TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3135, 11 March 1909, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. The development of wireless telegraphy is proceeding at such a pace that, according to the cfible messages, American trains have been equipped with instruments, by which constant communication is maintained with the various stations and with one another. This advance, which points to the possibility of easy communication with simple instrument-: between any point not too distant from each other, should remove any difficulty in the way of the equipment of sea-going vessels. Even such disasters as that of the Penguin might be avoided by the general installation of wireless telegraphy on sea and shor'i, for the direction of invisible stations would ba noticeable, and a safe, course bj open in all weathers to competent japtains.

PRISON REFORM. The man or woman who infringes the laws has to bend his or her back to the consequences, and the fact that restraint is a punishment is a str ng deterrent to crime. If, however, gaols are made palaces of Versailles, or places where every comfort and convenience is assured to the patrons of the Justice Department, then the rush for our gaols in dull times might be as great as that to the Klondyke, but with infinitely more of the com forts of life at the end of the journey. With Dr Findlay's attempts to brirg the prisoners to a realisation of the foolishness and wickedness of crime few will disagree, but the line mu*: be drawn when he attempts to trans form punishment into pleasure, and six months' hard labour info s?x months' recreation. The easier gaol life is made for the majority of those who have taken to crime as a means of living, says the "North Otago Times," the oftener will they want to interview a magistrate or judge. THE FIRST LAW OF NATURE.

In these ultra-scientific days, when even the weight of a human soul is ascertained, a rich fund of information is laid bare by the horrors of the Messina earthquake. One of the first and most striking lessons to bs deducted from the dreadful catastrophe is'that, self-preservation is the- first law of Nature, as human subjects were saved from death literally in spite of themselves. It would appear that in such a crisis other laws regulating the course of human conduct are totally suspended in order to permit the instinct of self-preservation to exert the fullest sway. Professor Lombroso, who has contributed valu- | able observations upon the after effects of the recent Italian earthquakes, to the body of contemporary science, is most emphatic upon this particular point. He quotes specifif. instances in which women and children remained for two days sitting upon window sills of third and fourth floors with a great drop on either side, and yet refused to fall a prey to sleep or fatigue. Among other interesting points eludicated by the professor was the fact that in face of the direst peril the subjects (as is supposed to be the case in» the instance of persons drowning) had much of the forgotten past revealed to them as in a vision. And not only that, but some who were providentially snatched from destruction endured all the mental pangs of death. Cases are recorded by Professor Lombroso in which men who had arms bz-oken ran miles without conscious- I ncss of physcial injury. The first j

thought of the survivors was to fly, and they set off without thought or reflection, without knowing why they ran. "This," says Professsor Lombroso, "is probably the primordial hereditary impulse which made men of oldnr limes flee from forest fires and wild beasts; perhaps with those who were buried in the rums for some time it was the reaction against the compulsory immobility against which heart and muscles, thirsty for movement, had revolted." SNOBBERY IN EXCELSIS. The dispute between the English and ; Scottish Rugby Unions over the payment of certain allowances to trsveiling teams has drawn attention to some of the anomalies of British amateurism. In some sports the definition of an amateur is strict; in some it is loose. The rowing laws, which are perhaps the strictest of all, are calculated to excite both amusement and indignation in the breast of the colonial. According to [ the code ruling at Henley and other first-class English regattas, no person is considered an amateur who has ever rowed for money, competed knowingly against a professional, taught, pursued or assisted in, athletic exercises of any kind for profit, or been employed in or about boats. So far there is little or nothing to object to, but the rules go on to debar anyone who has ever been employed in manual labour for wages, or "who is or has been by trade or employment for wages a mechanic, artisan, or labourer, or engaged in any menial duty!" The exclamation mark i 3 ours. How delightful, and yet how exasperating, is this snobbery! According to these rowing laws, a man of "gentle birth" who has loafed at school and college, who does no work and never will do any, but who lives on the procoeds of an ancestor's industry or good fortune, would be contaminated by association with a farmer or an engineer. There is one comfort—the spread of the gospel of work and the growing tendency of men o± good family to tales up professions entailing manual labour, are making the position of the Amateur Rowing Association more and more untenable. The London "Daily Telegraph" mentions an absurd case of disqualification. It was found that one member of a winning crew was the son ot a prominent tradesman, and had sometimes assisted his father in the business. Hi was therefore declared ineligible, on the ground of having p3rf jrmed "menial duty," and the whole of the crew disqualified. It would be interesting to enquire how many of the members of the governing body of the Amateur Rowing Associaion are descended from tradespeople, or owe their money to the occupation of shop-keeping.