NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1807, 21 July 1913, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

-9 '■ In commenting on the Grey election, the Wellington organ of the anti-Reform party states that Mn. Michel has "this advantage in a democratic constituency that he had repeatedly stood as a Liberal many of his personal friends who voted for him regarded him as a Liberal, and voted accordingly." This is quite true. To put the matter plainly, Mr. Michel is a Liberal in the best sense of tho word, and it is just because he is a. Liberal that he is fighting under the banner of Reform against the effete and utterly impotent band of anti-Reformers who form the present leaderless Opposition. Now that their candidate is out of the running, they are desperately endeavouring to claim Mil. Webb as their man. They now declare that he is "soundly democratic in his views," and "stands for progressive legislation." If he is all this in their opinion, what possible justification had they in putting up the strongest candidate they could get to defeat a man whose "success means the triumph of democracy" 1 How transparently insincere such tactics are! Mn. Webb and his Federation have rejected with contempt the overtures of the "discredited and useless fragments of the Liberal organisation, and yet these very "fragments" are vainly endeavouring to assure the public that tho Federation candidate is one of themselves. Whatever the result of the second ballot may be, it cannot alter tho fact that the electors of Grey have no confidence in the present Opposition. Complaint has reached us of slackness in the quarantine arrangements made in connection with the isolation of the premises in which the domestic servant of a member of Parliament was found to be suffering with smallpox. Our correspondent suggests that the Health Department is strict enough with unfortunate Natives who happen to have been living anywhere in or near a Native settlement where the disease has made its appearance, and in the interests of the public insists that the same precautions should be taken where Europeans are concerned. It is possible of course that the facts as placed before us are exaggerated, but we would suggest to the officers of the Health Department that it is not only their duty in such cases • to make known what safeguards are necessary, but to eee that they are given full effect to. To-day the rowing championship of the world will be contested on the river Thames.i For a great many years this championship has' been practically a colonial possession, Australia, Canada and New Zealand all holding it in turn, and since the defeat of Arnst by Barry, the latter has had very little breathing time left him by challengers from overseas. He quickly disposed of the Canadian aspirant, and in a most sportsmanlike spirit then accepted tne challenge of Harry Pearce, then champion of Australia. Pearce, .who has been in England about two months preparing for the race, is a very fine oarsman, but on his past performances has "hardly the skill and certainly not the staying power of Barry. Arnst beat him with a good deal to spare, but Arnst then was at his best, which he was not when Barry beat him. It is possible that Pearce may have improved during the past year, critics say he has, and it is certain that he will not fail for want of careful training. He is a most conscientious worker, and having gone to England fully alive to the strength of his opponent and also thoroughly warned as to the necessity of making himself as fully acquainted as possible with the moods and peculiarities of the Thames course, he can be relied on to have made the most of the time at his disposal in London. He may win, for he is a splendid waterman as well as a powerful oarsman, and the Thames course should > not trouble him as much as it did Arnst, but the champion has had a lifetime's cxpcricnce of the course, and is a great stayer. Pearce will' pro-

bably be in front for the greater part of the journey, for he is very fast in the earlier stages of a race. Whether he can keep in front over the last mile is another matter. The immigration problem is just now receiving serious attention in the United States. ft is not merely a question of restricting the Japanese influx, but the general effect of the increase of tin; foreign elements in the population under consideration. A cablegram which we published in Saturday's issue states that a Bill has been introduced with the object of preventing the entry during any one year of more than ten per cent, of tho number already in 'the country of any one nationality. It appears that during recent times the class of immigrant has changed for the worse. There Jias been a very marked falling-off in the number of arrivals from Northern Europe. These people make farmers and settlers of the best kind, and have played an important part in the development of the nation's resources. For various reasons this stream has been in a large measure diverted to other lands, and the much desirable stream from South and Eastern Europe is increasing in volume at a somewhat alarming rate. These South Europeans consist mostly of unskilled labourers from the congested quarters of large cities, and they are bringing down the wages of the same class of American workmen. Bishop Brent, who recently crossed the Atlantic as a steerage passenger, in order to observe the conditions among these emigrants, has_ formed ] a very unfavourable opinion of them. In an interview with a representative of the Washington Post, he states that they are "indescribably filthy and without the first instincts of common decency." He thinks it is time the United