NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1355, 5 February 1912, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The language used by Mn. Justice Chapman on Friday in milicting tho well-merited sentence of twenty vcars' imprisonment on a man ' who had outraged a child was important and unusual both iu its direction and its gravity. We do not know whether his Honour intended his words to inspire the public and the Legislature, to a serious consideration of this class of offences. Probably he did. It is an unfortunate thing that whenever a Judge makes some reference to sexual crimes manv newspapers and most people who "take up the discussion begin to talk about the social causes that are responsible for these crimes. One of our contemporaries has seen in the case under notice chiefly a lesson in the need for carefully-compiled data relating to these criminals, and it appears to suggest that in view of the general decency of social conditions in New Zealand, this country ought not to be breeding them. There is far too much talk of "degeneracy" instead of "crime," too much "humanitarian" chatter about "cure," and too great a dislike to insist upon "punishment" as the main thing. Let us if wo can, to discover why sexual crime is so common; but in the meantime it is of far greater importance to consider whether the law cannot be sharpened. There will always be criminals while there are men, and it is safest to keep close to the old rule, that sin must first of all be punished. Mit. Justice Chapman's references to the prevalency of sexual offences strongly suggests that lie law should be made more drastic. For ourselves we are ready to see merit in the institution of capital punishment in some cases of this class of crime. TnE appointment of Mil. Hislop, the PniaiE Minister's private secretary, to the head of the Department of Internal Affairs cannot be left unnoticed Mn. Hisloi> is very popular, and deservedly so, with the great body of people who have had to meet him in the position he is vacating, and it is with much reluctance that we have to criticise his promotion. Nor do we feel required to say anything against his fitness for his new post. But v.-e do feel bound to say that there are two strong arguments against the Government's action. In the first place, it cannot be denied that the Under-Sccre-fcaryship of Internal Affairs is so important an office that the filling of it should not have been undertaken by a Government that has been soundly beafon, and should have accepted dismissal by Parliament long ago. In the second place Mr. Hi slop is nominally attached to the Railways Department, so that his elevation to supreme charge, under the Minister of the Department of Internal Affairs, is an injustice to the officers of that Department, it were proper to transfer him from his position as a private secro tary to some Department, he should have been sent to the Department of Railways. We shall say no more upon the matter just now, but we trust that when Mr. Masse? tikes office lie, will deal with- the whole Question of private secretaryships. In the past scandal and offence has been given more than once by the transfer of a Minister's secretary to a well-paid post over the heads of men who have worked faithfully for years. Nobody will fail to understand, and perhaps most people will excuse, the bitterness with which, at a social in Tcmuka last week, the Hon. T. Mackenzie referred to the Reform party. For several years ho was an ardent opponent of the "Liberals," and then, after a term "on the fence," he descended in the camp of his old enemies, and was allotted a portfolio. Just as he was beginning to look forward _to a comfortable old age as a Minister, sudden disaster came to his hopes. Reflecting upon his position _ he has reached the conclusion that it is too late to begin all over again and revolve into the sunlight once more. Hence his outcries. "The recent election," he complained, "had been fought not so much against the Liberal party as against one man in it," who," of course, was not Mr. Mackenzie himself. "One * would think," his plaint continued, "that from what the Opposition said they were already in power," and "one would imagine that Mr. Massey and his side were all angels of purity and light, while those on tho other side were a pack of rogues and scoundrels.!' Why would one think that? Really, Mr. Mackenzie takes his party's beating too _ badly,, altogether. But the complaining of the Minister is far less amusing than his declaration that "the people had allowed themselves to be worked up by the wealthy to demand a change, and to endeavour to move from office a Government that had done more to build up personal liberty, political freedom, and material welfare than any Government that had ever held the reins of office in this country." Our "Liberal" friends had better not talk of wealth. And the Government that has been beaten is, as the Prime Minister insisted, the Government that took office in 190 G. Its onlv dealings in personal liberty, political freedom, and material welfare have been acts of boycotting and intimidation, legislative assaults on the freedom of the press, the community, and tho individual, and wild and wasteful borrowings. Speaking on Thursday at a luncheon at which members ol local bodies were being entertained by the Auckland Tramways Company, the London managing director.' Mr. Tegetmeier, said he thought he might refer to the progress of the company as a matter of great satisfaction. The company set a very high ideal before it, and was endeavouring to get as near perfection as possible. In conducting an affair of this kind by private enterprise, they had to have three objects in front of them. lie would not attempt to place these objects in order of importance, but he thought they wore: Tho interests of the community, dilutable condition' to the workmen, end a reasonable return to the shareholder*. He would not say which was first or which was last, but he thought it wou'l 1 !>:> admitted that the Auckland Tramway Company' was attaining some measure r.'l success in all three. It might be of interest to state that in 1902 tho company started its operations with 45 cars and a 900 kilowatt plant. It was considered at thai: time that this was an extravagant estimate of the requirements of the city, which had a population of 70.(1(10. But to-day they had a (iOflfl kilowatt plant and i3fi cars. Five years ago they carried i.'.ilflfl.Ollfl passenger.--, last Vear 33,000,000. hi 1907 they paid .fcilfli) a weak in wages, to-day they paid .£200(1 ■ n week to (550' men. He did not think that any place co'nld .proclaim to have progressed in the last ten years as Auckland had, and trusted that in the future the Tramway Company would never be accused of being dilatory iu tho interests of Auckland,