PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3806, 22 February 1927, Page 3

PASSING NOTES.

(From Saturday's Otago Daily Times.) A poet is born, not made, say’s the proverb. That is one point of difference between a poet and a Premier. There is no such thing as a born Premier; you produce him by training, and the training never ends. Our Mr Coates’, Premier of New Zealand, just returned from London and the Imperial Conference, is not the same Mr Coates that went away, —not precisely. In outward deeming he is unchanged—the same son of Anak, needing no cubit to his stature; with war-service still at his back and election successes he is no longer a village politician. In London he sat with other Premiers at the council table of the Empire. On what business? On the high business of bringing to a common denominator well-nigh half the habitable lands of this planet and well-nigh-half the populations. Mr Coates cannot be the same man since. As an old soldier he doubtless knows his Kipling, and may be willing to let Kipling put words into his mouth. Gratefully let him say then ■—“My privilege has been /to sit in council with f ' /

Men from both two ’emispheres Discussin’ things of every kind ; So much more near than I ’ad known, So much more great than I ’ad guessed— An’ me, like all the rest, alone— But reachin’ out to all the rest! ” The result: “ So ’ath it come to me —not pride, Nor yet conceit, but on the ’ole (If such a term may be applied), The makin’s of a bloomin’ soul.” Yes, musing in humility, he will repeat that phrase, “ the makin’s of a bloomin’ soul.”

Parliament out of session and the Premier out of the country, —yet we have not seemed to miss anything. New Zealand runs along smoothly of its own momentum. Not for that reason are, we to think P-rliament or Premier a fifth wheel to a coach. An Acting Premier, Mr Downie Stewart, has been an indispensable fourth wheel to the coach. The “ ac’ . ” of the “Acting” Premier are not ci record; but his speeches catch the public ear by their sub-acid humour; also by their courage. On the unemployment problem for instance. At 11 times, even in the best of times, there are unemployed —incompetents, misfits, work - shy loafers—but not every politician dependent on votes would dare to say so. Mr Downie Stewart has no hesitation: “If the men will not make an effort to go into the country I will not help them. I have evidence to prove that men are not only not looking for work, but some are even walking off the jobs th’ey are in.” Unpalatable truths, these and others of like tone; it remains to be seen whether Mr Coates will father them. Two heavy responsibilities face him—the unemployed and the Duke of York. Over which of the two he will lose most sleep is a guess.

I was mistaken in my surmise that Mr Chen —just now chaffering with our representative at Hankow over the terms of an agreement —had an English University education. Chinese students are not unknown at Oxford and Cambridge, Chengs and Changs and Chus, and they are easily confused. Mr Chen is said to be an American Chinaman, glib in American 'English, but so little entitled to speak for his countrymen that he cannot even talk Chinese. Another mistake to be corrected is that the “ concessions ” are so many Gibraltars—territory extorted from its natural owners; they are simply leaseholds that leave Chinese sovereignty unimpaired. In a “ concession ” the lease is to a Government; in a “ settlement,” such as the American “ settlement ” adjoining our Shanghai “ concession,” the lease is to individual traders. In either case, where is the grievance? The New York correspondent of a London paper writes that though American warships patrol the China coast there will be no intervention. I am told that the only way for China to secure the intervention of the United States is to kill missionaries. I asked how many, and suggested that an estimate of fifty might suffice. My informant answered that it would take at least a hundred to stir the Middle West. And when I urged that native Christians might do as well, he said, No, they would only be reckoned as Armenians, whose massacre by Mahometan Turks counts for nothing. The missionaries must be of Western origin and preferably Protestant.

In the Middle West you are back in the Middle Ages, except that the Middle Ages were Popish and not Protestant. The Eastern States have the light, the Middle West walks in darkness, and “daylight saving,” dear to Mr Sidey, is consistently denounced as blasphemy: “There is nothing in the Bible about putting clocks ahead in the summer.”

