The Week in Review.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIV, Issue 15, 13 April 1910, Page 1

The Week in Review.

NOTICE.

The Editor will be pleased to receive for consideration Short Stories

and Descriptive Articles, illustrated •With photos, or suggestions from contributors. Bright, terse contributions are wanted dealing with Dominion life and questions. Unless stamps are sent, the Editor cannot guarantee the return of unsuitable AfSS. The Enterprising Burglar. /nZ OME burglars have a taste for art, as witness the individual J who makes such persistent attempts to possess himself of a landscape by Leader. Browning's ‘'Lost Leader" must by this time be a sort of National Anthem for the Wellingtonians. Other burglars seem to have less aesthetic, but more gastronomic aspirations. In the vicinity of Foxton a somewhat startling and extraordinary experience befell a Mr. and Mrs. Kendall recently. They were returning home shortly before eleven o'clock at night, and noticed a sack lying under a willow tree at their gate. On being opened, the sack was found to contain a side of bacon and a portion of a fowl. They were somewhat surprised at the find, and at first were disposed to imagine that some kind neighbour must have left it as a gift. Subsequent investigation, however, proved that these delicacies had been abstracted from their own safe, and on entering the house they found that it also had been thoroughly ransacked, everything being turned inside out. and a scene of general confusion prevailing. His Appetite. Inside the house they found traces which led them to believe that their lata

visitor was a man of most ravenous appetite. He had eaten up an entire loaf of bread, and a large cake had been similarly disposed of. Failing to discover anything stronger, he had washed down his meal with copious potations of milk and cream. Mr. Kendall thought the matter was worth investigating, and was prowling round the outside of the house when he was suddenly confronted by a masked man. The man held a revolver in each hand with which he threatened his unwitting host. He demanded his money or his life, and Mr. Kendall gave him all he had on him at the time, which amounted to the sum of one shilling. The man was extremely dissatisfied with this, and catching sight of Mrs. Kendall demanded her purse with similar threats. Here, however, he did worse than before, for there was absolutely nothing in it, not even a recipe or a 'bus ticket. This enraged him so that he became angry and swore at her, and said that he didn't carry his revolvers for fun. and to emphasise his words fired a shot from one of them over her head. When the man came close to her Mrs. Kendall recognised that the mask he was wearing was torn from a piece of one of her best blouses, and she fell fainting against the fence, whilst her assailant decamped. It was fortunate for the occupiers of the house that they were not carrying much on them at the time, and, at any rate, they were able to save their bacon and the portion of the fowl. Incendiary Fires. Quite a sensation has been caused at Palmerston North by an extraordinary series of mysterious fires. The first occurred at the Boys’ High School, at the northern end of the town. The school was one of the best in the Dominion, and had buildings equipped in the most modern style. The fire spread with greut rapidity, and much dilßciilty was experienced in saving any of the furniture, it soon became evident that it wan

impossible to save the main building, and this was totally destroyed, but the brigade saved the cooking and gymnasium buildings. It is estimated tint the loss will be £ 1000 over and above the insurance. While this fire was raging, fresh flames were seen rising from the centre of the town on the south side of the Square. These proved to be issuing from a large furniture warehouse situated in a thick set of buildings. Fortunately. the fire was successfully confined to the warehouse in which it had originally broken out. Scarcely had the brigade finished battling with this last outbreak when a further blaze was seen arising on the east side of the Square, this time at a large mercery establishment, and here again the brigade were able to subdue the flames before they spread to adjacent buildings. It is thought’ that there is a practical certainty that the fires were the result of incendiarism. All three were in an advanced stage before they were discovered, and in the case of the last it was found that a window had been forced, and the incendiary had entered by it and set fire to the stock. New Zealand, unfortunately, enjoys an unenviable m toriety in the matter of fires, and of late they have been of such frequent occurrence that the matter seems to call for searching investigation. Women and Wages. In connection with the tailore-.-e-' award, it is interesting to compare the conditions prevailing in New Zealand with those prevailing at Home. A large English manufacturer, who is at pre sent in the Dominion, informs us that in his own factory he employs over 1000 hands, and their average weekly earningdo not amount to more than fifteen shillings per head. The cost of labour on some suits is as low as eighteenpence. and in the majority of cases does not exceed half-a-crown. For similar work out here the cost would be from twelve and sixpence to fifteen shillings, which leaves a very large margin in favour of our own workers. Not only are our wages higher. Inn the hours of work are less, for whereas our week consists of 45 hours, the week in England is n ver less than 54. In the instance wc have cited of the F.ngli-h factory, the wages would !>e considered high as thing- go at Home. Regular employment io a. sured, and the pay is higher than tint earned in many other trades. The worst feature comes in when the work is let out to lie done in the homes. It is no uncommon thing in such eases for women working all day to earn les- than 5 per week. Instances are on record where even less than this has been made. Many complaints have been levelled against our Arbitration Act. but we can at lea-t say for it that it luvs stamped out sweating, and given to all our workers a fair living wage. A Maori Telephone Eichange. The Maori is apparently determined not to be left behind in the march of civilisation. The native* in Orakau, MBt

