OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 14966, 28 August 1912, Page 7

OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

INQUIRY—INTO WHAT? The task of Judge Edmunds, tha Royal Commissioner appointed to 'inquire, at the instance of Mr Griffith himself, into alleged charges of corruption said to have been made against him in his administration of tho Works Department by Mr Henley and Mr Varney Pa rices, ia by no means an easy one. Ho has first to decide whether any such charge has been made. Both the members concerned declare that they have no evidence of corruption to offer, and they deny that they made- any such specific charge as that into which His Honor is charged to inquire. A Commission to inquire into the merits of an alleged accusation when no accusers aro forthcoming is perilously near a farce. Tho ridiculous aspect of the matter aeenis to have impressed tho Commissioner, for Dr Brissende.n, the representative of the Minister, wa* asked to consult the Government as to the necessity for an enlargement of the scope of tho inquiry. At present it seems to be tire speeches of Mr Pnrkes and Mr Henley, in their respective places in Parliament, rather than any tiling done by (ho Minister, which the inquiry is concerned about. And, probably, this expresses the Governmental intention more, clearly than tho actual terms of tho Commission. Ministers have, for instance, to trounce the two.members for the harshness of their criticism, rather than to throw any too searching light on the doings of the Minister of Works. W r hat Mr Henloy says is that the provisions of the Public Works Act, which require works rotting over £20,000 to bo referred to the Public Work's Committee, have been repeatedly disregarded ; that tho ordinary methods of acquiring property for public purposes have been departed from ; and that certain persons appear to have profiled by these operations. TEE GAS BILL. Mr Carmichael’s Gas Bill continues to stir the heart of financial Sydney to its very depths. Tne slock and share brokers are to wait on tho Premier to protest against tho Bill. And well they may ; for if euch a Bill can ho passed, what will be left to deal in? Value* will only exist from day to day, at the pleasure of the Caucus. Tho daily metropolitan newspapers, for instance, enjoy, by virtue of their arrangement* with tho newsagents, a virtual monopoly. Their profits are considerably in excess of those which have been made by tho gas companies. They may conceivably prove a hindrance to the “ Labor” daily which is about to bo established. To the intelligent citizen, the new* of the day is as much a necessary of life a* gas. Why not limit their dividends to 4 por cent., and compel them to share the overplus 'with their readers and advertisers? And so with many other concerns. The singling out of gis companies, and the seizing of only three of them out of the whole number in the Shite, show that the Government do not pay any serious regard to the obligation of dealing iu an equitable manner with all classes of the community. That being the case, who can say where they may break out next? Speaking seriously, an equitable measure, which would respect the present right of the -shareholders to the property which they have acquired by lawful moans, which would protect the consumer from overcharge, and which, at the same time, would provide for the enormous expansion of consumption which the rapid growth of the city has made imperative, would bo heartily welcomed. But so deadly a blow at the very root of lawful property a* is aimed at by the Bill would make such a measure impossible. It would leave everything to theca price of the dominant party of the day. ( It is interesting to note- that the counsel who had been briefed by (ho- North Sydney Gas Company to address the Assembly on its behalf in protest against the Bill is Mr B. R. Wise, K.C-, who is generally credited with being a “curled darling” of tiro Labor party. His speech will be rend with a great deal of interest. AGAIN TOG OFFICIOUS. Tho Federal Government have once more been adjudged by Ho High Court to have exceeded their powers iu a vexatious attempt to compel exporter* of butler to submit to tho grading of their officials. The Woodstock Central Dairy Company, having live parcels of pure creamery butter to export, and believing that the placing on it. of tho Government brand would militate against its sale, asked the Court to restrain j the officials •from placing their brand upon it. They contended that, the regulations under which it was intended that this should be done were beyond tho scope of tho Act. Justice* Barton, O’Connnr. and Isaacs unanimously upheld this contention. and one more unauthorised attack on tho liberty of the subject was repelled. No wonder tho Government, who apparently consider personal liberty (except, of course, flic liberty to vote "Labor’') a confounded nuisance, desire to make the High Court their obedient humble servant, instead of an inconveniently impartial interpreter of Clio law of the lend Butter companies who cony on their business on sound line* soon acquire a reputation of their own, which is far more effective and reliable than any Government stamp. THE LUNACY ACT. Quite, a, formidable agitation has sprung up over the case of the man Chidiey. who has been committed to the Hosp tnl for the Insane as being unfit to be at large. He is no more a danger to the public, on the ground of insanity, it is contended, ] than a host of other eccentric people, i It is regarded as especially curious that; tha Government, who number so many eccentric persons among their suppertens, should hove permitted such on invasion I of his freedom. On other grounds, doubt-j less, he mav be objected to, but- that would not. justify Iris detention on a false j charge of dangerous insanity. Any por- i son, ~if he had developed any unusual ! opinions, might be spiiii-ed away in the same wav. and tha community would be compelled to a Chinese sameness of thought for ever after. FOOTBOARD RIDING. The action of the Tramway Employees' Union in refusing to allow passengers to ride on the footboard, which is intended for the nee of the conductor, will bring tho tram question to a crisis. Hitherto there have been, as a rule, at ths busy : time of the day, almost, as many person's i on the footboards, and anywhere else that | they could gain a fooling, as on ths cents. | Now they are unceremoniously made to j go inside or, if there is cot- room, to dir- ! mount. Bo sudden an interruption of nn old-established practice often, of com so, | causes delay. But, the drivers and conductors have an overwhelming amount of reason on their side. The crowding of the trams in such a. manner adds immeuselv to the danger of their occupation, and renders it almost impossible to collect ail the fares. The most obvious remedy is ( j run more cars. the limit of safety in regard to frequency is said io have been already reached. But it would be possible to run two cars at a time, instead of i only one, or to run three cars at a time where two are now run together. The real cure, of course, would be an underground railway ; but the traffic has to be carried in the meantime, and present indications are that it will bo a very long time before the. “tubes” eventuate. The fact that the Queensland National Bank are offering 4£ per cent, for money for two years is significant to those who can read the signs of tha times. Lne present Government will remain in office just about long enough to exhaust all available ecurces of supply. Their motto seems to be ; “ After us ' the deluge.” The prospect, therefore, for tho construction of fresh and costly public works is anything but encouraging. August 27.