NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 7212, 14 May 1887, Page 2

NOTES.

That at this orisis in Parliamentary affairs a ri,. Ml .«r j? unedin B, »oaW be without a .f2em^, er o! Conim erce is parNeed Ml. ticularly unfortunate. With grave questions pending, that must of necessity have important bearings on the material welfare of the Colony, the absence of any authoritative expression of the deliberate opinion of the leading merchants on Sir Julius Vogel*a monstrous fiscal proposals is much to be deplored. The attempt to undertake the functions of a Chamber by a hasty calling together of a few .interested persons has proved * signal failure. It must have been evident that so cursory a glance at such a mass of complicated proposals could not by any possibility result in a well-considered opinion. Had the Chamber been in existence, the examination of the proposed Tariff would have been exhaustively gone into by a competent committee, who would have proposed resolutions for the Chamber forw Its adoption or rejection ; in eitner case after fair and deliberate consideration. There was no, need "to hurry. Tariffs are not adopted in a, moment in eountries enjoying the blessings of 'self-rule. Although in Chambers of Commerce it is desirable, as in the Liverpool Chamber, to embrace and represent all the different branches of trade, it is equally of importance to its usefulness to avoid, as far as possible, abstract political questions. In this respect they far outstrip us in France, where a formal organisation exists to which the Government looks for advice and information on industrial subjects. The rivalry of the chief ports of the Colony has hitherto been the chief obstacle to unify of action ol its different Chambers. But it is plain thai a resolution passed by a "deliberative body would carry weight with it that no hastily-got-together commercial atoms such as rushed to the meeting on Wednesday could possibly have. - . Contrast the resolution passed by'that meeting with that adopted by the Wellington Chamber. They directly oppose each other. No. doubt Sir Julius Vogel will have been muoh comforted by the meeting approving "in the main" of a Tariff laying heavy burdens oh all classes of the community. But on glancing over the report of. the proceedings he cannot but perceive that but little weight can he attached to a resolution passed at a meeting where., everyone, however he voted; hai -a fault to find with his Tariff proposals." If-the merchants of .Dunedin expect to exert the influence in commercial affairs that the importance of the port entitles them to, they must not leave their, interests te be played with by meetings hastily convened by telephone, but should at once reorganise a Chamber of Commerce whose views wiH be listened to with respect, even by Sir JuHusVogel.

The second reading of the Bill proposing to eonfer the electoral franchise Female on women was carried by a Franchise, majority of eighteen on Thursday evening. The opposition 1 was not very strong in argument. All the btd stock objections appear to have been tried onoe more, and some new ones; but Sir Julius Vogel carried his point.. Whether the Bill will pass both Houses this session is considered doubtful. The proposition is not a new one. It has been before the English Parliament in one form or another for twenty years, and has received distinguished support. Like all other reforms affecting classes, it was first laughed at by the superficial, doubted by the sober-minded, denounced by the bigoted, sneered at by the ..learned, and horror-struck many good, pious souls, whose sole notions of women's public duties were that they should not attend churches with uncovered heads, nor presume to speak in places of worship. .Gradually' these ideas have been fading away, and the value of - women's services in every department of public life involving advancement in charity, morality, education, and true religion, are now acknowledged. The main objection nowadays is that politics do not lie 'within the sphere of women's- duties; that their training, habits, and education unfit them to judge of the various matters brought under the consideration of Legislatures, and that in consequence they would be liable to be influenced in the choice of, representatives by male relatives—a husband, father, brother, or lover. There may be something in this, though .experience has proved thus iar to the contrary. Impulsive though women may be, their tendencies are, as a.class, towards goodness. They are not likely to condone conductin a candidate which reveals questionable traits in his characterj and in such circumstances women's influence ismorelikelytoactbenefieiallyupen their male relatives than the latter to misguide then* The Bill is a very'short one-~only' six clauses. It .wakes no distinction between men and women electors, but provides in clause 8-that *' subsection 3 of section 2 of the Qualification of Electors Act, .1879, is hereby amended as is to say, after the words 'every male,' at the beginning of the said subsection; the words ' and female' be inserted; A like addition is ■ made preseribingaf ter the words 'every at the beginning of each of the subsections the words 'and woman 'shall be added," It seems ; to us that under ;Boy_ eireumetancea in this Colony where education is so universal, women ordinarily have' more time for observation and reflection; than the majority of men. If their household duties retain them at home they are usually less laborious than the all-absorbing labor which falls to the" lot of artisans and - laborers. They hare more time for thought than these who, afber worlriaghard, qpfeura kerne glad to enjoy a rest-both of mind and body, and consequently feel disinclined to the study of passing polities. It would be a mvw power pui into wemen's hands; but withtbat sense of .responsibility which characterises the eonduet of most women we have no fear that it would be unworthily bestowed. Honorable members—for are they not all .honorable!—voted by a considerablemajority in favor of extending the electoral franchise to our womankind. , It seems.that the 'colonies'are destined to "be the political ex-perimentsrsTt-if we may-colir a,pr««e—«f The bsjotiiandf l many other modern%n6vationßofrthe'ways of our foro«atb^*aveJDriginat6d'ini,lhe colonies, and

in this way Younger Britain renders service to the nioi-o sober and Conservative Britain of Europe. There is no real objection to giving votes to women. It may be said that there are many men who are more intelligent than any woman. But then the converse holds good : there are mauy women who are more intelligent than tho majority of men. The arguments used for and against the Bill were more amusing than convincing. Summing them up, it may fairly be said that those who spoke and voted against the Bill seemed to suffer under a dread of being supplanted in their seats by women or by women's advocates, and that the supporters of the Bill plume themselves upon being held in high favor by the fair sex. Perhaps they are all equally wrong. But one thing is apparent: there has been a great change of opinion since the question was last considered in Parliament about eight or nine years ago, and the change is in favor of extending the suffrage to women.