Neither is there anything in the Bible about th hybridising of flowers; and so an amateur florist is turned--out of his church for attempting to produce new varieties of gladiolus, “ interfering with the divine scheme of things.” An “ Astronomer-Evangelist ” announces that he has located Hell on one of the planets, will show seven pictures of the “ Burning World ” and answer the question “ How long will Hell Burn ? ” Again:— From the rising Arkansas town of Kensott comes this tale: “.After the city council here had passed an ordinance prohibiting the public singing, whistling, humming or otherwise expressing the song, ‘ Tain’t Gonna Rain No More,’ the long-continued drought and heat wave was broken, by showers. The temperature dropped nearly forty degrees.” This is the Great Middle West, the region of the ..editor —already noted in this column—who wrote: “If Darwin should attempt to visit America he ought not to be allowed to land on our enlightened shores.” Z . ” Dear “ Ci vis,” —The Great Pyramid has always been a mystery. Herodotus imputed it to Cheops (“ Ch ” as “K” —Keops), an Egyptian king who lived five-or six thousand years ago. This was provisionallj' accepted until Professor Piazzi Smyth. Astronomer Royal of Scotland, after long study on the ground, published a book to show that the pyramid had no human architect at all but was built by divine inspiration to record great astronomical, geographical, ethnological and moral truths the exact nature of which I cannot at the moment recall. 'Then'came a third discoverer, a Mr Edgar of Glasgow, who held that the builder was Shem (of the Shcm. Ham. and Japhet family), that it embodied the past and future history of the world, and (incidentally) the fact that the millennium was due on 30th of May, 1928. Last but not least comes a lady. Miss Ettie Rout, who asserts that the pyramid was bqilt by the Maoris—no less! Can anybody say why not? The attention of Mr Coates should be drawn to this matter at once. Let him officially claim for New Zealand the authorship of the Great Pyramid. Think of the glory of it! Wool, frozen mutton, and the other productions on wlijch our reputation has hitherto rested will pale their ineffectual fires.

I should bar the appeal to Mr Coates; He does no’ suffer fools gladly. The three rival interpreters, Professor Piazzi Smyth, Mr Edgar of Glasgow, and Miss Ettie Rout, in respect of any reputation they may have had for sanity and common sense are in the same category as a British soldier of early date to whom a moss-grown memorial stone in one of the Cairo cemeteries bears record (I have seen it myself) — Killed By Falling Off Chops’s Pyramid. Chops’s Pyramid!

Dear Civis, —In the course of a con- % versation the other day with a friend ‘of mine who, though a decent enough fellow, is as narrow as a deal board and as obstinate, as a Spanish mule —in fine he is a public school teacher—l chanced to say, “Yes, it’s me." Jle straightway interrupted me: “That’s bad grammar; you should say ‘lt’s I,’ not ‘lt’s me.’ ” I resented this, as I profess myself to be a reasonably welleducated and well-read Englishman, and have said “It’s-, me” ever since I could speak. He persisted that grammar decided in fav.our of “I” against “me.” I asked him whether grammar was based on usage 01 usage on grammar. I put it to you sir, whether I was not right, anything from pundits, purists, and prigs to the contrary notwithstanding. Right, seven- times over. The English “It’a me” is kept in countenance by the French “e’est moi.” The nominative pronoun must be conceded to such an utterance as “It is I, be not afraid.” But

the French version of that same sentence is “Rassurez-vous, e’est moi.” Always and in every context “e’est moi”; the form “e’est je”—grammatically correct—would set all Frenchmen laughing. Latham, an English authority, accepts “it’s me,” but hesitates about “that’s him” and “that’s her.” Alford in his Queen’s English defends all three. Another authority grudgingly remarks: “Neither in English nor in French can any defence be set up but general usage.” What better defence is needed? General usage means the general will of the people, and the general will of the people is the final authority in all language. It is by the general will of the people that English is English, and not Double Dutch. If “it’s me” and “that’s him” are locutions that exist by the general will of the people, “it’s me” and “that’s him” are right.

