THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 1922.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18466, 30 January 1922, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 1922.

THE DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE. The sittings of the Washington Conference hare been prolonged to a later date than, was generally anticipated when the delegates’ assembled on November 12 last, but it'is apparent that the discussions are now nearing a close. It was not to be expected that the interest in the Conference that igas manifested throughout the world during its early stages would be actively maintained to its conclusion. It was impossible that all the' achievenJents of the Conference should be spectacular. The matters of detail upon which it hap been latterly and is still engaged have evidently been productive' of a tedious procedure, such as" has been little calculated to keep the doings of the Conference in the forefront in the chronicle of the ©vents. The time which the Conference has spent in putting the finishing touches, so far as that is possible, to its work, and especially in deliberating upon various aspects of the Far Eastern problem, has proclaimed its desire to secure the greatest attainable \ measure of thoroughness in all its transactions. Not yet can the record of the Conference be catalogued in full, and not yet, probably, can the value of its more outstanding accomplishments be seen in true perspective. \> But it says much for the spirit of co-operation in which the representatives of the Powers have conferred that so many seeming obstacles to international understanding, and agreement have been more or less successfully surmounted. The more, recent deliberations have been mainly directed to an endeavour to arrive at a satisfactory solution of the problem presented in the position of China. The adjustment of Chinese interests has, not surprisingly, proved itself to be one of the most intricate questions with which’ the Conference has had to deal. Nor has it yet been made quite plain exactly what the Conference has accomplished in this relation, or what is to be the sum total of its contribution to a satisfactory adjustment of the relations between China and the Powers interested in the Far East, and of the . various points that are in dispute between China and. Japan. I At an early period of the Conference China and Japan expressed themselves as willing ..to accept the good offices of the United States and Great Britain in an attempt to solve the problems relating to Shantung and Kiao-Chan.. The latest reports indicate that the points of difference have been narrowed down to a very small compass, and hopes are entertained that a settlement may shortly he reached. The claims advanced by the Chinese delegates were undoubtedly discounted by their inability to demonstrate their authority to on behalf

of China as a whole at a time when it is .notorious that the feeble Government at Peking exercises no power and little influence, over a great part of tho eighteen provinces, to say nothing of the other parts of the Empire. But if the Chinese delegates courted disappointment in some respects in building more highly on their expectations *of the Conference than they were justified in doing, tho close attention which has been devoted to the affairs of their country, the agreement of the eight Powers “t 6 provide the fullest and most unembarrassed opportunity to China to develop or maintain for herself an effective and stable Govem'hient,” and the scrutiny to which hqr relations with Japan have been subjected in an earnest endeavour to bring about a settlement, should have convinced them of the desire of the Powers to see that the interests of China are 1 safeguarded. It may well be that the surest guarantee of the future of China is that China shall herself be at peace. When she ceases to be “ the sick man of the Pacific ” she may hofe find much difficulty in keeping her house in order, one point in the proceedings at Washington, President Harding expressed himself as delighted with tahe manner in which results had exceeded expectations. It is possible that later developments may have suggested the need • for some qualification of this enthusiastic declaration. When, however, the results are examined .in their entirety, as will shortly be possible, there is little doubt that they will justify tho conclusion that ’ the Conference has performed really notable service in the interests of peace and in the ordation of a better understanding among the nations. ■ '

