ABSENTEEISM.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1107, 19 May 1893, Page 21

ABSENTEEISM.

Absenteeism has had a narrow escape from destruction at the hands of Mr Andrew. This gentleman's discovery, that under the law as enacted last session the difference between the owner of a property and his agent was obliterated, was astute. Fortunately, it has been authoritatively declared to be, like many discoveries equally ambitious, not a real discovery at all. Just imagine ! We inflict a tax on absentees of three years and upwards, and we enact in the same breath that all absentees may vicariously be present every day in every year. That was the astute contention of the ingenious 'Mr Andrew. He had persuaded himself that in order to check absenteeism the New Zealand Parliament has enacted that every absentee may, by going through the formality of appointing an agent in the Colony, be considered as present. But no absentees, except, of course, lunatics, are ever without agents. The grievance every country has against absentees is that they are represented by agents who drain the resources of their estates out of the country without allowing anything but a small proportion to return. The idea that the Legislature could have made 'owner' and 'agent' convertible terms is of colossal boldness, and the courage required to seriously advance it in a Court of law is nothing less than heroic. Fortunately we have in New Zealand » Magistrate who discourages these terrible feats of mental gymnastics. Had it been otherwise we should have felt it our duty to recommend Mr Andrew to add to his brilliant qualities just a little stock of common sense. As things are, we much prefer to praise the common sense of the Magistrate. The ingenuity by which Mr Andrew tried to prove that his owner might have been present in person, is on a par with his boldness in tryingto make out that he and his owner are legally the same. The common sense of Mr Martin was more than a match for both.