NEWS, VIEWS, AND OPINIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 36, 11 February 1905, Page 9

NEWS, VIEWS, AND OPINIONS.

c » idea of the length of the bill of *"!! " printed to the Russian < iovmsJ ' name of'compensation for upiment. throngh the lX^gger dmnag* -^ l l stimrp . tP(l hv thr pro . B:Wk It Hull the' Board of three hundi-ed men. the most "^JiTassessment . ; r-in- £20 rSoBk to the nervous -vstem. while in W the -ame injury. who.-,e extent "Ttears diiScult tn ascertain α^tiniteir. there will h,. r r«utnablv no inafnation to batfjri* ,-r the amount of Ration. Hut it U quac clear that Sbt of the minor m- will r.-|uire to Sited, and rclur-d ... kind uf , Lm the Iwinbardmeni. For example, Skipper ,i the ...i'l -iaims for L-mi the ,tw ->i 'he Cratre «.n the re- i m-rkable ground Lhut the \alue or tnat vessel wa.« tIiOOO. That is ciinsidrrably more ttiau the -uni demanded by the let engineer ot that vessel, who fears that his head will never he right asrain. j [ exactly -lonhle the sum claimed by ♦jg second engineer and a trimmer, on of « = h,it in thp ch r Pst I\ ' wound respectively. In of these fi?nre ? , and rhe tact that shnrfc to the nervous system rims up from £20 pa«t £50- which '" ,! VPry ooinrnon fi^lr! '- to B~>o in 'he case of one claimant, who also asks - r,0,, t(,r ; " Tin ~ ius ""■"' shi Pj t "i.s clear that thi.- hill of coets is in need of thorough revision. In it> prespnt . form if present- the hardy and courageous trawler as a person ot very delicate nervous organisation: :l "d there j a nas abo" - ,v ' l favour of a certain historic' account for moral and intellectual dama?<". which i- calculated ro provoke j t anil«Hie Constantinople correspondent of the Paris •■Temp- i " states that, in the course of the excavations for the HMjaz i nilwav in Asia Minor ve.stiq-es of an ancient city, formerly inhabited by one of the tribes of Israel, were brought to light sear the Valley of Mcses. Among the most nirious buildings of the city is a j lar"p edifice, whose architectural beauties ! compelled general admiration. To the j west of this building is a hili containing: the tomb or Aaron. Many ot-iier historic treasures have been laid bare. A most curious trade has sTpung up lately whrch illustrate* quaintly the pet vanity of woman. If appears that ladies lvlien staying at hotels or the like do not j care to eshibit to the passers along the corridors the exact sire of their feet, so they carefully earrv with them ;i couple oi pairs of tiny, delicate *hoes which, instead of the ones they arp wearing, they place outside their door= for the servants to take down ;ind clean. All the big boot shop? of Paris now make a speciality of this tiny footgear, and a pair or two form a portion of the trousseau of every up-to-date hride. TV. old town of Mittenbenj, cm the •Ifain, is the pn?w««or of an iart known. A3 the "Riespn." which has had .-in imin- ■ ternvpted existence sincp ihc t"wf"4fth cen-1 tury. Tile Emperor Frederick I. and; Ludwig of Bararia lodge.l here, acrord- : inp to perfectly authentic documents, in ; 115.". 1168. and 1316. Chartrs» IV. took! np his iinarters in the Riesen ia I3<iß. \ Lather lodged th*re in 15 IS on his jour-' ney to Heidelherj;. and in ls2l Oejioral Tilly made it his headquarters, nnd paid i bill of MOO gulden. The inn has been in the. possession of on<> family for over .100 years, and is reputed to tbv oldest in Go-many. An old woman who lived on the slopes of the Partry Mountains. County Mayo. and whose name is Anne Stauuton. is 113 years of agp. and is believed to t>» the oldest woman in IMan-d. Sh? is still in full possession of all her facwltiea. The old woman has n<it yet, seen a | train, bat this is not .siirprisinir. ■as j there are hundreds of peopj.- within radius of thirty miles of Baliina who' ■ire equairy ignorant of what a railway ; is. Some, indeed. have never seen a bi- j cycle. I j Christian eaptarn of the har-| <m Silicon, whj.-h has just returned to j w States from a year's in. rhc ! Alrtic seas, reports" that while his yes- j Xl was trading -nrrth Danes and E.