News, Notes and Notions.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 5, 29 July 1908, Page 44

News, Notes and Notions.

The Pan-Anglican Congress has shown a singular disregard of the revelations recently made in London, on good authority, regarding the number of “heathen” in New Zealand. A diagram has been published, In connection with the sitting of the Congress, illustrating the proportion of Anglican clergy to Christian and heathen population in different countries—the purpose of the object lesson being evidently to show in a striking fashion the need for missionary zeal and enterprise. Thus China and Korea are shown to have 7 bishops and 130 clergyman, ministering to the spiritual needs of 401,000,000 persons, of whom 400,000,000 are classed as heathens. Similarly, Japan, with 0 bishops and 100 clergymen, is credited with a population of 46,153,000, of whom 46,000,000 are heathens; while South Africans 7,000,000 heathens and 2,500,000 Christians have their souls looked after by 10 bishops and 550 clergymen. Coming to New Zealand, we find its population given as 1,000.000, who are ministered to by 6 bishops and 3'20 clergymen. Strange to say, however, no division is made between the Christians and the heathens; and as the same lack of distinction is followed in the case of Great Britain, the presumption is that the whole of the population of these countries are classed as Christians. Now, this is either a curious oversight, or otherwise it is a distinct slap in the face to Bishop Neligan, who made certain alarming statements, backed by statistics founded on his own observation, as to the large number of “heathen” growing up in New Zealand as the result of our terrible system of secular education. It is impossible to conceive that the Congress would deliberately question the facts and figures set forth so convincingly by the Bishop of Auckland in his impassioned indictment of our education system. It would seem, therefore, that the Church is more concerned about the black, brown, and yellow “heathen” than it is about the “white heathen” of New Zealand. This is very sad, if true. A sane Christian Imperialism would surely pay at least as much regard to the white subjects sunk in “paganism” as to the coloured brethren given over to heathen bondage. It is to be feared that the majority of the members of the Pan Anglican Congress are “Little Englanders.” and are as heedless of the spiritual welfare of the “blasted colonies” as the Little England politicians are of their material prosperity and advancement. <s><&«> Miss Maud Allan, whose remarkable dancing has been for some time the chief sensation of the London theatrical and variety season, is meeting with the kind! of hostility, which, judging from photographs, seemed inevitable sooner or later. She has been banned‘by the Manchester authorities for the same reason that La Milo’s studies of nude statuary have been banned in many towns—a lack of conformity with existing conventional ideas of modesty or decency. Miss Allan and her manager are, of course, indignant at the action of the Manchester “ unco' guid,” and the suggestion that any of her display borders in the least degree upon the improper. So far as we can judge, there is only one item of her repertoire which gives cause of offence, and that is the Salome dunce. Apart from the ghastliness of the conspicuous part played by a grisly human head—or what appears to be such—in this presentation of the well-known Scripture tragedy, even the ease for the defence does not dispute the proposition that the amount of drapery worn for this particular feature of the programme is, to put it mildly,.somewhat attenuated. But Miss Allan urges that this is necessary in order to preserve artistic fidelity to the original of the character she pourtrays. But, assuming that Miss Allan has obtained reliable information as to the . nature of the garb, or lack of garb, in which Tierod’s daughter danced, we venture to submit that that is somewhat beside the point at issue. Other times, •ther manners. Modesty or decency is

