PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2399, 22 February 1900, Page 3

PASSING NOTES.

(From Saturday's Daily Times.) Up to day, Friday, the war news of best omen -was that, there was no news at all. , The censor at the Cape, admonished doubt- ' less by some competent authority there, had at last wakened up to the unwisdom of advising the Boers, per submarine cabl?, that Geneial So-and-so contemplated an , important movement, and that General Somebody-else had warned his men to be in readiness and had served out to them three days' rations. It is amazing that a sane people should attempt on such tcims ' of publicity to make war at all, and the , clapping on of the stopper is nob a moment too soon. This week, day after day, we have had to exist without any war news good or bad, and for that very reason have , expected good news the more confidently. ; To-day it has come. Lord Roberts is on the move ; Cronje's flank has been turned, _ his communications cut, the Free State in- ', vaded — all sorts of good things are in tonight's cables. For my own part I rejoice with trembling — the chief lesson of the Avar, ' so far, being that one should be cocksure s of nothing. And yet somehow, encouraged • by this successful movement on our trae ' line of advance, I take heart to believe that j the tide has turned. General Buller's • (paralysis in front of Lady&mich makes ' nothing to the contrary. If, in order to relieve Lady smith, it, were necer-snry to ' sacrifice 5000 men, I believe Buller -would , do it. Bufc the chances are that no such J ■wholesale carnage will be wanted. LadyMO&li aao# be i-elieved from, the Madder f

River. Which miracle in due season I hope to see. I

If it were possible, which it isn't, I should like to see a rigid censorship applied to war pictures in the illustrated papers. It is depressing enough to find page after page filled with portraits of officers killed in action — young men for the most part, eager faces, hopeful, wholesomelooking, now mouldering in huddled graves about our South African battle fields. This illustrated newspaper parade of the dead, though the effect of it cannot be precisely to encourage the others, we accept as inevitable. But there I should draw the line. Some pictures in the " Illustrated " and the " Graphic " might have been supplied by Dr Leyds for the express purpose of exhilarating the Boers and disheartening the British ; — for example, a wounded British soldier, both legs shot off, being lifted into an ambulance ; the explosion of a shell in the crowded ranks of the Leicesters, knocking them over right and left ; the armoured train disaster at Chieveley, where our poor fellows are shown falling helplessly under a shower of Boer bullets. War is war, no doubt ; the gruesomp and the ghastly are its every-day incidents ; but the British artist bent on horrors should .select them from the other side. If anybody is to be shown in evil case let it be the Boers, not the British. But if "I wanted to help recruiting, give a fillip to the volunteer movement, and. keep the courage of the nation at the sticking place, I should take another sort of subject altogether. My ideal of a war picture is '" Scotland for ever ! " — the glorious chai'ge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo. The other day I saw in a printseller's window a glaring oleograph — " Up Guards, and at 'em ! " The thing was an offence in art, and in its military details absurd ; moreover, the incident is apocryphal — there never was any " Up, Guards, and at 'em ! " Yet it was impossible to look on this poor effort of cheap art without a great surging of the blood. An engraving of the other picture, " Scotland for ever ! " is also to be seen in shop windows. I am not a fighting man, but I never catch sight of it without the feeling that it were worth a life to have been there. Pity that our war artists don't recognise their opportunities.

