A HORFATION TO HOLMAN

NZ Truth, Issue 448, 17 January 1914, Page 1

A HORFATION TO HOLMAN

If I WERE YOU WHAT WOULD I DO I

An Open Letter to THE 'HON. W. A. HOLMAN, MiA., &c.{ &c, &c, PREMIER Of NEW SOUTH WALES.

.Sir.— Though y<>u jnay not think it ail honor 6r pleasure to be thus inibr llcly addrqsißtid by] me, I deem it; a de- '% yght^anti a duty t;> pen aruT publish. --I this letter ti> tf bu. r £Ye uftditeSHerl siihV iifir letl^rs to better and greatwr men than you, as well asVto: others much smaller politically^ and infinitely your morally— lan inferiority that proves them to have been a very bad lot indeed! You are welcome to- all ■ the comfort you can. contnvo. to cull ; from *bo crooked a compliment. My intention is neilh^r to compliment, nor to comfort, but to counsel: therefore, perpend; peradventure, your patient ; perusal of this opistle may prove proi fltablo to you, asi Premier, to your Party, and' to the People. : '.] V '■'■''■ ■''*■•■ 'I ■'■■ :!' *■ ; , *.' • ' . Before I tell you what I would do if ,1; wero you, I jwapt to warn you against women, who are your w.eak- ; ness, not m a personal, pornic, 'sense,' but m a political and moral sense. In this latter sense, women are your weakness.' That: weakness takes the form of> an, amiable subserviency to certain female influences, rhls subservienco is your besetting bin. - A good many people! who admire you do not suspect you of this very serious constitutional defect— this deference ' to the influence of meddlesome manna, • delirious demireps, and female funambulists. You'd* better beware of this' besetting sin of yours; 'tvare women, ' Including widowß and grass- widows. : Their interference m public affairs has | ruined much stronger- aad more popul ar public mon than you can ever hope ! to bo. It was by woman tint Bin, Borrow, suffering:, and death came into the world. Had Eve not held palaver with Batan In Paradise, and eaten of the fruit of tho Tree of Knowledge, :we hacr probably ,not been procrcatod, and ' thoro'd have been no dread of death, hope of Heaven, or iear of Hell. Confound tho curios'lty of our first and common mother, which seems to .have , dcHccnded to her modern daughters, liko a curse! ;■,.'■■•-*■ - . * . * You know what I ftn talking about nnd what I mean Vvhen I talk about it. iou uro Wtill «>nuugh read to kuo\y that the auccessen of the' nrrcatest of ?:ion, like Alcxandor, Hannlba^, Julius Caesar, Pompey, Marc Antony, and the lives of nearly all the Caesars of tho Julian, Flavian, and Claudian lines — tho life even of Napoleon— were disgraced, , degraded, and damned by women; you ttluo know that tho lives of tonß of thouflnnda of tho modern world's minor best men have been blighted and blasted, banned and damned by women—not always by wicked women, but nearly rilwaya by weak or wanton, and, therefore, morally bud women, whomj companionship wan corrupting, and whono Influence wan degrading nnd disastrous. That moat' polity nnd jr-illniU nation, tho French, have v national proverb to propound for overy private wiV)r»K or public evil; "Chorcbes la tfemme"; if you would trace tho cau«« of tho one. or know tho origin of tho other, look . for tho womnn «t tho lwart of tho Mtyntcry, at the bottom of tho " ml«--->icf. All thin inny l>« Rahl without '■ .y leant dlttpanifornunt at good \vo**\l who are th<! Kn-ater hulf of tho rt^BJlnd softer hex; -tlthough tho lc«---*^Hnd worwr half lit i mom munler- . t^^B/ tnlt*clii»votiJi minority. t*6w I don't w(knt to worry you. or weary my reaUomt, about tho universal woo. womnn: but In view of the. way In which «he afflict* you. I would remind you that Outre Is umpl.vftnd high warrant for thin my warning to you. to love N>m If you nuitrt, wi.««,«iy bHt not too well; thur !». not too often •ncl not too long. UcHumont and l<lctcher mi\kr> their Humorous Lieutenant <wy. "Tell me the cau«e: 1 know there I* a woman in't. 4 ' lh his dutighitui "Fallfen Folrtei," Sir W. S. Gilbert will

