The Week in Review.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 19, 10 May 1911, Page 1

The Week in Review.

NOTICE, 9%e Editor will be pleased to ruga?Tn for consideration Short Stories land Descriptive Articles, illustrated *fffi photos, er suggestions from CCAtributors. .Bright, terse contmutioas are wanted dealing with Dominion life sad gnaa tiooa. Xfafaua are amt, the Editor cannot guarantee the return of uneutih •hie MSS. Spoilt Children. Oy » WELLINGTON schoolmaster f | has expressed the opiaion that 2 J 1 there is too much of the cry, “ What can we do for the chit Bren?*’ and too little of the appeal to itha children to sacrifice their own plea H ire for the sake of others. He says that in his own opinion, formed from long experience, the money spent on picnics would be expended to much greater advantage and give much more permanent pleasure and profit to the children if it was spent on libraries, tennis courts and the like. He eontenctes that toBpend £3O or £4O on one day’s pleasure while all the time the school is lacking in much that is necessary to make it an efficient institution, appears, to be Kttle short of foolishness. To put it shortly, the schoolmaster thinks our children are Spoilt. His contention on this point hardly admits of dispute. Few and rare are the children who are unselfish and considerate for others, who show reverence for the old or courtesy to the weak. The majority openly defy their parents, are bad-mannered in public, and selfish in the privacy of home-, callously indifferent to. all that does not make for their own profit, and shockingly indifferent to all that makes for the holy and the high. Judges, magistrates, journalists, clergy, schoolmasters, all note these things, and deplore them. The great {question for us is to find out the. cause, and see if the existing state of things can be remedied. The cause lies far deeper than mere picnics costing £3O or f£4o. Ji ,sB The Cause. Some parents spoil their children by Over indulgence, others by overwork. The result is the same in both cases. The Child is nor taught the meaning of loyalty,. chiva.ry, reveti-nce. The pampered child is an abomination; tire child slave has learned to look on all work as mere money-making drudgery). W* note tn many children an absence of diffidence, of lofty ideals, an affectation of nil ad? ■airari, an excessive care for Number One, * desire to be regarded as smart and Shove the simplicity of generous sentiments. Such faults are shown ton early to be fairly charged upou the young

themselves. The age at which they are rife is one which is, or ought to be, under control; and in spite of all the stir and clamour about education one is tempted to ask whether we do not put teaching before education. Precocious worldliness and self assurance ere the fruits of a system which teaches much, and inspires little; in which the eyes and understanding have been opened to see and hear many things, while the heart has not been open to genial influences, nor the imagination to lofty thoughts; in which the dry dust of books has choked up the brain, while the power, the poetry of knowledge, and of beliefs that transcend knowledge, have never stirred the soul. The culture of the highest faculties, judgment, thought, imagination, are made quite subordinate to the cramming of facts for a specific purpose, which purpose being attained unless some further practical object keeps them present, the facts themselves are quickly swept away, and the mind remains dormant as. before. J* Am Arrogant Age. We cannot, however, lay the blame entirely on parents or teachers. Ours is an arrogant age. We have done much in some directions, and are prone to think we have done more. The achievements of the last hundred years are our idol; at once the work of our hands, and the object of our worship, we are lost in pleasing eouteniptation over it. From the writings of philosophers to the commonest newspaper tirades, this puffing of our times is continually poured forth, tilt at last a strange process takes place and thia pride in our century turns unconscieusly to individual self-glorifica-tion. In many cases we have done no single thing ourselves to advance the progress of the age; it is well if we have taken -decent advantage of tire opportunities it has held out. to us; bat we belong to it, and thence look dawn an all chrono logical predecessors. Respect If or the past, no longer fostered by traditional politics, is scorned as an ignorant prejudice, and replaced by admiration for the present, and unbounded confidence for the future. The progress we really have made is most undoubted, and most gratifying; but honour to whom honour is due. Former generations sowed the seed; it was our fortune to be born in the fulness of time, when the harvest was ripe to yield its richest fruit. It would be wiser, therefore, to give heed that we improve the inheritance for those who come after u» than to sit down in self, complacence to deride those who went before. * * An Oriental Bazaar. In times when the -position of women in civilised countries has been steadily improving, it is sad to reflect that in th« most populous part of the British Empile so little has been done to improve the lot of the child widows. In India

