NEWS AND VIEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2719, 25 April 1906, Page 53

NEWS AND VIEWS.

Arrangements have now been made at Lloyd's through Messrs Henry Read and Co. to give elt'eet to the scheme for insurance against hurricanes in the Island of Dominica, formulated by his Honor H. Hesketh Bell, the Administrator. Two rates have been quoted — one for insurance against hurricanes, the other against damage caused by seismic or volcanic disturbances, and the insurance will cover all kinds of produce except bananas. The rates will work out between 1£ and 2 per cent., the former for insurance against hurricanes, the latter for hurricanes or volcanic disturbances. Against volcanic disturbances alone tRe rate will be about £ per cent. The same firm has been approached with regard to extending the scheme to Porto Rico, and it is expected that; other colonies in the hurricane zone will follow Dominica's

example.

Norway can boast of the northernmost paper in the world ; this is the Nord Kap, brought out weekly at Hammerfest. It obtains its news (according to a writer in T. P.'s Weekly) by a ship which calls once every eight daj-s. When item 3 arrive on publishing day they stand over till next issue, bo that the journal's latest news is often 14 days behind the rest of the globe. A newspaper used to appear at Deccau printed on white cotton, which was used as a pocket-handkerchief. Then it was washed, and the publisher lithographed on the same sheet time after time, until it was lost. Probably mucb the smallest-sized paper in the world is a Mexican weekly, the Telegram. It is composed of four pages of printed matter, arranged in three columns five inches long and two inches wide. In this limited space is contained the world's news boiled, or rather stewed, down. This curiosity of journalism has adopted for its motto ''Little Straw and Much Wheat."' ,

Lord Mount-Stephen's lack of an heir for his peerage accounts in some degree for the remarkable Nmunificence of his public benefactions. He will certainly be remembered as one of the most generous, as well as the^ most fortunate, Scotsmen that ever lived. His splendid gift of £10,000 to the Queen's Unemployed Relief Fund (says the London correspondent of the Age),' far exceding any previous individual contribution for such a purpose, is a trifle in comparison with the hundreds of thousands he has spent in recent years in building or supporting hospitals a,nd_ in aiding religious and educational institutions. Like Mr Carnegie, he desires to leave as little ,as possible for the probate revenue. Already he has given his relatives over £500,000, and it is said they are to receive between them a much larger sum before his death. Though now in his seventy-seventh year, he is still fairly vigorous, and is likely to remain so for some years longer, as a result of his abstemious and careful habits. He spends most of his leisure in Canada and England, but chiefly in the latter, and at intervals revisits Banffshire, where in his early youth — about the time of Queen Victoria's accession — he worked as a herd boy.

Bishop Ridley, who has laboured for a quarter of a century in New Caledonia, amu3ed a church missionary meeting at Torquay by narratinar his 'domestic capabilities, of "which he is apparently proud. A lonely bishop, living like a gipsy, could, he said, become a very useful member of society. * " I do my own cooking," said ho. amid laughter. "Yes. I can oven make yeast — that is what very few ladies can do — and I question whether you could make a loaf with it. but I can. I have for 25 years done my own mending, though I take care not to have many things to mend— (laughter).— and my own washing-" Dr Ridley added that he had been a teetotaller all his life, and he did not smoke.

A dramatic story comes from Stuttgart, Germany. Accompanied by two gentlemen and a locksmith, tho divorced wife of a wealthy citizen arrived at the latter's house one evening in a motor-car, forced open the door, and "carried out the 18-months-old child, of which the father had been granted the custody. The grandmother screamed frantically for help, and a workman came to tho rescue and eeized tho child. The mother then placed a revolver to her temple and passionately declared that she would shoot herself unless the child was given to her. Thereupon the workman handed her the infant, and the mother and party drove away in the motorcar.

Lady Violet Greville has been trying to estimate the effr-ct of. cluV> life upon London women. Her conclusions arc full of the contradictions which make feminine reasoning in tho sphere of criticism so often confusing and futile. On the one hand, she declares that women's clubs destroy home life, induce luxury, provide a mediurri for the circulation of ill-natured gossip, and encourage idleness, gambling, selfishness, and want of order. T'ni= is a fairly comprehensi\e indictment, writt'f by one who has probably had more opportunities of studying the ways of the 20.000 London club v.omen than any other journalist of the day. Yet. LaJy Grtvillc also finds that women's clubs are on the whole a valuable advantage to her s^k — they promote a useful intellectual Freemasonry, enlarge tho mental outlook, afford a knowledge of the world, cheerful entertainment, and so on. The descriptions she gives of the daily life of these West End haunts arc, however, mainly an illustration of the other side of the shield. We are told of women who '" pitch newspapers on tho floor when they are done with them," who '" chuck torn up letters on the table instead of into the waste paper basket, lie about on the sofas with their feet up, talk in the silence room,"' keep the attendants running hither and thither for them, and consume champagne and liqueurs in the mannish fashion when dining alone. And there are still less agreeable features. " One hears." she says, " dark stories of the want of honour among members, of the disappearance of property, fur boas, purses or umbrellas left; unguardedly on chairs and tables, of petty spite and illnatured behaviour." The fact is, women have not yet learned esprit de corps; each woman lives for herself and her own interests. Possibly, Lady Greville adds, club life may induce the sense of altruism now wanting, but there is not at present much sign of such a result.

A bridal party recently came before the registrar in a small town in Mecklenburg, Germany. The official in due formula asked the brideerooxn if he would take the.

woman as his wedded wife. He answered: I " No, I must think the matter over." | There was consternation and protestation among the assembled company, and the . bridegroom finally asked for an hour in \ which to reflect. He then shut himself up alone in a room, and spent an hour meditating on his future. At the end of that time the couple made their second \ appearance before the registrar. The bridegroom replied to the usual question with a jojful "Yes!" The official then asked the bride the same question. Her , reply Was very loud and distinct. " No," she said. " I can't accept such a weathercock, weak-willed individual as husband.'" She then drew herself up with scornful dignity, and left the room. .

Swimming is essential to all ranks of j the Navy, and those who are unable to ! swim are instructed at every possible opportunity. Recently, on board a certain battleship of the Mediterranean Fleet, three men showed an antipathy to entering the water. It is not permissible to throw men in, so the matter was reported to the captain. He promptly told the men that it was his duty, to make due provision for their safety, both in peace and war* As they could not swim, and declined to be taught, he directed that they must wear a lifebelt whenever they came on deck, and also when entering a boat for duty or going on leave. These lifebelts, he added, would be marked with their names, and they would be responsible for them, reporting them to the officer of the watch every four hours. The noiy swimmers held out' for two days (says the -Daily Mail), but the ridicule of their shipmates and the knowledge that they could not land without their belts convinced them of the wisdom of joining the swimming class. An article that appears in a New York journal states that there are_ only four cities _ in the United States in which teachers are paid more than street cleaners. They are • Chicago Washington, Columbus (Ga.), and Meridian (Aliss.). The accompanying table is significant as showing the relative value put upon the labours of teachers and street . cleaners respcctivelv : — Cleaners. Teachers. ! Dol. Dol. New York ..... 63L .. 540 Boston . .., .. 603 .. 552 New Orleans ..461 .. 315 Philadelphia ..503 .. 470 Buffalo 450 .. 400 Atlanta, .... 300 .. 250