=kirnos ( ; »t Arsuk. on the south-west coast of! Gtwaiand. their arrrv-vl fmni the in- j wior a. punj of >,Tant*. rhe shortest of *linnt was.seven feet in heiglit and the fa lest niae feet. They liad the coppernutated corupiexions "an.i the features j I" American Indians. Thw lna.V! fown I)V signs that rtwn- had h~n; :" Wn to the .-oscn by iuri,Mis -torms ' inland, Danes belike that tiwy ar«"l -membprs of a -ianr rue whW-h has" krns i ten traditional amon« the fekimos. " \ CPrriWf, thia^s - ;,vs ft »' "D^J 1 jH*gnsh;' have i«Pn ~f Hertrieity. I ttt notfaifljr so appallins; a.-, that which: *PPearrd in a rforid description publish- 1 * recently. It ha* ber.n ,:-xLl«i a lluiU j ~o*e that you ceo),] ri ,!j into | 7 niiAingr a -.tick: of si-aJ with a ■ ,w - P««*K.-handkeTfUief—a mwt re-I ■nadcabl, ft «id. It was ,aid rmt lonff -^ n that it in rhe strwEß of i '■«B<l<m and bW up the roadway like aj "ißtang water-pipe; though ' nobody yetto bad known anything ~f iv ex Peew (pmlity. WW'»«i ar,- rn.xed: Li^"" 1 -" P"^"' an e!«,rri.' bfn -? ?llt Murwlly make them "go: Sf B ', buh !t wo ««d "be the KU.SCS. not But rhes. tn.ne- .re' c»L » y Ot a l , " w<,rl " ws ''- pro- : ■wwi a cea,s<>Jpss stream of el*«"Jrrietrv. ' lr irerot molten lire , ." anecdotes are told of | tho Mane ,r( >leans. the- -wife of ,i oir ; ~T Qas s* V: , the '-BoaWo'ni-* W L ? yWarrl I,u *' d ."i - 1 Nd 2,T ied :ln " x l journey, *ork£ d u Ta '' 01 ti, ' , -""rhhwrv amd ' in st ru,,H V,n - "■■ | ' , T-"»i 1 c .i course uf ?SS n m t!u; Kir,- Bγ,fSfclr l T i» 'taxk blue coat •ni kehTth B tOnN arKl :1 " h "" 1 iTT - ttd whf hrem(, n with their work: ' • l| « fr4L?i ayine ' n lh " f, °« n^r 7- she ier « - P nt °"' a village lire b^ F" or ? ani? TO£ skill, and dash. «"» aarf ""• of a finanStnu^aJ l fli 011^^0 : ;l »'i it if ™t *n Ws, t 0 61,0,5 fOT Copenhagen cdii , ''er - Wcrv « 3 " imp.-rious snamons J* L * ebSELi* be «*" scolded

Aa interesting decision Ims just teen pTen by the Preach coasts on the knotty question wbetier grandparents I have the right to see their gSMdcMl[dren against the wishes of the letters' [parents. The judgment is in the tot-. ! lomng wrms: jLttboug-fa tbe law confers upon the father of a family absolute- , rig-fats over his children so kra- as these jare minors, those rights cannot <*> =o : far as to permit him to forbid all intercourse between the children and -their torbears. I n "eases where there I is any dispute it is the right of the courts to regulate this inteicou-rse be- ; children and their grandparents ; keeping m view on the one hand the ; demands of rhe parental a-uthority and ;on the other the interests of the" children and rhe duties and moral bond-s j which actach rhem to their ancestors." ! A N'e-w Zealand reader has sent to ; -M.A.P." the following explanation of the term -'shouting" as applied to ttie practice of stand ins .Iriaks: "Tte term !"; r '■ a - m<, inr ° vogue, if I am rightly j informed." he says, "in nne of tb* mmI ing townships of the (Jolden West wav I U.-k vrhen rimes were £ood. One nigfct (When the local hotel was exeeptionallv jrnll of miners., each trying to veil the , other down m e&Uing for drinks, some Jtnirsty soul -topped the-row for a moiment nud addressed the crowd: 'Look I her.', boys, whafs rhe use of all veiling :liKe tlusl ( a nt one shout for the lot , '" jJn.s id»a. being a fresh excitement. ■caught .m a .f. once, and so a silly pracjfre was started which fast oVrran the j.-olomes- bnt nowaday,, thankgoodne.es. jus Slowly dying out." Wh y is it that so manr people cc* IT/ thPJ haTe *££**&. I Mr ten. fifteen. twenty. or even r-enty-f c 7 ea - rs? Might it not be supposed that any ineomparibilitv woyd have displayed itself before such a lensrthy rriaJ? A society woman who is confessedly uniappy in her Mr - ; nage. gives her explanation. ! frequently, she says, a break occurs I when a bad hnsband has become a had tat her. A wife may Pn dum uncompteiningly that at which a mother rebels She will bear for herself what she will not br-ar for her children As the children grow older the indignities heaped upon her and them gro-w less and less endurable. With their nn-de-nanding grow* her indignity. I This is the reason why so many separations occur when a couple "have lived together for a quarter of a century and their children are grown up. or perhaps married. The wife, accne- | tomed to her own griefs,, sees them anew t.hrongh her children's eyes, and it is to satisfy their sense of justice as well as ber own that she separates from the husband and father. The subject of transit in Xew York City is an interesting one. You pay a nk-kel —which is five cents, or twopence halfpenny—when you want to go from one street corner New York to the next. If you desire to trave'i &.