NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 85, 5 January 1920, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY

The relatives of those who in the midst of this season of rejoicing so tragically lost their lives in Saturday's tramway accident will have the fullest sympathy of the public. The findings of the inquiry into the causes of the. accident will be awaited with great interest. The fainting or seizure of a motorman in charge of a tramcar is fortunately a rare occurrence, so rare that at first one is inclined to class it amongst the things against which no provision can be made save by periodical and stringent medical examination. At tho same time investigation is desirable into the, possibility of fitting some safety device that will automatically bring a car to a standstill when not under control. This aspect of the accident deserves the early attention of the tramway authorities. * » * * It is bad news in a dull world to learn that Louis m Hougemoxt lies seriously ill in London. Twentytwo years ago the amazing adventures'of M. de Rougejiont in tropical Australia were the sensation of the hour. In the pages of the Wide World Magazine, his truthfulness personally guaranteed by Sir George Neavnrr, and before the British Association with the grave and learned members of that body gathered about his feet, he described how'some thirty years before he was shipwrecked somewhere north of Port Darwin! He was rescued by clinging to the tail of his faithfill dog, which towed him ashore, and for twenty-eight years lived as a cannibal chief. He built a hut of pearl shells, trained turtles to carry him on their backs while swimming, dispatched messages by tin discs tied round the necks of pelicans, hunted the "flying wornhat," and on reaching the mainland found gold in such quantities that ho made his pots and pans of it. In reality, be Rouoemont had been a photographer in Sydney, a bootblack in Perth, and a faithhealer of sorts in New Zealand. His imaginary adventures in Australia were as nothing to his real ones in England. Everybody swallowed his story, geographers rushed to certify to his local accuracy, and the late Lord Duffbjiin, in unveiling the Cabot Memorial at Bristol, admiringly referred to _ him as a "fellow-vnlcr of _ Empire. - ' Probably no other man in modern times has made the wise, the learned, and the great look such very small beer as did this humorous old fraud. « a * » Tkf, benefits to be drawn by_ the unemployed under the new British Unemployed Insurance Bill are meagre—6s. a week for girls and 15s. "for men—but the measure marks a great, step forward from the unemployed donation scheme introduced after the armistice. Under that extraordinary arrangement all unemployed persons applying for it were presented with a donation of 255. a week for women and 295. for men. This sum could be drawn for any period of unemployment up to twenty-six weeks in the year. _ No work whatever was required in return. Tho result was that in the poorer-paid industries the workers rushed to take a prolonged holiday at the State's expense. Despite the army of officials employed to detect them, frauds were worked wholesale. One instance among many thousands was the discovery of a boy of fourteen nominally in business as a master-carrier owning six wagons, while his father, the previous owner, was an unemployed man receiving the State's 295. a week. The late scheme represented about the lowest depths of chaos to which war-time legislation descended. Its abandonment is another welcome indication of the gradual movement to sounder industrial conditions.

One of to-day's cablegrams supplies complete particulars of the state of parties in the _ Federal House of Representatives. It shows that the Nationalists hold 35 seats, Labour 20, and the Fanners 14. The Nationalists are thus short by three scats of an independent majority, but in combination with the Farmers they have a majority of 211. With all its efforts to trade on public discontent and to make profitable use of _ outside issues like the Irish question, the Caucus Labour Party has only increased by four its voting strength in the late Parliament. Superficially, a return has been made to tho> old three-party system in Federal politics, but it may be hoped that the actual ontnome of (lie election will be to encourage the development of legislation by unimpeded Parliamentary action and to limit Ministerial dictation.