TOPICS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue XVI, 18 April 1896, Page 437

TOPICS OF THE WEEK.

I HOPE that no one is so little touched by a tale of misery and misfortune as to have forgotten the appeals made on behalf of the widows and orphans of Brunnerton. In the South I hear the subscriptions are coming in freely, but I am told that in some parts of the North the public are inclined to be indifferent and not very liberal in their contributions. Why should this be ? Is not the North as much concerned in this appeal which is addressed to all men and women with compassionate hearts throughout the colony ? The widows of Brunnerton have a claim on all the colonists North as well as South. The fact that the scene of the catastrophe was the South Island is nothing, for the whole colony is one, and this is certainly not the time to make distinctions. Let the North bear iu mind that the South has always been ready to extend a helping hand to a misfortune remote from itself, and let it be seen that warmth of heart is not peculiar to the colder regions of the South. The poverty of the Brunnerton families that have been left destitute is something very great, I am informed by those who were present in the place immediately after the disaster. It is a poverty we have little conception of. In some houses there was not a morsel of food of any kind, and large families of little children scantily clothed had to be provided for by the poor women who had lost their bread-earners in the disaster. May the thought of those households touch the hearts and unloose the purse strings of those whose bread and water at least is sure.

THANKS to the precocity of two small boys there came very near being ‘ a thrilling romance of the sea ’ in Auckland the other day ; only the precocity of a third small boy prevented it. The two first youngsters were playing aboard the steamer ‘Akaroa’ as she lay alongside the wharf, when it occurred to them to pay a visit to that fascinating portion of the ship — the engine-room. The crew were all ashore, it being holiday time, and so our young friends could do as they pleased. They accordingly went below, and, seized with an irresistible desire to see * the wheels go round/ they experimented with sundry levers until, lo and behold ! the vessel began to move. She snapped the lines that held her to the tee, forged straight ahead, and crashing into the main wharf, damaged that structure and herself very considerably. Boy number three came to the rescue at this moment, and managed by pure good luck to stop the engines. But what would have been the consequences, I would like to know, if the steamer had been moored at the outer tee with no wharf to check her forward progress and the broad Pacific before her ? These lads might still have been careering over the vasty deep towards the coast of South America. Think what a plot is here for the writers of boys’ yarns. ‘ The Mysterious Steamer, or the Boy Navigators of the Pacific.' What a fine title ! I fancy I can see those involuntary sailors going on and on while the whole available shipping of New Zealand scoured the seas to find them.

' PIHERE is a general impression among civilised L nations that John Bull is a bit of a land grabber. His enemies are constantly waxing indignant and wroth at the way he has of painting the isles and the continents of the world a bold, British red ; and even his friends are forced to confess that be has a

prodigious appetite for territory. Mr Stead believes that Cecil Rhodes has a sincere belief in the Divine mission of the British people to possess the earth. For my part I am sometimes inclined to think that

the Napoleon of South Africa would be contented if his company had a long lease of a good thick slice of the planet ; but I do verily believe that John Bull’s ambition goes much further, and that moreover he has a supreme conviction that the eternal powers are ever fighting to secure his supremacy. Our American cousins do not seem to have inherited this British trait, which was probably developed in the first instance through our having such a small bit of an island for our ancestral home. Jonathan has had such an enormous expanse of country to spread over that he has never felt cribbed, cabined, and confined. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed in America they doubtless carried with them the British repugnance to limitation, but it soon died out, having nothing to feed on in the vast new territory ; and to-day their descendants never think of coveting the real estate of their neighbours. America is quite enough for them, and it is only when they pay a visit to the old land that they realise a Britisher’s feelings. Then they feel the con - finement of our little island. Don’t you remember the Yankee who wrote from the Midland Counties to a friend in New York : • I like England mighty well, but don’t care to go out much of dark nights for fear I should step over the side.’

