NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 7859, 16 March 1889, Page 1

NOTES.

The motion of which the chairman of the Benevolent Trustees gave notice Outdoor at Wednesday’s meeting is one Relief, which will no doubt be carried, and its effect will certainly be a great saving in the amount of outdoor charitable aid. It would seem that in the desire to keep down the expenditure for salaries the door has been left open for abuses, for, although the merits of every application are inquired into by Mr Mee, he has not time at his disposal, nor does it, we presume, come within his duty, to maintain constant supervision over all the cases. Hence it is possible that when a case once gets on the books it may remain there until the recipients “ declare off,” or accident leads to a discontinuance of the aid. No one who has a human heart could for a moment desire that one pang should be added ‘to the sufferings of those unhappy people jvho are destitute ; but the public who furnish, the Trustees who charitable aid have a perfect right to be satisfied of the genuineness of every case. It is necessary, even in the interests of the really deserving, for every instance of imposture tends to freeze the genial current of charity and to tighten the purse strings towards all oases. On the other hand, the deserving poor are usually very sensitive and shrink fromexposing themselves to inquisitorial examination even when assured that the inquiry is confidential. Everything depends on the manner of the inquiry; and the man who can fulfil the duties of the new position, should it be instituted, will have a difficult task to do justice both to giver and recipient. It is hard to say that such a sum as L 7.500 per annum for this district is excessive, but the magnitude of the sum is certainly startling ; and if it can be lessened by the detection of cases of imposture or of assistance rendered longer than necessary, so much the better for the public and for those who are struggling to keep the gaunt wolf from the door.

The political atmosphere in New South Wales and Victoria is ominous Breakers of stormy weather. The fate of Ahead. Ministries is in the balance; but that is comparatively a small matter. What is more important is that changes of fiscal policy are imminent. In New South Wales, which has hitherto Sjosed as the Freetrade colony par excelence, there is a growing disposition to reverse the traditions of the past by a resort to protective duties on manufactures. This is probably attributable rather to a desire for making reprisals on the sister colony than to any conversion to the doctrines and fallacies of Protection. New South Wales has suffered considerably in the past from the Victorian policy. The obnoxious Stock Tax on cattle crossing the border is the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back, and has driven the people of Riverina into strong revolt. The demand for Protection does not come so much from the dwellers in the towns as from the country settlers. But it is a mistake to suppose that New South Wales has ever been other than Protectionist so far as her producers are concerned, for she has always levied heavy duties on agricultural and dairy produce—as, in fact, all the Australian colonies do. But the tariff for manufactures has been comparativelynominal. Now, however, an effort is being made to follow the example of Victoria, which has all too aggressively proclaimed the advantages she supposes herself to have derived from a policy of Protection, The natural and ordinary sequence of events has occurred,' South Australia lately adopted a stringent Protective tariff, and New Zealand has gone a long way in the same direction. It only remains for New South Wales to follow suit for Victoria to find herself hemmed in on all sides, as by a Chinese wall, without any profitable outlet for her manufactures. If this occurs her condition will be pitiable, for the loss of her external trade will then be superadded to the shocking collapse of the silver boom, and the yet more terrible collapse of the land boom.

Victorians foresee the danger. The general imposition of heavy Import ' for the dities on her manufactures by Storm. the other colonies will be a very hard blow, and she will suffer therefrom more than oan be conjectured. It has been a paying game for her people to send their goods in free to other colonies, and bar their produce out. But when all are on one grade, her boasted advantages, foolishly ascribed to her narrow, selfish fiscal policy, will cease to have any existence. A new departure is now, therefore, sought to be made. As in New South Wales there is an agitation for Protection, so in Victoria there is a movement in favor of Freetrade, or at any rate for the amelioration of the tariff. Candidates for legislative honors there are now advocating intercolonial Freetrade or, aa one of them plainly put it, “ freetrade between the Australian colonies, and pro* tection against all the rest of the world.” This is. only to slightly widen a vicious circle. No doubt intercolonial Freetrade is a thing to be desired, but the limitation is only another form of Protection, At the present time there is very little prospect of even so much being conceded. Victoria, by her selfish policy, has fairly goaded other colonies into the adoption of a policy of Protection similar to her own. And it is not in human nature to agree to a course which would yield to that colony a continn; ance of the supposed advantageous monopoly which she has heretofore enjoyed. She will have to suffer the isolation which she has invited, and is now bringing upon Keraolf. and her political sins will find her out,’ In years to come all the colonies will be able to “ start fair” ; and then, and not before, the intercolonial Freetrade which Victoria was the first to destroy, and for the restoration of which she now yearns, may become an accomplished fact, ,* u