-> far ;is the ear will take you (about eight milesi you still pay only a nickel. Time is too short to get a ticket a,nd have it punched and lose it. and then rnmraaje through all your pockets to find it again, >n that the inspector may see you are cot a friend of t"ne conductor and riding free. You jnmp upon imp of the <>lertric cars, open r>r closed, that, with the i cl&mr oL firebeli?. clear a path up Broadway —ruthlessly, bmtally divrdhhjj even funeral processionsJn two.. i The- <r>nVni<-tor swings himse-Tf along I the footboard, and you give him your ; nickel. He givps a tup .it a cord, and ' a clock face signals that yon arc th-e j 71st passenger since he started the I trip "tip town." I That is all. except that when yon I wish to "eros.* town"' you call '"Trans-j fer." Hie r*f)Qdticrtor "rives you a red ] slip, and you info a cross-town i car. and there present t.he slip in>-tea<i of a nickel. You pay a lot for a driort ride, but jret a long ride for a littie aioncy. The.re are cabs in New York. They j are for millionaires, but Ihe million- } a-ires never use them —t.h-ey art* too; poor to pay the terrific fares. i Tα a rambling old house at Stoke i Xcvri-mrton. Ln-ndon. there lives an ec- [ (.entrie old gentleman who has an ex- j i traordinary passion for privacy. When! : he took the house some ten y<*ars ago : it stood in open country remote from j I other dwpUin-gs. Rut four or five j j vrars aco a srpntiTnan ptirrhased one j I of the field.- unci erected! ; suburban villas th«reon. The i>ld ; I centksnan wn< for a time ranch dis- ; tracted by this intrusion on his pri- j j va«-T. ?lc trrtni iinsoccessfnlly to pnr- , 1 chase thp new villas, with, a stipula- : i tiou tba-f, no raor<" .sbtould be erected ' i n«,-ir hi> house. Baffled in this, he g-j&e iastn»rtions*f-hat. in order to pro- \ tect. htwwelf from thp espionage of cur- | i ioas aeierhijonrs. rhe windows <jf the j 1 house were not to he cleaned again, j ! They haven't, and their present a.[>- i I pearan-cc is. t<j .-=:ry the lpn.sr. <-!ctraori dlnary. I * i Hand-shaking ;is we in Britain par- i I tif-ularly affect it. nowadays derives its i orig-i-n from less happy days Ujan ours. ; 1 Gi>-r.e potonrng, or i-oinfalmcut of poi- ; , soneit knives, nnd other deadly wea- ' pons, was at, one time the fashion. I even in Vlerrie Kngland. and a well- ! known wav of jetting rid trc:irb*rotis- ! v of a.n enpniv. The tirsr. irlovcs pv«"r ! worn were tairriod by th-e knights of j old. a.s prerimis belonginsrs to tJie '"fair ■ I ai. the time. ux>. when their ■ owru heavy, irivn-aiailcd tisis sometimes i.-arried weapon- of. det«i«' or revenge. j (Moves, theref-ore. in ;hes<> i ■ times iren' i'orhid<J<?n by er.iquet.re to ' b< , worn in the presence of Royalty: j :m<i ord'msrry mortal*, we are told by - rhe okl chroniclers, learnx. through suspicion originally, t-o grasp. '< vigorously their neAghbour's band to as- ' >ure themselves that something- deadly! was not concealed in it if they happen- j , ed to be "zaandeted. , ' as it was then ca.Ued. An hot-el whieli is to be bailt in New ! York is itiC<»nd*d ex<4xisivelv for the ! I us*- of children. It will called the St. I Kfizubeih. Boys will be admitted, up to the age of 14 and girts no older than 12. There will be no suites containing, fewer than three rooms, while some ; I will have ,i-rhl. All suites wUI br provrdeil with s,-ientific nurseries and , l>atKs. The teeiliug urranjremen i s are ' to he superintended by lrain-ed ' nirrses. and other leading features are to be 1 s&illed house physician. schoolrooms, and a superintendent of amasemente. Almost all the servants will be used i to hospital -work. No child -niil be : taken in without a nurse. The prices I range from £ 16 to £ 30 a week for two persons. TWe scheme, says the "America." is intended t<s relieve -weH-io-do parents of the troahle of looking setter j €beir offspring atai. to find a bone for

