TOPICS OF THE TIMES

Southland Times, Issue 18852, 18 June 1920, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE TIMES

Lord Forster, whose appointment as Governor-General of Australia is announced, is a peer of recent creation. He represented Sevenoaks. Kent, from 1592 to IT IS, and at the last election was returned for Hromley as a Coalition Unionist. He joined Mr Asquith’s Coalition Ministry at the reconstruction in 1915 as Financial Secretary of the War Office and continued in that office under Mr Lloyd George, becoming Parliamentary and Financial Uecir of War and Air after the last election. He was one of the Junior IxmE of the Treasury from 1902 to 1905, under Mr Ea! four's administration, and has served as a finance member of the Army Council since 1915, He is 54 years of age. and some 20 years ago was prominent in the cricket world, representing Hampshire County on occasion. The cabled announcement of his appointment states that he played against the Australians, and this is probably correct, though he never figured in a t-ek match. lie has, however, taken part in some of the historic matches Gentlemen v Players. Now that the Admiralty has given New Zealand a Governor-General it seems quite appropriate that the War Office should have its turn and do a like service for Australia.

Italy is determined to retain her hold on a wonderful and quite dead past and to be satisfied with progress that does not progress unduly. The Italian Government hue just issued on order that excludes women from some 50 classifications of government employment. It is affi-med that the Italians. holding “conservative views on the appearance of women in public life,” are alarmed at the possible extension of feminism in their country and are now taking steps wise ns the above to prevent it. But it would not be fair for the suffragist of northern countries to blame the Italians for this, as the northerner does not understand to what extent the harem idea obtains in Latin countries. The Mohommadan regard for women is not particularly flattering and the Italian is merely too polite to go as far. Therefore it is that the curious tradition has grown up in Italy, or has been handed on to it from the East, that the woman is best kept in a pen or compound, and is not to think very much.

Every now and then some unruly Italian woman breaks out into a thinking spell, to the grief of the conservative Italian male and the horror of the traditionalist. It is reassuring to see, however, that the Italian Government, with a stern sense of duty and an heroic scorn of the minority, is going to rally round the harem tradition, a tradition that sheds a lustre as splendid upon the Latin man as it does upon the Latin woman.

Major-General Gorgas, who will be remembered for his work in connection with the eradication of fever in the Panama workings, has been in Peru planning a campaign against yellow fever there. “Once the yellow fever is stamped out Peru will make wonderful strides,” said General Gorgas. “The people there are awake to the needs of progress.”