| The Late Mr F A Joseph - Otago Witness. |
BLASTING ACCIDENT AT HARRINGTON POINT.
MR F. A. JOSEPH KILLED.
SEVERAL MIRACULOUS ESCAPES.
A particularly distressing accident occurred at Harrington Point, on the Peninsula, near Otago Heads, yesterday afternoon, resulting in the death of Mr Francis Antonio Joseph, a member of the literary staff of the Otago Daily Times and Witness newspapers, while several other well-known city residents had a miraculous escape from meeting the same sad fate. Mr Joseph was engaged in his duties as a journalist, and formed one of a party who went down to Harrington Point at the invitation of the Otago Harbour Board for the purpose of inspecting the protective works carried out by the board. For the past eight or nine months the Harbour Board has devoted its attention in the direction of improving the channel at Harrington Point, and with the object of diverting the scour and straightening the channel it has been quarrying metal and constructing a training wall. The tug Plucky was used for the conveyance of the party, down the harbour, and the gentlemen who made the visit were:- Messrs E. G. Allen, M.H.R., J. T. Mackerras, T. Ross, John Watson, G. Simpson, the Hon. D. Pinkerton, and the Hon. T. Fergus (members of the Harbour Board), Messrs T. E.. Rawson (Harbour Board engineer), F. W. Mac Lean (district engineer of railways), A. H. Maclean, J. M. J. C. Stephens (Harbour Board solicitor), J. E. Stevens (Sumner Deaf and Dumb Institute), P. Y. Wales, W. B. Vigers, N. Dodds, Captain M. Callum (harbourmaster), and F. A. Joseph (Otago Daily Times), A. Barclay (Evening Star), and G. Hicks (Otago Witness photographer). The party left Dunedin shortly after 2 p.m., and Harrington Point was reached about 3.30. In addition to seeing what progress had been made with the protective works, the party were to witness a large blasting operation at the quarry. For the purposes of blasting a long tunnel, about 40 ft in length, had been driven straight in from the face of the quarry, and at the end of this tunnel a transverse drive, about 10ft long, was put in on the upper side, making the drive the shape of the letter L.
The mine was charged with about 8001b of gunpowder, and everything was in readiness for the explosion when the visitors arrived, the shot being fired about 1 p.m. All the members of the party, with the exception of Mr Ross, Mr Rawson, and Mr Hicks — the two latter of whom were taking photographs — took up positions on the jetty which ran out into the harbour at an acute angle from the drive in the quarry, while the above-named gentlemen stationed themselves nearer the drive, but at a greater angle, and consequently further from the line of fire. All the materials used at the quarry, including a large jib crane, were removed to what was considered a safe distance, and the large tip trucks used for the haulage of the stone were wheeled down to the wharf. These would have served as a cover in case of emergency, but those who were witnessing the explosion scarcely thought of their being called into requisition, as it was confidently expected that the stone would be driven away from them. Of those standing on the jetty the foreman of the works and Mr F. W. MacLean were the nearest to the face of the quarry, and the others were stationed at different places, all in the belief that they were perfectly safe, previous experience having demonstrated that the effect of the blasting was to throw the stone in the opposite direction — in fact, several of the men remarked that on previous occasions it would have been quite safe to have stood on the district road, which was not more than half as far away from the face as the spot where the visitors took up their positions. When previous blasts had been fired the stone simply fell down, and never had any tendency to shoot out from the face to any extent, but the unfortunate accident shows that really nothing can be taken for granted. When the shot was fired Mr Hicks, Mr Rawson, and Mr Ross were closer to the face than the others; but they were at an oblique angle, though only 32 yards distant from the line of fire, and about 45 yards from where the explosion took place. The remainder of the party were from 100 yards to 150 yards distant; but at an acute angle from the face of the quarry. All the experts present had every confidence that the blast would send the stone in the opposite direction to that taken by the visitors, and the party were inspired with an additional feeling of safety by the fact that Mr MacLean was standing in front of them. Mr MacLean was from 100 yards to 125 yards away from the face, and Mr Joseph was some 25 yards behind him, while a further distance of about 25 yards separated Mr Joseph from the outer end of the jetty. When the explosion took place the bottom part of the face was driven out first, and was shot in almost a straight line with terrific force. An enormous quantity of stone was dislodged, and one pile of rock, estimated to weigh about five tons, was thrown bodily a distance of 100 or 120 yards into the channel. Another piece weighing from 3cwt to 5cwt was projected down the wharf, and there was a complete chain of boulders of all sizes from the face of the quarry right down to the outer end of the jetty. The projectile which struck Mr Joseph was about half the size of a man's head, and it struck the unfortunate man on the side of the head, killing him instantaneously.
It is estimated that fully 100 tons of stone were hurled over the protective wall on to the sea beach at the edge of the channel. One big piece weighing about 5cwt struck one end of the cast-iron bedplate of the steam derrick, snapping off a piece of solid casting about 12in by 4in. This, if it had struck the crane fairly, would probably have pretty well demolished it. Mr George Simpson, who was standing beside Mr Joseph, received a small abrasion on one of his thumbs, but cannot say whether he was struck by the same stone that killed Mr Joseph.
Mr P. Ryan, a resident of the Kaik, who was present for the purpose of witnessing the explosion, and who was standing on the jetty, was also struck by a piece of stone, the force of the blow throwing him violently against Mr Barclay. The two fell on the wharf together, and it was immediately afterwards ascertained that Mr Ryan had had his arm fractured.
Mr E. G. Allen, M.H.R., who was much nearer, was struck on the left ankle by a stone which cut through his boot and inflicted a gash about an inch long and half an inch deep, just missing the ankle-joint. Several pieces of stone went over the end of the wharf, one striking the hawser bridge of the tug, and leaving an indentation on the hard wood, and another piece falling on the captain's bridge.
Mr F. W. MacLean had a very narrow escape, a large boulder striking his overcoat, which he was carrying on his arm, and tearing a great rent in it. Several of the party evaded the flying fragments, and there were quite a number of very narrow escapes. Telephone messages were at once sent to Dunedin and also to Port Chalmers, the latter for medical assistance, and all haste was made to get back to town. Dr Borrie, of Port Chalmers, met the tug off Pulling Point, and attended to Mr Ryan and Mr E. G. Allen. The latter was able to walk home without assistance, and it is not considered that his injury will prove serious, though he will probably be confined to his house for a few days. Mr. Ryan was taken home after receiving medical attention at Port Chalmers. The charge of powder used was nothing unusual, and on at least one occasion double the quantity was fired. As a matter of fact, no smaller charge has ever been used in blasting operations there. The nature of the material blasted was not the usual bluestone met with, but a hard conglomerate.
The body of Mr Joseph was brought to town by the Plucky, and conveyed to his residence in Russell
Street. The inquest will be opened at 11 o'clock this morning.
Street. The inquest will be opened at 11 o'clock this morning.
By the death of Mr Joseph this journal loses a valued member of its staff. In addition to the position he held as a member of the reporting staff, Mr Joseph was a regular contributor of articles to the leading columns of the paper on educational, scientific, and agricultural subjects. He was a wide reader on matters to which he specially devoted his attention, and had been engaged in newspaper pursuits for a great many years. His experience and ripened knowledge were thus made serviceable to the public, and have in marked degree contributed to the sound and beneficial discussion of many important public questions.
Mr Joseph was one of the oldest, most valued, and most versatile contributors of the Otago Witness. He began his literary career in connection with that journal over 25 years ago, contributing in the first place a serious of interesting "Chats with the Farmers." his knowledge of agriculture, both practical and theoretical, making his description of farming methods and the criticisms he thought fit to make of especial value to farming readers. He was for a number of years in charge of the Waihola School, a post for which he was specially fitted from his kindly nature and his ability to draw the pupils to the best advantage. During the whole of that time he not only acted as local correspondent, but he also took a leading part in contributing to the riddler column, which was in those days a leading feature of the Witness, being contributed to by such well-known citizens as the Rev. A. Don, Mr J. J. Ramsay, Mr W. J. Love; Mr Beverly (mathematical problems), Mr Joseph himself, and many others, to whom Mr Joseph's sad end will come as a great shock. He was subsequently appointed editor of the Tuapeka Times, a position which he held for some years, only severing his connection with that paper on account of a difference in political views with the then proprietors. He then assisted in starting the Clutha Free Press, of which he became editor and manager, running the paper in the interests of the Liberal party. After a connection with that years' standing a desire for a wider horizon induced him to retire and settle in one of the cities. He visited the North Island; but finding nothing to induce him to take up his permanent residence there, he returned to Dunedin, and ultimately joined the staff of the Daily. Times as Dunedin shipping reporter and contributor to its leading columns on special topics which his practical knowledge tendered him specially fitted to deal with. During his connection with the Witness he contributed numerous series of articles on agricultural, mining, and health-subjects, the latter over the signature of "F. A. J. De Conde." His pleasant style of writing rendered his articles interesting to a large number of Witness readers, and many of these made a point of cutting out his contributions for scrap-book purposes. In addition to this he contributed during his lengthened connection many capital short stories, at least one lengthy serial, and numbers of poems which possessed considerable literary merit. His capacity for work was very great, and no task was too much for him to cheerfully undertake. He was a regular contributor to the Daily Times and Witness Christmas Annuals, and for the forthcoming annual he had already in hand a contribution on Maori history which would have been a valuable addition to Maori historical literature had he been spared to complete his work. Personally he was a favourite with all his brother pressmen, his agreeable manners, utter want of self thought, and willingness to oblige on every occasion being proverbial among those who knew him best.
The deceased gentleman, who was 50 years of age, was the eldest son of Mr Antonio Joseph, of Taieri Mouth, and was born at Macandrew's Bay, Otago Peninsula. He was educated in Dunedin, and after a course at the Otago University took up the duties of Schoolmaster. He had charge of schools at Akatore, Waipori, Waiareka, Milburn and Temuka, and eventually relinquished teaching to enter into journalism. His journalistic career, as mentioned above, practically commenced when he was a youth, for he had been a contributor to the Otago Witness when quite a lad. Mr Joseph, who married a daughter of Mr. Andrew Chapman, of Balclutha, is survived by his widow and two children — a daughter nine years of ago and a son 15 months old. Mr Joseph's mother died on the 5th of January, 1903, but his father, who came to the colony in an American whaler before the arrival of the first emigrant ship, is still alive. Deceased is also survived by six brothers and two sisters, one of the latter residing in New South Wales. -Otago Witness, 4/2/1904.
Francis Joseph first appears in the columns of the Otago Witness in 1884, expounding on such weighty subjects as "Eternity," "Time," "Home," and "A Mother's Love," under the heading "Some Thoughts - Wise and Otherwise." He is also advertised as lecturing on a number of subjects - a fitting activity for an ex-teacher.
He held, for the year of 1884, quite advanced views upon "Extension of the Franchise:"
His published writings in newspapers local and further afield were copious and very wide-ranging. He even tried his writing hand at fiction. Below are just a sample of his work.
Francis Joseph first appears in the columns of the Otago Witness in 1884, expounding on such weighty subjects as "Eternity," "Time," "Home," and "A Mother's Love," under the heading "Some Thoughts - Wise and Otherwise." He is also advertised as lecturing on a number of subjects - a fitting activity for an ex-teacher.
