NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 7496, 14 April 1888, Page 2

NOTES.

On Monday the triennial local option poll for the City will be taken, T to Drink "tat* and ** willbe for therate " is the Ouestion. payers to decide whether the number of publicans or bothlc licenses may be increased or not. The direct issue on this occasion is practically a matter of moonshine, since there are more licensees at present than can do a remunerative business, and applications for new licenses within the next three years are hardly within the probabilities. The local option provisions of the Act are very little more than protection to public - houses already licensed; and it is not surprising that the Prohibitionists desire that the principle should be made applicable to existing licenses, the ratepayers in each licensing district deciding as to whether the number of licenses should be reduced, or whether any licenses at all should be renewed. The question of compensation, however, stands as a lion in the patbof legislation to this effect. The State, having directly sanctioned the trade, and thus encouraged the investment of large capital therein would not be justified, the arguments of the total abstainers notwithstanding, in " cutting the painter," and leaving it to the mercy of chance majorities in each district. Drink may be, and without doubt is, a great mischief, and excess in its indulgence should be pui down by all legitimate means; but we must not do evil that good may come! Should the people come to be earnest in desiring to abolish the liquor traffic, the difficulty would not be insurmountable; but time would have to be given to withdraw capital invested therein. The really insane rush to Melbourne continues, and, undeterred by warnKxperientia ings as to the destitution and Doect. misery which too surely await them there, working men crowd the out-going steamers, and are supplemented by other classes who speculate in a change for a " rise." Many now walking the streets or doing the shady corners of the Victorian metropolis already heartily wish they were back again, and not a few who grumbled in New Zealand at not being able to get full work at the maximum wages all the week round are subsisting on public charity in that city. One of the latest cases of emigration from Dunedin is that of the fourteen-year-old "buttons" of a leading hotel, who signified to the proprietor the other morning that he was off to Melbourne that afternoon ! The adventurous youth had gathered a few pounds during the tourist season in the way of douceurs from globe-trotters, and, it may be presumed, saw no scope for his abilities and capital in this colony. We have no doubt that the Premier was right when he told the Christchurch deputation the other day that he felt no alarm at the numbers leaving just now, being convinced that most of them would return and bring others with them. There are perilous times evidently in store for Victoria,

It is cvitlrjit from trie proceedings of the Board "f (idvciiiors of the High Not Very Schools that the old complaint ViedltHbie. j s st j]\ yuxvalent anion;; those who send their children to the t-dioiils—tamely, a little forgetfuluess about laying up the fees : Tho Board have been obliged to reaffirm the regulation of ISB9 that the f.-c-i must bo paid in advance at the cmiHicaoeincnt of each quarter, and thtit no pupil will I)-.- allowed to attend on whose account the re.,\-ipr cannot be produced. This is as it should be, but it is not very creditable that such action on tho part of the Board should be necc3sary. The net cost of each pupil attending the schools is about Lib'; surely their parents or guardians should not grudge the LlO a-year which they have to contribute. It must be recollected that many boys and girls tire exempt from the payment of fees altogether, either us holding scholarships under the Education Hoard, or having secured a, certain number of marks in ths scholarship examinations, nnd the income of the schools is correspondingly reduced. If children have not the ability to scoiiro the exemption, and their parents are not in a position to pay tho fees, the proper and honest course is to send them to tho primary schools, where no fees are payable and the education is quite up to their capabilities.