THE PASSING SHOW.

Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 16152, 29 November 1924, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE PASSING SHOW.

COMMENT AND CRITICtSM.

(By “Free L«nee.")

Nations are no less prone than Individuals to regard with much disfavour the mote in their brother’s eye whilst oblivious to the beam in their own. This sage reflection Is prompted by the attitude of France, as expressed by certain of her newspapers, towards the stand taken by Britain in reference to Egypt after a high British official in that, country had been foully murdered in broad daylight in the streets of Cairo. The French papers alluded to see in the rightly stern demands immediately issued by Britain “an indirect, disguised return to British dominion of Egjr>t,” and “not the best way to facilitate a peaceful settlement.” France, as a friend with whom one desires to live quietly in amity, is, to use an idiom of her tongue, very “difficult.” f ...

Britain, thank God, Isn’t yet quite spineless enough to allow any of her subjects, let alone a very distinguished official representative in a foreign country, to be shot down in unprovoked and cowardly fashion without calling the offending nation to very stern account, and insisting upon rigorous measures to guard against, so far as is possible, any repetition of such an outrage. Britain, as all the world knows, dragged Egypt out of the slime forty or so years ago, and under her beneficent protection that once wretched country became restored to a condition of comparative prosperity. Where Britain was to blame, one canflot but feel, was, as a semi-official statement recently put it, in being too optimistic about Egypt’s ability to govern herself. Egypt, in short, when given her independence a few years ago, was far from being in a fit condition to receive the privilege with good results to herself or others.

Let us turn to France, some of whose newspapers profess to see so clearly the beastly motes in Britain’s optic organs. What has she just managed to do? She has, as one writer put it, once again effected the miracle of uniting the German nation. She caught a German general, who was accused of furniture thefts during the wartime, had him tried by court-martial at Lille, and sentenced him to a year’s imprisonment. ■ It does not appear to be the mere fact that von Nathusius was found guilty that has so stirred up the indignation of all classes in Germany, as that the tribunal which tried him was a courtmartial. A court-martial six years after the war ended is considered, and one cannot help thinking rightly so, an anachronism and a breach of the new spirit which it was hoped had lately entered into European politics. Anyhow the upshot of the matter appears likely to be that, the reactionary parties in Germany will obtain a much better hearing at the coming elections in that country than they had any reason to expect previously. In such an event, no doubt, much of the work done with a view to stabilisation of European conditions will go by the board, and the whole weary business will have to be gone over again or worse.

Surely this would be the deuce and all of a price for the world (not France alone) to pay as the cost of punishing von Nathusius, even had he stolen van loads of furniture, and not, as he says, merely had a carpet removed because it was full of fleas. But France doesn’t see it. In her anxiety to “get one on to” the wretched Boche she has gone about the matter by the clumsiest and most dangerous method, and yet, her papers say, Britain has “not adopted the best way to effect a peaceful settlement” in Esypt. What aotion would France suggest if her representatives and subjects had been “potted at” and killed in the streets of Cairo? Possibly she might be partially appeased by the heads of Zaghlul Pasha and King Fuad on a salver, but, seeing the fuss she made about a flea-infested carpet and some furniture allegedly “pinched” by a Hun general, one doubts it. Yes, as a friend, France, is decidedly “difficult,” and in some matters singularly small-minded.

Descending to matters of lesser import one is tempted to think there must be some very small minds in London also. When the cables told us that there w r as a hint of .New Zealand objecting to the inclusion s,f Scottish Rugby Union players in any English team sent in future to tour this country, by way of reprisal for the. Scottish Union's attitude in connection with t.he All Blacks’ tour, “Free Lance” was very loath to believe that such a miserable idea had emanated from a New Zealand source, lie was accordingly very pleased to read later a statement by Mr Kitto, of the New Zealand Rugby Union, that he knew nothing of such a suggestion. And one hopes sincerely that no such proposal will ever be made seriously. In the first place, one doesn’t think it harmonises in the least with a true sporting spirit. Secondly and lastly, our Rugby boys ought to have enough self-esteem, and we ought to have sufficient pride in them, to hold that if Scotland didn’t have the pleasure of seeing the All Blacks in action against her best it is Scotland’s loss, not ours, and therefore, we have no call to feel “grouchy” about it. “Reprisals” be hanged; what for, anyhow?

In a test case at Christchurch the other day a chemist was convicted and mulcted in costs only for having sold a drug, namely, Phcnolphthalein, in a package which had attached thereto a misleading statement purporting to indicate the nature of the article contained in the package, to wit, “Compound castor oil chocolates. Better than castor oil.” The Magistrate said it seemed to him that the statement “Compound castor oil chocolates. Better than castor oil,’’ was misleading to the purchaser. The castor oil that was in the tablet had no medicinal value, and therefore the chemist was really selling another drug in the place of castor oil, although it was not suggested that, the drug was a harmful one. "However,” said his Worship, “the public must know what it is buying. The active ingredient in these tablets is a drug (a product of coal tar), and not. castor oil." What a good job for the defendant the case wasn't heard in Italy, where the Fascists are said to persuade unwilling converts by administering to them huge doses of castor oill. Quite possibly Mussolini wou’d have had the offending chemist’s neck wrung “to encourage the others,” and as a gentle indication that the way of the transgressor against Fascismo is hard.