He held, for the year of 1884, quite advanced views upon "Extension of the Franchise:"
Besides six months' residence and being 21 years of age, another qualification should be demanded, and that is that no man not able to read and write should be permitted to vote. I take it — and all who have given the subject more than a passing thought will bear me out in the opinion — that a man unable to read is not in a position to vote, as his knowledge of political matters must be very scant indeed. But the man able to read, if he reads nothing beyond the newspapers, has at least some knowledge of the state of affairs in his country. I maintain, therefore, that every man, before he obtains the right to vote, should show that he can read and write. If voters are unable to read, what is there to hinder the returning-officer from manipulating the voting in such a manner as to cause the elector to vote for the candidate whom he wishes to oppose? Of course the returning officer is likely to be above such a thing, but the contingency is not an impossible one, and I think it should be made impossible. With these qualifications the franchise should be extended to females, for the difference of sex in nowise points to a difference in intelligence. The anomalous position held by women is a relic of those barbarous times when the weaker sex were looked upon as the slaves, not the helpmeets, of their lords and masters. Women now occupy a different position, and when they are able to compete with men on a fair field in most of the intellectual pursuits, surely they can be entrusted with the liberty to have a say in determining who shall be our law-makers! The results of legislation affect women quite as much as they do men, and therefore women should have the right to vote for legislators. I trust the day is not far distant in New Zealand when the franchise will be extended to females. -Otago Witness, 12/7/1884.
His views on gender equality may have been radical for his times - those on "Evolution" were not. His criticism of the concept and example advanced at the time, show all of the logical fallacies evident over a century later in the arguments of modern-day creationists. Or, perhaps, creationists are still using the same failed arguments evident in 1884, which can be exemplified by the following:
If natural law and the blind forces of Nature determined these matters, we should some day sow ameoba and reap corn as the product, or, better still, hatch out an oak tree from the eagle's nest.
Joseph's fields of study and his column ranged far and wide. An essay on "The Amber Spirit" may have briefly fooled his whisky-loving readers into a history of the investigation of the properties of electricity, from the friction of a rotating amber ball to the prospects of hydro-electricity and electrical traction.
Much though the telegraph has done to bring the nations of man into closer fellowship, still it is as a motive power that the great future of electricity remains to be unfolded. The electric light may be considered to be fairly established; and it is only a question of time when both our cities and private dwellings will be lighted by it. Even if the light should cost a little more than gas its superiority in every respect should make it well worth the extra cost. The difficulty of lighting private dwellings is solved by the storage cells now in use; and these will, no doubt, ultimately solve the problem of applying electricity to the various work now done with steam. Waterpower must be used to generate the electric current, as steam is too expensive; and then with an improved storage cell and simpler machinery electricity may quite well take the place of steam. Electricity is undoubtedly the motive power of the future; and it only requires time to perfect appliances when most of the work now done by the steam engine will be as effectively done and at less expense, with electricity.
From chief centres where good water power is available the stored-up power can be sent to where it is required. Large stone houses, where captive lightning is for sale to drive machinery and light our houses, will be necessary. Our supply of coal will give out, but the supply of electricity can never fail. The atmosphere around us is the natural storehouse of this strange something which we have never bee able to fully comprehend. And beyond our atmosphere, and filling the void of space, is the same subtle something. Here it rests in equilibrium; disturb the equilibrium and its mysterious powers are made apparent.
Already launches and cars are propelled by electricity, and ere long it will be in general use for many purposes for which it is much better suited than steam. Then let us bless the old Greek who discovered the amber spirit, and hail that day when it shall be bound to the flying car and chained to the rushing wheel; when instead of the war and rush of steam the lightning's flash shall be our servant to do our behest and perform our will. -Otago Witness, 4/10/1884.
Joseph's "Thoughts" also ranged over the social and scientific subjects of the day apart from electoral franchise. Early brain surgery and thorough cooking of pork to prevent parasitic disease were subjects for his pen. Poverty and financial inequality were important issues to him. His solution to all ills - at least, to many? Education:
Education has been compared to the sculptor's chisel, and the human mind to the rough block of marble in the quarry. You see nothing in the stone; but under the hand of the artist it gradually assumes form, till at length it stands before you in all its its living likeness, to ravish and delight the eye. Similar is the effect of education upon the uncultured mind. Compare the rude and uncouth child of nature with the polished and refined man of culture, and the effect of education is strikingly apparent. Far apart as both are the gulf which separates them may be bridged by education. The well-trained and carefully cultivated mind is the rarest jewel of earth, and no other store of wealth that the heart of man could desire can be compared to that. The rarest gems are polished with the greatest care and highest skill; and surely no care and no skill can be too much to devote to the polishing of this incomparable gem — the human mind. Enter into converse with the grossly ignorant and you learn that not one ray of heaven's blessed light has penetrated the worse than Egyptian darkness that enshrouds their souls. The forces of nature are unmeaning displays of no interest to them, for they know nothing of the beautiful laws which control all things earthly. The blazing starry hosts that round them burn evoke no more of interest than the city lights do the the street urchin. They eat, sleep, and toil like the beasts that share their lives, and are content. But let the refining fire of education pass over a man's mind and instantly there is a great change. The sunlight is the same; but he sees in its beams evidence of the vast stores of energy conserved within the seething heat of the solar system. The stars are the same; but as the plan of the universe is unfolded to his view he bows overawed before the awful manifestations of mind which their movements reveal. The flowers are the same; but he must look beyond them to the orb of day for all their infinite variety and profusion of colour. The graceful trees that deck the landscape are to him somewhat different from the rocks that rest on the hillside. Everything animate and inanimate suddenly springs into renewed interest, and as the handiwork of nature is made plainer the mind the more eagerly drinks in her mysteries. The possession of the very highest possibilities of mind are all in vain, unless the latent powers are developed. The most vivid imagination and the native fire of poetic genius alike are of no avail until touched by the refining influence of education. As a precious jewel in a swine's snout, so is a brilliant mind whose latent powers are undeveloped. When the effect of education is so marvellous surely it is worth our while to put forth some effort to train and develop our minds. We deck our bodies with the costliest apparel, and for our food we ransack every land under the sun, but few are they who bestow a fair measure of care upon the adornment of the mind; and yet the body of flesh lasts but its brief day, but mind is eternal... -Otago Witness, 28/3/1885.
His published writings in newspapers local and further afield were copious and very wide-ranging. He even tried his writing hand at fiction. Below are just a sample of his work.
SOME THOUGHTS: WISE AND OTHERWISE.
BOTTLED SUN LIGHT.
By F. A. Joseph.
It would be a very interesting calculation to put into figures the probable amount of energy which proceeds from the sun in the course of a day or a year. We can appreciate the heat of the sun not less on a winter day after the keenness of a sharp frosty night has heightened the contrast than in the glowing heat of summer when the air seems burdened with heat; but it is not so easy to appreciate the active energy of sunlight. That remarkable invention of Professor Crookes' — the radiometer — reveals the matter to us in a new light, for the radiometer is simply a machine driven by sunlight. There are a couple of discs, one at each end of a nicely balanced arm, resting upon a very fine pivot, so as to offer the least possible resistance to the moving arm. The discs are bright on one side and black on the other, and so arranged that while the sunlight falls upon the bright side of one disc it strikes the dark side of the other. The nicely-balanced discs are fixed in a pear-shaped vacuum globe and placed in the sunlight. As the beams fall upon the dark side of one disc they are absorbed, but the bright side reflects them, and the difference between absorption and reflection causes the tiny machine to spin round within the vacuum with amazing rapidity. The explanation appears to be that the arrested light impinges upon the bright surface and bounds back, pretty much as a ball thrown against a wall would do, while the beams of light penetrate the dark surface and their effect is lost. The impact of the sun beams on the bright surface therefore drives the disc forward until the bright surface of the corresponding disc comes into play, and so the machine is kept spinning while in the direct sunlight. But if the light of the sun can drive a tiny machine like the radiometer, where only a very few isolated beams can be brought to bear, what must be the sum total of the effective energy which every moment speeds away into surrounding space! And what becomes of the mighty force thus scattered abroad? Is it lost for ever, and by so much does the central storehouse become weaker? I will leave the the answer to this latter question to the schools of philosophy, and until they have agreed between dissipation of energy on the one hand and conservation on the other, I may be pardoned for passing by the delicate subject. What I want to draw attention to is the fact that a part, at least, of the fiery energy of the sun is not dissipated, as far as the inhabitants of the earth are concerned; and a very superficial examination of the subject is sufficient to prove this to all.
Giant steamships cross the ocean, and their mighty heartthrobs speak of power; but whence came the power which forces them ahead in spite of adverse storms? The train of flying cars rushes on, and makes the solid earth tremble with its speed; but can anyone say from whence it borrowed its motive power? From bottled sunlight, stored up aeons ago for our use. We have a splendid example of stored energy in the storage electric cell. Here we imprison, as it were, the lightning of heaven, and liberate it at will to perform what we would have it do; but the energy stored up in our vast coalfields is simply the energy of the sun which beat upon the earth long ago, and has been conserved ever since, awaiting our time to liberate it. The mighty power which impels the express train at a speed that outstrips the wind, and bids the steamships defy the storms, emanated from the sun in the centuries when the earth was comparatively young. The great carboniferous period, when our coal seams were formed, marks a period when the sun's energy was vastly greater than it now is, at. least in its effects upon the earth. Whether the earth were nearer to the sun or not I have nothing to do with; it is sufficient for my purpose to know that a great portion of the .earth's surface was covered with a dank, dense vegetation at a time when the earth was steaming with a fierce tropical heat and great moisture. Ferns then were giant trees, and mosses reared their huge trunks and spreading leaves far above our ordinary forest trees. Plants which we are acquainted with as mere shrubs had their representatives in the great carboniferous period when the coal measures were laid down as forest trees of gigantic proportions. The rapid growth raised up immense forests in the swamps and marshes near the sea shore, or in the deltas of great rivers; and as fast as one forest decayed a succeeding one sprang up on its crumbling ruins. The forest decay fell at the roots of the trees and became carbonised, as we sometimes see it to-day in our living forests, especially in swampy land within the tropics. These marshes were alternately dry land and shallow submerged areas, and each submergence and upheaval or rise by the accumulation of river deposit was succeeded by a new growth of dense forest, which as it decayed formed separate layers of coal. Geologists advance different theories as to the occurrence and production of coal; but as my chief concern is the method of storing up the sun's liberated energy, and conserving it for future use, I need not trouble myself about the various theories advanced. Let us picture a dense forest springing up from a tropical swamp, the giant trees casting their farspreading branches athwart the sky, and unfolding their myriad leaves to the breeze. As the full power of the sunshine fell upon them, and the air burdened with moisture and carbonic acid gas swept past their leaves, thousands of millions of greedy mouths drank in the gas, built up the carbon of the compound into the solid tissue of the tree and set free the oxygen to enter again into combination with carbon and rebuild anew the same gas. Thus oxygen becomes the carrier of carbon from the dead and decaying to the living. But it is only under the influence of sunshine that plants have the power to break up the oxy-carbon compound. It is the energy of sunlight — the same energy which we set a material example of in the radiometer then, which builds, up the solid tree, and that from an invisible, impalpable gas; and when we realise the tremendous amount of energy conserved in our vast coalfields, and which all came from the sun in the ages of the long-by-past, we may imagine the powerful agency of the sun; and add one more to the incalculable benefits which we derive from sunshine. The green leaves of the primeval forest were the living agencies which converted the energy liberated from the sun into solid carbon, and the touch of fire is the fairy wand of science which liberates that energy again after being pout up for thousands of years, to heat our dwellings and perform the thousands of useful operations of civilised society. Let us then bless the Master Scientist who his, by the agency of perfect science, provided for us the means of satisfying some of our most intimate needs, and helping on the steady march of the world's progress; and when we see the rushing train or the whirling maze of the most elaborate machinery, or the thousand marvellous inventions of the human mind at work, let us remember that we owe most of these great inventions to the agency of bottled sunlight. -Otago Witness, 2/5/1885.
SOME THOUGHTS: WISE AND OTHERWISE.
By F. A. Joseph.
A SKILFUL SURGICAL OPERATION.
