FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 78, 29 September 1934, Page 17

FIFTY YEARS AGO

ITEMS FROM " THE POST "

BILLS GOOD AND BAD

A number o£ Bills were before Parliament at this time fifty years ago and on several of them "The Post" had some somewhat caustic comment to make. "Two Bills of a widely different character, but neither of which would have dono credit to the Statute Book, were disposed of yesterday by being ordered to bo read that day six months. One was a Bill which purported to consolidate and amend tho law relating to auctioneers, appraisers, and brokers. It might with greater propriety have been termed < a Bill for tho extinction of commission agents. Every person acting as a broker or agent for the sale of real or personal estate, merchandise or goods, would, under this precious measure, have had to take out a licence costing £20. This affords a sample of the direction of the legislation proposed, and was a legacy from the late_ Ministry which had a perfect mania for licensing everything and everybody. Had tho late Ministry remained in power much, longer, we believe that tho inhabitants of New Zealand would soon have had to take out a licenco to breathe and, of courso, had to pay for it. The other Bill sought to declare eight hours a legal day's work. Tho Bill was a perfect sham. It would have done no good, except to the lawyers, who would have worked more than eight hours a day to reap the advantages to be derived from it, and it would have done a great deal of harm to the industrial classes. It was one of those absurd so-called 'liberal' measures, upon which some politicians trade as their capital. Eight hours is in this colony established as an ordinary day's work by custom far stronger than any declaratory statute. The House treated the measure exactly as it deserved to be treated." "A Bill has been introduced by Mr. Downio Stewart intituled tho False Notice of Birth, Marriage, and Death Bill. It provides that any person who shall send or cause to bo sent to the proprietor, printer, or publisher of any newspaper, for the purpose of publication therein, a fraudulent or untrue notice of tho birth of a child, or of the marriage of any persons, or of the death of any person, shall be liable to a heavy penalty. This, we think, is a measure which should be supported since there is obviously a need for something of the kind to put a stop to an all too common practice." RACING SWEEPS. "Mr. H. S. Fitzherbert is to be congratulated upon the success which attended his first attempt at legislation last night, when he carried the second reading of his Bill to amend the Gaming and Lotteries Act. The House affirmed the principle that there is nothing immoral or improper in the small sweepstakes which serve to enliven proceedings on a racecourse. Of course the usual stock arguments against legalising gambling were paraded against the Bill and there was virtuous indignation expressed at its proposals, but from the remarks made by several members it would appear that if Mr. Fitzherbort had gone further and proposed tho total repeal of that ridiculous piece of legislation, the Gaming and Lotteries Act, he would have been strongly supported." - OVER-GOVERNED. "That New Zealand is a much-gov-erned country has long been a wellrecognised fact by tho people, but the extent of over-government has, we think, never been brought forward, in such a striking manner as it was by Mr. Pykc in last night's debate. The figures he adduced were so remarkable that they deserve to be placed on record. Leaving out the question, of the General Assembly and the Civil Service and confining himself to what is known as local government, Mr. Pyke showed that this is carried on by 477 bodies, with 4293 members. That is the number of persons charged with the management of streets, roads, and bridges. In addition, there are a further 1772 local bodies, comprising a membership of 16,200 persons, engaged in managing the affairs of some half-million of people, or one in every 30 of the population. Taking the number of adult males at 125,000, every eighth man, is apparently engaged in governing his neighbours. Going a little closer into the examination, we find that there are 1920 licensing committoemen to look after 1591 licensed victuallers; and there are upwards of 5600 school committeemen to look after the interests of 108,000 scholars, or one coinmitteeman to every 20 children. We should be a happy, well-behaved people!" CHRISTMAS GREETINGS. .. "Our readers will be pleased to learn that by an arrangement made with Router's Telegram Company, Limited, it will be possible for any of them having friends in England to send Home a Christmas and New Year's greeting by cable message for the small sum of £1 on Christmas Eve. Those who intend to take advantage of the novel facility will have to register their names and addresses by October 25 at the latest. We understand that this practice of sending greetings at reduced rates was first introduced at the Cape of Good Hope, and has proved so successful that it is being introduced into most of the British colonies." MAIL ROUTES AND RATES. "The following is the complete text of the motion given notice of by Sir Julius Vogel in favour of increasing the postage rates via Brindisi:—'That, inasmuch as the Californian servico and the direct steamer afford the quickest means of communication to and from Great Britain and New Zealand, and mail matter brought or sent away via Brindisi entails a considerable loss, this House is of the opinion that the rate on letters to and from Great Britain by way of Brindisi should be raised to one shilling the half ounce, and other mail matter in proportion; and that, if there is any difficulty in levying the additional amount in Great Britain, the same should be collected here.'" NEWS FROM OVERSEAS. "The latest intelligence from the Soudan states that the Mahdi is about to Tesume the offensive, and since the siege of Khartoum was raised has been engaged in gathering an army of rebel troops, which, in consequence of General Gordon's continued' success, is about to be dispatched against Khartoum." "Adelina Patti has signed a contract to sing in the United States during the coming winter,. and in England during th.c summer." . "Sankey, Moody's fellow-evangelist, is hopelessly broken down in health." "The. Marquis of Huntingdon, Secretary of State for War, has disposed of a battery of field' guns to the New Zealand Government very cheaply." "The Colonial Office authorities fear that a conflict may take place between the German Consular authorities on the islands of New Britain and New Ireland (New Guineas) and the British, should the latter make any attempt to establish a protectorate over those islands." "The Agent-General for Victoria is endeavouring to arrange with the various other Agents-General to act, unitedly in requesting Lord Derby and Mr. Gladstone to prevent foreign Powers from further acquiring any territory in the Pacific or south of the Equator, as such is both premature aad annoying to the colonies."