NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1522, 19 August 1912, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

We have often wondered, hearing members of the Opposition party charge the Reform press with habitually vising coarse arid violent and scurrilous language, what these people' really meant. Presumably they mean the opposite of the gentlemanly and dignified language'in which Mr. G. W. Russell's little journal,' the Spectator, discusses politics. Its editorial on Saturday, proving that the Reform party is wholly composed of knaves and fools, alluded at some length to Mit. Fisher. The -law of •libel constrains us to omit the passage in which Mr. Fisher is.credited with "impudence of the vilest description," and to omit other passages. But there are some bits wo may safely quote: — But Mr. Laurenson gave tho Minister for Marino his quietus. In terms of withering contempt, during the recital of which Mr. Fisher sat like a grinning chimpanzee, the M.P. for Lyttelton. . . . Mr. fisher is the muckrake of the Masscy party. . ... Ho deals in baseless charges, dirty innuendoes. ... He pokes alxnit tho swinebarrels of political life looking, for garbage that .... And so on. We think .we shall continue to avoid the. dignified and honourable language of the gentlemen who so bitterly resent "the lowering of our public life."

The contest for the Egmont seat rendered necessary by the appointment of Mr. T. Mackenzie to the office of High Commissioner is said to he likely to resolve itself into a fight between supporters of the Government. Me. Wilkinson, who is well known in tho electorate as an able and energetic man of business, consented to be tho Eeform candidate to contest the seat with the late Prime Minister, after the defeat of .Mr. Dive at _ Mr. Mackenzie's hands. The position appears to be that Mr. Dive,_ after his defeat, recognised that it would be a very difficult task to wrest tho seat from the then Prime Minister, and ho is said to have expressed his willingness to stand down at any future election in favour of Mr. Wilkinson. The retirement of Mr. Mackenzie to London, however, lias altered tho situation from Mr. Dive's point of view, and he has now decided to seek re-election. As a result, there are two candidates standing in the interests of the Eeform Government. "Whilo this is regretable from the party's standpoint, it is not likely to affect the result. Mr. Dive, as tho member for the district, rendered it some service, but unfortunately he is a poor spoakor and is somewhat lacking in energy and pushfnlness, and no doubt these things told against him in his fight for the seat with Mr. Mackenzie. On tho other hand, Mr. Wilkinson has a reputation both as a forceful speaker and as a man who is likely not only to keep tho needs of_ his. district constantly before Ministers and Parliament, but also in time to play a not unimportant part in the general politics of the country. The Government apparently have accepted Mr. Wilkinson an their official candidate, and he will in nil 'probability win the seat, the opposition to_ tho two candidates named not being at all strong.

One of the smaller and less obvious pleasures of life in New Zenlaud—as yet—is the absence of spelling reform activity. It would be pleasant if we oould laugh at the well-intentioned people who wish to dislocate the language, but some pamphlets sent to us by the "Simplified Speling Sosieti" of London torbid laughter. For amongst the oflicinls are men like Professor Gilbert Murray, Dr. Henry Bradley, the Right Hon. Jajies Biiyck, Siit Jajies Murray, and Professor Skeat. ..They point to the defects of ordinary English spelling, they show that our reverence for it is iii great part reverence for the errors of the first ignorant compositors and tin; grosser errors of early scholars who tried to provide n logical aulhorisod syMicm. Thu.y deal vnry lengthily, with the benefits of their new ej'b-

tern, which boil down k> this: that it will be easier for children to learn; and they say no confusion would arise from its adoption. Now, these leaders of the spelling reform movement are ripe scholars, and, some of them, almost groat men of letters. Phofessor Gilbert Muiihay, for example—but they leave us cold, and what is more important, they will leave the world cold. Of those who are persuaded by the able little pamphlets of the "Sosicti," nine out of ten will sober up again >whcn they arc suddenly presented with this: TJrlh Jinx not eni tiling tu shoo nior fair: J)ul wood he be ov soel 1m cood pass bi A sict so tucliinyr in its mnjesti: This siti nou ilutli, lire a garment, wnir The byueti ov tlio morning: siolont, boir, Ships!, loner/,, doemz, theaterz, anil ' templz Ho Oopcu until (lie focldz, anil tu the soio; Aid l>rict and glito.rinjj in the snioeelos air. It was a foolish thing for the "Sosicti"' to drag in Wordsworth clad in this bedlam garb. One flics shrieking.

Some of our correspondents have been writing in very strong terms concerning the scratching of the racehorse The Rover for tho Grand National Hurdle Race. This horse, as the result of recent performances on the flat and its past record over hurdles, ran into the position of first or second favourite for the race in question. This was just prior to the date on which the Grand National was to be run. At the last minute, to the disappointment of those of the public who had backed the horse in doubles or straight-out, The Rover was scratched on the ground that the trainer, who held a lease of tho horse, could not race him over hurdles. The lease, it is stated, specifically provides that The Rover shall only be raced on tlie flat. The curious part' of the business seems to bo that while the simple public, who were breaking tho law to back the horse, knew nothing about the terms of the lease, the bookmakers, who were laying the odds, and also brcak'ing the law, appear to have had some inkling of it, for they arc said to have been freely laying against the horse during the day or two preceding the race. People who break the law deserve very httlo consideration at any time, and the backers, who apparently had no chance of winning because the horse could not race, are . no more entitled to the sympathy of those who control the sport of racing than arc tho bookmakers who could not lose. But something is due to tho sport itself, and also to owners generally. It is, of course, impossible to say how many owners, if any, were affected in their actions respecting the scratching of their horses through the presence of Tho Rover in the Grand National Hurdle Race, but it is difficult to believe that it had no effect in that way. The great harm done, however, if such conduct is overlooked, is the discredit it is likely to bring on the sport itself. So far the full facts of the case have not been made public, but the matter certainly is ono calling for the closest investigation by tho racing authorities.