States Government took some action "to bar these scavengers, the filth of the lands from which they come." He praises highly the British and Scandinavian emigrants as "clean, orderly, and welf-behavcd," and a class that should be welcomed. There, is a strong and growing feeling_ that restrictive legislation is becoming a necessity. The case for the shareholders of the Bank of New Zealand is clearly and forcibly set out in a letter to the Minister for Finance from the shareholders' representatives on the Board of Directors, which we publish this morning. Messrs. _ Kennedy and Watson in their review of the •happenings following on the State first rendering assistance to the Bank have been able to demonstrate that tne shareholders have very distinct claims to consideration at the hands of the State, and they have used to the best advantage the facts which support their argument that the State should no longer insist on tho dominance it has held in the control of the Bank's affairs. It is satisfactory to note that it is frankly rccogniseu by the shareholders' directors that' the State is entitled to continue to exercise such supervision over the management of the Bank as will afford some guarantee that the country will not be called on to come to the rescue of the institution a second time. Naturally Messrs. Kennedy and Watson have not dwelt unduly on the services rendered to' the Bank by the State, but, apart from that weakness, their letter is a valuable contribution, and must prove i of material assistance in enabling the Government and Parliament to arrive at a just conclusion in dealing with a matter of far-reaching, importance. A short Bill introduced in the House of Representatives by the Minister for Justice last week should prove a very useful and welcome addition to the Statute Book. Its purpose is to remedy, to some extent, the confusion which exists at pre r sent in our statute law owing to the numerous amending Acts in existence. An Act is passed, and as tho years go by amending Acts find their way on to the Statute Book, and the searcher after legal knowledge is liable very often to overlook some of tho minor amendments, and so be misled as to the law. The Bill introduced by Mr. Herdman provides that in certain cases where amendments are made to an Act the whole statute will be reprinted with the amendments shown. This will enable anyone to see how the law stands regarding a given question, _ from the perusal of the one statute instead of having to look up the original Act and tnen carefully compare it with the amending measures. Members hailed the proposed change with great unanimity. The latest American papers record the death of Professor C. A. Briggs, who made for himself_ a world-wide reputation as a Biblical scholar. He was a distinguished exponent of the Criticism in clays when its methods were not so widely accepted as they are now. Some of his views caused alarm in the Presbyterian Church, and in 1892 he was tried for heresy, for certain statements regarding the Old Testament. As a result he joined the Protestant Episcopal Church. Biblical criticism has moved so rapidly in recent years that the opinions for which Dn. Briggs was then so keenly assailed are now regarded by many as quite conservative. Referring to his death the New York Outlook states: "Most of the men who have taken his course in Union Theological Seminary would be willing to state that there was no one in the faculty of that institution 'who impressed his students.as being more conservative in temperament and in ideas than Dr. Briggs. The contribution which he has made to Biblical scholarship is large and lasting. He had a knowledge of the Hebrew that very few men have attained. His books are recognised by scholars in all languages as works of great value and as eminent among the scholarly productions' of his time." The situation in China has become exceedingly grave. The trouble is the outcome of the rivalry between the North and the South and the high-handed policy of the President, "Yuan-Shi ii-Kai, whosc_ object appears to be to create a dictatorship. Cabinet has resigned, and a. revolutionary President has been proclaimed. Fighting is now going on in which Japanese officers are assisting the rebels. The struggle has practically resolved itself into a 'trial of strength between the President And Parliament. Referring to the President's plans the Shanghai correspondent of the London Daily News recently wrote: "He is far older than the vast majority of his enthusiastic but very youthful opponents and infinitely wiser. He has gone through many crises since tho coup d'e.lnt of IS9B, when tho formidable Empress-Dowager over-

throw tho Ejiperor Kuang Hsu. He knows his countrymen to perfec- j tion. To the vast majority of them , ho is in all probability already Em- < peror. He is tho one man in China on whom the Powers pin their faith. I But there is not a man who knows 1 what is at the back of his mind. To- J day he lives in the palace of the fal- , len dynasty. If he ventured out his life would not be safe for twenty paces beyond the treble line of guards that ring his abode. Will he risk the coup d'etat which some watchers anticipate 1 Has he a plan ? Or is he still tho great opportunist waiting for something to turn up, as China also waits?" South China supports tho Kuomintang party, which includes the original revolutionary leaders and the Republican Unionists headed by Sun Yat Sen. The North is the stronghold of Yuan-Shih-Kai and his supporters, whose main plank is tho creation of a powerful central Crovcrnment. The Northern party are the Conservatives, whereas the Southern section is largely compose'cl of the more