CURRENT TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 246, 23 February 1911, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS

REFRESHING. Admiral Sir William Kennedy has been visiting New Zealand and has made the startling confession that "one cannot 'do' the Dominion in six weeks." Persons of half the Admiral's years, a quarter of his powers of observation, one one-eighth of liis experience, have not only "done" New Zealand in less than six weeks, but have written books about it blaming it from keel to topmast and from North to South. Apparently the thin-skinned traveller who believes that all persons whose services he may purchase should approach him on all fours, with their waistcoats well in the dust, horrify potential tourists at Home by saying that we as a people are not respectful enough to them. It is possible for a Duke to be respectful to a dustman, and not uncommon. The people who blame New Zealanders for insolence or incivility are almost invariably themselves uncivil and insolent. The New Zealander has no quarrel with the imported gentlemen, but happily he refuses to prostrate him- ! self to the man whose claim to the title merely exists in his own brain. "I was told," said the Admiral, "that I might meet with impertinence from some classes, but I have not seen'it. Everywhere there is civility, never servile, buv free-and-easy independence. And why not? Take 'em as you find 'em, the New Zealanders are a fine, manly race, and a credit to the land they live, in." If a hard-bitten old sea-dog like Sir William Kennedy, who entered the Navy in •1851, and conformed to and exacted its rigid discipline, exonerates us from the accusations of Hying tourists—very good. The New .Zealander, thank goodness, is not paralysed into a state of trembling obeisance by the sound of a name or the jingling of a full purse. The man of deeds will get infinite respect from every soul in these islands, but the haughty drone who goes through life bored to death with amusing himself is not yet understood. It is hoped that Sir William Kennedy, who is a vivid writer, will be able to tell British folk that although they cannot expect every person in New Zealand to pull his forelock, they may be able to get a "fair deal."

"STEWING IN THE JUICE." Sentimentally, it is a sound assumption that if Britain can assist her colonies by favoring their. products she should do so. Practically, however, Imperial pre-' ference and reciprocity i between Mother Country and dependencies means that Britain must throw Freetrade overboard. We are told that there is a newspaper war on the subject in the Old Country, and, naturally enough, the .Protectionist Press' which lacks convincing argument, is annoyed that the "fuller veto" should have confronted the aspirations of the dominions which want preference from Britain. One paper takes the position that the colonics which desire Britain to destroy her Freetrade sheet-anchor have at last disgustedly agreed to let Britain go on making her fortune, and have decided to let "Cobdenism stew in its own juice." By the way, this Cobden juice is particularly rich, and Asquith, Lloyd-George and Churchill, who still control the situation, having "banged, bolted and barred" the door against a discussion on Imperial preference at the coming Colonial Conference, are supposed in.some mysterious way to be antagonistic to the Empire. Curiously enough, while, Britain is blamed for opposing the stupendous change that would come under protection and for not consenting to heavily burden her own people, no one is found to blame the colonies which seek preference for not following in Britain's footsteps and in instituting Freetrade. If it could be shown that Britain by taxing its world-wide foreign 'customers in favoring her oversea relatives by reciprocity, would not disturb international relations and would, further, not hurt her own people, the sneers of the anti-Cobdenitcs might be justified. Shortly, Britain is asked to disturb her commercial relations with all her foreign customers for the sake of dominions which hava larger markets than they can supply already. She is asked to favorably treat in commerce "sister nations" which have never favored her. She is, in short, asked to revert to the conditions prior to 1846, the year in which, after Cobden's strenuous exertions, the corn laws were repealed. It may still be held that Freetrade is a vital necessity to Britain, and that even though Imperial preference does manage to be discussed at the Conference, the Free-trade faith of Britain will be strong enough to make the discussion abortive. When the dominions, by expansion of industry, production of raw material and increase of population, are able to tell Britain that they can supply her with all she needs at the price she wants to pay, and that there is no occasion for her to buy from foreigners, then Britain may flout her best customers, even though she still "stews in the juice of Cobdenism."

THE ELTXIR OF LIFE. A cable last week stated that Dr. Oswald, at a meeting of the Glasgow Royal Asylum, said that important research work showed that a German professor had discovered a substance which, injected into the blood, cures mental diseases, and the patient would he immune from further attacks. Recent Home papers refer to this discovery. The new substance which has been brought into existence is claimed to drive from the human body all germs of every known disease. This quality was discovered by accident by Professor Kitncr, in experimenting with the famous COfi, a specific which Professor Paul Ehrlich, of Frankfort, presented early last year to medical science. "In my opinion, it is the most wonderful Cnristmas present ever given the people of tin world/' Thus spoke Dr. Samuel W. Lambert, dean of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, a noted physician and leader in his profession, lie seemed enthusiastic, over the great find that he himself and others of the medical fraternity had learned. "The greatest discovery in medicine announced in 1010," continued Dr. Lambert, ''was (i()l>. From it came the new remedy just announced to the medical profession. Only a paragraph has appeared so far in regard to it. The journal of the American Medical Association, in the issue of,, December 17, stated, after referring to disturbances in the body of the patient after the use of (iOfi, that Eitner never used methyl alcohol, so that the disturbances cannot bo explained in this way. He used for the injection a mixture of what was left in two boxes of the fiflfl, the rest of the contents of the vial having been used on another case. The tips of the tubes were fused again to protect the remaining contents, and he thinks that the heat applied in the fusing might have modified the drug within in some way to render it more toxic. Experiments on animals with GOO after it bad been heated seem to conform this assumption of a toxic modification of the drug under the influence of heat, j This is a new idea. It seems so much I that I fear it will sound exaggerated. I You can readily understand what the I driving of disease germs from the human I body means. It is, jis I have said, the greatest thing in Ihe line of medical research that bus been brought to usaue, and overshadows the other wonder. BOO." All members of the medical profession are most interested, ami hiyhlv dH'mhtod with Ihe outcome of I'mfcss'nr Kitncr'accidental , discovery. To say thai it will mean revolution in siirgerv and medicine is to [nil, (he (|iieslion in'a mil'' form.