It is no doubt true that of no man that evor lived have so many and varied pictures been drawn as of Shakespeare. It requires a bold dramatist to put the immortal poet among the characters of a play, but it ,is occasionally done. The most recent instance in point is Miss Clemence Dane’s ‘‘Will 'Shakespeare,” which had but a short run at the Shaftesbury ■ Theatre. The chief invention in what is frankly admitted to be an imaginary story woven round ’the central character is that Shakespeate was the man who killed Marlowe in the brawl at Deptford, through 5 jealousy of the Dark Ljwiy—accepted as being Mary Fitton—having gone there aa Marlowe’s inamorata, dressed as a boy. If the invention be pardonable on the score of possibility it is doubtful if the conception of Shakespeare as a murderer will be welcomed by dr helpful to students. Less edifyipg as an excursion into a similar field was another play, entitled simply “ Shakespeare," written recently by H. F. Rubenstein and Clifford ( Bax. The authors, having decided that Shakespeare was passion’s slave, showed him making love to Henslowe’s daughter, and anon admitting that he was already a married man. With ; tho Dark Lady of the Sonnets he philanders of course to the expected degree, and gets'paid out for it by his wife Anne Hathaway, who masquerades as ithe Dark Lady. Mr Spielman’e catalogue of the various plays in which the poet has been made to appear in the cast gives a list of nearly forty, and It is not claimed that it is complete. It appears that the idea of putting Shakes: peare himself into a play goes back to the year of the Garrick Jubilee, 1769, when one or two experiments were made. Later,' at the tercentenary celebrations of 1864, a large number of plays of the type in question made their appearance, “no fewer than eleven being German.” This led to others, and in all, with translations and adaptations, Germany is to'be credited with about a dozen and a-half Shakespeares as dramatis personae. England has been content with well over a dozen, ' \

Given a prolonged period of peace there is no telling what triumphs of engineering may yet belong to the early part of the twentieth century. The project for the construction of a tunnel under the English Channel has been actively revived. There is an older project, moreover, of a similar kind, and one of a much more ambitious character, in which interest is beginning to manifest itself once more in France. This is nothing less than the linking'of Europe and Africa by means of a tunnel under the Straits of Gibraltar. It is not suggested that, there is any prospect of this interest taking any very practical form at present. The conception itself, andacious as it may be, has apparently found favour in both France and Spam and is believed to be technically sound. Two schemes have secured expert approval, one of French , and the dtlier of Spanish origin. It seems to be agreed that the shortest crossing which is practicable, having regard to the character of the sea-bottom, is about 24 miles. .It is, however, the circumstance that the tunnel would at / its lowest level be 1254 feet below the surface of the sea that would particularly stamp the undertaking as prodigious. The type of tunnel that has been proposed is -a tube of about six, yards in diameter,' permitting of the passage of trains in opposite directions. A few of the difficulties of the “task that would be involved readily suggest themselves, such as that occasioned by the tremendous weight of water oh the tunnel, ventilation and the infiltration ,of water. In theory the engineers are credited with being prepared to- conquer all these obstacles. But a geologic study of the bed of the sea of a most profound character is indispensable, for there are parts of the Straits which are inadequately knotih, and terrible surprises might be in store for the pioneers were they to base their calculations upon present imperfect investigations. It is recalled that the earthquake of Messina in 1908 revealed the presence of a fissure that had not been suspected when plans were prepared in 1&86 for a tunnel between Sicily and Italy.

Speaking recently at an instructional factory conducted by the Home Government for the training of disabled soldiers Dr Macnamara, Minister of Labour, said, in reply to some criticism, that the Government was struggling along as best it could in the'wake of the great war storm with its consequent industrial depression and emphasised the obligation upon it to economise owing to the financial position. "I db not know of anybody,” lie declared, “ who would wish to do the exsoldier down. We must, up to the limit of our resources, do all possible to requite the profound obligations we are under to those men. They are the first charge upon our gratitude and sympathy. We shall do everything we can for those men, so don’t get that wrong.” Dr Macnamara was of course speaking, in all sincerity, but the ability of the Government at Homo to oope with the problem of the ex-service meft ' seems to be hardly commensurate with its desire. Moreover all the responsibility for an unsatisfactory state of affairs rests by no means with the Government. In his' new book “ The Hope of Europe ” Sir Philip Gibbs contrasts scathingly the position of the men who were fighting for England while the New Bich were seeing in the war only a heaven-sent opportunity to amass wealth: They had gone out to war straight from school. When they asked for jobs they were asked: ‘‘Where is your apprenticeship ticket?” “I was in the Army,” said the ■unemployed man. : “I was, fighting for England and the whole damn crowd of stay-at-homes.” .

