PASSING NOTES. (From Saturday's Daily Times.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2651, 4 January 1905, Page 5

PASSING NOTES. (From Saturday's Daily Times.)

Summing up our mercies for the year we have survived, chief ariiong them (next, of .course, .to the" continuance of -.the Seddon Administration) must we reckon- a .certain narrow- escape. We are still out of the. war, and we might so easily have fallen in ! Major-general Lowe, an Indian authority, who passed this way. about! the. time hos"tilities' began, gave us- six months of immunity— 73llst, six- months, iio N more. This prophet' is worth "recalling because -he : ,: represented ' undoubtedly a' great] body {6i iriytructed -'opinion^ J iThe British "army and' navy, if asked, would have said ditto io i 'General -Lowe and would~have said it -with 1 unction — the navy, in particular -being keen for a "look in." JSTot that any such feeling would count, nor that conceivably we might have gone to war for the purpose of gratifying the navy. But the chances were' that j we should be compelled to- give the navy. l.alLthefightingnt wanted. What has saved) [ us, I take.it, is our treaty with Japan — ' the very thing that might have been thought- our .ruin. Had there been no British- Japanese treaty, Hus'sia would' have N fourid allies^ Germany . and_ France], one or s b'oth, - would • have taken a * hand.; ' Should we 1 "have consented/ to" see ; this buccaneering trio portion out the, Far East to their' own liking? I trow not! , That is to say, N we should, have had, to fight. That we have not hadto fight we may' thank — next to' Providence and s our lucky setar— ' ihe foresight of Lord Salisbury. • " * Very respectfully I ask' leave to compli- ' "ment the Premier of Zealand on the intimacy of his"* relations with the Prince -of Wales. An inspired paragraph! put on the wires by the Press Association permits us to know that . Richard " and George exchange Christmas card's. Yes,"Richard and- George — "ego et rex xneus"— that is the due order of precedence ; it must also -have been the order of time, for 'clearly Richard began. The "Warmest thanks ; .good wishes ;' — George," is, as".we.\all see, a- -reply. ' It -was Richard .then "that took the - initiative; ' and toRichard we, owe this' drawing- closer of the ',' bonds of Empire.. We feel grateful, we, all feel- honoured.; -indeed. the affection^ ! ate ■hob-nobbing*' of Rjchard - and .- George isl aXa X spectacle' "which, ' at this seasbri J of goodwill, must- touch, even the I hard heart of the Leacber of the Opposition. I . give- no • iheed to . the suggestion that possibly "George" may > be somebody else than the P. of Wr, whose signature is or should be "Wales" (-'Wales,., ring . the bell ! "is historic) ;. that the. only " George" Ijnown to New- Zealand politics, and conceivably; on Christmas-card terms with the Premier, is George Fisher ;— all that I brush aside as the carping of mere envy. It is .certain that Richard does establish affectionate" relations with persons of dis- 1 . tinction, from, the heir to the throne down- I .wards. Thus .. in the Daily Times of j Thursday we learned that there had been picked up on a, shilling book-stall in London a collection of Mr Seddion's speeches, leather-bound, gold-lettered, and inscribed outside and in by R. J. S. to " Lady Mary Lygon," one of the favoured young women who passed through New Zealand in the suite of'H.R.H. the Princess ; of Wales. How this votive offering found I its way" to a London book-stall remains j unexplained. But that is Lady. Mary's affair and doesn't concern us. !