progressive spirits who are generally spoken of as "Young China." LOCAL AND GENERAL. «i On Saturday it was anticipated from a wireless message received by tho postal authorities that the Wimmera, with Eng r lish (via Suez) and Australian mails, would arrive at Auckland from Sydney at about 2 p.m. yesterday. Lato yesterday afternoon, however, another "wireless" was received stating that tho steamier had run into a heavy fog off the coast, and did not expect to arrive until a late hour last night or early this morning. Consequently tile Wellington portion of her mails cannot arrivo here until to-morrow's Main Trunk express. For the purpose of making plain to tho public the route to bo followed by north and south-bound cars through tho city, the Tramways Board has decided that every car proceeding by way of Cuba end Vivian Streets will carry a white disc inscribed with a big black "V," and cars traversing tho Jervois Quay section are to be similarly identified with a big "J" suspended in front. Cars without the initial "V" in front will be understood to travel by way of Courtenay Place. People who ventured a trip to Lyall Bay yesterday were rewarded with • a somewhat unusual sight. During the afternoon two large whales were seen disporting themselves in the sea close to tho rocks opposite the corporation quarry on the western side of the Bay. At one time they were within fifty yards of tlie shore, where their movements were watched by mi interested number of spectators. Ono wlio saw them states that the larger one of tho two must have been at least 50 feet in length. Yesterday afternoon. tho Yen. Archdeacon Fancourt dedicated a new. font at St. Cutlibcrt's Church,'Borhampore, in tho presence of tu large congregation of parents aud children. Tho font, which is of a c'hasto design, was made by Mr. llelyer, of Manners Street, and is of Oamaru' stone. Tho money 'for the font was collected by the children ,of St. Cuthberfs Sunday ' School, tho whole amount being collected in a few weeks. Tho dedication service commenced with a processional hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers." Tho Von. Archdeacon of Wellington was assisted by the near, flip Rev. W. Fancouirt, and the Rev. W. H. Walton. The choir was augmented by members of St. Thomas's Choir. After the dedicatory prayers, tho archtkacon baptised the first baby in the new font. The servico was concluded with the hymn, "Wo aio Soldiers of Christ," after which the arch-ck-acon gave the blessing. After purchasing the font a fair balance is in hand for the purchasing of a set of communion vessels for use at St. Cuthberfs Cliurchroom. At a meeting of tho combined executives of the Now Zealand National League and thra Wellington National Schools' Defenco Leaguo held on Friday evening last, it was decided, on tho motion of Professor Hunter, that the officers of tho New Zealand! league arrange a dato sonio weeks hence for a deputation of representatives of educational bodies, churches, and other organisations throughout New Zealand opposed to the objective of tho Bible-iu-Schools League, to wait upon tho Prime Minister and Minister for Education. The idea is that the deputation should urge the Government to submit the question of Bible in State schools to a referendum or plebiscite, and, if need be, to demonstrate the injustice and inexpediency of determining such an. issue by such iueans. Tho Manawatu branch of the P. and T. officers has (says our special correspondent) been presented by Mr. E. M'Nab with a framed photograph, which is of peculiar historical, interest. It is a reproduction of un advertisement from tho Now Bedford "Mercury" of July 20, 1835, relating to the departure of the first mail from the United States for New Zealand. The vessel was this Samuel Robertson, and the master was Captain M'Kcnzie. She was advertised as duo to leave for "tho South Atlantic Ocean and New Zealand 011 August 5, 1835." Tho notice states that "all letters aud packets forwarded to the 'Mercury' offico free of postage for Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans' will bo dispatched at the first opportunity." Excellent progress is being made with the erection of the now Grand Opera House in Manners § Street. The front elevation has been given a cement finish, and is practically completed, with tho exception of work to be done in connection with the balcony which is to serve as an al fresco promenade for dress circle patrons. The interior of the building is darkened by a maze of scaffolding that is being used in connection with the roof, coiling, and gallery construction. The steel supports for the dress circle are already in positiou, and those for the gallery are now being erected. The linlustra'ding of the boxes is now being built. In regard to the boxes it is noted that the modern idea of placing the twin dress circle boxes on 'slightly different levels has been adopted. The lower boxes are on the same level. Another three months' work should see- the new theatre well on towards completion.

A young man was arrested by Detoctivo Lewis yesterday, on a charge of breaking and entering and stealing a suit of clothes. Tho alleged offence is said to have been committed in Wellington on July 11. Tho Adeline Genee season in Wellington will extend from September 21 to October 4. To have one of the greatest dancers in the world associated with some of tho leading Royal Ballerinas of Russia in Wellington for nine nights will doubtless bo hailed with delight by all who take the least interest in the higher forms of dramatic dancing—dancing of tho kind that has never been witnessed in New Zealand, save in the form practised in the old days by the Maoris.