NOTES OF THE DAY.
The advance in the Bank of England rate of discount from 3 to 4 per cent, which came into effect on Thursday is an unexpected movement. Last week's figures gave no indication of any change, for the proportion of reserve to liabilities was 50.82 per cent. There was a slight advance in the open market rate last week, but that was merely one of the ordinary fluctuations. A great deal may. have happened in the interval, and we can but surmise that the movement has some connection with the chaos that prevails in national finance. It is quite unusual to see the Bank rate advanced during the month of March—the last timo such a movement was recorded was on Wednesday, March' 26, 1873, when the rate was raised.from 3 h to 4 per cent. The financial year of the Treasury closes at the end of the month, and it may be that the Imperial Government intends to borrow largely by way of a direct loan, instead of Treasury Bills. The National War Loan falls due early next month, and. there is the deficit for the year to be made good. The i per cent. Bank rate may be intended to strengthen the metal reserve in preparation for these operations. It is also possible that Germany, and, perhaps, the United States, are drawing gold, and a check to this operation has 'been found necessary. However, all this is purely surmise, and we ought to know in a day or two the real reason for the advance. In the meanwhile, to see money dear when everybody expected it to become cheap, may have a harmful effect on trade. It will, however, impose a check on the Stock Exchange boom.
Amongst the candidates for Beats in the Senate at the elections now proceeding in Australia is .Miss ViDA Goldstein, who is ! . conducting a vigorous.campaign. She attracts large meetings, is an excellent speaker, and shows close familiarity with the- political issues before the country. Miss Goldstein, however, always makes a special appeal on behalf of her sex, and her points, if one is to believe the newspaper reports of her speeches, are well punctuated with applause. If class legislation is a bad thing, she argues, how much worse must sex legislation be 1 ..'.•-
Men had no right to impose on women a system they, would refuse to accept themselves, declared this lady in one of her speeches. One of. the most important social questions was, that of marriago and divorce. It was for nothing else than to deal with that subject it was necessary to send a woman into Parliament. , Did people realise that a. married woman had not a fraction of right, in regard to her own children, and that the father could actually will their guardianship away from her after .his' death? The women wanted now> to send a woman into Parliament to bring about a change. They wanted one law to operate right through the Commonwealth, and they, wanted one, law N for the man and the woman. Another thing they wanted was that the .rights .of the woman . worker should be , protected. There were 150,000 such workers in Victoria alone. The Federal Parliament was from time to time dealing with economic subjects, and it dealt with them always from the men's point of view. If a woman had ability she could rise to he Prime Minister, J and .: she (Miss Goldstein) • hoped the day would come when a woman would occupy that position. ■...,• .'.... .■• .•■.. ~■■ This class of argument is-fairly familiar to those who have taken any interest in ; the Suffragette ■ mo\'e* ment. But, Miss Goldstein advances a further'contention in favour of her r candidature which should appeal particularly to her sex. "Another-reason why we-want to send women into Parliament," she. stated, "isthat we consider the home Government the best yet devised. The State is only . a big family, and it needs men and women to' govern it properly. Men are capable of great things, but they alone cannot; manage the universe. .. Seeing that there are something like 11,000 more women electors in Victoria than, there.are electors'of, the opposite sex, one would-.imagine that Miss Goldstein stiould havo some hope of attaining her ambition to be the first woman td-hold a seat in a British Parliament., The odds, however, appear to be against her.
The Commonwealth is probably congratulating itself just now on the selection by the Deakin Government of its first High Commissioner. SIE Geobge Reid has really made , a quite sensational entry on his new duties, and incidentally has directed an exceptional amount of attention on the country he represents. He has been feted and dined, and made .much of in the highest circles of public life, and has responded Very ably to the responsibility thus placed upon him. A clever speaker always, at times'a brilliant one, he appears to have been at his best on such occasions as he has 'been called on to speak in public. ■ We have on previous occasions directed attention to the increasing importance of ensuring that the Dominion should be represented in London by something more than a trade, commissioner and immigration agent. This part of the work of : the ''High Commissioner's office is important enough in its way, but it can be. left.in the main to. the' subordinate officers attached to the Department. The High Commissioner who can not only represent the Dominion fittingly on large public and official occasions, but by virtue of his personality or eloquence also command! ;attention for the views of New Zealand on great Imperial -issues, .would be a most desirable asset. Perhaps- in making the next appointment to the office this will be kept ""in view. We publish this mornine a copy of the Eansard report of the speech of the Hon. T. Mackenzie in connection with the petition of Mk. J. A. Gilkuth for compensation. Mr. Gilruth dealt at length with this speech in a letter which appeared in our issue of March 5. The Minister's object in seeking publicity for his remarks presumably is that he imagines he has in some way been' misrepresented - by Mr; Gilruth's statement of the position. It is a little unfortunate that Mr. Mackenzie's speech was not forwarded to us for publication, immediately after Mr. Gilrutii's letter appeared, as the public would then have been in a better position to compare' the two statements than they are to-day, when the details probably are not fresh in tlioir memories. However, Mr. Giliujth's main, contentions wore that:' (1) The expenses of his first trip to England were paid out of his own _ pocket, and that before going he signed an agreement to stay with the New Zealand Govcrnmont for four years, so that they would liavc the full benefit of tho experience gained from the trip. This agreement he carried out. (2) His' second trip to England was made at the request of the Government to perform cortain specified
duties. This trip resulted in the Dominion Eecuring as gifts, stud horses valued at £1200. (3) In September, 1904, the Secretary of State for the Colonies cabled asking the Government to transmit to him (Kit. Gileuth) an offer of a salary _£400 a year greater than he was receiving and increasing to ■ £600 a year in excess of his then salary. (4) The Government flatly refused to transmit the offer, and Mr. Gilrtjth in consequence was denied the opportunity of advancement in life and debarred of the honour which the publication of th<! offer would have given him. ■ (5) The : Government were not paying him anything like what this offer amounted to, and he was thus for four years defrauded of the difference. Hence his claim for compensation. We do not think there are many people seized of the whole facts who -will fail to agree with Mr. Gilruth in his contention that he has been very shabbily treated. Mr. Giliujth's strong references to the.attitude of the Hon. T. Mackenzie in connection with the matter we do not think it necessary to repeat.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19100319.2.14
Bibliographic details
Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 770, 19 March 1910, Page 4
Word Count
1,343NOTES OF THE DAY. Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 770, 19 March 1910, Page 4
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Dominion. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.