"*.'■ ■ ■'■';■■ ■■■' ■." '..' '■■■" ''■'• \ ■ ."' 'i have it that, "... , ! ! A •woman doth, the mischief brew, ' In nineteen cases out of twenty, j ■ Anid'-thdt'"^ ''.'■'•' '"" ; '■'■"■/'" ■; '■-'.-• ■' ' ' ■" ';' In all the woes that curse our race, i There is a wo/nan Jn the case. ". •' *.■/" ■ :■;• *■: . * ■■■. .■ -j In his masterpiece, "The . Orphan," I that moat pregnant and patchtic of poet«, Otway, exclalma. What mighty ills have not been done by woman? Pope, the first of metrical moralists, m his "Moral Essays," thus contrasts women with men; ' , Men. some to businoss, some to pleasuro take, v But every woman is at heart a rake* ! And m the "Epistle of Martha Blount," I ho declares;, Woman's at best a contradiction These scraps o£ Bontentious wit and wisdom, selected at random from a shilling: cyclope(lla v of poetical quotations, are worth pMderlns over and applying 0} the known facts concerning the personal history of some of tho Greatest, and at the same time moat unfortunate men m ancient 'and modern times. They will be found indicative of tho keenest Insight into the common eausu of things, and pregnant with the profoundest philosophy of the motives of human conduct. *. * * * The foregoing references relate to woman out of her sphere, uWay from home m man's world of action, of stress and' of strife: There are a tovi others equally apt and of as high authority concerning woma-i In her proper »place, at home, duly discharging what should bo delightful and delighting domestic duties. Chiuccr, tho first and the greatest of English poots, tells m the "Canterbury Tales" how, Decelte. wepln. spinnfng, God heth «oven To women kjndiy. What man 'jr boy can't recall Scott's noble tribute m "Marmlon" to iho true woman, In the pt . rK on of the gentle Claire, succouring and solacing Marmion on the slrJcWen field, p. Woman! In our hours of ease, Uncertain, coy, ttn d hard lo please And vartaWo-.au tho shade * "y tho "Kht qutvoring aspen madf Sw and vn * ulßh -wring 'the A ministering angel ihou! It Is that prmeo of our nineteenth winiury i.nßfligh jh^u,, Tennyson, who, m his idyl of the Princess, ihus contmstij the re«pt-ti V 0 congenial sph.. rOa of man and womafc: MftD !»ettrth- e nol *- and woman f( >r the Man with thts head and woman with the heart: Man to command /and woman to übvy;. , All flac cenfusion. A woman out of place is the despair of imui and th Q disjjntvft of her box. Abdicating Uiq ii«ttcoful MOVf>rrlgnty of tho l»cn»«% m itri tv rulo "the Court, tho Com p. tho drove." «ht? übnndonn Kcir-rt-spocl and man* homagp, nnd runM lu^udlong to ridicule uml ruin. Dryilvn «lfcl»r<?« of UiU typo of K udubuiii icrnmgunt, .-.jfcmnta IlllbuHtt-r. What all your _«ox Utßlr«j \n Bovcrtilurnty-: While Hhrtkoapwu* l« A * omphatle. If not «<> 80D tent (out, | A woman moved is like? » fountain troubled. MuUdy, 111 ••cemlns;. thicks bereft of beuuty. In «hort, ft woman out nf h^r privauyUicc, and poslns In public. n«> mutter