Those who condemn vivisection will, at least, in a case recently reported, admit that the experiments performed upon living animals, though they involved a great amount of pain and suffering, have not been all in vain. Some years ago Dr Ferrier, in a series of most wonderful experiments, demonstrated that the brain, in the higher animals, is mapped out into well-defined areas which control the muscular movements of distinct portions of the body. A dog, under the influence of chloroform was the first subject of experiment. The skull was removed so as to expose a considerable portion of one hemisphere of the brain, and a weak current of electricity was applied to various lobes and convolutions of that delicate organ on touching a particular convolution of the brain, cut off from other convolutions by the deep folds separating them, the hind leg of the dog was advanced as in walking; a weak electrical current passed through another caused the fore leg to advance in the same way, while yet another similarly stimulated caused the the dog to prick up his ears as if intently listening. Once, on touching a certain region of the brain, the dog began to wag its tail, with spasmodic twitching of the left ear. After the more violent spasms had passed away, the animal held up its head, opened its eyes wide with the most animated expression, and wagged its tail in a fawning manner. The change was so striking that the operator thought the animal had completely recovered from its stupor. But in spite of all attempts to divert its attention by calling it and patting its head, it continued to look steadfastly in the distance with the same expression, and continued to wag its tail for a minute or two, until again the effects of the stimulus wore off, and it relapsed into stupor, under the influence of the narcotic. Since Dr Ferrier announced his remarkable discovery to the world the subject has been fully investigated, until all the chief centres of motion have been localised in the brain. Thus, as on a many-keyed instrument, the physiologist is enabled to play upon the living brain and as he touches a certain spot he knows that it will be followed by a particular movement as certainly as the piano-player knows that the touching of a key will be followed by a definite sound. Recent experiments have proved that the brain is not the inviolable organ which it was long supposed to be. It has been demonstrated that in some animals the brain will stand a great deal of cutting, and partial excision even, before death ensues in consequence. In the animals lower in the scale than man, therefore, our notions of the inviolable nature of the brain must be considerably modified. In a less degree the brain of man might be operated upon with no greater risk than that attendant upon any serious surgical operation. Based upon Dr Ferrier's mapping-out of the chief motor centres of the brain a diagnosis of brain disease was made, in the case of a patient admitted to the London Hospital for Epilepsy and Paralysis a few months ago, which inaugurates a new departure in the application of surgical science. The involuntary muscular movements of the patient pointed to some disturbing influence in a particular part of the surface of the brain, for it is in the cortical layer of nerves inviting the brain substance that the motor centres lie. Dr Huges Bennett, guided by Terrier's wonderful experiments, placed his finger upon the diseased spot, and expressed the opinion that a small tumor was the disturbing cause. The nature of the case was fully explained to the patient. It was pointed out that death was inevitable from the growth of the tumor, while by submitting to an operation for its removal he had a chance for his life. He readily consented to undergo the operation. Dr Godlee, of the University College Hospital, a skilful surgeon, removed a portion of the skull over the spot indicated by Dr Bennett, and sure enough, imbedded in the substance of the brain, he found a tumor the size of a walnut, which was removed without difficulty. For a couple of weeks after this delicate and dangerous operation the patient progressed favourably, and showed every indication of ultimate recovery. He was quite cheerful, not suffering any great degree of prostration, and the most ardent hopes were entertained of an entirely successful issue, and the complete triumph of medical science. Those who saw the man bearing living testimony to the valuable results of that vivisection which they so heedlessly denounced, must have gone away convinced that the suffering imposed upon living animals in the interests of science had not all, at least, been in vain. Unfortunately, however, during the third week unfavourable symptoms manifested themselves, to which eventually the patient succumbed. This is to be regretted, the more so as the first triumph of the doctors was so marked, but the death of the patient three weeks after the operation was performed in in no way detracts from the marvellous success of so critical an operation. There is always a certain amount of risk attendant upon all surgical operations, and when any of the vital organs are involved the risk is immensely heightened. The amputation of a finger is often enough performed at the risk of the patient's life, and therefore we need not marvel at the result of such a delicate operation as that under consideration. Had the patient finally recovered and lived to bless the hand that snatched him back from death the triumph of the surgeons would not have been more complete than it is. Surgeons will henceforth, with perfect confidence, perform operations even upon the brain which has hitherto generally been deemed inviolable, and the outlook is fraught with hope for the future that the terrible condition of the insane may, in some cases, be amenable to the surgeon's knife. Some may be inclined to sneer at such a preposterous proposition but when it is taken into consideration that the removal of some apparently trifling obstruction, involving the fine balancing of the incomparable mechanism of the human mind, might restore reason to one whose mind had become unhinged through brain disease, the proposition is not altogether absurd. The operation described, though not entirely successful, is the greatest triumph of modern surgical skill; and instead of railing at those who patiently study the mysteries of life, even if the infliction of pain inevitably accompanies their experiments, let us rather bless the glorious light of knowledge which has descended upon us to ameliorate our condition and ease our mortal pains. Along with the surgeons who so skilfully performed the difficult operation must be associated the name of Dr Ferrier. -Otago Witness, 16/5/1885.
LAWRENCE VOLUNTEER CORPS.
A MEETING of those interested in the formation of a Volunteer Corps will be held in the Town Hal1 on MONDAY EVENING, at eight o'clock.
F.A. JOSEPH, Interim-Secretary. -Tuapeka Times, 18/7/1885.
TUAPEKA RIFLES.
THE Company will meet for Drill and other business in the Town Hall on WEDNESDAY, at 8 p.m. Mr J. Harrop, J.P., will enrol new members. F. A. JOSEPH, Secretary. -Tuapeka Times, 19/9/1885.
There was a good muster of Volunteers in the Town Hall on Wednesday evening, when the company was put through a number of movements. The total enrolled strength of the Company now stands at 38, representing all the enrolment forms to hand. But for the want of forms over 40 would have been enrolled by this time. If those who have joined keep up the enthusiasm which they now display there will be little difficulty in obtaining a splendid company of the maximum strength to the district. At the close of the drill a company meeting was held to consider several matters. Mr F. A. Joseph, who occupied the chair, explained that it would be necessary to elect the commissioned officers. The election of a captain could be held over for a time. Nominations were then solicited for first lieutenant. Mr E. A. Rolfe proposed Mr F. A. Joseph. Mr T. Pilling seconded. Mr Joseph explained that he would rather stand aside, but if it was the explained wish of the company he would do what he could towards making it a success. On being put to the vote the motion was carried unanimously. Mr T. Pilling proposed that Mr W. Barron be elected sub-lieutenant. Mr Andrew McLean seconded. This was also carried unanimously. Mr Andrew McLean. on the motion of Messrs Simpson and Moule, was elected Secretary; and Mr Geo. Murray, on the motion of Messrs McNickle and Moule, Treasurer. Mr Joseph informed the company that all members neglecting to turn up to drill at the appointed time and place, unless excused by the officer in command, would render themselves liable to a penalty of 2s 6d. Members should bear this in mind and make a point of attending drill. -Tuapeka Times, 10/10/1885.
"ALCOHOL AND THE HUMAN BODY."
A LECTURE on the above subject will be given by Mr F. A. Joseph in the Schoolhouse, Blue Spur, on MONDAY EVENING, commencing at 7.30 o'clock.
R. NEILL, Sec. Band of Hope Society. Tuapeka Times, 21/11/1885.
WAIKOIKOI.
February 6. — Mr F. A. Joseph, who is on a visit to this district at present, delivered a lecture on "Spiritualism" in the school on the 29th ult. The lecture was given in aid of the Public Library, and as most of the inhabitants of the district turned out on the occasion the funds received a good help from the proceeds. The lecture, which was listened to throughout with interest, dealt with spiritism both ancient and modern. The lecturer gave a brief account of the spiritual beliefs of the ancient Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Indians, and other peoples of a world gone by, dealing more fully with the religious teachings of Zoroaster, Buddha, and Confucius. Reverting to modern spiritism, he explained how a wave of spiritism, which took its rise in what has passed into history as the "Rochester Rappings," passed over the United States and spread to other lands, till half the world was agitated with the startling marvels of spirit seances. The professed beliefs of leading spiritists, such as Robert Dale Owen and Daniel Home, were referred to, and the keystone of modern spiritism shown to have collapsed in the expose of "Katie King'' and the Davenports. The lecturer explained that, although a great deal of humbug and imposture had crept into so-called spirit manifestations, still all the phenomena were not of this class. He was quite willing to admit that some of the phenomena with which believers in spiritism would startle the world were due to spirit agency, but then the spirits performing were those of the living persons forming the "spirit circle," and not the disturbed ghosts of the departed. At the close of the lecture a vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer for the interesting lecture. -Otago Witness, 13/2/1886.
THE SKETCHER.
THE HERMIT OF THE TAIERI.
By. F. A. Joseph.
It was during the summer months of 1883 that I met him at Taieri Mouth — a pleasant and respectable looking gentleman, in the prime and vigour though perhaps past the meridian of manhood. We did not know his name, though I have since ascertained it. He came as an incognito, and I have no wish to drag forth into the vulgar public gaze one whose rule of life was not to let his right hand known what was done with his left. He came, he averred in search of quite and rest; and the open frank countenance lit up by a smile which was contagious to the beholder, readily secured for him what he requested — a few weeks lodging in a private house beside the sea, which seemed to have a charm for him. Perhaps its varying moods harmonised with his own, or its troubled waters lulled a spirit like their own which knew not how to rest. "G. de B." was all the address on his portmanteau, and as "G. de B." I will speak of him. From information subsequently gleaned from various sources, I have learned that "G. de B." was a Church of England clergyman, and at one time served as chaplain on board a man-of-war. Before leaving England he had received one of those rude shocks which too often strain to its utmost the mental equilibrium of a finely organised nature, and the shock had evidently not left him altogether unscathed. His fiancee had died suddenly, and when he found that the dream of happiness for him was over, and the star of his life fallen from his heaven, he sought across the waters to allay, as far as possible, the poignancy of an ever-present sorrows. Eccentric he was, at times to such a degree as to cause doubts of his sanity, but beneath and behind his peculiar ways there were, firm fixed in his inner nature, some of the noblest elements of true manhood. That quiet which he sought he found at Taieri Mouth, and as he was a fond lover of nature, he passed the time pleasantly, spending the long summer days fishing or exploring the forest near the shore. His religious convictions were firm fixed principles, far removed from the cant which has too often to do duty for the genuine article, and, unlike most of the intensely religious, he practiced what he preached. To visit the sick and fatherless and any in distress, reveals the very highest order of Christian duty, and wherever there was sickness or sorrow, "G. de B." was sure to go with words of comfort and good cheer. Religion with its outward observances, was a necessary part of his everyday life; still his was not a religion of that obnoxious kind which obtrudes itself upon the public notice at times — both opportune or inopportune; and a kindly serious word from "G. de B." was almost always fully appreciated. The advent of other visitors caused him to leave his comfortable lodgings, when his hermit life began. He crossed over to the Akatore river, where, with his small, very small Rob Roy canoe he lived in seclusion, spending a good deal of his time fishing and wandering by the seashore, or in silent communion with his own thoughts. What these were he kept sealed up closely within the safe keeping of his own inscrutable mind, and no man ever knew from his own lips what his secrets were. If inquiries casually made, or apparently so, meant anything, "G. de B." appeared to have had some dim notion when he left England of doing a little private missionary work among the Maoris in places where no regular services were conducted. Whether this had been his intention or not no one will ever know. He had money, the gift of a friend, I have heard, with which to build a small vessel of some kind fit to go to sea in. After spending some weeks at Akatore, "G. de B." went to Port Chalmers and had a nice little decked boat of about six tons built, himself modelling the craft and superintending the building. "The Blessing," as he named his little craft, was a tidy, well finished little boat, which in due time was sailed round to the Taieri, "G. de B." in command, with a crew of one. True to his rule of life; he insisted upon the crew coming to prayers before the anchor was weighed, which was somewhat reluctantly done on the part of the crew, who did not see the fitness of the thing.
