NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1612, 2 December 1912, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Mr. M. J. Eeardon, President of tho local branch of the United Labour party, has made a statement with regard to the Arbitration Court which the executive of the party has the option of repudiating or endorsing. Mr. Beardon is also secretary of the Slaughtermen's Federation, and in that capacity he attempts to justify tho action of the slaughtermen in regard to the cancellation of the registration of certain unions in connection with their claims for new conditions of employment. But his explanation, which practically amounts to a condonation of strike methods, places him in an invidious position "with respect to his official connection with the United Labour party, which professes an anti-strike policy. Unless this body dissociates itself from the implied suggestion in Mr. Reardon's statement, the disagreeable suspicion will be left in the public mind' that the United Labour party, to judge from the.statement oi one of its prominent officials, is not sincere in its atti_tudo_ towards the principle of arbitration in industrial disputes. . "While, of course, I do not pretend that the Court's memorandum in the Gisborno freezing works case is a reason for the present action of the slaughtermen," _ explains Me. Reardon, "still I think that in a measure the action of the slaughtermen is justified by that memorandum. To put the average workers' interpretation .on the memo., it is this: that you can get better results from the strike than the Court is prepared to give." The United Labour party, by its at : titudo in connection with the Waihi strike, has shaken public confidence in the genuineness of it's professed abhorrence of strike methods and the behaviour of its local'chairman in the matter under discussion is not likely to remove the impression so created.

The triumph of the British team of tennis players who journeyed 15,000 miles in ,an,. l .,endeayour....to wrest from Australasia the most coveted trophy of the tennis world was well .deserved. The odds looked very much against Messrs. Dixon, Parkb, Beamish, and Lowe when they landed in Australia on their mission to win back for England the Davis Cup. Australasia, had held the Cup against the world since 1907, when Brookes and Wilding captured it at Wimbledon; and the team which was to defend it on tho present occasion had, only twelve months previously in New Zealand, scored a brilliant success against tho powerful combination sent over by America. . But from the outset the British players were hopeful. Thoy promised a great fight, and they gave it; and no one, we think, will begrudge them their victory. They won three out of the five matches, but the closeness of the contest may be judged by the fact that they only won one more' game than the losers; the respective scores in games being 86 and 85. Parke unquestionably is tie hero of the occasion. His convincing defeat of Brookes, who was regarded as invincible, was,' so far as can be judged, , on the merits of the men on the day. It was to' Australians' and New Zealanders who interest themselves in the game an astonishing performance. His subsequent win over Heath goes to confirm his form which will probably occasion some surprise in England; The Press Association report unfairly refers to Heath's performance as showing that he was, on his play, unworthy to' uphold the cause- of Australasia. This is most unjust. Heath plainly played extremely well to score as many games as he did against Parke with the latter in such splendid form, and it is doubtful if anyone in Australia outside Beookes would have done as well. Now that the Davis Cup is to go back to England there will probably be keener competition than ever for its possession. Australasia will no doubt again seek to bring it back to these parts, and America and France, and possibly South Africa, may also be regarded as certain to enter teams for next year's contest. On the whole the victory of the English team should serve to stimulate interest in, and prove beneficial to, the sport.

The advent in Wellington of a vocal artist of the eminence in the musical world of Madame Kirkby Lunn is a milestone in the. way of song. Music has many forms of expression,, but man has never devised anything' quite so beautiful for the expression of musical sound as the human voice. It may be trained to depict the entire gamut of the emotions, provided it be backed by an intelligence capable of feeling them, and each tone may bo coloured to depict _the precise meaning of the word or line being sung. It is at that point that the man-made instrument fails, and the power of divine song assumes its sway. And so it is that there is no music capable of moving the emotions like that of tho human voice in perfection. Great orchestras, and eminent violinists and pianists have often created enthusiasm, but never have they succeeded in evoking snch extraordinary demonstrations as arc recorded in favour of the voice. One has only to record the wonderful spell exerted by such singers as Louise Yiahdot, Malibkan, Jenny Lind, and Patti. Take the case of Jenny Lind, "the Swedish nightingale." When she was first taken to America by Mr. Barnum, on her arrival in New York (on Sunday, September 1, 1851) the whole waterfront was crowded with tens of thousands of people. Within ten minutes after her arrival at Irving House, the street before the hotel was blocked by some twelve thoUMiud people, and r<l midnight she .was serenaded ay the New Xiork

Musical Society, two hundred musicians strong, who were escorted along the streets by three hundred firemen bearing torches. Tho tickets for the first concert were sold at auction, and as Mr. Benedict escorted the fair singer on to the platform it is recorded that the entire audience rose to their feet and welcomed her with thrco cheers, accompanied by the waving of thousands of hats and handkerchiefs, and tho casting of bouquets before her. Towards the last portion of her opening solo the cavatina "Casta Diva," the audience was so completely carried away that the remainder of the air was drowned in a perfect tempest of acclamation. Path, Aluani, Tietjens, Giusi, among others, have possessed this rare power of.moving the heart of an audience. Tho powor to make the meaning of a song felt, to convey all the poetry, passion, grief, pity, gladness, and reverence in life is gi.ven to few.' ■ The world's critics have long ago placed Madame Kirkby Lunn among the foremost interpretive _ contraltos to-day before the public, but there is just a Blight doubt that the public of New Zealand might not soon enough realise this, as the names of the most prominent contraltos are not bo familiar in the mouths even of musical people to be as well known as are tho distinguished sopranos of the day. Why this is so, it is-difficult to say. Who, for example, in New Zealand, knows much of the artistic eminence of such notable performers as Madame Schu-mann-Heink or Madame Johanna Gadski? Yet they are, with Madame Kirkby Lunn, the greatest operatio contraltos of the present day. Tho visit of Madame Lunn, .following upon those of such fine artiste as Melba, Oalve, John M'Cormaox, Leonard Borwick and others, indicates that Australasia is becoming a possible touring ground for the best the world can offer, and with the financial success which has attended their visits, other great artists may be induced to come this way impelled by other than the spirit of adventure, which in the years gone by enabled us on rare occasions to enjoy_ the vieit of a player or singer of eminence in the artistic world.