Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 5 June 1913, Page 21

Current Topics

Switch Me to Sleep Sleep, according to Dr. Nagelschmidt, a German physician, can be induced at will by the application of an electric current to the base of the brain. ‘We shall have to re-write some of our popular songs,’ says the London Evening News :

.When days are lonely And nights but tire, I want you only, only You and your wire. Let thy sweet coma Over me creep, Kind Dr. Nagelschmidt Switch me to sleep !

The Jewish View of Cremation The Catholic Church, as is now tolerably well known, condemns cremation, partly on practical grounds, and partly on certain broad, general principles; and of these latter not the least important is the fact that in its origin cremation was associated in the minds of the majority—and still is, by many of its chief supporters —with the denial of a belief in a future life. It is interesting to note that high Jewish authorities reprobate the practice on precisely similar grounds. In Bavaria the propaganda of cremation by extreme Socialists and others has lately become so insistent that even Catholics were in danger of being carried away with the movement; and the Bavarian Episcopate deemed it advisable to issue an explicit statement of the Catholic attitude on the question. The opposition of the Bavarian Bishops to.the practice has been strongly seconded by the Chief Rabbi, Dr. M. Lerner, who wrote as follows:—‘Not less reprehensible than the ancient heathen practice of burning the body, that sign of idolatrous error, is the modern practice of incineration, which constitutes a public demonstration on the part of atheism and monism against religion. . . . Cremation, therefore, which undermines the faith in the resurrection and immortality, is no indication of any progress upon which modern culture may pride itself, but a retrogression into barbarian impiety, and a return to pagan brutality.’ And the reasons given by the Chief Rabbi for Jewish opposition to the practice are practically on all fours with the Catholic attitude : ‘ It is a transgression of the divine commandment ordaining the consigning of the body to the earth; it is a desecration of the mortal remains; it is a refusal of that reparation for sin which is said to be connected with the dissolution of the human body in the earth and thus of its conversion into the dust from which it came; and lastly it is a public denial of belief in God and of a final judgment.’

Nelson Takes a Stand Preaching at Palmerston North on Sunday of last week from the text, ‘ Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward,’ Canon Garland delivered a decidedly dolorous discourse. ‘ If they did not obey this call to go forward,’ he asked, ‘where would they be? In the camp of the Church which had always opposed the ■ right of access to the Bible. . . They had to follow the lead of their Church or the lead of another Church which did not make for freedom. To him it was lamentable, pitiable to find members of their own communion who preferred to ignore the lead of their own Churches, and do all they could to strengthen another Church, which had not been the friend of the Empire (of which they were thinking that day), and which he ventured to say had it been successful in its attempts would have prevented the Empire from ever becoming what it was to-day. In conclusion, he called upon his hearers not to despair.’ * The Organising Secretary will have another fit of the weeps when he reads the following Press Association message, dated Blenheim, May 28, which appeared

in last Thursday’s papers : ‘ A meeting of the Nelson Presbytery was held at Blenheim to-day. The Presbytery considered the remit from - the General Assembly with regard to the Bible-in-Schools League movement, and the following resolution was carried unanimously: ‘Whereas the General Assembly adopted the Bible-m-Schools League’s scheme without consulting the Presbyteries, and whereas this Presbytery does not sympathise with, the League’s proposed right of entry, this Presbytery respectfully declines the Assembly’s request to assist the movement in question.’ We have only to add that the membership of the Nelson Presbytery is not bounded by the Nelson city area, but contains representatives— and lay— the Nelson, Blenheim, Riwaka, Picton, and Kaikoura districts. That a resolution of opposition to the Bible-in-Schools League s proposals should be carried unanimously indicates, therefore, a fairly wide feeling on the subject.

Amundsen and the South Pole Captain Roald Amundsen, who discovered the South Pole in December, 1911, so shortly in advance of Captain Scott, is now in the United States, and has given this picture of the desolate South Pole—and his comments on its supposed possibilities— to the New York Independent: — There is no life at the South Pole, no kind of life, in air or water or on land. There is a great continent covered by ice and snow. Animal life, so far as was observed, does not extend beyond the Barrier, which is 700 miles distant from the Pole.

