THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2507, 9 April 1902, Page 43

THE WEEK.

" Nunquam tliud naturi, triad iipieniU dixit."— Jctikal. ■'U«od u»urc lad lo.a ■»« must «T«r join."— Por«. At last we are getting at the real truth. The other day the HoroThe Premier's whenua County Council, in Reward. presenting the Premier with an illuminated address, expie<.=2d the hope that he would leceive a fitting reward at the hands of the King for the services he had rendered to the colony and to the Empire. In reply, Mr Seddon said that he was satirfied ■with the good opinion of his fellow men. which was all the reward he wanted. If rumour be tme. the Premier is going to start to earn that good opinion by refusing to acce.pt the national purse of sovereigns, which by dint of much persistent canvassing has been raked together. [For 'Mr Seddon's own good name we sincerely hope that this rumour uill prove to be correct, but it would have been far better had the Premier put his foot severely down upon the project at its very initiation. But nothing, apparently, will cure Mr Seddon of bis love for a coup de theatre, and he will risk a good deal for the sake of being the author of a sensational denouement. Should he really decide to close ihis pocket against tbe "national" purse, psrhaps the suggestion that the money should be devoted to the erectiou, in each of the chief centres of the colony, of a fitting inemoiial to our dea-1 iieroe-,. who laid down their lives while fighting for the Empire in South Africa, is peihaps the best way out of the difficulty. But it would have been a thousand times better for Mr Seddon's dignity and fame bad the bat never been sent round on his behalf. It. is surely playing it down sufficiently law that the old-age pensioners should have been incited to sub-s-criße to present a diamond ring to Mrs Seddon without any further offering being laid at the Premier's feet. Seeing "that to the celebrities assembled in London at Coronation time Mr Seddon will shine forth as the embodiment of New Zealand patriotism and pu&h, it is all the more necessary that, to use Lord Rosebery's now famous phrase, he should "clean his slate" before he fctarts. Peihaps one of the most regrettable incidents of the war is the reThn Affair cently-reported fhooting of Australian. two 'officers connected with an irregular South African corps, known as the Bus.h Veldt Carbineers, for the alleged murdering in cold blood of a number of Boers. The details of the affair, .so far as made known, are somewhat confusing, for the various accounts by no means tally ; but despite all that is being said to the contrary, most men will be quite content to accept Lord Kitchener's statement that, in his opinion, there were no circumstances which extenuated the offence said to have been committed by Lieutenants Morant and Handcock. Whether the two unfortunate Australian*., who have suffered the extreme penalty of the law, were carried a-way with feelings of revenge by the mutilation of the body of their captain, or whether inspired with an ignoble desire for loot, w : l! probably never be known ; neither is it at all certain that the murder of the missionary can be laid at their door. But there is no getting away from the fact thattheir conduct was such as to reflect seriously upon the honour of the Australian nation. Fortunately, although originally proceeding to South Africa as members of Australian contingents, they were not serving with any colonial contingent at the t 'me that the murder of the Boei prisoners uds carried out. In view of the flood of cilumny concerning the conduct of the Bnti-h Army in South Africa which was recently let loose fiom Continental souiccs, it must be rscogni.««d that those in authority cannot be too stringent in upholding the re pit ration of our troops. Better fai that these two Australians <-hould have been shot — painful though the circumstance may be — rather than any pail of Lord Kitchener's command shouid be lad open to a righteous charge of allowing the pursuance of "methods of barbarism."' Of one thing New Zealand may -well bs proud — :inu, diirim? the whole of the South African campaign, not one single incident ha.v occurred which reflects upon the conc'uet of any of this colony's 10 contingent*-. It is doubly unfortunate that just al the tune when the news of the ihootinc: of the two o'ficrrs of the Bu-b. Veldt Caibinec-'-> l>'«d <;iu-e'l such a <&nsution. the Xew South Wilier contingent should huve shown such i:r>old iti like conduct when boaiding the troop^'ip at Sydney. It i-> to b? hupid tlut tli-i delinquents will t.ikf to heint thf ailvice tendered to them by fi ennui Mutfui .i hen he Mid. "For gooilnes^' fake rtmtmb^r you t'lkt- with you the honour and i<notvn ahe-'dy won by Aiisln.li.in*-. and fo v <U:i'* >,ike don't tuni'-h it "' Ti is also sigiiifk-iiut that the BiMi Veldt C iibi'iic <> aie now c.illt'l the Petci burg LiL,'lit Ho r fe. <Hid tli.it they <ne let.'iinii _; oij'.v oiie utfii.r of the original loirmuind Tlif oai>i il Mn_; liYcli of y.Hiiblm / joi;!d liaidly be ir.oie *-ti lKii.iily (.'ove;i'..!