FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1002, 19 June 1930, Page 10

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By

THE LOOK-OUT MAN.

OYS TER DAY Oysters are now being picked tor the opening of the Auckland season. We know a noisy noise annoys an oyster, And therefore it is fairly safe to say That raiders of the bivalves' rocky cloister , Are causing general havoc clown the : bay. For how should any oyster who has sjoent J a quiet summer Know that men will come a-picking with a bucket and a hammer? It really is unfortunate that creatures Whose lives have been protected by the Should have to leave familiar seaside features . And end by being cluttered in a crate. But this, we fear, means nothing to the city epicure Who waits beside the pepper-pot with vinegar and skewer: M.E. SUNDA Y BA TIREI) Famous fliers seem fated to rouse the ire of those who make it their business to prevent the desecration of the Sabbath. When Squadron-Leader Ivingsford Smith proposed to time his first flight across the Tasman so that he would arrive at Christchurch on Sunday, Mayor J. K. Archer, of that city, objected strenuously. “As far as I can see there is no need for it,’* he said. “The fliers have been hanging round Australia for weeks.” Whereupon Mr. Archer's popularity stocks dropped with a bump. As it happened the Southern Cross arrived on a Tuesday—September 11, 1928. Now, the point of this paragraph is that Amy Johnson has had exactly the same experience in Australia. So bitterly opposed were the view’s of Melbourne religious factions on the question of Amy’s arrival on Sunday last, that when arrangements were bung finalised a few days ago. it was decided jto make the trip on Monday. Mrs. ! Grundy is a queer woman. MACDONAU) There is an old-time glamour about the news from Scotland that three famous members of the Clan Macdonald have received the freedom of Inverness, capital of the Highlands. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, the Prime Minister; Mr. Stanley Baldwin, whose mother was a Macdonald, and Sir Murdoch MacDonald, Liberal M.P. for Inverness, made up the trio aiul represented tlie three chief branches of political activity in Britain. The Clan Macdonald is considered to be the oldest in Scotland, the founder being a grandson of one Somerled of the Isles, who died in 1164. In all there are about 60 Scottish clans. Their members have been scattered to the far corners of the earth, yet their hearts remain in the Highlands. Be he Donald, M’Donald, McDonald, or MacDonald, a good clansman will remain proud of the name of Macdonald. BLOWN FROM GUNS If cynics require any proof that the world is growing better and that men are becoming more humane, it is proj vided by the cable message from (Delhi which reports: “Very stiff senj fences were imposed on soldiers who were court-martialled on a charge of refusing to obey orders during the Peshawar disturbances. One man was sentenced to transportation for life, another to 15 years’ imprisonment . . Stiff though these sentences may be, they are mild beside the punishment meted out to disobedient troops in the Indian Mutiny days. Men found guilty were blown from guns, and an execution ■: this nature was described by the late Lord Roberts in his autobiography. in the presence of the regiment concerned the condemned men were tied with the centre of the backs firmly against the muzzles of field-guns. At a given signal the guns were fired. Obviously death was instantaneous, but the anticipation must have been particularly horrible. Fortunately the British Army regulations are now being purged of these more barbarous clauses. SEA SICE KING Old laws * die hard in England, whether they be those governing Army procedure and capital punishment or survivals of tlie queer . die s of long-dead kings. In the course of a recent address Dir. Hannen Swaffer, the well-known dramatic critic, who also has become ail ardent spiritualist, referred to the suppression of mediums by the laws of England and the fact that, in the letter of the law, persons taking part in a medium’s seance were also liable to arrest. The reason appeared to be that “many years ago a Scottish king, who came to England in search of a very comfortable job, installed himself in a palace in London, called himself James 1., and, being seasick one day while sailing in a boat, happened to hear that the waves had been made rough by witchcraft. There was then passed the Witchcraft Act. which was still in existence, although kings, he | believed, had left off being seasick.’’