* We found bare spaces on the land and collected geological 'specimens, but nothing to show that the South Pole region holds treasures which would interest our civilisation. We found no evidence of gold, silver, copper, or iron. I am not responsible for the statement that there are in that region some of the largest coal deposits ever discovered, and I did not express a hope that they would soon be developed. Information on the subject of the coal comes, I believe, from Sir Ernest Shackleton. But even if there are in the South Polar region very large deposits of coal and of precious metal they will simply .be something to sigh over they are inaccessible. Miners cannot live there, and even if they could live and could work mines, no one would be the better off, as there would bo no way to get their products out to a point where commerce could reach it. The lowest temperature we : found at or around the South Pole was 75 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit. The highest velocity of wind was. 20 metres per second. It is a region of storms.

* / No, I doubt that South Polar exploration will realise anything that can be directly made of material benefit. But, on the other hand, any addition to our present fund of scientific knowledge is of immense importance, and our magnetic observations taken at or near the Pole are, therefore, most valuable. So also our geological specimens. I will remain in this country lecturing until next July, when I will away, this time to the North Polar region, to work again.’

The Gift of the Dreadnought Owing to the exigency of the Monday holiday these lines have to be written before the day on which the battleship New Zealand is timed to appear on the Dunedin horizon; and at the present moment the captain’s plans as to the anchorage of the vessel are so uncertain, and the general arrangements in connection with the visit are so indefinite, that it is by no means sure that either children or citizens will have any opportunity at all of actually boarding or making the much-desired close inspection of New Zealand’s gift to the Empire. One thing, however, there is no doubt about and that is the intense and enthusiastic interest with which the visit of the leviathan is almost universally regarded. In this connection it is somewhat striking to note the contrast between the feeling now prevailing and that which dominated the mind of the public and of the politicians, when Sir Joseph Ward came forward with the original proposal to present

this Dreadnought to the Empire. The contrast has been tersely described and vigorously commented on by our live contemporary, the Triad , who, while making a specialty of criticism in the departments of music, literature, science, and art, nevertheless finds time to take a citizen’s interest in political matters. Says our contemporary: ‘As to some of the more garrulous patriotic to-do, here’s a queer thing. When Sir Joseph Ward announced that this ship would be built at New Zealand’s cost, there was a howl from all the malingerers and nondescripts of the so-called Labor section, and there were sniffs and sneers innumerable from the retainers and associates of Mr. Massey and the party now in power. Even Mr. Massey himself made no display of enthusiasm. Apart from Sir Joseph Ward and such of his following as, had not definitely turned dog, there was virtually no display of any patriotic spirit. But n0w...0h! Mr. Massey and his henchmen are raising joyous ululations. They will have the world believe that they were responsible for this gift, and that the credit of it must'rest' with them. ’

V ■ ■ 1 - ■•■‘3p v ■" ■' This politics,’ continues the Triad, ‘ is so queera game thau pretty often it doesn’t seem quite decent. By a masterpiece of courage that went nigh to audacity, Sir Joseph Ward seized his opportunity and made the offer of a Dreadnought., Many people thought at the time that the offer was at least .injudicious. It seemed to the Triad that New Zealand might have proven its patriotism more effectively in some other way. But Sir Joseph Ward has been justified in the event. This gift has been a stinging inspiration to all the British Dominions. It has helped enormously in bringing on this great new efflorescence of interest in naval matters that is alive in the Empire to-day. Sir Joseph’s action was ' impolitic in the narrow sense; but it rose above the muddy tracks of parish politics— was a fine example of positive statesmanship. Why, in common honesty, then—why is Sir Joseph Ward not given the credit due to him by his successors in office? Why Why, because these men are concerned in politics, and politics is—politics.’

