Grey River Argus and Blackball News. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, 1907

Grey River Argus, 3 October 1907, Page 2

Grey River Argus and Blackball News. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, 1907

The executive of the Canterbury Trades and Labour Council, and a number of- other well intentioned persons,_are doing their best to stir up a feeling of misplaced , sympathy because the Government has suspended one of its railway employees. The suspension is described as "harsh 'and arbitrary" treatment. It is hard to get some labour advocates to select appropriate words to clothe their ideas. The suspension was neither harsh nor arbitrary if looked at from a strict disciplinary, point of view, in which light alone it ought to be discussed. Mr J. A. MoCullough,- the officer referred to, is a very old railway way servant, and admittedly a capalfle and steady officer who has ( been 27 years occupying a foremost 1 position m the service; but all this, j though much to his 'credit", confers no more privileges on- him tfian 1 on any other railway servant. His position , was" tEat of tinsmith in tfie Addington workships. He violated an olp>standing rule of great stringency and he was for that reason suspended and , called upon to justify himself and show cause why he should not be dismissed. This is strictly in conformity with the rules of the service. The alleged offence "was tEat at a meeting of fellow-workers Mr McCullough , moved a resolution of a nature hostile ] to .tKe; Government and conveying cen- , sure. . This is one of the most, sen- , ous offences a Government railway 1 emifToyee can be guilty of in the eyes ] of the superior officers of the depart^ ( ment. Already several officers have \ , been obliged to sever their connection with the department for vio,las-

ag the same rule. There is nothing- ci > nbitrary about it.' It is. the stern and adi myielding rule of the servicef : and tnJ he one rule above all others that is. dial he least forgettable by every ope in | A^ ( he service, from the highest to the . ' tne owest grade. It is one of the first I fin( ;h'at is impressed upon them when I sei entering the service, and once the I on wisdom of the regulation is question- 1 Ti Kd by any one, it is time that thayj "^ person sought for more congenial*! tn< emrjoyment elsewhere. Discipline is I tn( just as essential in railway manage- 1 ne ment 'as in an army; and though even'j as discipline may sometimes be carried 1 co too far, the instances are so few as.J se not to cairfor the, reversal of a sys-j P^ tern tEat has resulted from very leng- 1 w thened experience. Man is a sym- j r^ pathetic animal, and apt to -let his.'!- 1 * emotions get * beyond the control of -I as reason, as a few are doing over Mr, j w MdCullough's case. ' The Govern-'J n ; ment are. now awaiting the explana- 1 1 tion or defence of Mr McCullough'sl^ conduct. If he is able to make out J, a good case for himself the storm' IP may blow over without anyone being,! n •the worse of the episode. But if he! " tries to defend or justify his action by<| a line of argument not permissible in I F , railway polemics, then it, is to be! T feared that Government must uphold I their own by-laws, however loud, the I ■ . clamour may be of sympathetic' l j friends. It is not always easy to getl.^ the free and independent members of I a democracy to have that independ- J ' ence circumscribed by the iron rules 1 ' of the service. Disagreealble and -Irk-? J \ some as this necessary restraint mayl ] be considered, long experience has |r demonstrated its absolute necessity if L' ideal efficiency is to "b'a attained. Be-|V cause Mr McCullougE is a very old, r; servant, competent at this work, and I looked up to among his fellow-work- 1 ers, gives him no excuse to try to be I a law unto himself and deliberately'l violate one of the most necessary and 1. stringent rules of the service. It is r pitiful to see intejlligeni: persons' putting in a plea for exceptional treatment for an offender when tfiere are probably thousands of others" In the service, possessed of the same quali-t ties as officers, who would never dream of asking for the considera-, tion that Mr • McCullough's friends are trying to- have extended to him.. When he joined the department, it must be assumed' that :;he was perfectly well aware of all its drawDacksj and little restrictions'; but he reajlisedi on tKe other hand, that it ; possessedii advantages in the way of permanency^ of employment so long as he^ s^howed competency and good behaviour that workers for private firms can not always look for-; ward to in the changing