TOURING THE COLONIES. A NEW ZEALANDER IN AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1943, 14 February 1889, Page 32

TOURING THE COLONIES. A NEW ZEALANDER IN AUSTRALIA.

(By M.H.R.) VI. I have given so much space to politics and politicians that I must pass lightly over places I visited, and phases of social life that are calculated to attract the eye of a stranger. I was witness of the threat race between Pearlo and Kemp on the Parramatta river for the aquatic championship of the world, but I confess that I was little inter-ested-in it. The Parramatta river is but a branch of the harbour, and while admiring the scenery I had just time and opportunity enough, amid the yelling of thousands from the deck of our own and neighbouring steamers, to get a glimpse of two men with measured sweep passing swiftly clown the stream. The Sydney people are for the most part so intensely interested in aquatic sport that they cannot understand any one being otherwise, and I did my best to bide my indifference. In the same connection I had received a lesson while in Melbourne from which I profited. Mentioning to an acquaintance that I was going to Sydney : — " Of course you'll be back for the Cup " he said, speaking with the confidence of a man who was sure of his answer. "I think not," I replied, incautiously adding, " I shall stay in Sydney long enough to avoid it." My friend looked at me curiously for a moment, but expressively said nothing. There are numbers of people in this world wifch a bee in their bonnet, and doubtless he thought me one of them. Yet after patient inquiries I find that for other than racing men there is absolutely nothing to be seen at Flemington on Cup day but the crowd. Now, whenever I see a well - dressed crowd of say 1000 people— at church is a very good place— l can mentally multiply them until I have before me a very respectable Cup of my own, thus enjoying any day in the year a sight that so many Melbourne people can only see once. It is a great advantage to have over your neighbour, and right sorry am I that,l cannot communicate the faculty to thousands of New Zealanders who pine in secret for a sight of the great event. But to return : I did not care for the great sculling contest. I would have given a good deal for an opportunity of talking to .the men though, so as to get an insight into the mind of a world's champion 'and let people know what he is like. I was in the theatre on the night of the race, where Searle was called upon by acclamation, and I afterwards saw him at Bondi — a big, slack-built, fair-haired, rather hulking, modest joung man, low-browed, but with open countenance and pleasant enough expression. He must be a wonder of physical power and courage, but so different from the sculptured Hercules I expected that I was quite knocked over. I have already mentioned the parks and gardens The Botanical Gardens are certainly lovely, "alike in situation and in the manner in which they are kept and have been laid out. A Sunday there, amid blazing flowers, with the cool expanse of the harbour in front, reclining under the grateful shade of gigantic Moreton Bay figs, with clumps of palms lending an oriental cast to the landscape — such a day is one of rest indeed. Talking of Sanday, too, reminds me of the odd scenes that may on that day be witnessed in the adjoining domain. It was by accident that I strolled there and had my • curiosity roused by observing clusters of human beings around the leafy trees with which the park is studded, They were gathered to hear open air preachers, lecturers, agitators, and grievance mongers of every conceivable kind. The two sides of every question appeared to be represented, like Government and Opposition; and -within hearing they battered away at one another with much verbal fury, but otherwise with the greatest tolerationand harmony. It was a delightful study. They tell me the same thing occurs in Melbourne, but I had unfortunately missed it. The religious element was for the most part made up of genuine enthusiasts — a type by themselves, easily recognised, with the narrow brain, small high-crowned head, bright quick-moving eye, and nervous temperament; fluency of tongue being an almost invariable accompaniment. The Salvation Army was of course there. Not far off was a man denouncing them with much warmth and vigour. - Another preacher was accompanied by a stout, placid-looking woman, who played the hymns on a harmonium set on wheels. One man raved away at the various creeds, some one of them in particular, detailing with unction the doom that was in store for them, for nearly everybody indeed :— A. heated pulpiteer, Not preaching simple Christ; to simple men, Announced the coming doom, and fulminated Against the scarlet woman and her creed. There was a staunch teetotaller, too — a good-looking, regular-featured man, with some character in his face, who was evidently a favourite, judging by the crowd he had around him, and the good-humoured attention that was paid. His logic would not bear looking into, but it took very well. " They'll tell you," he said, " that alcohol is