The Hermit of the Taieri now took up his abode a few miles below the Taieri ferry bridge, being sole occupant of an empty house not far from the river, while "The Blessing" lay rusting out her cable in full view of the door. Her hermit owner paid daily devotions to her, and spent many hours aboard his much-loved craft, which, in his eyes, seemed a thing of beauty, if not a joy for ever. As months rolled by and "The Blessing" still lay quietly at anchor, people began to wonder what her owner ever had her built for, and no doubt he was puzzled in his own mind what use to put her to. As for him, he was seldom visible, and always contrived to be away from home when a visitor chanced to call. How he passed his days none could tell, as he chose to avoid as far as possible the presence of his fellow-beings. Even his newspaper, according to explicit instruction, was placed over the fence, so that he needed not to see a human face, while obtaining his only connecting link of communication with the outer world. He was sometimes seen to visit a patch of forest, where he often remained for hours at a stretch, but his errand was known only to himself. Whether, like Sancho Panza, he did penance, with the trees to help him to bear the infliction, or whether he was studying botany, rumor is silent upon. The indispensable necessities of existence alone compelled the hermit to come forth from his seclusion; and on such rare occasions, when supplies ran down, he might be seen in appearance, and in every respect quite a gentleman, going to Dunedin, and returning with his goods. When inquisitive minds were compelled to acknowledge themselves defeated in the attempt to fathom the life purpose of "G.de B " and when some shook their heads and gravely asserted that one of these fine days some one would have to take him to the lunatic asylum, he suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. No one knew whither he had gone. The Blessing lay at anchor in her usual place, and the Rob Roy canoe was carefully housed on shore; but their owner, where was he? When speculation was exhausted, and most people had resolved to accept the mystery as one not yet ripe for solution, a letter came from Stewart Island, enclosing a key, wherewith to unlock the hatchway of the Blessing, and giving instructions to forward the canoe and sundry articles packed inside of it to the hermit himself, who, impelled by the spirit of unrest which appeared to haunt him, had taken himself off to the wilds of that sparsely peopled island, where he hoped to enjoy unbroken seclusion. After some months, spent in true hermit fashion, during which time "G. de B." was living a life of complete isolation, the outside world heard of him again — at least those who had known him as the Hermit of the Taieri had no difficulty in recognising his hand. He was in constant receipt of the Christian Record, and no doubt his noble and self-denying action was prompted from an appeal which appeared in that paper. Mr Chalmers, one of the New Guinea missionaries, felt very much the hardship of pursuing his calling in an open boat, and urged those who had the cause of the mission at heart to provide a little decked craft for the convenience of the mission. From my personal knowledge of him, I am quite satisfied that "G. de B." did not hesitate long after he saw the appeal. It is true that he loved his tidy little craft, and that parting with her must have cost him some pain, but if he considered it a matter of duty private feelings and interests would each alike be subordinated to the higher call.
Then came the noble offer freely giving a six-ton decked boat to the Mission Society. The public were a little puzzled at the generous donor asking for his name to be withheld. Most men like to be known in such matters, but not so this man; he looked for a higher reward than the praise of men. But when it became known that the "Blessing" was the name of the boat, we, who had known her owner, had no difficulty in discovering the noble giver of a truly noble gift; for he gave not in the plenitude of his wealth, but like the widow of old, gave all that he had. Strangers came and took the "Blessing" away from the spot where she had long lain at anchor, and her former owner never so much as saw his pretty boat before she was despatched on her errand of mercy, to carry the good tidings to poor souls plunged in the deepest gloom of barbarism and groping in the gross midnight of primitive darkness, but we may rest assured that if human prayers are of any avail, never craft was launched upon the deep on such an errand with such a true prayer for her welfare as that with which "G. de B." consigned her to the service of Him whom he delighted to serve. In due time the "Blessing" reached her destination, and in deference to the wish of her former owner, she still retains her name, with the difference only that it has been translated into the vernacular of the people who will yet come to reverence the "Hanamoa" as in every respect a blessing in very deed to them. "G. de B." was but a stranger in a strange land, and yet he has left behind him a more lasting memory than many of those who ostentatiously contribute towards the missionary cause in heathen lands, and when the names of the latter shall have returned to the oblivion from which they sprung, the "Hanamoa" will be spoken of, and men will think kindly of the good man who freely gave her to a good service. Some time after the little craft had been engaged in mission work, I chanced to see "G. de B." in Dunedin. He was then en route for England. I thought I noticed a change in his appearance; the restless look had faded from his eyes, which were then calm and bright, and the whole bearing of the man was subdued yet dignified. He told me, in his usual frank manner, that God had been pleased to bring him through a great trial; and I sincerely believe that he experienced what he said, and that he was about to return to his friends, clothed and in his right mind. Here we take farewell of him, but never can we read of mission work in New Guinea without recalling the "Blessing" and the Hermit of the Taieri. -Otago Witness, 13/8/1886.
Local and General
Changes in School Teachers. — Mr F. A. Joseph, the newly Appointed teacher of Milford school, has arrived, and will commence his duties next Monday. Mr Penney, who has for the last couple of years or more been in change of the Geraldine Flat School has received an appointment under the Wellington Education Board. Mr Penney during his time in the Geraldine Flat School has done good work, and his departure will be regretted by a large circle of friends. -Temuka Leader, 10/2/1887.
Taieri Beach
Last Friday evening Mr F.A. Joseph delivered a lecture in the school, entitled "Other Worlds than Ours." Although it was a dark night the people turned out well, and listened attentively to the lecture, which was full of interest. The Rev. Mr Hall, of Waihola, occupied the chair. The lecture was the first of a series which Mr Joseph intends giving during the winter. A sketch of the dimensions of the universe, as understood by astronomers, was given, leading outward from the solar system to the star depth and independent galaxies. -Otago Witness, 13/7/1888.
Mr F. A. Joseph has been writing to the 'Daily Times' about the Taieri punt. He is very rough on the contriver of the machine, which he call an "antiquated pontoon." It certainly never has been a success; the winch never worked properly, the approaches had a habit of getting washed away, and the punt itself has been to the bottom. Mr Joseph thinks that if some stormy night the chain broke and the concern went out to sea, it would be the best thing that could happen. And possibly it would. We have no idea who was responsible for the design, but he must have been a man who never saw a punt before, or one properly constructed and able to travel across a river mouth with a strong tide or a powerful current coming down. -Bruce Herald, 9/6/1891.
SPARE HALF HOURS.
By F. A. Joseph.
UTILISING WASTE POWER.
Since the drift of our high-class modern civilisation tends to increase the world's population all along the line, the day is not remotely distant when the population will press closely on the heels of production. In the denser centres of population this is already the case, and how to arrange our social system so that all may be clothed and fed as civilised human beings ought to be clothed and fed is a problem engaging the earnest attention of our social economists. In new countries like our favoured Britain of the South, where a responsive soil yields abundance at the merest touch of the hand of man, there is no immediate call for the exercise of parsimony in dealing with Nature's products. Nature's liberality makes the battle of life comparatively easy for the average colonial, and the fact that we can jog along so comfortably without any special effort will yet recoil upon us as a nation, when we are compelled to exercise that thrift by means of which alone one half the people of older countries are enabled to exist at all. Necessity is said to be the mother of invention, and when need presses many natural resources now going to waste will be utilised. In a well ordered household there should be no waste, and the same rule applies to a well ordered community. Among the many natural resources which we allow to go to waste, none, perhaps, receive less notice than the passing winds and the flowing waters of our rivers and streams. These are Nature's own mechanical powers, ready to hand for our use, if we would only utilise them. Steam may be a more scientific kind of force, but we can only apply it in a round-about fashion. First we have to expend no little human energy in procuring the coal with which we generate the force, and the painful fact stares us in the face that that source of energy is rapidly becoming exhausted. The passing winds have long lent their wings to speed the bark of human progress. Who could gaze upon a ship with her fair sails spread to the breeze, gliding like a living thing over the waters, without recognising the power of this natural force? By means of the wind mills man has largely augmented the strength of his puny arm; but unfortunately this source of power is too intermittent, and too variable to admit of its universal adoption. In those lonely islands of the Pacific, where the trade winds are tolerably constant, the passing winds might pretty well supply the whole machine power required for the greater portion of the year; and no form of energy could be more suitable in those burning tropic climes, where the heat and smoke incident to the use of steam would be particularly objectionable. But in our country where there is nothing so unreliable as the wind, that form of energy will never be in good repute.
In the majestic rivers that flow from the mountains down to the sea, however, we have one form of natural resource not to be despised. Who could estimate the power running to waste in the Clutha alone among our New Zealand rivers? Could that waste power be applied, it would furnish force enough to run all the machinery in the South Island. The trouble is that the power and the machine are too far apart; and this calls forth the query, should not our chief industrial centres be ranged alongside mighty rivers like the Clutha? Is the plan of making the chief hive of the human bee near a seaport, and then carrying to it from a distance all the elements of industry the best plan? I think this part of our social system needs inquiring into. Would it not harmonise better with the economy of Nature if we were to plant our factories alongside some great natural source of energy, and then carry our manufactured products to the seaports? I think it would. Many will object that the rough country through which the Clutha runs is unsuitable for populous towns. Then why not specialise forms of industry, and have smaller towns devoted to special pursuits? The river forms a good highway up to a certain point, and beyond that there is an easy grade for a railway. The fertile valleys in the Clutha basin are natural hothouses in which the choicest fruits can be grown, and grapes ripen in the open air. I have never ridden along the banks of this noble river, and viewed its charming surroundings, without feeling that Nature designed it for the busy home of civilised man. And such a home it might be! Crystal streams, brilliant sunshine, pure mountain air, and a wild rushing river to drive the mills that grind the golden grain. In a lesser degree the same might be said of the Waitaki and the Mataura. But instead of ideal cities, what do we find? Stern, naked solitudes, whose stillness is only broken by the sheep's plaintive bleat, and echoes that awake to the baying of the shepherd's dog, or the lonely miner's song.
A prophet once said, "If the mountain will not come to Mahomet, then Mahomet must go to the mountain." After the same style of prophecy we might say, If the people will not go to the river, then the river must be brought to the people. This brings us to the transmission of power by electricity, and that is the problem which is engaging the attention of many scientists to-day. In America anxious eyes have gazed with regret upon the enormous amount of energy hourly and momentarily going to waste over the Niagara Falls, and soon, it is hoped, some of this waste power will be transferred to neighbouring cities. When the problem of transmitting electrical power over long distances is practically solved a great future is in store for us. From the banks of the Mataura, Invercargill and other southern cities would derive the motive power for all the machinery employed; the Clutha would supply other towns right up to Dunedin and Oamaru, while the Waitaki might supply the bulk of Canterbury. The energy of running water is a stable kind of force, and no steadier form of driving power could be obtained. And it is a source of energy that can be used over and over again, for once having passed over or through the generating wheels it is free to use again. Thus, in such a river as the Clutha, with a steep, swift course, water wheels might be placed in succession only a few yards apart without in the least weakening the motive power of the stream. We do not appreciate this to the full as yet; when our supplies of coal have been pretty well exhausted, men will turn their attention to such enormous sources of power as are now allowed to run to waste in waterfalls and swift-flowing rivers. But meanwhile the busy scientist must perfect his machinery before this power can be practically and economically applied. -Otago Witness, 8/1/1891.
Mr F. A. Joseph has been writing to the 'Daily Times' about the Taieri punt. He is very rough on the contriver of the machine, which he call an "antiquated pontoon." It certainly never has been a success; the winch never worked properly, the approaches had a habit of getting washed away, and the punt itself has been to the bottom. Mr Joseph thinks that if some stormy night the chain broke and the concern went out to sea, it would be the best thing that could happen. And possibly it would. We have no idea who was responsible for the design, but he must have been a man who never saw a punt before, or one properly constructed and able to travel across a river mouth with a strong tide or a powerful current coming down. -Bruce Herald, 9/6/1891.
BRUCE COUNTY MATTERS. TO THE EDITOR.