conditions incidental to trade and manufacture. And when he undertook to express his political opinions and censure his .employers, it is only fair to assume, that as an independent unit he was. prepared to meet the natural con'se-r quences of his irregular line^ of con-' duct, and should have therefore tried^ to dissuade his friends from placing'him in the anomalous .and rather hu- v mWiating position of asking to be re- f stored to his position- under a Government that he felt himself impelled to condemn.. It is perfectly true, as th~e Canterbury Trades and Lab-f---our Council aver, that the railways are the ' property of the people, and' that the Government are only man- ( aging them in the position of trustees; and they clinch their argument by saying : "We think that -it is an • unjusGfiable wrong to dismiss any servant who is rightly performing his" duty during working- hours." While,we" can share to some extent the feeling of sympathy expressed with Mr McCul|lough, that is not the reasonable way of looking at tKe case. The Government are in a position of trust, and if they are to carry out their duties without fear or favour, they must be guided by the experience gained in the past. The result of> many, years' working" of ' the railways^ has shown beyond all doubt that, if' confusion and a complete state of chaos is to be, avoided, the interests of the country demand that in the event of a certain breach of discipline taking place an inflexible line ol prbceedure is laid down and" must be followed. This is precisely what has. been done in Mr McCullough's case; and it is by no means the only instance in which the penalty of'indiscipline has had to be paid. While the representatives would resent their spirit "of truce democracy being doubted, it is too often confined to mere professions, and not justified by actions. The members of the House have become notorious for trying to evade all public service restrictions by putting in a good word for personal friends and showing a readiness to break through aijl rules and regulations in order to gain their object.The country has always been scandalised at the way the Civil Service has been abused by kindly hearted but selfish members. If their own pockets had to bear the brunt of their" so-called benevolence we fear it would I not feel the strain to any great /extent. But the most popular creed •amongst tEe lieges is that the Gov- ; ernment.may be bled with impunity ■and Avithout reproach or disgrace./ Strict as are the regujJations regulating appointments. to the Civil Service, the country has still to fend for quite an army of supernumeraries — "extra clerks," strictly speaking — who, though not recognised as Civil Servants, are older in the service than many who came after them. Credit-, abe as it is to the. humane feelings of members to battle for. personal friends by trying, to .-break , through certain legal barrierds/ erected in defence of the interests of the public, it is a little exacting to expect Ministers to .strictly adhere to the line of duty laid down for them and manage to please everybody. It is perfectly true that Governments are about as good as the people wiho create them deserve. But, after all, it is something miraculous that they are as clean and effective as we find them. The real terror to society is the laxity of the people themselves, and the amount of corruption they are prepared to "wink the other eye" at so flong as they can generally get what they want out of the public pie. Because Mr McCullough is a good fellow who has friends, it is no justification that he should—be treated exceptionally and in a manner that must end in the subversion of all discipline. To do this woypd g-i ye a "swelled head" to any ordinary man. 1 THE DOMINION. This is the title of the new eight-page morning daily paper "that was ushered s ' into - existence on Dominion Day at c Wellington, and the second" number of which has come to hand. It is a t very creditable production as news- a papers go, and entitled to range it- * self alongside of its contemporaries, f although it bears indications that the c ' production wa§ somewhat hurried. It may be premature to speak of the full scope of the politics of "The Domin- J ion" ; but from a literary or mechani- <fc cal point of view it does not display ai any new "points." But is a well edit- P ed and well got up journal, and will i" fill a journalistic gap at Wellington that must have been closed up before is long. The capital of the dominion is & steadily increasing in population and w< ■jits commercial interests expanding every day. £ With a public second to none in enterprise and spirit, t it was < P X quite out of the question that the . journalistic wants of the city could ?2 be adequately met by one morning .-ha and one evening sheet, excellent as eff both are of their class, _ Wihile there are always two sides to every ques- c^ tion, in politics and commercial trade tt^ matters there are often more than two; and in the public interest each -p requires advocacy. ' In an article with h t the taking caption "Watching the M; Public Interest," "The Dominion" in- et< dulges in a civil growl at the rail- *<" way policy of. the. Goyerpmenjt. While -Jjl it is admitted that the administration \ pr <

