REFLECTIONS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16610, 6 December 1919, Page 6

REFLECTIONS.

THE LURE OF THE HUSTINGS. SOME POLITICAL YARNS. SHAKESPEARE AND SHYLOCK. (By “John Doe.”) I wonder why people go to political meetings. ll the meeting and the speaker are important yon can real all auuut it in me paper next day; if there is nothing ox any importance, wny go ? ihtno is I suppose the chance ot hearing or seeing a "row/’ though this pleasure is very rare, or °i hearing smart reiort and wit. jbut this liiut-oi pleasure is almost extinct. I have not seen a report of any really_ witty speech or clever retort on mierjectors or opponents. 1 remember some years ago 1 went—or was taken—to a big “Reform” meeting in the town trail at Wellington, which was crowned. After a speech Iroin some one—My. Dan Fisher I think, the Hon. i. M. B. Fisher, the rejected of Blackburn— Mr. Hordman, now Mr. Justice Herdman, made a speech. He is a pour speaker and there were continuous cries of “Speak un” from the back of the hall. After one of these exhortations a man sitting near me jumped up and sang out “You’renot heard," man! after which remark Mr. Herdman did There was a very youthful looking candidate for some 'English constituency who was greeted with the query—then a popular saying—‘Does vour mother know you’re out?” “Yes. he retorted, “and to-morrow she 11 know I’m in.” Mr. Winston Churchill scored neatly off an interrupter during his Liverpool campaign when Mr. Chamberlain s Tariff Reform proposals wore the issue. Mr. Churchill had continually been interrupted by an individual in the front who barked out tho word “rot” at frequent intervals. ' After one loud cry of rot Air. Churchill looked at the man and said. “I will not argue with my friend; his head is so full of his gubiect that . . ” and tho rest of his sentence was lost, in the roars of laughter that followed his effective retort.

One of the most crashing remarks I have heard politically was a quiet remark of the Speaker of the House of Commons. 1 happened to bo in the House—in the Strangers’ Gallery, not on the floor—during iho discussions on the Education Bill of 1906. It happened that a minor Bill had been introduced concerning Erosion or the Sea on the East Coast of England. The debate 1 was listening to was on the Education Bill, and after Mr. Balfour, Mr. Lloyd George and others spoke, a member came in and took his seat and got up to speak. It was a man called Marks, a rather notorious member for some Kent division. Ho began to speak, to the surprise of the House and also of the Strangers’ Gallery, on erosion of the sea. After about five minutes of his speech, the Speaker leaned forward from the depths of his chair and suavely remarked, “I think the honourable member has the wrong speech in his hand.” During the loud laughter that broke, out someone told the unfortunate man of his mistake and ho dropped to his sent looking most comically crestfallen and bewildered.

Charles Lamb’s “Tales from Shakespeare” wo know, and Mr. Bowdler’s edition has given us a “bowdlen'sed” version, where all tho naughty words that the ladies upbraided Dr. Johnson for including in his Dictionary are omitted. But I havo - recently come, across a series of “Novels from Shakespeare’s Plays.” Tho one I looked at was “The Merchant of A r onice” by “a well-known novelist,” who apparently and quite rightly does not venture to publish he,r name—surely it must bo a woman The talo as given in the play is embellished by the introduction of a lot of other characters and a novel made out of itl AAdiat will people do next to Shakespeare? Tho thing is clone very much like the “put the following passage into your own words” of our school days. But such wellknown passages as tho "Mercy Speech” and some of Shylock’s speeches even the sacrilegious hands of tho wellknown novelist dare not alter, so they are printed as prose running on with the novel! Surely .this is all misplaced energy and ingenuity. Shakespeare’s plays are not to bo read for tho plot, and the plot is very' largely tho pith of a novel. Tho plot is unimportant; Shakespeare lifted his plots from anywhere. But the very words of Shakespeare aro what wo read the plays for. And a novel of .several hundred pages is surely no more easy to read than a very much shorter play. If one must alter or modernise Shakespeare why not do it as it really might be, to-day? For instance, takq the Trial Scene in tho “Merchant of Venice.” Hero is how the play might be shortened, I do not say improved, for reading. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VENICE. (Before tho Chief Justice the, Duke.) SHYLOCK v. ANTONIO. Plaintiff in person. Tortia (with Norissa) for the defendant, instructed by Bollario and Co., Padua. This case was for an order to enforce the penalty under a bond and was hoard yesterday. After considerable evidence and argument had been heard, a verdict was given for the defendant, with costs on the highest scale against the plaintiff. A stay of execution ivas applied for but was not granted.. After the above case was disposed of, the court immediately proceeded with the hearing of tho criminal case of The State v. Shyloclc Portia led for tho State. The accused was not represented by counsel. Tho case for the prosecution was based on an old statute, one of the many old enactments concerning aliens which, as they have never actually been repealed, are still law, though their provisions are very rarely invoked. The accused had no defence mid made a moving appeal for mercy. He was found guilty. Alter recommendation to mercy by Antonio, the court sentenced the prisoner to a very heavy fine, and the loss of his religion. Prisoner tottered from the dock looking a worn and broken man.