The American newspapers are never tired of taking off this propensity of the English to annex. The attached caricature expresses their way of regarding John Bull better than any words can. • With the first successful flying machine,’ says the caricaturist, ‘John Bull will probably take possession of the moon.’ Very probably he will unless the Americans should insist that the Monroe doctrine is applicable to that barren satellite. But before that day arrives I hope that the permanent arbitration tribunal for settling all disputes between the United States and England will be in working order, and they will be able to amicably divide the new territory between them. In that case, however, I take it the United States will have to be contented with the back of the moon. Great Britain could never afford to be put iu the shade.

NOT even the Easter manit-uvres —the sight of their sons and fathers marching hither and thither and performing prodigies of valour with blank cartridgehave succeeded in arousing the martial ardour of the colonists generally. I am told that very little interest has been displayed in volunteer matters this Easter, and that in Auckland there were almost as many shootists to be found potting native game in the swamps and creeks as there were on the march fighting for Queen and country. The Auckland press endeavoured to arouse the enthusiasm of the citizens by a dramatic recital of the defence of Panmure bridge by the St. John’s College cadet corps, and raked history for something with which to compare this display of youthful valour. There being a bridge in the question, it was inevitable that the writers should stumble on good old Horatius Codes, who held the narrow way against the Tuscan Army in the brave days of old. But even the account of the sham-fight, enriched with historical allusions, could not rouse the Aucklanders, who at present are too deep in gold mines to think of anything else. The volunteer enthusiasts chafed at this indifference, and volunteer captains deplored it before their troops, but they were powerless to prevent it. Well, well, never mind. The time may come when the beautiful city will deplore her lack of interest in the volunteer movement, and wish to Heaven that her sons knew half as much of a rifle as they do of a race meeting.

EVERYONE knows, or should know, that if he or she trips in a hole in the pavement or is thrown from a buggy by the horse that draws it stumbling on a dangerous bit of road there is good ground for an action for damages against the City or County Council. But it is something new to be told that a furniture-maker is actionable if the purchaser receives injury in the use of his articles. To a certain extent, however, this appears to be the case in America, where a certain Mr Apperson purchased a folding bed from Joseph T. Terry and Co. The bed closed up on Miss Grace E. Lewis while she was preparing to retire for the night and broke her arm. Miss Lewis brought a suit for damages against Terry and Co., but was demurred out of court on the ground that the complaint failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. The Supreme Court has now reversed the lower court and remanded the cause, with instructions to over rule the demurrer and allow the case to proceed to trial. In deciding the case the Supreme Court says : When the seller, as in the case made by the complaint before us, represents an article to be safe for the uses it was designed to serve when he knows it to be dangerous because of concealed defects, he commits a wrong independent of his contract and brings himself within the operation of a principle of the law of tort. “It is well settled that a man who delivers an article which he

knows to be dangerous or noxious, to another person, without notice of its nature and qualities, is liable for an injury which may reasonably be contemplated as likely to result and which does in fact result therefrom to that person or any other who is not himself in fault. The fact insisted upon by the respondent that a bed is not ordinarily a dangerous instrumentality is of no moment in this case. If mere nonfeasance, or perhaps misfeas ance, were the extent of the wrong charged against defendants then that consideration would be important ; but the fact that such articles are in general not dangerous would seem to enhance the wrong of representing one to be safe for use when known to be really unsafe, for the danger is thus rendered more insidious. ’’

