Untitled

New Zealand Mail, Issue 810, 9 September 1887, Page 28

We are very glad to find the Wellington Chamber of Commerce moving in the direction of urging upon the Government the propriety of restoring the town clock in the General Post-cffice, to which the citizens contributed so largely, but which, through miserable and misplaced parsimony, wa3 first left uninsured and then allowed to be destroyed owing to the absence of a nightwatchman. The Government cannot in fairness do les3 than to replace the clock or at any rate to provide at least the sum formerly contributed by the citizens of Wellington toward the cost of the clock and bells of which such indifferent care was taken. We trust that the just claim of the city will be vigorously urged by the deputation —Mr Dransfield’s extraordinary objection notwithstanding—and that the claim will receive from the Government that recognition to which its j ustice entitles it.

The Customs duties collected in August were the largest of the present financial year, and amounted to L 121,079 18s Id, as against L 108,641 Os Id in the same month last year, and L 96,712 4s 8d in the previous month of this year. The collections at the four principal porta last month were as follow :—Dunedin, L 30,549 14s lid ; Auckland, L 26.927 16s lOd; Lyttelton and Christchurch, L 21.633 15s 6d ; Wellington, L 19,988 17s lid. The total amount collected for the five months of the financial year that have now elapsed is L515,68015s 2d, and [comparing this with the proportionate estimate for that period (deducting the sum expected to be realized from the additional duties rejected by Parliament) there is a deficiency of about L 15,000. The improvement on the last two months is very marked.

The beer duty collections for the month of August were L 3729 9d, an increase of L 256 183 7d upon the returns for the same month last year, and of L 274 7s lOd upon those of July in the present year. The principal collections last month were :—Auckland, LBOI 10s 7d ; Christchurch, L7G7 17s 7d ; Dunedin, L 695 5s 5d ; Wellington, L 429 9s 3d. The amount of duty collected for the five months of the financial year is L 19,203 19s lid.

The seamen on strike in Auckland are carrying on their campaign against the Northern Steamship Company with great vigour and resolution, and have secured valuable and substantial aid from the Australian Union. The levy of 2s fid per man in addition to such grants as may be required from their accumulated funds is a very strong step, and indicates that the Seamen’s Union of Australasia recognise in the present Auckland situation a battle-ground on which a serious issue has to be fought for the whole of the Australasian colonies. It is to be the struggle of capital against labor, and no matter which side may ultimately win the result cannot but be gravely injurious to both. Such a conflict ought to be impossible in these days when people are supposed to be educated up to a due recognition of the mutual dependence of the two. Capital and labour ought to walk hand-in-hand as brothers, or as partners, each ever-ready to aid the other as required, instead of engaging in a fratricidal struggle. Given specially propitious circumstances, either may temporarily coerce the other; capital may for a while compel labour to accept its terms, or labour-, by watching its opportunity, may in its turn coerce capital, but in the end both must suffer for this artificial disturbance of the natural relations, and, as a rule, capital, because it can wait the longer, comes off victor. A forcible illustration of this wa3 seen! some years ago in the Western iron country of England. Mr Crawshay, the famous ironmaster, had been joined by his fellow ironmasters in resisting a demand on the part of the men which was held to be unreasonable, and which was supported by a strike of exceptional duration and severity. In the end the associated ironmasters, rather than see their works longer idle, resolved to concede most of the strikers’ demands. Mr Crawshay, the richest of them all, stood pledged to abide by the decision of the majority, and the local workmen were gleefully triumphant, as much in the reflection that they had beaten him at last, as in having obtained the concession they sought. But they were soon to be bitterly undeceived. Mr Crawshay accepted the terms agreed upon, but instantly closed his works, disposed of his machinery, and finally discharged every hand. The district was ruined and depopulated, and the recently triumphant strikers were reduced with their families to the direst extremity. The incident carries its lesson. Probably few men or companies would or could carry their retaliation to such lengths as this, but on the other hand it must be recollected that as the only object of capital in employing labour is to make an adequate profit, such employment will assuredly cease if the realisation of such profit be rendered impossible, and then the last state of the workman is worse than the first. Herein lies the grave peril of strikes. They may absolutely ruin the industry on which the strikers depend for their livelihood. In this Auckland case the men are trying the bold course of actually running an opposition steamer line. But it needs no prophet to foresee that the success —with its questionable benefits—or the disastrous failure of this experiment depends entirely on the degree of firmness which the Northern Steamship Company can or will display. If the Company can and will hold out, there is little doubt they will in the end tire out and break down the opposition, and then those who have started it can look for but scant consideration at their hands. We regard the whole affair as a thing deeply to be deplored, and we fear its effects will be mischievous in more ways than one.