The busy brains of Wellington correspondents, who must either find Wellington news or make it, have already Humors, given vent to rumors of a possible defeat of Major Atkin, sou’s Ministry next session. It is possible, but not very probable. There are several counts in the indictment against them it is true, but there is not anything approaching to a consensus of opinion amongst the members of the House on any of these, and there is not any party question at issue. For instance, there is the Te Kooti affair, and the appointment of the Railway Commissioners ; the relegation of Mr Justice Ward to the District Court, and the elevation of Mr Denniston to the judicial Bench. Then there is the bunting question of the substitution of a land and income tax for the property tax; and many questions are at issue in connection with the Electoral Bill. With regard to the latter, the Government propose to stick to the reduction of the number of mefoben, but to make an open question' of the classification of districts, and the entire, or partial, inclusion of the Hare system. Now it is certain that upon none of these issues can any side or section of the House be expected to act in unison. Party government has long since ceased to exist in New Zealand, and no man has'aone more to bring about this result than Sir Harry Atkinson. Whether this state of political affairs is beneficial or not to the community is an open question. Bnt the fact is palpable, and therefore any noconfidence motion must be based on indi-

vidual dislike to the incumbents of office, and not to party tactics, Mc do not know whether Macaulay’s version of affairs as they existed in ancient Rome is wholly applicable :

Then none wore for a party, But all were for the State. But the first line applies to the present condition of New Zealand politics, and it is to be hoped that the second does also. Time will tell. Meantime, as the Major holds the power of dissolving the Parliament which has still two sessions to run, it does not seem likely that members will risk a dissolution, with the knowledge that at least twenty-five of them will be debarred from coming back again.

In the report of the great Dock Trust libel case—Mee, Billing, and Co. Wo H ant to against the ‘Standard’ the You Know ’’ plaintiff’s counsel (Mr BuckSell, Q.C.) is reported to have said inter alia : “The plaintiffs were wellknown merchants and financiers in the city of London, and they were employed by the Otago Dock Trust of New Zealand to bring out in the London market an application by that Trust for a loan of L7f>,ooo, in 5 per cent, debentures of LIOO each. . . . Ihe plaintiffs undertook to float tho loan by ji certain time, and paid a deposit of L 1,.100 to tho Otago Trust Board, which would he forfeited if they failed to accomplish the business.” It may, wo think, be taken for granted that counsel spoke according to his instructions, therefore the statements were authoritatively made. Now some explanation of these statements is needed. A few months ago the chairman of tho Trust informed that body that a financial firm in London had taken up the loan and had paid a deposit of 2 per cent, on the amount. At that meeting a member of tho Trust asked the chairman in whose hands the deposit had been placed. Was it in the hands of the agent, or in those of the Board’s bankers ? Mr Allen’s reply was that it was not in the possession of cither, hut had been paid hack on account of commission. W c have a few questions that we should like to get Mr Allen’s replies to. They are these 1, If it were paid back on account of commission to Mee, Billing, and Co., how could their deposit be forfeited in the event of their failing to accomplish the business ? 2, If it were paid to any other person or firm on account of commission, to whom was it paid, and in whose possession does it now remain !

3. Are the members of the Trust, who have been privy to the proceedings in connection with the attempt to float the loan, responsible for the repayment of Mee, Billing, and Co.’s deposit, in the event of that firm proving that they have been led into a false position by misrepresentation of matters connected with the Trust ?

It appears from the amount of the deposit paid (L 1,350) that the price agreed to be paid for the loan of L 75,000 was LC7,500, from which, if the authorised commission—--3 per cent, on a 5 per cent, loan —together with Mr Elder’s and other expenses were deducted, something considerably less than L 65.000 would have been left available for the purpose of constructing the dock. However, we await Mr Allen’s replies.

The Whare Flat schoolmaster, who was charged with injuring a young A Dangerous child by striking her on the Practice, head, may consider himself fortunate in escaping punishment. For this he was mainly indebted to tho indecisive character of the medical evidence. I)r Stirling staled that the child was suffering from acute congestion of the brain, and when asked if a series of blows on the head would be sufficient to cause the injury, he replied that he thought so. It was admitted that the master had been in the habit of striking children on the head with the lesson books ; but this was not considered sufficient to have caused the pain and illness under which tho little girl suffered. Now, putting aside any consideration of tho particular instrument of offence used—and very heavy blows may bo struck with a book —it is undeniably wrong to resort to this mode of chastisement. It is not possible to foresee what the effect of a blow on the head of a young child may be, and nothing can excuse such a barbarous action. There are other parts of the body that may be selected for punishment of a very effectual kind without danger, and “ outward applications,” as a witness termed them, should be limited to these. The Education Board will be strictly within the lines of their duty if they prohibit absolutely masters and mistresses from striking children on the head on any pretence whatever.

The letter of “A Member of the Staff” whieh we published last night

is a satisfactory contribution to An Amende. j.j 10 controversy anent hospital

reform. The writer, who is in a position to speak with authority, now makes it clear that the staff as a whole are, and have been for some time, in complete sympathy with _ Dr Batchelor in his endeavors to obtain a reform in the system of nuising at present in vogue. For fully five years they have been urging this matter on the Trustees, who, so far as the public kno ,v, have been content with keeping it “ steadily in view.” The other reforms indicated by Dr Batchelor, especially sanitation, have engaged the staff’s attention from time to time, and a majority of that body have expressed themselves in favor of remedial measures. As to the “ vote of censure,” the framers and supporters of it were of opinion that Dr Batchelor had been guilty of a technical breach of the rules in “ playing a lone hand,” as it has been termed, which called for some notice; but in view of the possible results of that action it would perhaps have been better had the views of Drs Maunsell and Ferguson met with acceptance. Dr Batchelor himself, it would seem, would have been disposed to have acted much as the meeting did, if he had been otherwise situated; therefore it may be accepted that the “ censure ” is regarded all round as a very Innocent affair.