NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 173, 18 April 1921, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY

There are many no donbt~who will regret the retirement of Mr. Hislop from the contest for the Mayoralty. Mr. Hislop had claims to support, but it was obvious that had ho persisted in his candidature the city ran a danger of a splitting of votes that might have resulted in a labour extremist Mayor being elected on a minority vote. This would have been unfortunate at any time, but in the present days of financial stringency it would be a calamity. Mr. Hislop and his friends have realised this, and this morning Mr. Hislop announces his own withdrawal. There are now left in the field only Mr. Wright and Mr. Hickey. This result is eminently satisfactory. Of the five non-Labour candidates who originally announced themselves it was generally agreed that Mr. Wright was likely to poll best, and that he should make a good and useful Mayor. His claim was therefore the strongest, but that was not to say the other candidates had not strong claims. Their withdrawal from the contest is a sacrifice in the general interest, and deserves to be applauded by all. It is tho right spirit, and it may be hoped th?a.t public appreciation of this fact will land Messrs. Hislop, Al'Kenzie, and Norwood at tho top of the poll as city councillors, for which office they have each agreed to submit themselves.

Nafional education to be really efficient needs the co-operation and interest of the parents. No matter how good a teacher may be, his or her work will be still better if it is backed up by intelligent support in the home. To-night householders are invited to assemble for the annual election of tho school committees. The committees, if they choose, can do a great deal of useful wo'rk in making their schools a pride to their district. Some of them seize their opportunities, but too many arc content to amble along in a perfunctory way with little heart in the work. Some of the annual reports of school committees published during the past few days show a most creditable record of work in the improvement of the schools and surroundings. A schoolhouse bright and pleasant inside, adorned with reproductions of famous pictures, and with wellkept grounds, is an asset to any district. As it is, far too many children in New Zealand still have to go to school in uncarloddor buildings, standing forlornly in the middle of clay patches. Enthusiastic school committees are needed to remedy this sort of thing, and parents by manifesting an interest in to-night s meetings can help the movement onwards. # # # /

A handsome gift to the city is the block of twelve acres on Wilton Road, presented by the Hon. C. H. Izard as a park and recreation ground. The valley running through from Wadestown to Karori is one of the pleasantest spots in the neighbourhood of the city. When the Wadestown tramway is continued through to junction with the Karori line, os before a great many years it will probably be, Wilton Road and the neighbourhood will become a populous and frequented district. The slopes along the roadside are sheltered and sunny, and if the Izard Memorial Park is taken in hand as Central Park has been of late years it should become a most attractive and beautiful spot. Wellington has not been overburdened with gifts of this sort, and our thanks are all the more due to those public-spirited citizens who do come forward with gifts for civic purposes. It is good to find those to whom fortune has bean kind here desir. ing to make their city a better and more beautiful place.

An unsolved mystery which made a great hubbub for several years is recalled by the murder of Sir Arthur Vicars, the principal figure in it. As Ulster King-at-Arms from 1893 onwards Sir Arthur Vicars had in his custody in the Heralds Office in Dublin tho Irish Crown jewels, worth about .650,000, and tho valuable insignia of the Order of SI. Patrick. By statute it was ordained that those should bo kept in a safe in the strong room of the office. A new strong room was built in 1903, and when it was completed it was found that the safe would not go through tho door. It was suggested that a piece of the wall might l>o taken out to admit it, but Sir Arthur Vicars thought this unnecessary, and the safe was put in tho library of the office, used chiefly as a waiting room. In the safe wore kepi (he Crown jewels, while in lhe strong room, in glass cases, not in safes as required, were many vain.

able articles. The office had two locks on its outer door, but was usually secured only by the latch, to which seven persons, including messengers and a charwoman, had keys. Four persons had keys to tho strong room. Tho key of the safe was kept in Sir Arthur Vicars’s waistcoat pocket. On June 11, 1907, ths Crown jewels were Inst seen intact in the safe. On the morning of July 6 tho charwoman found the strong room open with a key in the lock which she left on a blotting pad with a note saying she had found the door open. Nobody paid any heed to this occurrence. Later in the same day Sir Arthur Vicars had returned to him the collar of a deceased Knight of St. Patrick. He called a messenger, gave him the key from his pocket, and told him to place the collar in the safe. The messenger returned and reported that the safe was empty. To recover the vanished jewels commissions and inquiries eat, law suits innumerable followed, applications were made—unsuccessfully—for the arrest of the Viceroy, the Chief Secretary, the Lord Chief Baron, and another Judge, to say nothing of lesser fry; but all in vain, and this most perplexing mystery remains unsolved to this day.

The troubles of Mr. Hughes in Australie with his Parliamentary majority are not a very serious matter. With the Speaker left out the Ministerialists total 37 and the other parties 37 also. This naturally creates an awkward situation at times, and there is no guarantee that a party majority will come obediently to heel whenever required to ratify Ministerial action or affirm its policy. The real cleavage in Parliament and in the country, however, js between Labour and anti-Labour. Tn the Federal House of Representatives the Labour Party musters only 24 members in a Chamber of 75. The twelve members of the Country Party do not see eyo-to-eye. with Mr. Hughes by any means, but they immensely prefer him as Prime Minister to Mr. Tudor, Leader of the Labour Party. Their support they will sell to Air. Hughes as dearly as they can on behalf of tho rural interests. Air. Hughes naturally would like to have it as cheaply as possible, or at any rate to know in advance when he may expect it and when he may not. To thia end threats of Prinffe Ministerial resignation on adverse catch votes may be heard, but to these threats those who have paid any attention to Australian politics and the career of Mr. Hughea will not give tnuch heed,