“Sony," said the foreman. “You were little heroes, no doubt, and we’re much obliged to you, but we don’t dilute skilled labour with unskilled trash. It’s against - trade union mice." . * It wee .also, it seemed, against the principles of the managers of City offices. Exofficers called! on them in search ol clerkships. These were the loyal gentlemen who, while the young men were fighting and dying, said: “We will fight to tho last , man.’’ But now that the end hod come same of them'looked doubtfully at the ex-officer boy* who hod had the luck to oome back, and uttered disconcerting words: ' “You ere hardly fitted for work in this office. Hon have been wasting your tuna in the Army.” ‘ ; / ’ ' ' ■ It was recorded tho other day that d good-hearted London barber had hung the walls of his saloon with the works of impecunious artists, with results in sales Vety satisfactory to thorn- It is not of much use asking what becomes of all the pictures that are painted. It is a case, presumably, of the survival of , the fittest. It is not considered altogether an evil, possibly, when a, plutocrat' swoops down and carries off a shipload of works of art to foreign * parts. The Japanese have a distinctive art of their own, but they are likely to become more amenable than at present to the effect of Western art influences when Mr K. Matsnkata, a great shipping magnate of the Far East and one of tha ■ • wealthiest citizens in Japan, has finished a little self-imposed task which he |ias in ' hand. During the past five dr six: years he has bought close on a thousand wofka of art, which he proposes to house in a suitable gallery on the famous plateau of Tokyo,, for the benefit of the Japanese people. When completed the gallery will be worth about £1,000,000. Mr Matsukata has now over 900 pictures, besides many pieces of tapestry and of’ sculpture. The works include British, German, Danish, Italian, and French pictures of the various schools, carefully selected to ■■ show the Japanese people the historical development of art The collector claims to have two Rembrandts of certified authenticity, as well us some of the best works of Reynolds, Gainsborough, Constable, Brangwyn, Augustus John and others. His purchases include also soma famous pieces of tapestry, amongst them ' being one Of the seventeenth Century Brussels manufacture after the rich design of David Lemirs, and the second of the only two existing sculptures of Rodin’s “The Gate of HelL’’ Mr Matsnkata lias announced Hs intention of having also a Very fine specimen of English architecture, since the gallery which ha is to build will be designed by Mr Brangwyn. Some day perhaps a millionaire will come along and do something for Art in New Zealand. Oakes have assumed of late years a new* importance in the educational curriculum for girls. Prom time to time the question of the wisdom of the attention bestowed on them excites a mild controversy. The chief medical officer for tho ; 7 ' Board of Education of England and Waled speaks confidently in his latest report:—* ,General statements, unsupported by evidence, have been made from tims- to time as to bodily displacement and other remote physical damage which may be caused by devotion to games. On the other hand medical officers, who h»Ve had actual opportunity of supervising the health of girls and young women playing games undeC appropriate conditions, 'state that ties' Di-effects do not in fact occur, and that there is no •reason to anticipate that injury, 'either immediate dr remote, will result if .the games are properly chosen! and played. in \ moderation. . : Stress is laid upon the choice of games as the most important consideration for the . that modem methods of teaching girls how to “play the game” are being devised.” There is no telling what far-reaching effect this may have upon what is popularly .imagined to be a characteristic feminine propensity. Thq expert we have quoted says: “They should Team to play for their side as readily as boys, and field and team games are of great value in teaching a girl to co-operate with her fellows, to sink her own personality whera necessary, and to lose without grumbling.’* In schools and training colleges all over England and Wales (>a comprehensive system of physical training is in vogue, and the appointment of whole-time experts to supervise the organisation of it » is now advocated. It is officially laid . down that children of from seven to ' eleven years should have five 20-minute periods a week in the matter of physical training, and those over eleven years four daily lessons of 20 minutes, while them should -be one 4S : mmute period fozj organised games where possible. • Under the auspices of the Bed Cities Sou . duty (says a Press Association message from Invercargill) Rev. M. Mullineuxi opened a lecturing tour on tho work done in i gathering, tho remains of those who were killed at the front and putting them into central cemeteries. The (address was instructive, showing what great difficulties were experienced in locating the graves in the devastated areas and how the work was carried out Views of the finished oeme- . tories were shown illustrating how they appear when everything is completed. No trace so far has been found of tho boy and girl named Small, who are believed . to have been drowned in tho Long Ford ofl the Taieri River at Middlsmaroh nearly a fortnight ago (writes our correspondent.). • During the past Iff days Constable Phillips has made a thorough search of thiebedof the ■ river from the Deep Stream upwards but without success. A party of 40 residents of Strath searched from Taiorpai upwards, but no trace of the bodies could be found. A party has left to work up from Taieri Mouth, as it is thought that the high flood may have carried tbs bodies down to the level country. ' - In an interview regarding the cabled statement concerning an Empire air service tho Prime Minister said; “I admit' the possibilities of an air service find I bo- . lievo that in time this will bo a very important means of communication, especially between tho different -countries of Empire.' But I do not think that up to the present enough has been done by way of experiment, That impression was strengthened, by tho very sad disaster which happened to R 38, which was at that time the best airship that had been built within the boundaries of the Empire.” Another aspect of the matter which appealed to the Prime Minister (a Wellington Press Association message states) was that any service between Great Britain and the Antipodes. would have to pass through part of tha journey in winter, and little was known as yet of the difficulties and danger's which thus would entail, Ae New Zealand waa passing through' a time of financial diffi>. oulty she was compelled to restrict her expenditure to the most urgent purposes.' . About- 80,000 Allied Victory medals have! to be distributed {days a Press Association message from Wellington). Up to the present 1300 have been sent out from tha Defence headquarters. Contrary to procedure adopted in the case of the British wlar .medal tha Victory medals are being issued to those- entitled to them in reversed alphabetical order; the R's having now been reached. It is likely that most of tha -medals will have been engraved and do- m spatohed by the end of July, but. some • little delay may occur in distributing the medals to the next-of-kin of deceased soldiers as full inquiries have to bo made in all oases where men have been reported killed. ; ' The arrangements for the Dunedini Jockey Club’s third animal race ball,' to'bo held in the Art Gallery Hall on February . 10, are well under way. It is expected that; the Governor-General and Lady Jolli. coo and their staff, and the officers of 1 H.M.S. Chatham arid- U.M.A.S, Melbourne will be present. There was a clean sheet in the CStj| Polios Court on Saturday.

Strong opposition Is being expressed _by the 'members of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants to the proposal in the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act ' Amendment Bill to exclude the society from having a vote in election of the workers’ representative on the Arbitration Court. The amendment has been discussed by thp Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants’ Executive,' which is still sitting in Wellington (says a Press Association telegram), and the society's views have been placed before the Labour Bills Committee of the House of Representatives, While members of the society do not work under awards of the Arbitration Court they make use of tile oourt in compensation cases, and for this reason they contend that they should have a voice in the constitution of the court. The City Fire Brigade received a call at 4.58 p.m. on Saturday from the box on the corner of King Edward street and Maoandrew road. The services of the brigade, however, were not required as a malicious false alarm had evidently been given by some person with a perverted sense of humour. A valuable donation has just been made to the Victoria College library by Mr A. R. Atkinson, a member of the College Council. It includes 20 law bocks, 30 volumes of Latin and Greek classics, and a number of Oriental and Melanesian vocabularies and grammars, besides philosophical and ethnological works. The specially Valuable part of the gift is a collection of scientific treatises on the spaders ,o£ many countries, and the Mix notes of the late Mrs A. S. Atkinson, of Nelson, on New Zealand spiders, representing tho observations and study of many years. A soldier settlor on Stalker Settlement, Seaward Downs, recollects with maxed feelings a visit to hia locality* on January 12, of a man with an aeroplane (says the Wyndham Farmer 1 ). The pilot chose a certain tanner’s paddock as ids flying ground. In an adjoining field was a herd of dairy cows, the property of a returned “Digger.” The whirr of the aeroplane’s engine terrified the cows to each an extent that they ! dashed helter-skelter into a wire fence in their efforts to flee from the unusual noise, and two of the animals were rather seriously hurt, being oonsideraibly torn about their udders by barbed wire. ’ One of the cows had been in profit only about 10 days, and ATM had been pood tor it Now, instead of the owner getting £2O worth of milk from her during the remainder of the season, the cow has gone dry, besides being permanently impaired ih value for dairying. The other cow’s milk yield has also been noticeably affected. Such on incident, tho paper suggests, is dhe that sooner or later must bo taken notice of by our Legislature, with a view to protecting owners of live stock. At the monthly meeting of the Waakonoiti Branch of the Farmers’ Union over which Mr A. Fell presided, Mr Overton submitted reports and figures showing the necessity for improved methods in the handling and marketing of Now Zealand produce. Mr A. S. Cambridge reported on the Meat Pool Conference held at Wellington, and after a considerable amount of discussion it was unanimously resolved: “That this general meeting of-farmers and others m- . terested, in the Waikonxaiti district, after hearing the delegate to the conference, is strongly in favour of tho compulsory meat pool and promises the Government its hearty support in carrying out the scheme.” A somewhat pathetic incident that ffk»trates the financial difficulties some of the soldier settlers arfe encountering is related in a letter from the King Country (soys the Auckland Herald). The soldier in question was ploughing in his bore feet. He one pair of boots, hut an he required them for visits to omlaaatian, and as ho had no ready cash, he decided to save leather at the expense of tho soles of hia feet. Tho incident was not 1 related os a complaint, and it therefore indicates the kind of courage of some of the settlers. A cycle race held at Marshland on Thursday, evening provided extraordinary excitement at the \finish (says , the Christchurch Press) this being due mainly to the determined efforts of eight heavy draught horses to bo “in at the death.” The race was supposed to finish in Hills road; just over the intersection of Briggs road. As a bunch of about 20 riders commenced to make tho final sprint for home, tho mob of horses galloped out of & partdock and started racing towards home and, incidentally, towards the finishing point for the race. As they gained on the horses some of cycli sta /realised the danger and slackened speed, but others took the risk and dashed through the mob towards their goal. The efforts of the spectators to turn the horses off into a cross road only frightened the animals more, causing them to stampede madly in all directions, to the very real danger of cyclists', and colookers. Fortunately no one woe hurt, but the interference destroyed a great deal of tho interest ih the race. The French Minister of War has just published figures giving the total number of shells, cartridges, rifles, cannon, machine guns, etc., manufactured from 1914 to 1918 in French war factories. They are, indeed, prodigious. Tho total number of shells of all calibres - readied 289,849,000. Other figures show:—Fuses, 425/300,000; rifle cartridges for the infantry, 6,300,000,000; rifles and carbines, 2,575,000; machine guns, 87,000; 17,339 of the .75 cannon; 6722 carmen of heavy calibre; 5300 tanks. Few trench material and munitions the weight of metal used was 290,000 tons; 290,000‘motors for aeroplanes were made; 49,000 tons of asphyxiating material manufactured ; 1,118,000 tons of powder /and explosives, and 48,857,975 gas masks. To these must be added side arms, tools, and a great many accessories. * “Stealing pennies from a blind beggar” is a term which expresses the contempt of the ordinary citizen for thefts of a particularly mean nature, though few people ever really entertain the thought that anyone, in this country at least, could be literally guilty of such a crime. However, a report submitted to tho North Canter- , bury Hospital Board on Wednesday by Dr J. G. Biaokmore, medical director of tuberculosis institutions, showed that there are thieves in Christchurch (says the Press) who are capable of thefts almost as mean. Dr Blackmoro stated in his letter that early in the month about three sacks full of potatoes had been dug up and taken away from the sanatorium garden at night. On several occasions vegetables had been stolen from the garden in tho same way, and as tho vegetables were grown there so tldkt the patients might have them perfectly fresh and so derive tho most benefit, the thieves had really stolon articles intended for tho sick. “It is difficult to conceive of persons who can bb so lacking in a sense of decency and honesty as to steal from an institution which is catering for tho public generally, and an institution to which the thieves