A POLITICAL MAD BULL.

NZ Truth, Issue 159, 4 July 1908, Page 8

A POLITICAL MAD BULL.

TORMENTING "TRUTH" ON "TUMMY'S"

TRAIL

A Reply to Bent's Outburst.

Attempting to Square a Circle.

Last week , " 'Truth" published .Melbourne ''Truth's" account of Tommy, how Sir Tommy, Bent's recent vitriolic outburst it a Victorian township called -Cheltenham, where "Tummy, m mad , bull fashion,' went bald-headed not only for the "respectable" Victorian daily press, but blackguarded '"Truth '•' and ' John Norton, who is absent m Europe, thoroughly enjoying himself, m a most brutal and undignified manner. Naturally, as Mr Norton "is thus precluded from dealing with "Tummy" and his belchihgs and bawtmgs about blackmail and his outrageous assertion about drunken derelicts, it followed that Melbourne • "Truth" would take up the cudgels, ahd it did. - In four columns it dealt \v__i "Tummy, excerpts from which are reproduced :—■■'•■•• i ■ - , It is when the Honorable Mr .Bent speaks out from his great heart, it is when he gives forth his noblest thoughts upon the public platform that' Victoria feels a proper sense of pride and reverence for the great one m its midst. Itis upon such occasions that the Hop or able Sir Reginald Talbot and Lady Talbot, the Governor of Victoria and his wife, must feel how happy it is to have such a .distinguished man to. 1 assist them m the social functions of the State. Little wonder is it when the Honorable Mr Bent makes poetic . references such as ''carrying guts to a bear" that everyone fond of English literature feels pleased. This ornament of Victorian Society sheds a lustre- upon ajl around him. The ladies, are charmed, especially the ladies who j are honored with the attentions -of the ., Honorable Mr Bent. When the Honorable^ Mr Bent from his great heart speaks of "journalistic prostitutes," every pureminded father and mother m Victoria feels that their little \boys and girls should be introduced to Mr Bent on the earliest possible occasion. The Honorable Mr Bent is for the purity of the home m Victoria. He must hi for . the purity of the home, for nothing] is more valued, nothing held more sacred amongst the Eng-lish-speaking race. It is only "journalistic prostitutes" who report nasty cases that jjecur m court, cases which reveal the' great and good Mr -Bent, the Premier of Victoria, Sir Reginald Talbot's trusted adviser. It is because the public Press is run by "journalistic prostitutes" that that same Press is obliged \to suppress the Honorable Mr Rent's dissertations upon bawds,, brothels, aged prostitutes, and all the " other gems of Ms political addresses. It is because the Honorable Mr Bent is Premier of Victoria, and above the law, that he is not .summoned to attend the Police Court to answer the charge of using indecent language m a public -place. .- It is.. a case of one law for the rich, another for the poor •; one law for the Honorable Mr Bent, an- i other for the ordinary citizen.- It would never do to allow the great, good man, the idol, to be subjected to the laws that tend to ' restrain: Tom, Dick, and Harry. J The, emissaries of- the great one can see- J to that. If nations, are to be judged -by thfeir, manners, and if their manners are to be discovered m the life and conduct of their public men, the Australian nation is m, danger of acquiring an unpleas- ' ant reputation. It is the duty of a Free Press to deal with the public actions ol public men. Tlie more the Press is threatened, the more the Press will speak. "He that keepeth his mouth, keepctk his life, but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction., A wkfip f or tho horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for t}ie fool's back." ; , J •'• The speech and language of a man mdi- v cate his mind. The mind m a state of depravity will dwell upon prostitutes, bawds, and brothels. In such a mind there is a total perversion, of the sense."?, ideas are misrepresented* the powers oi imagination disordered, the judgment un-; sound. Virtue, true manliness, is the foundation of good taste ; vice the foundation of a vitiated one. When the speeches of a man display unsound judgment on matters of taste, it is hopeless to expect sound judgment m the. direction of the much more important aEairs of the State. In countries that -can stand a Free Press, which every British community can, the National Consult or Real Parliamentary. Debate goes' on of itself everywhere, continually. Thus writes honest Tom Cardyle. it is the Press which carries on the public debate. It is the Press which keeps up the ever necessary question as to whether, a State is being led or driven by a man of sound or unsound judgment, or no judgment at all. The debate will go on, and m British communities no force can stop it. The Honorable Mr Bent is not | m Russia. The Honorable Mr •'. Bent is. not m Obiina. The mind ' that . confuses and cannot distinguish between the Presssuppressing powers of a Russian autocrat, and the Press privileges of a free democracy is glaringly unsound. 'A mind . m this condition cannot deal, with finance or the Lands' Office, or propound any public palicy. It can only read what it is given 'to read. If it speaks for itself; it must make .of itself an exhibition, for the a-> musement bf some, for the dismay of others. It may try to' travel with a map of the Mallee, or a man of Croajingolong. or drivel about a inlillion acres somewhere m the back-blocks, but such a mind is not capable bf propounding a policy whereby Victoria' will hold and provide for the wants of its departing agriculturists. The Government of any country that allows and compels its population to leave it, as the Victorian . State tfov-' ernment has been doing, is not on its trSal. By the' fact of its departing . agriculturists, by the fact of its 160,000 emigrants, it stands already condemned. ■_..'■ a a ' a ',"■■ The senses may he perverted, the imagination disordered, jfcho judgment unsound, and yet *ther6 maybe both cv teness i and cunning. An extraordinary ability m lying, deceit, and misrepresentation is frequently found m the unhappy inmates of a lunatic asylum. The constant practice of hiding the real sentiments tends to warp the manly vigor of every man who' enters upon a life of misrepresentation and concealment of the genuine feelings and emotions. In the end all genuine feelings entirely/disappear. v , * ' ' *■■ * ' The Honorable Mr Bent is very religious—in religious circles. When leading men m . England some time ago were questioned as to their favorite hymns, our papers announced their selections. It was the psychological moment for' the Honorable Mr Bent to be quoted m the newspapers m the company of Gladstone, Cardinal Manning, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Dean of Westminster Abbey, the late Queen Victoria, and Mrs Booth. The distinguished orator of Cheltenham was ready for the occasion. "I taught m the Sunday School once. I used to preach. My favorite hymn is — " (here the pious man quoted a hymn sacred upon the lips of little children, m ' Knglish nurseries). It would be too jarring to repeat here the hymn m hypocritical and canting association, especially m reference to a speech upon prostitutes and loaded with coarseness, sensuousness and the filth, ofthe gutters. But when the honorable, the manly, the clean Mr Bent finds • seated beside him m a railway carriage an elder m the Presbyterian Church of Vlictoria, it Is also another -psychological moment for the adoption of the ra-

