PASSING NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12278, 15 February 1902, Page 4

PASSING NOTES.

The unanimity with which we mc going to testimoniaVise "Mr Seddon raises one's csliiinfe of human nature. .Jarring not? there is none, nor will he.—unit?? the indiscreet zciil of certain political toadies who propose a money tip should introduce it. Tipping the Premier, forsooth!—tho bare suggestion degrades him. It is a case of Save me from my friends! And in truth his enemies—that is, his political enemies—will better do h.'m justice, {.v.editoiiul critic, whose views on the mn.'.n point ] entirely approve, winds i?p with a remark that might, with advantage, bo otherwise expressed.

The project which has been nico'.cd c." ami presenting to Mr Scddon ;i national tcst.monial, in tin shape of a purse of sovereigns, docs not comment! itself to our judgment. \Ve consider it to be quite uncalled for, and distinctly impolitic. The light honourable gentleman is not leavirg the colony—he must certainly bo taken at liis word on the point—except for a brief period, during which lie will be in receipt of full pi\y and allowances as Premier. In addition, Parliament last session voted linn the auni of XISOO for extra expenses whilst in London, which should be ample, seeing that he is to be the finest of the British taxpayer, and will assnrcdlv be right royally provided (or while lie is in' the Old Country, ltad he been leaving the colony for good it wouli have been an entirely different matter. VYnicli is :ilmost like saying How mm::! will yo;t take to go away for good? And that, 110 doubt, was very far from the writer's though''. Hut we can't always express exactly what wo mean, not. tiie best of us, no; even I myself. Thus, in this matt-jr of the testimonial, 1, along with nil my fellow citizens, political toadies included, am going to trslinionia'.iso Mr Seddon, and shall do it con amorc. But that is not to say that I condone Mr Seddon's Seddonism, or that I now declare right the thotisand-and-one Seddon savings e.ud doings that heretofore, in the course of my duty. [ have denounced as wrong. If such should seem to be my meuiiini'.'l take leave to explain that my meaning, like that of (he writer qu:>tc;l abov;, is not accurately expressed. Jl i« as an Imperialist (hat I am for this testimonial. We are a community of Imperialists, and t» Mr f-'eddoii belongs the merit of giving the world assurance of that, fact. In accents uncouth end blusterous, maybe; Imt what mailer? 'War-time is not propitious to picked phrases and diplomatic roundabouts. Nor have our Premier's nuviners at anv time the repose that stamps the caste of Verc de Yeiw Small blame to him! The essential thing to remember is that Mr Kcddmi, in a'time of slorm and stress, interpreted aright, the spirit of tin community at the bend of which he stands. New Zealand Impjrinl-j'-un is no creation of his, nor are the New -.calar.d contingents his personal contribute. But he understood what New Zealind felt and what it wanted, what it was eager to do and able to do. The reproach levelled against certain other colonial Preluieir a-rr.in.st one, at least—can jigvci* touch Jfv Seddon *, there has bppn no hanging-bad;, nor any coming-short. At l-iis iin« whvn he is going, a bidden guest, io the King's Coronation, any honour we pay him will he a new demons! rat ion of jmperialism, and as such we intend it to be understood. Here let me quote from ,!l - " H'.aekwood " snrae weighty words on the relation of Uto colonics to the Kmpire and the conditions upon which (hat relation depends:

