AUSTRALIA TO-DAY

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14758, 30 August 1913, Page 2

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY

'•* (FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) MYTHICAL MILLIONS. E SYDNEY, August 23. Lot ail those people in New Zealan who bear the name of Taylor be warne< lt m Credulous persons of that namo ]iav eiice f or Tears past ij cJ , ;n nuulo to contr ib,,t a > to the income of enterprising "inquir agents'' in connection with th periodical revival of the story ni th con- f n i n ,i ous Taylor millions. Such agent last. arf , again advertising in Australia ° papers offering to assist claiinant-s c at'a tlle fortune ; possibly tho same is bein ier's doU ° ° r W ' ll be done in tllc Dominioll A circumstantial and romantic legen< race is . a<:sooiateci with the supposed Taylo >nee millions - Portions of it aro to th< effect that Peter Taylor, of Falkirk had Scotland, who left that place in th( sun- year 1800, is said to have left at Ku inu death a forll,ne ot ' ov <-t five millions t< ome a nt? P hew > also a Peter Taylor, livinj no in Holland. A ])rovision was adde< but that in the <n-ent of tho nephew dying without issue the fortune shcmli bo held for a hundred years (so that f disliked brother of tho. original Peiei Taylor might not benefit) and ther so divided amongst the next of kin. Th< j"jj« nephew, it is alleged, died 90 year? j. c . ago, leaving no issue, and the million! :ter aro now distributable. The Taylor* in Australia are receiving letters from las emf-.iiry agents, who ask for a fee of £1 for the. supply t>f information, and ,vay Particulars of tho unoliiinied estate, der Owing to the huge- sum alleged to. be '• : at stake great numbers of the Tavlor clan throughout the world put "in ugs claims, and the British ami United States consulates at Amsterdam were tho besieged with enquiries by solicitors . and others asking for information, his Lloyd's next of kin agency in Aus.'eii tralia has made enquiries, and is satisfied that no such unclaimed estate see exists. The British Consul-General in lad Amsterdam, Mr W. A. Churchill, has ro l issued a circular letter, which is beinp reprinted in the Australian press. In j, o this Mr Churchill makes it known tha nit ".Tho execution of the Law of Limita ar . ttons. 1532, disposed of all unclaime. j lo estates in Holland - orior to 18.52. am it is needless to make further enquir ~,. ies." AVo learn also that warning ffl_ have been given by tho authorities ii O p Holland cautioning people against th in "perfect folly of "spending time am money in the ' collection of what an \fj- known a* old Dutch estates." Fron j.' s tho terms of the warning given hv th. • ov authorities, the mythical Taylo; nv . millions are apparently not the on I: re _ olcl Dutch estate which has been pu Js _ on the enquiry market by agents. I ,r seems quite plain that if tho Tayloi ■ %n estate ever existed it came within tin provision of tho Law of Limitation) 5r passed by the Dutch Parliament ir ■ 1852, by which all unclaimed inherit . ances were irrevocably escheated to th( (id estato li^n ' tn c lapse of five years. 0- COST OF LIVING. ho In tho administration of the indussul trial .legislation which in practice iis already covers a very wide area in this tio State, uncertainty and conflict in relaas tion to the important factor of the cost a of living have proved a perpetual 2d source of difficulty. In order that tie there may be set up a basic standard c- in this connection for the guidance of y. tho Humorous Wages Boards and tho ol Industrial Court, the. judge of tho r- Court, Mr Justice Heycton, intends to t- hold a special enquiry. To this he has is mvited representatives of the organisaer tions of employers and employees, so n- that the matter may be properly gone "" lr tO, The Em Ployers' Federation, of a New South Wales has decided to assist m ac much as it, can at-this enquiry. Tho s- Trades and Labour Council yesterday a intimated to Mr Justice ' Heydon « that it favoured the investigation of the a question of tho cost of living by a io tribunal with very much wider powers, it such as a Royal Commission. How- -- ever his Honour pointed out that there is need be no fenr about his enquiry being >t too restricted in scone, because his >r Court was.vested with sufficient power s- to arrive at a working result. The en- »- qmry is to begin on September 22nd. ■c Its outcome should bo of considerable t interest to you in New Zealand, as well n as to those here who are concerned with o industrial problems of tho day. In the y course of preliminary discussion Mr s. Justice Heydon. remarked in Court - ' A man might live on ten shilling a - week. Ho might sleep in the Domain every night, and go barefooted; and for that matter if ho was alive at tho end of the year he might be all the better for it. But that standard would not bo a reasonable one. Wn mirst have a reasonable standard." poverty: and education! This paragraph does not relate to schooling for the children of the poor. It deals, with the latest, and a very striking case of fi supposedly povertysmitten person being found at death to be possessed of much wealth, which wealth in this case is nearly all bequeathed to a university. William Robbie, an aged figure in Ballarat, Victoria, died recently. The old man lived in,what was obviously a state of extreme poverty. He lived alone in a decidedly frugal and friendless fashion until Lately old age and ill-health compelled him to reluctantly secure the services of a trained nurse. His extreme frugality seems to have agreed with him, however, for lie reached the age of 91 years. It lias become known that Robbie was worth about thirty thousand pounds, the bulk of it beine money deposited in banks. By his will he left £650 to relatives, none"of whom reside in Australia. Old Robbie was a native of Scotland, and in his will showed that his heart was still there. Apart,, from what he left to relatives, and fifty pounds for the Ballarat Hospital, he directed that his money should go to the Aberdeen University, for the purpose oi establishing GcholaVsiiips in chemistry, mathematics, and '""*-<:ral philosophy. Althoueh he lived tiu.- :ife of a poor recluse, Robbie was a wide reader, and a man of extensive general knowledge. There are people in Ballarat, no doubt, who wish" they had known i hat; old Robbie wan so -well-to-do, and very likely he was thoroughly appreciative of this fact and saved himself a lot of bother by letting it be belipved that he was on the " verge of indigence. RACIAL INTOLERANCE. At tho dictates of the Miners' Union, one ot the most powerful trades organisation in Western Australia, the Scaddan Ministry is pushing through the Legislative Assembly a measure winch, without concealment, proposes to drive Italians out of tho mines of Western Australia, where many of them have for years been employed. •The Italian miners aro to be dispossessed of the right to earn a living in the land of their adoption. On the first reading of the Bill, various reasons were advanced in favour of tlio exclusion of Italians from mines, but they were in the main quite unconvincing. References as inaccurate as they are discreditable were made to the conduct and characteristics of the Italian race a? a whole. Obviously the \\est Australian Government is* inviting lor itself trouble of an international character by its readiness to comply with the demand of the Miners' Union that Italians should be prevented from earning an honest living, in this country. It is alleged that «'rious danger to life is involved in the employment in mines of men who do not properly understand warnings or direct:ons fjiven in English. But it is pointed out that safety can be se'■urof! hi this regard by enactments to tbo effect that an adequate knowledge of English must be possessed by every worker in or about a mine. Bc^id^s, nai-ir£2.ii£2ily fiacojiatsc .&

