CHATS WITH THE CHILDREN.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 17 August 1888, Page 35

CHATS WITH THE CHILDREN.

By Pater.

introductory,l am going;, with fche editor's conaenfc, to keep this column to give information fco my school children friends, and to have quiet little chats with them. When any of you hear or read anything thafc will be particularly infceresfciug fco other school children, I want you to write all about ifc to me, aud we shall see if we cannot improve each other and other folk too. I know a little about children, and have found, out that many of them are only too glad to read anything interesting and to tell ifc to others. I'm i.ofe going to confine myself to anything in particular. If any of you wanta little information, write, and I'll try and give ifc, or gefc some of my young friends to supply ifc. Between us I am hoping fco make our chats in this column very enjoyable and useful. Now I'll commence my first letter to you by noticing a few items telegraphed to us last week from Europe. Tae ttastlle. A week or two back we read of the Parisians celebrating rhe 100 th anniversary of the taking of fche Bastile. Now, what and where was fche Basfcile, and why was ifc taken by the people ? Ifc was an immense fortress in Paris used as a prison. Each cell contaiued a chain to which prisoners wero chained and a larga stone which served as a seat, table, and bed. Many of the cells also contained instruments of torfcure. Ifc was surrounded by tuiek walls nearly lOOf fc high, on fche top of which cannon were placed fco defend ifc. A wide ditch, called a moafc, had to be crossed to get to fche fortress doors, and a drawbridge was used to give acces3 fco, or egress from fche fortress ; so you will see is was a very strong place. But why was ifc attacked by fche people ? To answer that question, I must tell you a little about bhe French king who reigned then, and about his nobles, fche clergy, and the labouring classes. The king -was a despotic and extravagant man ; his nobles and their families were also extravagant, and with fche clergy occupied all the high offices in Church and State, drawing good salaries and taxing the poor people very heavily, while they paid bufc little taxes themselves. The clergy were just as bad, and about the time we are speaking of owned about £80,000,000 worth of land. You can easily tee fchafc the millions of labouring people did not have much respect for king, nobles, or clergy ; they hated the nobles and clergy wifch an intense hatred. I will tell you a little about these poorer classes, who lived mostly in fche country. They were not allowed to weed and hoe the crops, because fchafc would destroy the game; fchey were not fco use certain manures because fche nobles said fche manures might give a flavour to the game ; they had to look on while herds of boars and deer and parties of huntsmen trod down and destroyed their crops; they had to grind their corn afc the landlord's mill, bake their bread in his oven, and press their grapes in his press, and pay him to be allowed to do so. Afc one time if a nobleman's wife were ill fche peasants had actually' to beafc the marshes to keep the frogs quiet ! Out- of every 8s worth of produce fchey got off the land they had actually to give one way or another 5s m taxes. Would you object to thafc ? Many people have noticed what beautiful roads lead to the great cifciesof France, but they do not kuow thafc fchey were builfc by the poor labourers, who were forced fco work so har.l thafc many died. Then how badly criminals were punished ! Men who were afc fche taking of the Bastile remembered how a man had h ; s flesh torn off wifch red-hot; piaoers and molten lead poured in the wounds. Sometimes their bones were broken with iron bars and their bodies thrown across fche sharp edge of & wheel. Bub there was even a worse form of oppres.

