OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXI, Issue 299, 22 June 1909, Page 6

OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

[OWN COEKESPONDENT.] i SYDNEY,- June 8. ; THE NEW INQUISITION. '. Business mem are profoundly re- , lieved by tlie decision of the High . Court, Avhich has declared by a majority of 4 to 1, Mr Justice Isaacs ' v dissenting, that tho inquisitorial powers which the Commonwealth sought to exercise upon Huddart, Parker and Co., in respect of the ; Newcastle coal combine, are illegal. It k to be hoped that these. same : business men will recoup the firm named for the expense to which it has been' put in vindicating State . rights,. and incidentally in safeguarding the freedom of the individual trader. , • WHO SHOULD GO UNWHIPT?, It is not that mutual understandings do not exist. They are being arrived at in nearly every avocation. ' Just as men who work for Avages deem it necessary . to_oombine against the extreme competition of the more necessitous of their number,' so traders, "in order to remain solvent, have recourse to a similar expedient. If the powers sought by the Federal Government were valid, their logical and equitable administration would demand that every firm or company which . could be .reasonably suspected of having entered into an arrangement "as to prices or terms with anyother Arm. sJiould be immediately haled before, ill©" iie\r inquisition, antl put to the question. Obviously it is iniquitous to single out one firm, ,who nearly all are tarred with the same brush. It is to bo noted tlial the judg-. ment by no means affirms that it is. illegal to regard a' man as guilty be.fore lie has been tried, still less that '' it is inadmif»ible to endeavor by ingenious cross-questioning to make him confess the crime of which he is accused. We have long since parted company with these old-fashioned. . principles of British justice. Soon they Avill be no more heeded than if they had never been formulated. All that the judgment declares is that , these oppressive powers, in the ease *• under- notice, could not legally be exercised by the Commonwealth. If exercised at all it must be by the States.. • THE ETHICAL ASPECT. One radical error seems to have been perpetuated by the Legislature, independent of the attempted inva- . sion of the State rights. They have regarded combination itself as illegal,

thus denying to traders ilie power wliicli is ireeely conceded lo trades unions. Yet it seems obvious that combination for tlie sake of selfpreservation is necessary and there, fore laudable. It is only when it" transgressess due bounds and • becomes tyrannical .and oppressive to -ts members and outsiders, and extortionate to the public that its operations should be severely ■checked. FISHINGS EXPEDITIONS. ' This woidd mean that redress, should be given on the complaint of the parties aggrieved, not that .■ ? a great Government department should constitute itself a, Star Chamber,"" ox set out on a fishing expedition to prove the gaiilt of one or two iiividiously selected victims among • a wliole crowd- of suspects. How long will it be before the first principles of equity are duly respected in our jurisprudence ? ~THE "COMMERCIAL.' 7 Commercial travellers have been in evidence lately by reason of the formal opening 'of their handsome new clubhouse at the top of^Moore street. The "commercials" are a prosperous as iveJl as a pushing set of men, -and they have been, able, to expend something like- £60,000 in the erection of their new premises. Also they are in high favor with the jpowers that be. . The opening ceremony was to have been performed by the GovernorGeneral, but in his absence Lord Chelmsford officiated, ..and in wellchosen terms expressed his. sense of the important services performed by these peripatetic 'representatives of business- firms, and of tho yet greater services which they might render in removing prejudice and enabling outlying^districts to arrive at a better understanding -with the metropolis. Mr Wade/ Mr Joseph Cook and the Commissioner for Railways also said amiable arid appreciative things. t A GOOD EXAMPLE. In one respect commercial travellers set an excellent example to politicians. . Though their competition is of the keenest, and their astuteness is nearly always on tlie stretch to circumvent a rival, they still cultivate a fraternal feeling and disdain to show v the cocktail. If they are beaten tiiey accept it as part of the game, but make up their minds to do better next time, That is the principal reason jvhy they flourish. Tlie "sorehead" finds little or no encouragement in a body of this kind. ' A PEREMPTORY MAYOR. The Mayor of Balmain lias declared in deep dudgeon that he will re(Ooutlniiecl on page T.)