The receipts on the New Zealand Government railways for the first sixteen weeks of the current financial year amounted to L 325,941, as against L 311,143 for the corresponding period of 1886, an increase of L 14.798. The expenditure was L 221.899, as against L 225,413, a decrease of L 3604, although 75 more miles were worked, including the unprofitable district railways acquired by purchase. The North Island lines (excepting the two mineral lines) show an improvement in receipts, and so do the railways of the South, excepting the Picton and

Nelson sections. there is - a diminution on the North Island lines * (excluding Napier and Wanganui) and on the Hurunui-Bluff in the South Island. The West Coast mineral lines show increased - expenditure, but more revenue was caused in proportion, so the Colony gains in net profit. But on the Picton and Whangarei lines the working expenses swallowed up * all the receipts, and 17 and 16 per cent respectively in addition. Nice profitable lines these ! The general traffic exhibits • an increase in passengers, livestock (excepting sheep), wool, grain, and minerals. The approximate railway revenue for the four months ended 31st July was L 340,009, which is about L 25,000 short of the proportionate estimate for that period.

That cowardly little rascal Sandford who, after robbing a till, was -so upset at the prospect of six strokes with a birch-rod that it was deemed dangerous to inflict the punishment, will I no doubt have plenty of imitators. Every wretched urchin who is in future deservedly sentenced to that most appropriate form of chastisement will of course instantly make it clear that “ the prospect sn upsets his nerves that it would be dangerous to inflict the punishment,” and-then, we presume, as a matter of consistency, it will \ be remitted. Surely this as an utter burlesque of humanitarianism. • We have no doubt at all that the young thief’s “ nerves were upset” by the prospect of a whacking, but really we can see no - reason why he should not have got it. . Most boys would rather not be “whopped,” as phey pleasantly put it,, but they are “ whopped ’’ nevertheless, and survive it. Most schoolmasters have occasionally to resort to “drastic measures,” and we are told with delightful naivete by one of Dr Grimstone’s pupils in “ Vice "Versa” that “‘drastic : measures’ is Latin for a “whopping.” Poor transformed Mr Bultitude found his “ nerves ” much upset by the prospect of a flogging, but the stern doctor explicitly warned him : “ Your cowardice * wili not induce me to spare you in your coming chastisement,” and we really think that the estimable and sensitive - Master Sandford might just as well have had his half-dozen. The “danger”' might very well have been risked. The discipline would have done him good and would have been a wholesome discourage- - ment to ether juvenile petty-larceners. If it be seriously pretended that the boy would have been by so mild a castigation, what poor ■ miserable - mollycoddles our rising generation must be ! How many English public school boys have escaped with a mere half-dozen “ swishes ” with a birch ? But they take their punishment like men, and do not plead “nerves,” like our New Zealand boys. If we go on in this way our comings generation will be a “soft lot” indeed. We confess, however, that we regard the whole affair as mere humbug, and should?, strongly advise the ruthless birchiDg of all future emulators of Master Sandford’s - exploit, with entire disregard of their * delicate nerves, only we would not halve a mere dozen : much better give it in full. Why make two bites at a cherry 1

Captain W. H. Fellowes, whose elevation to the peerage caused the vacancy in the Parliamentary representation of Noith Huntingdonshire, which, according toa cable message this week, has been filled, by the return of another Conservative, is the eldest son of Mr E. Fellowes, of ; Ramsay Abbey, who represented the county from 1837 to 1880, and who married Lady Rosamond Churchill, second daughter of the late Duke of Marlborough. Captain Fellowes, the new peer, was born in 1848, and succeeded his father in the representation of the county in 1880. He Viras educated at ■ Eton, and held a commission in the Ist Life Guards, retiring ten years ago. He is a J.P. and D.L. for his county, and &■ member of the Carlton Club. His specialpolitical hobby is the female suffrage, ef which he is an ardent advocate. He is succeeded in the representation of North Huntingdonshire by a younger brother.

Most of our contemporaries fall into a monthly error with regard to one item in the railway returns. We refer to the column showing the percentage of receipts absorbed in working expenses. This is almost always quoted as if it referred to the four-weekly return, whereas it really refers to all of the current year that has expired to the date of the return. For instance, in the statistics published in' Thursday night’s Gazette, the proportion of expenditure to revenue was not for “the four weeks ending 23rd July,” as some appear to suppose, but for the sixteen weeks from Ist April to 23rd? July, a very different matter, for one fourweekly period will often show widelydifferent results from another, and itwould be wholly misleading to take theresults of 16 or 32 or 48 weeks, as thecase may be, as applying to any particular four-weekly period that might bepicked out. A more careful perusal of the published returns will at once show clearly that what we have stated is correct.

Canterbury—once the most refined and polished province of New Zealand—is earning for itself an infamous reputation for ruffianism and brutality over the present elections. Another flagrant case has just occurred at Rangitata, and is reported in our telegraphic columns, one of the candidates being shamefully maltreated by pelting with various missiles.

The cowardly blackguards who were guilty of this outrage ought to be brought to a severe reckoning. All New Zealand is being disgraced by such scandalous proceedings as those at Rangitata and at Mr Bruce’s meeting. If the authorities do not speedily do their duty and stamp on the thing at once, retaliatory measures are certain to be adopted by the aggrieved side, and we may soon see more deadly weapons resorted to. The tendency is in every way most objectionable, and alt such offences ought to be punished with exemplary rigour.