Sir, — As no one appears inclined to reply to the letter of Mr F. A, Joseph, in your issue of the 8th inst, in reference to the punt at Taieri Month, I shall take it upon myself to do so. The punt was put on the river some time ago at the joint expense of the Bruce and Taieri County Councils, the Bruce county paying two-thirds and Taieri one-third of the cost. The total cost was between £700 and £800 (probably far more than it was worth). Still, I understand it has been of great service and convenience to the settlers on both sides of the river. The yearly expense of maintenance is between £40 and £50, which is paid by the Bruce county, the Taieri Council only maintaining the approach on the Taieri side of the river. To erect a bridge on the site of the punt would cost several thousand pounds, which, of course, is entirely out of the question at the present time. -Otago Daily Times, 22/6/1891.
Country Items
The second number of the Free Press, a local paper for the Balclutha and Kaitangata districts, is to hand. Both leading and local items give promise of a successful future for the Free Press, while the selected matter is of an interesting nature. Mr F. A. Joseph, whose name is as familiar as household words to the readers of the Witness, is editor of the new journal, while Mr J. S. Algie is manager. -Otago Witness, 16/7/1891.
Balclutha
Church Bazaar. — The Wesleyan Church cake and apron fair which came to a close on Monday night last was a very great success, and something like £60 was realised. This will go towards the manse building fund. This bazaar, it is worthy of remark, was conducted without any attempt at gambling or lottery, which so largely enters into the proceedings at church bazaars generally. The only thing in which the gambling spirit was displayed was in a shooting contest for an autograph quilt, where most of the competitors took tickets again and again in the hope of putting in a higher score next time. The quilt, which is a handsome piece of work, was won by Mr F. A. Joseph for a lady (Mrs J. Sheddan), the score being 20 out of a possible 21. -Otago Witness, 17/12/1891.
A Possible Industry. — Writing to the O.D. Times Mr F. A. Joseph says — At Mosgiel the other day Mr Sorensen, one of the Government dairy instructors, expressed the opinion that butter manufacturers here labour under one serious and that is the want of a supply of ice. In conversation with Mr D. Sutherland, of Milford Sound, some time ago, I was informed by that gentleman, that ice in any quantity could be obtained at the foot of the Pembroke Glacier, within half a mile of the sound, with which a tramway could easily connect. I mentioned the matter to Mr J. Sawers, Government dairy instructor, who promised to bring it under the notice of the Minister in charge of the Dairying Department, but whether that has been done or not I do not know. This is a matter which the Government should inquire fully into, as if a plentiful supply of ice can be obtained within easy distance of a good harbour that should solve the problem of a supply of ice for our dairy factories, and in addition to that a trade in ice with Melbourne might spring up. -Southland Times, 23/12/1891.
SPARE HALF HOURS.
By F. A. Joseph,
THE PHONOGRAPH.
Edison's wonderful talking machine.
The name of Thomas Alva Edison will assuredly go down to posterity as the most notable among the inventors living in an age when invention is piled upon invention, and the world has no sooner recovered breath from the startling boldness of one invention when another still more startling puts it in the shade. The electric telegraph is one of these modern miracles of which the world is justly proud, but bold as the conception of the telegraph was, it has been surpassed by the telephone. It is truly a triumph of the god-like mind of man to send written speech around the world, and to its utmost girdle, on the wings of the lightning; but to transmit ordinary human speech across hundreds of miles of intervening space is not less wonderful, and the time is not far in the earning centuries when it will be possible to speak to our friends in some remote corner of the globe and to hear their voices in reply; aye, and to see their faces, even while we are speaking to them, so rapidly is science bridging across the gulfs of time and space. When it was shown that exactly the same kind of air-waves projected by the voice of a speaker, or the sound of a musical instrument, into the receiver of a telephone could be sent along the electric current over a wire and reproduced in the same way at the other end, something new was learned regarding human speech, and also regarding the close affinity between sound waves and the electric current. It has long been suspected by physicists that sound, light, heat, and electricity are each and all but different expressions of one and the same entity. Just exactly what that entity is, no man can as yet say. There are scientific theories, but these for the most part have not got beyond the theoretical stage. It is a fact worthy of note that Edison, the greatest inventive genius in electrical science, is comparatively ignorant of scientific theories regarding this mysterious something, which he makes a plaything of, and appears to be able to press into service at will.
But the phonograph, the most wonderful of all his inventions, is, unlike most of them, not an electrical machine. It is true electricity is employed to give motion to its working parts, but the same end could be accomplished by the aid of any other motive power. The phonograph, like the telephone, is simplicity itself when its mechanism is clearly understood. The essential parts of the instrument are a glass diaphragm, a steel needle, and a cylinder of wax. The diaphragm consists of very thin glass, about the 250th of an inch thick, and to this one end of a small steel needle is attached. A revolving journal carries a mandrill upon which a hollow cylinder of hard wax is fixed. The motive power is supplied by means of a primary battery through an electric motor contained within the box upon which the phonograph is fixed. The journal carries a very fine screw thread, cut to the thickness of 100 to the inch, and an attachment resting in the groove slowly moves the mandrill with the wax cylinder endwise, so as to bring a different surface in a spiral direction under the needle. There are two separate arrangements, one for receiving and the other for reproducing speech or other sounds. In the receiving attachment, on a person speaking into the receiving tube or funnel, the sound waves set the glass diaphragm vibrating in response to the sounds emitted. For various reasons glass makes the best diaphragm. Being nonelastic, the vibrations are sharp and distinct, and there are no secondary vibrations, which would certainly be the case if any metallic substance were employed. The recording needle is attached by gum shellac to the centre of the glass diaphragm, and the sharp point just touches the wax cylinder. Now, as the cylinder revolves beneath the needle, certain indentation marks are made upon it, and these are the hieroglyphics which can be used to reproduce speech or other sounds. Long has the antiquarian puzzled over some of the ancient writings, but should the antiquarian of the future stumble across a phonograph cylinder with its graven record, he would attempt in vain to convert its written characters into human speech. The writing on the cylinder is very small, and even when viewed under a good magnifier no one who had not been told would imagine for a moment that it was the graven record of human speech.
The reproducing apparatus of the phonograph is almost identical with the receiving part, with the difference simply that the reproducing needle has a ball point, so that it slides smoothly over the hills and gullies of the unique record. As the cylinder revolves the needle jumps over the track made by the sharp recording needle, the fixed end causes the glass diaphragm to vibrate, and lo! the result — the same sound is emitted as that which made the record. To reduce human speech to a system of written characters — for the phonograph is to all intents and purposes a system of written characters — and afterwards to reconvert these hieroglyphics into ordinary speech ie surely the most startling miracle of this age of miracles. Had Edison lived when the sombre shadow of the priesthood shrouded the human mind in superstition and darkness, he would have suffered martyrdom for his magic; but in our more enlightened day we simply admire the man for his very boldness, and for the splendid brilliancy of his genius. In order to hear the reproduction of a phonograph record, a large metal funnel is used to magnify the sound, but unfortunately the defects are magnified at the same time, so that the reproduction is never quite identical with the original. Notwithstanding this it is quite easy to recognise a well-known voice, and in days to come no doubt the phonograph will be extensively employed as a means of enabling friends separated by the diameter of the globe to hear each other's voices; and when the dead forgotten lie, loved ones may again and again hear the cadence of their onceloved voices. -Otago Witness, 25/2/1892.
WHO IS JOSEPH?
TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — Who is the F. A. Joseph who has been so much en evidence in the columns of your paper of late? First we have him descanting upon frozen meat and ice from the West Coast, next he comes to the rescue of the satellites of the high priest Baal, and then he tenders his advice to the school committees of Otago. And now, ah me! we have him on that threadbare subject which ever finds an uppermost place in his fertile brain. Who is F. A. Joseph I say? Is he the F. A. Joseph who at one time taught the young idea how to shoot at romantic Milburn? Is he the F. A. Joseph who subsequently guided the editorial destinies or Conservative Tuapeka? Is he the F. A. Joseph who once ran a sixpenny lecture on spiritism throughout the up-country districts of Otago, and who subsequently bobbed up to public view again in the hands of John F M Fraser in the Gallie case? Is he the F A Joseph who has recently once more taken possession of a second editorial chair in one of Otago's least known of up-country villages? Tell me, pray do tell me!
— I am, &c, Joseph's Coat. -Otago Daily Times, 25/2/1892.
Joseph's wide-ranging intellect ranged wide indeed - in this case, beyond the bounds of his home planet, to that of the Martians...
SPARE HALF HOURS.
By F. A. Joseph.
COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER WORLDS.
No more startling problem in this nineteenth century of startling discoveries could surely be attempted to be solved than that of communicating with the intelligence of another world by the application of purely scientific methods. Yet there are some who in sober earnest cling to the belief that the problem is capable of solution. The use of such, as was shown in an article in Science Notes a few weeks back, is directed towards the planet Mars, which is to a very great extent the counterpart of the earth. No other heavenly body possesses so much of interest for us as this little fiery red planet, with its continents and oceans and polar snows showing distinctly in the telescope. Mars has reached a stage in planet life which will not be attained by our planet for thousands or even millions of years to come. The excess of land over water, coupled with the generally cloudless aspect of the little planet, reveals a wonderfully equable climate, bright with sunshine, and remarkably free from storms. Precipitation of watery vapour in all probability takes place in the shape of copious dews more than in rain. Still the conditions which produce rain on our planet are not altogether wanting in Mars, for observers have actually watched clouds floating o'er the landscape and obliterating a portion of it while under view through the telescope.
The distinctly reddish tinge of Mars is attributed to the colour of the plant life of the planet, and there is nothing wild in this theory. As there is a preponderance of brown or sombre hues in our own landscape, our planet may appear reddish in colour to an observer in Mars. If there are storms in Mars they would appear to be almost solely confined to the polar regions of the planet. It is well known to meteorologists that wide ocean expanses are the regions of violent storms, and it is easy to understand that a planet with very much less ocean than land is almost certain to be comparatively free from storms, as Mars appears to be.
Analogy is the safest guide in Nature, and every scientist of to-day is satisfied to base his deductions on analogy. Mars is the analogue of the earth, whatever the other planets may be. There is the same alternation of day and night, and of the seasons; snow falls in the polar regions, as in our planet, as evidenced by the waxing and waning of the ice cap round the pole according to the seasons, and when snow falls in the polar regions it is surely safe to assume that rain falls within the tropics. Here, then, we have the conditions of life just as we know them on the earth, and is Mars lifeless, a void in the teeming universe? I think anyone who has studied the works of Nature and the methods of working of Nature's God will not hesitate to say that Mars is the abode of life similar to the life of our own globe.
Darwin required 100 million years to elaborate the development of man from the primordial germ, or in other words, to make complete his development theory. Mars is an older planet than the earth, and if endowed with life at a corresponding stage the present life of the planet must have reached a much higher stage of development than we have attained. Perchance the men of Mars are basking in the full sunshine of knowledge, while we are only emerging out of the darkness, and blinking in the light which is dazzling our eyes. Look back across the centuries through which history has kept a record, and we find that during the latter half of the nineteenth century more of the world's progress has been made than during all the long centuries of the past. It is as if the sun had suddenly scattered the thick mists that enveloped the race, and almost blinded it with overpowering light.
