Our Wellington Letter.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XLI, Issue 2208, 15 August 1910, Page 5

Our Wellington Letter.

(Fkom Oca Own Cukuestonoext.) August 10th. *• Kiss the Book.” It was pleasant to hear the Attorney-General discourse on the reasons why not to kiss the book. It is always pleasant to heal the At-torney-General, with his clear cut style, his smoothness that never ruffles, his lucidity, and his unfailing readiness. When lie had exposed the full purpose of the Bill for the suppression of kissing the Book and other matters of the oath, the Council took a hand and waltzed ever the oath in all its forms. The only’ thing it did not do avus to itike the Ocitli with a litile sugar and rather more than a suspicion of lemon. After that the Attorney-General discoursed once more the oath in all its variety, and he took on into his head to detail all the oath forms now in force; showed how you can icfuse to kiss the Book now ; How you can affirm without the oath at all, if like some of the Council in the debate you have a scruple about bringing the highest of all names into your trivial alfaiis But for one thing he said it would have been dilllenlt to see what reason there is for this Bill at all. The exception was the explanation that, whereas under the present system you can swear without saying anything at all, you will under the new be obliged to say definitely tbal yon do swear. It is something I suppose. The fact seems to he that the honest man will not tell a lie anyhow, and the will do so unless you can force his self respect by some strong form of allinnation which will awaken what conscience lie may have left. Ihe Bill may then be described as a machine for galvanising dead consciences into some .semblance of life. One thinks of the men who used to walk about the precincts of the Old Bailey with straws on their hoots. The straws signified the way the wind of their conscience was going to blow for a consideration—in the witness box. If there are any of this fraternity to be found in this Dominion one wonders how this bill is going to make their conscience keep straight in the witness box. The state bank came in one afternoon into the sacred precincts of the Council very gravely indeed. The principal result was to show that the elements of the position require something in (he nature of a committee to teach the A.B.C. of the situation. It was made clear enough however, that the Bank was saved in 181)2 in order to avoid a tremendous disaster which would have ruined half ISew /Zealand, ihe state stepped in and gave a splendid example of how a bank can be controlled by a political party. The logical consequence is not that now the bank has become rich it must he snapped up by the state. The agreement was that the bank should he put on its legs and made to go straight. This has been accomplished. According to Mr Bigg as we have made the bank a bloodsucker, it is only right that we should do the drinking of the blood. The committee when it is set up will have a word to say on that point without a doubt. A newspaper proposes that the committee should give way to a Royal Commission. But the Commission would have the same powers of examining experts after compelling these spirits to come from the vasty deep of finaree, and its report would be much (he same as that of the Committee with the same evidence before it. The committee is not however set up yet. It will probably next week and then we shall see. We shall probably he told that the Bank of Now Zealand is practically a state hank inasmuch as it is under state control while the state has a preference share in the concern. Better leave well alone will he the verdict, if there is anything in count of noses. The millennium founded on the bale of paper printing bank notes incous eitible into gold will wait awhile before it materialises. Last year we were much concerned by the complaints of the good men who had been managing the hospitals of these islands for a quarter of a century. Every - thing was so good that the proposal to hand over the management to a body elected by the ratepayers was treated with a certain amount of dignified injured innocence very touching to behold. Nevertheless Parliament passed the bill making the change. During the recess Mrs Wilford paid a visit to the old country and came hack. Being a little lady who keeps her eyes open and sees things with the eye of a marvellously sympathetic intelligence, she came hack armed with a vast admiration for certain aspects of hospital management in the effete country of our glorious ancestors, and she found herself in a position to make things hum, her husband having been elected Mayor of the city during her absence. At once the mayoress set to work to inspect things in the city. Coming to the hospital she was horrified by the Male of fhjngs in the Children’s ward and she gave it piece of her mind on the subject of this antediluvian institution without fear, favour or reserve. Other speakers at the meeting convened for the ventilation of this matter hacked up the mayoress, and one went so far as to say that he knew of children going in there with ope disease and coming out with another. Be that :>s jt may. others testified to the misery in which the convalescent little ones pass their little lives. No toys to amuse them, no one to talk to them, no one to interest (hemjust lying and lolling in weariness and vexation of spirit very loreign to the nature of childhood, This lias only remotely to do with Parliament. In this way: —Parliament changed the management of the hospital and Parliament is not likely to be sorry any more alter the mayoress s statement that it did so, .Secondly Parliament has been asked to interfere with the production of plays generally and in particular with the production of such plays as the “ Girl from Rector’s ” which has been s.o furiously denounced by some of the clerical gentlemen of this town. The papers sent their men to report on tins same production and the unanimity with which they agreed that there is nothing objectionable in it whatever was wonderful There was objectionable people ppesgntecj. of course, but they are refrained from ijMbg objectionable things. There was objectionable post- ' era it is true —but the play was not a ■ bit like the posters. _ The judicious—the mighty few that is—mud that the parsons were naturally and properly misled by the presence of the objectionable people and the posters into the conclusion that the objectionable people did objectionable tilings. That did nol prevent the manager—a most cgpablf . actor by the way—from making_ a say castle apology to the audience after tin Rrsl production of tko much critioisct