native of even Groat Britain- w spea&s and understands, only Kngli that is almost as foreign to Aust; lians as is Italian? The Italians in parts of Australia are said to bo vr wroth over the matter, and the Itali Government has already been asked make emphatic protests to the Briti Government before the . West Austi lian anti-Italian law is presented f the Royal assent. SMALLPOX. It was believed, or hoped, a fort nig ago that tho smallpox epidemic hi nearly died , away; The number fresh cases went down to one or tv a day in Sydney, whore the epidom is at home. But the disease appea to have taken a fresh lease of life, ar we are back again to the etage ,of b tween ton and twenty new cases dail; This is very disquieting to the bus ness people of Sydney, who are losir tremendously over the bad advertis< nent which thrir city has received.,.] vill give some idea of the loss to stai ;hat since the outbreak began then •eipts for tho Sydney electric tran lave fallen off to the extent of a thai :and pounds a week. This is chief! >n account of the great decline in th lumber of visitors to Sydney for hoi lay or business. It indicates the cj ent to 'which 'Sydney benefits throne; noney *-)p-it by visitors from tlie coun ry, and a , so from tho other States an urther abroad. Tho big city hotel nd that they are getting only abort alf of tho visitors' patronage, whiel hey ",no"mnlly receive at this time o ear. The country order business ■hich is f> big section v.-ith a numbe f largo Bvdnpv establishments,' lias (ken all round, fallen away by nbou >venty--iv'» per cent. Restaurant eepers toll of a decline in trade t< 10 extent of fifty per cent, or more t is estimated that the theatres anc icture shows have between tbom suffered n in roveinio of well ovci £20.000 ;l'i.rinfr sis weeks. The soring f-Vvvs of thi> drapery and milHnory rvf-f?)ili.s)i*npnt s .-jre proving n frost. . iMburetber Sydney concerns arf tbo poor-'*:- by rrnny thousands a week. The I'pi'Vmic lias not vet kilT«>rl a •sfnErlf nf'"-nn here, but it is killing a lot of business. SOCIAL INSURANCE. Durina tbe Federal election campaign, and more recently, since taking office leaders of the Liberal party have proclaimed their intention to submit to Parliament a scheme of social insurance designed to improve the conditions of the mas«f?s in times of stress and hardship. The promise has already been redeemed to the extent that the Prime Minister lias included in bis policy statement a paragraph to the effect that enquiries are being nrado, with a view to tho formulation of a comprcliensivo eohome. As the Minister who has tho matter in hand is Mr Glynn, t may be taken for granted that mat:ers are moving in the direction oP con;cientiou>; performance. Mr Glvnn thinks tliat the working of the Imperial National Insurance Act, and :be amendments now being made lo the BilJ before the Imlerial Parliament, as well as he expenonce of the working of insurnce in European countries, should aford sufficient guidance. According to he • Prime Minister's statement, the naternity allowance of £5 per head •hich the Fisher Ministry made availl iblo for everybody, will be limited to ecessitous cases, and it is considered hat all other cases would be better and lore economically provided for by the cheme of national insurance which it ! intended to put forward. This matir of tho maternity bonus or allowance nd its proposed modification, is already emjg made much of by those assotated with the Labour Party which ■chores that, in view of the almost t'neral extent to which Australian arents are availing themselves of • tho llowance. action in the direction of ■paupen.sing, ,, the allowance willaff«.t iany votes adversely to the Liberalsafc 1« casfl eeisral elections.