Scotland for ever! I have had to keep two or three north-of-Tweed patriots waiting. Here is one of them : Dear Civis, —Referring to your note last week about the stone in the Canongate cemetery, Edinburgh, erected by Burns in memory of Robert Fergusson, the Scottish poet, it may interest some of your readers to know that a bronze memorial of Fergusson is being cast by the famous sculptor, Pittendreich M’Gillyray. and it will be unveiled in St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, next month by the donor, the Hon. Jas. Craigie, of Timaru. Much to the credit of Timaru and its distinguished citizen, .the Hon. James Craigie. From Clyde. A question for the policeman on point duty: Dear Civis, —I would be obliged if you could solve the problem. Does the top of a motor car wheel travel faster than the bottom? In relation to the axle, all points on the circumference of the wheel move at the same rate, as any simpleton may see. In relation to the ground, as the upper part of the wheel is moving forward whilst the lower part is moving backward, it may be said that the top of the wheel travels over the ground faster than the bottom. But the wheel av a whole travels over the ground at the pace of the axle, with no jot of difference. • For which fact invoke again the observant simpleton. Civis.

Mr Charles R. Edmond, secretary of the New Zealand Alliance, speaking at a welcome on Thursday to Mr Charles Todd, said : “We ought to win prohibition in New Zealand in 1928. Men and women have gathered together in all parts of New Zealand to say that the abolition of the liquor traffic would be a good thing; they are prepared to come along and vote that way. Let us inspire them to go out and win someone to rote for the abolition of the liquor traffic, and the thing is done. The year 1927 is going to be one of the most strategic years in our history.- This Parliament has to face licensing legislation. The Prime Minister has promised it, and he cannot go back on it. I believe we can secure from this Parliament a democratic ballot paper for the poll of IS2B. lam certain we can get that ballot paper from this Parliament, provided the men and women who really believe in the value of the abolition of the liquor traffic to this Dominion will stand out and see that their member takes them seriously. ’ We have more than 50 per cent, of the present Parliament in favour of the two-issue ballot paper, and we are going right through with it.” These remarks were warmly endorsed by the meeting.

The El Dorado art union was drawn at Hawera on Thursday. The first prize of £2OOO went to Mr T. Waigth, of Roxburgh, Otago, the of £5OO to Mr F. E. Tauckell, of Riwaka, Nelson, and the third of £lOO to Mr Alec. Hyndman, of Cromwell, Otago. On Wednesday evening, at Port Chalmers, two houses in Bellevue place were*’ entered by a burglar or burglars. In ono case access was gained through a bedroom window before 10.30 p.m., the occupants being in another room, and the loss ->f about £2O worth of jewellery was discovered at bed time. From another house, a few doors away, about £ICO worth of valuables was taken. The change of weather which threatened earlier in the week came on Thursday morning, when the day dawned dull and ..unpromising. Throughout the forenoon rain appeared imminent, but it was not until early afternoon that the wintry downpour set in in earnest; About 1 p.m. it was apparent that the change in the weather cerditions was likely to be unpleasant. The heavy rainfall, which continued incessantly all the afternoon, was accompanied by a cold wind. . Towards evening the rain ceased, and, after darkness had fallen, the weather cleared considerably, though the menace of further rain was present until a late hour.

The Sockburn Aerodrome, for the first \ time in New Zealand, is using the European and American system for meteorological observations by means of small ' hydrogen inflated balloons. The experiments are being carried out for the Meteorological office at Wellinn-ton, and the data which is gained is correlated’with meteorological observations from all over the Dominion. The new railway car which has been constructed by the Railway Department for the use of the Duke and Duchess of York i during their South Island tour was brought to Dunedin oy die north express on Thursday. It ’eft on Friday for Central Otago, where it will undergo’ a series of tests over the route which will bo taken by the Royal party, after which it will return to Christchurch t await the Royal visitors' arrival. On the arrival of the Right Hon. J. G. Coates in New Zealand from his visit abroad, the Mayor (Mr H. L. Tapley, M.PJ forwarded him ? telegram on behalf of the citizens of Dunedin, welcoming him back, and congratulating him on his successful representation of the Dominion at the Imperial Conference. On Thursday the Mayor received a reply from Mr Coates expressing thanks, on behalf of Mrs Coates and himself. for the kindly greeting, and stating that he confidently believed that the conference deliberations would have results of lasting benefit to the Dominion and the Empire. Ihe hot dry weather of the past few weeks changed on Thursday forenoon in South Otago to a gentle rain, which continued throughout the day, and should do an immense amount of good to growing crops. Turnips particularly were languishing for want of rain, and although the downpour will-interrupt the oat harvest, the general effect , will be a big gain to the agriculturist. .. The rain will also check the tendency to blight in the root cropi apparent in rome districts.