Father John, of Kronstadt, the famous Russian Orthodox priest, who is serioash' ill, has made a remarkable re- j ptrtition as a wonder-worker. The ma- | jority of the Russian officera before ! leaving for the front have songht and ' obtained his blessing —either personally j or by proxy. He it was who blossinl . the f=aored ikon, the holy picture that Admiral Makharoff carried when, lie started out for Port Arthur. Father j John was 75 years n!d on Xoverotwr I. but he carries bis year* 1 vMI. He is stur- : ' dily bnttt. and has the typical square j Slav beard. Since 18.?.> be ha? had charge of the Andreas Cathedral at Krorklftadt. where the services are attended by tbousa.nda-* I "Kvery im-h of room is occupied on Simdays. when the ■worabippera stßfid packed closely together and listen in awe and reverence to the idolized, priest. Pilgriinii toil in to Kronstadt frnm all pajrts of Russia in simple faith that ;i miracle of healing j awaits them. Father -loiin receives lan;e. 13ume of mon«y for laying his hands ! upon the sick and dyiog and for bles-s----ing officers off to the war. but he takes none for himself—all is devoted to charity and building churches and shrinrs. i His word is almost greater than that I of the Czax. and he is tar ruore revered j > and respected. When he was leaving ■ ; St. Petersburg for Kronstadt. nor long j ago. he wad worshipped npenlv in the J streets. Wom<-n cried. "Thou art h<Mv! j He has come down from Heaven!" and , prostxatcd themselves. j Mr A. W. Ho-witt. explorer, police ( ! magistrate, and anthropologist, i= the | [ latest to add to our knowledge of the ; j Australian aboriginal, about whom a ' ! good deal l)feu written lately. Ilie. . j veteran Victorian ha.? publisheii his. re- ' ! searches in a book: called "The Native | ; Tribes of South-Ka-st Austraiia." I Co- j ; garding marrkgp, all tiiat Mr Hewitt j I has to telt us in the full details goes to j I confirm Professor Spcncer"s statement j I that the "group marriage"' was the ! foundation of aboriginal society (re- j ; markii the "Argus ,, ). Mr Uowitt yen- • i turea to think that thi.s -will be found i j the primitive condition of aJI ravages. ' i Monog:uny. even iv the loose form known | , in naiive Australia, comes afterward?. The tribsJ criarria.{je rules differ, liowever. greatly in the localities. In the KuTtiii tribe i>l Hippsland, with which ' Mr Howitt had much to do, there were ' no '"totems."' affecting marriage, and the Kiirnai man obtained his wife by nxn- ■ ning otT with her s.eeretJy. with her own ■ ctinaent. In one instance. Mr Elowitt Hrrre were marriagesbie girls I but the marriageable young men did not j , take the initiative. The women, there- i fore. L-oraniencpd by killing a yiirung | \ ermi wren » . i hux is. one nf 1 ho '**u*?n*s t brothers."" and caaiiaily lotting the mr-n see it. Then the men became very angry. i and took up club?. The girls toot np thf-ir digging -rirks. and a figh-t ensued, in whi»;h hejids were broken '. and bleod Howed. The next day tbe young roes killed a djtttgan ( sup*>rb jwarbWl. that is. a "woman's sister," aod a light ensued, than \>efore. a time, wben the wouads were healed on both sides, one of the c4igible voting men and one of the girls meetj rng, he, looking at her, to whirh she replied, "'What does the yarting eat ?" This constitutes an offer md awepfcaaee. and the couple quiekry elope. The courtship thus described seems unioue. and in all other cases we have the totem rales more or less strictly observed. Tims, in the Yeein tribe. "A j kangaroo nian raji eff with a Irrown f snake girl. So ?o<m a-s the event. -Wi.us j discovered, all the mcn —kangaruo. bnjwn J ! suake. and other toicms —followed them, j 1 The runaways wore- caught: there »a, a I ' liffht with the vi.in. and the girl was i i beaten by her kindred. Her mother and j I sister attacked her with their disigini ' j ?ticks. and knocked her .lown." If such i I a man refused to give np the girl, some- I ! one would drive a spear through him. i j and his relatives dare not interfere, for I i he had sinned. The good old conservative practice under which a nmn clubbed a, woman of another tribe and dragged her off insensible, for a, gin, seems, however, to have been the most common marriage ceremony throughout Australia when the ■«*. &* »ppeared epon