By means of the telegraph and the telephone we can communicate with others at the distance of half Puck's famous girdle, and a recent discovery shows that in order to communicate with those at a distance the intervention of a wire is not necessary. By means of the heliostat, telegraphic signals may be flashed from hill top to hill top across 100 miles of intervening space, and by means of a beam of light sound may be transmitted to a distance. It is this latter discovery that leads hope to the desire to communicate with Mars. The project is a bold one, but not more bold than others that the vaulting mind of man has conceived. He has even essayed to hold communication with the world of invisible spirits — a far more startling project than communication with Mars. Any attempts made to flash signals to Mars would of course have to be conducted upon a scale of tremendous magnitude, as also would any reponse from Mars. Peculiar bright lines of light have been at times seen in that planet, which have somewhat puzzled observers. If these represent attempts to flash signals to us, the most tremendous difficulty in the way would be the perfecting of the method of interpreting the meaning of the signal. We have succeeded, after patient research, in deciphering the hieroglyphics on Egyptian tombs, and reading the pathetic hymns and prayers of a long lost race who spoke an unknown tongue, and if signals come to us across the void of space in time we shall learn the language of the messenger. It might be easier, however, for us to communicate with Mars than for them to communicate with us. Endowed with higher intelligence as they are presumed to be, the inhabitants of Mars will be more competent to read the language of earth than we are to translate the language of Mars. Man can speak to the lower animals, and by them be perfectly understood, although cannot understand much of their language. It is easier for a higher intelligence to communicate with a lower than vice versa. -Otago Witness, 24/3/1892.
And, closer to home, the Nihilist revolutionaries of the Russian Empire...
SPARE HALF HOURS.
THE NIHILISMS OF THE WORLD.
By F. A. Joseph.
We live in stirring times. The air is laden with the hot breath of revolution, and disappointed men are using as main arguments in their creed, dynamite, and the dagger of the assassin. What does it all mean? What is the raison de etre of this stifled cry that comes to us across the waters, and why do these shuddering horrors creep stealthily through the busy haunts of men? What is Nihilism, or Socialism? These are the questions that the average citizen is putting to his fellow, as he dismisses the subject with a grunt of disapproval or a wave of the hand. The Nihilist or Socialist is popularly looked upon as a bete noir, a murderous beast for whom hanging is too good; but is this in accordance with fact? Let us inquire a little further and see. A writer in a recent number of the Contemporary Review says: —
The popular idea of a Nihilist is that he is a ferocious ruffian, ready for rapine and thirsty for blood, hating restraint, and loathing the law. It would astonish multitudes to learn that "he" is often a woman, and a woman of a very noble order of mind and spirit, too. Here is a picture of one who stood in the front rank as an "anarchist": —
"She was girlhood personified. Notwithstanding her 26 years she seemed scarcely 18. A small, slender, and very graceful figure, and a voice as charming, silvery, and sympathetic as could be, heightened this illusion. It became almost a certainty when she began to laugh, which very often happened. She had the ready laugh of a girl, and laughed with so much heartiness, and so unaffectedly, that she really seemed a young lass of 16. She gave little thought to her appearance. She dressed in the most modest manner, and perhaps did not even know what dress or ornament was becoming or unbecoming. But she had a passion for neatness, and in this was as punctilious as a Swiss girl. She was very fond of children, and was an excellent schoolmistress. There was, however, another office that she fitted even better — that of nurse. When any of her friends fell ill, Sophia was the first to offer herself for this difficult duty, and she performed that duty with such gentleness, cheerfulness, and patience that she won the hearts of her patients for all time. Yet this woman, with such an innocent appearance and with such a sweet and affectionate disposition, was one of the most dreadful members of the Terrorist party."
This woman perished in a horrible gallows butchery in Russia a few years ago. Her letter to her mother a few hours before her execution will tell the rest: —
My dear adored mother, — The thought of you oppresses me always. My darling, I implore you to be calm, and not to grieve for me, for my fate does not afflict me in the least, and I shall meet it with complete tranquility, for I have long expected it, and know that sooner or later it must come. And I assure you, dear mother, that my fate is not such a very mournful one. I have lived as my convictions dictated, and it would have been impossible for me to have acted otherwise. I await my fate, therefore, with a tranquil conscience, whatever it may be. The only thing which oppresses me is the thought of your grief, oh my adored mother! It is that which rends my heart, and what would I not give to be able to alleviate it! I hope that you will be calm, that you will pardon me the grief I have caused you, and not blame me too much; your reproof is the only one that would grieve my heart. In fancy I kiss your hands again and again, and on my knees I implore you not to be angry with me. Good-bye till we meet again, my dear mother. Once more, I implore you not to grieve and not to afflict yourself for me.
And here is a picture of the men who were Nihilist pioneers: —
Everything that is noble and sublime in human nature seemed concentrated in these generous young men. Inflamed, subjugated by their grand idea, they wished to sacrifice for it not only their lives, their future, their position, but their very soul. They sought to purify themselves from every other thought, from all personal affections, in order to be entirely, exclusively devoted to it. Rigorism was elevated into a dogma. For several years, indeed, even absolute asceticism was ardently maintained among the youth of both sexes. The propagandists wished nothing for themselves. They were the purest personification of self-denial.
These glimpses of Nihilists do for Nihilism what a lightning flash does for a landscape,
After reciting the insanely despotic methods of the Government, Stepniak asks:
What did it represent but brute force? Against such a Government everything is permitted. It is no longer a guardian of the will of the people or of the majority of the people. It is organised injustice. A citizen is no more bound to respect it than to respect a band of highwaymen, who employ the force at their command in rifling travellers. The Terrorist fights not only for the people, to render them the arbiters of their own destinies, not only for the whole nation stifling in the pestiferous atmosphere, but for himself, for the dear ones whom he loves, whom he adores with all the enthusiasm which animates his soul, for his friends, who languish in the horrid cells of the central prisons, and who stretch forth to him their skinny hands imploring aid.
Every Nihilist knows full well what his chances are in this grim campaign. The history of the Russian prison is too well known. On one occasion 193 suspected persons were placed on trial, and during the four years over which the trial was dragged out, those who committed suicide, went mad, or died, reached the appalling number of 75. "But," the writer whom I have quoted adds, "there is no ebb to that silent, sad, and mighty flow. Raid after raid is made upon that mysterious sea, but to no purpose. The dark waves close and throb on." Can any reasonable man or woman calmly dismiss this subject with a gesture of impatience, and briefly class the Russian Nihilist or Socialist with the criminal and the willfully profligate? It would be well before so doing to inquire a little deeper into this truly terrible matter, and attempt to find out the method in the apparent madness of Nihilism. Men and women do not as a rule risk everything that life makes sacred, and give up all that love makes dear in pursuit of a will-o'-the-wisp, or for the sake of wanton crime. As certainly as the wild waves of the sea express the fury of the storm, so certainly the smouldering volcano of Nihilism and Socialism bespeaks the revolution that is at hand. We see its extremest expression in Russia, but similar causes are at work in most of the older countries, but what the end may be no man knows. -Otago Witness, 2/6/1892.
Darwin the Man, A Collision with a Comet, In the African Forest, A South Polar Continent, Camping Out, Sun Spots and Heat Waves, State Socialism, The Origin of Gold, Over Hill and Dale, Imagination versus Reason
SPARE HALF HOURS.
By F. A. Joseph.
HARNESSED LIGHTNING.
The human mind is bold in its conceptions, but had an ancient philosopher been told that his modern descendants would harness the very lightning of heaven and make it subordinate to his needs, he would have laughed to scorn such a proposition. Yet we who live in a more enlightened day have actually seen this done; for the lightnings that flash from the thunder cloud with evidence of such tremendous power, and the electrical current which we utilise in a thousand different ways, are but different expressions of the same form of energy.
Exactly what this same form of energy is we do not know, so carefully has Nature kept the secret deep hidden behind the veil that forms the dividing line between two worlds; but within certain limits we can control the electrical form of force and use it as we wish. Along the telegraph wires it conveys the world around messages of friendship and peace to kindred beyond the seas, or the mutterings of strife that threaten to break on our shores in the shape of war. Machines for the generation of electricity are without number; but the most remarkable event of the age in connection with it was the accidental discovery of the reversibility of the dynamo. This discovery was exhibited at the Vienna exhibition in 1873, and M. Figuer says that it was the result of pure accident, and that it arose from the blunder of a workman who coupled a pair of dynamos together with some spare cable which he believed to belong to one of them. To the surprise of every one present the second machine was set in motion by the first. The dynamo is a contrivance for rapidly rotating coils of wire in a magnetic field. The magnets are so arranged that they give out the greatest possible number of lines of force, which lines are cut by the revolving coils of the armature. No written explanation could make clear the construction of a dynamo; the machine must be seen and explained to be understood. The output of a dynamo bears a constant proportion to the weight of metal in the magnets, the number and length of the wire coils that surround them, and the rapidity with which the armature is made to revolve. As these factors can be increased to any required extent, there is practically no limit to the power that may be generated by a dynamo consistent with the power of the steam engine required to drive it. The silence with which the dynamo revolves and the apparent ease with which the whole thing acts is very deceptive to the eye.
The mechanical skill brought to bear in the production of a dynamo results in a machine being made which is as nearly perfect as human hands can make it. The perfect adjustment by which all unnecessary friction is avoided, and the truth of the journals on which the armature travels, renders it quite possible to turn even a large dynamo by hand. But when the electrical current is passing it is astonishing the amount of resistance that is set up, and the power required to drive the dynamo.
The electric motor is a modified dynamo, as it has been found by actual use that the best dynamo is not the best electric motor. In the best dynamo there is an enormously powerful magnetic field and a very weak armature, while in the best motor the armature and field should be nearly equal. This has been amply demonstrated in the case of the Immisch motor, which has an efficiency nearly double that of all other motors made on the dynamo principle. The duty of the dynamo is to generate the electrical current, while that of the motor is to receive it. It matters not what the source of the current be, whether an ordinary dynamo or a chemical battery, in either case the motor will revolve on receiving the current. When viewed calmly and thoughtfully this fact is simply amazing — that we should by a cunningly-devised arrangement of magnets and wire coils and brushes be able to manufacture lighting at will; and then by simply passing that same lightning along a wire to a similarly constructed machine harness it on to the work we desire. So far our investigations have carried us; all we require now is the discovery of some cheap means of generating the current, after which its general introduction into every machine shop and industry of the world would only be a question of time. In the meantime the production of electricity by the steam engine and the dynamo is by far too clumsy a mode of procedure for such a high-class form of energy. By consuming coal to convert water into steam; utilising that steam to drive the steam engine, and then using the engine to drive a dynamo to generate an electrical current wherewith to operate an electric motor is an all too roundabout process. Water power is by far the best prime motor, but water power is not always available within practicable distance, of where the electric motor is required. Some day doubtless a discovery will be made that will simplify the whole process. Our hopes in this direction lie with the chemist rather than with the mechanic; and when a simple machine something like the soda engine is invented the days of steam will be numbered. We have the necessary motor, and we know how to buckle it on to our machinery; what we want now is a cheap supply of the electric current. 'Where water power is available, by means of cell storage, the electric current is made use of in a variety of directions. For launches no better motive power could be used, and anyone once having sailed in an electric launch would not pine for the steam launch again. In the former everything is clean — no smoke, no heat, no disagreeable smell, and no throb of the engines. The electric motor runs silently, and the continuous twist imparted to the propellor makes its motion imperceptible. Not so in the case of steam; each throb of the engine marks the admission of steam into the cylinder with explosive force, as though each thrust of the piston were in response to an explosion within the cylinder of gunpowder. By reason of this the whole ship is shaken from stem to stern, with the accompanying discomfort to the passengers. Were electricity used on the other hand, in smooth water the ship would glide along noiselessly, and the sea would be rid of half its terrors. On railway and tramcar the absence of dirt and smoke would be an inestimable boon, and in big manufacturing cities, instead of poisoning the inhabitants with the black smoke that is now being vomited forth from a thousand smoke stacks, the universal employment of the electric motor would bring life-giving and healing with it in the shape of ozone, which would be given off by every electric machine. We know how to harness the lightning to our machinery; what we want now is to be able to tap the great storehouse of Nature by some simple method, and draw from it what we require at will. -Otago Witness, 30/3/1893.