The unemployed of Auckland propose to hold a demonstration to-morrow, the second day of the visit of ,e Duke and Duchess of York, and on Thursday the Trades and Labour Council sought permission of the City Council lo hold a demonstration on tho civic square site- The council felt that such a demonstration would be discourteous to the Royal visitors, and permission was refused, although 'it. was intimated that the site would be available after the Royal visit. A Maori was stabbed twice in the groin in the Star Dining Rooms in Auckland on Thursday. The weapon used was a twopronged fork, but the injuries were riot considered serious when he was removed to the hospital, from which he was later discharged. A Chinese has been arrested in connection with the incident. At the Palmerston School picnic at Hampden on Wednesday a little boy named Peddie, while paddling in a creek, sudcitnly stepped into a large hole and disappeared. into a considerable depth ot water. Another boy named Duncan Fletcher, -aged about 13 years, saw tho other disappear, and he immediately jumped in fully dressed, and. with difficulty, rescued the little fellow, who suffered from nothing more than a good fright. Great credit is due to the boy Fletcher for his prompt action. The Pacific Cable Board has finally taken over the new cable between Suva and Fanning Island, thus completing the duplication of the cable between Bamfiel-d (British Columbia) and Suva, and infcrentially between Barnfield and Sydney and Auckland. The guarantee period on the new cable expired on Thursday morning. Final Lave been taken and reported as perfectly satisfactory. The cables are now fully available for the passage of traffic. Recent speed tests on, the Suva-Fanning Island section have achieved readable figures at 320 words a minute, with the indication that higher speeds are obtainable with the application of suitable apparatus and a further refinement of the receiving conditions.

“Although we have done a deal of good, and the City Council and local bodies have spent many thousands of pounds since this committee was set up, I feel utterly disgusted with the apathy shown by the Gox ernment to any material suggestions mad< by us, and I think we should disband.” These remarks were made by Mr E. Pheland on Wednesday at a meeting of the Auckland Unemployment Committee, and severe heartily supported by Messrs Spencer, Sharpe, and the Rev. Jasper Calder and Captain Davies, who were 'present. Mr Spencer, who occupied the chair in the absence of the Mayor, said it looked as though the Mayor had left the committee cold. “He might have done it in a proper way,” he said, “and had he sent along a note it would at least have been more graceful. However, it is unfortunate.” After discussion the motion to disband tho committee was adopted.

The following are the returns of infectious diseases at the Dunedin and Fever Hospitals for the week ended at noon on Feb. 12:—Diptheria—-remaining 2; scarlet fever —admitted 1, renlaining 2; poliomyelitis—discharged 1, remaining 2; cerebrospinal meningitis—remaining 1; lobar pneuknonia —remaining 2. Totals: Admitted 1, (discharged 1, remaining 9. Forty Kaitangata men, all married, proceeded to Chaslands last week to begin work on the Chaslands-Niagara road. There are 30 employed on the protective embankment at Balclutha, bringing the number for whom the Government 'has found relief •work up to 70.

His Honqr Mr- Justice Reed 'has granted probate in connection with the following estates Annie Maria Day, Dunedin (Mr A. I. W. Wood); Thomas Mangan, Pembroke (Mr J. C. Parcel!); Jane Greer, Ranfurly (Mr J. I. Fraser); Ann M'Coll, Duntroon (Mr C.. H. Holmes, Christchurch); Thomas Morgan, St. Bathans (Mr J. I. Fraser); Amelia. Ward, Caversham (Mr. P. Lemon); John Douglas Willocks, Stirling (Mr G. J. Kelly). His Honor also granted letters of administration in the estate of John Thomas Beck, Oturehua (Mr J. I. Fraser). ,

Several valueless cheques were issued by two young men in Balclutha last week, but in only one case was the cheque cashed by the business man accepting it.- The young._men were strangers to the town, and, after the bank had been communioatd with, suspicions were aroused, arid the young men were apprehended at Owaka on their way to Tahakopa. They were remanded to Dunedin. The descent of a diver in the Ross Creek' Reservoir on Feb. 14 attracted not a little attention. His visit to the little known depths of Dunedin’s main water supply, however, was not the result of serious developments. ' He wag sent down merely to inspect the gear around the outlet pipes and to repair a broken chain on the apparatus ’ which controls the lifting and lowering of a wire filtering screen. Most of the submerged gear is made of gunmetal, but -the chains are composed of wrought iron, which rusts in time, and an occasional inspection is necessary.'

