BULLET-PROOF CLOTH.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4734, 31 May 1894, Page 2

BULLET-PROOF CLOTH.

Remarkable Performances in London, London, May 28, The London County Council I threatens to prohibit practical tests: of Herr Dowe's bullet-proof cairos? taking place in music halls, owing op the 'fact' of' a'glrr'assistiii't" jjafijg been wounded, ' '" l ' !,f ' °

! The military authorities are con. vinced of the strength of the cuirass! "' The Prince of Wales'viewed some tests made with an araowclad horse, ■':'•'•''.

| At the Alharabra Music Halfctwb shots from a Lee'-Mitford rifie were flred at Herr Dowe, who was wear* ingjjis. biillet-piool cuirass. Dbwepossett iluougV tliQ ord§al | without harm. He asks S2QO,QQQ'for hmwation, {

JOTTINGS from WELLimON ■ (By-Our Own' Correspondent,) ||H Colonial indifference,—Heat )», spection;\wkiom my be eating; diseases in caide and ik danger to human befogs; wanted information ? H eic -A svggestionfwhli qualities are fB necessary for o Councillor I; " K J ia t H fools </(«< mortals be."-The.Uuel;}tts H and spvitual'Mic. seances; What is " "spirilmwHn"l-Mw Bessie Doyle H "Ik violin virtuoso."—An ungrateful S comlry.-The soon forgotten deoi.- 9 Sir Uauy Atldnsm's grave.—The H birthday honours, nothing for N.Z.— B Oood and useful work for the unem- -■ pkyed.~Tlis Queen's drive. ■- ' B I noticed in ono of your recent ■ issuos that you nlludo to the want \;H of veneration, not to say loyalty, '.;■ which exists amongst Colonials— ■■■'.■ more especially amonjst the younger I B3ction of the community. Ido not ' ■ think, however, that there is so '■':■ much disloyalty as indifference. This .'., J indifference was slrikin|lyjJicil^gil^ , ' Q!S<ii^', 'l Wellington on the QuoJ^Oh thday • I in the matter display -1 of buntiag. With the exception of '-J tho Harbour Board's offices, and the '"H Imperial Ensign flying over the ■ j German Oiasulate, there was not a single rag flown in honour of Her Most Giaciouß Majesty's natal day, The" Rapid," which is now in port, was, o' courso, diessed from stem to stern vnfch bunting, but no other vessel in the. harbour thought it worth while to dreis ship . on such an insignificant occasion. Had the chief cook on a Union boat been I married that day there would have been & gorgeous display of bunting, •' J but apparently tho birthday of our ~ f \ sovereign lady the Queen, was ■ * '\ i hardly worth the trouble of getting i the hVjB out,

I should verymuch like to see a thorough hsoecfclon of the animals slaughtered for food in Wellington together wlUi a periodical overhaul of the yaiious slaughterhouses, I have my strong suspicious that at times the meat is not all it should be, and thai a gie*t deal which is sold in.thebuteheis slumi, absolutely 'At auyiate as nutters are now, we are at the complete mercy of the kteheis arifl they themselves no doubt are often entirely ignorant of the foot that the animal when killed maybe suffering from some coafegious dWo, easily transmissible {q human beings. I do believe that every caro, is taken) compatible with the knowledge possessed, but it can quite easily be understood that the ordinary batobtr is absolutely ignorant of the symptoms or appsaivraca of the d'senses, which are common to sheep and cattle and which render them quite unfit for food, oven if they aie not actually dangerous to human life,

A systematic inspection of the .animils killed for food purposes cannot, of conso, be properly mado until such time as public abattoirs are established, in whioh no live stoolc is allowed to be slaughtered until e:;aminod'by a properly qmlli,. Red nun. The inspection of tho carcase after being slaughtered and skinned is also neceiwry to com. pletely safeguard, the public health,.,. It is a horrible ideajo tbipUfttfe ~ are daily runuing iDg diseases from animals affected with cancerous growtbs,tubercalosis, etc. Yet practically that is the risk we are running every day under tho present kppy-go-laeky system of indiscriminate private slaughtering, I believe leg's'ation was attempted in the direction of placing the slaughterhouses ruder State inspeo-. tiousome sessions ago, but nothing' came tf the matter, The Jews never for a moment think of eaHag meat which has not been passed and marked with the "Kosher" brand by the Rabbi. TMsiimotiojarynot o«'.y impw tho animal b,eko ais after slaughtering, but be eifhecslaughters the • auinal hiuißelf or personally superintends this uuple.Mnt duty when performed by a butcher. Consequently in Wellington there is quite a dennmd amongst the Gentiles fqv the "Kosher," marked, mutton and beef, if nuy happens tq be over when the Jewish residents, bavo been supplied,

