PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2455, 3 April 1901, Page 3

PASSING NOTES.

(From Saturday's Daily Times.) Operators on our Dunedin Stock Exchange are enjoying just now the excitements of Monte Carlo ; with a little imagination they might fancy themselves to be backing the black or red. In dredging stocks for a week or two pa&t there have been the most delightful ups ar.d downs— principally downs ; for downs are delightful if you happen to be ' the judicious investor and know how to buy. I do apt admit the word " slump " ; there n_& been no slump ; but that we have been perilously'near to a slump I don't feel called upon to "deny. You see we are reaping as A^e sowed and as the sagacious prophets -who lifted up their testimony two years back, quorum pars magna fui. predicted we rhou'd reap and num. We then started a number of dredging companies which had no basis in reason, common sense, or the iacts of "naune; we have been occupied ever since in building dredges and subscribing capital, in paying vendors, secretaries, directors, and in allowing the holders of promoters' shares to «lip out by selling at a premium. That is the history of the two yeirs m a score of companies that I might name. And now, when the dredges are on the claims they v ere designed to work, it is found that they won't work Some of them, river dredges, can't reach to the bottom of the liver. Round go the wheels, up come the bucketsfull of water, nothing but water. borne /•lredces cannot even get on to thtrr claims. The "sapient directors have built them m places whence it is impossible they should be. removed except piecemeal, or by suspension of the laws of the physical universe. Others are dry land dredge* ; and, as an expert in to-day's Times points out, diy land dredging as practised means the churning up of tussocks and clay along with the gold-bearing wash and pitching the whole of it over the stern as tailings. Anybody not an imbecile would first pare off the tusbocks ; as they don't pare off the tussocks I infer with absolute confidence the imbecility of the directors and all concerned. And so, one way or another, we are reaping as we sowed, and we don't like it. Having flung away heaps of money on schemes that •were rotten a>b initlo, we have now hardly faith enough to believe in a good thing when we see it. There are still good ill nts in dredging ; of that the weekly list of gold . returns is proof positive. I should say StLsrefore that when the market tends to

| sli-mp, precisely then is the time to buy. I But let no one build upon my advice ; I am not paid to advise. Mr Seddon's parsimony and Mr Seddon's prodigality are equally exasperating. He went to the Commonwealth celebrations retinued like an Eastern satrap ; — New Zealand to pay the bill. He was prepared to send 1000 "troops" to the opening of the Commonwealth Parliament; cost, say, £10,000; — New Zealand again to pay the bill. This is Mr Seddon in his piodigal vein. But now, when an event of miparallelcd importance is to befall, when we are to be visited by our future King and Queen, and when money must be spent to entertain our royal visitors worthily, Mr Seddon chooses to be parsimonious. New Zealand is not to pay the bill. That is to say, the municipalities may pay it, or paz-t of it ; and what they don't pay and Mr Seddon won't pay is to be made up by sending round the hat for the contributions of what he euphemistically calls " private beneficence." Anyhow that is Mr Seddon's view, and in support of it he has entered upon the most squalid and degrading discussions with mayors and city councils from the Empire City downwards. It is to be hoped that no word of these preliminaries will reach the ears of the royal personages we propose to entertain, or it might bfe that they would prefer to avoid the shores of New Zealand and gladden by their presence a people more worthy of it. Not that the people of New Zealand are in the least to Vame; they are prepared to give and mean to give the royal visitors a royal welcome — whatever it costs. It is to Mr Seddon that we owe this shabby squabbling over the question of expense and who is to bear it. What is the motive? The motive, as we all know, is the desire to posture once more as the creator of a thumping surplus. j It is not often that to see ouisels as ithers see us yields pleasure or ministers to pride. But it is impossible for anyone of British race to