NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 75, 22 December 1920, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

Somewhere ilwiiy back in tho remote arcs of tho past must have . lived ' the father of the misfortunes of sen travellers tho hrsfc man who cavo ship's steward a tip. It was* probably a Tory' casual gift with neither giver nor recipient realising ttiat (hey were in the presenco oj an occasion worthy to rank with Creasy's fifteen decisive battles of tho world. Ever since then succeeding generations of travellers and stewards have been held iu the fatal enslavement of the tip. This morning it is announced that in consequence of the stewards' striko Australian shipowners intend to abolish tipping. In New Zealand, tho tipping of ships' stewards was abolished by Arbitration Court award auite a number of yeais ago. Nobody travelling by sea seemed ever to bo in the least aware of this fact, and instances of stewards assisting passenrjefs with their baggage and scorning the profcrred coin still awnit record. People offer tips for, all sorts of reason?, and thero is no- doubt that the man wio takes up his bag and walks ashore without giving a gnltuity to anybody generally, does so with a shamefaced feeling. It is noticeable, however, that those who do give tins get less nnd less service in return for them as tho years roll on. There is everything to ■be said against the system and nothing for it, but its eradication is likely to tax eveh tho omnipotence of the Australian shipping companies.

Once more tramway fares in the city are to be advanced. The City Council approved tha inci'ease by a nafrow majority, and there seems to bo a strong fcelinpf that the expenditure side of the account would bear a closer overhaul than it liaA yet received. The sum required to make up the deficit is so large, howevor, that if it was obtained bv the uso of the prtming-knif<; it would probably only be by the provision of a very inferior service. The other alternative is to run the tramways at a loss and make good the deficit br increasing the rates. As there are in Tound figures 16,000 rateable properties in the city and only 8000 ratepayers if. is obvious that nearly half tho householders would have the increased rates passed on in the shapo of increased rents. The increases in such cases are usuallv more than the actual extra dfrnnnd made on the landlord, and this roundabout method of paying for the tramway service would be both extravagant, and inequitable. The users of the trams are the people who should pay. and there are very few of them who cannot afford to do so. At the same time it would be useful to have iiiorc detailed investigat : on of tho possibility of effecting economies in the wcrMng of the system without interfering with its ePicieney. This aspect of the matter appears to have been more cursorily dismissed than it deserves.

Although the earthquake shock in Argentina is reported as the most severe in South .America siilce 186S, there is no indication so fnr that it even remotely approaches the shocks of that year in severity. The casualties announced aro under 200. whereas the shocks of August 13 to August 15, 18C8, catlsed the loss of 25.000 lives, destroyed property valued ati £60,000,000, and rendered 30,000 people homeless. This disaster occurred in Peru and Ecuador, destroying the citics' of Arcquipa. Iquique, Tacna, aild Cherteha, and miiny small towns. Disastrous as was this shock, it sinka into relative insignificance beside the Messina earthquake of IMS, in which the 1093 of 77,283 lives • was officially recorded! • Mont Pelse, In Martinique, irt 1902, accounted for 30,000 lives. 11l the great earthquake of Lisbon in 1753 most of the houses and upwards of 50,000 of the inhabitants wore swallowed tip, whole streets disappearing in five minutes. This tragedy was eclipsed by the earth opening a.iid swallowing 106,000 people at Peking in 1731, while in one shock in Japan in 17011 some 200,000 people are said tD have perished. These latter figures need to be taken with, reserve as statistics were not a strong :poiut in Asia in those days. It is worth remarking that many English clergy in 1755 held thai Lisbon w«6 destroyed bccause the majority of its inhabitants were Roman Catholics, whilst the survivors attributed the disaster to their toleration of a few Protestant heretics in their midit.

To avoid a recurrence of the catastropho a number of these were baptised by force.

Last week Vhe Davis Cup players at Auckland were unfortunate enough to strike a patch of bad weather, and in consequence had very little opportunity for practice. News from Auckland, however, leaves little room for doubt tliaS when tho contest opens both teams will be in first-class condition, and sensational tennis is being looked forward to. Tho most interesting development that has to be noted up to the present is the recovery by the ex-world champion Brookes of something approaching his old form. During tho'war, Brookes spent some time with the Red Cross service in Mesopotamia, and this may. have accounted for t.'he loss of some of his oldtime snap and vigour. In double? play he has proved himself to bo as good as ever—which means i.u the forefront of the world's tennis—but his singles play had. fallen away chiefly through lack of staying power. Since his arrival in Auckland, however, he has picked up remarkably, and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility thatl he may feel equal to competing in the singles events. If this should prove to be the case the prospects of the Australasian t'enm should be improved, for Brookes is not likely to play in lihe singles unless he is convinced of his own' fitness. It is noteworthy that during the week-end the rival players have been getting in practice against one another, even Pattersou and Tilden playing in opposition. This is very unusual on tho (part of players oil the eve of so important a contest, and Ho doubt was accounted for by the fact that some of Ihe'players went off sightseeing ail Rotorua from Saturday to Monday. Tilden, the American champion, by the way, defeated Patterson somewhat easily in two practice singles On Saturday last, but it is safe to say that neither of flhe. players was fully extended.