TOPICS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue XI, 14 March 1896, Page 293

TOPICS OF THE WEEK.

THE Australasian Medical Congress, which has just concluded its session in Dunedin, must assuredly be attended by good results. The assembling together of the leading members of the medical fraternity of Australasia, the interchanging of ideas that must necessarily take place, and the strengthening of that spirit of comradeship that should exist, will eventually be for the benefit of the public in general and suffering humanity in particular. The syllabus prepared embraced a variety of subjects, and, albeit some of the papers were a trifle heavy for the laymen (mayhap even beyond the comprehension of the younger members of the Congress) they contained much valuable information, and were listened to with rapt attention.

The Congress was opened by His Excellency Lord Glasgow, who at this and the other functions in connection with the Conference which he attended, spoke in a particularly happy vein. The Premier was also present, and the judicial and civic dignitaries of Dunedin gave ample evidence of their interest in what has proved to be one of the most useful and enjoyable gatherings held by the medical gentlemen of this and the neighbouring colonies. The address of the President (Dr. Batchelor) was in every way worthy of that gentleman, and interested medicos and the general public alike.

Some of the younger members of the Congress expressed to a representative of the Graphic, the opinion

that many of the subjects treated upon dealt with the peculiarities and treatment of cases of the rarest type, while not sufficient prominence was given to subjects frequently met with, information regarding which would have proved much more acceptable to them. l lt must, however, be remembered,’ said one of Australia’s leading surgeons, to whom the objection was mentioned by our representative during the Conference, ‘ that there are specialists present, and as such they naturally devote their attention to the particular subjects they have made a special study of. We have so arranged our business that not only the rank and file, but the leaders in the profession, derive information from, and are therefore attracted to, our Conference.’

From a social point of view the members voted the Congress a decided success. Balls, receptions, garden fetes, and visits to various places of interest in and around Dunedin combined to add to the variety of the proceedings. The mild dissipation indulged in by the members was such as to render it probable that at the present time they are undergoing a course of treatment of such a nature that at least one aspect of the Aus-

tralasian Medical Congress of 1896 will long be present in their minds. Our illustration is from a photograph taken by Messrs Burton Bros., Dunedin.

C CHRISTCHURCH has apparently not forgotten the / teachings of its late member, now our AgentGeneral. Though absent from her in the flesh, his spirit still exercises a potent influence over the citizens, and the socialistic ideas he so carefully nurtured are now strong enough in the City of the Plains to run about on their own legs. At least I gather so much from the fact that a Fabian Society has been started there, with the Rev. O’Bryen Hoare as secretary, aud that one of its objects is to run socialistic candidates at the next general election. That of all forms of socialism the Fabian is probably the least harmiul even the most Conservative mortal will be quite ready to admit, and if the Christchurch Society confines its propaganda to the mild methods of the home Fabians it maydo a great deal of good. At the same time I confess that I can see no good reason for any such organisation in New Zealand, unless it is to give opportunities to blatant orators and agitators. Mr Reeves gave us quite enough socialism for a little time to come, and it will be time enough for us to ask for more when we have digested his dose thoroughly. To a young country like this an overdose of socialistic panaceas is just as dangerous as an indiscriminate diet of patent medicine or chemical food is for agrowing child. Besides, there is really not the least danger of our becoming fossilised in the lower strata of Conservatism. We have shown that if anything we are inclined to go ahead too fast, and to be liberal in advance of our time. At any rate, there is little

need for any constituency to send red-hot socialists to Parliament to egg on their fellow members. The members that are already in the House are sufficiently open to advanced ideas as it is. The House is noisy enough already in all conscience, and we certainly do not want Socialist representatives if they are anything of the kind of men we hear addressing the crowd in Cathedral Square or on the Wellington Wharf. And I fear they would be very much of that character—enthusiastic spouters of crudely formulated theories for the regeneration of mankind.

IT is very touching to see the solicitude which the New South Wales authorities profess for the moral welfare of Norfolk Island. They have evidently told the secretary for the colonies that their sole object in wishing to administer the place was to improve the tone of the isolated community, and Mr Chamberlain has told the House of Commons the same story, and the House, reflecting on the past history of New South Wales, has doubtless pondered on the improved tone in that colony as evidenced by its wish to embark in missionary enterprise. I really wonder if things are so bad in Nor-

folk Island as I understand the commission appointed to report on the place will make out. Is juvenile depravity worse than in the streets of Sydney ? Or is it that New South Wales would like to extend her borders ? Our Government evidently did not swallow the moral welfare yarn, and were honest enough not to spin it. They bluntly showed their hand and asked that New Zealand might have the administration of the Island since it was closer to our colony, and our Anglican Church included it in their sphere of work. I understand that New South Wales considered this last reason a very weak and foolish one, but I fail to see that it is. If her intention is to improve the morality of the islanders, surely we have a better claim to the place on the same ground, seeing that we have made some effort already in that direction.

IT' VERYBODY seems to sympathise with the terrible reverse the Italians have suffered in Abyssinia, but their defeat is a lesson to Europe that she must not rely too much on her trained troops and engines of death. It is said that you can do anything with bayonets except sit on them, but our experiences in the Soudan showed that bayonets were not invincible even against naked savages when the latter were in sufficient numbers. Fuzzy wuzzy, though ‘apoor benighted ’eathen’ managed to break chat almost unbreakable formation —a British square— with nothing but his bare body and a skin shield. In the same way it was thought that a machine gun pouring out ropes of lead would keep ba c k any army King Menelek could raise, but though the Maxims ploughed furrows through the Abyssinians, the living ridges advanced all the same>nd disabled a third

of their enemies. Ten thousand Italians dead or wounded ! One can hardly conceive a horde of tribesmen making such havoc in an army of trained European soldiers armed with all the most modern weapons of at tack. It proves that science has not yet succeeded in getting the better of brute force in war, whatever it may have done in peace.

PROFESSOR KENNEDY was in Auckland last week, and sent his man to sleep from Tuesday to Friday. During the day the sleeper lay in his crib—a thing like a glass case —and was gazed at by the curiousmultitude, and in the evening his bed was slung up to the top of the proscenium, where it remained suspended like Mahomet's coffin while the entertainment went on down below. I am constitutionally of a sceptical turn of mind, ami was inclined to question the genuineness of the slumber, but my doubts fled when the doctor tickled the soles of the man's feet and punched his ribs. Human nature can counterfeit a good deal, and in this age of shams, as Carlyle called it, why should there not be shams in the sleeping business as there are in all others ? but it would require a man without a nerve