twelve miles from Kaikohe. have for brag desired to pasae.«.s a telephone exchange, ancL acting au the motto that if you wint a thing done you must do it yourself, they have indiiuiLed an ex* change amoirjpt Ltrem»elvf“FL. The Tines are carried in various directions, extending-in all to about 40 miles upon their own private lands. They already possess no less than 14 telephone instruments of ths latest and rno-t approved pattern.. which they purchased from. the Government. The services of Mr. Vi “HI Lun AL lx tin. of Kawakawa. were requisitioned. to superintend the erection of the etc., the Maori" themselves supplying the p lies and ail necessary labour. Tua total outlay is estimated at something Ilk' £250, and in return for this comparatively sum the natives can boast of an exchange equal to any in the IKu i union. far as efficiency is concerned. In celebration of the completion of the exchange the natives held a banquet, at which about 100 attended. The tables were loaded with duck. turkey, pork, kumanu, potatoes. puddings, etc-, and after full justice had been done to these, speeches ami song" termlira ted the proceedings. An Expert in Speed. Expert evidence is regarded with varl* ous degrees of favour in our courts of law. sonic judges placing great reliance on it. and others regarding id with evident suspicion. In th? famous Lamson case, when the Crown produced half-a-dozen experts to testify to the action of a certain poison. Mr. Montague \\ illiams, who was defending the prisoner, produced an equal number of equally famous experts to testify that the action of the poison was totally different to that asserted by the t rown toxicologut-*. I Hasel take a particular delight in trying to cm found and confuse the expert witness, but- few witnesses are put to >» sever* a test as that propounded by Mr. Wilford in a recent case at th Magistrate’" Court at Wellington. A motor collision had taken place, an i the case turned on the question of th? speed a r which th * inot*>r was travelling at the time. One witjie*s came forward an t -tated that he was an expert in matters of speed, and was aide to judge to a nicety th? exact rate at which any vehicle might b“ travelling. Lost in the Shrubbery, Mr. Wilford determined to h-M him. and propounded the following c 'nundrum. •* You say you’re an expert at "peed.** hr remarked, “fan you answer the f iflowing question? Supposing a man like Shrubb, who can run a mile in 4.21, w« re to race against a nurtnr travel ling 12 miles an hour, how far would Shrubb l»e ahead at th? enJ of a mile’*’ The witness had to conf**** liim-wlf at a |.r-« for an immediate reply, an I ws doubt if many of our expert malhematK ciana could give the correct answer to Mr. Wilford** problem on the "pur ot the moment. But woul-Lbe ex-ptiU are sometimes floored by simpler problmna than thin. One man was asked which was the greater—two th’rds or four iuxtha