Many of its arc in foreicm languages without knowing. , it. especially ! when we are using slanir or expletives. ! "Oh. dear m?!"' i= the simplest inr-tanee. lof many that mijrht be, given. A literal 1 translation <>i the common French exclamation. ''Oh. mon Dien!'" <"r r-f the equally common tlerm.in. "Dv Liober <;ott:"' wouid horrify the rcveronc: , oi English donry-men. \>t any clergyman j may say without reproaih. ''Oh. dear i me!"' Wlirch is simply the It.ili-.n "(>. : dio miol" ("Oil, my <iod!'"'. Thus w« shift our -=iii.s on to the wk-ked for i;_i>"r. St. Martin—th>." saint whom we celebrated nr forgot last Friday—the saint who divided his coat with a chilly b,gjrar anti <?&\-r us silch St. Martin's snnv raer we possess—has another title to remembrance. "All ray eye and Betty Martin"" is a cnrir.es combination that would never have come rrijether but for tho saint. What has Hetty Martin to do with my eye? you niay ask. And why are the lady and the opt.ic ua-tc.i to pour contempt on a crivon sutfrnp*ht. ! Weil, the man v. h<> u-*s that phrase is imly mispronoun.iiii: I^rhi—the inrcratirn tn the saint. "<">! raibi. beate Martinol"— "Modern Society." There is a Spinster-' in Bristol, it owes ifs exiytenc to a visit which the secretary paid to a miuland town, where -he found such a league flourishing. U"hen she returned to Bristol, England, a meeting was held at which those present became convinced I that spinsterhood is the road to happiness, and the following mips iver? adopt- | ed: —1. All members must have at- ! rained the age of 17 and not exceeded 30, 1 must wear long skirts, and dress their j hair in a becoming manner. Members ' are invited tn render th-eir appearant?e lad attractive as possible, but to be J nxaideniv in their conduct. 2. ilembers are comnipelled by Uio law of the society j tal to be entirely proof against arsv j charms I?) of man. fb) to have a whoiei some contempt of failing in love, and Ito abhor marriage for theratselves. ;;. ; Members are also compellcti to mtro- ' dti<e the society and the advantages ! thereof to all whom they suppose may j fall victims to the ■ delusions referred to in clause 1. 4. Every membra , mast be in a position to oiarr.ta.in the risrht.= of the society, viz.. heafthv. strongnutided, and able to earn h-er o-orn living, so t.h-it. there will be no npvsssitv for member- tn embrace marriage a.s ,-i .nieans rsf The seeretarv monrnfiilly ;flmirs that converts are not lieir.g made very rap-td'.y. j Every rountry has it.-, corps d'dite^ — I arnards. chasseur?. I>e4saglie.ri. Ja^fr— jbnt no r-oiintry gives a more prominent position to its '"crack" corps than Russia concedes to the Cossttck.s. This is the. more remarkable, ina-smurh as the Copsacks are not. really Rnssians. bat the frontier tribes which Enssia has ahsorbed. TTig expiatration is to be found in the fact that the Russians proper axe trot a warlike nation. They serve in the aTnry under compulsion aird without enthusiasm, and they woniH very much prefer that the Cossacks should do ail the fighting for them. the other hajod. the Cossacks revel in fighting ami in the congenial task of keeping ortier among the students. Jews, and other disturbing elements of the Czar's peace. So the Cossack is given pride of place in the Russian Army, beeanse he is a genuine fighting man. and because no i peaceable Russian would dream of dis[piTting his claims, 'ilie Cossack is a j privileged person; he has a edu- ) cation and law* of his own. He also i has his own customs, whrich. are not very I pleasing- From bis early days he is I taug-ht that blood is the one thing needI tul. As a youngster he will attend as ! the slaughtering of animals, and rua Ito catch the blood in his little wooden I cup—and he drinks it. When he grows jup his thirst for blood is insatiable: it lis a pracnica.l working- thirst, and not a mere figure of speech. It is the craving of a carnivorous beast. The smell of blood affects him as it daes the tiger, and his instinct guides him to tho "TcHl." This view is that expressed by a writer wito claims close acxfnaintaitee with the Cossacks, bat probably it i≤ an extreme version traits.