our railways is distinguished by ; M oarrable features, it is contended H it in many respects it is not up to ' te, and not in sympathy with the* '^| sds of the mercantile community to ~ ; extent that it ought to be. In H JtEer part of the paper is the first of a „H ies of articles by a' railway expert "H the administration of our railways. H ie writer has been commissioned by ?he"Dominion" to analyse the meads of the railway department with s object of demonstrating the weak- H sses of the system. The; article is H temperate in tone as ;the : editor's H mments on the subject. -The es- H nee of the Government's railway »Hey, as formulated by Sir Joseph H ard, is to be satisfied with a small ■ turn so long as the development of 'H te dominion is assisted, or as much ; possible to the. users of the rail. H ays, and directly to those who do H ot use them. It is to the investiga- H on of these points that the articles ■ E the railway expert will be directed. H )ne complaint of the editor against ■ ur railway management is the rather ■ ovel one that the administration has . > H ever been known to "search for y^ H usiness," and argues that this dis- H •roves the Premier's claim that th» H ailways are run on business linesl Nxe writer says :— "For example, wto B ias ever heard of the managem3.lt B ntimating to *a landowner that, if "he ■ "I aid, off a tow.o; site, on his property H arrangements would be made for hvs B md, train services to and from Hie B learest city that would ensure si»fl-. ■ nent of the area; or who, possess- B 'ng, say, a deposit of clay on h!s ■ land, has been told that, if he con- H verted it into bricks, the Department B would carry his coal and maa «?«:♦ ■ tures at such rates as would encoHj. H age him to embark in the venture? H Overtures of that character would be ■ Regarded by a. company as being on | lines," and would be made - l^ H ■accordingly. There is, indeed, a wide ' ■ •gulf separating the "business lines" 'H of the railway administration from H i'those followed by mercantile organisa- -fl We greet our newly horn H i contemporary, most cordially and with I fit all success. . . " ■ r The representatives of Irvine and H ibteyenspn, of Dunedin, have arrived in ■ for the whitebait season, H } The Grey mouth Rifle Volunteers B rparade for inspection this (Thursday) LS ■? evening, at 8 p.m., when all are re- ■ quested to attend.— -Advt. The infant daughter, aged 10 months, of Mr and Mrs John Mulligan, - ■ of Crushmgiton, succumbed on Friday to wihooping cough. : The ladies of the Refreshment stall ~^l at the Trinity Sale of work last night ■ having sold out all their refreshments H remind parishioners and friends of this fact and trust to their generosity to send along a second supply for today, which will be gratefully received. * ■ Advt. x Messrs Kirkcaldie and Stains, of H Wellington, have an interesting arvertisement in this issue setting forth ' their claims to be the leading drapers lin the colony. Their Summer catalogue and Buyers' guide can be obStained on application, and which en- .- .. ables the people on the Coast to shop- - with the largest firm in the colony. A perusal of the advertisement will supply valuable information. The Spring meeting of the Grey Trotting Club to be held on Labor Day promises to be the most successful meeting yet held under the auspices of -the Club. The handicaps appear to have givenr every satisfaction, and the acceptances^ which close to[night, are expected to- ensure good 'fields. \.The sale of work in connection with the Trinity Church was opened, in I. Trinity. Hall yesterday afternoon by .the-Mayor. The hall was. prettily de. . corated and the large and varied array of goods showed how faithfully the members of the congregation had worked. The stalls were simply laden with useful and ornamental articles, and the stall holders report excellent • business. The lolly stall and refreshment department were presided over --•^H i by young ladies, who were kept bijsy, The attendance was