Round THE Corners

New Zealand Mail, Issue 745, 11 June 1886, Page 17

Round THE Corners

There are some enthusiasts whom, in their actions, resemble nothing so much as a game of Mind man’s buff with lighted candles in a powder magazine. Mr J. C. Brown, M.H.R., is one of them with reference to his action in connection with the issuing of State monetary paper. This is one of Mr Brown’s political “ fads,” or he has a grudge against some one or the other of the monetary institutions of the Colony j his toes possibly have been trodden upon somehow, and he would take out “sat” with the precious private Bill of his that is on the Order Paper. I choose to take this view of it rather than impugn the hon. gentleman’s knowledge of social science so much as to charge him with having deliberately and with due consideration framed his Bill in the farfetched expectation of effecting any good by its aid. Mr Brown isn’t such a fool as all that, and I have, therefore, to earnestly advise him to soothe his irritated feelings, extend the hand of forgiveness to the rash banker who has, by his treatment of Mr Brown, forced him into banking opposition, have a jolly good laugh at th 9 said banker over the entire affair, the end of which cannot be other than the reinstatement of Mr Brown’s name in the banker’s good books, and the elevation of the banker to the original high position he occupied in Mr Brown’s estimation. That’s about the size of it, J.C.B. Kiss and be friends, old man, and pitch “ that ere dockyment ” of yours into the kitchen fire of Bellamy’s. State Bank notes, indeed, bearing five per cent! What next ? We are in enough trouble and tribulation already without having our perplexities quadrupled by setting the banks and their customers by the ears. A more mischievous proposition than that of Mr Brown’s can scarcely be imagined in any state of society where, as in Australasia, the banking institutions and the people are so closely intermingled.

State financing has reached the position of the very highest kind of art. But it must be a clever artist who can deal with it in such a manner as to render it thoroughly presentable, and yet at the same time so veiled as to hide the true issue. It is not what it really is, but what it oaght to be —to catch the eye and ear of the public. And the veil must be without a rent, or even hole, for curious and critical eyas to pry through. Can’t' say the present Treasurer is much of “a hartist.” His Statement, though admirably presented as regards time, is a very sorry production, inasmuch as its inconsistencies are so horridly palpable— Sir Julius has made the stupendous blunder of allowing himself to be found out. The veil he used was a dreadfully rent and patched thing, through which anyone, not quite financially blind could see. Indeed, the Statement was so frankly made as to expose its own inaccuracies and anomalies. Not an astute production, Sir Julius, “ not by no means.” You arn’t a patch on “ the Major,” in matters of this kind. He could give you long odds, and win hands down, at this kind of thing. He is the boy to put a good face upon it. Take a lesson or two from him, Sir Julius, before next session, ’twill be better for you. I, “ Asmodeus,” sat at his feet for several sessions, and never had occasion to doubt that the Colony was sound and right, he had such a way of putting it. But this last Statement of yours, Sir Julius —the tenth, did you say?—has undone all that. I am now seriously afraid we are really going to the dogs. Nary a surplus, Sir Julius, nary, nary ; then what is there ?

The Government Life Insurance Department is just: degenerating into a miserable stalking horse for interested and partial politicians. The poor thing is being shamefully used, and will be mere shreds and patches, directly, if better care is not taken to conserve its reputation. Many propositions have been propounded, concerning its management, and not one “worth a cent.” Now I have one with an alternative to propose. To allow the entire concern to reveit to the Government, as a Government office, a sort of State Bank ; the premiums, the capital, to be converted to Financial purposes, as exigency demanded; or make it a purely commercial affair, governed by committees to be appointed by policyholders, but no man to be qualified to serve on either of the society’slcommitees if he is in any way connected with politics. Ar.d so the policies of the poor institution would not be, as now, converted into wings for the use of every aspiring political Dcedalus.

Retrenchment, and the practice of economy in public and private life, is so earnestly preached and insisted upon now-a-days, that one must be careful how one regards any act of economy that may be brought under review. Still, I cannot help holding up to derision the economy of the man, who, having escaped a great drowning danger, and having a wife and family at home in an agony of apprehension as to his fate, couldn’t see his way to afford the cost of an ordinary telegram, but sent a delayed wire to assure them of his safety. That “pusson” deserved “beans” when he reached home, and it is to be hoped v he had quite a big Hateful presented to. him- - -

