PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2391, 28 December 1899, Page 3

PASSING NOTES.

(From Saturday's Daily Times.) The one thing that might have brightened up for us this glocffny Christmas, the > fortune of war denies us. That one un- , attainable thing is, of course, a resounding ; victory on the Tngela or the Modder. It may come yet — a good deal may happen in 48 hours ; the cables, if they hurry up, may yet bring us a pleasant Christmas , carfl from South Africa. But, as everybody sees, the chances of it are at zero. From the outset we allowed ourselves to be overmatched in numbers, in weapons, in all the means and appliances of war, in everything but the courage of our soldiers ; and our neglect has. to be paid for. You see we are not really a military | people. We have done as much fighting as our neighbours, probably more — destiny so ordering ; but we are essentially a peaceful folk, a nation of shopkeepers, as Napoleon called us in contempt. Our blundering is, in a sense, creditable to us ; it speaks well for our moral qualities. A4l the same, it j has to be paid for, and the Fates will exact ! the uttermost farthing. Again and again we have thought the payment completewhen White lost his two battalions, when CSatacre walked into the trap at Stonnberg, when Methuen failed at Magersfontein. It was a mistake ; the .penalty is more serious than we had supposed. We are still paying. And that is why this Christmas of 18yd 'is the gloomiest we have known since the year of the Mutiny or the black winter in the camp before Sebastopol. Although military successes are, for the present, not to be had, there are compensations. The uprising of the Empire from end to end in assertion of its unitj-, its solidarity, its single-hearted loyalty to the •Sovereign and the Flag — this is a better thing than even a South African victory. We can afford to suffer a little adversity if such is • its fruit. The nations, I fancy, must be looking on in amaze. Assuredly they have s-een nothing like it before. The Jubilee impressed them — painfully ; though the Jubilee was merely an Imperial eami,val, an affair of processions and junketing, anubic and fireworks. The British Empire of the Jubilee might have been only a pasteboard giant, imposing on the imagination of mankind, but ready to collapse at ,the first spear-thrust directed against its Siollow midriff. Thanks to the Transvaal ,frouble, the world knows otherwise toBay. This time our patriotism does not exJVend itself in shouting. The colonies, {North and South, are giving all they have to give — their men by the thousand, their

pounds sterling by the hundred thousand. They couldn't "do more if they were Middlesex or the Lothians. it is proof, this, both of their stern determination to uphold the Empire and 01 their belief in the justice of the war. Here in Dunedin the lising tide of Imperialism .swamps and drowns outright our local British Boers — of whom there are a few, and the amiable Quaker cranks to whom peace is more than honour, and even more than duty. For if ever bince time began any nation had a clear call to duty, such a call had Britain in relation to the Transvaal. More than one writer in the newspapers has been pointing to the comparative insignificance of our losses in killed and wounded. The fighting all along has been stubborn, yet the highest ratio of loss has not exceeded 3 per cent, of the men engaged. This was at Magersfontein. At G'.encoe and Klandslaagte the loss was between 4 and 5 per cenr. Compare with i ins tlie losses of the Germans in the FrancoPrussian war, where the average on the whole war was 14 per cent., and in particular engagements rose as high as 30 and 40 per cent. The British at Inkermann lost 33 per cent. ; the Russians at Plevna 44 per cent. ; the Federals in one disastrous ba-ttlo of ihc Civil War lost 56 per cent. — more than half the men engaged. There is comfort of a sort in these figures, and ifc is proper that we should be made acquainted with them. But our real trouble just now is not about losses in battle, nor about checks here and reverses ihere. As long as war is war s>uch things must be. Nor would it distress us much that Methuen is stuck up on the Modder and Buller at Colenso. They might vegetate where they are for a month and little harm done, were it not for the peril of Mafeking. Kimberley, and Ladysmith — especially Ladysmith, the fate of which now hangs by a hair. That is the real trouble. However, we must dree our wierd, whatever it is, and I dare say we shall survive the dreeing. It is well to remember that the Boer losses in battle are probably greater than ours, and will certainly be felt more severely than ye feel ours. In optimist moments I have a notion that the Boer collapse is nearer than moit people think. During the artillery duel that preceded our luckless assault ou Magersfontein a British shell exploded in the middle of a Boer prayer meeting. Let us hope that the prayer meeting represented official Boerdom. In that case I should be dispoj-ed to interpret the exploding shell as an answer to prayer. It is the official Boers who have made the war. It is they who plotted it and prepared for it years in advance, spending millions on Krupp guns and Mauser rifles. And it is these gentry a\so who have enriched themselves by the oppression and spoliation of the Outlanders. A British shell divided amongst them — a fragment in the vitals of each — j would s>eem to be nothing moie than the justice of Hetjven. It may be thought un- ! likely that Boers of this sort, corrupt and I unscrupulous officials, would hold a prayer I meeting. Unlikely perhaps, but by no means impossible. In their own way the ! Boers ~are a icligious people. They read j their Bibles— the Old Testament chiefly ; ' the Psalms arc quoted in the Volk<-raad ; 1 President Kruger occasionally holds forth : from the pulpit of thcDopper Church. Tn this connection I am reminded that Di ' Busche, the Boswell of Prince BKmarck relates that after BUmarck had watch sd al! day the slaughter at Sedan he spent the evening in reading a manual of devotion : " Daily Spiritual Refreshment for Believ | ing Christians." This, together with the 1 " Daily Watchwords and Texts of th< i Moravian Brethren for 1870," was his vad< ! mscum throughout the whole bloody busi ness of a war which he, more than an\ other man, had plotted, contrived, am brought about. A, prayer meeting of Boei officials is conceivable enough ; it woulc be a happy shot that dropped a Briti^l shell into the middle of it. There is only one topic in which peopl< are, or ought to be, inteicsted this week : the war tyrannises one's thoughts to sucl a degree that in this column I can hardh get mention for anything else. Yet, fo: the next day or two, we shall contrive n some sense to forget it. Christmas ii Christmas, and may not be altogethe: defraiuled of its dues. Dost think, be cause there is fighting in Africa, there s-hal jbe no more cakes and ac? Yus, by Si Anne ; and ginger shall be hot i' tin moutli. too. .We shall not keejj kolidai