largely a matter of convention, or gradually built-up custom; and what passed muster as within the bounds in the East nineteen hundred years ago will not necessarily pass the censor among an Anglo-Saxon people in the Twentieth Century. If the plea of fidelity to historic accuracy in garb were admitted as conclusive, some performer, even more daring than Miss Allan, might conceive the idea of further reducing the covering of the human figure to fit a scene in the Garden of Eden. The point that has to be considered in the case i s the standard l of decency which obtains to-day, after the many revisions through which it has passed in the intervening generations; and, according to that standard, Miss Maud Allan’s Salome dance has appealed to Manchester authorities as a daring piece of) reaction. Otherwise her terpsichorean achievements were an artistic triumph and revelation to which no objection could be taken. We suspect, however, that without “ Salome ” there would have been less of a furore, since that is essentially the sensational part of Miss Allan’s repertoire. <&«><?> It would seem that the resident of Vienna who does not wish to be out of pocket must keep early hours, for after ten o’clock he is taxed on entering his own house or apartment, or, for the matter of that, any house. The speergeld, or door-opening tax, is not peculiar to Vienna, but is also found in other capitals of the Continent.. The two million resi-. dents of the Austrian city are practically imprisoned in their own strongholds from 10 o’clock in the evening until 6 the next morning. They may go in or out only by paying the equivalent of twopence to the janitor, or, as he is styled there, the “ housemaster.” Vienna is built on the flat plan. Rich people and working people alike live in quarters of this description. The houses are large, having five or six floors, with four flats on a floor; so it is not unusual to find upward! of a hundred persons living under one roof. There is a common entrance from the street, and after ten o’clock at night this door is bolted and barred. From ten to twelve all that go in or out must pay the tax of 2d. After twelve the charge is doubled. The tax must be paid every time one passes through the doorway without exception. One who has dined with a friend must, if he stays late, pay 2d. to get out of his friend’s house, and 2d l , to get into his own. A telegram in the night requires the payment of the tax before the messenger boy can enter. The house master also collects and keeps duplicate copies of forms, on which every individual in the house must report to the police his age, birthplace and religion, his exact occupation, and other personal details that the Austrian authorities insist on knowing. «> <?> An American paper says that feasts of reason are to take the place of “ freak parties ” in fashionable circles in the United States. If this means, not that “ book teas ” are to become the vogue, but that conversation is to be cultivated ns a fine art, the change will certainly be for the better; and l it is worth while to consider what are the conditions which the successful practice of the art in question requires. The first condition is that parties should be small; the second that talk should be general; the third that all the bores, and all the people who want either to flirt or to talk about golf or bridge, should be rigorously excluded. 'Those, mutatis mutandis, were the rules observed in the French salons in the golden age of talk, whether the hostess was Mademoiselle Lespinasse, or Madame dte Stael, or Madame Recamier. Alike at the dinner-table and in the drawing-room each speaker in turn addressed the company, instead of exchanging banalities with his immediate neighbour; and no one, whether man or woman, who was thought likely to utter banalities obtained invitations to the gatherings. The result was the most brilliant talk that the world has ever listened to; and it- remains to be seen whether America, even by the adoption of identical methods, will succeed in breaking the record.

President Roosevelt has furnished yet another striking instance of the multifarious uses of the “big stick.” He has announced to all Government employees who fail to pay their grocery bills that they will be dismissed the service. The announcement, which has been made through the medium of a letter addressed by Mr. Secretary Loeb to the National Wholesale Grocers’ Association, has fallen like a bomb-shell on the households of thousands of Government servants. The association has been confronted by an alarming development in the ledgers of its members caused by the unpaid bills which have been run up by wives of Government employees, the worst offenders being, it appears, clerks in post offices. The association sent a petition to White House asking the assistance of the Administration in the collection of its debts. The President immediately replied expressing his sympathy with the grocers and informing them that though there was no law in existence to compel payment of debts contracted by Civil Servants, he had sent a notice to all Departments to the effect that the failure of employees to settle their grocery bills would be deemed sufficient ground for dismissal. The Milton commemoration, which will overshadow all other literary anniversaries of 1908, is not the only tercentenary wortn noting this year. The same month of December will mark the threehundredth anniversary of the death of John Dee, who is a little unfortunate in being remembered only as the sorcerer who won the favour of Queen Elizabeth. “Master Dee” was a ripe scholar and mathematician, much in advance of his time in the matter of reforming the Calendar, and deserves some place in our literary annals by reason of his seventynine completed works, though less than a score of these have been printed. He seems to have been as much sinned against as sinning m his pretended intercourse with the spirit world, his unscrupulous assistant Kelly producing “angels” who persuaded Dee that he must not only share his occult secrets with him, but his wife' as well, Kelly apparently being ready enough to do likewise. The community of wives was no more successful than the search for the philosopher’s stone, though Dee, in this last regard, sent Elizabeth a piece of metal which he declared had been cut from a warming pan and transmuted into gold. Perhaps the cautious Elizabeth considered this insufficient proof of his success, for she disappointed him in many promises of preferment, and he died miserably poor. ❖ <?> ❖ A few days ago the door keeper of a house in Razyezja-street, St. Petersburg, was astounded to see a man jump from a window in the third story of the building and then, apparently uninjured, proceed at a brisk pace along the street. It. took some time for the doorkeeper to recover from his astonishment, but when he did, he at once started in pursuit, for it seemed to him that tire fugitive must be either a dynamiter or a burglar. Several other doorkeepers joined in the pursuit —for in Russia the doorkeeper has the powers of a constable—and at the corner of Glazova-street the unknown one was seized and handed over to the police. He turned out to be a Japanese called Yokado, eighteen years of age, and a member of a troupe of Japanese acrobats just then performing in St. Petersburg. He explained that one of the servants in the flat whore he had a room had gone away with the key after locking the door, probably under the impression that there was nobody in the house. Yokado waited more than an hour for her return, and then, fearing that he would be late at the music-hall where he was performing, made the perilous jump which had so astonished the neighbourhood. ❖ Some time ago, Sir Robert Ball, the famous astronomer, had a visit from an Irishman, who asked to be allowed to see the moon through the telescope. The astronomer explained that he would be delighted to comply with his request, only as it was broad daylight it would be impoSsib’e to do sb just then. “However, if you will come again to-night,” he added, “I will give you a good view, for it promises to be a very clear sky.” “Indade, an’ phwat’s the good o’ that, at all ?” asked the Irishman in disgust, * Sure, an’ at night it’s meself that can