When last the volatile French had it in mind to invade England — which was in 1801, just about 100 years ago — they were to cross in flat-bottomed punts propelled by oars. It was necessary to assume smooth water in the Channel, or the punts would be swamped ; also the . absence of the British fleet, which, at the due moment, was to be decoyed away on a false scent and led off to some distant x^lace where it could do no harm. This strategy reads veiy lunatic now ; but the French of 1801 put faith in it, and actually built the huge flat-bottoms — 2300 of them — wherewith to carry it into effect. Then, camped oil the sand dunes of Boulogne, for two whole years an army oi 160,000 men sat waiting for the coincidence of a calm sea with an horizon bare of British ships. It seems a pity that they could not be accommodated. The British on their side were ready. Says Boney to Johnny, "I'm coming to Dover " ; Says Johnny to Boney, " You're better at home." Says Boney to Johnny, " I mean to come over " ; Says Johnny to Eoney, "You'll be overcome." Thus sung the modest jingoism of the day, and if the Boulogne invasion scheme had been then jjut to the test we should have been spared the revival of it in this present year of grace. A writer in the " Revue dcs Deux Mondes," the principal French magazine, proposes to carry across the Channel 170,000 troops, hor&e and foot, in 1500 pinnaces steaming abreast.- Why not m submarine boats, and so avoid the possibility of encountering a British squadron 7 The "Kevue" writer's scheme, though elaborated at great length, fails to carry conviction. He should have consulted Jules Verne. It seems to me that a single British cruiser amongst hi.s 1500 pinnaces would play the part of a shark in a shoal of herrings. In their notions of people and things outside their own country the French are a nation of children. How otherwise explain the belief, cropping out continually in the Paris papers, that the British, being at their wits' end for men, are recruiting all over the Continent? Thousands of Italian, mercenaries have been

shipped from Naples alone. For the Highland regiments — and I call the Gaelic Society's attention to the humour of this — there is a run upon Frenchmen. "W» learn from a sure l source that English agents are pressing Frenchmen into the service in Tunis and Algeria. The men they are enlclling are mostly old soldiers, v/ho as soon as they arrive in Engla2id are incorporated in the Highland regiments, and iiiimediately dressed in the kilt. — hie Journal, Paris. British recruiting on the Continent is carried on by the help of plum puddings and whisky. No Frenchman can make a plum pudding ; the only attempt on record resulted in the production of a soup, served up in a tureen. The plum puddings employed for recruiting purposes are probably siipplied from the War Office. An English recruiting agent entered a cafe at St. Malo, and without saluting anyone sat down at a table, placed a pudding on it, and called for a bottle of whisky. " You laugh," said he, " but I have come to offer the pl\impudding of friendship, washed down with whisky, to those who will engage for the Transvaal." A sailor cried, " Well, then, take it, ' and catching up the pudding he dumped it down on the Englishman's head, causing him to flee from the cafe. — !La Patrie, Paris. In the columns of the same veracious " Patrie " we may read that the patriotic movement in Britain is financed by a syndicate. Mobs are paid by the day — 3fr 10c each man — to pass resolutions in favour of the Government. The French explanation of the fatal shot fired by a British gunboat at a French trawler poaching off Brighton is that the English have a new bullet, the dum-dum, the efficacy of which they were desirous of testing. What more natural than that a harmless French fisherman should be selected for the experiment? The result being satisfactory, millions of these murderous projectiles are being shitmed to South Africa for the benefit of the Boers. The French are a great people no doubt, and a cultivated people ; but the stories about their neighbours with which their editors stuff them would revolt the intelligence of a kindergarten. Probably the editors themselves don't know any better. No French journalist can be trusted to spell an English proper name ; it is his fixed belief that Shakespeare is known as " the divine Williams," that the poet Swinburne is Sir swinburne (with a small "s"), and that the Lord Mayor of London has his residence in the Towei\ It must be allowed, however, that in farcical accounts of the Transvaal war some other Continentals run the French hard. In December a Spanish newspaper summed up the position thus : "It is believed that within a week the English will surrender to the Boers." There follows to this a delightful upside-down version of Colonel Wingate's affair with the Khalifa. A telegram from the Cape gives details of a battle at Nesnisra (Egypt). Colonel Wingate with a body of native tioops utterly defeated a strong British column commanded by Abmedfdil, killing 400 British soldiers and taking about 300 prisoners. The news of this defeat has been badly received, and has much aggravated the situation in England. This is hard to beat ; but a German newspaper goes one better, and does it by a single word. Describing the advance of the Coldstreams at Belmonfc, it says : " The British Cold Cream Guards showed splendid valour when storming the Boer position." The Cold Cream Guards! This almost amounts to a casus belli between us and Germany. Amongst the cloud of witnesses provi.dentially raised up to vindicate our dredging gamble against its delractors there is one, I observe, who takes a somewhat unusual tone. Would you be svrpiised, Sir, to learn — ho asks the editor — that the publication by you of the letter under notice lias cost a large number of investors thousands upon thcrasands of pounds ? i Now, " the letter under notice " was, at the worst, a plea for caution. I have often ; pnl in the same plea myself ; from time to j time, it may be, I shall do so again. Is ■ it prudent to pay a high premium for , &hares in a claim that has not been tested, i and that never can be tested until the . whole subscribed capital has been spent j iirevocablv in putting a dredge on it? Ob- ! viou&ly traffic in shares of this kind goes on probabilities merely, consequently it is of . the nature of gambling ; and gambling, though sometimes profitable, is never pru- j dent. Personally, I have a decided fancy for this form of imprudence ; I like the ex- ] citemenb of it. When there are any pro- i fits, I gather them in sedately ; if there are losses. I don't lift up wry voice in, '