I under what pretest, is a pest, and a nuisance, and should be compelled to marry, beget and .breed, bring up and suckle children m happiness and Jionor: unable or unwilling' to do that she should be sent to her proper place m the kitchen, the spullerjv or the laundry. • ' \ • - ■3»V * , V Spinsters on the stump, and matrons on the nag, are carcinomatous growths on the body politic, and social scabs on our Christian civilisation. Therefore, I repeat, while you should, as I believe you do, respect and' honor women, do not let them dominate, "get you down," disgrace, and dishonor you; You best know whither this is a word m reason to you and worth, heeding. "VerbunV sapient!!"" * .* : ■* , : Now I'll proceed to "tell you what 1 would ; do if I were you, or m your place as Premier,! and why I'd do it. 1 would, first of ail, ignore the daily press when it sought, to control ran, and to dictate the policy of ray Cabinet. Rather than permit those plutish prints to control you, you should control them, by prudently, not, to sayparsimoniously, pruning down the cost of the Government Advertising Department. Why should theqe unpopular reactionary papers, forever raging and raiting against popular Government m any and; every shape a:id form,' be solidly sustained and perpetually subsidised out of .the Public Treasury by means of "fat" advertisements, while maligning and misrepresenting the People's best interests add most: cherished cause? Thftse papers should be made to recognise the difference between > decent detraction and downright lying. The only way to argue or reason:. with them, is through th«lr advertising columns. There, and there only, can they 'be brought to bay:' m that way only can they ba reduced to more moderate methods of misrepresentation. '. • -, If I were you, or m your place! 1 would proceed at once to, clear my name and character, of strong suspicion of corruption iv connection with some of the more recent appointments to the Upper House. Some of those appointments have a very strong and fish-like smell about them. What ether conclusion than that there has been corruption connected with them can the public conio to m the face of such flagrant appointments by a Labor Government as those of that municipally -defeated and disgraced social -scruram or and money-monger, Allen". Taylor: '■■■of', that notoriously strong pony-course.-Joint-man, Joynton Smith; anil the equally notorious' black-leg barber and ex-tote runner, Holdcn, of Redfern, tho pet fncial skin-scraper of your, saga and saintly Premieral predecessor, Mr, McGowen? * * * These and other appointments aro surrounded with vehement suspicions of corruption. They constitute studied insultn to tho. Party you pretend to lead; but which some think you follow more tban lead. They axe so many h\Hnlent slaps m- tho faco to Labor; to those tried, trusted, and trua toilers m the desert of Labor long before you and njost of your Cabinet and Caucus colleagues wore heard of m the movement. These have worked without hope or prospect of reward, ...«e)f-deny-ing, eclf-effaclng. And self-saeriflclne for full twenty-rive long and weary yeai-B. These, though neither asking nor expecting reward when "the.harvest •timo of success should come, were nevertheless entitled to recognition and honor, but have been ignored anil neglected, and left to glonn a scanty aftermath m neglect and oblivion, while pushful, >lutlßh bounders and boodlers have been permitted, ! with iho holp of rho first Labor Uoj vernment m this State, to Jump their just and righteous claims to appoint" raentu ■to that very Legislative CounIcU, which you and your Government are solemnly pledged to -abolish. The Ingratitude of Icings is proverbial; that of democracies la nauseating. * « * Now, if I wer« you or jn your place (and I'm glad I'm nnt), I'd seek to shea the suspicion of insincerity and Instability which cUjikh to you like a poisonous Ncishus shirt, by making a Hold, bravo attempt to abolish the Upl>or MouKi*-— that bulwark of class privilege, political proscription, and plutocratlc prcitumpiion— th'j only romnlning ijorlouH stumbling-block to tho flnul Triumph of 'J«mocracy m thl» SUUo. Your fiurty In pU-dged to thin rlKliteouH unU radical reform; you uml your Cablrmt and Caucus colleagues nr<: m honor bound to make theuiU'iniit. - ' * * * Failure In the sincere ritu-mpi i<» succeed In wiping ou>. thl« D«tUh«i<l IVuiUi'iuwe would he forgiven; failure to mukc ih<» attempt, n*«v<;r. l^onk to li thut you «lon't nU-Htnkn i} J( . strong Miipport of I<ah<»r a>» a farii'-bUnchc to riiildto and dolutta tho workern on thla one ull-lmpqrtftnt nuc/iilon of ihr» rctnovul of thlfl charnol 'Chauib'et* <,f | rR . lulutlvp fltfiirelnwulu uu<) foxell«. jje not deceived: Democracy 1m not to b« mm-kovi with impunity In «hl« mout momvutoun .nutter. On thla Jne quentlon, above nil others, you are «xd«oi»'U to :iuike tfood: full to make <i g<tu> lno effort nnd you'll And sooner than later that your rectwonoy wlil hnw ruined >ou-v:imt you've damned and