Bettor years more of war than a compromise vincn would destiny the proHigc of England < nd biea.. up t,ie Empire. If we prove omvelves miab.e o:- unwilling to end this business in a 1 ' :i ' ,: ]ner t by rst n 1)!:sJ1 illonce and '.'V all tiic a.i'oiiih supremacy of the Utiliph uovernmeiit in South Africa, she colonies will ;-3'» Jo leave u". Canada, foremost in lov.il ;•? limine:.", may 113 the first to go. For she :i . , ' n !' fo 1,5 •>>' tics of sentiment, ratlin- than ot peir-ii'.lercst. She in proud tn hold a hi'di " : * cs :n groat British Empire; she w'ili :-o. consent to be the appanage of a senile and decaying kingdom. And what she thinlr, v !e , f, ni Anfirah'fhn colonies «•■!! think (on. •C/ .iio?n pcopln whom pcntimont or cii c hijp i;uti;amtariar,bm or parly spirit incline to foinw Mr Morley or Sir William Ilarcoiiri take "lis fact to heart. Tn helping to lu.it the R 0 ?rs, Xc-w Zealand has been helpin;; to preserve tn the world •in Kmpivc which—for all thai i| s iv-vilcrs. tic .Hill foreign. hnvc Kiiil it world could badly afford to lose. So fiir, up fo tltif! present •writing—rind this is Frulav.—Uw tables give only "crappy uints of the impression made 011 "oreign Governments and the foreign pivs; by our treaty with Japan. Possibly it lias rather knocked the breath out of them. Muklcn mid unexpected, the treaty is a iCiib.We coup dc tluatre; outsiders whose interests are affected by it have not -vet been able to "find themselves." For the moment, all that the Paris press cmi find io .'.ay is tlwt it ''makes' for peace,"—which is a very safe thinjj to say, if a, Irjfle obvious. Strengthening the police in a rowdy neighbourhood necessarily makes for ne,-ice. And henceforth, tho police will be -"Ireinilboned. For all British purposes in : he 1" <1 r I'.ast an Anglo-,Tqiauese alliance lemhles, and more than doubles, the British jiiy.il effective. Yie r.re not there as filibusterrrs; ours is not a policy of grab: lii" status 0110 anto. the open door, a fail* 'ii'td and no favour— them's our sentiments ; vhatever makes for their maintenance makes for. pi'aee. We now begin to uuder'land tiie curious fact, announced (lie "'tar day._ that our slender garrison at 'A ei-hai-wei is to be withdrawn. With the advent of an Auglo-Japi'.nese alliance the need for it vanishes. We provide for '.lie same object mor? cd'eotividy in aniiliet ua\. L. must luive been also because l-orrt Salisbury had litis card up his sleeve fiiat tecenth, in set terms, Russia was warned off from the Persian Gulf We can c.li'ord to talk up to ltussia about lersmn Gulf matters when reassured about our interests further East. ITerc it is to be rioted that "the German Government are sympathetic," and that the Kaiser "paid an early visit to the British Ambassador," an,l after that to his own Chancellor. Germany, as w- know, is n» particular friend of ours; but she is still less a particular friend of Uussiu's, least of nil nil Persian Gulf questions. The great railway designed to connect the Mediterranean with Indian waters is being built taoinian capitalists under a concession from the Sultan and will have its fortified terminus and naval station iu one of the Gulf ports—the British approving. We may tolerate Germany in those quarters when we couldn't tolerate Russia. Germany will not stir up trouble for us in Afghanistan; nor has she designs 011 India. I he word of Russia on the Anglo-Japanese agreement has not yet been spoken, or is not reported. We can liardlv expect an amiable utterance; but that matters little; nobody will be one penny tire worse.

Mr Kriyer. sitting safe aaid smij;, is ciHifident that the remnant of his people in ttip field—ragged, harried from laager to "laager, dying daily— u ill not solicit peace.' 1 In inind he is "c.ilm and hopeful." says the latest word of him; "lie eonlinuiiliy exclaims: 'God is with its; He will give us final peace.'" I wo things, it seems to me. may go to ihe making of this placid piety. lunger is probably in his dotage and given to maundering. That is- one thing. And the other is that, the "God" of lunger's llieidogy is not any deity known to us. i h< Loer " Dopper ' before nuiking it tine or imprisonment to tench ;t Kallir Ghi'L-'-tianiiy must have fashioned for himself a Sod in his own image. N'obodv grades M'.' lunger his religious unnsolations; but, explain them how you will, they are decidedly peculiar. For, after all, though he does sit sitfe and snug, lie is in exile ni'.d humiliation. The god that is with him now eau hardly be the god that, was with him when he battened and fattened on the spoils of the Outlanders. That must, hc.ve been the Other Party. Yet tbeie are few of us, il may be, who have iiiu motii| to heave u theological hali-brii'l; at Mr Kruger. We are° all disposed on slight evidence to think ourselves the special ward'; of Providence. Tlni' in the Daily Times of Wednesday we read: Amongst the many journeying mercies of wlueh -Mr Cibb, whilst away, has been the recipient, the following is perhaps the most striking. He thus describes the incident; — Y.T.e:i 1 hud decided to sail by a certain steamer from San Francisco to Vancouver t v.'a» limiliv led to go by another atcamer. The lir;! s'.camer was wrecked and 10 persons wet»

drowned. I was, and am, <Kvrl? thankful to a gracious Providence. May that samo Providence bring me safely home again." This is {he Rev. ,Tamos Gi'ib, whom nwv Hewtn lung alH \ Jikised to notice, is soon fo be in our Rgsiit. Mr flibli docs well to chronicle his journeying mercies; but- what alio'it the 10 other persons who embarked in the fated steamer and were drowned? These journeying m.-eies seem to lie very unevenly distributed.

