established Watchmaker and Jeweller, 74 Princes street. Good I assortment Watches, Clocks, and Jewellery. I Spectacles suit all sights.—Advt. G. anu T. Young, Jewellers, Princes street are making a special display of goods suitable for \\ edding and Birthday Presents, and offer I exceptional va!uo. Repairing and manufactur- ] ing by skilled workmen.—Advt, CABTKri and Co. have just landed exJPapauui i in on- third shipment new drapery. Grand variety; lowest prices. Try Carter and -Co — I Advt. M-o-s-t K-e-1-i-a-b-l-el For punctual time tiy Peter Dick, Watchmaker and Jeweller, ! opposite Coffee Palace, Moray place, Dunedin j Charges strictly moderate.—A'dvt. Massage and Electricity.—Air and Mrs :'O Edwin Booth, Massage institute, Stuart sh-oet, Dunedin.—Under the patronage of the medical gentlemeu of Duucdin.'