Mr F. A Joseph writes; "My attention has just been called to a letter in your issue of last Saturday in which Mr James Richardson refers to the late Antone Joseph as having conveyed furniture in a whaleboat. Mr Richardson will no doubt be surprised to learn that Mr Antonio Joseph, my father, is still living at Taieri Mouth, and still quite capable of sailing a boat at sea; in fact he did so not half a dozen years ago." -Otago Daily Times, 21/4/1894.
N.Z. LOAN & M.A. CO. of N.Z. Ltd.,
have received instructions from Mr F. A. Joseph to sell at his residence, Clyde St., Balclutha, Household Effects, including —
Full chest drawers, duchesse table, toilet tables, washstands, kitchen table, iron bedsteads, woven wire mattress, flock and kapok mattresses, chairs, kitchen dresser, Wertheim sewing machine, washing boiler and frame, cooking utensils, crockery ware, &c.
As Mr Joseph is leaving Balclutha, the whole of the above must be sold. -Clutha Leader, 4/6/1897.
Personal
On Wednesday evening Mr F. A. Joseph, late editor of the 'Free Press,' was presented by a few Balclutha friends with a beautifully-bound album as a mark of esteem. Mr Joseph, after a short respite in Wellington, joins the literary staff of our morning contemporary. -Evening Star, 18/6/1897.
The Whaling Station on Taieri Island.
By F. A. JOSEPH.
Illustrations. — (1) Taieri Island, from a painting by Mr J. Mc Aslan. (2) Bill Palmer, the Last of the Old Whalers. (3) The Maori Leap (see page 39). (4) A Scene on the Taieri River (see page 39).
At the mouth of the Taieri River, its rock-bound eastern side breasting the deep swell of the Pacific, stands a picturesque islet, around which a halo of romance clings; grim sentinel guarding the portals of the lovely river, so dear to the memory of the last representatives of the once powerful Ngatimamoe tribe who dwelt by its tide. The Island of Moturata stands, like Samson, shorn of its glory. As the Ngatimamoe knew it, the island was forest clad from shore to summit in the lovely southern rata, which, about Christmastide, puts forth its bright scarlet blossoms, a blaze of brilliant colour set amid deep emerald. Now the islet, some half mile long, and about a quarter of a mile wide, rises up bare and brown to a height of 300 ft. The noble rata forest is as extinct as the race of hardy whalers who had their homes upon it early in the past century, and stunted bracken fern and tussock grass have taken the place of the forest. Not even a stump remains to show that a tree ever took root on this storm-swept isle. At the whaling station, however, there is a trace. The stone fireplaces of the wooden chimneys of the whalers' huts still stand on the western slope of the island, and the spot where the whales were "cut in" and "tried out," is still marked by the remains of the stone and brickwork on which the huge try pots stood, and the rock face hard by is still smoke-grimed. When I first visited Taieri Island three of the great pots stood awash at half-tide near the trying-out station. Two were subsequently removed by settlers to boil pig-feed in, and the third has been buried beneath the accumulations of sand that have since changed the aspect of the western or river side of the island, where the whalers had their boat harbour. Standing on the summit of the island, with the boom of the surf, which tosses the spray high over the rocks on the eastern, or ocean side, in one's ears, it is easy to imagine the echo of distant voices coming across the void that lies between the present and that distant past, when Moturata was the scene of busy life, and when from the same vantage point the head man of the whaling party directed the boats racing with each other to be first amongst a school of passing whales. But there is no sign of life stirring now, save when a timid rabbit scuttles to its burrow on your approach, or when the wheeling seagull utters his plaintive cry, as if challenging intrusion upon his domain. The fire-hardened rocks, cast in Nature's mould amid the turmoil of volcanic forces, still resound to the roar of the surf, as the green curling waves break on the shore and send the spume and spray dashing high around. The grim rocks and beetling crags seem to bid defiance to time, and their contour is the same to-day as when the Maoris, fresh over the sea from far-away Hawaiki, first beheld the wooded islet, and named it Moutrata — rata island.
Taieri Island was last inhabited in the heyday of the Tuapeka rush, when the old clay roads became unfit for the heavy stream of traffic that passed over them, and when thousands of the "New Iniquity" had invaded the fair domain of the "Old Identity," and were on their way to the diggings. In these stirring days a pilot station was set up on Taieri Island, and the story of Robinson Crusoe and his man Friday was again recalled by the nicknames applied by facetious ones to Pilot Irvin and his assistant, Pilot Fullerton. But the improvement of the roads obviated the necessity of sending goods by the small coasters by way of the Taieri River, and the old pilot house soon fell into ruins. A few house piles mark the spot where it stood; all else has been obliterated by the rank growth of vegetation on a generous soil. But the time of which I write, when the nineteenth century was still young, Taieri Island was a place of importance. It was while Captain Williams's whaling station was in full swing that, the two brothers Palmer, the younger of whom is still living (at the time of writing), at Henley, came to Dusky Bay. The Palmers, Edwin and William, were Sydney natives, as those who were born in that town used to be called. Their father was a soldier, who fought under Wellington in the Peninsular War, and who subsequently came to Sydney with his regiment to look after the convicts in the early days of the convict settlement. The young Palmers, with the martial blood of generations of Englishmen burning hot in their veins, early sought some more fitting outlet for their energies than the humdrum life of a convict station afforded. The new industry across the Tasman Sea, on the stormswept New Zealand coast, held the promise of a field of adventure such as their natures pined for. Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, "Old Bill Palmer," as a younger generation has designated him, came, along with his brother Edwin, to Preservation Inlet. It was towards the close of the year 1831, when the old man, now tottering to the grave at 90 years of age, and who was but a stripling in his twentieth year, came to New Zealand. His brother was 15 years older. No wonder that his face looks rugged, and the snows of age have blanched his shock head of hair. Nine decades of a century leave their mark upon the toughest constitution, and wonderful men these must have been to have endured the inroads of time so long, and to have defied the destructive influences of the wild life they led.
The early whaling days brought many fearless, smart men to these coasts, and amongst the most distinguished, at a time when courage and skill were invaluable, there were no braver men and no more skilful whalers than Ned and Bill Palmer. Edwin Palmer acted as coastal pilot for Mr Tuckett in his memorable cruise in the schooner Deborah, in 1844. William Palmer also remembers Tuckett well, having taken him from Tautuku to the next river, the Tahakopa, in a whale boat on the return journey from the south.
At the time of the Deborah's cruise the whaling station on Taieri Island was in charge of the renowned Tommy Chasland, whose name has been perpetuated in the promontory known as Chasland's Mistake, and latterly by a county riding being named Chaslands. Tommy Chasland was a halfcaste Australian, or New Holland black, as the aborigines were then termed; and by those who knew him intimately said not to have been at all a bad sort of fellow. He and William Palmer were partners at Tautuku at an earlier date, but Chasland subsequently became manager for the Weller Bros, at Taieri Island. What manner of man Chasland's father was is not now known, but the redoubtable Tommy was about as fearless as a man well could be, and the strain of black blood in his veins gave him that skill and cunning so much prized in a slayer of whales. Yet, in spite of his well-tried skill Chasland sometimes committed errors of judgment in approaching a whale, and on one occasion nearly paid the penalty of rashness with his life. It was while he was at Tautuku in partnership with Bill Palmer that the mishap occurred, which cost him the loss of a whale boat and half his crew. It was on a June morning that a rift in the fog showed a school of whales in the offing, and as the fog gave signs of lifting the boats were launched and gave chase. Tommy Chasland, with unerring skill, was soon fast to a whale, behind which the boat was rushing at high speed into the fog which began to close down again. All went well until the boat came close up to the whale. Chasland allowed the boat to come a little too near, in order to make the thrust of the whale lance the more effective. The lance got home all right, but the whale at the same time made a plunge, and by a single stroke of its mighty flukes shore the boat in half, sending three of the crew (one European and two Maoris) to the bottom. Chasland, Sam Perkins and a Maori clung to the remaining half of the boat, the other half being shattered to matchwood. After waiting a long time, wet through and shivering in the fog, with no signs of help coming, Chasland divested himself of all his clothing and ventured on the attempt to swim ashore, although the wrecked boat was good six miles off shore at that time. Promising his mates to send help if he got to land he bade them good-bye and plunged into the wintry waters. He lad not been gone an hour when two of the other boats came along and rescued Sam Perkins and the Maori. The latter, however, did not afterwards recover from the effects of the long exposure in the icy water. The boats cruised about in a zig-zag fashion, and the crews cooeed in vain, till well in shore, when the search for Chasland was abandoned md the redoubtable whaler given up for lost. The circumstance was reported to the men at the whaling station, and he deepest gloom was experienced at the supposed loss of the most daring man who ever lanced a whale. The men mourned Chasland as dead! Not a bit of it. They little knew the marvellous powers of endurance of the man. Late in the afternoon one of the men noticed something moving through the fog along the beach, and soon it was distinguished as a naked man. A shout of joy went up, and several went off to meet him. Tommy Chasland had successfully covered the whole distance that lay between him and his only hope of safety at the time of the accident by swimming, and seemed one the worse for his experience. A dry suit of clothes and pannikin of rum wiped out all trace of the adventure, and Chasland was ready for the fray again.
The whaling station at Taieri Island in 1844 was a four-boat station, and the boat steerers were Harry Wickson Tom Ashwell, Jim Phillips, and Charlie Fowley — Englishmen every one of them, who had either left their country for their country's good, or merely in quest of a life of adventure In accordance with the customs of the time each whaler had a Maori wife. As the Maoris very jealously guarded the honour of their women folk, the whalers found it wise policy to take to themselves wives from among the native women, who were generally found willing partners to the bargain. Chasland's wife, Puna, was a relation of the Otakou chief, Taiaroa, who, at that time, had his headquarters at Port Levi. Concerning this woman Mr Tuckett wrote: "She is one of the few Maori women that I have seen capable of being a helpmate to a civilised man, and they keep a very comfortable fireside, not the less so from the bleak barrenness which surrounds their dwellings; nowhere, perhaps, do 20 Englishmen reside on a spot so comfortless as this naked, inaccessible isle." Further describing the island, Mr Tuckett add: "Sometimes at low water there is a dry bank to the mainland; at other times the entire beach has shifted, and the mouth of the river has taken its place." The bank is a shifty thing even to this day, and while there are times when, at low tide, one may walk dryshod from the mainland to the island, at other times, in Mr Tuckett's words, "the waves break to and fro so that it seems impossible to get across without being swamped." The whalers built their huts on the western slope, where now is a rank growth of tall fern, and where a few mutton birds rear their annual brood. Of a fine day the sun shines warm against the slope, but when a S.W. gale sweeps over the island, and lifts the spray from the curving breakers, no bleaker place for human habitation could well be imagined. The pilots had their houses at the northern end, where the shoulder of the hill gave some shelter from southerly winds and weather; but it was exposed to the full force of northerly and southeast gales, the latter being the most disagreeable, for when a south-easter blows home the east coast of the island is exposed to the full force of the giant waves that roll shoreward and fall with deafening crash on the rocks, sending the spray in drenching showers clean over the lower slopes of the island. The site chosen by the whalers was completely sheltered from that wind. It was, moreover, the most convenient for the men who had the try-works and the boats to look after close below them. The fresh water cave, where a supply of the clearest, coolest fresh water can be obtained on the hottest summer day, was also close at. hand. It is the only place on the island where fresh water can be obtained, and the pilots had to carry it right across to the other end, where their house stood, since it was impossible to use the water off the roof so often wet with salt sea spray. Dr Monro, who accompanied Tuckett, gives a description of the Waikouaiti whaling station, which fairly well describes whaling stations in general at that time. He says the shed in which the oil was tried out smelt "like a thousand filthy lamps"; while "the whole beach was strewed with gigantic fragments of the bones of whales, and flocks of gulls, cormorants, and other sea birds, and savage looking pigs prowled about to pick up the refuse. The place altogether, like other whaling stations, is a picture of the most perfect neglect of anything like I order or neatness. The huts in which the men live — rickety things — are stuck about in all directions, and not one of them possesses a garden. There seemed, however, to be abundance of poultry, as well as dogs and pigs; and another common feature of whaling stations was also to be seen there in perfection, in the shape of a variety of dirty native women, half-dressed in tawdry European clothes, with a proportionate number of half-caste children." Dr Monro, in his journal, embodied in Dr Hocken's book, refers to the landing of the party at Taieri Island, when trying-out operations were in full swing. He says: "Close to where we landed an enormous whales head, stripped of its blubber, was anchored, which I mistook for a large rock, and on a projecting ledge the process of trying-out was going on busily, and diffusing a most grateful odour of train oil." The landing place at the boat harbour he describes thus: "We were rushed up a species of wooden railway by a following sea, which thundered into foam about us, a number of men being ready to receive the boat and drag it high and dry. We then ascended a sort of staircase along the edge of a steep cliff, with a rude balustrade to hold on by, and on a little platform at the top found a number of grass huts, the habitations of the whalers. We were here most hospitably entertained by a Mr Chasland, the head man on the island, while his active Maori wife acquitted herself most respectably of the household duties of cooking and bedmaking."