lamentations from the housetop ; I keep my own counsel, and make ready to try again. Moreover, I recognise distinctly that my^oss may be another's gain. By the ingenuous correspondent who complains that a mere word of caution has cost investors thcrasands and thousands of pounds this point seems to be missed. They were not investors who lost in this way ; they were only speculators, and what they lost other speculators gained. That is all in the game. The real worth of a mining claim is the amount of gold that will be got out of it, and that amount doesn't fluctuate with the price of shares. The ups and downs of the Exchange represent only the vicissitudes of a game of chance and bluff, by which the public as a whole is neither the richer nor the poorer. Newspaper criticism of this company or that won't charm away the gold out of the company's claim. Until it does, I see no reason for thinking that newspaper criticism can be damaging to investors. Civis.

Boer prisoners have stated that the reason i the English artillery fire is ineffective against j the Boer trenches is because the trenches are : formed in the shape of the letter S, which afford freer movement and greater protection than if they were merely constructed 1 straight. It is said the formation is borrowed ! from old Basuto methods. The Dii&pdin Presbytery on the 13th accepted with regret the resignation of the. Rev. J. M. Praser of the charge of Chalmers ! Church, the Rev. I. K. M'lntyre, who was appointed moderator to the vacant charge, being asked to preach next Sunday, and declare the charge vacant. At the annual conference of chief engineers, I chief mechanical engineers, etc., at Adelaide on the 17th inst., New Zealand will be repreI sented by Mr 0. Hudson, assistant general manager of New Zealand railways, now m Australia. At Wellington on the 13th in the charge of arson against Mrs Buck, counsel of accused said the case reeked of blackmail, infamy, lies, and contradictions, and the evidence could not be relied on. After a retirement of five hours the jury disagreed, and were discharged and a new trial ordered. The annual meeting of the proprietors of the Westport Coal Company Avas held on the 14th inst., and upon all the questions sub- ! mitted the shareholders were absolutely j unanimous. A dividend of 4-4 per cent, for | the half-year was recommended, making the | dividend for the year 7g per cent., and the • directors also reported that the mines and | plant had been maintained during the year at 1 the usual state of efficiency. The report was i adopted, Messrs K. Ramsay and A. Bartleman were re-elected directors, the auditors , were reappointed, and directors, mine mana- | gers, and officers were thanked for their ser- . vices. Special reference was made to the late 1 mine manager, and the great services he had rendered to the company were acknowledged by nearly everyone who spoke at the meeting. Mr T. Ross, of West Harbour, has been appointed by the Government a member of the Otago Harbour Board. Thomas M'Millan, a farmer, died from the effects of a fall he met with while coming out of the Southland Chib Hotel, # at Gore, on the 14th. As showing the contemplated permanency of the rabbit export trade, there were several applications before the Land Board on the 14th for leases of sites for the erection of freezing chambers for rabbits in the up-country districts. With the aid -of freezers, exporters- will be able to handle rabbits with greater facility in hot weather, and will not be quite so much dependent upon the exigencies of the railway service. We learn that, after long negotiations, arrangements have at last been made by the Marine department to charter the fcteam trawler Dots, of Napier, and that it is expected to be ready for an experimental trawling cruise on the coasts of the colony in about three 'weeks' time. Acting on a suggestion from the Otago Institute, a stipulation has been made that a scientific expert be accommodated on board during the progress of the cruise, and it is hoped that either Professor Benham or Mr A. Hamilton may be able to accompany the vessel. Good results may be expected from this trial. Meanwhile we understand that the progress of the local trawl-

