ACROSS THE STRAIT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 249, 20 October 1908, Page 7

ACROSS THE STRAIT.

GOSSIP FROM THE EMPIRE CITY

[from ottb correspondent."]

Monday

It was- well-known that the late "Davy" Syxne, +he proprietor and for many years the editor of the Melbourne Age, was a rich man, but few, I believe, ever thought he would leave close upon a million sterling, yet such, 1 see, was the value of his estate -as certified for probate. David was a canny Scot, but'no one who ever knew him would accuse him of meanness, and salaries on the Age were always high—for good men. » For, duffers "Davy" had as little time as the famous James Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald, whose periodical descents upon the office were often signalised by a wholesale "sacking." Syme was in many ways a most remarkable man. It was he who first preached Protection in Victoria; indeed, he has very properly been called "•The Father of Australian Protection." Also, he was one of the first and warmest supporters of an "open up the land" policy, and it was largely owing to this that the Argus was go strongly backed by the Victorian squattocracy. But the Argus didn't kill the Age, as was predicted, and although both great newspapers are nowadays immensely valuable properties, I would select the Age were I given my choice of the two. In the height of his power Syme was practically a political dictator in Victoria, and if his biography, which, I notice, is to be published very shortly, only gives an "inside track" view of Syme's influence and the way it was exercised, there should be some very curious revelations. But probably the biographer, a Mr Ambrose Pratt, will have to be discreet in the use of the documents placed at his disposal by the sons of the deceased. Mr Syme never, I believe—although I am open to correction—visited New Zealand, but I can personally testify to the warm admiration he had for our country and some, if not all, of our progressive legislation. He used to correspond, I believe, with Mr Ballance pretty regularly, and certainly when I met him a few years ago in Melbourne he was, I found, wonderfully well informed as to New Zealand politics. Mr Seddon sometimes got a liard knock from, the Age, but that was mainly in the earlier part of his career. For the late Prime Minis^ter's Imperialism the Age had nothing but praise.

[Mr Syme 'did" New Zealand several times.—Ed.] In the Times this . morning that clever young writer "Andy" Spence gives Mr O'Regan the warmest "dressing down" that I can ever remember having been administered to a public man in Wellington. Mr O'Regan is possessed, as you may

know, of a perfect mania for lecturing the public on almost every question under the sun. Sometimes (often) he writes on single-tax; sometimes it is the "Wickedness of ...Protection,", sometimes it the "Approaching I>own.f.i.ll of England," sometimes again it is the "Horrors of Militarism." Pat is a real good fellow personally, but he has more bees in his bonnet than any one bonnet can reasonably accommodate. And so ever and anon, he lets them loose on a suffering and hitherto patient—or supremely indifferent—public. He rarely writes at less length than a couple of columns of small print, and for some mysterious reason the local editors seem to encourage him in this dreadful habit. However, there has now uprisen one "Andy" Spemce, and for once the O'Regan gets some' hard hitting criticism, wliich ought to do him good. Mr Spence is a vigorous writer, and he lets poor Pat have it hot and strong.The article is at once a ferocious and yet well reasoned defence of compulsory military service, but its _ great and, special charm for the Wellington public is the wickedly unmerciful exposure it gives of the O'Regan flapdoodle. Of course, Pat will reply, and a real good epistolary fight should ensue. For once the O'Regan has got an opponent worthy of his steel. You might do worse—pardon the suggestion—than print a few extracts from Mr Spence's article in The Express. To one who has consistently advocated for many years> past some system of compulsory military training for the young men of the Dominion, Mr ©pence's vigorously setforth arguments were specially welcome. / ' I spare you any political rumours to-day.