Of all those fearless, reckless men, who found the wild adventurous life of whale fishing congenial, old Bill Palmer alone remains in the land of the living - a link with a past fast fading into oblivion. Parara, the Maoris call him, and Titi, his Maori wife, bore him nine children, of whom several are still living. Later in life he married a half-caste woman who was the mother of 15 Children. Like the Patriarchs of old Bill Palmer has left behind him a numerous progeny of children and grandchildren; aye, and great-grandchildren, too. Down through the generations there is nothing tells like British blood, and it is no marvellous thing that some of Bill Palmer's sons should display the courage of their sires.
In that awful night when the Wairarapi lay on the rocks with surf-swept decks, and the pitiless waves were beating the life out of the shivering wretches clinging to the rigging, young Harry Palmer worked his way aft at great risk and with infinite difficulty with a rope, which he made fast to the after rigging, and so enabled some to scramble forward to a place that afforded greater safety. Poor Harry helped to save others that night, and escaped with his life, only to lose it a few months afterwards through being caught in the machinery of a gold dredge on the Molyneux. Frank and open as the clear light that scintillated in his fair blue eyes, Harry Palmer was a fine young fellow — of a type of which any country might be proud. He was generally beloved, and a wide circle of friends felt keen sorrow at his untimely death. In the years gone by Bill Palmer was a smart man, and master of several handicrafts.
When his old occupation died out, he set about boat-building, arid a six-ton boat built by him at Taieri circumnavigated the South Island at the time of the West Coast gold rush. The boat left Taieri loaded with flour, and bricks wherewith to build a baker's oven on arrival at Hokitika; but when off Cape Campbell, in a fresh S.W. gale, the bricks had to go overboard, while a couple of hands with buckets kept the boat from foundering. From the West Coast the boat afterwards cruised southward through all the Sounds, and proceeded to Riverton, rounding the West Cape, under jib only, in a westerly gale. From Riverton she took a prospecting party to Jackson's Bay, where her owner sold her. She was what is known as a sealing boat — that is, a large kind whaleboat — and her seagoing qualities were proved by her long successful cruise round a stormy coast.
When I first made the acquaintance of Bill Palmer, living then near Henley, he was a man rather above medium height, lithe and active, with keen blue eyes, and energetic manner. That his eye was keen and hand practical I have often seen verified by the unerring aim with which he used to harpoon the porpoises from the fishing boat, in the days when groper-fishing was my boyish delight. When I interviewed him six or seven years ago I was astonished to hear the ready alacrity with which he replied to my questions concerning the olden times, but on a recent visit to the old man I found that the intervening half-dozen years had wrought sad havoc with thews and sinews and mind. "My memory is failing," he complained; but at 90 there are few who can recall at will the scenes and incidents of a life thickly crowded with adventure.
The surf still beats on the rock-bound coast, and as the sea ghosts climb the rocks on Moturata they bemoan the past with its scenes of busy life. Of that past there remains but a trace to mark with the stamp of reality what might otherwise, at this distant date, be deemed romance. And, indeed, a halo of romance clings about the surf-beaten rocks, where a number of hardy Englishmen, self-banished from, home and friends and civilisation, eked out a precarious living by as wild and adventurous an occupation as one could well imagine. -Otago Daily Times, 16/4/1903.
Our Dunedin correspondent wires us before going to press that a blasting accident occurred at the Otago Heads in which F. A. Joseph, reporter for the 'Daily Times' was killed, K.G.Allen, was wounded in the ankle though not seriously, also a man named Ryan sustained a broken arm. -Lake Wakatip Mail, 29/1/1904.
FUNERAL NOTICE.
THE Friends of the late Mr F. A. Joseph (and family) are respectfully invited to attend his Funeral, which will leave his late residence, 41 Russell street, for the Southern Cemetery, TO-MORROW (Saturday), at 2.30pm. -Evening Star, 30/1/1904.
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| Southern Cemetery, Dunedin. DCC photo. |
The funeral of the late Francis A. Joseph, who was killed at Harrington Point, lower harbour, on Friday, took place yesterday afternoon, the remains of the deceased gentleman being interred in the Southern Cemetery. The cortege, which was a very long one, comprised the directors of the Otago Daily Times and Witness Company (of which the deceased was an employee), many of the late gentleman's confreres on those journals, representatives of our evening contemporary, the chairman and members of the Otago Harbour Board, and a good sprinkling of old identities and their descendants, in addition to a very large number of personal friends. The Rev. Mr Chisholm was the officiating minister. At the graveside the rev. gentleman took the opportunity of bearing testimony to the excellence of the character of the deceased. He knew his aspirations, and he knew the efforts he had made to achieve them, and at all times he had recognised his kindliness of manner, his marked ability, and his unselfishness and thoughtfulness for others; and occupying, as Mr Joseph had done, a position of great power as a member of the press, he had ever used his influence for good. Telegrams have reached Mrs Joseph from all parts of the colony, including one from Sir J. G. Ward (Minister of Railways), condoling with her in the sad bereavement which has so suddenly overtaken her and her family. The Right Hon. R. J. Seddon, Premier, wired to his Worship the Mayor of Port Chalmers on Saturday morning: — "Regret exceedingly to hear of fatal accident. My heartfelt sympathies are with the bereaved." The Mayor replied thanking Mr Seddon for his sympathetic wishes. -Otago Daily Times, 1/2/1904
THANKS
Mrs F. A. JOSEPH begs to return her Heartfelt Thanks for the many Manifestations of Sympathy shown to her in her late Bereavement. Friends will kindly accept this intimation. -Otago Daily Times, 1/2/1904.
Telegrams
DUNEDIN. Feb. 2. At the adjourned inquest on the body of F. A. Joseph, killed as the result of an explosion at Harrington Point, the jury returned a verdict to the effect that deceased met with his death through an accident by a blow from a stone blown from the quarry, and added a rider that sufficient precaution was not taken to keep the spectators out of danger. The Coroner (Mr Graham-Southland Times, 3/2/1904.
Francis Antonio Joseph was only 50 years old when his versatile and inventive brain was stopped by a rock from the Harrington Point explosion. Who knows what further light he might have brought to his readers? His adventuring mind might have been stimulated by the adventuring life of his father, who survived him by a few more years.
Francis Antonio Joseph was only 50 years old when his versatile and inventive brain was stopped by a rock from the Harrington Point explosion. Who knows what further light he might have brought to his readers? His adventuring mind might have been stimulated by the adventuring life of his father, who survived him by a few more years.
DEATH OF A PIONEER.
MR ANTONIO JOSEPH.
One of Otago’s oldest pioneers — Mr Antonio Joseph — died on Wednesday, July 9, at his home at Taieri Mouth, where he has resided for close on half a century. The late Mr Joseph arrived in Otago in the American whaler Favourite (Captain Young) in the year 1847. The Favourite sailed from New Bedford in the year previous, bound for the Southern Ocean, where whales abounded, and the late Mr Joseph joined the vessel in Flores, one of a group of islands off Western Europe. The Favourite engaged in whaling all round the New Zealand coast, as well as in the vicinity of the Chathams and Macquaries. The vessel was damaged in a collision with a whale off Chalky Inlet, and it was due to this accident that the ship called at Otago Heads (where there was a blacksmith’s forge) to effect repairs to a badly damaged rudder.
Mr Joseph had a remarkably good memory, and his impression of the lower harbour as it appeared well over 60 years ago was most interesting. A great number of Maoris were living near the Heads, few white people, and at what is now Port Chalmers there was only one house in existence, a wattle and daub structure occupied by Mr and Mrs Wyllie, and Mr and Mrs McKay. A little schooner, the Scotia, lay out in the bay, having recently arrived from Sydney, bringing with her the (first draught horses for Otago to the order of Mr John Jones, who was then farming at Cherry Farm, Waikouaiti.
The Favourite, after three weeks' stay, sailed away again and returned the first week in March, 1848, at which time Mr Joseph left the vessel. Later on in l854 the deceased pioneer took charge of a boat which was named the Scotia, after a smaller craft, also owned by Mr John Jones, whose name is inseparable from the early history of Otago. Mr Joseph, in this boat, commenced the early coastal trading in New Zealand waters. Wheat at that period, when the Crimean war was in progress, realised as much as 12s per bushel in Sydney, and Mr Jones bought up wheat wherever any was grown, which, together with his own crops, was shipped at Port Chalmers for the New South Wales capital in the Thomas and Henry, a vessel then trading between Australia, and New Zealand. It was while on a trip from Waikouaiti to Port Chalmers that the Scotia, in charge of Mr Joseph and a crew of two (William Churchill tnd William Dunn), very nearly came to grief, the vessel and crew undergoing a perilous and trying ordeal. The vessel was carried before a howling gale from Cape Saunders to the Nuggets in an incredibly short time, and after three days, during which time the crew was without food, the little vessel reached the Bluff, making ground on Kelly's Beach. The much-fatigued sailors were cared for by James Kelly, a whaler, who saw the craft making the harbour in the early morning. The cargo, which had become soaked with salt water, was dried and reloaded, and the Scotia, taking advantage of a favourable wind, accomplished her much-extended trip from Waikouaiti to Port Chalmers. During the absence of the Scotia the coast as far as Purakanui was searched for traces of wreckage. The only clue gathered was a bale of hay which had been jettisoned, and it was agreed that the Scotia had gone to the bottom of the sea. However, when the vessel turned up at Port Chalmers some 19 days later there was great rejoicing among the residents, who turned out and gave Mr Joseph and his crew a right royal welcome.
Mr Joseph continued the coastal trading for over eight years. During a portion of this period he worked on his own account in a boat called the Annie. Among the other boats sailed by Mr Joseph were the Endeavour (a locally-built craft), the Hope, and the Challenge. He also spent a year lightering in the harbour.
In 1855 Mr Joseph formed one of a party organised to search for the perpetrators of a daring burglary at the Port Chalmers Custom house, during which a safe containing £I400 in gold and notes was stolen. On passing Pulling Point the .safe was discovered and taken back to Port Chalmers, where upon being opened it was found that the money was intact. In 1849 the deceased gentleman formed one of a whaleboat crew which raced a Yankee whaling crew for a wager of £5, winning the race with something to spare. Later on Mr Joseph devoted his attention to farming at Taieri Mouth, where he remained up to the time of his death yesterday, which brought to a close a useful career, and one full of interesting and varied experiences. Mr Joseph leaves a family of six sons and two daughters and numerous grandchildren. The late Mr F. A. Joseph, one of his .sons, was formerly a member of the literary staff of the Otago Daily Times. Mrs Joseph (nee Miss Campbell) predeceased him by 10 years. She arrived in New Zealand in the Ajax in 1849. -Otago Witness, 16/7/1913.
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