The declared extortion on the part of a. West End. London dressmaker in charging far. a costume, led up to an action at law, and % lot of writing, of one kind and another, in the public .prints. Even- the Spectator had an article upon it, and a remarkably well-written and logical production it was ; rather taking the part of the “modiste,” by laying great stress on the quality of costumes, not merely the quality of the material and workmanship, but the style of the thing. The marked difference in the capacity of working people of all grades is strongly commented upon by the Spectator, which also urges that, when the work is really artistic in character, depending upon the genius of the worker, the price ought to be agreed to beforehand. And the Spectator is right, and particularly right, in its assessment of the variation in quality of the handiwork of different workmen. There are, indeed, workmen, and workmen; and the inferior article is, as a rule, infinitely more presumptuous than the man who well and faithfully executes that which is entrusted to him to do. There is a converse side to trades’ unions and working men’s rights, and that is the rights of people who pay to have work J done, and who, too often, pay for mere botch-' ing and have no redress. The difference in the quality of work is very pronounced in the ■ colonies, and until a healthy trade esprit de . corps is created, and real pride taken in their work by workmen, work of perfunctory quality is likely to continue in the ascendant Even in this good town of Wellington the character of the work of different firms is very remarkable in its difference.

We have our periodical fits and starts of sentiment. And the labor question, as affecting certain select classes, is one of them. We are in the midst of one now. A lot of people are weeping over the woes of Bank and merchant’s clerks. These young men are being cruelly done to death by insatiable Molochs. They are driven shamefully, and get into the horrible state known as “ run down.” Their case, in fact, is pitiable. Now, I believe there are some clerks who are overworked, and their case does want looking into ; but as for others, well, I was talking to a “ Bank fellow ” the other day about it, and he only laughed and declared that “ none of our chaps ” were illtreated. If anybody came back to work at night it was (bar balance time) because he wasn’t smart enough to do his work during the day. On the whole, they are well treated. Of course there must he some exaggeration in matters of this kind ; but why don’t clerks, et hoc genus omne, defend themselves from imposition by co-operation. A clerk’s co-opera-tive society, for the purpose of regulating the hours of labor, and rate of wages, is just the one thing wanted, and, if properly managed, would soon settle all differences, and close the mouths of philanthropy-mongers. Aye, indeed, if such a society were only established ; as if there was the slightest chance of such a thing. “Clerking” is a genteel occupation, and, consequently, is overdone. If one person declines gadgrinding at starvation wages, another is ready to jump into his genteel shoes ; and so “clerking” declines into a sort of slavery. But why it should be genteeler than the occupation of a first-class artisan is just incomprehensible to me. We do not depend nearly so much on clerks as on artisans. The clerk goes into his office and is seen of no one but his employer. The artisan goes into people’s houses, and is seen of all men. And all men, but especially women, are very much dependent on him. Aye, dependent on him for the comforts of every-day life ; for comfortable, well-built houses in every particular ; fires that draw; gasfitticgs that do their duty ; roots that don’t leak ; decorations, so pleasant to the eye, nicely executed ; window sashes that don’t rattle o’ nights; brickwork not stinted of a proper proportion of cement in the binding; water pipes that don’t leak, and yet run freely ; paint properly mixed, and laid on not too thin. And then your gardener ; what do we not owe to the gardener, for making the surroundings of the house attractive ; and why should not a gardener, a painter, a carpenter, a blacksmith, a plumber, a. gasfitter, an engineer, a stonemason, a printer, he just as genteel as a clerk ? They are a precious deal more useful, and with a little attention to educational points, and social amenities, such as personal cleanliness and might be easily made quite as ornamental. I do really think the time has come for stamping all these occupations as genteel. The genteel people will have to doit m self-defence, for, it seems to me, genteel boys will, perforce, have to take to one or the other, so glutted are becoming all the avenues to all the recognised genteel occupations of the day. I think it would be quite jolly after spending a pleasant evening with your carpenter, at some social gathering, to meet him at your house next morning when he came to work. The overnight could be talked over as well as the work of the day, and the latter would stand a chance of being much more faithfully done when social differences were not so strained. For real intelligence commend me to the artizan class. The term genteel (faugh !) is doomed to become obsolete or else quite general in its application.

Keeping thelTelephone Bureau open the seventh day is not a boon, and the sooner :t is closed again, between 9 and 5 on that day, the better. A feeling of true rest did pervade the place for those very few hours before the wretched bells were unmuzzled; and now ! no man or woman knows when he or she are safe. Absolute rest is out of the question, because of this feeling of insecurity. No one can tell the minute that the telephone bell won’t tinkle. Spite of unnatural efforts at composure, the attention is more or less strained. The eight hours’ rest o’ Sundays fled when the "Vogelian mandate, “ clear the telephones,” was issued. Shut ’em up again, Sir J ulius, do, or friends, if he won’t, take my advice and muffle your telephone bells on Sunday, and hang the consequences. .Asmodeus- ...