A well-known surgeon told me tho other day that the spi'C'.d of cancel'* ous diseases amougst colonials was becoming a vevy serious matter. He attributed it clu% to the fact that sufficient .care is not paid to tho selection of the animals slaughtered for food. He said that on more than one occasion, having reason to doubt the quality of tho meat supplied at hishonie, he had made a careful ex* animation and found distinct traces of malignant gtowilw of a cancerous j nature. Needless to bay the Doctor's meat was at once buvui, but other [portiors of the same carcase had, oc course, been sold and consumed, The whole question is bo important that the Government might wqll tiike' it up with a good deal more advantage to the public than many of the sab* jeefs which avo qow'ramiuw thei|j attention. It is" a ' matter, for won. deiment to one, how the press can remain supine when such toirible dangers are daily menacing the pub* lie.

A friend of mine in England witty a few huudvgdg to spare for inyqqt; ment was tidvisgd the other clay to lend Us money to a oqncern whioh, he was irformed, officii a really good return, This jWious Society, my friend was informed, was called "The Wairarapa Agricultural and Investment Society,'" He was told that the objects ofsb Society.were to loud money out to farmers for stated periods on the security of their land, and that after a certain ouirency, five, ten, .or twenty years, as the case'might be,'the moneywra^ - returned with compound''interest added to date. Naturally my friend, in spite oE protestations that ft J wholo affair -was gehiiino' and • snspjciqij, ivqs • "fo something of the bonafiia of the institution, and forthwith wrote out for information. Now, the only irformation I cm give him is that the "Society" exists entirely in the imagination of the'.kind friend who wanted to arrange the investment for him, I have never heard o'suoh . a Society ? Have yon or any of your readers? I may be mistaken in supposing that this. Society does not exist, but I do not think'so; ' Rossiblymy friend's 'friend has ' qecqma' piix'ed ■' clieap lujoney ! ipo? farmed Boheme, ' iofoiinafton' will' inu<ia oblige, as my friend is waiting.

Sir Francis Dillon Bell is still ir» town looking remarkably hale and hearty for a man of bis years-he is now over 7C—wd may be ssen footing it on the suburban roads at a ppce 1-hst ayoung man 50 years hi? junior need net fo yfowfa of, \

II! .understand Sir Francij purees j J visiting tho Old Country again very !•[ shortly—lio would have dono so U before this, but bo bus boon detained J by family affnu-a —te will stay at ~ Homo for a fow months, and then pay a final rail; to tho Colony, again after which ho will once move lotmn and reside with his son, tho Rev. , Edward Dijjon 8011, who has a very large chngeußhe Enst End of i London, whero he is busily engaged j in the Herculean mk of ovangelisI ing the thousands who congrog.ite iu | the slums of this most nns.ivoi>vy part of tho modern Babylon. Sir J .Francis, lam told, chafes very much ■at his onforced idleness, and ovon a I long and arduous cuvcor in many and divors positions does not seem to have diminished his activity. MonWly and bodily ho is ns fit as lie over was nnd it ren'ly seems a pity that bis services should not once moio be placed at the disposal of this Colony, in some shape or other. Sir Francis Dillon 801 l hits dono much for Now Zealand in his time settler, a politician, and as ißjen&djiuijriil. No man, .with the exceptioiipWtan&|Ji Sir Geo. Grey, can show such acfistingurihcdiccord of services, Sir Fiancis has run through the whole gamut of colonial politics and whatever ho has put his hand to he has dono well. AVhnt could be more filling, as some slight recognition of his distinguished serviceSjthun if the Government weie to call him to the Upper Houso ? The colony would benefit by his matured experience and infinite knowledge of mon and things. His advice and Ills experience would bo of immense value. In doing honour to the man, the Government would bo doing moi 0 than honour to the Legislative Council nnd the colony. Would, however, Sir Francis accept such an honour p Much as he might wish for something to occupy his timo in this dull colonial town, I doubt whether the Council as at present constituted would have many attractions for him. It does, however, seem strnngo that boiler-makers, and butchers,] "comps," nnd storemen nie considered eligible aslaw-makcrs whilst. it does noWfcpr' to enter anyone's' head that a man withsuch asplcudicl ; lifo's recoid' as Sir Francis Dillon! Bell's, might possibly be willing to j aid once more in the Councils of his' adopted country, It is moie than passing strange that the colony fori which he has dono so much and in whoso service he has " borne the, heat and burden of the day " ahoaH: allow so distinguished a man to re- ] main amongst them ivith nono so' poor as to do him honour in the I evening of his life. The offer to Sir | Francis Dillon Bell of a seat in the' Council would be a graceful act on' the part of the Government, and I am sure it would meet with the en- j tire appioval of all sections of the' community, " Lord, what fools these mortals be!" Never did Puck's cynical exclamation more fittingly apply than in tho " spiritualistic seance. case" which has lately come before! the Wellington S.M., and which has 1 culminated in the Hacketts, brother and sister, being sent up for trial at the next sittings of the Supreme '"""""%ftffi|t, TTnolcHtt it would appear Das Deßim'tlSi spiritualistic manifestation line of business for years past, but his sister, whom till a month or two ago, he had not seen for eighteen years, is apparently only a novitiate in tho art and was evidently duped by her brother in whoso alleged mysterious powers sho seems to have had implicit belief. Miss Hackett, therefore, is somewhat to be pitied. However, I do not want so much to enlarge upon the ridiculous assumptions of such men as Hackett, as upon tho folly of those who aid and abet them by their countenance and support, I am not quito pre-] pared to say at tho samo timo that all professing spiritualists are necessarily frauds, "Thereare more things in heaven and caiththan are dreamt of in our philosophy" and the veil between the seen and the unseen, may or may not be exceedingly thin