read the comments of foreign journalists on the Queen's death and the new King's accession without feeling as though a cubit were added to his stature. Russia '.has no particular reason to love us just r.ow. nor to exaggerate om* resources ; rxih«>r the contrary. Yet it is a Russian j nirnalisl. who remarks thai King Edward VII " succeeds to an heritage such as no man has ever corns into before him. It is an Empire that in extent, might, and wealth is unrivalled, that Queen Victoria, Empress of India, leaves to her son and heir." As for foreign tributes to the Queen's virtues, they were to be expected, and ought not to surprise us. Yet it is a little startling to read in the Paris " Gaulois"," usually a bitter I cntic of all things British, an estimate like the following : — By her merits, Ler virtues, and the duration of her reipn, Queen Victoria stands first in the rank of illustrious women who have reigned and who have deserved to reign. There is something very un-Continental, too, in the remark of the Vienna "Presse" apropos of the funeral : " London again showed that it is the metropolis, not merely of England, but of the entire globe." In the same spirit of generous appreciation the Vienna " Fremdemblatt " said : Borne to her last rest by her seamen, fo llowed by the representatives of all European dynasties, Queen Victoria was buried with the solemn magnificence due to the Tuler ot the greatest sea Empire in the world. It is not from Paris exactly that we should expect enthusiastic praise of British bluejackets. Yet we get it in the columns of the " Debats." As with elastic step and martial air the bluejackets, in straw hats, blue jerseys, and tiousers tucked into yellow gaiters, swung by, I commenced to understand tlie role that British sailors have played m Africa ?nd elsewhere. I They are superb m go, vigour, and suppleness — lads who can never be at p, loss in a campaign, and whom nothing can make retreat. These illustrative bits are from a useful column in the Daily Mail Leaded " The | World's Press."' Anybody who desires> a corrective to pro-Beer carpings, local or otherwise, may with advantage look up the Daily Mail for the fortnight following the Queen's death. The editor of the Tablet, poor soul, is sti'l in a bad way —^till deeply exercised over "Ci\K" and his atrocities — still like the troubled sea that cannot rest, casting up mire and dirt. This week, however, I note with satisfaction a sign of grace. About tho«e captured Boer women and the fiendish policy of starving them, either to death or into submission to shame, he now labours pathetically to unsay his own words. That is well. The manner of his unsaying them needn't trouble us ; it is a manner that is his own, and, being his own, couldn't be other than what it is. If he chooses now to say that he didn't say v licit he did say, or that what lie said didn't mean Avhat it did mean, that is a detail which need not detain us. What he did say was that Mr Brodrick in stating to the House of Commons that "Boer

' women detained in British camps, whose j husbands were on commando, were on le- , duccd ration 0 ," ha:l nndc a " callously j brutil declaration of policy."' and that ! "British officers in South Afiica were j beginning to devote to the slow torture j of helpless females the brain power which was insufficient to cope successfully with j a few aimed fanners in the field "' Then, j by way of interpreting " the lund signlnI cance " of this policy of coward'ee and > cruelty, be said : Briefly and in plain terms, these hapless I j Boer females, whose husbands, brothers, or sons I aie oat on commando, rre piactically placrd betwen tho alternatives of slow starvation or • i selhijg themselves to degradation aii'l infamy. , ' That is just what it comes to. In all the his- , tory of what is termed — too often by courtesy — j ''civilised" warfare, ye have never stumbled i acioss r. more cool and calculating piece of vi'- ' lainy than is rxposc-d m this open'y avowed i camoaiprn of starvation against helpless and unoffondmg women and girls. What he now says is that this " cool and calculating piece of vllainy ' had no such design as that of driving its victims to the alternative he names, a choice between " slow starvation and selling themselves to degradation and infamy." Or, if it had, he didn't say so. Reading his words, it might seem to us that he did say so ; 'but we musn't trust to appearances. He