NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1261, 30 April 1896, Page 19

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Our Woman's Convention put the coping stone to its work- by demanding tho raising of the ago of consent to 21. There is no particular reason why, instead of 21, it should not be 81. Thero is only one thing wanting to complete the sweet reasonableness of the system proposed. Let us require a special Act of Parliament l'or every marriage, and then wo shall want nothing more. The “old, old stoiy ” will have a new ending. When “every shepherd tells his tale, under the hawthorn in the dale,”

and Phyllis sends Corydon to papa with her consent, imagine tho unspeakable delight of that, fond parent in view of the prospect of getting a private Bill through tiie Legislature. Go on, ladies, and prosper. That’s the way to make tho men “ skip.”

One little thing strikes one. If all feminine consent is to be illegal, for that seems to bo the logical position, how is a woman to " elect to ho tho mother of children,” as one of the delegates chose to put it the other day ? A now vista is opened up; consent is to be transferred to man, woman to He the proposing party, every year to have tho privileges of Leap Year. Is it a bad guess? It so,wo give it up.

The anti-Semitic agitation which has given Vienna a Mayor is in the same spirit as the mediaeval persecutions of tho Jews. In Russia tho same spirit lives in laws which for atrocious barbarity are unparalleled even by tho meJiteval practice. If the enlightened agitators of Austria and Germany get their way, they will disgrace the age as much by their practices as they now do by their sentiments.

A Chinese secret society was the subject of one of tho recent cables from Victoria. The most sensational of tho gruesome story depends on the statements of counsel, and therefore for tho present must be taken with caution. But wo shall hear more of the matter before long, for it is a matter sure to ho probed to tho bottom. China itself is well known to bo honeycombed with secret societies. Tho fact that there is question of oiio in an Australian colony adds a now prop to the Undesirable Immigrants Bill. Perhaps oven the Argus, which ridiculed that measure so stupidly, may now have a word to say in its favour.

The Oamaru Mail has nicely cornered both Captain Russell and Air Duthio in connection with their remarks on tho duty of tho Government to find work for tho unemployed. The Southern journal says: —“This is more Socialism than wo expected from such a source ; but wo acknow'edge with thanks such a contribution from the other side towards advanced Liberalism. We compliment those hard and fast Tories with having imbibed from their Liberal associates the milk of human kindness, though some may think that their convictions may sink no deeper than their mouths, and may have been generated by pre-election doubts and fears, and with the object of tripping the unwary at tho polling booths. Whatever the r**as mi mav be, both Minis-

; t * * r-i.-i lists and Oppositionists are of one I mind now. Tim only point remaining to • be determined is under what system the wealthy are to pay the motley which they are evidently anxious to coni rihul o ill order to enable the hivei nm.'iil: to do their duty towards their bass fnrtn- | n.tie fellows. It may be that the Government may call upon them to pay through f ho in-trumenl-alify of tiie graduated land-tax ami the income-tax. We lancy wo hear Captain 8it.,.-jell’.: class applauding this idea as tho only one possible of achievement.” In this connection it is worthy of note that two or three years ago the Bu i :s electors, when called upon through tiie Referendum to decide whether or not it was the Government’s duty to provide work for tho workless, by a largo majority decided the question in the negative. “ A few of our New Zealand Conservatives—Dr Newman is perhaps the most prominent in this connection—talk at times a kind of crude Socialism ” Wo aro quoting from an article in tho Lylldl-m Times on the campaign of tho National Ass. Tho words hit off our friends perfectly. We will take the liberty of pointing out that our contemporary has made only one error ; an error of omission. He has stopped short with a duo. He should have gone as far as a trio. The campaign of crude (Socialism is carried on by Captain Russell and Dr Newman certainly. That is true. But there is another who joins these champions. It is Sir Robert Stout, lie, like them, is playing for capital by

rolling balls of crude Socialism all over the political platform.