large and "the s ale --•-• ;^H of work is pronounced to be one of the most successful ever held in the town. During the evening mudh. amvusement was obtained from the" side iishows and dancing. The bazaar will '^M ;be opened again this afternoon and 'evening. ._, Watson Stanley met with a serious accident yesterday afternono at 4 0'clock. It appears that he was engaged carting for Mr W. Ryan, when the ■ ■horse bolted and in endeavpring to pull the animal to a standstill the horse let out and kicked Mr Stanley breaking his leg and. injuring his ■ shoulder. The unfortunate man was : jured limb was set and his other in- ■ hmbs were set and his other injunes attended to. He is now progressmg favorably. (Mr Alf Russell, <H •who was m the vicinity at the time, deserves a word of praise for the manncr in which he captured the runaway thus saving further mishaps. It is our sad duty to record the death .which took place at her resi- *^| ,dence,~ Westport, at 4.30 on Sunday afternoon, says the Westport News, of Mrs CottreU, relict of the late Mr A. U Cotitrell, solicitor, of Christohurch. Deceased, who was of a very kindly . amiable disposition-,, and held in the haghest by all; who were acquamted her, came to Westport with heriamily (ten years ago arid has resided here ever since. Some four years ago she had a paralytic stroke, but made a very successful recovery . « nde J the very skilful treatment d •Dr MacKenzie, to whom deceased f requently expressed her gratitude. 'Recently she had an 1 attack' of influenza, and on Thursday suffered another paralytic stroke, from which she H quietly passed away. Deceased leaves treU sokoitori 'and Mr T. Cottrell, £ S S° rt rt^ : ' ! - M X t iA ?' fred Cottrell ■ Oounty Clerk ; at- Cheviot), and three daughtersr;(M,rs Walker, wife of Se H r 6^ F * y^ker, of EHersHe, Auck! ■ orWel^r?? 1 " 563 ;^ C> ■■■ C * t ?»« ■ ■ A^rding to. T) r Ame- H ncas leadinig,: Baptist, pastorn, New York now rivals Paris a s "the wickede>st cfcy on «Qiitai.» 'Asiked to explain Uw BTousWioa siaid ihe spoke with deluberation and willa an. intimate know- " ledge of London an ithe Continental cities. "Of course, you can say," he contioued "ithat .New York is not as wicked, as Obioago ibut that is as if you said it was better ithan hell. Chicago is mot <to ibe compared with any civilised commumty." A good deal of land is being ploughed up (writes the Southland corresand iarsners are well on with seasons work. ■ I thank there -wall be more oats sola this year itihan last, on account of the •high, juices ruling at the present time. Farmers are exipectwig good prices after next harvest. -I don'»t •think the price oif. oats or chaff has been, so hig!a tor .cweaty-five to .thirty years. Qats sold on the -farm in -this district at 14s 6d per (bag, and chaff at £7 per ton. Of course, ye.- few persons have it to sell. The Dunedin-owned ibarnue Onyx, ivhiioh arrived at Auckland "on Thurslay nighit from suTpiise Island (says ihe Aucktond "Herald"), experienced ti (Sihocfc of teaajthqulafca cKurimg "ihe "^^^H xissaige. At noon'om Septensber 7th ast, when ithe banrque was in laf, 35.30 south, and long. 162.20 east, a o,uivlog *he- vessel anmounibed th^t canfttMnig had happened. Hliere was a law rumlbling noise, and he waTer xound about mias ivery .much jgita/ted. The shock Jas/tod for aibout en iseconds. . Aibout itsweLva ttnooths -go a vessel ibound fiKwn Sy~rise ismd to Auckland jhad a similar expennee. •'- Dr T. B. iK«yes is_ urging a new 'ieiatimen.l of comsusmpftion in which he * as ig.reat fiaith-psuibcutaneous inject>ns of oil. ■MJdiimitriHon is fbhje first nd most important factor in ithe comLaint, and -the value of oil and fats 1 i'-s treatment hias ibeen recognisied am the rettnotest ttilmes. Hie holds at an the earlier Stages his method an absolute cure, and he has found V/enis in a few .monithsl gaim in jighit as much "as eigHitiy to a huned ipounds uxuder the itreaitanenT. Names «? places should '•» approiiate, eurJhonious land dignified. Usu[y they are all short in oner-sometimes lall—^these .points, ,Tih^ inihabitanits a. newly t arisen itioiwn in Alabama ive placed on (permanent «ejcord their ect^ftioßcari'd ladimiTation for President wsevelt, says itha News, -by risitlening the oUade Ttedyvalle. 'Imme igivin'R a New Zealand itown -the PIANO TUNING.— The Dresden ano Company's chief tuner, Mr A. Desgranges (who holds highest rtimondals from 'Madame Carreno^ irshall Hall, Wiegand, San Salus, :., etc.) is at present in QreymoutU -.a few days., and all orders sent to i Dresden eompanv's agents, Mes- , Harley and Co., ltd., will receive >mpt and faithful attention.— Advt.