fiot ajpoisoii, but a food. Well then (lowei« ing bis voice and winking at the <tfbwd), yott just put a drdp of it iri you? eye and try if youlcan see for an hour or two afterwards." There was a general laugh and a tacit ad* mission that the lecturer had scored. I dare say the man knew that pretty nearly the same results could be produced by putting a crumb of bread (which certainly is food) in the eye, but He did not mention the fact. I suppose the efforts of such men can hardly be made altogether in vain, but it was disheartening to hear a young man, after listening with apparent attention, say to his mate; 11 Let us go and have some poison ; we have had enough of this." I speculated for a moment as to why we had none of Ibis sort of thing in New Zealand, and concluded it was because the climate was unfavourable. But in Sydney it is by no means an unpleasant way of passing an hour. And the practice is capable of development, too ; for a really good sermon, delivered while the congregation were restfully reclining lotos-eater fashion on the grass, breathing the fresh balmy air and surrounded by beautiful scenery, would have ac attraction of its own such as the best-appointed and most comfortable church might not lend it. From an open-air preacher to a Supreme Court judge is a considerable jump, but such as it was I felt myself constrained to make it. It would not do to leave Sydney without seeing a man so notable as Mr Justice Windeyer, celebrated, according to common report, for certain hanging propensities which make him a terror to evildoers. I was reminded of) him, and my curiosity to see him stimulated by a motion which had been tabled in Parliament that very morning (I think by Mr Walker, a gentleman whom I once heard deliver a lecture in Dunedin with his eyes shut, but who now talks with them very much open indeed) declaring that the judge was so lacking in feelings of humanity that he ought to be removed from the bench, or words to that effect. The criminal sittings are held at Darlinghur3t, and thither I bent my steps, securing through the courtesy of the crown prosecutor, whose acquaintance I had previously made, a comfortable seat in. court. Until I entered the court I had no idea that the trial then proceeding was a notable one — that of Mrs Collins, charged with the murder of her second husband by slow poison, the first having died under circumstances calculated, in the light of the later event, to give rise to suspicion. It was a painful case, with strong points of resemblance to that of Hall, in New Zealand. I may here mention that the jury, whose verdict should have been given that afternoon, disagreed, and a new trial was ordered; but the unhappy creature is now condemned to die, and. I desire to let the wretched story fade from my memory. Counsel for the defence happened to be Mr Lusk, once an Auckland lawyer and member of Parliament. The judge had commenced to sum up shortly before I entered. I glauced up at the bench, and saw there precisely the type of man I expected, for being somewhat of a politician myself I can gauge the value of, and am not to be led away by, opprobrious epithets. Indeed, I can use them myself on a pinch, though I hope always under justifiable circumstances. There was a time in the history of our country when a hanging judge was a miscreant ready to shed human blood at the mere bidding of kings. Nowadays he is simply a gentleman possessing strength and courage to bear the responsibilities entailed upon him by an important yet occasionally painful office. Such is Judge Windeyer. A mildlooking, thin, regular-featured man, with facial lines that show possession of the sense of responsibility ; sensitive, I should imagine, in disposition and of nervous temperament ; speaks very quickly and in short runs, as it were, but by no means indistinctly ; keen, sharp, penetrating eyes that move quickly about the court and fasten on the jury while he is addressing them. In appearance he is like what one would expect Mr Denniston (who will probably one day be a New Zealand judge of the hanging order) to be at 60. In addressing the jury he seemed to me to be minutely and anxiously caieful. Though summing up heavily against the prisoner he omitted no item that seemed to tell in her favour ; and to refresh the memories of the jury he read out at length the evidence of all the principal witnesses. His conclusion was an impressive exhortation to them not to shrink from responsibility if such should lie in the path of their sworn duty. Emphatically a man to be trusted on the bench is Judge Windeyer ; and certainly one not to be cowed by truckling parliamentary motions. Another sharp transition takes me and my readers with me from the criminal court to another where criminals of a totally different kind are, without either judge or jury, being put out of the way in very summary fashion. The criminals in question are" the rabbits, and the scene of destruction is Rodd Island, a place the existence of which did not seem to be known to the people of Sydney, When I chanced to say that I was going to Rodd Island, the invariable retort was — " Where is that ? " Needless to say, I always answered with alacrity, for there is something flattering to the vanity of a stranger in being able to tell people about localities at their own door, and with which they ought to be thoroughly familiar. Rodd Island, then, is in the harbour, about three miles or so from Sydney, from which it lies, I think, in a westerly direction, and is perhaps an acre in extent. It was selected by the Rabbit Commission — composed of representatives of various colonies got together for the purpose of considering Pasteur's proposed remedies— as a safe place to carry on their experiments with "chicken cholera." The island is in charge of Dr Katz, an experienced bacteriologist (I don't guarantee the pro* priety of all the terms I may use in this letter), whose staff is composed of a secretary and a couple of men. Buildings — a house and laboratory — have been erected on the island, showing in their construction a judicious blend of utility with strict economy. There is a large space in the centre completely enclosed with a thick wire netting with mesh close enough to exclude flies, and sub-enclosures for various purposes of experiment. ¥ou reach the island in a pleasant sail of half an hour ; the steamers plying regularly to places only a few hundred yards distant, to which a boat may, from Rodd Island, be despatched for a visitor.