with less thoroughness because of the war ; •' nor will there be fewer cheap-trippers on ( trains and steamboats. We shall all dine as well as we know how on Christmas Day, | .and none of us will do any more work thanlic dan help foi» a fortnight thereafter. In '• all this llit-re is nothing unreasonable, or ' inconsistent with patriotism, and public spirit. Quite the contrary ! It should be ' the part of a wise patriot to make this j Christmas of 1899 as merry as any of its predecessors, if merely by way of express- : ing confidence and hope. That will be the rule, depend upon it. in our camps and garrisons at the front. Yule-tide will be as gaily kept in our tlirea beleaguered towns of Mafeking, Kimberley, and Ladysmith — if, indeed, they still are ours — as ' in any part of her Majesty's dominions. Our luckless captives in Pretoria, on prison J rations it may be, will somehow contrive to make Christmas cheer and to tak' a cup 1 o' kindness, be it only in Boer skilligalee, ' to " sweethearts and wives," and in hope ' of better times. For us in New Zealand ' any self-mortification desirable may take the shape of bigger contributions to the patriotic fund. ! In the " Ludgate Migazine %> for April a \ writer on New Zealand begins, with the remark. " Places seldom resemble the descriptions which have been written about them " ; and then proceeds complacently to make the statement good by his own account of Dunedin .- Dunedin is the capital of the cold region; the inhabitants are pronouncedly Scotch. Thay are kind-hearted, canny, and veiy suspicious. I£ a stianger is fortunate enough to belong to any of their clans or gets a footing into one of their numerous cliques, they will do anything foi him — in reason. The inhabitants seem very intelligent. The ordinary resident wonders what a person's income is more than what club he belongs io. \ Supposing the new chum is wot burdened with • the almighty dollar, or is not prepared to impend or invest, why, then the average Dunedinite has no wish to entertain him for a quixotic ] length of time. He is a capital citizen of the ' world as well as of Dunedin. He approves of ' the electric light, which is extensively used, j and is deeply interested in stocks and shares. J He has no maudlin sentiment, and is the i personification of thriftiness. If this is a portrait of the Dunedin people, I fail to recognise it ; and yet I think I know them pretty well. As for sentiment, < maudlin or otherwise, their quixotic chari- | ties, of which the list 'is long, show that they are capable of it in a high degree ; as for the insinuation about their thriftiness and regard for the " almighty dollar " — a coin which, by the way, is not in j circulation, — for answer see their response . to the demand for men and money to . meet the sad exigencies of the Transvaal , war. j t Civis.

