CURRENT TOPICS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 46, 22 January 1938, Page 8

CURRENT TOPICS

(By “Wayfarer.”)

United States Government official* say that the home at night is the most dangerous place in _ the world. Any husband who has tried to creep in at 3 a.m. will back this up.

Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Chinese Republic, on whose vast mausoleum the Japanese flag is reported to have been placed, figured in a famous diplomatic incident of the ’nineties. . After the failure of an abortive plot to start a rebellion in Canton, Sun Yat-sen fled to London, shadowed by agents of the Chinese Government. In 1896 he was either kidnapped by servants of the Chinese Legation in London, or went to the Legation voluntarily, and was there detained. In any case he was kept a prisoner there until he managed to smuggle out a note to a British friend. . Scotland Yard and the Foreign Offlee were communicated with. Finally Lord Salisbury, “on becoming aware of the action of the Chinese Minister in detaining the Chinaman Sun i atseu, requested that the man should forthwith be released.” In 1896, when Lord Salisbury requested,’’ mere diplomats . complied. Sun Mpt-sen was set at liberty..

The forthcoming Antarctic cruise by the auxiliary schooner Westward has produced the assertion that this will be the first trip of its kind to be made under sail. Many people, indeed, have an impression that cruising is a modern invention, started by shipowners an a means of employment for their vessels during the slack periods of their normal services. Actually the history of cruising goes back nearly a century. Even in 1843, during the early days of steam navigation, the P. and O. Line were inviting passengers to ship in their Tagus for a cruise to the Black Sea. Two years later a cruise round in the world m a sailing-ship was organised by Sloman, the German shipowner. In 1850 an American syndicate built the clipper Jenny Lind for special voyages, of which the first was to be to London for the Hyde Park Exhibition of 1851. In this case, however, financial troubles intervened, and the Jenny Lind had her name amended to Nightingale for the China, tea trade. Readers of Mark Twain’s “Innocent* Abroad” will remember that it wus based on his cruise to the Mediterranean and Holy Land in the paddle steamer Quaker City, while Mr Gladstone’s friendship with Sir Donald Currie led him to embark on a trip to Norway in a new Castle liner without securing leave of absence from the Queen, resulting in a strong rebuke when he reached home again.

New hope for farmers and others who fear drought in the summer is afforded by a Hungarian claim that rain can be produced, (at a cost of 2id for watering one acre) by creating fires on the surface of lakes, rivers, or canals. The claim is supported by observations that volcanic outbreaks, factory fires, and so forth are usually followed by rain. Optimism of that sort is considerably damped (though not with rain) when it is remembered that In order to bring down as little as one-hun-dredth of an inch of rain over an area of a hundred square miles a body of air containing 650,000 tons of water vapour must be raised from the earth’* surface, says an overseas commentator. Perhaps the use of an ignited water surface will be more productive than that favourite .rainmaker of ignorant theorists—detonation. M. AngoT, head of the French Meteorological Service, once calculated that it would need the detonation of 21,750 tons of melinite to produce a single millimetre of rain over a square mile—which would be rather more expensive than the farmers of any country could afford. But rainmaking is taken very seriously by many scientific people. In 1932 the U.S.S.R. created an Institute of Artificial Rain, with five research branches, which made extensive experiments in the artificial creation of clouds and subjecting those vapours to the influence of rontgen and ultraviolet rays and high-pressure electrical currents. No very promising results have emerged from this scheme as yet. Some little success has been obtained now and again by dropping such things as ice and powdered kaolin on rainclouds already present. But the main difficulty is to create the clouds.

King George II of Greece, who has been paying a round of visits in European capitals, has been described as “an honorary Londoner,” in recognition of the time lie has spent there, and his affection for the British capital. He speaks fluent English. The King is a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria. ■ His ancestry is largely German, but he has spent only a short time in that country. In. 1909 lie was attached to the first regiment of the Prussian Guard in Berlin, and because-of this service the French opposed his becoming King of Greece during the World War. So George’s younger brother, Alexander, was King until his passing in 1920. When on the Throne ol Greece for the first time, 1922-24, George II had virtually no power. Undoubtedly he found the social life he led during his subsequent exile in London far more to his taste. He was a great success in Mayfair, always to be seen at Ascot in the Royal 1 Box, and generally “about town.” He is recognised as a great sportsman, and, like ex-King Alfonso of Spain, was often seen at "Wimbledon.

George II became very well known during his long exile in London. He showed that he disliked being alone, especially at meal time. But he had little occasion to do this, as every hostess was anxious to have a King included “among those present.” The King found the most trying part of his life in London to be the publicity he received. If he went to a fashionable restaurant lie was immediately conducted to the most conspicuous seat. He was thrilled when one hot evening a party of three people with whom he was dining decided to motor out to a roadhouse. At the first place he was not allowed into the dining room • because he was not in evening dress, and, at the second he was placed at the back of the room, hidden by a large palm. The West End shops were surprised when this exiled King insisted on paying cash over the country for any purchases lie made. But he always said, quite firmly, that he could not afford to run up bills. George II is a handsome man, always well dressed, slim and with an excellent carriage. He is a good ballroom dancer.