(Mi< ,]!ij£ti\ited ih..n in the ;i.i- \ I.ottt*ri<".. ii'Hiiiceruciit i'i»ide by tli" Melbourne Age that, I'k 1--m.niM l'l.mir b^en depiived of the pecuniary Ij.^eht- ot Tattersull's sweeps, a propos;'l I-- . t* i « 111 1 by which the Tasmania i (4n\f !i,-!i- n; w i| take «>\e rthc whole of; Mr Ueo j> _-Mm>..', bi'Mr.e^s .is a going '••)hc:"i' .'"'d i>.jdi'ct it .i*- Ta--!iiitni;in (^o- j .r :.t 1 a.ir Ti: sis cv. dirtily the l.i m . M >v n> th<- . '-iL.n of tije C<jiiin;.>. I - •>ti'ih l'n-t Oilicc <-ut!ioi l ties ,n dtcliriii^r io at-li\'-i la-rtre nurubtis ot lettei - .u\ u^,d to TtJ-ttorsfdl's and io tictiticii- nanif- .it tij« fc>twk Jixokan^ Kobait. Ihua. 1«t- \

tersall's ingenious evasion of tlie la<w is doomed to failure. He instructed his clients to forward him authority to open their letteis, and thenceforth to address the letters to their own names at the Stock Exchange, fiobart. It is to be feared that there is truth in the rumoured State lottery idea, for Tasmania has rather an unsavoury record in the matter of encouraging gambling. It was Tasmania which afforded Tatter«all a refuge when that gigantic sweep-promoter was in turn expalled from tne ether Australian States, and it was Tasmania which proposed to get ovor the notorious. Bank of Van Dieman difficulty by establishing a State lottery. It is criminal on the part of any Government to seek to rafeguavd vice bj taking it under its protection, and this a number of the European nations have proved to tiheir cost. There is desire enough in the hearts of men after gambling, and the one thing which deters the cautious frpm indulging in the practice is the uncertainty nf getting fair play. A Government guaiantee is often all that is needed to create a nation of gamblers, and in these colonies we have progressed too much in that direction already.* Should Tasmania ! succeed in the establishment of her base j design, legislative steps should be taken 1 to prevent New Zealand being contaminated. And as example is always more powerful than precept, the first step towards -reform ftould be the abolition of i our own Government's gambling deparfcj ment. and the relegating to limbo of that j licensed gambliug machine, the totalisator. The late Mr Cecil Rhodes's will reveals the true character of the man ; The Win the nature of his bequests of bears the stamp of his conAn Imperialist, bistpnt devotion" to his ideals of Imperial unity. Like Mr Andrew Carnegie, tlie great Em/piremyker attached great importance to the value of education, for of the six millions sterling dealt with in the codicil two million* are bequeathed for endowment purposes. The gieat feature of these scholarships is their Imperial character, for they are intended for students drawn from all parts of the Empire, and, needless to say, New Zealand is not forgotten. Nor is this all, for Mr Rhodes's dream evidently included the ultimata fusion of the Anglo- / Saxon race. Thus the American press have ' already expressed their belief that the scholarships to each of the 45 States and seven Territories in the United States will form a perpetual link between America and Britain. In the same woy the satisfaction which is expressed in official circles in Germany regarding the 15 scholarships for German students nominated by the Kaiser will undoubtedly tend in the direction of that good understanding between Germany and the British Empire upon the fostering of which so much of the world's prosperity depends. Tfhe noisy advocates of the gospel of laziness should take note of the terms of Mr Rhodes's bequest to ihis brothers, the Jsewmarket estate being entailed with the stringent condition that no one should inherit it if he loafed, or unles« he spent 10 years in an occupation. This is a remarkable application of an old proverb which needs much emphasis in this day of shortening hours and lengthening pay — viz., that if a mar will net work neither shall he eat. The moral of Mr