done' Cor yourself, if not for your party, which will, of course, survive you long after your waverings ' and wobtylings will have compelled it to discard you. Seek ye tlrst this good thing, and Us righteousness, and al! the rest, shall be add3d unto you by a grateful and trustful Domoqraey. v * * Having done this, , if I were you, or m your place, I would seek to carry Into effect the corresponding and. complementary reform of making the Initiative and Referendum an integral portion of the State Constitution, in ' substitution for the obstructive, obsolete Upper House. With this would come the concomitant Reform of the abolition of tho obsolescent, expensive, and useless office of State Governor, who is merely a superfluous, silent, satrapon-satellite, or sort of Imperial Rubber^' Stamp, whose purely formal functions could bo much better and more efficiently discharged, by the Chief Justice of the State for less than a tithe of the cost now entailed by the toleration of Imperial nominees, who are mere paid puppets or popinjay placemen. Your failure to tackle this question would give rise to a peremptory demsind throughout the State for the abolition of State Parliaments. Then, too. if I were yo.u','Jsr \n your place (which, thank Gody: lf;m not, foi your olace, both from ay partisan and public point of view, is by &o* means a pleasant one), I would tackle the Herculean 1 task of crushing the hydraheaded monster of Centralisation, by encouraging settlement and production, by a vigorous policy of light railway extension into the wheat-growing and grazing districts, linking up tho now isolated prprtncijvg'-oeiitresi ,witti' main* railway lines leftUlng "hot : snlely^ to Sidney and Newcastle, but to their nearer; ports ■ and natural and, therefore, more profitable markets, such as Nelson's Bay, Port Macquarlc, and Colt's Harbour, m the North, and Jwvis Bay and Twofold Bay, m 'ho South; bringing the intarior and hinterland m direct communication with the coast, and thus saving tho larmors, wheat- growers, graziers, miners, and other producers, millions sterling per annum m actual money gain, as well as millions' worth more m saving of time, iind worry, and despair consequent on drlays.and loss of produce duo to distance from ready access to any market, which, to the producers, is as disastrous as the absolute absence cf any murkct al all. '"■. •■*-.* * * Coincident with this policy of Railway Extension, the corollary of Decentralisation and administrative Devolution; I would, if I were you, or In your place, set »about setting up v State system of grain sheds or depots, together with grain olevators, m each wheat-producing centre, for handling grain In bulk on the modorn American plan. In this way thousands of farmers would bo saved from serious loss and sometimes absolute ruin, due 10 the absence of such facilities fur skurIng and transporting their . producu; profitable settlement and cultivation would be encouraged; railway revenue increased, and the heavy burdeu of taxation actually and appreciably lightened through being distributed over a wider area, and among a more numerous and mure prosperous yeormanry — who are soon to he the predominant political partners In this State. All ihi*, of course, would bo decried and denounced, and Oerliyd by the capitalistic Sydney j>ress. .\nd that' Iftd, barmy, broaJshcet, the "Boodletin," with its crackpot C'.O.D. craze, as being wild, extravagant, and necessitating reckless borrowing. But what of thut? Dkl not they do »!«» same In tho case of till the sane, sound, sttfo, and profitable State enterprises, Initiated und carried out by that masterly, farseolng. and supremely successful Mln* i ister for 'Public Works, thu lato E. W, O'Sullfvan? Of course they did! Did not tho dastardly Sydney daylle sheet* and the blatant, blowsy "Uoodletln" ehriek. »pit, snort, swear, and snarl at and against you, your party, and it* programme and policy? Of course they dl«i. And uro not you and your imrty m power to-day In spite .of them, and largely on account of th«»ir ftavaKt>, Hpltcful opposition? « >f oourso you «re. Then what have you to fear? Nothing, If you go Hiruight along the rljcfht path of policy imllcatf»d by your party's published Platform nn«l your own. pronounced policy, .m-l the peremptorily •proclttlnjwl rccuJirt^onJH ot tho-'too-lonß-noslocU'd Sydney-swoat-ed farmers .mM m-ltler« of this grwit, jiloh. and growinj? State. i ■ * ' * * i | T!«or«for^. if 1 \v»-n> yt«u. ur In your \ plnce, Id borrow largely, ami tiuend |lberul!y-™not htvirhly. but prudently >~-on rvproductlvo public workn. romembrrfnsr thai you huvc (0 consider tho pr«»B*ni ««o mor<» ihnn poHtcrlty. We can't krow posuriiy; but po«i«r;ty will know i) 8 by wlint wp havndon? for tl.wn. J : 'oß«Tity can do nothlns i for up. but wp are jiioDeoring- this great country for posterity. The pr«*nr Ecncrution are tn?ikinif till* grand j country ready for tho happy haflUa- ; lion of the n*xt s^ncnulun. Fi?f milI lion* of jHKjplv to-duy «rt» buUdlnii ■ rallwnyn. harbor vrfcrkn. water conwsri vatian und lrrhnitlon wmku, and other j va«t r«pro<lucilve public work* to ; B<*rv« for r» population of tea millions to-morrow, and fifty oUUioaa »n the

