THE CHANGING SCENE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 199, 16 May 1908, Page 6

THE CHANGING SCENE.

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. , [Bt a Casual Chronicler.] Thero was a full attendance at this weelt'.s mooting in. Auckland^<>f;the'iLcaguo for Protecting Ourselves against .the Infamous Slanders of our Rivals. ■The : chairman' reported - that, during tho weolt thoy had brought Wellington (groans) to lier. knees throe'times. It had been easy to disposo -of the attempt of Wellington to claim superiority in cranage power, in population, , and in facilities for coaling fleets (hear, hear),, but . !thb" very fact that these attempts to ■ tako away from Auckland ,that fame so deservedly lipid by her (cheers), tho very fact that, these .attempts should have beenrso -puerile' (hisses), so. absurd ns to be' refutable" by. any Auckland schoolboy (Hear, hear. A voice : "Or schoolgirl.")—or schoolgirl —this fact showed the straits t0,., which Wellington..had boon reduced. Sho was in desperate straits. In

Cook's Straits. (Cheers.) ;It was well known that Cook's Strait was dangerous to navigation.

; The Editor of tho "Herald" said he had heard 'that;, a Wellington resident had invited.'ono of tho officers, of tho American fleet to pay him'a visit. (Shame.) It was trao" that .the .Wellington : person—ho would not say gentleman—was a cousin of. tho officer, but was that, any.escuso? Auckland must rosist this proposal. Ho, (the speaker) had secured that 916 leading citizens'would niako overy endeavour,; by early invitations, to retain tho officer... (Cheers;) It was characteristic of Wellington that her natives —he declined to say citizens (applauso)— should employ the sacredness of family ties for such unworthy ends. (Loud cheers.) Mr. Smith (Inspector of Post-hole 3 in Grey Lynn) said' he ih'ad. read a statement in a Wellington paper that tho weather was springlike thore;. Could not something be done to stop these underhand tactics? "He did not mind fair fighting, but • . Attention having been called to a statement in a recent book upon geography that Wellington was geographically the centre of the' 'Dominion, a Committeo was set up to prepare a reply. The same committeo was instructed to collect all tho statements .in which an insidious attempt was_ made to belittlo Auckland. ■ Tho chairman mentioned that ho had seen it stated that the death rate was falling in-Wellington,,and that tho climate was'good. Why, then; did tho Governor decide' to live in Palmerston North?. (Cheers.) , ' . ' .'

Tho meeting concluded with .'tho usual singing of Kipling's yerso on Auckland, and a voto of censuro upon tho'• Registrar-Gene-ral, who • was -considered' utterly' unfit for' office/ . ' - ' ' Tho invasion of Great Britain by foreign hops has, practically ruined tho hop industry in Kent, and tho House of Lords has adopted a : motion recommending Government inquiry :into tho matter. ; The idea is to clan a duty on the; foreign product, and there are already indications that tho'quostion will bo clouded ,by the fiscal issue. Mr. Kipling, when he read the cable message on Wednesday- which statedj amongst other things, that the Archbishop of Canterbury was aghast'at tho situation, immediately got to -work, and it is permitted to publish here tho opening verses of. his call to arms. (In the

first verse, of course, as his admirers will perceive, he is merely sparring for an opening, according to his usual practice.) Lo, they pass,_ in fire and blood. What is ancient Nineveh ? ■ ■ ' Was it Majesty 'or Mud Threw to us the Master Key? Shame without'an eis sham: England! 1 Bead the cryptogram! ■Will, ye cleave to. your , facts. and figures, weighing with miser art , The dust of trade; and tho theories frayed, and the mud .of thei-noisy mart. While alien brew's from Europe's stews are l rendering thin and pale The thick rod blood that our fathers sucked from their pots;of'.native ale? • Now, ...my banjo stirs,'no fever'in the silent Men of' Blood; ■ > Though I swung-ithe Five Free Nations into • line, Unto me a; mouldering mana, unto me - the' name of. Mud ■ (My dropping 'circulation is the sign). Yet, unveied, the singing servant of tho Em- - pire of my hand, ■ ■ I shall irar on all the Nine Inquities: Men of Beer (of Blood the basis), hops are -going! Take a'stand! ' The, Hunnish .hops" are sweeping to your quays. I take ,my: trusty carver, when tho Littlo Men . jialaver ■ .. With German hops afloat on England's seas. ■ "There is also no notice taken," said the .Ministerial, morning journal in an Editorial on Wednesdaj', "of the fact-that, in order to develop the country of these threatened popple whom' the Council now abjures to '.' Wake up,' Parliament has during the last sixteen years voted the following amounts, etc.". . -As the paperintends to abjure it's readers, presently in one of those striking lines in which -it deplores the public to buy it: Ratiocination can be taught, but not English—OUß English. It Is a gift. Read our articles. \

