WHAT MAKES MEN FIGHT?

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11483, 16 January 1903, Page 5

WHAT MAKES MEN FIGHT?

T_fc_3 lis a question nuked by the Russian Genoal iskebeleff in Mr Frederic Villiens'* tev volume, "'Pictures of Many Wars." It fK s_s from the replies that the motive Taries with the nationality. Speaking of the Turks, the General remarked:—"l ,ns_dtr why those men fight like fiends?" "li's probably their fanaticism," I replied. . . 'Then," I pointed out, "your men ttt just as fanatical. They fight for _t-beir pjrtcular god, the Great White Czar, and Holy Kussia." "Yes, that's so," laughed Skobeleff. Then, turning to his French guest, "And you, Monsieur—what do you fight for?' .Gesticulating, as myme Frenchjnen will, he sprang up, posed heroically, and said, "Ah ! Pout Ia gloire r* "Bravo! ' And now, you English?" "Well, probably the greatest aspiration of all." "Vat's ' ia&l" an led the F:en hman. "Why. BritJgh interest.", of course, said I. Both he •cd Skobeleff laughed heartily at this. ■■'' PROFESSOR MACLAURIN IN REPLY. Professor Mod sarin, who was examiner ' in algebra at the recent matriculation and junior scholarship examinations of the New Zealand University, has, upon his return to Wellington, after an absence of several ' <weeks, addressed a letter to the " Evening Poet," in which he deals with criticisms that have betn made upon the paper he set in the subject in question. One complaint was that the examiner had used a symbol in the matriculation paper that was jvc. used in any elementary text-book, ajid was quote unknown to the candidates. He defends the use of tbe symbol by stating that, while it has been employed in writing - for generations, it has in the last decade farad its way into the best elementary text-books, including Professor Chrystal's . "Introduction to Algebra," the one elementary work on the subject in our language written by a mathematician of tne 'first rank. Moreover, Professor Maclaorinsays, even if the symbol had never appeared in a text-book of algebra, it ought not to have proved much of a stumbling block to a candidate who had enmmon sense and could think—and to teach our youn? people to use their common sense an<T thinking powers is the first duty of every teacher, infinitely more important than cramming them'with rules and formula. As a matter of fact, of rearly 800 candidates at the examination, mora than 60 per cent, interpreted the symbol correctly, and of the remainder th* ' ■ majority got marks for the work they sent up,, in spite of their misinterpretation, and not a single candidate can ascribe his failure entirely to the " unknown " symbol.