not distant but visible future. . ■ * ■ ■'. « "' ■* We are conqueriug Uiis Happy Land tof Canaan for posterity. They will enter In and enjoy it; we shall, not. They will reap, where we nave .sown, and dwell where we liav^ ..bu'ltt . for them m nabitations replete with and surrounded with all the comforts and luxuries, conveniences and facilities, of a highly organised industrial and social system of advanced civllJsaticki. Let posterity pay vheir .'air share of the cost of all the blessing which are m store for them, which they did not create, but which they will inherit and enjoy, and for which they ought to be willing, asi most assuredly they must be left; to pay. "*-'.. ■ * * '*..-.. , Therefore, go. forward courageously, and crush- the hydra-headed monster of Centralisation; boldly, borrow and wisely spend on reproductive works; develop the vast and virgin resourccis of the interior; rally iho farmers and settlers and ijreat body of. country producers, and wage -earning workers to the side of Labor: fear not the Sydney Press, nor the crazy capital-cap-tured C.0.D.-tieaded "Boodletin"; take no notice of "Truth," except to consider its advice and follow it. If you conscientiously can; 1 . aud you'll find that you'll retain, the confidence, of your party, secure the support of the great and growing body of country settlers; and .6y€R win the .unwilling support of -.> the i putrid Sydney Press. It Ik safe to predict that this Ptutish Presßwill never .'or- long persist m pursuing with malignant lies and maleloveht mlsrepresftntatiorj a 1 .powerful party, safeiy seated m power, und of curtailing, and, for adequate -cause; | shown, ready to curhitherto : to'l.h>^ : v fecan"daf6ulrtV Unfair sheets m the shape of "fat" advertisements, running into an aggregate annual value of many thiousands of pounds. ? Tho baronietcr of the patriotism of .these penny prints Is their advertising ' columns: Cash before Country is their motto! ; V $ . . ■ ' V If I were you, or m your place, 1 would do a lot of other things If 1 could, such as inaugurating a radical system of law reforms, Iv tho direction of h unionising the Criminal Code, and making tho processes of the Civil Code 'ess costly and moro expeditious; retaining the system of Trial by Jury, by abolishing Special Juries and Coroners' Juries; and making tho present (system of preparing lists of Jurors and empanelling juries, less suspect, by making the process more public and popular. So, too, I would, If 1 could, Initiate Antl -Trust Legislation on tho lines of existing New Zealand laws, which you've studied and seen In operation on tho spot; together with n large and "liberal Workmen's Dwellings policy— -one providing healthy, happy, and chwip homes, for metropolitan wage-earning wirkors npar lo or within easy Access to their work. ,*.'* ■ v There, there're some of the Ihi tigs 1 would do, or try to do. were I you, or In your place. You'v* a. guidon opportunity—the chance of a century. Gu forward conildently; tackle your task courageously; be loyal l»> Labor; avoid filthy lucre: 'warn wtomun's übdue Infiuenco and Interference, In affairs ut State; fear neither piirson, priest, nor press; stand to your guns: stick to the programme or your party, and seek to carry It promptly through: (rust 'the People, don't waver, ceuso wobbling, nnd then you, who ore a pretty shrewd reader of ths political barometer, may rest assured that the INjQpl*! will trual and stick to you. * * * There, Sir, is your lotter, I hope you Hko it; and If In It you find any pertinence to your present political position and future pronpectH ~ lf you can read m it. or into it, any leuson worth the learning— l shall bo more than flattered: I ahall bo pleased and proud. With thlx awsuinnco, permit me to reiternto my warning re the undue Influence of women — *Wa,v> women; on your life, you must- or bum. * * * With the CompUmonts of vhe Reason. I have the honor to be. Sir. Your humble, obedient vtorvnni, JOHN NORTON. Hotel Daniel), Brisbane, New Year* Day, IM4