■ee the moon without any tellyscope!” Bir Robert Ball is very popular as a lecturer, and it has been said of him that he can attract larger audiences than any other living scientist. On one occasion he met a young lady who told him how sorry she was that she had been unable to attend his latest lecture. “Oh, I don’t think it would have interested you very much,” said Sir Robert Ball genially; “you see, it was all about sun spots.*’ “Was it really? Then it would have interested me greatly,” she replied, “for, between you and me, Sir Robert, I have been a martyr to freckles all my life!” c Very graceful and seaworthy does the Alexandra, the King’s new yacht, look, according to report. In May she completed her steam trials, and the result has been entire satisfaction. Over a measured mile in the firth of Clyde, down to Ailsa Craig and back, a speed of 19.15 knots was comfortably obtained, this representing more than a knot over the speed stipulated in the contract. At a- cruising speed of 13 knots the coal consumption was only one ton per eight nautical miles. The 4,500 h.p. propelling machinery was made by the Parsons Company, the builders of the vessel being 'A. and J. Inglis, Limited. The yacht ■was launched, it may be remembered, as late as May, 1907; the delay in finishing has been due to the Admiralty having introduced several alterations to the original design. B ® S A natural phenomenon was recently the means, of converting two notorious miscreants. This was the phosphorescent light which can be sometimes observed in marshy country. Stevan Yasva and Peter Taditch stole two horses from a man in Livliana (Bosnia), and were riding off with them when they were overtaken by a storm and forced to take shelter under a tree. The sight of a man with a white beard and a halo round his brow walking towards them in the midst of the lightning and thunder filled them With dismay. Persuaded that the vision was St. Nikolas in person come to upbraid them, they spurred the horses back to Livliana, doubly terrified at find-

ing themselves enveloped by a brilliant glow, while sparks flew from the horses* side at each stroke of the whip. The animals were returned to the owner and the thieves swore never to rob again. <S> <3> ❖ The homoeopathic cure for juvenile smoking should always be applied in good time—ou the tenth birthday, say. A correspondent contributes a reminiscence of his school days which is to the point. The headmaster, who had a grim sense of humour and a robust taste in cigars, had intimated that he would administer three or four of his best to ’ any boy caught smoking for compulsory consumption. A test case arose, and the offender (aged 15 or 16) was sent out into the playing field in company with the school drill sergeant to smoke on level terms with him. An hour later the headmaster found 1 the sergeant pale and dizzy, but the seasoned schoolboy politely ready for more. Five years earlier the “cure” might have worked. As it was, the incident was closed and the homoeopathic penalty dropped. <s><?><s> We have often thought that the consequent decay tri any real power of thinking is an adequate explanation of an immense deal of the early mortality of prosperous midllle life, thus says the “ Lancet,” and we think there is a great deal to be said for the view. The man of business, the banker or the merchant, learns all about his daily calling by the time when he is 40, and is often content to live in the mere practice, as a matter of habit, of what he has thus acquired. He eats and drinks too much, and the higher brain centres waste for want of exercise. He is said to die from gout, or from heart disease, or from kidney disease, but our contemporary urges that he really dies from stupidity and because there is nothing left to keep his brain active.