sign. Under the happy-go-lucky regime which usually obtains m crowded municipalities where aldermen studiously cultivate the "Labor" vote the employees had boon uncustomed to smoke at their work. Killing pipes and lighting them «:-.Uos time which is paid $oi- by' ibo :.itcpayers. For some month:, the Mayor suffered it, but all at : ..*• ;■ lie arrived at the conclusion that '.: was intolerable, and issued a ukase -that there was to be no more smoking. Consequence, great indignation, not only among employees, but among aldermen. Many of them had made i it their special business to keep the ■ employees, so to speak, under their 1 wing, ami even those who were- not so fully committed in this direction, thought that 'it would have been only '■ decent to consult the Council before . attempting to subvert a time-honored < practice. Further consequence, a Scensuro of the Mayor by "the Council, " ( and the threatened abandonment oj: his position. ' STATE FINANCE. „ Coming events cast their shadows , before. From an exchange of civil' , phrases between Mr Wade and Mr Cook sit tho commercial travellers'- t celebration, it seems more than probable that a working arrangement, will be arrived at between the States and the Commonwealth- on the allimportant question of finance. Theresis reason to believe that tlie Federal Government -will change the policy of sheer 'strength and stupid-ness which has hitherto beexi followed for a move reasonable attitude. Ou the other hand, speaking for the States, Mr Wade is willing to recognise that tlio Commonwealth must liave a larger share of the Customs revenue than it has yet received. The new position is much more hopeful than ibo old. MORE APPEALS. The Railway Commissioners are not satisfied with the decision of the Full Court that the rented stationmaster's residence at Newcastle is liable to municipal rates. The case is to be taken 'to the High Court. This is a disappointment so far to municipal councils who had hoped that the decision of the highest Court in- the State in their favor had settled tho question. There is similar trouble down south. The State Government refuses to acknowledge liability for rates in rqspect to land which has been resumed, although it is still iit tho occupation of the original holders, and they, of course, are using the roads and receiving their full share of the benefit of the shire expenditure. The State authorities expect that the money Avliich. they •raise by way of taxation for public purposes shall be loyally paid. It certainly seems "up to" 'them to set a good example. RESISTANT STOCK. Vinegrowers ocmplain that resistant stocks obtained from the State viticultural department are not what . they ought to be, and it is admitted that there have, been failures. Here is another "nationalised" industry, Avhich is not working efficiently, and ' which does not seem in aii3 r particular hurry to furnish any redress. The oxense is set- up that there has not boon sufficient demand to justify the extensive production of these stocks. If private ontorprise had taken it up, it would have made. -it its business to create a demand by advertising and canvassing. But in the Government departments there is a stead}' pressure to curtail expenditure, and to that end, to do as -little as possible. A man who '.sinks his capital in creating a business takes no stock in "ho-w-not-to-do-it" tactics, but bureaucracy seldom resorts to any other. ' "BULL" REPORTS. An American report predicts a shortage of 63 million bushels in the American wheat crop. If this is true it means that wheat .will go higher. , It is not always, or even often, sale to accept American statements so early in tho season. Still, wheat promises to be good property for the next twelve months or so at any rate, and the area under crop will probably show a substantial increase accordingly. - STATISTICIANS DIFFER. There is /a remarkable discrepancy between the estimates of population published by the Commonwealth and by the State statisticians respective- " ly. . The latter brings out the population of the State at a little over 1 1,600,000, the former makes it 9000 less. The difference is in the mode of estimating t'lie excess of persons coming into the State as compared • with those leaving it. The State computator estimates that we gained I 5300 from this .source during the year, r

hut the Federal man estimates that we lost 3672. He also arrives at the conclusion that Victoria is attracting population more rapidly than Now South Wales. This, if it can be established will imply a reversal of all previous experience. The State figures the more reliable, but it will lie impossible to sot tho question at rest without cavil until the next ppnsus is taken in 1911.