I didn't say so then, and he doesn't say so j now For which relief much thanks. The Tablet's repentance doesn't go very far ; but what right had we to expect any lepentance at all? Remember the natural obduracy of the subject. The word " starvation,"' by the way, ' is not English ; at least it is not literary [ English. That better men than the editor i of the Tablet have ii«ed it, I admit ; all ; the same the word is a bad at ord — " a ' ridiculous hybrid word," says Skeat ; sueh 1 a woid as, when in print, should never be allowed to pa^s w ithout challenge. The "starve'" pait is Geiman; whereas the " -ation " part is Latin — an ending that is natjrally developed out of certain Latin forms and can legally belong to no others, to forms that r,re not Latin least of all According to Horace Walpcle, say the dictionaries, the word "starvation wa? fir^t used by Mr Dunda.«, afterwards Viscount Melville, i in a debate on American affairs in 1775. Tht; House of Commons of that day, whatever else it lacked, was not lacking in a , tincture of literae humaniores ; it could savour a quotation from the Greek and Latin classics ; yes: — and it could spot a false ( quantity, no head-master quicker. It was ' not the kind of assembly to which one could < safely introduce a verbal monstrosity ; ' wherefore it repaid Mr Dundas for his •■ "starvation" by nicknaming him " Starva- , tion Dundas." 'There is the woul ''flirta- , tion " too, which is in no better case etymologically. yei. strange to say, has found respectable defender*. Tims Loid j Chesterfield writes : " I assisted at the birth of that most significant word ' flirtation,' ' which dropped from the most beautiful ' mouth in the world " ; and he goes on to '• f-ay that it had " received the sanction 1 of our most accurate Laureate in one of his i comedies." Who the Laureate of the day < was I cannot say; but, whoever he was, ( it counts for nothing that he used the word ] " flirtation " in a comedy : in a comedy , any slang is allowable. As for Chester- j field, he is less on authority upon the woid than upon the thing. i Dear Friend Civis, — Sonic of these beat me, ] and, worse than that, thov have provo'l too , much even for tho colonial =Lhcolbov. Wculd you try, say, Nos. 2, 6, 7, 8, 9. 32 (last ueni) ' ' General Knowledge. i March 10, 1001. ShOit answers only aie required. ( 1. Descube Queen Victoria's funeii] * 2. How is a new =tar probably formed? 3. Compare Mais with the Earth. i 4. How many boat races has iho schcol won t and lost > j 5. Give some swimming records. (5. "What do they expect to fi id in S. Ameuca 9 * 7. Of what did the Queen die 9 f 8 Who and where is De Wet ? i 9 How till they prove that malcma comes a fiom mosquitoes ' 10. Why is the King called Edward > 11. What benc'it do we enjoy ouirg to the late t Queen's character ' -• 12. What do you know oi Teinnel, Giogan, Colonel Wyndham, Fletcher, Kndmond, Steyn, Biodrick, Kitchener, Grenadiers, Duke of c Cornwall, William 11, head-hunters, fatigue a parties, the weathei > r 13. Where, in the Southern Hemisphere, does the plague at present exist ' 14. On what days of the week were January a 22, 1901, April 31, 1900, February 29, 18DS, June > 18, 1815? 15. What is a thiow? This, I suppose, represents education up t to date. It is an examination paper as c^ and printed for use in a Collegiate School — t a widely know n and prosperous institution c — in the North Inland. On other subjects v there were other papcis, no doubt ; but this c is the " (Jcneral Knowledge ' paper: and t we may gather from it that Geneial Knowledge is concerned chiefly w uli athletics and the daily paper. Peihap^ that is as , r it should be ; anyhow it l-n't my place to v object^ I haven't any boys there. Still, a

j if only as amicus curiae, I may venture ,to make a suggestion. In framing questions j for a school examination, however trivial i the subject, some approach to accuracy of j phrase is at least desirable. Otherwise a : smart boy might put the examiner scandalously in the wrong. For example : j How many Boat-races has the School won and I lost 9 — Answer None. There couldn't be a race that the School botli won and lost, i What do they expect to find in S. America? — , Answer V/ho's " they " ? How can a fellow j know what they wanted to find unless you tell him who " they " weie ? How did they piove tint malaria comes from ' mosquitoes 7 — Answei Ma'aria doesn't come from mosquitoes , it corns from stuff that rots 1 m rpar c hes. Do you mean malarial fever' ' And is this the same "they" as the other? i Then, amongst odditie«. we have "Of what (I'd the Queen die?" Of what but o'd age I and want of breath? I really don't see how a schoolboy could put down anything «lse ''Where is De Wet?"'