I A commission iagemlt in the Pans ■ Friu Markes Teconitly shi-pped^a Ibasket ■i conitaiaiin'g gdxity^tihree eelecteid peaches ■ t0 Lindom T-he-prdce for ttihe lot was ■ iJ»o8, or about .^1 143.3d men. B, Tihei House »f Assembly of Cape ■ Colony -was an July in such a. state ■ of lassitude awing to 'tibe exltHaoTdimiary ■ mrevakince of influenia arad other winr ■ iter complaints, tha!t an adjournment I for !t«a daysuyras made, (to enable memB ber« to aocuEexalte- ■ ■ Mr F. B. Armstrong, of BroiwnsI ville, TcxaSj maikes an income ■of ■ more tihan a year iby rearing I enakes and selling them to-dealers. Hie H fcas a form covering -many iaicres", and H sells aJbout itfeirty thovusand snakes a H year. '■- V ] :-> ]--^'" >; "' '■':-- I same naane in honour^ pfi'ithevKinig. '"■ ■ One of the wom^ toear*>ers ol the H i Finnd'sli Ddej met with a laughable mis H tiap recently: while cufctending the sitH <tim<gs,of a legal cotomi^ee. /Bored by H Ithe prooeedangs, she foestrode her chair H and rocked (to aai fro wtttih iher feet H clear of the ground.. Suddenly she H overbalanced and rfiell ibaokwaTds, her H> tbrowii >bob?B alonie jappearinig above the H cbiair, with wMch she battled for some H moments as Ae-lttif-'jraVift.iiw ■-^_ The equalty of the sexes is coming to ■^^^ be lootoed upon* so anuch .as a matter H of course, that the maJie memibers of H Jibe committee did <noit conceal aiheir H nippreciaition otf fihie; buinnour of me situH ation. . . H. - M the Manchester Museum lately, Professor Jboyrd utawkins gave -two adH diesses. In *he first oif ithese he dealt ■ with "The Glacial and. Pr«e iGlacial H, Strata of ihe Lancashire arid Cheshire B^" Plain." He lesplained Slow during tt'he ■ glacial /period the inwateraal brought H down by *lie ice ibumied hill and valley H and" so chaaiiged .the face of the count- ■ try. As illustratiing 'jhe ph>Tsioal ■ chon-gIBS (wbech (had ftlaken . place-in H tthese vast periods of time, fhe pxotesH sor said that in one place in cihe IsJe H of Man <he old surface rock was 200 ■ feat bekw -a level. This, aiccain, was ■ evidence of existing Took covered by H great sheets of in-ateiliial like that of ■' which fonmed the plains of LancasbiTe H and Cheshire. , • I After addressing a crowded meeting ait H iCaxdiff on ist July. under vthe aus- ■ pices of -tlie (tudielpendent Labour ■ Parity, rihe Rev R. J. Campbell was H" waiteq uipan by a deputation of -fhe H Cardiff branch, of the Independent ■ taibour part, to ask b'-r*- .whether, m ■ ' itiie event of an invtkation Ibeing ex- ■ -tended to him 'by the labour -party ■ vo contesit Cardiff pit .the inext-election ■ he would be willing to consider it, ■ fevouTaibly. Mr Oam.pbeU, in reply, ■ sated -that he could hot sa>v "yes" or H "no." Tihe matter was tiberefore le|tH open, neither side being pledged. Ait ■ the meeting heM previously Mr CampH bell'had a great ovation. He tfomarkH ed .that theoJogy or <ru> (theology, he ■ had become e<mviivced—a jid. the con- ■ viotjoa was not likely :to ibe.. shaken— ■ that Socialism was a practical expres- ■ ' sion of Christianity, as he understood ■. it. Not only ou!f?b.t they ; to oibtaan ■ laibour represenUatnon