CURRENT TOPICS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 6769, 17 March 1909, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

NO EVIDENCE'. The difficulty the inspector of the S.P.C.A. haa in obtaining evidence in cases of cruelty to animals is generally very great. For instance, in two cases of brutal ill-treatment (about which written complaints had been, lodged) the complaining citizens had refused to give evidence in any case that might be brought against the owners. Of course, it is ''perfectly useless for a person to complain about .cruelty , to animals if ho is not willing to bock up' his complaint. PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS. In the eyei of at all events two members of the Arbitration Court/there is ‘‘much. of a muchness” found when workmen and their methods come to be compared with those of their employers, and the attitude they assume towards questions involved in the industrial disputes which now seem to be cropping up every day. Said Mr S. Brown, the representative of the employers on the Bench of the Court yesterday: . "The men are exactly like the employers; they'll do nothing until they're, kicked, and then they'll squeal .loudly enough. So with the employers. They won't join the union until their own toes arc trodden upon." It is so throughout life. •While things are going along merrily no one troubles about a little shadow momentarily obscuring the outlook; but when the' black ox "treads on one's own corns" the awakening comes. His Honor Mr Justice Sim, later on, uttered a few words which wore in support of this view. He pointed out that much of the time of the Court was taken up with the consideration of matters which would readily adjust themselves if employers merely did their duty to themselves and insisted' that all tradesmen applying to them for employment should prior to engagement give satisfactory evidence that they were unionists. 1 His Honor declined to suggest that employers should compel their workmen to join trades unions; but he pretty broadly hinted that there was an easier course open to employers to save themselves, and for that matter, the Court a lot of trouble and worry—decline to employ non-unionists ! And It is a fact tnat a very large proportion of the* time of the Arbitration Court is taken up with tne hearing of cases' connected with breacnes of preference clauses in awards.

LIFE OF TASMAN. “Ida Lee,” who contributed a most interesting article on the early history, of Tasmania to last year’s Christmas number of "The Tasmanian Mail/* sends to the "Hobart Mercury" the following from "The Life of Tasman** by Professor Hceros: —"The keeper of .the old colonial archives (Mr P. L. do Munnick) felt a' profound interest in the attempts to throw light on Tasman's career. As early as 1845 he had the 'satisfaction of being able to print a number of authentic documents that removed all doubt on the subject of Tasman's birthplace. . . . Thanks to Mr de Mannick’s fortunate find, Hoorn had to give up its claim in favour of the village of Lutzegast. None of the documents, however, in the course of the years mentioned the year of Tasman's birth, and it was not until 1887- that a Leydon archivist adduced a piece of evidence which, if it did not establish the point with absolute certainty, still rendered it possible to fix the discoverer's natal year with sufficient exactitude.- In an official document, dated December 27th, ,1631, Tasman states his age to be .28, so that it is safe to assume that he was born in or about 1603. Lntsegast was then, and continues to be, a small Protestant Church village, and numbers some 200 inhabitants at the present time <1897). It now forms part of the province of Koningen, and is situated near the Friesland boundary, in a country in which agriculture and cattle-rearing are the chief means of subsistence. Nothing is known of Tasman's parents. The document which in 1887 was discovered . ,

turned out to be a precontract of marriage. We learn from it that Tasman was already a widower at the time when the document was drawn up. His first wife is in it referred to by the name of Claesgio Heyndrir. . . . The will discovered at Batavia throws some feeble light upon this point. From it we are led to infer that on© of Tasman’s daughters had sprung from this first union. Whatever may hare been the social status of Tasman’s parents, it is beyond doubt that he was himself in anything but thriving circumstances when, he married his second wife. He is officially styled a Vaerentgesel/ i.e., common sailor, and consequently at 28 years had not achieved a brilliant position in life. , . However, it is beyond doubt that on December 27th, 1631, Abel Jan Goon Tasman officially registered his intention to marry Jannetie Tjaerss, or Tjaerts, and on Sunday, January 11th, 1633, the Amsterdam minister, Henricus Geldorpius, definitely married the couple in the old church. The precise date of ftjp departure irpm Holland is not

known. . . . The earliest trace of Ida residence in Hie Past Indies bears dale February 18th, 1634, on which day Tasman sailed from Batavia in a ship which was hound for the Amboyna SeasHceres also says that Maria Island was most probably named after Antonio Van Diemen’s wife, Maria .Van. Aelst. lie had no daughter."