ligious cloak. The elder is confidentially informed and made to believe that the .Honorable Mr Bent 'spends his. evenings m prayer._The lips that vomit filth when ; on the loose, with aßected reverence dwell upon the intimate association between the . Honorable Mr Beat and the Supreme Ruler of the universe. .L ' * * ;''>*• There is Tand m Victoria more than sufficient to easily provide food' for ten or fifteen million cows. But the Honorable Mr Bent keeps the land of . Victoria so carefully locked up that 12,850,-90 acres of Crown lands are reserved for tbe rabbits. The rabbits flourish, where the cow ought to be. There are not one million dairy cows m the whole of Victoria. Cows being so scarce m what might be one of the greatest agricultural States m the world, the Honorable Mr Bent; with delicate satire, tells ■ us- that he always takes off -his hat to, a cow. This 1 ,-, is / undoubtedly to remind the ,poor cow tnat she is m the presence of the m^n -^ho, more than anyone m Victoria, 'by hind booming and artificially raising the price, of land m Victoria/ and at the same time keeping the Crown lands locked up, has made it hard for the farmer to get any land. to feed poor cows upon. Cows are hot like bulls. Cows are quiet, unassuming animals. Bulls are coarse, and angry, and sensual. Cows never deliver addresses and use' bawds, brothels and prostitutes, as lucid and elegant illustrations of their feelings. *■' * * The- Honorable Mr ' Bent tells us that ho has a. shrewd idea as to tlie person who stole • the Parliamentary mace. Why does not the, head .of the Government, the Pre-, mier of the. State, .the bright star of Justice, Law, ; Order, and Decorum, tell the Criminal Investigation Department, what he says he knows or suspects about the stealing of the mace ? He "has 'a shrewd idea who took it." It is not his duty to hide his knowledge or suspicions, where a crime has' been committed. It is his duty to assist Justice and ,the law of ; the land which says that thieves .should be punished, no matter who they are. If the mace of the British House of Commons were stolen, would' the people of England permit any. British Prime Minister to hold office for one week after ho confessed that he had a • shrewd idea who stale it, gut refrained from putting the defectives upon the tracks,- or honestly telling the people all he knew about the 'theft ? When the Crown jewels- were stolen from Dublin Castle the public demanded "a searching enquiry, and everyone supposed to know aiiything about it was subjected to a thorough examination. Tlie- officers concerned were disinisised. ' Is it a fair or fitting thing that Sir Reginald Talbot, the Victorian representative of the King of Great and Greater Britain, should he forced to take adyicc : and counsel, and sup and dine with an administrator who confesses to- a shrewd idea as to the perpetrators of a notorious crime, who are as yet unknown to the people of Victoria? Who does the fountain of Justice, m the person of the Honorable Mr Bent, . suspect ? 'What were tho circumstances that aroused the suspicions ? Where and m what house or place m Melbourne did the Honorable Mr Bent's suspicions arise? Why does the Honorable Mr Bent stop short m his disclosure, just when it is getting interesting ? iSo doubt he fully appreciates himself; the reason, * ■ * . * ■ . ' In Sir Reginald Talbot, our much-res-pected Governor, we have a fine type of the true English gentleman, ln Lady Talfeot we have a pure woman, and a devoted wife. Is it fair that our Governor and . his wife should he placed m association with the character whese language is so disgusting that the Press of tlie. country cannot report him ? The man who is nut m the place -of Premier of the i State must be received at the Government House. Sir Reginald Talbot must receive him. L^ady Talbot must welcoroo 'him and entertain him. .because the Premier is the official representative of the people. No matter how low his talk may be, no matter how filthy his language, how questionable his jokes, especially m the presence of ladies, Lady Talbot, m accordance with imperative social custom, must receive him