TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Thames Star, Volume XXX, Issue 9027, 26 March 1898, Page 2

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

[BY THE ADMIBAL.J

I suppose there are now a great many people who can sympathise with the London' urchin, who no longer cared for milk after seeing that it came from a " dirty old cow, instead of a nice clean jug." as he had been j used to getting it. The papers ot late have been so full of dairy inspector's reports, tuberculosis in cows, and various other unsavoury subjects in connection with the milk and butter industry that it requires a large amount i of faith in nature, human and other, j in order to relish the matntinal porridge and other dishes requiring plenty of milk in order to make them digestible. It is to be hoped that, through the labors of the inspectors whose duty it is to see to the sanitary condition of the various establishments which make it their business to supply milk, butter, and meat to the community, things may be to a satisfactory condition so that we may be able to see, these valuable articles of diet, with perfect confidence, a very v neceßßary condition should we desire to retain our digestive faculties unimpaired.

At the same time one feels like envying those who, in an earlier state of civilisation, before the doctrine of microbes and bacteria obtained sucu vogue, were enabled to engage in the duties aud pleasures of the table in that state of ignorance which engenders bliss, while we, through the folly of increased knowledge and wisdom, are compelled to take our food in fear and trembling, lest we may be smuggling into our " innards" j on an apparently innocuous piece of meat or cup of milk, myriads of little monsters, whose ultimate aim in life is to live at our expense, without so much as a "by your leave." While not generally Laudator temporis acti in this matter, I am inclined to think that our ancestors had the best of the bargain, unless those who discover for us the presence of these minute plagues are able also to discover the antidote to them.

What relation does tie defeat of the Government candidate in the Wellington election bear to the present position of the Government? If we are to believe the Opposition papers, the result of the election is hand-

writing on the wall, which tells Mr Seddon that he has been weighed in the balances and found wanting, while even those friendly to him admit that it is an evidence that the Premier's " mana" is departing or has departed, from him. It certainly must be a very unsatisfactory event from a government point of view, and cannot but weaken a party which for some time now has been losing caste with the most respectable portion of the electors of the country, but whether it foreshadows the total ruin of the party remains to be seen. Mr Seddon may have some card " up his sleeve" which in the near future will turn the hearts of the electors once more towards the party in power. But if he ha 3 this winning card it is about time we knew ssmething about it, otherwise there remains nothing ahead but defeat. X X X

From the latest cables it looks as if Brother Jonathan were about to try a fall with Spain on account of the Cuban business in general and the loss of the battleship Maine in particular. Although the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the loss of the ship has not yet been made public, sufficient is known to throw very great suspicion upon the Spanish authorities, for they were vary averse to the presence of the ship in Cuban waters, and her arrival there was the occasion of great excitement amongst the Spaniards, who feared that her very presen3e would strengthen the hands of the rebels, even though no overt act in opposition to the government were*

committed ; and from the preparations being made in the States the position must be one of considerable danger, and may reach the acute stage at any moment.

\ The nares of office are telling on the stalwart frame and robust mind of England's Premier. Lord Salisbury is now one of the oldest hands engaged in the G-overninent of Europe, having served his apprenticeship j under the masterly hands of Disraeli, and having been some years now the representative of British, diplomacy, holding in his hands the tangled threads of international policy, the patient unwinding of which has kept the world at peace and ensured the prosperity and integrity of the Empire. He has in reality given us that " peace with honor," of which his master boasted when they both returned from the Berlin Conference some twenty years ago. It is to be hoped that the rest which his doctor has ordered may be the means of restoring him to robust health again. .'■".,

There is something about the President of South African Eepubho which make me think that he resembles our only available Premier. Both are masterful men, both delight in having their own way, and neither is over scrupulous as to the means by which their ends are secured. In the same position I can imagine our Et. Hon. Premier acting against Jamieson in the same way as did Kri^ger, and in the circumstances which lately existed during the election of President, and in connection with the removal of the Chief Justice, aud the projected loan, his aotions remind me irresistably of Mr Seddon, and they resemble each other in the fact that both are running their country into debt and danger quite careless of after resu.ts. " After us the deluge" seems to be the guiding thought of each. While it is impossible to withhold a certain amount of admiration of each statesman, it is to be regretted that both in their public career have not set up higher ideals than they seem to have done. I think the result would have been much more satisfactory to all concerned had they done so.

I came across a talance-sheet of one of those mines which, two years ago were so much in evidence and were going to make us all rich speedily. Only that this mine really was worked and an earnest effort though fruitless, was made to discover the hidden riches. The number .jf men employed by the company at the date of the statement was two, the amount of gold won during the year was nU, the amount won during the company's c*. isteuoe (over two years) was uad«|

£20, and of course the amount paid in dividends was nil, while the capital of the company, nominally £7500, of which only some £1700 had been called up, and it had all been expended but a beggarly £20 or so, and from the outlook there only remains to wind up the company voluntarily, or else go on calling up the remainder of the capital from the shareholders who, judging from the number of forfeited shares for non-payment of calls, are very much against such a course. This mine was to have been floated on the.English market, but that haven of rest to colonial shareholders had been rushed ere the promoters of this grand mine had time to work the oracle, and they are now left sadder, if not richer, men. This is but a sample of scores of others, and remains to illustrate how easy it was two or three years ago to sell shares in mines of doubtful value.