girl.” He apologised for not having given them something somebody else had led them to expect. The parsons retaliate declaring that if he was not naughty, and they could not in the face of the press unanimity say that he was, he had at all events drawn his audience by the false pretence of the posters. That ended the “ Shaloo on Shannon Shore.” But the manager was full of spirit, and in due course found himself at the meeting convened by the mayoress, to hear about the sick children. He at once started a subscription with a hundred notes on condition of getting five other subscribers of the same amount, and eight more with fifty apieem making in all a thousand. Six of the first have subscribed and four of the second and they have £I2OO in hand, nor did he stop there. Mr Ward went out, and while the people were talking more subscription he posted oil to the D.I.C. and bought up the whole stock of toys in that establishment for which he duly sent up a cart, and before night every sic'k child was jolly with a horse or a teddy-bear or an engine on wheels running like a wound up clock, or a whip, or a fish, or a trumpet, or a boat, or a something that gives delight to the child mind taking it out of itself. It is not likely that Parliament will have anything to do with legislation this year for the suppression of plays like the “Girl from .Rector’s.” Thus this story is of the essence of Parliament after all. Besides the house —as it was Monday night—was packed with legislators. In the Representatives the debate waxed warm from the start of the week and instead of dying when Sir Joseph came back to slow music, it mopped up the whole blessed dreary tedious week. There was a row about Tammanyism in which Mr Jline attacked somebody he would not name as having done something lie would not and when called on to do so ho asked for a Royal Commission. Nothing would draw him. Cries of “ name ” threats to rub the salt in, denunciation like the forest fires, raillery like the modest violet. cajolery, argument, all were lost on Mr Mine. ’ Even the allegation that he was s hindering the late Mr Remington produced nothing except that he was not aiming at the departed gentleman at all. This coupled with the statement that Tammanyism consisted in refusing advertisements to the .Dominion newspaper, made the house realise what a decided bore this Tammanyism is. George Forbes M.P. for Hurunui, hard by Cheviot made a diversion in this matter which hardened up the Government men tremendously. He ought to know something about Cheviot, for he is one of the successful settlers of that ilk. He went there without any agricultural experience than can be gleaned in a town business which never sends its men out into the open air until it is time for them to go home ; he took up a section, and set to work to learn all about it; with the result that in a few years he became a prosperous settler and is now an authooity on things agricultural in his district. That is why they made him George Forbes M.P. Well George went deeply into the history of Cheviot, told the House how it was costing the state £1.0,001) a year, and making £II,OOO, and pointed out how in the next few years when the leases fell in the profit will be coi siderably more than £IOOO a year, and prophesied with dead certainty that in a few years more the original cost will be wiped out and the state will be scraping in a comfortable £IB,OOO a year tor itself from a crowd of prosperous contented settlers, all independent, all swearing by the ladder that had carried them from precarious- billets to independence. He added quietly that the Opposition was proposing to give these men something like £IOO,OOO worth of the freehold of the big property which if let alone would bring the stale in that comfortable £IB,OOO a year. He asked if that was not a species of Tammanyism. It was a hit. Somebody extended the question to the £OOO,OOO of the land for settlements properties and the laugh went round against the diciplcs of Tammany. As a humorist seeking for effective situations which make for laughter I feel inclined to say “ Long live Tammany.” At all events the rugged brow of the dreary debate was smoothed. During the progress of these recriminations one could not help thinking of life warning Mr Massey gave at the Ward supper last week to all and sundry, to remember that when he is most fierce he means the least, In Parliament the announcement was made that that line soldier Colonel Davies, has been made a- general in the Imperial Army with a command of a brigade at Aldershot. Incidentally that proves that when the defence people picked the Hawera man and stuck to him later as a " good un ” they were managing their business in the right way. There never was a better soldier on the roll of the Dominion forces. We all wish him good luck and many congratulations.. But we cap not help thinking if all the good men we send home to get polished up, get snapped up like this it will be only right to send our duffers in the future. This is it there are any duffers in the service of “ Gods own country.”