The camp of the Ist Battalion, Otago Regiment, which will begin at Matarae on February 24, will be attended by 1000 Territorials. The men. will be conveyed to the camp by two special trairis The first will leave at 9.30 a.m., and the second, which will pick up Oamaru, Port - and Mosgiel territorials, will leave shortly after 1 p.m. Colonel H. E. Barrowclough will be the commanding officer. The fact that, the Golden Fleece art union had resulted in a loss of over £l6O to the promoters, the Manawatu A. and P. Association, was disclosed at a meeting of the General Committee of that body (reports our special correspondent in Palmerston North). / The receipts, it was reported, had totalled £3106 4s 3d, and the expenditure £3273 18s, a loss of £167 13s 9d thus being shown. A visitor to Chalky lulet states that deer are rapidly destroying the young forest growth there. They 'devour everything up to 6ft, and in some places the undergrowth has entirely disappeared. A Government stalker is now engaged thinning the herds in the Wanaka district, and it would appear that the herds' in the National Park require attention. They are evidently multiplying too rapidly. At the Oraki end of the Colao Beach it is no unusual sight to see deer, and they must hav© come from beyond the Waiau. . A severe electrical storm, accompanied by exceptionally heavy rain, broke on Auckland and suburbs on Tuesday night. Something in the nature of a cloudburst occurred between Manurewa and Takanini. ' Preceded by what was described as a well defined cloudburst Queen street was awash, but little damage was done." The rain will do a great amount of good in the country. It may be possible, by June next, lor people in Auckland to talk by telephone to friends in Dunedin (remarks the Christchurch Press). Mr A. Gibbs, chief telegraph engineer, gave some information regarding the -inter-island telephone to a reporter. The repeating apparatus has arrived in- New Zealand, and it will be installed at Wellington and at Seddon, in Marlborough. The apparatus is necessary at each end of ? the cable, which will run across Cook Strait, in order to amplify speech and ensure distinct hearing. It will correct the loss of strength during transmission and make the voices considerably louder. The new building has‘been erected at Seddon. Special wires will be erected to carry the new service, and some of the heavy poles have been put up at Shirley, near Christchurch. The- main line from Christchurch to Seddon will be strengthened, but new poles will not be erected all the way. At Seddon a larger staff will be required to cope with the increased work, but the inter-island telephone service will not affect the office otherwise.

An innovation in musical circles of Dunedin was heard in the air for the first time oon Tuesday in the form of St. Paul’s Cathedral Glee Club, which broadcasted its initial efforts from 4YA, Dunedin. This lively glee club will .fill a long felt want for this type of choral work in the city. Athough the club is a young one, with a small,, membership, it gave a most creditable rendering of old favourites. Lovers ot glee and other mirthful melodies will hear this club in concerts during the coming season.

Sympathy, while it is sometimes cheap, can, on the other hand, take a very practical form, as has been demonstrated by the employees of one of the' biggest collieries in New,,South Wales. When a fellow member died (reports our Sydney correspondent) it used to be their practice to cease work, and to take another day off to attend his funeral. . They have now decided to ’remain at. work on such occasions, and to give to the employee s family or other dependents a substantial portion of their pay for the shifts which, formerly, have meant idleness and lost money. Recognising the practical spirit of this decison, the proprietors, of the mine have announced that, if the undertaking is hqpoured, they will give £26 towards the cost of the funeral expenses of any man in their employ..