the child widow is subjected to every form of degradation and humiliation. What is done for them is done by Christian missions, and the Panditi Barnabas's work has been the means of rescuing thousands of these helpless children. Throughout India, except in the Northwestern Provinces, women are put to the severest trial imaginable after the husband’s death. They have to abjure all ornaments, their heads are shaved every fortnight, they are guarded like prisoners, only one meal a day is allowed, and all visitors are strictly forbidden. One of these widows wrote that criminals in the jails for life were happier than they, that many killed themselves to avoid torture. A Hindoo gentleman, writing in the “ Nineteenth Century,” says: — "To a Hindu widow, death is a thousand times more welcome than her miserable existence.” When we reflect that eight years is the minimum, and twelve years of age the maximum marriageable age for a high-caste girl, we shall readily realise that many widows are mere children. In connection with Panditi Ramabai s mission. an Oriental bazaar will be held at Auckland in the Choral Hall on May 11. 12, 13 and 15. The goods to lie sold will include Oriental work and curios. from nearly every country in the East, and the same as the plebeian These are the lovers of art will have a unique opportunity of acquiring specimens of satsuma from Japan, opera scarves from Egypt, and brassware from Benares. A special feature will be made of Eastern goods, designed for men’s use. Peers and Plebeians. The researches of the “ Westminster Gazette," which has been investigating (in connection with the Coronation gift of the Georges) the Christian names of the House of Lords, establish that the patrician taste in names is substantially most popular among the Peers: —

But. allowance should be made for the greater preference which noble families display for ancestral names. AH the male members of the Duke of Beaufort's

family (like the royal house of Reuss; are called Henry; and each of Lord Nelson’s sons and grandsons bears the name of Horatio. Walter runs in the family of the Duke of Buccl'eueh; Jane in the Duke of Somerset’s; Antony in Lord Shaftesbury’s; and so on with a constancy not to be found outside the favoured circle of Burke and Debrett Jt J* The Clan Morrison. Two paragraphs from different pageof the ” Morning Post.”: — Among the younger Stinie Morrison was societies is the Clan found guilty of the Morrison Society, murder of Leon which will, at the Berou on Clapham Criterion, bold its Commoh and was first dinner iu Lon- sentenced to th-ath. don. . . The name of Morrison does not figure largely in history, yet in an unostentatious way the Morrison record is interesting, •J» -J* Uncut Hooks. The question of cut or uncut pages is one that has been much discussed bj authors, publishers, and readers. Miuty readers enjoy cutting a book, often ths.’ is as far as they get. Some pe.-»’«c never get so far. But the uncut boot, finds favour with book lovers by reason of the fact that the margins are left intact. Mr. A. C. Benson, however, likes his books ready cut. In the course of a letter to the “Morning Post,” he says: —“Why should books ever he published with their pages uncut? Is it to advertise the integrity of a volume, a proof that it has not been read before? Would it be possible, for instance, for a fraudulent trader to sell the first skimming of a book to a careful reader and then to re-sell it as new? Or lias the custom anything to do with an idea of keeping the pages unstained? ‘Tf there is no practical value iu the tradition, why should it not be utterly and instantly abolished? One is not obliged to receive other trade articles in an unfinished condition, and forced personally to apply the process of cainpletkm. lam a busy man myself; I have to turn aver, for various literary purposes, a -considerable number of new books. If a book is cut, I welcome it with a sigli of relief; if not, I flu-1 aiiuute after minute of precious t-me

wasted, when. instead of turning the leaves over bri~k)y to d.scover a hat 1 want,, 1 am prodding at the lower edge of two adhering pages with a paper-knife, trying to force an opening, or blowing on the top, in the hopes of finding a parting. Or, again, I buy a hew volume at a bookstall, to beguile a tedious journey. It proves to be uncut, and 1 have to separate it page by page, with a railway ticket, or a toothpick, or an envelope, or, failing all. with an inserted finger. The an noyance this causes u- great, the time expended is simply ami purely lest, with no sort of corresponding gain. An Appreciative Critic. All lovers of the Bible will. be extremely gratified to find that in these days of rationalism ami freethought, the Bible has the approval of so distinguished an authority as our Minister for Education. Mr. Eojtvlds believes th it it exercises a great influence for good in our national and civic* life. He- thinks thatT it is a great’ book, and one that can l>e studied 'vitti advantage by young and old. Few men are better qualified to judge its . merits than Mr. . Fowlds* who besides being a recognised authority on education, is admittedly one of the best read members' of file present Ministry. Air. .Fowtds.naturally thinks the Bible would be out of place in our schools. Anyone who is at all intimate With our State schools’ must agrt-e with’ him there. But in the home it- may be read - and studied with profit. Dr. Gibb was very gratified to learn that one of our foremost public men approved so highly of a book written -so many centuries ago, but was disappointed at the Minister's remark about the schools. He evidently forgets that a book may be good in itself, and yet quite unsuited for children. The Minister, for Education la surely the best judge of the kind of literature that is most adapted to our unrivalled system of free education. Moving Pictures. For some time there has been an agitation for a censorship of films, and protests have been made that many cinematograph shows are vulgar and demoralising. Bushranging scenes are objected to, so are pictures of any sort of crime, also pictures that savour of the cheap novelette have fallen under the ban. A censor would have a very difficult task. A picture may be vulgar, without being immoral, and a picture may be morally bad without being vulgar. Ruskin thought the most absolutely immoral books were those pions tracts which taught that the good little boy always gets rich, and the bad little boy was always poor. For. he said, that though not a saint, yet he hoped he had no such deep-rooted aversion to being good that be felt he ought to be paid for it in hard cash. Robertson had the cime aversion to this type of story, which be hel<j to be utterly degrading and demoralising. "One thing is clear to me." wrote George Macdonald, in 'Robert Falconer,’ "that no indulgence of passion destroys the spiritual nature so much as respectable selfishness."’ Is the censor to ban all the nice, pious stories that show the value of religion in the money markets? It seems likely that these highly immoral stories would delight those who clamour for a censorship. If respectable selfishness is the deadliest sin. as the Bible teaches us, surely we should ruthlessly censor all films that tend to exalt it into a virtue. Pernicious Literature. The censorshin of films, plays or books, is, in tmft>. a very difficult task. We cannot cater entirely for the -young person, yet we must always be on our guard against teaching that tends to corrupt the home. Preaching in St. Paul's Cathedral, the Archdeacon of London said that "It is a startling fact that ■nt long ago one of our moat respect-