Tiie three aro duo at Gisborne presently. Captain Russell opens with the usual deadly lively entertainment. Tho Doctor follows with tho political polka, of which he is such a characteristic and pleasant exponent. Sir Robert brings up the rear with those heavy battalions of undigestiblo and undigested books of which ho keeps a largo store on hand always.

Wo don’t know whether the triple onslaught is due to the importance of the district of Gisborne or to the importance of the sitting member, or to tho selfimportance of the strangely assorted trio. We are inclined to think that tho selfimportance is tho moving cause. That force is supposed to outweigh the not unimportant fact that on every question except that of hostility to the Ministry the members of the trio arc hopelessly at variance one with the other.

We beg their pardon. Thero is one other thing on which they agree. Tho measures carried by the Ministry and their general policy of Liberalism they think perfect enough to bo continued in our next i.c., when we, the three heterogeneous elements, shall form a Government. In justice to two of them — strictly severe justice, bo it understood—wo leave out the banking legislation. But even that is a matter of words, for tho two to whom we refer would on no account alter the banking legislation.

It. follows, then, that the only fault of the Alinistryis its personnel. But for that they aro not responsible. They had no choice in tho matter originally. They came into this wicked world without any formal expression of consent on their part. In view of the charge brought against them, the only charge which their enemies try to sustain, this is an extenuating circumstance to a certain extent. It is admitted that, politically, they liavo dono well. That ought to justify the fact that they were born. It does not justify it, in the eyes of their political opponents, and so wo have tho National Ass. on tho rampage. AVo don’t think tho constituencies will decido that by tho fact of existing tho Ministry, which has dono good work, is guilty of tho unpardonable sin.

Tho constituencies are logical enough to judge men by their acts, not by the theories of their political opponents who applaud their acts. And they don’t like crude Socialism, especially when it is a pretence.

It is useless to gird at the Government about tho school committee elections. Tho Government has no more to do with them than the man in the moon. Tho committees are administrative bodies. If tho Government had interfered they would liavo been denounced as despots, and the committees would have been “dumb dogs.” So much for tho amazing insolence of the attack on the Government. Consider further that tho chairmen of these meetings nearly all peremptorily refused to allow tho political aspect of the question to bo discussed. Why are they not denounced a 3 traitors? Simply because it is tho rule of tho Opposition press to be fair to everybody except tho Government.

Self - reliance in another form is not quite so engaging. Air Logan wants Young New Zealand to ho self-reliant and pub down this setting of class against class. Is he denouncing tho proceedings of the National Ass. r If not, whose proceedings is he denouncing? Whichever it is, he plainly wants to make tho Young New Zealand Association a political organisation. AVo can do without that sort of thing. There are enough political organisations already. Besides, ho;v long would this one stand as a political organisation ? Cradled in party politics by men who protend they want to abolish party Government, because that is for them tho only road to power, such an Association must eventually meet with tho fate of tho celebrated Kilkenny cats. An expenditure of «£ 10,000 to reinforce tho railway rolling stock is an eloquent proof either of tho very great development of the public resources or of the very bad management which permitted the stock to t un low in order to show larger profits. For these two reasons we can quite understand the silence which has followed tho announcement of the Government intention.

Though it. is quite right that Air Reeves should be well received in London, aud nothing more than (he Colony whose Agent-General he is has a right to expect, it is very pleasant to road that he has been well received. Sir West by Perceval behaved, of course, like a yontlemau and a friend on tho arrival of Air Reeves, in spite of the cackling of some carious AngleColonials to tho contrary. The first tiling Mr Reeves scorns to have done was to snub tho idiots who Hocked to his chambers to ask him what improvements ho intends to make in the Agent-General’s oliice. He very wisely, and as appears from some accounts tartly, asked how he could bo supposed to be wanting to interfere with the excellent arrangements of his predecessor. Tilings have settled down quickly, and, after all that has been said, nobody is surprised that the Heavens still keep in their place.