"E. OF K."

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2328, 9 December 1914, Page 8

"E. OF K."

I' A STUDY 'OF THE WAR' LORD. ' ' ■■• '''•'■ -...' - '• ■• \"-'- .Mri'T. P. O'Connor, M.P., ; in the 1 current number of "Pearson's Magazine," .'i contributes an extremely interesting study of Earl Kitchener. In the course or this he says:—-"This man, who has fought such tremendous and historic battles and confronted great odds,'is yet a man who prefers a deal to a-struggle; and,'though he can be so' stern,.yet has a'diplomatic'tact that gets him, and his country out of'difficult hours.'.: The nature, doubtless, is complex,' and stern determination: and tenacity are part of it: but there is also the other side, which is much forgotten—especially by that class of writers which "has to describe human character as •ri&'Hiv- symmetrical, and un-. natural'y b'a'injbniou.i . ■ . "There is another popular mistake about Lord 'Kitchener: that grimness which. is undoubtedly there has. been supposed to mean absence'of all humour. His friends will tell you that the sense of humour is never absent; that instinctively and inevitably, he sees the' humorous side of' in _ the most serious situations. With this 6ense of humour there is theldve of a joke.at a, frierid!s..easy expensefH 'But,' said : an- .intimate of "his : 'oh' :thi's ■• point, "I never' heard him utter a joke that could leave .a-sting,' ,;'. ' _ -}.^ ; "What, then,* is. ; th'e- real Kitchener';' what ; lies- at; tne/.-root 'of his; nature; what is the explanation, of tho_ extraor- I dinary things ho hasdoue and-is-doing?-

I go: back first,to.his father, as a. light thrown, on his' career. A retired,' officer, .English, by birth, a visitor to Ireland' almost by accident."Ho 'Settles down on an; estate in . Kerry. This soldier buys more land; improves it, sells it at.an advantage; in short, he makes order out of chaos, and makes: moiioy where his predecessors had lost their all.""".-'.---'-''-.'.-. , ; ■'•. .-.'.' ..' ■/.' Turning to, Lord Kitchener's presentpost, Mr. .O'Connor says:—"He .sits down .at his' desk. at the: War. Office .for. about ten hour's >a day;' . but ■: he sits, there calmly, isn't' ringing 'at'.'beUs and shouting "down pipes'; -he does! it' all' soquietly that. if. seems:' mere ", pastime, and .the effect .of -this ; perfect ; tranquil-, lifcy produces an: extraordinary'result on thosewho work with him.

- "A great Soldier' certainly, 'but. perhaps a greater organiser than anything else; \ This ;is his - supreme .quality, and for that quality there' is necessary above all clear, penetrating brain. At school ho- was celebrated for his knowledgo' of .mathematics, and especially jFoc-'iiis phenomenal' rapidity in dealing: with' figures, l and it was not accident- thit.sb; truly. a rscientific : mind, found. its'natural .place in the Engineers. A'/matheinatician, an engineer, a man of . science,; a great accountant—tlic-so thing's he: lias been in' all his enterprises. It was :theso qualities' that enable him to make .that -astounding railway which brought Cairo into touch 'with tie Khalifa. •' '. '.'lt is fortunate for. our nation that the great office on which. so much of our safety and repute depends in.,this solemn-hour of .struggle should have'as its head'a : man who comes to it with the stamp of absolute fitness from the ■ di-. vine and unerring hand'of Nature."

j Amateur opera is flourishing in. the provincial .:tpims. v as, tho result of the infrequ'ericyof..', visits: from professional, companies. : At; New-Plymouth . last .Thursday "San Toy" .Was produced successfully, with Mrs. Johnston (nee Miss Winnie Biroh, : !of. Wellington) in the title role, i Miss E. Bennett was Dudley, and Mrs. Dell appeared as ; Poppy Preston, i Captain Bobby Preston.was played by Mr,...Geo. V. Lambert, Mr. W. M'Ewan was Li, and Mr. A. Gray figured as Yen How.' Mr. E. N. Renand was the;conductor, and Mr. R. Hill- . Johnson stage manager. At Inglewood the same' evening "Dorothy" was prdouced, with the following cast Dorothy Bantam, Miss L. Laing; Phyllis, Mrs. Harold Thomson ; Wilder, Mr.' A. Hyhes; Sherwood, Mr. G. E. Beadle; Squire Bantam, Mr. Harold Thomson; Lurcher, :Mr. S. R! Darlow; Mrs.- Privett,' Mr. H. C. Williams,; Lydia Hawthorne, Miss I. Sutheiland; Tom Strutt, Mr. F. Price; John Tuppitt; Mr. L. Sutherland. i-'.A Ohristchurch tobacconist got a surprise on. Saturday when opening up a. case of wax vestas. Ho found, right in the middle of the case, one solitary little; box, the contents of which had been ignited. The top of the box was charred, and the blown paper wrapping which surrounds each dozen boxes was burnt'. through, but the other boxes in the wrapper were practically untouched by fire. The case in which tho matches arrived was an airtight one, a soldered zinc casing lining the box. It is said that some other brands of matches are packed in unlined wooden cases, and the question arises as to what would happen were a box to ignite in such a case. It is not unusual'for several hundred gross of these, vestas to' be'.stowed together in a ship's hold, and as they are explosive, if even only mildly so, the possibility of ignition seems to suggest a risk which the shipping fratornity should not overlook.

~ During the latter end of October beef bullocks to the value of over £10,000 were disposed of by graziers in the To Puke, Paengaroa, and Pougakawa dis.tricts.