A GREAT deal of obscurity prevails among Europeans in New Zraland to-day with regard to the cannibalistic practices of the natives iu the old days. I don’t suppose the majority of people will regret this, for the subject is a somewhat gruesome one, but from a scientific and historical point of view it is a pity that we who are exceptionally situated for obtaining an insight into the ways of cannibals should not make more use of our opportunities. The fact, however, is that although we come into daily communion with the near descendants of those who loved their fellow men in a culinary sense, they evince a shyness to give particulars of the mentw which used to tickle the palates of their fathers and grandfathers. There is no dusky bard however willing, or it may be able, to sing to us of those feasts of the gods, and the imagination has to fall back like the facetious Sydney Smith on such general pictures of those banquets as ‘ little boy in the toastrack and cold missionary on the sideboard ’ suggest. Un fortunately there were no newspapers in New Zealand in those days, or we might have known in what shape the Maori chefs were wont to serve up the human form divine.’ I wonder whether they had advanced to the skill of the dark continent. On the East Coast of Africa, according to a London paper, they have carried the art of human cookery to a high pitch of perfection. For instance, the flesh of the old people—the grandfather and grandmother of a family—is dried and mixed with condiments, and a portion of this is offered, with a dim sort of sacramental meaning, to travellers who become honoured guests of the family. To refuse it would be a deadly insult. To accept it is a passport to the privileged position of a friend of the house. Many of our travellers in East Africa have eaten thus sacramentally of ancestors of some dark-skinned potentate. The cannibalism of the west coast is of a more horrible kind. There is a hideously genuine appetite for fresh human flesh still existing among the negroes of West Africa. The cannibalism manifests itself in a refinement of gluttony which has its mild analogy in the tastes of Europeans. Young boys are brought from the dark interior, kept in pens, fattened upon bananas, and finally killed and baked. To these Thyestesean feasts come not only the savage chiefs of the interior, but also, it is whispered, black merchants from the coast.

rjIHERE is surely something in the atmosphere ofNew -L Zealand which accounts for the remarkably advanced and unconventional views the colonists take in all matters. Even those who have come here well advanced in life, those who have been, as it were, nurtured on the milk of conservatism and trained in the school of Mrs Grundy before they set foot on our shores, speedily begin to feel the liberalising effect of our air, and act and speak as they never would have dared in the Old Country. This wondrous change is a source of continual comment at Home. A Bishop on a bicycle isays an English contemporary) has not yet been seen in the streets of London, but he is coming. One of the latest interesting items of news from New Zealand—the land of the lady mayor, female suffrage, and the incipient prohibition of intoxicants—is the announcement that the Rev. Dr. Churchill Julius, Bishop of Christchurch, has been seen propelling a tricycle. No doubt, by the time the next Pan-Anglican conference assembles at Lambeth, his lordship will be in a position to dispense with the superfluous wheel. Bishop Julius has already acquired the reputation of being the most unconventional prelate in the Anglican communion.

A CORRESPONDENT complains to me that * even in respectable establishments ’ the practice is in vogue of charging customers ‘just as much as they can begot to pay.’ lam inclined to question the correctness of this assertion. I know very well that there is a wide-spread belief, especially among ladies, that shopkeepers are inclined to ‘ put it on ’ when they see a good opportunity, and the belief is not altogether unfounded, for no doubt there is a good deal of unscrupulousness of this kind among certain classes of business houses ; but in all the larger places in the colony I think one can

generally count on there being one price for an article whoever the purchaser may be. In the Old Country and in America the case is often very different. The Boston Globe tells about certain stores in Boston where a commission is paid to shop girls when they succeed in selling goods at a figure above the regular price. This commission, it says, is known among the girls as “ spiff.” In these “ spiff” stores, which are so called to distinguish them from what are known as “honest ” stores, the wages paid the help are much lower, but the places are always in great demand, because a good salesgirl can make nearly twice as much in commissions as she would be paid in a store where there is no “spiff.” These girls are among the most expert in the trade, and in time they acquire the greatest facility in swindling innocent shoppers. They are good judges of human nature, and can tell to a nicety just how much can be squeezed out of each customer. The silk counter is always in charge of the shrewdest girl, for only the expert can distinguish between the different grades, and the ordinary shopper can be charged a couple of dollars extra on a single sale without arousing the least suspicion. Most of the “spiff,” however, is made from the disposal of “ dead stock.”

A more bare-faced dishonesty than the above is practised in the large tourists’ centres of Europe. It is quite understood among the residents there that the shopkeepers have three different scales of prices for their different patrons. The natives of the place, after a certain amount of haggling, without which no business transaction would seem complete, can secure an article at what may be called its ‘ native minimum.’ For the Anglian tourists twenty-five or fifty per cent, is added to that figure ; and in the case of the American or Russian who wanders in these foreign parts it is considered the legitimate thing to clap on seventy-five or a hundred per cent.

