NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVIX, Issue 3011, 24 December 1896, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Do we not in our dealings as a people with the Chinese run the risk in some instances of a charge of hypocrisy ? Tho other night in Auckland tho house of a Chinese was raided and John was discovered committing tho heinous offence of playing a game of “fan tan.” No loss than 20 Celestials were dragged away to durance vile—and our sense of the eternal fitness of things was gratified. Butis this not the very essence of “ straining at a gnat end swallowing a camel ?’* Are there no other gaming houses but those of the Chinese? Does tho Chow ever play high —as high as Europeans? “ One man may steal a horse ; the other mayn’t look over the hedge.” That is to say, there appears to bo a law for the Chinaman and a process for the European which is graphically described as “ winking the other eye.”

The N-w Zealand Trade Review, referring to the raising of tho new loan says Wo have reason to believe that nearly two-thirds of the loan been taken up by three financial institutions, only one of which is local, and that very little has been subscribed by the general public, probably not more than the odd .£BOOO of the tenders. The next quarterly bank returns will probably throw a little more light on the subject. On tho whole we think the result may bo considered satisfactory for tho Government, for although they might have raised the money at a slightly lower rate, they save tho enormous cost of floating a loan in London and the expense of remitting the interest half-yearly.” Hero is a chance for tho Poet to fulminate against a publication which, as a rule, carefully avoids political colour. Might wo suggest that a question bo asked in the House as to whether it is not possible to suspend tho publication of any newspaper, financial or otherwise, that has a single word to s*y in praise of this new loan ? The politician who penned the loan articles in our evening contemporary may, wo think, bo entrusted with the delicate operation.

Mr Harry P. Tuckey, writing to a Conservativo Hawke’s Bay paper, has something to say concerning the Pollhill Gully rifle range which will bo read with feeling by tho party of purity, of honest government and sound finance. Mr Tuckey, after referring to the fact that it has been announced in the New Zealand Times that the now Commandant of the Forces has ordered tho range to be closed, significantly adds “It will be remembered that this is the range Captain Russell told us the Colony had to thank him lor purchasing. Comment is unnecessary !” The party of purity in the case of the Polbill Gully range remembered that there wore cer» tain relatives who might turn an honest penny in tho way of conducting the purchase.

■ Tho Government are fully alive to the value of the fruit industry to this Colony, as has been shown by the inducements already given to fruit-growers to proceed upon the most' approved lines in culture, packing, and tho seeking of markets. Another step is now about to be taken in the direction of enabling two delegates from tho fruitgrowers of this Colony to attend the Conference to be held in Brisbane, commencing on 4th February next. Tho Government propose to pay the actual travelling expenses of these two delegates, and will, besides, send one or two officers of tho Department of Agriculture. Of course other delegates may be sent by any societies of orchardists or others interested. A fruit show is to be hold in connection with the Conference, and if any displays can be got together by producers, they will be taken charge of by tho delegates, and the Government will defray all necessary expenses of freight.

Tho Rev Canon Stack, of Christchurch, is being rated for having* made reflections on certain of the public men of New Zealand, and wo understand ho aimed some of his references at the Premier of the Colony. This amiable, Christian gentleman is reported to have also said that while in England he did not like to admit that ha was a New Zealander, because Now Zealand at the present time had a bad reputation. If the Rev Canon Staok had the Harper failure in his mind at the time he says he was ashamed to own New Zealand as bis country, then we can hardly wonder at bis reserve. It was a bad business, certainly. No word of scandal of that kind has ever been breathed against the Hon R. J. Seddon; nor do yrr, know that the record of his private life has been other than clear and clean before the world. As a public man ho bus—with very many disadvantages to battle against climbed to the highest place which is in tho gift of the people of New Zealand. Why the Rev G&non Stack should have gone out of his way to attack tho public men of the Colony is somewhat puzzling, unloss it was that he hoped to make of the Christ’s College boys good, sound Tories. That, of course, would not be in accordance with tho teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, but quite in keeping with that Old Country couplet which the agricultural labourer learned so well:—“Lord bless the squire and all his rich relations, and keep ub poor people in our proper stations.” This, together with that very excellent teaching about being satisfied with that “station in life to which it has pleased God to call us,” has gone by the board in New Zealand. Wo kicked it out of sight and sound years ago. Perhaps it is because tho Premier did hia share in the kicking that Canon Stack objects to Mr Seddon.