- — Where, indeed ' Better apply to Lord Kitchener. ' What is a throw ?'' Does he mean at dice, or at cricket? — or, haply, at wrestling? And why d dn't he follow on with a few more of the same sort — What is lb*.v? — -Explain the duties of a full back — and so forth. More marks would be made out of these than out of " How is a new star ! probably formed?" and "Compare Mara 1 with the Earth " — of that I will take - my 'davy. Civis. The Conciliation Board met on the 26th ult. to hear evidence in the carters' dispute. There j I were present — Messrs F. R. Chapman (chair- ' [ man), R. Ferguson, J. A. Park, and G. P. Farquhar. Mr Hally appeared for the Car- , ters' Union and Mr Duthie for the employers' J committee, while a number of the employers , cited were present. The evidence lasted all ! day, and was more or less of a technical ■ character. Mr Hally called the following ' witnesses: — D. M'lntyre (secretary of the union), J. Haynes (president), James Riley, and Thomas Home. Mr Duthie called the following for the employers: — Alexander Deans, David Drysdale, Thomas Wyatt, D. Whyte, O. Denscm, and D. Mitchell. The case was concluded shortly before 5 o'clock, the Chairman intimating that the boar.l would notify by advertisement as to when it would ' deliver its recommendations. The particulars supplied by our Palmerston correspondent and published in a late issue of the Otago Daily Times concerning the end of the strike of rabbiters at Dunback were quite accurate so far as they went, but additional particulars available show that there are certain conditions connected with the increased price to be paid. In view of the cb-astrous slump in the London maikct it was found impossible to continue J the high price of last year, especially in view of trappers sending in so many badly cleaned and tainted rabbits, which were paid for by agents when received, but had afterward? to | be thrown away in considerable numbers as unfit for export. With the object of obtaining , only fresh, Found rabbits, one exporter has decided to try the experiment of payment by results, and has offered 6d per pair for rabbits over 2^lb weight, recched at works, fit for > ] freezing, and subject to the lejechon of all email and inferior bunnies. Out of the abo"> c l^i ice the agent pa}'s tho whole cost of collect- ' ing, carting, and keeping accounts. At this late it is expected rabbits will be cheaper to the c\rortcr than when indiscriminate payment of 4d is made by agents for all sorts, good or bad. The member? constituting the Coal Mines Commia -ion were m attendance at the Town ', Hall on the Eo.h ult., and aftei waiting for a tune, ;ih r.o one put m an appearance to give evidence concerning coal mining matter^, they adjourned. The members of the commission weie to leave next morning for Christchurch, where they take evidence in connection with coal mineo in Canterbury, and then proceed to Wellington. They afterwards make a ppecial trip to the Mokau di ctrict, Xorth Island, to inquire into the coal i measures there* which axe repjated to be ver-y extensive. It -may be remembered that recently a company was formed in Sydney with a capital of £80,000 to develop on© of the mining properties in the locality. It is mentioned that vessels of "suitable draught are being constructed to comey the coal to Xew Plymouth for reshipment elsewhere. Our Greymouth correspondent telegraphed that the Grey Education Board, after a long debate, accepted the schedule received from the Education depaitment allocating the increases to teachers' salaries out of the Gc■v eminent grant, and then mci eased out of ordinary icvenue tho salaries of all other teacheis left out of the schedule. The funeral of tl>e late Mi T Culling took place on the 26th ult. The remain-, I ■\ieie fol'otvcd fiom deceased's late residence at St. Clair to their last resting-place in the