Now that the refrigerated cabinet- has been taken from the larger window of the High Commissioner’s office in the Strand (writes our London correspondent on January 12) more attractive exhibitions may be arranged. One that is attracting a good deal of attention at the' present tii zs is that set up by the staff in conjunction with the Dairy Produce Board. The central figure is the life-sized model of the Friesian cow which did service at,the British' Empire Exhibition. This, it may. be re-' membered, had a map of New Zealand' incorporated in its markings. Grouped around the model are open boxes of' New Zealand butter, and crates of cheese, tins' of butter, products made from casein, and suitable placards explaining the produce as well as advising the passers-by to purchase Empire produce. ' ■

A "suggestion was made by Mr O. J. R. Williams at Christchurch the other night at a reception to. Sanders Cup visitors that it would be desirable to make it a condition that the boats in the race should be built in the province which they were to represent.’ It would make the contest more representative and lead to an increase of interest in the races. _ It could not be expected that the sails and rig. could be made in the various provinces, but the boats certainly could be provincial. It was absurd, in his opinion, that while an Auck-land-built boat should represent, say, Auckland, a Southland-built boat should represent any -other province, than Southland. He expressed the hope that the visitors would have an enjoyable stay.

Elaborate preparations are being made by the Railway Department at Christchurch for the safety of the Duke and Duchess of Yorl£ during their travel through the South Island (states the Press). Every line along which the Royal party will be carried will be guarded, and permanent way men will . see to it that the lines are clear • and .safe, A man will .be stationed at every level crossing, at every bridge, station yard, and at every dangerous part of the lines, and, in addition, two men will be stationed at every tunnel. With the exception of large towns, all level crossings will be closed for five minutes before the arrival of the first train, and until the emergency train has passed. Three hundred ;men were stationed along the line when the Prince of Wales travelled from Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch. —- -

In the course of his sermon at the Anglican Cathedral in Christchurch on Sunday week Archbishop Averill spoke on the proposed revision of the Prayer Book, saying that the revision, which certain kinds of parties would have for themselves, would bo rejected by God. His Grace prefaced his remarks by speaking - on th© temptation of people to take the short ’cut. There were people in the world, he said, who .thought that the Church was. old-fashioned and that modern, religious thought, should be adopted. ‘‘The way of God’s: Church may be thought to Jbe long and tedious, but it is the way of safety,”- he said. However, the revision of the Prayer Book, if accepted by the Government, would also have to be accepted by the synod. ’ '■

On the casting vote of the chairman the Auckland Education Board decided that the primary schools in the city and suburbs shall have two days’ holiday on the occasion of the visit of the Duke and the Dueliess of York. A Dunedin engineer, who has achieved more than passing success in America and England is Mr D. Burt, a son of Mr T. C. Burt. He served his time with Messrs A ..and T. Burt, of this city, though he is in no way connected with the principals of that firm. Some years ago he went ■to Glasgow and thence to America, where -he has been in the employ of the Grace line of steamships. . His firm has now ; 'sent him to England ,to supervise the construction of two large steamers that are being built by the Furness Shipbuilding Company at Haverton ..-Hill on Tees. The engines- of the ships are being made in Switzerland, and Mr Burt will divide his time between England and Switzerland. Writing to his brother-in-law, Mr W. T. Gilmour, of Dunedin, Mr Burt says of 1 conditions in the Old Country: “Business in this country seems to be on the verge of a boom. During the last two months (December and November, 1926) I have noticed in the papers that, orders have been placed for over 50 large ships at the various shipbuilding yards, and when shipbuilding »s flourishing the whole country is in the same.happy position. Some firms I have visited lately have at least a year’s work on hand without booking another order, and there is an optimistic feeling abroad that makes the outlook very promising.. The coal strike was a terrible ordeal for the country, but its educational value has been immense, as. it has eradicated Bolshevistic ideas to a large extent, and left in- their stead a healthy pull-together feeling between the masters and the men.” ._ Probable visits to the Dominion next year of British Cabinet Ministers were foreshadowed at a civio reception accorded the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. J. G. Coates) and Mrs Coates at WelIngton. Mr Cbates said that representatives at the conference had stressed the need for such visits, and 'it was voted nexfyear that four British Cabinet Ministers would visit New. Zealand. The Secretary of State for Dominion. Affairs (Mr L. S. Amery) would make the journey in any case, and Sir P. Cunliffe-Lister, of;the Board of Trade, hoped to do: likewise.' - ' : .. ?. -i ,