1"■ ■ i — j A ca=o presenting rather puzzling features ; came before the B.M. in the Police Court on . ! the 19th. E\en the most casual reader of police . reports must have noticed the frequency with . | which a man named Robert Fronde has been 1 imprisoned for failing to comply with an order ■ of the court to pay a trifling bum weekly for » the support of hi.= wife. Some five years ago s the order was made, and bince then the i f-truggle on the wife's part for justice, and the husband'b part to evade it, has cost the country a good many pounds. During that time 1 , the man has managed to quarter all his children, saye one, on the country, by having them placed in the Indus-trial School. Yesj terday Mr Fraser, who appeared foi Mrs ! Froude, staled that phe was in a dying condi- ' i tion, and if her husband would pay up the arrears, it would give her feuflieient to enable , ' her to die in comfort. Counsel added that it , ' was only a natural inference that the man i could not be quite right mentally when he to . pei-M'-leiitly preferred to go to gao 1 than pay a - pittance out of good wage; towards her sup1 port. Mr Graham pointed out that defendr ant had repeatedly btated he would take his 1 wife back home, and Miggcted that if the l proper *teps were taken they might come together again. Mr Fraaer, t-aid, ir reply, that there were allegations and evidence of such 5 cruelty that it would be an inhuman action ; , to send her back to him. He was absolutely l callous--, and she would rathe*. 1 die in the gutter / than go home. He asked that his Worship r Miould inflict the maximum penalty (^ix i months' hard labour) in default of the order s not being complied with. His Worship adl" journed the caie until Thursday, to give de- " fendant an opportunity of paying up, and * I thus: escaping this bentence. 3 Although "Arbor Day" is apparently a if defunct institution^ a passing inspection of the

resulld that have come from its transient existence in D.unedin would almost be sufficient to re-establish the custom of spending one day of the year in tree-planting. Near the Roslyn tram terminus may be seen the work of the Kaikorai children about four years ago. Sturdy young English trees, such as , oak, rowan, beech, etc., and quite a variety of the conifer family have struck deep loot, and at this time of the year are looking their very best, giving ample promise of making choice beauty spots in the near future. All round the Town Belt to Eglinton the trees planted by the Resevves Conservation Society appear unusually healthy, thriving in jjlacea close beside the native bush. Mention ought also to be made of the pleasing appearance of Jubilee Park, which, owing to its sheltered pobtion, affords exceptional advantages to tho young traes for rapid growth, and it must be admitted that they have not lost any time. The subject of the validity of a by-law forbidding betting in the streets has again been before the courts in England. It was derided last year by the Supreme Court that such a by-law was valid, but there was no appeal. A second case came up under peculiar circumstances. A plaintiff sued to settle partnership accounts. It was pleaded by way of defence that the partnership was illegal, as the business consisted of betting in the streets, contrai'y to the provision of a by-law. The validity of this by-law was challenged, and the ca?e went to the- Court of Appeal. The principal contention was that it went too far in prohibiting street betting ; that it ought to havo been confined to cases where an obstruction of the street occurred. The court decided, however, that section 23 of " The Municipal Corporations Act, 1882," which is exactly tho same as a section of our act, " gave power to 'prevent that which would be contrary to the morality of ths county and the welfare of the inhabitants." It is not easy to catch people betting in the streets, but when* caught, the by-law becomes applicable. The 1 new dining cars for the north express were used for the first time on Thursday. The up-train will pick up one car at Palmerslon, and the down-train cirop one there each evening. Very complete arrangements have been made by the department for the convenience of paspengers. Tho department supplies gas for cooking, and all the necessary utensils. No alcoholic liquors will be sold in the cars or allowed to be carried by the lesf-ee or his servants for pas-songers. Luncheon will bo served from 1 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. at a charge of 2s, and dinners from 5.30 to 6.30 p.m. on the down-train, and from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. on the up-train at a charge of 2s 6cl. Light refreshments, such as tea, coffee, cocoa, sandwiches, bread and butter, aerated waters, etc., will be procurable at any time during the run at moderate cost. The cars were built at the Addington workshops, and the lease for both trains has' been secured by Mr Fairhurst, who formerly was in charge of the dining cars on the Manawatu railway. A third car is reserved for emergency purposes. They are built to accommodate 20 persons, and are fitted in an up-to-date style. There will be no alteration in the time table, and the expres°es will continue to slop 20 mimifes at Oamaru and Timaru as usual. The following are the callings or profesFions of tlie members of the new Parliament just elected: — Farmers or runholders, 21; [ solicitors, 9 ; journalists, 7 ; storekeepers, 4 ; I contractors, 3 ; schoolmasters, '6 ; merchants, ,2 ; and ono each of the following : Native interpreter, livery stablekeeper, estate agent, clothier, tinsmith, mining agent, newspaper proprietor, sailmakei, clicker, bootmaker, stationer'a assistant, lecturer, gasfitter, bookseller; mostor mariner, Favmiller, auctioneer, and butcher. Parliament has been formally summoned to meet on February 15. The business at the meeting of the Benevolent Institution Tru&tees, held on the 20th, and attended by Messrs Solomon (chairman), | Haynes, Wikon, Treseder, Hazlctt, and Gour- ' ley, was of the ordinary routine character. Tho accounts passed for payment amounted to ' £11$ 13s, and about 30 relief cases were dealb with. Ah Wah, 71 years of'age, was reported to havo died. | The risk attendant on the use of that dan- ! gerous plaything, the pea-rifle, was amply demonstrated the other day by a ball coming i crashing through the glass door ot a vinery in the southern part of the city. The rifl'j had apparently been fired from the neighbourhood of the Jubilee Pafk, and it crashed . jjiroujjh the /slLzi 4t jlufat about the height of