CIHOWING the strong feeling there is in favour of kJ settling international quarrels by means of arbitration it is worth while noticing that the opinion of military men is all in that direction. The words of General Grant come apropos atthis moment when both the United States and England recognise as they have never done before that war between themselves would be an unspeakable enormity. General Grant said : ‘ Though I have been trained as a soldier and have participated in many battles, there never was a time when in my opinion some way could not have been found of preventing the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an epoch when a court, recognised by all nations, will settle international differences instead of having large standing armies as they do in Europe.’

ALWAYS, like the bunch of carrots held before the proverbial donkey’s nose, is the idea of co-opera-tive housekeeping dangled before the captivated gaze of our over-worked womenkind in this colony. For that there are many women chained—for lack of means to free themselves —to the daily, weary routine of cooking, cleaning, and child-minding, few of us are disposed to deny. The old, easy way men had of shifting all domestic responsibility on to the shoulders of the woman, saying, carelessly, ‘ Oh, she likes it, or she wouldn’t do it,’ is soon to be a thing of the past. Men are beginning to realise that women are no longer content to be household drudges, and to devise schemes to help them to emancipate themselves from the perpetual dishing and flusting which, however disagreeable, must be done by someone. And here comes in the grand idea of cooperative housekeeping. We all became acquainted with the notion in Bellamy’s * Looking Backward,’ but this, along with many other lovely dreams, has failed to materialize as yet, and women are asking : ‘ Why ? What is the exact plan ? Who has tried it, and why did they fail ?’

A Mrs Fav Pierce worked out a scheme which claimed to have as its chief concern the relief of women from cares that are far too heavy in proportion to the comfort that they bring to the household, and at the same time to organize housekeeping into a business with due subdivision of labour, thus enabling woman to adopt to modern need this, her inherited occupation, and hold it as her own. By Mrs Pierce’s plan, women of executive ability would have scope for their powers in the organization and oversight of the common laundry and kitchen ; women with a talent for cookery should learn that art under foreign chefs; those with artistic taste in dress should become the costumers ; all to labour, not for the world at large but for the co-operative circle. It was claimed that if each co operator were to do her share, only a few hours’ daily labour would be required from each. Unfortunately, though forty subscribers joined, the scheme failed to work because the numbers became too indifferent to do their share of keeping it up.

Delightful as perfectly cooked meals and no trouble with cooks and housemaids would be, many of us doubt whether the race is sufficiently developed yet along these lines. Still there is nothing impossible about it, given the requisite number of people that want it. But there are those ready to ask : * Is it at all certain that the principle of co-operation is a sound one ?’ As applied to stores and to a few other industries the principle has had a somewhat checkered career ; and although co-operative buying has in many instances proved practicable, it may be doubted whether the principle could be successfully applied in a more complicated, social, and economic enterprise. As Lowell says : ‘ The the’ry’s plain enough. It’s just the human natur side that's tough.’ THE football season is still some way off. The stumps have not been drawn for the last time this summer in the cricket field, and some clubs still cherish thoughts of being revenged on their conquerors before the leather makes its appearance. But notwithstanding that cricket is still to the fore there are unmistakable signs of the near advent of the ball. Meetings are being called, preliminaries are being talked over, and in back streets the little boys who always seem to sceut the battle afar off, have begun to kick bundles of rag, obedient to some blind instinct that tells them the time for the game their hearts delight in, is near at hand. Let me say it frankly, I am not an enthusiast on football, in the sense that I would give my body to be knocked about every Saturday, and retire a bruised reed to my home elated with the day’s victory. I can admire the game, however, from a respectable distance, and take pleasure in urging on the combatants. The old Romans experienced a similar delight in witnessing the gladiatorial fights, though they would never have thought of stepping down into the arena themselves. Of course lam quite aware that in the genuine footballer’s eye such enthusiasm is no enthusiasm at all. In his opinion the real lover of footbal is the man who is prepared to give his limbs to be broken on the field and his neck to be twisted with the cheerfulness of an early Christian martyr. He never thinks of wounds or bruises. It is a point of honour with him to fight to the bitter end. Like the sanguinary gentleman in the ballad ofChevy Chase,who,* when his legs were cutted off, fought upon the stumps,’ the real footballer would scorn to be carried from the field so long as his dead body could give weight to a scrimmage. Here we have the real article:

‘ I thought you’d given up football.’ * I had to for a time, but I’m all right again now.’