"There is lW 'interference with the industrial pursuits of the people,' exccpt at points which have for many years in many lands cried aloud > for .interference —the exploitation of ; boy arid girl workers, excessivo hours of labour, sanitation, and similar necessities for health and morals." As numerous inquiries have been made concerning this statement in the same journal, it should bo explained that thb other " necessities for health and morals," such as a starvation wage, aro minor ones, in no way comparable in importance to excessive hours of labour and'tho exploitation of, boy and girl workers. The newspaper qoncerned cannot, therefore, be charged with selecting only thoso "necessities for health and morals " which assisted its case. The power" of language is limited,' and it did its best. Much interest has been aroused in local trades-union circles by the news that 600 Russian prisoners at Samara, by way of protesting ; against the drastic prison regula-. tions, have declared a " hunger strike," and have already fasted fivo days. Our Samara correspondent, to whom application was made for full particulars, sends tho following cable message:—"The strike still con-

tinues at the prison, and as the Government has taken no action, despite tho protests of the Press, tbo Associated Federation of Convicts has been openly aiding and abetting the offenders. . Sixty branches of the Federation have," passed resolutions approving the stand which the strikers have taken up, and it has been decided to send the men a weekly supply of tracts on fasting. An attempt was made to break the strike, by filling the prison with new inmates who were willing to eat continuously in eight-hour, .shifts, bat the strikers, stand fum.

"Tho latest development is tho receipt of a telegram from Dr. Dakcwcll, of Auckland, announcing that lie is starting for Russia at once to investigate the situation. Tho men have received encouraging wires from .Wanganui. , '

i- /".Yesterday, under the pressure of a unanimous protest by 'tho Press against tho Government's neglect to take action,, the At-torney-General issued a statement on tho subject. The strikers, he said, arc not noiv on strike. Fasting was a momentary act. A man could only be said to be fasting tho moment ho ended his meal, and the pcoplo who-are alleged to bo aiding and abetting the striko are not doing so at all. Aiding or. abotting ..must be contemporaneous with the tiling aided or abetted, and as the men are not now on strike, and may, indeed, bo considered to be engaged in having a hearty meal, there can be no aiding or abetting. He obtained this opinion, ho said, from an eminent New Zealand authority, whose work on 1 Popular Fallacies' made such a stir. The Premier has mado his tenth statement that tile law must ho upheld."

"Th' Guv'mont has tliriumpod," said Mr. Dooley. "Th' sthrong silent men has come out on top, an' th' pa-apcrs ar-ro hidin' their shamc-covored heads while mo frind Jack Millar i?Bsnts ont that th' position is very much clearer." "Wuzn't it claro all along?" asked Mr. Hennessy. ' "'Twas . not. Th' Premier wuz sorely tempted t' ac' an' enforrco th' law. Agen and agen th' chief missinger, who was on duty day an' night, had t' rush t' th' door or th' winder an' sit on me frind Joe, who kep' on thryin' t' rush out an' enforce th' law. ' Bill,' he says t' th' missinger, ' Bill, I'm afraid I'll do somcthin', an' whin ye seo me lookin' as if I was goin' to, collar me. low an' liol' me down till th' ould Adam in me that wants t' be up an' doin' is dhriven out bo th' statesman in mo that bids me do nawthin' t' injure this gran' oxper'ment in th' clarification iv th' Ac'. F'r, Bill,', says he, ' th' only way t' seo whether an Ac' wurrks or not is not t' let

it wurrk,' he says. Th' Miiiisthry suffered gr-reat tormint iv spirit in that thryin' time. F'r th' pa-apers, ignorant iv th' thrue purrposo-iv th' gr-reat pathrites iv th' Cab'net, said-th'. Guv'mint wuz afraid t' do its jooty, an' somo iv' th' weaker Miuisthers begged Joe t' give way. 'What?' says ho; ' givo, way, an', test th' law an' thus rooti our chanst iv knowin' what's what? How,' says lie, 'can ye get clarity be practical tests?' An' th' Attornoj'-Gin'ral says, 'Theory?' says ho, 'an th' calm coutimplation iv, tjh' wondhers iv th' language is th' only way iv. seein' if th' Coort will hold that th' Ac' means what it says- Th' crude idea iv th' practical man,' says he, 'is not f'r little;Willie. Stan' firm,' says he. 'Things,' says he, 'is cloarin' up beautifully. Only this mornin' I found that a sthriko isn't a sthrike, but that's nawthin' t' what I'll find

if 1 1 keep sthrong. 'Tis a secret, but there's a prospec',' ho says, ' that I'll find that th' Ae'. isn't ~ an" Ac', an' , that -til' men ar-re wurrkin'-,' ho -says.' An' now it's all ovor. You, Hinnissy, wud say, in j'ore blnndhcrin' -ignorance iv scientific administration, that things is as they wuz, an' that th' only thing neodin' amindmint is th' Guv'mint. But t' th'\ eyo iv th' Ministhor th' masterly inaction iv th' Guv'mint has dispelled th' fog. 'Tis th' Coort that was wrong. • Day be day, th' Ministhcrs .wint t' th' coal cellar whero th' Coort was-tied up, an' watched bo a ferocious bulldog, an' they reelised more an' more th' defec's iv th' Coort. As time wint on, th' liidieous' defec's iv th' Coort grew clarer. An' at last, whin th' sthriko ended, th' whole thing wuz clear as noonday, an' me frind Joe has give th' missinger Bill a rise in salary f'r th' noble assistance ho givo 'towarrds this, gran'.'result. It is a gr-reat ■triump', Jawn. Th' Guv'mint might so aisj havo failed t' mako things clare."