or exceedingly tliick. We do not p know enough to positively affirm j anything one way or the other. But j • when a number of apparently sen- g Bible men and women deliberately a alio",' themselves to he fooled by g tulwar" maiufetations," which any r ordinary juggler 'could perform more t neatly, it is time to lash the people 0 with the whip of public ridicule, if j only to provont others from making £ fools of themselves in a s imi.l ai* fashion v Whenwehearanex-M.H.R. and a j present Justice of the Peace, a man \ who is in all other things a shrewd }, sensible man of business, talking j seriously and solemly about the qual- j iiy of" spirit muslin" it really is v time to laugh at the absurdity of the j notion. Fancy a spii it wearing muslin! g njuslin too of a real tangible nature, , so tangible, in fact, that a mortal can actually decide from its texture whether it lias been woven on the f looms of the spirit world or not? E The idea is so ridiculous, that ono j hardly knows whether to be sorry j for or laugh at the individual, who ; can put forward such a statement. 1 Tho" spirit muslin" evidence" gives j away " the whole alleged supenia- j tural character of the manifestations j Completely. If the Wellington | Psychological Society through their j President, the ex M.H.R, in question i can exploittkow their genuine spirits , come to oWt'aped in anything so ; earthly as muslin, (why muslin ■ only ?) and whero the muslin comes | ' from, I for one, as a searcher after | truth will ad, I will wager,however, that the " spirit muslin " is ; woven on earthly looms in the very ■ material and matter of fact town of Manchester, Miss Bessio Doyle,tho -talented and beautiful violin virtuoso," as the bills Bfty| has cqme and gone, Heralded weeks beforehand by "puffs" Innumerable, 'wo' wero led to expect. that, a . second Teresina Tuer would witch our hearts by her marvellous genius. Realisation, however, fell short of expectation. Miss Doyle is certainly a most accomplished violinist, inasmuch has mastered, in- an extraordinary manner tho technique of her art —but'the fire, the soul or the genius, call it what you will,was Absent. The playing was perfect and the mastery of her instrument wt|S wqndeiM jtyt the impassioned' strains of tho jjjVti masters of the violin can never be produced by Miss Doyle. Such attributes are missing in her playing, but Miss Doyle is perhaps not very different from Lady Hall&and other lady violinists in this respect, Lady violinists always seem to stop shoit at a certain stage j they may have the technique tho execution, but they con never t ijtfuso "soul" into their melodic '.as / can "JowWii,