Rhodes's will is well worth consideration. Under the title of "Papers for the Time" the proprietor of the MclTlie Wail bourne Age, who aspires to "f be to Victoria what Mr SedProtection. don ape& to be to New^ealand — sole dictator — has published a series of articles which originally appeared in that journal. .Seeing that Victoria has always been held up as a .shining example of what the policy of protection will do for a young country, it is rather surpiising to find tlie high priest oi that cult indulging in the following mournful wdil : — "The countiv is in anything but a healthy state. We aie thieatened with a falling off in all those sources of production that make for contentment and wealth. Our chief agricultural product, wheat, has diminished in volume as compared with last year ; wool finds a much le*i profitable market ; the dairying industry exhibits a decrease in output, which cause« misgiving among those who '•aw in the previous rapid growth of our butter export a compensation for general agricultural stagnation ; the gold yield is on the down grade. We produce less than we are capable of doing under normal conj ditmn«. and this reduction of output rcj suit *• not only in a diminution of employ-. , mint, but limits the earnings and profits | in cvciy department of mdustiiul activity.'' Thi-. is surely lamentable enough, especi.i'.'v in view of the fact that the policy of | }>3i B.uton'^ Federal Government is largely ] j model], d o:i the Miicida] vlun followed by j Victori t with such disastrous results. But (iet uls «f the agricultural drift brinif the situation into even stronger relief. The Aye //oe". on to state: "Of the staple pio- ■ duct of uhe.tt we rai.sed 15. 250,000' bushels (■'.■/rji yeais i^o. while in 1901 a consider- ! a.Viv mci eased area only produced the "loss yi.'rl of 17.8-17.000 bushels. It is not likely that the d s-appointing result of this I \Piir will impiove tlie comparison. The pot-ito crop yielded 33,296 ton«, as C ompnyd with 57.334 ton? in 1892. The live s-fick lPturns. show that, a* compared with 10 vt us a^o. we have fewer horses by I 44,232. cattle by 180.497 (after allowing for | .in increase of 126,420 in milking cows). j by 1,351.053, turkeys by 6617, geese | by 12.272. and ducks by* 46,316. the only 'ntrodve-- bain^ reuiesented by 67,913 pigs and 143,187 fowl*. The woolpioduction of ; 1900 is only 42,723.270 ib, as compared with i 61.678.3551b in 1899,' a difference in value I amounting to nearly one million stprling. | DuryinLj. v. liieh hai done <-a much for the id c'i'isn^ usriituUuie of the Ktat«, lias, also br-i! a'lo-.wd to drift into the IM of ii11 '>^i ti'lu\\r 11,'Iiistiies, the great shipping ■-e;i>-(i't hating closed with a deficiency of 4000 tuns. v.Mued at £400,000. as compaied [ wit-k its juedtscfcihuii." Aii pf wlucli leads

1 us to remark that Victoria's evident es> tremity is New Zealand's opportunity, only let New Zealand be wise enough to proiH by Victoria's blunder. What is termed the "tablet" system i*. being introduced on the A Safeguard • Hurunui-Bluff section of the against Accident Government railways with' a view of minimising tiha possibility of accidents. This system, wihich has been carried out in the North Island for some little' time, came into vogua at every booking station between Waitati and Mosgiel on Monday last. The following illustration will best describe how th« tablet system works : — When the 8 o'clock train leaves Dunedin for Balclutha, tlie engine-driver must, before quitting- the station, obtain from the Dunedin station* [ master a tablet, without which in his pos< session he is forbidden to start his. train. The stationmiaster holds the key of the receptacle in whicih these taiblets are kept* On arrival at Caversham the engine-drivel exchanges the tablet he received! at Dunearn for one supplied to him 'by the Caversham stationmaster. Meanwhile a. second ' train cannot leave Dunedin until the tablet which the driver of the first train obtained has been deposited at Caversham, the re«» ceptacle there being connected -wrfch...tihe onif at the JDunedin station. A similar ex* • change takes place at every stopping place, en route where there is a stationmaster, * and it thus becomes impossible — if the sys- [ tern is properly carried out— for two trains to be travelling in the same direction over . j any given section of the line at the same time. It is thus claimed that before an | accident becomes possible three men must ! neglect their duty. Provision is made in the case of express