ing industry is hampered by the difficulty of getting work done in our foundries. The executive of the .New Zealand Allianca have resolved to urge the Temperance party throughout the colony to secure a return of licensing committees pledged to honestly enforce the law, and especially to prevent tha removal of licenses in the wintry districts. The French corvette Eure, now at Porl Chalmers, was visited on Wednesday by Gt J. Carroll (representing the mayo:( and thf Hon. H. Gourley (chairman of the Harboui Board). They were courteously received by Commandant Thiboult, and shown over the ship, after which they were entertained in the captain's cabin. In the afternoon Commandant Thiboult, accompanied by Mr P. C. Neill, the French Consul, returned the visit. They were received at the Town Hall by Cr Carroll, who, through Mr J. A. Dallas, as interpreter, extended a cordial welcome to the commandant and his officers. The party then adjourned to the mayor's room, where Cr Carroll proposed the health of Commandant Thiboult, his welcome on behall of the mayor and citizens being endorsed by Mr Gourley. Commandant Thiboult returned thanks, and expressed the pleasure ha felt at visiting the colony. He in turn pro posed success to New Zealand, the British race, and the acting mayor. It was arranged that Cr Carroll and Mr Gourley should driva the commandant and as many of his officers as could accompany him arcmnd the city on Monday, visiting various places of interest. At a meeting of the newly-elected Henley River Board Mr John Stevenson was unanimously re-elected chairman. The well-known firm of Messrs Turnbull and Jontes have taken over the electrical engineering branch of Messrs Stevenson and Poole's New Zealand Engineering and Electrical Company. Messrs Turnbull and Jones have just received an order for an 850 light dynamo for Messrs Wardell Bros., of Christchurch, which makes the fourth machine ordered by this firm, who run a supply station or their premises, and who will have (when the new machine arrives) a plant capacity of over 3800 lamps of eight-candle power. A German man of science, Professor Ba&chide, has been making some interesting investigations in regard to sleep and dreams, particulars of which are given in the Daily News. He made experiments upon 36 dreamers — that is to say, sleepers, for the terms are convertible according to this authority. His subjects were of various ages, from one year to 80 years. In spine cases his observations were continued during the whole night, and in others for a great part of tha night. He watched and recorded ■ every change of physiognomy, every movement of the limbs, and every speech or sound uttered by the unconscious dreamers. The depth of the sleep was also carefully measured, whiia from time to time the dreamers were awakened, but without their own perception that the awakening was intentional. The professor obtained, as he states at length, the following results: — (1) We dream throughout tha whole of our sleep, even in that deepest sleep which we imagine to be " dreamless." (2) There is an intimate connection between tli6 depth of our sleep and the character of oui dreams. The deeper the sleep, the furthei back travels the retrospect into the past experiences of life, and also tl»e more remote is the contents of dream from reality. In a light sleep, on the contrary, the subject of the dream relates to the experiences and excitements of the day, and has a character of probability. (3) In a comatose -sleep the professor thinks there may, perhaps, be no dreaming. (4) Persons who assert that they do not dream " are the victims of a psychical delusion." (5) Dreams of a moderate character remain longest in the memory : the wilder the dream, the sooner it is forgotten. How the professor ascertains that dreams are present when the subject is uncorr.cious of them is not stated. In */■> illustrated life-story of " The Most P^wecr-.vl Young Man in Europe " in the "Yoi-.ng Man," some stories are told of Nicholas 11. At the beginning of his reign he put himself on the side of common sense in the army by setting the officers a practical example which they are not likely to forget. A young lieutenant had offended his colleagues by riding in a tram ear in St. Petersburg, and was requested to resign. The story reached the ears of the Czar, who at once took hie seat in a tram and rode down to the barracks. " Gentlemen," said the Emperor, " I hear that to ride in a tram is considered beneath the dignity of an officer in your regi< ment. I am your colonel, ai»d I havjs just been riding in a tram. Do you wish me ta send in my papers ? " This little speech settled the matter.

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