He eaid he couldn’t tell unltls he worked it out on paper. Another was hopelessly puzzled by the following: A train travelling at forty miles an hour leaves London at 7.30 a.m., and another travelling at sixty-five miles an luiur. leaves Edinburg at 10.20 a.m. The distance between the two towns is 393 miles. Which train will be nearest London when they meet? He also asked for paper to work it out. Can any reader solve the fellowing: Why lias the price of the railway time-table been raised to threepence? A Message from Fairyland. Ruskin has told us that we can all become personally acquainted with any author by reading his books and seeing his plays produced on the stage. In most cases we feel that we really do in a sense know many authors through their works, and no matter how versatile he may be it is difficult in most cases for an author to hide his identity in his works. .There is, however, one notable exception to this general rule in the person of Mr. Barrie. Whatever one’s personal taste may be regarding Mr Barrie's Works generally there can be no doubt that his masterpiece, “Peter Pan,” is loved and admired by all who see it as something, that gives the idea of having been evolved from the depths of fairyland. The idea of an author behind it all is quite lost. It doesn't appear to be the conception of a human mind like our own, but looks rather as if we really ■were permitted a peep back into the concrete form of our nursery-day imaginations. “Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn't grow up”—why. the title itself its quite enchanting. Here is something new which is not new. but has sprung up in some dream-nursery, and the theme has drifted round into many lands as a message to old children as well as young ones to say that after all the old-fashion-ed things are purer and more* beautiful than the modern trait of criticism and discontent in the little ones. The child who doubts the existence of a real Santa Claus loses half the pleasure of seeing his stocking bulging with the good ■things which that benevolent old gentleman has given him. The child who says he doesn't believe in fairies will assuredly have much to answer for. “Peter Pan” himself tells us from the footlights that although a little fairy is born every time a tiny baby indulges in his first smile, yet whenever, a modern child emphatically denies the existence of fairies on the grounds, presumably, that it is old-fashioned, one of these iniitiitesimal -young ladies dies of grief. If as some great thinker.} tell us we are moving in a direction of thought which necessitates more attention being paid to the soul, then let the rising generation remember that if imagination is of the heart it is of the soul also. Romantic imagination betoken* thoughts in tlw mind of a young child, which are sweet, beautiful and contented. Any panmts who take their little ones to see “Peter Pan” ami his delightful companions “Wendy.” “< 1 reat- Big-Little-Pant her,” “Slightly,” and the “Lost Boys” of the “Never, Never Land,” will become children again themselves, and not a few’ will wish, like “Peter,' that they could always remain so. J* Floods and Mining Debris. The remarkable series of photographs which we reproduce on another page, give a graphic idea of the extent of the damage caused’ by the recent heavy floods. Doubtless the Thames Valley is naturally liable to Hoods from the configuration of the country and the character of its natural drainage, hut we cannot help taking into account the added risk caused by the use of the rivers in the Thames district as sludge channels. From 40,000 to 60,000 tons of mining debris are poured into these Ft reams every month throughout the year, and it needs but little calculation to perceive that the beds of the streams are by this means being raised to such an extent that any’ unusual rainfall causes the water to overflow the banks and flood the surrounding country. It is sometimes urged that this debris from the mines enriches the land, but it is impossible to believe that quartz, however finely it be crushed, can have any value as manure. All experience points tn the fact that it does an immense amount of damage, and land overlaid with barren ailt loses enormously in productive power. A glance at our pictures will •how the extent to which the rivers are being filled up, and the land overlaid,

and the testimony of settlers in the district all goes to show that they_have suffered severely. Mining is a nioet .important industry, and one whieh should not be handicapped in any way, but we hope the Royal Commission now being set up to investigate the silting question, will devise some method by whieh the settlers may be relieved without prejudice to the mines. It is quite certain from the periodic recurrence of these destructive floods, that some connection exists between them and the dumping of mining debris into the rivers. That being so, it is clearly the duty of the mine managers to find some other means of disposing of their waste products. J* The Author of “ Parnellism and Crime.’’ Sir Robert Anderson has caused a great sensation by admitting that he was the author of the “Times’ ” articles on “Parnellism and Crime.” These articles, whieh appeared in 1887, charged Mr. Parnell and his colleagues with, active complicity in outrage and terrorism in Ireland. On the 18th of April the “Times” published the fac-simile of a letter, purporting to have been written by Mr. Parnell, and containing the following words with reference to the Phoenix Park murders:—"Though I regret the accident of Lord Frederick Cavendish’s death, 1 cannot refuse to admit that Burke got no more than his deserts.” Mr. Parnell repudiated the letter, and commenced an action against the “Times.” Then followed one of the greatest trials of modern days. A man named Richard Pigott admitted having sold this letter to the “Times,” and he was subjected to a severe cross-examination by Sir Charles Russell. Sir Charles noticed that the word “hesitancy” was spelt “hesitancy” in the letter, and when he got Pigott to write the word, he found that Pigott made a similar mistake. Armed with this fact, he pressed the witness remorselessly, and that same evening Pigott confessed to Mr. Labouchere that he had forged the letter himself. He fled the country, and for some time hie whereabouts remained a mystery, while every music-hall in London was listening to the song: “Oh, where and oh where has my little Pig got? Oh. where, and oh, where, can he be.” Eventually news came that he had committed suicide in Spain. Sir Robert Anderson has achieved some fame by his theological writings, but this will be completely eclipsed by his avowal that he was the author of the most sensational newspaper articles of last century.