Christmas for this year heing a cake already eaten, we may listen ' with tranquillity to explanations that ■would explain it away. According /to the Hey. r Dr Nisbet, Christmas represents a. solar myth ; whereas according, to "Eliz. Kigg" — a signature which I have noticed before at the foot of apocalyptic deliverances — Christmas represents the pagan deity Ashterotlfj for which discovery we are referred to. the prophet Jeremiah and the

"Hidden Hand," whatever- that may he. At this holiday sea-son I don't feel equal to arguing the point, but I would just suggest in tlie most delicate way in the world that the Pounder of Christianity must be entitled) to a birthday somehow. Nevertheless, be that as it may, in New Zealand no pretext for a holiday can ever come amiss, and from that point of view I look upon the future of Christmas as reasonably secure. Here I may. note, as not altogether alien to the subject, two facts reported in the Daily Times of this day, (Friday; — the first, that in Victoria the " Christian Israelites," or " Beardies," : have " instituted a great revival . ; the second, that in England tbe Mormons" are i making converts at the ~ rate of 80. a month. The Christian ■ Israelites are ! guaranteed against dying,' although as a ! matter of fact they die .with the same regularity as other people; the Mormons — well, the Mormons are the Mormons, and in that all is said. These two" sects, not to mention five hundred others, are still, it seems, alive andi kicking withi^n the British Empire. •> Any inference we may ' draw to the disadvantage of th^ general } 'public intelligence on religious subjects 'I I think, we -are fully entitled ;ter -■ At" the. cost of much .jtratvail. and pain our .American cousins , have ■ elected Mr, j Roosevelt to\ the Presidency. The parturi-" tion is really spread over four ; yearsj so " that already" the 'trouble ;j?f'p7rodiucmg Mr-. ■Booseyelt's 'successor has ■begun; 1 but"the\ •supreme agoiiy -is concentrated, into^aj paroxysm of four .months.- That/.'ended^ we become aware "of the -phenomena by which* in the domestic "fowl yard it is announced' that Dame' Partlet^ has just.! made" provision for continuing =' the species." j A universal cackling ! " From- Mexico to j the Great Lakes, ,from Long Island "tor- the.. Golden Gate, all America is lifting up its voice in praise of American institutions; ', and of one American institution in particular—namely, the Presidential election." The - antiquated despotisms under/ which backward peoples (such- as' the British,, for example) choose to live have been, rebuked.once- more arid -; put, n . to ,aii,'. open 1 shame. " Where are ~ your hereditary monarchies ' now ! " — howls" exultant the yellow press. . ■Well, speaking for our own", ifc'.'is wiere it .was before there 'were any, -AftiericanPresidents, and where ,it will be when., possibly, American. Presidents are no-more. We ', find an hereditary . monarch more "dignified than a President; and vastly more ' respected the wide" -.world over; -'there' is-' the " additional ' consideration, though we don't -dwell' upon* it, ; tKat~he,-is- cheaper."On v "which point* - the "*Revfew£ November 2, "has some pertinent^ remarks. 1 ' * 'The, Admitted -facts appear to be. that about' four ancF'a-half million pounda- sterling™ have been laid- out in this election liy both sides.;. ,-what this queans ? " J in illicit -expenditure vi§ r appalling .to." contemplate. Moreover. -at _^the'..f time'of;writjng 13, 4eaths_ar.e alre^d^ recorded/ 1 , as due to the election, and by deaths we" mean. : murders. The " list . includes three Returning ; officers or polling v cl«rks done to death. by_ over-i zealotis opponents. • ' s - -*-,-' ' "j An expenditure- every fo,urtb year, of .4^; millions sterling (hot reckoning the mci- j dental homicides) may.be stated, modestly, ; as a million sterling a .year. The Presi- i dential salary " and maintenance, - whatever |it is; will, be additional., A million ti year to get "a- President, who, when they have got hini; is' a" party' politician, and/ th? ; head p_f a party, which is exactly what the head 'of the, State.-.ought riot to be. The American system j compared with the British, is t a'step back towards barbarism. I . ■ y ' V i A correspondent- asks me .to, consider ihe following advertisement" which;_ appears in the London Education Gazette of 6ctober 11 : - , . The Lo-iidon County , Council incites -applica- s tions.fiom persons between the'ag^s of 25 and 45 of the Roman Catholic faith fdr the post of resident master shoeinaiker^at the Upton House S«hool7 Urswick- 'road; - Homer-" ( ton. Salary,. £40 a. year, - x which may be in-"' creased by annual increments of f2-to a- maximum of £50 a year, together with board, lojdg-. ing,^ washing, and medical' attendance,- and an allowance in lieu of beer _at the rate 'of £3 -a year. - - , - - - jThe - ' last clause - he ', " -underlines, , and, apparently I ani' invited to" loot tipon/it "as an enormity. -But I- doii't iii- the least. An allowance of £3—^thatfas of 60- sliillirigs-^' 'a year is something over a shilling "a week, saj 1 " twopence a day.- What- harm' hr two= "pence W- .'day "fQiv^beer?,, ,Obsei:v.e Jhat the London County Council "prefers paying a fixed sum to supplying the beverage and allowing the shoemaker to swig., yiiat.is intelligible". But at least there is lia suggestion that the - drinking of beer- is immoral, as in this fad-ridden .country we" are all required to believe". Nor is this twopence ar day for beer a concession "to^ •the grossness of shoemakers, for the selfsame clause appears in an adjoining advertisement addressed to '• ladies ' : ."The London County Council invites appli-. cations from ladies for the' post of Superintendent at Gordon House,", etc., etc. ; salary, with residence," £90 .risin% to £125, "and an allowance in lieu of beer ;at the rate of £3 a year." I venture ths .pious hope that -the Lady Superintendent of Gordon House would duly spend her twopence a- day in a glass of beer. Why not? Some of- the greatest ladies in English history were nourished and brought up on -beer ; — Quein Elizabeth, for example ;" and, if Queen Elizabeth is not saintly enough, -then Lady Jane Grey. , Of tea or coffee .neither of them ever heard the name. Pepys, in 1660, half a century after Elizabeth's death, notes in his diary: " September 24 ; I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I had never drank befoie." Seven years later he has the note: Home, and there did find my wife making of tea; a dvmk which Mr Pelling, the Potticary, tells her is good, for her cold and defluxions. In the time of Pepys, that is the Restoration period, tea had not advanced beyond) the rank of a gargle prescribed by the notticary. Not fvr another jjeu,eration did

