CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 165, 12 January 1914, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

A NOTED FIGURE. Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, who has decided to withdraw from politics, was a prominent figure in British politics for very many years. Early in life he went to Birmingham, where he entered business as a partner in the then firm of Netllefold and Chamberlain. At the age of forty he retired from business, and with rclentncss energy thereupon threw himself into local politics as an-advanced Radical. As such, be had a remarkable influence upon the civic life of Birmingham, but ho was destined for still wider spheres of political activity. Accordingly, after being three times Mayor of Birmingham, he was returned to Parliament as a Liberal. Once within the ranks, bis rise to political prominence was not long in coming, and within four years he became President of the Board of Trade. His name was in everyone's mouth when, in 1880, he. quitted the Liberal Party over the vexed question of Home Rule. It was in 18!)j that he became. Secretary of State for the Colonics, and as such be carried on the negotiations with the South African Republics before the, Boer war. lie visited South Africa during 1902-3, and shortly after his return propounded a scheme of fiscal reform. When no first Launched it upon the ruffled sea of Westminster politics it led to a sharp division in the ranks of the Unionists, involving half-a-dozen Cabinet resignations. Undeterred .in bis purpose, Mr. Chamberlain resigned office in September, li) 03, in order to prosecute his campaign with independence. It is but typical with his personal popularity that on his seventieth birthday, in 1900, he had a striking public reception, immediately after which the collapse of his health necessitated his temporary retirement from public life. Mr. Chamberlain had the distinction of being visited by King George shortly after his Majesty's accession in May, 11)10, and for the last thirty-eight years he has represented Birmingham in Parliament. In 1912 a Birthday Shilling Fund to commemorate his work in aid of Tariff Reform met with striking success. Some idea of Mr. Chamberlain's varied political activities may be gleaned from a letter written by Mr. Chamberlain's secretary to a correspondent on September .23, 1903. "If," ran the letter, "you will look at any bio. graphy, you will see that he passed the Bankruptcy Act and the Patents Act in the Administration of Mr. Gladstone. Later on he secured the acceptance of free education for the working classes, and passed the Bill for assisting working people to purchase their own houses. He promoted the Local Covernmeut Bill for the counties, the Allotments and Small Holdings Bill for the agricultural laborers, and, finally, took a leading part in giving compensation lo workpeople for accidents suffered in the course of their employment. Mr. Chamberlain has taken part in very many other measures of so'cial reform, and his public part in regard to Imperial Union is well known."

" THE GOOD OLD DAYS." A glimpse of the hardships and rough travelling which were the lot of the i West Coast pioneer half a century ago is I given in a narrative which the Nelson Colonist publishes irom the lips of Mr. 1 George Walker, one of tlie path-finders of the province of gold and greenstone. Mr. Walker, towards the end of 185!), went from Xelson ilown to tlie unpeopled Buller and Grey on an exploring expedition in a small cutter, the Supply, with two surveyors, brothers named Kochfort. When anchored in the Buller lagoon one day George Walker heard the sound of a gunshot. His brother expressed incredulity when he was told. 'There** not," | he said, "a gun within two hundred miles of us." "Whilst we were talking," the narrative proceeds, "I heard another shot, and I then went ashore in the dinghy. Walking along the beach, I saw two men coming towards me, and they began to call out in Maori, thinking that I must he a Maori, as they had no idea of Europeans being on the spot." These men proved to be the two Mackays, who had been on the coast for five months negotiating with the Maoris for tho pur chase of land on behalf of the Government. They had purchased three and a half million acres for £3OO. They had been instructed to purchase it for that sum if possible, but in no case to go over £4OO, and they had taken £4OO with them from Nelson. James'Mackay had gone right down to tlie south of the Haa-st river, a marvellous undertaking, considering tho utterly wild and primitive state of the Golden Coast in those lonely days, and he had made a splendid bargain for the pakeha, though tho West Coast Maori of to-day naturally regards it from a different point of view.

TIJK BULCAPJAXS. A correspondent of the London Nation presents an interesting picture of the Bulgarian nation, which lie describes as the most civilised of the Balkan peoples, lie louiul Bulgaria much more congenial to an Knglishman than Servia or Turkey could be. '■! visited in Soliia the captured Turkish ollicers and soldiers" he writes. "They, have, on their own showing, been treated with great humanity. I„ talking with these educated Protestant Bulgarians, I feel that I am dealing with equals in character and culture, as 1 cannot say I felt with Armenians and Turks. Socialism is a ■strong force in the towns here, and that is in itself a sign of considerable progress in toleration and intelligence. I have not, however, heard vet of a woman suflrago movement.'' The Bulgarian women have had little time to scck votes lately, but a suffrage agitation exists among them nevertheless. They want to lie heard next lime a proposal is made to commit their country to a war.

AX OLD FASIIIOXF.D '-CHM-V' Xekirly a century ago a British sailor. Captain Basil Hall, made a. voyage along #he western coast of South a'nd Centra'] America and recorded in his diaries hi s impressions of the countries and peoples lie visited. Some of his notes have special interest at a time when the Americans are inviting representatives of all the nations to inspect the wonders of the Panama Canal and the even greater marvels.of a tropical country swept prac. tieajly clear of tropical diseases Cantain Hall, like all the men of his time, regarded "agues and fevcr.s" as peculiar products of the tropical "airs" and look no thought of the mosquito in Hie matter. His remedy for all attacks was copious bleeding. '-It appears to me extremely probable," he wjote, "that the yellow or higher grade of'intermillent fever would seldom prove mortal were it met in the first stage by bold and decisive blood-letting, and that bloodletting alono Ims any power over it. For this purpose, however, we must not be guided in our bleeding bv the number of ounces taken away, but'by the effect: produced upon the disease. ' We must bleed at the commencement of the attack Urt(.il the pain be removed, the skin rendered soft and the morbid heat has disappeared, and when Uiese-syniptoms return, as they often do, we'must again bleed until their removal." Dr. flush observes Uiat "in the use of this re-

mody, it may be truly said, as in many of the enterprises of life, nothing is done while anything remains to be done.'' It would not be easy to convince a modern doctor, or a modern patient, that severe loss of blood increased the capacity to rcskl an attack of sickness.