in Parliament, H but 'they should -take hold of s^" Telns ■ of government itself. (He dad # not ■ think it would ha able to do it. If ■ they 'got'the land a cheaper transit ■ , in five yeaTs.there would be ho slums H leiflc.' iHe advocated secular sduc-altion. I In the Federal House of Repivesenta- ■ tives on 30th August Mr Spence (New ■ South Wales) drew talKen'rion to an ■ annovinoement that a shipment of two ■ hundred .and iifcy girls were under ■ contract. They would mos probably H find a difficulty in obtaining employH wznt He considered 'thai: it: was time a High' Commissioner for Australia reH sdded in Londoni, and gave true facts H ooncernimg latoour oonditdons here to ■ the people of tins Old World. The ■ Minister (for Customs said he woula - bring the mi#ter under the notice of ■ "■ The Acting Prime Minisiter, but he did ■ lihink *hey ougibfc to extend a 'heatfty ■ welcome to these girls. As far^ats he H knew, there iwerie ao questron of conH tract, -unless it .wiere •& matrtmonaaa con H (tract, ■ ■ H Your broken legs or hearts. - H As a recipe for tarts. jH ■'••.■••. It won't cure neuralgia, temper - squints, ' • For working men or toffs: . ■ But Woods' Great Pepermint Curt will'cure H Your-cblds and cure. your coughs. . R^> POLLARD'S JUVENILES I -BLUEBELL IN FAIRYLAND, H It is almost thirty years since the B. dominion first Heard of Follard's H Juvenile Opera Company, but its name I and its fame since then have grown ■ familiar to our mouths as household ■' words. It is now, we think, about I seven years.^ sinc*e Mr Pollard left I these shores for South Africa and I since then we lost trace of him until I he turned up at Christchurch as ■ director of entertainments at the Ex- ■ hibition. Here we find him again at I the Read of a number of clever chdlI dren, conducting yet another Juvenile H;: Opera Company, which has started B life under most favourable auspices. ■ ' There is 'something in the perform H. ances of children which is peculiarly H pleasing to the adult mind. It is one H^ J of those quaint absurdities of nature ■"'• . which demands that at some period H or other of his existence, everyone I - shall be a child. This occurs someH times, in; youth, sometimes in old age, H but its generality pledges all juvenile performers to generosity. Bluebell in H Fairyland, the openirirg prpduotion, to H be presented .tous on Monday- and H Tuesday-next, is written by a grownH;; up, for'children and.grown-ups, and H; Mr Pollard is presenting the opera ■y on the same lines as it was .written; H; for, and therefore the cast is devoted almost entirely to juveniles. Cihildren H bring to a stage presentation qualities of freshness and simpde earnestness which are irresistible, so we are H not surprised to learn that since the H inauguration of the company Mr Pol-. H lard and bis bevy of little dots, have H been breaking records wherever they H: have appeared. There is no reason H . to believe otherwise, than that a reH cord will be established in Greymouth ■•■-.••■'■'. where a season of two nights, followH "-■■.-■ ed by a further season of three 1 ■:- nights in the following week, will be H opened on Monday nig"ht next.-