Speaking seriously, I think that a very great many of our young men carry this sort of devotion to an absurd point, and the consequence is, that they go down to an early grave or survive weakened physically and mentally. Young men must learn that what is possible and safe for one human being to accomplish is well nigh impossible and positively dangerous for another. We are not all built alike, and although no one cares to be outdone by his fellows, it is folly to suppose that mere mental determination to do a thing will accomplish it if the necessary muscular energy is wanting.

The same remarks on the danger of over exertion apply to brain workers, whether students or business men. The late Professor Jowitt had some excellent advice to offer on this head. ‘ Young men,’ he said, • are seldom aware how easily the brain may be overtaxed ; how delicate and sensitive this organ is in many individuals ; they are apt to think they can do what others do ; they work the mind and the body at the same time—when they begin to fail they only increase the effort, and nothing can be more foolish than this. They do not

understand bow to manage themselves, as the phrase is the common rules of diet and exercise are hardly thought of by them : “ I can work so much better at night,” is the constant reply to the physician or elder friend who remonstrates; and they are apt to be assured that no practice which is pleasant to them can ever be injurious to health. They find the memory fail, the head no longer clear ; the interest in study flags ; and they attribute these symptoms to some mysterious cause with which they have nothing to do. Will they hear the words of the Apostle ? “He that striveth for masteries is temperate in all things ” ; yet it is a more subtle kind of training than that of the athlete in which they must exercise themselves, a training which regulates and strengthens body and mind at once. Again let them listen to the words of St. Paul: “ Wherefore whether we eat or drink, let us do all to the glory of God.” The care of his own health and morals is the greatest trust which is committed to a young man ; and often and often the loss of ability, the degeneracy of character, the want of self-control is due to his neglect of them.’

EVERY newspaper which one takes up just now contains an account of tennis tournaments, bowling tournaments, chess tournaments, draughts’ tournaments, polo tournaments, and, in fact, peaceful battles of every description. That all this implies an immense amount of healthy exercise, physical and mental, no one is disposed to deny. That mimic warfares of this nature promote an excellent interchange of ideas, a rubbing off of angles, a give-and-take feeling is also undeniable. But it is equally true that a great deal of envy, jealousy, and all unkindness is also called into play on these occasions; and as bad feelings always exist in some hearts, and only need a very slight stimulus to rouse them into unpleasant action, the evil qualities mentioned cannot be cited as affording any argument against the above-named games. But there is one fact, and that a serious one, to which the attention of our young enthusiasts ought to be directed. It is this : What home duties are being neglected through these constant and unremitting demands upon the strength and energy of our girls ? A short time ago an outcry was raised against the cramming and over-educa-tion of our juvenile population. Nowitwould seem as if they had added to this —as soon as school-days were over and they were beginning to be useful at home—a mad craze for all sorts of games. In the winter dancing and the progressive euchre mania reigned supreme." Now it is chiefly out-door games and picnics. All are very well in their way, nay, indeed, are most beneficial, but though a craze of any sort may be very amusing and stimulating to the one actually afflicted with it, to other people, particularly to those who have to quietly fulfil neglected duties, the temporary crank is worse than a great nuisance. Think of this, ye sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and resolve that no tennis temptation, no euchre enthusiasm, no golf guile, no bowling boom, no draughts delights, no polo play, no chess collocation, no ’cycle coquetry, no croquet complacence, no picnic pastime, no dancing desire shall draw you one hair’s breadth from the duty you first owe to your mother and your home. For in New Zealand few girls—or boys either—are so situated that they are absolutely free from chores of some sort or another.