.There is a little Information, however, whiclt the Rev Canon should net be deprived of. He deplores tho fact of *•' the absence of truthfulness among our public men.” So da we. For example, during the general election contest there was an organised gang of scandalmongers, who either invented their “facta” or told those half truths which Tennyson has branded as tho ** blackest of lies.” Tho members of the scandal gang wore in tho pay of the Conservative Party. They wrote in newspapers, despatched private Jotters and telegrams, until from one end of the Colony to the other the private affairs of pnblfe men were dragged into the light, and jyopse than all the foulest slanders were circulated concerning them and the member? of their families. Perhaps Canon Stack will bo saddened to hear that ministers of his own church joined in this work, both directly ud indirectly. And when some of them actually received letters from brother clergyman, denying the scandals, - they suppressed the letters. We feel sure that Canon Stack is not aware of those iniquities of the political party to which ho evidently belongs, and we regret that ho did not kpojv before he spoke as ho did at Christchurch. We have before ns at this moment a letter from a high dignitary of the Anglican Communion—a whom to know is to love and honour—in which lie re.- ; grets the coming into our political life of the i slander gang’s work, of which ho bad had absolute proof.

Yesterday the sable flashed ns the news that the brutal murderer of M. Stambouloff, the late Prime Minister of Bulgaria, have at last been brought to justice, and also that there are no less than 130 witnesses in the ease. It will be probably fresh la the minds of many of oar readers that M. Stambouloff was murdered in the open street whilst he was returning homo from a visit to his club. The savage and fatal attack which deprived Bulgaria of the best Premier she ever had was mode on the 15ih of Ju1y,1895. Both his hands were chopped off and he sustained other terrible injuries, from the effects of which he died throe days later, notwithstanding all that could be done for him by human skill. His friends openly charged the Government with conniving at his murder, a charge which Prince Ferdinand, who waa then at Karlsbad, indignantly repudiated. When his funeral took placo it, was, notwithstanding that it was attended by the Diplomatic Corps, scandalously interrupted by violence on the part of the enemies of the deceased statesman and the police, and it was only with the gieatgat difficulty that to was buried. Nny after 1/ months h is morijerera will meet their deserts. At least wo hope so.

Unlike onr evening contemporary, wo do not rejoice oyer ,the losses in business of apolitical opponent. We arc genuinely sorry that Sir Robert Stoat has b’en a heavy loser in the companies whoso affairs are now being investigated by Mr Cook, under authority of the Supreme Court It has pointed out to us that 'dr Kobc-t and his partners, Messrs Moody- and Sim, have always objected to being considered partners in what are known as the Guthrie Companies, and so that we may not be charged with having pjade without sufficient warrant the assertion which appeared in yesterday’s issue, we now quote a portion of the addrees by learned counsel engaged hy the Oathjis Companies before

Mr Justice "Williams :—“ Mr Folomon submitted that sufficient grounds _ had not been shown for disregarding the wishes of the opponents of the summons. In effect the position was that there was now a partnership between the bank on the one side ana Mr Guthrie, Sir Robert Stout and his partners on the other side. There was no getting away from that /act.”

The Poet does not attempt to defend the action of the Dunedin agents of tho Press Association in remaining silent concerning the progresi of the Guthrie cases ; nor does it tell its readers how it came about that the wires were so fully occupied with Mr Ward's affairs —even though it was well-known that that gentleman had not been heard in his owu defence. One thing we have compelled the evening paper to do, however, and that is to throw off 1 its mask of hypocrisy —but only for the nonce. At first there was published by it a whine about how successfully Mr Braund had acted in the interests of the Colonial Bank shareholders, and now when we have proved that what had boon done against Mr Ward was not so done in the interests of shareho’ders, but of a political party and in view of an approaching general election, the evening paper confesses that it wished to see the moat extreme steps taken against the man who went down as other commercial men have done, but of the details of whoso affairs the Colony at large never learned. In last night’s paper the same man is g r ®® B v libelled, and cowardice has been added to the other acts of the bitter political opponents of the late Colonial Treasurer. Our evening contemporary knows that Mr ward cannot even yet strike back, and, knowing that, it ought to feel ashamed of its conduct. The quotations given are misleading, and our contemporary knows it. Since the time that the one-sided enquiry took place, and a decision was given by Air Justice Williams without waiting to hear the other side, the whole complexion of the case has undergone a change, and it is now abundantly proven that the charges of recklessness will not hold water, much less those of wilful wrong-doing. The Post has all along been encouraged in its attitude towards Mr Ward by those who never raised a finger against business men who male default, so long as they were of the right political colour, and wo are prepared to give instances, though wo hesitate to drag the names of those men once more before the public. Tho Post endeavours to brazen it out and make excuses for its cruel conduct, but the people of tho Colony have long since made it manifest that they look upon the persecution of the late Colonial Treasurer au the work of a political party, who sought through a business man’s misfortunes to discredit the Liberal Government, The effort failed, utterly and ignominiously.