and treat him with cour-< <»tesy and, still more, with respect, because he is the chosen representative ol the people. Sir Reginald Talbot, as an old soldier, has often had to rougn .it. But is it fair, lis it -.decent that Lady Talbot should have to receive such a specimen of democracy m Melbourne? Yet it is the fault of the State Parliament that Mr Bent's company should be forced upon a lady who, if s^he could choose her company, "would steer clear of contact with so foiul-mouthed a person as this late rate-collector from the Shire of Moorab.Win. How. many fathers and mothers offamilies, after" hearing "the Cheltenhamspeech, would ask the Honorable Mr Bent home for tea with them? Happily, .there are' very few, and a few of little consequence. Is it fair, then, that the Cabinet Ministers m Victoria, who can arrange for one ' decent member of the, Ministry to be Premier— is it fair for them to allow every sense of refinement run! public decorum m the people of Victoria to be outraged ? Is it fair to Sir Reginald Talbot and Lady. Talbot. Everyone will aigrce that larrikinism m all its forms should be' 'sternly ' suppressed. Everyone will agree that it is not the thing to send a larrikin to Government House, especially to represent the public' of Victoria. The Honorable Mr Bent was careful to avoid answering "Truth" at Cheltenham. It was an instance of having no case, and abusirig. t'he. other side." The family of the, late David Syme was abused , by him, although' there" was not the slightest reason for imagining that the sons of the late David Syme have had anything to do with recent "Age" articles. Now that' David Syme is -resting ih his. grave, it-is an easy thing to make statements about a dead man, which the dead cannot rise to answer. ' The story that the Honorable Mr Bent told about the late David Syme sending Sammie Gillott to ask that a prosecution against tlie "Age" should he stopped was too palpably (untrue .to deserve even the notice of the "Age." Just as if a hard-headed Scotchman like David Syme was going to put himself m a position that would enable the Honorable Mr Bent to command the j support} of the "Age." And the yhrn that because the^ Honorable Mr Bent refused, the dying Syme said, "Write him down, write him down," 'If there was a spark of decency left m Bent, he Avould leave the dead alone. * * * And then after dealing fully with Bent's policy, or lack of policy, follows the foi-: lowing editorial note, which means much and explains a lot : — (The Honorable Thomas Bent, Premier of Victoria, Councillor of Brighton, and General Boss of Victoria, has thought lit m his wisdom-' to make an unwarranted attack on John Norton, M.L.A., of Syd-i ney, proprietor of "Truth" and fearless publicist. Mr Bent at Cheltenham stepped out of his way to vilSfy John Norton, | and m his efforts to t'.irow verbal mvi hi j out-Dented Bent. John j\orton w»s evcryj thing that was bad, a blackmailer, and Bsnt even went so far as t* imply that'

if Norton had his deserts he would be Banged. It is pot necessary for one ol the Generals of "Truth's" Divisions to to take up cudgels on behalf of the Com-mander-in-chief. Australia generally concedes that Mr John Norton has the power, and the ability, to take oare of himself. Fortunately for Bent, however, it so happens that Mr Norton is at the present time m England, and that fact was ascertained by a friend of Bent's from tho editor of. this journal on the Thursday prior to Bent making the attack- The inference is, therefore, that Bent knew he was safe, at anyrate for a few months, from a direct; and crushing reply from Mr Norton himself. It may be asked what is the reason for Mr Bent's sudden mad aversion to "Truth" ? Before the Luth affair was published, the same friend of Mr Bent's called on the editor of "Truth" on the Thursday morning at about 9.30 a.m. and again (stating that he had seen Mr Bent m the interval) m the afternoon about 4 o'clock. Would Mr Bent like the public .to be told what transpired during the editorial interview, ana how his friend, of course without Mr Bent's authority, of course, found it impossible to square a circle ?)