2 ' Southern Cemetery by a large number of ■? representative citizen;, amongst them being 1 Messrs T CoulJ, H. Coull, J. L. Gregory, W. f Gregory, L. W. Wilson, J. T. Mackerras, J. * Wain, A Thomson, J. Kazlett, J. Mitchell, L " N. Y. A Wales, C S. Reeves, J. Howlison, j TV. H. Smith, J. G. M'Leod, J Gore, and I 7. N. Bol'. Mr Thomas Culling, mayor of 1 St. Kilda (deceased's son), was the chief . mourner. TLe Rev. A Hodge officiated at ' the grave. i The Ppris correspondent of the Neuca i Wiener Tageblatt i elates a curious episode ■ in the life of Kmp^Edv, arcl when Prince of 1 Wales, which, hut for a providential circumstance, would ha\e resulted in Ins death. Tho Prince had engaged a box for the evening at ' j the Odeon Theatre, and ordered dinner for | l himself and a friend at the Restaurant Foyot, '. which is situated at the back of the theatre. ! j Two hours before the play the Prince- received a visit from the Prince de Poix, who ; was so full of praise of a play which was to be represented that evening at the Opera thab | i the Prince of Wales renounced going to the , Odpon, countermanded the dinner, and dined ■' at his hotel. At the time when the Prince | would have been seated at the Restaurant I Foyot a bomb exploded under the table which, was reserved for him. The well-known author, Laurent Tailhade, who was seated at the next table, was seriously wounded by a splinter, and lest the sight of one eye. Th© crimin.il was never discovered, and so far as the Prince was concerned the police judged it ad\isable to keep silence. The A N.A. Conference, which (says the Melbourne correspondent of the Sydney Telegraph), to quote the Victorian Premier's (Mr Peacock) own words, " would like -to undertake the reform of everything on earth." i decided that the time was opportune for con- \ sidering the principles of Imperial federation. They also plunged into a scheme of educational reform, advised the directors toFend prominent members of the association to Xew Zealand to advocate federation there, and nero about to debate and settle questions of naval and military defence, when Mr Peacock's Fa.-castic allusion pulled them ui> dead. The A.N.A. has a membership of about 25,000, and thinks it is running the whole of Australia, and keeping it from dreadful political and social disaster. Mr John Simpson, who has been foreman at the Kaiapoi Woollen Mills for the last 20 , years,, has been appointed manager of the Bruce Woollen Mills, Milton. The Dunedm and Suburban Dairymen's Association have decided to charge tho following minimum prices for milk, as from April i I:— Pint, 2d; quart, 3£d ; two quarts, 6cl ; throe quarts, 9d ; and a gallon, lid. The ordinary meeting of the Benevolent Tn- ( stitution Trustees, held on Wednesday, was atI tended by Messrs C. Haynes (chairman), 11. | Gouilcj-, R. M. Clark, R. Wilson, P. Tresej der. J. Hazlett, and Burnett. Accounts amounting to £E6 8s 8d were passed for payment. It was reported that there had been ! 254 inmates m the institution during the last j month, the maintenance of whom had co=b £277 0s Id, or 5s 5Jd weekly. It was resolved to accept the following tenders a= re- | commended by the Finance Committee:— A. I and J M'Fail-uio for groceries, W Patrick lor meat, A. Miller for bread, W. Faulds for milk, B Ba s ley and Sons for medicine*, Wjnnp and Hope for funcia!-, J Flemingfur poUtoc-, J Swan for coal, and A and T. Ingha for Loot*. It was decided to apply ; for the sum of £73C0 from the Chantable'Aul Board foi the ensuing- yeai. The amount applied for lost year was £[000. Eighteen relief cases were dealt with. The pa--=eti3er who died on the s.s Mouowai on the voyage between the Bluff ami Tiobart lias been ascertained by the Union Steam Ship Company to have been Arthur Hay Soxnner (not Sommerville), of Andei son's j Bay, who was pioceedirg to Melbourne en j account of his wife's ill health. He apparently suffered greatly -from &ea-&ickness, as the complaint which caused his death was brought on by excesshe vomiting. Mr Somner was a native of Kelso, Scotland, where his father was well known as a seed merchant. Mr Somne/s brothers were con liected with the fum of Law, Somner, and Co , which carried on business locally for many^years. By profession an architect, Mr Somner neier practised m the colonies, bub lived a retired life, being possessed of private

The members of (he Conciliation Board on Wednesday paid a \isit to the Burnside Ironwork s and examined into the different pioues.-es adopted in the manufacturer turned out there. Messrs IlanibOn Bland, James Baibour, J.imes 2>lun, David Mills, and Wm PulLir have been appointed trustees of the BlusskiU Cemetery. " >