themselves may some day have to apply for help and treatment,” Dr Blackmoro stated in conclusion. A Wanganui resident states that he had occasion to moire a trip on the ferry steamer from Wellington to Lyttelton recently. On the boat was a young man who was also taking hia motor oar south. The car was lowered on the isvharf at Lyttelton and tho owner commenced 1 to take off tho covering prior to starting out on the run over the hill to Christchurch. Greatly to tho surprise of those ju the vicinity, an old man popped hia head up inside tho car, and commenced to blink in tho sunlight. It was soon disclosed to the interested spectators that he had entered tho oar before it was placed on the boat at Wellington and had made a cheap trip to Lyttelton. A few jocular remarks wore passed, and the old man remarked “that very few persona could claim to have travelled from Wellington to Lyttelton in a roqtor car.” Ho might have added also that very few pcoplo a ro clover enough to get a cheap trip on tho ferry service at the expense of the Union Company.” A well-knpwn dairy farmer at Opouiti, 16 miles from Wairoa, Mr A-, Hole, had a marvellous escape from death by drowning (says the New Zealand Herald). He was crossing with cream in a cage on a wire rope suspended over the Wairoa River, 70ft above the flooded stream. By some mischance tho cage parted from the cable, and Mr Hole was precipitated, cream and all, into the water. With him foil an empty kerosene case, and, clutching this, he was bojno down for nearly three miles through mtfch broken water. At Mangamhe a young man named M'Corldngdalo -plunged in, and rescued Mr Hole, practically M SM the worse for hia -long immersion.

Onb of the many uncongenial tasks which falls to the lot of a (police constable is the escorting of mental patients to asylums. Three officers on the New Plymouth-Wel-lington express on a recent afternoon, who were accompanying an insane man (says the Now Zealand Times), had to exert all their strength to restrain their charge from carrying out what was hia evident intention —suicide. The man not being in a strait-jacket, he was most difficult to control, and he struggled so much that every window in the compartment of the carriage was smashed when the train arrived at Palmerston North. The unfortunate man was in a frenzy and struggled with his captors in a maniacal fury when the train drew into the station platform. With the assistance of three railway officials, 'the constables at length had the patient securely trussed up in a straitjacket, which was procured from the local police station. The operation took over 15 minutes to perform, and the train was do? layed 20 miniutoe. A ead title of the hopeless search for work by an American immigrant in Sydney is told in a private letter received in Wellington recently. The writer is a young man, Who, with hia wife, came from California and passed through W ©Hington, where he gave some interesting details to a Times representative in regard to conditions on the Pacific coast. It was has intention to take up land in Western Australia, but his wife falling ill in Sydney, ho “stayed over” in that city, and commenced looking for .work, “Work is very scarce,” he writes. “I have gone to all the American firms here looking for employment. The result was nil. I am disappointed with most of nay countrymen here; they ore less gracious to an American than Australians are. We live in the shims. There is no getting out of it; they are shims. My wife thanks it is colourful. lam glad she does. Anywoy, wa are both seeing things in people we never saw before—but we must , move. It was a rainy day when wo picked our neighbourhood and house, and all Sydney looked the same to us on that miserable day.” In connection with, the orphanages’ benefit meeting to be held *at Forbury Park, three motor cycle events have been included in the programme. The entries close with the secretary of the Otago Motor Club. Entries for the two amateur races to be run at the “Mardi Gras” on February 8 close with the secretary of the Otago Centre on Wednesday next. Sprung in the right places, built to resist road shocks for the rider, yet makes the machine durable —Harley-Davidson motor cycles.—W. A. Justice and Co., Otago Agents, 292 Princes street, Dunedin.—Advt Why make easy work hard, toiling at the wash tub? Simply use. “No-Rubbing” Laundry Help and the work disappears.— Advt. A Snip. —Flock beds, covered with extra heavy ticking, buttoned, size 4ft bin x 6ft bin. Special sale price 35a —MbUieons Ltd. Advt. Watson’s No. 10 is a little dearer than most whiskies, but is worth the money.— Advt. A E. J. Blakeley, dentist, Bank of Australasia, comer of Bond and Rattray itroets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 3 859.Advt. Save your Eyes.-—Consult Peter G. Dick. D.8.0.A., F. 1.0., London, consulting ana oculists’ optician.—“ Peter Dick,” jewellers and opticians, Moray place, Dunedin. —Advt