the British palate reconcile itself to tea as a beverage ; Alexander Pope in the reiga of Queen Anne is about the earliest witness to the change; — talking of Hampton Court, "Where thoti, great Anna, whom three realms obey, Dost sometimes counsel tafcej and sometimes tea. Whence it appears that tea in Pope's time was tay. But this is beside the point; which point is that on beer, not on tea, the wholesome British type of manhood and womanhood has in the past been nourished. And a bad day will it be for us all when prohibition substitutes tea for good malt liquor.

From the Daily Times, December 20 : Having rea'cle reference to " Passing Notes," niig'ht I-take this opportunity to askthe; writer of them whether the first "i" in "Civis" should be pronoimc'ecl as in""" sigh" or as in "sift"-? I though fc*"the former way was correct,- and fancy " Civis "■ stated some" years ago that it was so, Jsut with >the general public the long "i '"'-seoms t<Kbe the exception rather than the rule,, so" I~aM still athirst for information.—3 am. 'etc;' _ « Lawrence. - " Kismet. ■ Pity that I should ■ leave- 1 .this poor soul -in 'pain. I overlooked him -last |week, andl " now.'^apologise. ,He asks after the length <of my first "i " ; is it -as in " sigh," or ,is it as in " sift." I assume that there is no" sinister .meaning- in these two "examples. Sifting is more" in my vein than -the other . thing ; I 'shall never^ bY blown up like a bladder^ ,by sighing 'and grief, as Falstaff .says. At the same time r .since the "i" of "Civis."- is 10ng, , .1 must ;he pronounced ■ sigh-vis, nofsiwis.- Iff academical circles, -where Cicero -is . Kikero, , Civis would be Keevis, haply " even Keewis —^which is worse. But -I dwell., among mine own .people .and have , dwelt^amdng them long enough to make the name I bear, Latin tiuraglrit'be, an English wordC .Academies may go; hang. I subscribe .myself and; pronounce'-myself Cryis.