At the time of our visit — Mr Al,A 1 , D. Bell, the commissioner for New Zealand, was with m e— a new experiment had been ordered by the commissioners, at the request of M. Pasteur's representatives, and I was fortunate enough to see it performed that same evening. Dr Katz and the commissioners ar e extremely reticent, but I have gathered j n various quarters that M. Pasteur's representatives are not altogether satisfied with the way in. which things have gone since they landed in Australia. They have demonstrated that the microbe will kill the rabbit once it gets into the rabbit's body, and I dare say it seemed easy to them and to M. Pasteur himself to feed the rabbits with microbe broth and so kill them off. The experiment at Rheims pointed clearly enough to what the notion of the work to be done was ; and a great scientist like M. Pasteur may be pardoned for not knowing, what most people here could have told him, that a pannikin of poisoned oats would have done the same thing, and done it better too probably. I think it likely that M. Pasteur's representatives were astonished to find that there were scientists in Australia, and a little disgusted perhaps that these demanded careful and elaborate experiments to prove not only that the microbe would kill but that the disease would more or les3 swiftly communicate itself. And I think it will be found that there is precisely where the chicken cholera fails. The experiment to be performed that day on the island was first to inoculate a healthy rabbit with the microbe broth — what was called a 11 pure culture " — and secondly, to take gome of the blood of the infected animal when dead, and get from it a pure culture of the microbe so as to increase the stock for further use. My interest in the experiment was heightened by profound ignorance of the whole subject. I was anxious to see some microbe " broth," which I had pictured to myself as an attractive looking savoury fluid from which children would have to be guarded with great care. I was surprised, therefore, when Dr Katz produced a small thin glass tube containing a perfectly colourless fluid, which might have been spring water. This was his " pure culture," that is, the tube had been subjected to processes which guaranteed that it contained this particular microbe and no other germ or spore of any kind. A " spore," let me here explain to the ignorant, is a germ that has not arrived at the age of puberty. Extraordinary care has to be taken to get a pure culture. Dr Katz cultivates these vile creatures with as much solicitude as we do fine merinos or Ayrshires. It was with an air of positive pride that he drew out his " pure cultures " and placed them before me. It is not an easy job to get a pure culture. First of all the empty tubes have to be "sterilized" for the reception of the broth — that is, thoy are submitted at intervals for days to a strong heat in an iron box, in order to destroy all germs and spores about them, germs that fill the atmosphere, and are on the hands, clothes, face, and in the breath of the operator. In fact the whole world seems to be full of microbes of some sort, and the only safe place for a human being is in an oven at a temperature in which he can't possibly live. This seems to be a contradiction in terms, but I am credibly informed it is true. When the receptacles are properly sterilized the broth is placed in them, and they are again subjected to the heating processes, the mouths being stopped with cotton wool. It seems that germs cannot get through cotton wool, they get entangled in the threads. I had forgotten this when I suggested the oven. If, therefore, the man who wanted to be protected from germs were first sterilized by heat and then wrapped in cotton wool he would remain secure until he had to open his mouth for food, when they would rush in in their usual tumultuous fashion. After the second process the broth in the tubes is " sterile," and will keep for an indefinite time. The unhappy rabbit was brought in for experiment, its heart beating tumultuously — a "sleekit, cow'ring, timorous beastie," A spot of hair was clipped from the flank, a minute incision made, and apparently a solitary drop of broth (pure culture) blown in from the tube by the mouth. The animal was then taken to its hutch. This was about 8 o'clock in the evening, the rabbit having to pass a whole night, during which the few microbes injected would multiply into countless millions throughout its veins. About 7 in the morning I got up to see the death — a painful sight. The poor creature was gasping for breath ; then ifc began to sway backwards and forwards, and finally made one or two blind and feeble efforts to jump out of the box, during one of which it fell back dead. A deadly disease, truly. But the new " culture" was yet to be got from the dead rabbit For this purpose a number of tubes of sterile broth were placed handy; and the operator disinfecting his instruments by a powerful flame and his hands by a germ-killing fluid, inserted a small needle of platinum into the heart of the dead rabbit, and withdrawing it with a minute drop of blood adhering, inserted its point into a ■ tube of sterile broth which he instantly sealed as before. Then follow all the tedious precautions to prevent entrance of other germs. Finally the tube is put into an "incubator," an apparatus kept at a constant heat equal to that of the blood for several days. Here the microbes multiply themselves by millions just as they did in the body of the suffering rabbit, feeding, however, on " broth " instead of the blood of the living animal ; for the broth is simply the nutrient food of the microbe, as it is intended to be the deadly food of the rabbit. I gathered much learned stuff on the subject of " immunity," but it would take a letter to itself. Suffice it that to the microbe of fowl-cholera horses, sheep, and cattle are immune. Fowls, of course, are in the highest degree susceptible; but one fowl, the New Zealand weka, is proof apparently against all the microbes in the world. Extremely placid and chirpy seemed the weka I saw on the island, looking indeed as if she rather enjoyed microbes than otherwise. The laughing jackass was also immune, as was one big white rabbit (tame, I think) with staring red eyes. So much for microbes and rabbit destruction. I don't think the disease will rid ua of, or even ameliorate, the curse,