CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 198, 30 November 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

VIOLENT WOMEN.

Apropos of the Suffragettes and Mr. j Birrell (who has gone to bed as a re- 1 suit of an assault by women who want votes), it is interesting to know that "suffragetting" at Home is not confined to a few violently masculine women, who made mistakes in not being born male hoodlums. Writing from London to a '•News'' man a friend mentioned that he witnessed a parade of Suffragettes in the great city. '"I did not know,'' he said, "that there were so many women in the world.'' The peculiar thing about the imfeminine attacker of the politicians and police is that although they glory in smashing policemen and sending politicians to hospitals, they wail femininely enough when, "in the execooti'n of me dooty," a policeman happens 'to give them an extra twist. Tile average policeman would much rather deal with one and a-half violent men than a small violent woman, because the spirit of chivalry beats under the blue tunic as surely as it beats beneath the orders of a peer. The violent Suffragette is at present in a state of wild an<*er because the police are ordered to do°their duty. We were lately treated to a particularly feminine suffragette "argument" per cable. The lady, probably as a reason why women should get votes, remarked that the policemen were the most bloated persons she had ever seen. It would have been equally reasonable for the lady to have suggested that women should have votes because politicians had corns on their feet. The most violent of the Suffragettes are obviously of the leisured, wealthy, titled and idle classes. The position of these women is very frequently pathetic. Wealth has given them a chance to try every sensation obtainable for gold, and '-suffragetting" is a real boon to them in new sensations. One can imagine that my lady is sick of the Riviera, hates motoring, has had the yacht laid up, has even tired of bridge, hobble skirts, the Derby, shooting parties,' slumming, scandal and other fashionable devices for killing time and destroying ennui. One can almost sympathise with the joy of a bored countess, who has nothing more to live for when she is invited to accompany another bored person on a policeman-maiming tour, or to proceed to Westminster to throw stones at a few Ministers. The methods of aristocratic Suffragettes at Home have simply amazed factory girls, the "Arriets" of Siorediteh and "Lizas" of Lambeth, by their methods. But they must not he hurt . They must be gently persuaded to Holloway by kind words. The Billingsgate fish porter who "resisted and tore me uniform" would be given a "frog's march''—but my lady of Dustshire—ye gods!

BOXING. Physical conflict between man and man is as old as the earth's history. It is as much an instinct as the eating of food or'the drinking of moisture. The chief end of the natural man is to slay his enemy and his food. The natural woman took pride in the prowess of her husband or master or owner—for times have changed in regard to sex relations. Boxing is one of the few survivals of natural love for man-to-man conflict, and on the whole it is an apologetic method of showirg that man have not lost their instinct for fighting. Possibly a modern combat with well-padded mittens would be regarded as the richest jest by the Greek or Roman athlete, who took the ring with "gloves" studded with sharp iron spikes and generally left the ring for the cemetery. Our forefathers might have smiled a good deal at the prodigious conflict thai took place between Johnson and Jeffries, which was likened by the Times to a very mild cab accident, 'for our forefathers were rather fond of breaking each other's heads with oaken staves, laying each other out with quarterstaves, and pushing holes through steel head pieces with heavy spearsall for fun. In time of war or revolution the mild city dweller regains his instinct to slay or maim. In times of peace nowadays, happily, the primal passions are actionable. The police are called on with great frequency to prevent the hurting of a prize-fighter, and is better so, seeing that when necessity arises for displays of brute force the average man becomes primal enough for all purposes. To demonstrate how the average man loves conflict—not necessarily as one of the rivals, however—it is only necessary to remembers that few buildings are large enough to hold the men who assemble to witness a "real good go." The spectator who may never have struck an angry blow in his life is frequently disappointed if the quality of the punishment is not up to' the standard dictated by his ambition. Boxiwr as an exercise in self-control, activity, quickness of eye and skill, is, everyone will agree, most useful. Good boxing as an exhibition for the masses is exhilarating, if it is kept within the limits demanded by modern decency. Happily the public exhibitions that New Zealand has been favored with during the past few years have been free from unpleasant episode, on account of the control exercised. There seems to be every prospect that the series of bouts arranged to take place in New Plymouth to-night will be of great interest as expositions of the science of self-defence. The local Boxing Association, modelled on others which have controlled successful exhibitions elsewhere, have been at some pains to select the best exponents, and to ensure that the management shall be good. In every New' 'Zealand town where such tournaments have been carried on under proper auspices, they have been highly successful, and there is no doubt that the local display will be equally so.

THE HATPIX. In Berlin the exaggerated hatpin 'has been attracted by the police, and one conies to the conclusion that the Berlin police are benefactors to society. Last year in London (where there are a number of people) an unfortunate man in a crowd had his eye poked in and destroyed by a protruding spike which kept a lady's hat secure. A theatre riot occurred in Milan a white ago, owing to the prevalence of the •'matinee hat," for the ladies of Milan, after ages of beautiful hatlessness, suddenly decided to cover their incomparable hair with something far less beautiful. The cable of the time said: "The women used their hatpins freely and with disastrous effect." Tn Paris a woman murdered a man with the fir.st weapon available—a hatpin. All this before the advent of the "hobble skirt," the atrocious hat that begins in this street and ends in the next, and the hatpin of a size that would be useful as a meat-skewer on a large occasion. One recent pictorial ''skit" is illuminating. A lady visits a friend and finds the wall decorated with crossed weapons. '•I didn't know," said the visitor, "that yon wont in for fencing." "Those are not foils" replied the hostess. "Those are. my new hatpins!" Modesty forbids New Zealand women from wearing hatpins of a greater length, than nine or ten inches, but, it will he admitted that even so small a tiling if made of tempered steel is not a pleasant, thing to meet. The average potion docs not complain of being' poked in the. face with a steel -umbrella point or pushed on" the footpath with a go-cart, tickled with the projecting end of a four-feet feather, or clasped by the dancing end of a feather boa. But the ei'ghteen-inch. 'hatpin of fine

would naturally disturb the equanimity of the Berlin police, whose sabres are sheathed sometimes and are never longer than 3 feet 6 inches anvhow.