&.-ww.4e, aid other?, Nevertheless, 'Mw Doylo is distinctly a much 'more tbaa oi-dinary violinist,und I jamsor;.y thathoi-conceits werenot ibettor supported Leto. This wcs no Icltubs due to two frets. Cue is tho jufiioi' w<mfc of app'.ocWion of really good niuv'c, possessed by tiro great bulk of tire poo;ile of Wellington, aod vbo other is i\u& ilie company which supported Mi-.s Doyle was cnosjh in it>clf to mar tho success of i.lio coßcovh. I liftvo fioldora seen s>. ' : slav" supjiorlodbywoisearthts. Dl'i bor beie Miss Doylo nudo hohiolf extremely popular, and bor presence at sooiul functions was of course vciy muchsouohtafter. On Homo" at 'bo Die-'den Pimio Company's room, which I very much regict I was unablo to attond. By tho death of Mr Hemy Blundell of tk " Evening Post," Weilingion bus lost.a mott estimable cii'zcn, whoso nets of benevolence and l'bewlity showed him to be a man whose heart was always to bo touched by cases of want and disti er.«, and who was always ready to give, and give freely towards any movement having for its object the I advancement of the city, in who3C prospciiy ml welfare bo took such a keen in!crest, Mr Henry Elundell was personally a most popular man, and his genial and kindly nature ende-iicd him to all with whom ho was brought into contact. Although not strictly speaking a pressman himself, bo nevertheless recognised to ihof all the traditions and etiquette of the profession, and by all tho means in big power he supported his liteiivy staff in upholding and maintaining the powers and privileges of the press, Wellington can ill afford to lose men of Mr Henry Btundell's calibre, and the sorrow felt at his untimely deceaso by a very wide circle of friends and acquaintances, will bo deep and sincere. More than a year ago I told yon that Sir Harry Atkinson's grave in the Weak Karovi Cemetery was nnfenced, and that there was not even a stone to mark the place where the man who had literally laid down his life for his country, slept his last long sleep. The grave is unfenced and unmarked still, and it might in fact he a nameless outcast's resting place for all thero is to distinguish it from the other bare mounds of earth in its near vicinity. Now we learn that through the efforts of Mr Rolleston a granite cross is being procured in England, to be erected j at the head of the grave, and that a! fence is to be shortly placed in position, made from Taranaki's muchvaunted iron sand. This action is somewhat tardy, and reflects anything but credit upon those who were instrumental in arranging for the monument, Surely a cross could have been procured in tho Colony just as suitable ns any to be obtained in England. If this had been done it might have been erected long' oro this, Certainly there has boon nothing to prevent the grave beiug enclosed, and yet'even now they are only talking of doing so. The delay that has takon and is taking place, compares most unfavourably with, the efforts of those who took the Ballance memorial movement in hand, As it is proposed to erect the Ballancememorial in the Parliament Houso grounds, why should not action be taken by the friends and supporters of tho lato Sir Harry Atkinson to place a monument to him also in the same position ? What more appropriate thing could bo done, to honour the memory of New Zealand's greatest patriot. The claims of Mr Ballance arc great, but aro not those of Sir Harry Atkinson even greater ? I am afraid, however, that nothing further is likely to be done, Sir Harry Atkinson's quondam friends are too supine to move in the matter, thoy have quite exhausted thetrselves with their efforts in providing a gravestone, and the public gonorally has quite forgot what the dead statesman accomplished in his stirring and busy lifo as settler, soldier, and politician, Considerable surprise has been expressed that amongst the long list nf birthday honours appearing in the pers from day to clay tho name of .' Seddon has not beon included.

Everybody felt quite sure after that spirited display of Imperialism—tlio annexation- of Samoa—that Mr Seddon was certain at least to receive some distinguishing mark of the Queen's favor. New Zealand, oxcept in the person of Sir Westby Perceval, lias not received a shave of these lionou: s for some time, and it was looked upon as a certainty that the Premier was the next on tlio list, However, it may not be too late yet, It is also a matter of surpriso that Mr Justice Richmond and Mr James Edward Fitzgerald, C.11.G, were not included, Both these gentlemenhave performed distinguished service for' the Oolo,ny for many years pqsj, The spirited action of a section of the Wellington citizens in raising such a large sum as £720 for the purpose of setting the unemployed to work on some useful undertaking, is deserving of the highest praise, With ono or two notable cxcoptions the large merchants and tradesmen in. town contributed handsomely towards the fund, and the resolution to employ the money, supplemented by grants from the City purse and Colonial exchequer in carrying to a conclusion t-helong projected Queen's Drive is extumely happy. Wellington has long been reproached with the fact that there are no drives about the City worthy of tlio name. When the Queen's drive is completed it will form a road and promenade unequalled in tlio Colony. The Queeu's Drive, I may state, com: monco.s at Island Bay, and runs afyng the coast {o Evans' Bay, thevo connecting with the present Evans' Bay road. A noble expanse of ocean will be visiblo tlio whole way and the benefits to tlie city from obtaining such a splendid outlet can hardly be overestimated, Wo are i now cramped np with the hills at our back and having driven, rid- ' den, ,or walked the present roads leadingoutof the Cityscorcs of times, ■wo naturally look forward to suoli a magnificent outlet as the Queen's ! drive will be, One never grows i tired of the.evor vaiying ocean, bul i tbebillsandthebarbourdo pall somewhat, The attractions of Welling: i tonwillbp'ijic.ie(!&ed tremendously ; By svicii a drivo. At present tlievs i is little about our city that is uttinc i live, All thanks to Mi 1 Ross for hif . happy