NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9836, 3 June 1895, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

We publish in another column a communication signed on behaT of the Hospital honorary staff by Dr. Girdler and Dr. Roberton, in which the writers reply to some criticisms, which we deemed it oar duty to make, upon the etter which they recently addressed to the Hospital Board. We gladly afford the meabers of the stall an opportunity of publicly explaining their reasons for writing to the Board the letter in question, and for making certain statements therein which on the faco of them appeared to be of an iDjudicious and irritating character. Were any good parpose to be gained by prolonging a controversy of this kind, we might feel disposed to traverse the reply' of tho doctors to oar article, and show that it does not dispose of the objections which we raised to the (tone and matter of their firsb letter. But as they are now inclined, we hope, to withdraw that letter, which has proved so serious and unlookedfor an obstacle to any conference taking place between the Board and the medical staff, we shall best be serving the interests of the Hospital by refraining from any criticism which might have the possible effect of delaying the establishment; of a modus vivindi between the two bodies What! we are anxious to see, in common with the rest of the public, is a satisfactory agreement arrived at between the staff andthe Board for the efficient management of the Hospital, by which the petty bickerings and constantly-occurring conflicts of authority—which cannot bat be subversive of all proper discipline in the institution—that have been so frequent of late, shall cease, and the relations of all concerned be placed upon a just and reasonable footing. It may be, as the members of the staff seem to think from the concluding paragraph in their communication to us,, that the real remedy for the existing state of things is to be sougho for in legislation rather .than in a conference. But we are nob prepared bo admit that there is nob sufficient capacity for local government in our midst to manage the affairs of a district hospital. The real difficulty lies in formulating the conditions of an agreement which shall be acceptable to all who have any responsible control over the Hospital. But that difficulty need nob prove a very formidable one if the proposed Conference be entered upon in a proper spirit. And if the agreement come to be loyally and honourably carried out there is no reason why matters at the Hospital should nob be conducted smoothly and satisfactorily.

In the coarse of his famous utterance upon the Victorian Insolvency Court Bench Judge Molesworth made some rather startling statements. Me said that he had had before him a Premier and Treasurer of the colony seeking a certificate of discharge where bis debts amounted to many thousands ; also a gentleman who was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the first citizen in the community, seeking for a discharge from debts amounting to, he believed, ovw £250,000; also, gentlemen who . were Ministers of \ the Crown, \ > and other gentlemen who held ■ prominent positions either as Ministers of the Crown in that colony or as: prominent ~ members of Parliament. Referring to the case before him ab the time, he said he had to deal with an application made by a gentleman who was a prominent member of the Upper House,, Mr. J. M. Da vies, who had been at one tUM

head of the department in ich he, the Judge, held office, and who n ht probably bo head of that department gain. Probably other cases might come fore him in which prominent members Parliament or others who hare been Mi iters of the Crown in Victoria might cor in seeking discharge from their debts, on otherwise interested in the proceedings < hat Court. He thought, therefore, in tl public interest, the judge should be nle independent. —. According to a London new iper, there Is some chance of Parliament ng moved to discover what the banks di with those balances which are left witl them onclaimed for all time. The bah of course, contend that there is always a ; isibility of them being called upon to refu , and thab it would therefore be dangei s for the money to be used for any spec i purpose. Butitis" o ** says our Englisl contemporary, a sufficient argument thatfecause £10 out of every £100 may be cined, it is therefore justifiable to keep thehole £100. The money that is lying unclainfi with the various joint stock English banktoounbs to upwards of £'20,000,000, a sum whth is much too largo to be quietly appropriate without any word being given. It shod at the least be compulsory upon thetanks to advertise, after a certain lapse ofiWs, the moneys that are in their possnaW and which have not been claimed, sin* the next-of-kin would thus be given an Y>portunityof establishing their rights a the existence of which they may have no \her \ Some interesting statistics with regarlto church collections come from Brisbac, where the Rev. Canon Stone-Wigg recenW made an analysis of the offertory in th Pro-Cathedral there for several weeks, an published the results. They show that on of an average congregation of 800, only 39? gave anything at all, and of these no fewe| than 230 gave threepence or less. This was the morning offertory. The evening was worse still. Sixty per cent, gave nothing, 27£ per cent, of the givers put threepenny bits into the plate, and the rest of them gave coppers. The subdean, commenting on the Canon's statistics at a meeting of the parishioners, •aid, "It is not the poor, or the people of small means, who are represented by the 60 per cent, of non-givers. Those who »re not well off in this world's goods are generous—too generous, I sometimes fear. The non-contributors (so the collectors' tell roe) well dressed, well-to-do, wellFed to all appearances, with beautiful kid gloves, bright ribbons, good clothes, rod a general air of freedom from financial care or pecuniary straitness." In this connection the experience of a theatrical Company at Wanganui is instructive. At a recent Sunday night sacred concen by Pollard's Liliputians, no less that)' 500 threepenny pieces were received by wiy of collection for admission.