Now T think that is a fair summary of Shakespeare’s Trial Scene. I have shown it to a solicitor friend of mine, who says that to lawyers “the result of the civil case Antonio v. Shylock

will not be satisfactory especially aj the plaintiff had no right of appeal. Counsel for the defendant, Portia, really led the court astray by her ingenious and eloquent pleading. To the validity of the bond itself slie took no exception; presumably because “the law allows it and the court awards it.” Antonio’s counsel was wrong in saying that to shed blood was prohibited, as when the law grants a light it grants also the right to do anything necessary to realise that right. A creditor can also always take less than he is legally entitled to, so all the rhodomoiuatle about an exact pound of flesh, “turning the scale but «pi the estimation ot a hair,” was bad and superfluous, mere camouflage. The obvious line of defence was, the bond is invalid being “contra bonos moTes.”

■ These be your modern lawyers 1 Shakespeare was writing a play, not reporting a case. The learned editor oi The Law Quarterly Review says; “tohai.espeare had picked up quite enough law to Know that the Doge’s procedure was absurd from beginning to end. But Shakespeare wanted a guou scene, nut justice. ohaaespeare knew next to uotinng oi live dews. The Jew of popular legend was lair game and that was eiiougu for tiliakespoaie.” , It may also be enough fortme—and probably lor my readers. How lortuuate tor the world mat tonaxespeare didn’t know, or didn’t care! Otherwise, we might never have had “The Merchant oi \ cnice. ’ As to me question wueuiei bhawespoare by the very gcuius by winch he depicts the hate of cm,, lock, and his harsimess towards pretty dCss.cii jv.J.c anyway was a minx) and Ins greed ior money has not done the Jc-wisli race a great wrong at tlie expense oi a great drama—cur. adv. vult.

People have been complaining about ilie coidncoa of iho vveainor lor December, but, as a friend points out; there are four seasons in the year, and this is the spring, bummer begins on December JJI, ho says, and last lor three months. Also, the earth is not properly warmed up till after some mouths, so that the warm weather comes after the Now Year and usually lasts for some time. Lot us hope so.

I see that it does not do to make even me slightest "lapsus calami" m this column, iur some ij ur-tj eu. reader is sure lo detect even a sup sucn us

“(sir dolin'’ lor "sir James Murray”— has he nut J. A. hi. lor initials S' And i note that a correspondent thinks feasioly that "pride goes baioro a tali” means pnde leads on to a tall. 1 hope Verua biom—whether name or nom do guerre—^-will not think me splitting hairs if I suggest that the simile of the standard bearer is not clear. If pride leads on to the fail, the fall is in front, whereas, the standard bearer precedes the chief protagonist, in the procession. These proveroial sayings are interest-* ing but seem to me to be often the ext prossion of compromising, pawky minds. for instance "honesty is the best policy,” and ‘‘enough is as good as a feast.” Enough isn’t anything like as good as a feast—the Scriptural good measure, pressed down and running over, betokens a generous open mind; the proverb is calculating, and canny.