a mati's heart, so that had anyone been coming in or going out of the door at the tima a fatality would have hjid to be recorded instead of a broken pane of glass. It is an open question whether it would nofc be quite justifiable to put a heavy gun tax on this dangerous weapon. The final sheets of the largest book ever printed in New Zealand— Wise's "New Zealand Post Office Directory for 1900" — have just been printed off at the offices of the Otago Daily Time 3 and Witness Newspapers Compai\y (Limited). This statement, though easily made, conveys to the ordinary reader no idea of the. amount of work involved in the composition and printing of such a volume, and! it is *only owing to the introduction of the linotype composing machines into tlie Times Company's office that the undertaking could havo been carried out within the allotted time. The time allowed by Wise's Directory Company for the production of the work was necessarily limited, as the information, being up to the latest date, could not be supplied to the printers until the last months of the year, and it goes without saying that early, and late the' work went on at high-pressure speed to complete to time. The nearly 2000 pages of the "New Zealand Post; Office Directory," embracing the-whole colony, ismndo up of about 413,000 lines of type, every letter in the work necessitating, fronuthe nature jf the matter to bo set, more than ordinary caro in the composition, in tho reading and revising, and again in the final correcting of tho sheets. About 15 tons of lead have been used up by the linotype operators," the whole o£ which is kept standing for the next issue in January, 1901. It remains only to say that the sheets are now in the hands of the binders, whose share in tho work is, we understand, being hurried on at great speed, so that this reaJZy heavy undertaking and voluminous and well-known directory may bo delivered simultaneously throughout the colony by tlie first week in January. A meeting of the Committee of Ladies formed as the outcome of Mrs K. W. Sheppard's visit to Dunedin at the beginning of the month was held last Friday, and was well attended. Miss Statham was unanimously appointed secretary, and it was resolved to meet again as soon after the lioli. days as posbible. The visit of the National Council of Women to Dunedin was decided at their meeting in Auckland, and in view of their coming the ladies feel that it is only hospitable to give them a welcome and an opportunity of explaining their objects under the most favourable circumstances. Mr C. C. Graham, S.M., granted 10 full old-age pensions on Tuesday. At a meeting of the Guilds and Associated. Workers of All Saints' parish, held on tho 20th, it Avas reported that the proceeds of their recent annual sale of work amounted to £145 Is 6d. Tho total sum subscribed in ChristchurcTi for tho widow of Lorraine, the young aeronaut, killed while attempting a parachute descent recently, totalled £333. It has been decided to invest £300 for the benefit of Mrs Lorraine, to be paid to her quarterly at the rate of £1 per week for six years. The collection taken at the laying of the foundation stone of the North Dunedin Presbyterian Church realised £12 12s. A special meeting of the Chamber of Com«merce, to consider the question of the defences of the colony, wag held on Thursday. There was a good attendance of members, and the resolutions proposed were all carried, with unanimity. One of the resolutions requested the mayor to convene a public meeting to consider the matter, and another, the co-oporation •of the chambers of commerce \ throughout the colony. In declaring Mr Kyle elected as a member of the Education Board, on Wednesday^the Chairman (Mr Ramsay) said the committees had two good men- to choose from, and h© congratulated Mr Melland on the position ho had won, and hoped at some future date to see him a member of the board. Yesterday, Mr Kyle took his seat at tho board's table for the first time, and was cordially welcomed by; the chairman and members. The education offices will be closed from the 23rd inst. to the Bth prox. The staff has been somewhat seriously disorganised lately through illness, . and tiie fortnight's leaitl, should flrove unusuall*; suslaam*'