sion. The King's friends got notes from him which gave them power over anyone whom they hated. A man or woman possessing oue of these had only to write on it the name of anyone hated aud that person was instantly sent to prison, and often remained there for" life, though no law had been broken. He might not even know who i sent him there. Fancy such a state of things now ! Can you wonder then thafc the poor oppressed people demanded a voice in fche government and protection from such cruel and unjust laws? The King, nobles, and clergy refused to give them any relief, and the infuriated people took tho law in their own hands. One of the first; things they did was to take fche prison in which so many had been unjustly placed and likely tortured. Ifc was defended by 114 soldiers and attacked by 'about 40,000, nearly all of whom were armed. Shots were fired afc the soWiers from streets, doors, windows, and fche roofs of the houses. The attack commenced about 1 in fche afternoon and lasted till aboufc evening. The commander, De Launay, saw ifc was useless to continue tbe fighting and sent a note to the besiegers and told them he would blow up the Bastile with tbe 20,0C01b of gunpowder he had unless they would give him their word to let him and the garrison go free. They consented. Tbe garrison was allowed to escape, but fche infuriated mob cut off fche commander's head iv fche street. During the time of the Revolution as many as 80 were executed in a day in the sfreefcs of Paris. One day 20 were executed in 28 minutes. Ifc has been calculated that a million were murdered before order was restored. Governments. I have mentioned that the French King was a despotic monarch. A governmrufc miy be (1) A Limited Monarchy, (2) A Despotic Monarchy, or (3) A Republic. In a limited monarchy fche sovereign acts on the advice of his Ministers, who art selected by the Parliament from the party in Parliament thafc has the greatest majority. England is governed by a limited monarchy, and the sovereigns have acted on the alvice of Ministers representing the majority since the time of William 111. Iv a despotic monarchy the wish of the sovereign is supposed to be law. Russia fa governed by ,a despotic monarch called a Czar or Tzar. Do you know thafc Ozsr is a contraction of Caspar ? A republic is really a nation ruled by its Parliament. The United States and France are Republics. Crime and Sin. Iv referring to the Bastile I made mention of fche punishment of criminals. You know, of course, thafc a criminal commits a crime ; bufc is there any difference between a crime and a sin ? There is a great deal of difference. A crime is an offence against the law of the land, but ifc in not necessarily a sin. A sin is an offence against God and conscience ; 150 years ago in Connecticut ifc was a crime for a mother to kiss her baby on the Sunday, bub surely we would not call ifc a sin fco kiss fche dear little chappie or lassie ! Armstrong- Guns. Did you read thafc an Armstrong gun had been taken fco Lawyer's Head ? Ifc weighs 15 tons and with a cwfc of powder (fancy 1121b of power for one shot!) fche shot leaves the gun travelling over 2Dooffc a second — at the rate of a mile in about two seconds and a-half ! I'll write more about the gun, if I remember ifc, when it is mounted. But do you know where ifc was made? Sir William Armstrong's firm's works are on fche River Tyne iv fche North of England and just above Newcastle. Thorp, he makes guns, engines, cannon s'uofc, and foundry work in geneval. Afc the yard 3 b°low Newcastle ships are builfc by fche same firm. The works cover over -"jO acres and extend aloug the. side of the river 'or flbo'jfc a mi''e. The flora employs about; 6000 men, aud pays away about £10,000 every week. The worka support a whole town called' Eiswick. Sir William is now supposed to bo worth about £2,000,000, and yet he started life in a lawyer's office. I haven't space fco write about fche inventions that made him famous, bufc fche principal ones are : — 1. The hydraulic #crane (a crane worked by water pressure instead, of steam). 2. Rifled cannon made of steel. 3. Elongated shot made to fit the canuon. The Armstrong gun and fche Krupp gun (fche latter made in Germany) are now I suppose fche best cannon in the world; and yet a lot ef colonels to whom the first Armsfcrongguu was shown called ib a pop-gun Baku. Perhaps you noticed that a steamer was burnt near Baku, and thafc ifc was laden wifch petroleum. I'll tell you how easily they lighfc their kmps around Baku, or candles, or whatever you like to call them. Imagine yourselves to be there, and do as I tell you. Push yoursfcrck into the ground about half a^dozen inches, make a tube of paper or get a tube of any kiud,fifc ifc in the hole,apply p. paafcch or piece of coal to fche top of the paper tube (edge it with clay to keep ifc from burning^ and you gefc a five light ! A natural illuminating gns comes out of fche ground ; so you see it doesn't cost folk in that region uiuch for kerosene or. candles As most people there have not gob boards for floors, they have only to make a little hole iv the floor to gefc a lighfc in the house. afc any time. A man bored, a hole in tb,e ground to get some petroleum, and it spurted up 300 ft (as high as 12 one-storeyed houses piled one on the other), and discharged 2,000,000 gal in a day. It is so cheap that a man who refines it there only pays Id for 30gal of crude oil. They use oil instead of coal on fche Caspian Sea 6teamers, but I'll tell you about that another time. Armada. Jusfc about the time we read that the Parisians had been celebrating fche caking of fche Bastile, and we also read fchafc the Londoners had been celebrating the 300 th anniversary of; the defeat of fche Armada. I'll write a few lines to you about it, and perhaps some of you who have read a good deal about ifc will write fco me ; will you ? Ifc was fitted out by Philip II of Spain iv Elizabeth's reign. Afc fchafc time Spain was supposed fco be fche richest and most powerful nation of Europe. The Spanish ships numbered 136, and had among them eight enormous vessels rowed by over 2000 slaves. The fleet was manned by about; 9000 sailors, besides slaves. There were 3000 cannon on board, and over 20,000 soldiers, thousands of horses, and wine and provisions for months. The fleet was to eail up the Channel, sfceer for Bruges, where fche celebrate-1 General Parma had ah army ready to embark ia flafc-bofctomed bo%ts it had taken a small forest fco make. These soldiers were to be escorted across to England, and were there fco oomplefce fche conquest commenced by fche Armada. There were 197 Euglish ships, bufc most of them were very pmall, manned by 15,000 sailors and having nearly 6000 marines, who did the fighting. We all know tbe result. Tbe Arroada didn't defeat the English, aud Parma's 3oldiers didn't land. The fire ships, the superior handling of the small, broad, short, quickly-tacking yesselp, the storm, and the enthusiastic patriotism of fche Euglish marines (now often, called uavals) were too much for the Spaniards. The

fleet was driven through the Strait of Dover, went round the North of Scotland and the West of Ireland, and what was left of the Armada reached Spain in ,a miserable plight. The Spaniards didn't fit out another Armada, nor did Philip geb the large sum of- money the Pope had promised to give him when ho had got possession of an English port. But. why did Philip fit out the Armada ? Various reasons have been given why it was fitted out, and among them the following : — 1. Philip was the leading Catholic Prince of Europe, and he thought it his dufcy to conquer Protestant Eugland and make it a Catholic country again. 2. As he had married the late English Queen, Mary, he claimed the Euglish throne as' her nearest heir. . 3. On behalf of the Catholics he wished to have revenge for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. 4. He offered to marry Elizabeth, and she refused. His wounded pride sought revenge. 5. English 6ea captains had been and were then in the habit of attacking Spanish towns and plundering his galleons (treasure ships) when they were returning to Spain from the West Indies and Spanish American colonies.