The following election squib, written on the Pensioner Parliament of Qult«' Charles 11., we quote as peeuApropoH. ]j ai .i y applicable to New Zealand at the present time : Curst on sush representatives, They sell ue all, and bains and wives, Quoth Dick with indignation. They are but engines to raise tax, And the whole business of their acts Is to undo the nation. Just like our rotten pump at home. We pour In water when 'twon't conic, Aud that way get uioro out. So when mino host does money lack, He money gives among the pack, And then it runs full spout.

It baa often been urged that the leaving to individual taxpayers the assess-

Publle ment of their property or incemo Dishonesty, is a direct inducement to dishonest practices. This charge Gannot be always sheeted home ; but it certainly has been by Mr Sperrey, the Property Tax Commissioner, in the tables accompanying the Financial Statement. From one of these tables we learn that according to the "owner's statement" the amount of cash in the hands of peiisons making statements—cash at a bank or deposited with building or other societies or invested in shares—was returned as L 5,584,000 when the last assessment was made, and another table contains this astounding item : " Deposits in bank in excets of amounts obtained by owners in their statements, L 5,000,000." In plain English, the owners aforesaid are charged with having understated their taxable cash by the sum named. Reference to the statement published in the ' Gazette' of the assets and liabilities of the banks for the quarter ended September 30, 1886, afford unanswerable evidence of tho approximate aocuraey of Mr Sperrey's estimates, or, rather, that he has underestimated the insufficiency of the taxpayers' statements therein. It will be perceived that the deposits, net balances, in the various .banks amounted te L 10,000,000, and another million was in circulation in the form of bank notes. How much more was deposited aud invested in society shares is not stated, but ex mio dince omnes. This is not a pleasing revelation, and it is surprising that, with the information in their possession, the Government have not done, and are not doing, anything to bring the offenders to book. The remedy is simple enough: for the property tax could be levied en the gross amount hold by the bank, who weuld Bebtle the proportion of payment with their customers.

Mr Bracken's attempt to elicit a vote of censure on the Imperial GoTho Frog and vernment—for that is what it the Ox. amounts to—because of their policy in regard to Ireland seems to have suffered a collapse. Perhaps this is the best ending for it. To have passed, the motion would have savored too much of the frog and ox business, whilst to have rejected it would have caused much sore feeling. Mr Bracken is reported to have made a very good speech, with no more than the usually-expected quantity of poetical quotations ; but he and many more me libers, including the Premier, appear to bo unable to distinguish between the concession of Home Rule and the repression of crime. As understood at this side of the world, the measure which is contemptuously termed a Coercion Bill is designed to put down with a firm hand the dastardly •utrages against persons and property by which the League and their confederates have disgraced Ireland in tho eyes of the world. VVhat sympathy can any decentminded man have with the murder of Mr Burke and Lord Cavendish, or with the shootings and burnings perpetrated by the " Moonlight Brigade," or with the cowardly Irish-American atrocities? We here in peaceful New Zealand can have but a faint conception ef the horrors done in Ireland by the profaners of 'the name of Liberty. It is well, therefore, for us to refrain from interference. ' There is also another consideration which should be thought of by tho people of New Zealand. ' If'.the Imperial Parliament ntcrfered with our Kttle Parliament in ts conduct of our own affairs, everyone would resent it, and possibly threaten to proclaim independence in consequence; but the Bobler animal never attaeks the fnferior. It is enly the cur that barks at the mastiff.

That the barbarous practice of " wrecking " should suffer a revival in New Wm-ks and Zealand, after having been Wreckers, stamped out. of existence in England, is another illustration of the saying that the savage side of human nature always asserts itself when an opportunity is afforded for its doing so. The shameless rascals who plundered the Northumberland on Petane beach will, it is to b« hoped, meet with the punishment deserved by their conduct, and for the credit of this fair young land may this be the last as It has been, we believe, the first recorded instance of the display of such inhuman conduct.

Judoino from the tone of the debate on the Representation Bill last night, Legixktlvo th< re would appear to be much Ignorance, ignorance amongst our legislators on purely- constitutional points. The House having affirmed its will by an enormous majority,' the only choice open to a Ministry is to yield or resign. Truly, the present Ministry cannot be expected to view matters in this light, seeing that last session they candidly avowed that " nothing but physical foroe" would drag them from the Ministerial benches; but it is semewhat bewildering to find the members of a triumphant majority asking what "compromise" Ministers will accept. A little better acquaintance with either the spirit or the letter of the Constitution would'teach them that the Government must take what they can get; and if they cling to office in spite of continuous defeats, they must be content to get what they can.