NEWS NOTES Justices of tho Peace are to moot at tho S.M. Court on April 2nd to revise tho jury list for the district of Wellington. The bricklayers’ dispute, in connection with which the Board of Conciliation’s recommendations were recently tiled has been referred to the Court of Arbitration. The mails which left Wellington on February sth, by the Ulimaroa, connecting at Sydney with tho Orient mails, per K.M.S. Orient, arrived at London on March 15th, duo date. !

A "floral seance” held at Palmerston North by Mrs P. L. Perkins realised fourteen shillings for the Penguin fund. Messrs Nash and Coombe have forwarded' the amount to this oflice.

A petition signed by a lorge number, of Brooklyn residents was presented to Mr A. H. Fullford on Monday night, asking him to stand for a seat on tho City Council at tho coming elections. Mr Fullford has agreed to stand. The chairman, treasurer, and secretary of the Wellington District Hospital' Board wero yesterday appointed a com-! mittee to go into tho question of ex-! patients! accounts due to Otaki Sana-' torium. There is a considerable amount* in arrears.

The following further subscriptions have been received by the Italian Consul towards the relief fund for the sufferers by the recent earthquake in Sicily, and Calabria:—A Friend Is, Mco Bros. dC2, B. Russo £2 Sis, E. Kirkland 10s, Miss Calcinai £l,- F, Monopoll £ l, U. Grill 10s.

In connection with the annual convention of the Women's Christian Tem-I perance Union of New Zealand, a re-1 ception to delegates will be held to-mor-row afternoon at 2.30 p.m. in the Coun-j cil Chambers, Town Hall. All members of the Wellington Union are expected to be present. During February nine patients wore admitted to the Otaki Hospital and nine dis6harged. There are at present three' females and eight males in the institu-| tion. Three patients were received at tho sanatorium and eight discharged.* Four have been able to resume work/ the disease having been arrested; eight are much improved, and one patient has been transferred to the Seddon Hospital.

Tho Trustees of the Benevolent Institution sat 3'eeterday afternoon. Mr Jd Smith was in the chair, and other s Trustees present wore Miss M. E. R’ch-' moud, the Rev. W. A. Evans, and Messrs R. w. Short, D. P. Loasby, and J. Wakeham. There are 113 inmates in the Ohiro Home. Of these 81 are men ’ and 32 women. This is a record number, tho largest previous total having been 111.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has written to the local branch of the society, setting out its programme of business at its conference to be hold in London in June. Tho B.S.P.C.A. asked that a New Zealand representative might be a delegate, and one member thought that should any member bo im London at tho timo of the conference it would bo a good opportunity to appear as-, a New Zealand representative. At yesterday's meeting of tho S.P.C.A. the inspector mentioned a difficulty he was sometimes faced with. He had frequently destroyed horses which had fallen and'broken legs, but he felt that this might lead to trouble should owners be vindictive. He asked for a ruling by the/ society as to his powers in tho matter. No resolution was carried, but it was the feeling of the meeting that the inspector should ‘'use his own discretion/' As this is what he' has hitherto been bound to do he has no guidance for action in future necessitous cases.

The inspector of the S.P.C.A. yesterday alleged that exceptional cruelty was being practised on draught horses at a place near Island Bay. The horses are used to haul gravel, and it is alleged have to be flogged to make them haul the heavy loads over boulders. The wash of the tide renders temporary road making ineffectual. Mr Seed mentioned that particularly good horses manage well enough, but horses that are- not fit are flogged to make them drag the loads. He had persuaded carters to take smaller loads. The S.P.C.A. will write to the City Council and fcho Makara Road Board in connection with the matter. It is thought that better road formation would minimise the alleged cruelty. . ' All veteran® are invited to attend the service at St. Mary's Church on Sunday afternoon, March 28th, when three hatchments, to complete the set painted by Archdeacon Walsh in memory of vtho volunteers and Imperial regiments who fought in the Taranaki Maori war, will be unveiled (says the “Taranaki Daily News"). • The hatchment in memory of the Royal Artillerymen will be unveiled by Sergeant Aroh. Hood, E.A., and that for the Royal Engineers will bo unveiled in the unavoidable absence of Mr Andrew Morton, a former member of tho Engineers, by Mr T. McGninnese, late of the Artillery and a lieutenant of volunteer corps during the War. The hatchment to the 12th. Regiment will be unveiled by Captain Mace, who was associated with the regiment at Waitara and at Omata.