trains which do not stop at every station for the automatic deMverv and receipt of the tablet, and the exchange can be effected whilst the trains are travelling at the rate of 30 miles- an hour. Traveller? by rail in Victoria and New South Wales are familiar with the spectacle of the stationmaster. standing, staff in hand, on the platform, and dex- | terously exchanging the precious piece' ol brass with the engine-driver as the train steams into the station ; and the same thing will soon become an everyday occurrence in New Zealand. Any reform wihcrh promises immunity from accident to the travelling public is most welcome. Agiiculturists have a standing grudge against- the 'indispensable Important to railway, owing to the damAirricultnrists. age "frequently done to stagks and fences by stray sparks from'the engines. Hence the introduction to the colony of the novel valvegear invented by Mr J. T. Marshall; a Leeds engineer, should be insisted on at an e-prly date. One of the advantages claimed ' for the new gear is that the blast from th« ; engine is peculiarly long-drawn and soft, ' and thus the risk of fire from sparks is re- • duced to a minimum. This new pear has^ been exhaustively tested in England on the . Great Northern railway, and -with the most) satisfactory results. It gives ires-h- life to: old engines, bein-g as easily fitted on to the old as on to the new, and at a very small cost. Considerably heavier loads can be conveyed with a smaller quantity of coal by an engine fitted with the new gear. With 33 to 50 per cent, greater loads, a. newly -fitted engine is said to have only 631b of coal per mile, against* 671b per mile used by the -ordinary engine. It. i 6 "laimed that this new valve-gear causes the «te;ini to be so fresly passed in and out of th« cylinders that from 30 to 50 per cent, more haulage power is provided with less fuel consumption and w ith~ • steam pressure seme 301b more than is ordinarily applied in modern practice. This reduction in the pressure is of considerable moment, since it h>s.»ens both the wear and tear and the chance of explosion. The invention of Mi Marshall is likely to work a revolution not cn!v in railway, but also in marine engines, and if half that if- claimed for it be true, it can be classed amongst the most important of the engineering discoveries of th« present day. What better proof of the near approachof what has been «t3ied the An Bra of "era of Marconigivims*' could Marconlsrams- be afforded than the news, that an American company w ith a capital >f six million dollars has bought Marconi's United States patents for wirele.-<- telegraphy? Despite all thi doubt* which lnve been freely expressed ai to the practicability of Transatlantic commuricution by means of Marconi's P3'stenj. the young Italian inventoi. now only 27 yeai.s of age, is confident of success. Hia faith in his invention is boundless, and he lias recently declared that within fix months his arrangements will be so fai advanced that it will be possible to send "Marconigrams" across the Atlantic, botb public ;ind pi irate messages 1 . The most important part of Mi Maiconi's invention, and concerning, which the greatest scepticism obtains is his method of "tuning the messages," to a? to guard against their interception by unauthorised persons. Tha greatest abjection to the sending of messages into space without wires has hitherto been the fact that anyone erecting a receiver in the line of route could arrest thi message. This difficulty has been overcome by Mr Marconi constructing -a certain re. ceiver, so that it will only respond to rb«. message sent by a certain tran^-mitt*! 1 . Thus each company will be able to have its instruments tuned" to receive only its awn messages. Mr Mnrcoiii, on the ■•irenglli el tbe success of his Newfoundland expei < ments, is confident thai it will only be j maUer of months when mes«.ai?es will bt rcgularlv Ha-herl between Europe and Ame. Rica One of the projects which this mar vellous j-oung Italian hopes soon to attempt 's to communicate between Englano and New Zealand. The economic side c this latent miracle of science is well exemplified in a speech delivered by Mr Marcon at St. John's, when he said that messages which now cost 2s a word to send by cable; may, by his wireless system, be profitabr* despatched for one halfpenny y&x .word.

This is good news ior the public, bnt rather disquieting to those interested in fclie various existing cable systems, which represent an investment of about 20 millions sterling.