Tuesday's Daily Times reports a meet ins; of the Dmicdin Council of Churches. A ccrre-pondeut sends me this report dipped out and with ccrtaiu items underlined, Co'Jcet-cd they yield a somewhat disagreeable impression ; — Tip resignation of the Uov. Curzon-Sisgcrs as vice-president ot the ccincil v;as accepted The Chairman mentioned tli.it the executive bad -reived the resignation of Mr W. Hutchison, one ot tho vice-presidents, witci regret [Mr Hutchison explained that he "wa-< nni thin-skinned at all,' but "bo had felt be was not wanted. things were, done in a wav in which he did no! believe]. 'the llev,. \\\ Scorgie wrote rrsigniii" h ; s position as convener of tile Kningefieal Campaign Committee. Uccigr.ation accepted with regret. Auti-Ciambling CommiUco.-Mr Hutchison said lie was very sorry to say that he had found it impossible to get a iureting of tho committec; consequently he had no report to submit to tho council. BiMo-in-Schools Committee.—The Uov. A. Hodge, convener, said that no committee meeting had been held. Ho had nothing to report or to suggest at tho present time, but when ... returned to tov.-n ho would have a chat with him'ar.d see what could be done. Mr Hodge turther expressed the opinion that " the question was dead." _ Social Purity Committfe.-The Rev. Mr Sinclair was sorry to say tint he ha;l called the committee together, and that he was the sole representative at the meeting. Temperance Committee.—llr A. S. Adams, convener, said that during the last fow months nothing had been done. There were times when it was best to do nothing. He had deliberately abstained from calling the committee together. It rends like m dclicatc satire on all this that the President, the Rev. ,1. ,1. Lewis, in annminonj! liis tnv;i rcßismution, said that lie "could not quit the council without expressing his gratitude for th; privilege he had been allowed io enjoy of working among them," Of lvorfiing nmnnj,' them" obseivc! If this is how Jiicse grind people work, how would they idle'- Time was when the public rather pinned its faith on the Council of the Churches. They began admirably. The l!:mt:oi\ of Christendom, a subject supposed lo he the purconiil property c-'.id private preset ve of Bishop Xovill, th::y boldly appropriated. So far well. lint it is one thing to jump the Bishop's claim, it is another thing tn irovk it. In work not done, committees not railed, or, being called, that refused to collie, they have put up a- record. Their catalogue of resignations suggests ;i j'encral scuttle. Inu whole thing as arranged above might be the .'ketch of a. comic opera by W. S. Gilbert for music by Arthur Sullivan.

I did not road a paper at (lie Medical Congress: as a matter of fact, I was not asked. Had tin; opportunity l;?en "iven, I might have imparled some usefuHiints from the patient's point of view. The regular practitioners couldn't have disagreed with me, a layman, move cordially than, on some Mibjests. tliev did with each other. On the nineli diluted question of consumption and its treatment I take no frock in microbes : tin; deadly doings of '.lie bacillus ptllnuinnrius, if that's its name, are to me neither here nor there. These are matters for the learned to diragrce about, anil when doctors disagree patients I've free. The direction in which mv freedom would assort itself is towards the open window and fresh air. Hear on this point the experience of» phthisical patient at nre of the open-air sanalorlums now getting to be common in all civiK"d countries: At the sanatorium life in the winter : s the same as m the Mtminer; the patients do not pass their time m rooms with the windows open and a fire I:urnir s , bnt sit out o! doors y.-.m.ovcr inc weather may be. Moils are taken lit a (iimcj-rcom wt!i ]?i s0 windows open at each cmj, ji. pood cuitoul- of air. At 111','lit; 'tile temperature o( tho bedrooms is practically the same as oubide. French windows are open all night. together with a door nil the opposite sioe of the room* opening into n fine breezy corridor. What would some of our .ownsto k say 0 i Roing to sleep with snowlines so.Jy dnftnijr about their faces and v;alu! ,(T no ne-:t morning to find the bed and floor quite white? 1 \et the patients never suffered from cold never set- up it. catarrh. Oil a ideal; day an extra garinci)', would be out on after wnlkinpt instead or b-fore, as is the customary stale of affairs. 'People feel tlie'cold end tulie cold because of sudden changes in tempera.ore. They sit i„ iU-ventilated rooms, then go oid into the cold air, and the who o system receives t shook. If wim | mvs \ !:01)l , wdo open m winter and in summer and people olotlied accordingly there won'd b-> 110 dansrer of such shocks, and colds rare or i'vpu unknown. I make no extra charge for this wisdom and I doubt whether the malic;,l m ?u of Dunedin, for whom as a class I have the profoundest respect, would greatlv dissent from it. __ Civis.