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CURRENT TOPICS.

THIS TSAREVITCH. ■; i It was lust wee;k cabled lliat the ■j 'j'sare-viteh. had completely recovered. . j The Manchester Guardian recently statj od: "The prevailing uncertainty in i i Russia has been intensified by rumors \ concerning the illnt'ss of the Tsarevitcli. | \ Rumor has been very rife on tins sub- j i ject ever since official bulletins suggvs- | tive. of something far more serious than a passing child's complaint were issued from Spala in October and Xovember last. A great deal of what bus been said is exaggerated and sensational, but what is positively known is serious enough. In the first place, the Tsarcvitcli is suffering from a defect in the vascular system known as haemophila. Persons affected by this complaint bleed i on the slightest provocation, and since it is extremely difficult to check the | bleeding, a cut, a bruise or a simple operation such as the. extraction of a , tooth may have" the gravest consteI quences. As a rule the complaint runs j iu families, but affects only the mala j members. Thus, the daughter or niece lof a person suffering from this comt plaint will not be affected, but very I probably her son will be. And amongst J the male members 'of the Hessen family | haemophila has been particularly frequent. It was owing to the presence of this complaint that the physicians j who attended the Tsarcvitch at .Spala | found it so difficult to cope, with the effusion of blood induced by a bruise in the groin. The illness is complicated by a tubercular complaint, and, though since the return of the Imperial Vamily to Tsarskoe Selo there has been a certain improvement, the physicians consider that even if the general health of the Tsarevitch is re-established he will always be lame. And there is a considerable risk that he may not grow up to manhood. The press makes no reference to the illness, but the news of it that reaches s the public through various channels arouses very general concern. There is iv spontaneous movement of .sympathy for the merry and active [ boy whose life has been so unexpectedly I blighted. lie is a high-spirited little I fellow, fond of games and all kinds of j romping. Until lately he was the very I picture of health. And the thought of the home in which ,lingering shadows have been deepened by the illness makes ■ even the careless wonder at the strange, sad ways of life."

LAISOR IX XEW SOITH WALES. One result of the recent election, in Xicw South Wales, when the ..Labor'Ministry was returned to power with a substantial majority at its back, is that Xew Zealand is likely to have its reputation of experimental legislation seriously challenged.. The lighting platform of the Xew South Wales Labor Party (says the Dominion) is a document that simply teems with item.-, calculated to make the boldest politicians hold their breath. ... Much space would be required to do full justice to the bristling attractions of this most interesting document, but a few of its outstanding features may be indicated. Together with the abolition of the Upper House, it proposes the introduction of the referendum with the initiative. In .addition, the New South Wales Labor Government is committed to action to secure for women all the citizen rights now enjoyed by men, including membor.sliip of Parliament, shire, and municipal councils, the right to practise in Law Courts, add to sit on juries, both civil and criminal. Proposals relat ing to land •include the compulsory acquisition of private estates for cfoser settlement, somewhat as in New Zealand, hut by no means stop at that. It is proposed to establish a tribunal to determine the rent paya/ble by settlers on private lands, to secure the absolute right of tenants to improvements, and to prohibit. <>y legislation speculation in urban residential lands. Then there is a plank providing for legislation to secure to (the State the "unearned increment" on all land. This,, it is stated, aims at fixing a settled value on all land, the State to receive whatever profit is made on subsequent changes of individual ownership. Various extensions of State Socialism are also proposed, and, in addition, the .platform promises a statutory universal eight-hour day, a minimum wage of ten shillings per day in all occupations, and ■a number of related proposals of an equally sweeping character. .As a whole, the platform is a gem of its kind. It is safe to say that the embarrassments and perplexities which Mr. 'Dolman and his colleagues will encounter when the inevitable whittling-down process commences will be as nothing compared to the tribulations they would oncounter if they attempted to carry their highly-imaginative platform into effect.

[ AMERICAN DIPLOMACY. \ The latest nttaok upon President Wilson is an effort to prove that America's diplomatic .appointments, which Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Taft endeavored to place on a Cwi( Service basis, are now regarded as merely the spoil* of ollice. to be distributed as rewards ioainbiticus politicians, regardlesw of their fitness for the posts. Washington is accustomed to this sort of charge, but it is declared by President Wilson's enemies that even callous Washington bun been shocked liv tflic traffic in diplomatic appointments "only five of which now remain tusha.ken by the storm of patronage.'' President Wilson's personal appointment* are good, it is said, but Mr. Bryan's are simply execrable, all being rewards for services rendered to »he Secretary of State in his campaigns to secure election to the Presidency. The selection of Mr. Pindell. an txlitor and nuwspaper writer, as Ambassador to Russia for a short time, is cited as n flagrant instance of party jobbing. Tt is' refreshing („ note that all partiVs seem agreed in regarding the. appointment of Mr. Walter Page, Ambassador to Great Britain, as a specimen of a "good appointment." Worthy of both branches of the Fmdishspeakiug. race. To quote one mile, whose protest against using the diplomatic lists for party ends, is published, "Mr. Page represents a-n effort which President Wilson bus made to send abroad men of the. scholarly, progressive stamp, men who are doing things in the. railed SHite*, and are Irulv representative of the country." With few exceptions, it is complained, other diplomats owe their appointment a* much to the fact that they Assisted the Democratic parly generously in the last campaign ms to anything else.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19140107.2.20

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 161, 7 January 1914, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,059

CURRENT TOPICS. Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 161, 7 January 1914, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS. Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 161, 7 January 1914, Page 4

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