The . police ■ on" the 27th ulfc. picked* up at the corner of High and Princes * streets two .little children, .aged respectively about ■ two - -and -four , years. The children went astray frx>m their parents and friends,- who .were- returning from the wharves, and' wandered- over the. "electric tramlines to tha busy locality where they were found. They taken -io the Police Station -at about 5 .p.m.," "and shortly before 8 o'clock-- the ,little r wanderers were discovered and claimed '^by'a'ielativel "~ -~^ iJX " " ""* It' dS""state l d-£y.a^>Cape paper that Chinese sliopkeepefcs and Indian- traders are on v the. ) :increase. . jn^'Poit «Elizab"^th- and -are gaining in strength,. »nd Ther^e are very many-, shop's in/: the, "hands .of the" yellow ~and copper -'races- which were-ronce, owneb) occupied by" 1 Europeans. ' "Aefatics-ar© herding, in the very- heart., of, the- town, like rats in a hole,\ poisoning the atmosphere and augmenting .the plague -miseries. "Al Transvaal "technical pajjgr, reprinting the paragraph, declares.' that already "in the up-country towns of the / Traiisvaal the position is -still worse:" -- ' '• In connection with the report of the discovery ~by Dr Doyen of a cancer bieillus and "a serum "cure, a correspondent writes to the ■Nelson Evening- Mai! : — "My brothc-r's wife was operated on' for cancer in the breast, and afterwards a second operation was advised, .the - cancer being ..malignant and far gone. The best London doctors thought she might, after the operation," live a few months. My brother -topk her t'o 'Paris, > and Dr- Doyen said, 'No operation.' He injected serum about six times in -as many weeks, and then pronounced " the - cancer to' be * dead. My brother's wife lived two or three years after that without any return" of- the -diseasej and enjoyed far better general, health than she had before.". She died at 'last of peritonitis I have made inquiries as to whether th« 'eerum .could be sent on here, and-'Dr^Doyec ■ is' willing' to do so on certain conditions,. ■-You can refer anyone ■ whojwish.es -to- inquire -'to' p^e, and^l] shall be -happy' to put-themVin ' communications with Dr Bpyen." ■h - <v ' " •" - ,-• •-• ' - "Captain ""Hattaway; "who died, at Auckland a few days, ago, had an interesting ■career. "; He, was born 'at Headcorn, Kent,, "joined the 58th- Foot at Chatham-"in. 18+2, and two "y'eai'S later arrived in' "SyfcmSy. Thence, in 1845, he _was sent to the Bay of -Islands, and ;\vas all through the Native campaign there under Major operating against _/Hoke. He was 'engaged in the Ohaeawa'i battle, and was at the -storming of the pa, when 101 men- were killed and .wounded. He received promotion for his services in this affair. At the taking- of the Ruapekapeka pa in 1846 he was promoted to colour-sergeant. He claimed be* one of the first of the British to enter the pa: In December. 1856, he settled down under the' military settlement regulations at Hbwick as a storekeeper. He did .not remain - many years in peace, for in 1860 lie was Again on active service in. Taranaki, " where he received his lieutenant's commission, and in 1863 he was gazetted captain. He served in. the \vaikato war and at Wairoa South under the late Colonel Peacock. He retired in 1866. and took up a farm at Pakuranga, wh" be cfinducted with considerable success- . , The election of Mrs Johanna Brown as constable of Hugo, Colorado, is now well assured. She is the mother "of 12 children', i and is described as " handy with her gun."* Her duty is to make arrests when neoe«« sary, an^sho has announced her intentioatf of enforcing the closing of public-houses", oa Sunday. The cowboys are all enthusiastic for Mrs Brown's appointment, and no»' opposition will be offered to her election.. ' The appointment of a woman ac village constable ' is unusual, but not unprece* . dented.