A Warning to New Zealand Teachers We have dealt fully in these columns with the now notorious case of Muss Janet Marshall, a thoroughly trained and highly qualified Scottish teacher, who, because of her conscientious conversion to the Catholic faith, was dismissed from her position under the Dalziel School Board on the ground that, in the opinion of . the Board, she. was no longer capable of -imparting the general Scripture lessons prescribed. Miss Marshall, it may be mentioned, professed her willingness to administer the lessons, and possessed the recognised certificate of competency to give the religious instruction required. The following sequel to this unpleasant incident is significant and instructive, and has such a direct bearing on the present position in New Zealand that we make no apology .for recording it in full. , We give the report as we find it in the Glasgow Catholic Herald of April 19, 1913, which in turn quotes it from the Glasgow Herald. * ‘At a special meeting of the Dalziel School Board last night— J. B. Allan presiding Ferguson moved that the following bo added to the agreement of teachers under the Board;—“I understand that it is part of my agreement that I must be a Protestant . an d give _ religious instruction according to the Protestant faith.” He said that he did not want to create friction, but he desired to safeguard the Board in view of what had happened in the Miss Marshall case, and he thought they were perfectly justified-in doing so. It should be perfectly understood that if a teacher changed his or her religion, his or her agreement would terminate on a month’s notice, Mr. Wilson seconded Mr, McKenna asked if there was any information of how the Glasgow Board proceeded in the matter. The chairman replied that' he had no information, but at the inquiry held by Dr. Andrew that gentleman stated that if they had had such an agreement with Miss Marshall the difficulty would not have arisen. Mr.

Harkin said that he observed that the Church of England would not employ Presbyterian teachers in its schools, and he asked if they, would employ Episcopalian teachers under the Board. The chairman replied that the motion was perfectly explicit. Mr. Haugney asked if the Board had any knowledge of what form of religion all their present teachers professed, and, if not, what they proposed to do to find out. The chairman Ask them to sign this resolution. Bailie Ferguson said that so long as they asked their teachers to sign this agreement they could not go any further. Mr. Haughey moved the previous question. He did not think that in view of tne fact that all the schools were public and non-sectarian they should pass such a resolution. He did not think the motion was in accordance with the Education Act, which did not permit of a teacher being dismissed on account of a change of religion. If they, passed the resolution they would be simply where they were. Mr. McKenna seconded the previous question, and declared that the motion was against the spirit of all British legislation. He believed that they had many excellent teachers in their service who might not be able to subscribe to the agreement, and it would be unfair to turn them out of employment. He did not think one particular Church should be banned in the manner proposed by the motion. The chairman asked the Catholic members if the position were reversed and all the children were Roman Catholics, if they would permit Protestant teachers to teach these children. Mr. McKenna replied that if the position were reversed he would not be a party to putting anyone out of a public position which he might hold. By a majority of six votes to three the motion was passed, and on the motion of the chairman it was agreed by five votes to three to send a copy of the resolution to all the teachers for signature. A motion by Mr. Harkin that all the teachers be summoned before the Board every three months to make a declaration of their faith failed to find a seconder.’

. ft There you have, in this enlightened twentieth oentury, the Test Act re-enacted, and religious persecution in all its nakedness. The teachers are to certify to their orthodoxy before they get appointment; and a change of faitheven at the most urgent bidding of conscience—• is to be followed by immediate dismissal. Moreover, the suggestion was actually made that they should come up every three months for religious inspection, so to speak. We learn from Health’s Chronicle that admission to the ministry, or to a living therein, was secured under Cromwell’s Puritan regime only after so bold and saucy an inquisition that some men’s - spirits trembled at the interrogatories.’ They were prodded with a hundred or so of sharp questions about , their conversion and secret call. The cut of their beards was noted,-: so was the color of their hair. ■ Their views on predestination were closely scrutinised, and the inquisitors observed whether the candidates ‘ had a true whining voice and spoke dexterously through the nose.’ The Scottish Bible-in-schools inquisition has not quite reached at length, but it Is getting on that way and the action of the Dalziel worthies , furnishes New Zealand teachers with an interesting line as to the possibilities that lie latent in the tyrannical proposals of our Bible in State Schools League.