able publishing firms, when summoned before the police couit, surrendered 4UIXM) copies of an annual magazine, tainted with abomination, which they had in ignorance" purchased for sale.” He further went on to say that “It is a startling fact, and it has been stated by an eminent and cautious Nonconformist minister, ‘that the surest way to a large circulation, aud to financial success, is to wallow in immorality. That minority of publishers who are serupupulous. those newspaper men who are unscrupulous know this well. The law forbids the publication of flagrantly immoral literature; the ingenuity therefore of .the lower class of writers and publishers is directed to produce books, pictures, and palters, which feed the depravity of human nature without incurring the penalties of the law. It becomes a fine art. To the adepts of the trade the restrictions of the law are no- serious hindrance.’ . It is a startling fact that ’there is an increasing number of novels which librarians who.have regard for public morals. keep under the counters, but whieii are.- unhappily; in constant demand. There are from ten to fifteen periodicals with a weekly circulation amounting to nearly half a million, which must unhesitatingly be described as dangerous to morals.’ ” In face of this.menace to the morals of the young, it behoves parents and guardians to exercise the utmost care as regards the newspapers, magazines," and ’ books brought-Into the house”for" reading. ,d» . A Model Light Engineer. . c ' In his lecture at the- Royal Institution, Professor Sir J. J. -Thomson” remarked that our electrical engineers -had not beAi able- to supply us with light of the quality of the firefly. This little animal' was the most efficient light ’em gineer in existence. Its light • had been studied- by eminent scientists with great care,’ and the results had I>een remarkable. The relation between the eleetrb cal engineers and. the. consumers at pre ; sent was that the. consumers' wanted a chop, and the engineers" gave them no : thing.less than a sheep. The. consumers had |o pay for a large expenditure of energy which produced but a small quantity of. light. Every bit of the energy expended by the glowworm or firefly in producing light went to the right place: it did not waste anything in heat. It was extremely remarkable how sensitive the eye was to a small quantity of light, if in-the proper form. If the energy-was put in the form-of a greenish yellow light, the eye could distinguish an amount of energy which might be represented by the energy of a fly walking across the finger-nail. J* Jt Curious Misprints. The recent celebrations in honour of the Tercentenary of the Authorised Version have brought to mind many of the curious misprints that figured in some of the early editions. The most famous was “Blessed are the plaeemakers.” Sometimes the original copy is improved by mi> I’oiits. Jf was Max Adeler. for instam-e Ute famous humorist, who, after receiving a "proof." rushed into his publisher's office demanding the comp, who, by adding an “r," had turned one of his lines into "where are the dead, the varnished dead?” When he found him. he said he wanted to compliment him. as the newer version was the better. Mr J. Bloundelle-Burton. the author, ha<l great dilficultv in getting the comps, to distinguish his "n's” and “u-s.” In despair, be hit on an ingenious scheme. Opposite every "u” he wrote in the margin, “This is a ewe.” and added a little drawing of a fat ewe to make quite certain. Opposite every "n” he wrote. "This is a ben,” and neatly sketched a plump fowl. He' looked forward happily to the next .proof, but wben.it came he tore his hair, for if began: "The scoeweh*ndrel slewehenk away."

John < Tim vies . .. 51 49 Arthur .. Edward . . 25 William . 4H Jnaits . . . . 21 Henry 41 ThoniaM . . . 21 George .... 41