In connection with the indication of the possible approach of better times in Australia, it is, says the London Times, interesting to note side by side with the Socialistic experiments of New Zealand a tendency in some of the Australia colonies to pause and reflect upon the neb results of such experiments as have beer already tried. An article in the Argus by Mr. Howard Willoughby, who is regarded as one of the best-informod financial critics of Victoria, summarizes some of the practical aspects of the application of the doctrines of State Socialism to enterprise and industry, and presents conclusions which are likely to receive some serious consideration. Be points out, with practical instances at hand for illustration, some of the consequences which result in such a connection from the simple axiom that the State cannot become bankrupt. Whether its ventures fail or succeed, the State must meet ibs annual interest charge with regularity. Australian railways have suffered, as all others have suffered, from the late financial depression, but the loss, instead of being divided between labour and capital, has fallen wholly upon the taxpayer. State Socialism, of which the avowed object is to check the returns of capital, has operated in exactly the opposite direction. Not a penny of the loss experienced by Australian railways has fallen upon the capital invested. Many illustrations may be found in Australia of the same argument. If, for the Bake of discussion, it should be argued that a State entering into competition with private enterprise in other respects should have the resort of private enterprise to the Bankruptcy Court in case of failure left also open to it, it may at once be replied that in such a case ib would lose the fundamental advantage which the State now possesses of borrowing at lower interest than the individual. Mr. Howard Willoughby does nob admit for Australia the alternative of repudiation, but he draws from the condition of affairs as they present themselves the conclusion that the system of State Socialism, as ib is applied on the Australian Continent, must work itself naturally to an end. To give ib any prospect of solid and permanent success, it would be necessary that especial care should be taken in select ing the industries and enterprises to be brought under the system. This caro, he shows, is in the nature of things precisely what is most lacking, and State Socialism in the conduct of industries has, in his opinion, been demonstrated by Australian experiment to mean only the creation for each fresh generation of an ever-increasing burden of the follies and errors of the past.

Further particulars concerning the attack made by Bedouins upon European Consuls at Jeddah show that ib occurred quite unexpectedly. The Consuls were enjoying a stroll in the cool of the evening when they were suddenly fired upon. * The Russian and French Consuls are so severely wounded that ib is nob expected they will recover. Three British warships have been ordered to the scene of the occurrence. As this is the feast of Bairam, the Mohammedan festival of the sacrifices, the outrage is probably attributable to ati outbreak of fanaticism. Much anxiety is felt in Europe owing to the Sultan's delay in replying to the demands made by. the Powers for reforms in Armenia. The Commission appointed to enquire into the truth of the alleged atrocities is meeting with much obstruction and petty annoyances. The appearance of the Mediterranean Squadron ab Beyroub, which has greatly alarmed the Porte, is no doubt in connection with these occurrences. A number of prominent French politicians are involved in a scandal in connection with railways in the south of France. ' The matter has been brought up in the Chamber of Deputies, where a motion censuring the Govern for interfering with justice was, after an animated debate, rejected by a majority of 25. By the burning of oil stores ab Hamburg, caused by lightning, damage was done to the extenb of £100,000. Sir Hercules Robinson mob with a great -ovation on his arrival at the Capo. Fifteen deaths were caused by an explosion on board a gunboat at Guayaquil. The proposed disestablishment of ' the Church in Wales is evoking much feeling in the country, and petitions signed by a million of people bare been presented in the House cf Commons against the Bill. Ib is intended to present W. 6. Grace, the celebrated English cricketer, with a national ■ testimonial, v - '