NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10595, 12 September 1896, Page 4

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

The Legislative) Council could bardly be oipected to take the responsibility oE rejecting the Loan Bill,—indeed, it may be questioned whether such a step would be justifiable,—but the committal of the bill has been very property delayed, pending the receipt of further information from the Government. The Hon. Mr HontgomekYj who was quite recently a membsr' or the Sebdon Government, observed that "the amendment to defer the passing of the meaßure was a proper protest - against the Council being forced into blind and hasty legislation. It would not be Councillors' daty to vote this money without dae consideration of the purposes for.which it should be applied. Before the Legislature sanctioned farther borrowing it should kabw how far it was intended to push the 11 railways mentioned in the schedule. If the information were not given to the Council within a week it would be the Council's duty not to reject the measure abßelutely, bnt to delay its passing till the country got the information required." We quote these words, not only because they adequately state the Council's position, bnt also' because the Ministerial party can hardly afford to scont the opinions of a man of Mr MoNTQOMBRi'a calibre and political antecedents. The ,Hon. Captain Morbis's utterances were also noteworthy. He has adhered to the Government with pathetic fidelity, hoping agaicßt hope that " they would be honest," —and " this is bis return." It is a tardy repentance, for the obliquity of the Seddonian tendencies ought to have been recognised by Captain Mobbib years aeo,— but batter late than never. At the same time there are a few friends of recklessness and inconsistency in the Council. The Hon. Mr Kelly thinks that it matters Dot whether

] Ministers were pledged to a non-borrowing i policy: let them borrow and cafe nothing for ! the past and its pledges. " Liberalism " , winks at Ministerial Inconsistency, as the classic Jove at lovers' perjuries. The Hon. Mr Kerb nonchalantly observed that the country would soon have an opportunity of either approving or condemning the policy: why delay the bill? This is patting the 1 cart before the horse with a vengeance. The country may condemn the policy, but not until the bill baa been passed and the loan j secured.

! But the plunging policy found its moat ! wholfl-hearted supporter in the Hod. Mr Rekves. This gentleman, who will be recognised as the whilom member for liiangahua, revels in the prospect of scattered millions. Like Pistol, he raves of golden joys. A million I —nay, a soore of millions— ao end to "millions. The Premier has evidently bean taking Mr Reeves into his confidence. "Thiß was not the only money that they were going to borrow. They could not stop, and the more that j was borrowed and spent on reproductive I works the better for the colony." The i " reproductive works " are jußt thrown in for the sake of appearances. Is the Midland railway a reproductive work? Yet Mr Rebves supported,oil the allocations in the I schedules. We are astonished to hear j that the Hon. W. D. Stewart does i not think there is" any fading in the I colony against borrowing, and equally astonished that he should regard the present j proposals as " reasonable and moderate." But with these interesting exceptions the j 1 speakers in the Council were extremely j I severe on the new policy, and the Minister | I for Education, poor man, fought shy of a I division. The Premier, doubtless, chafes at the delay and wishes the recalcitrant Council at the bottom of the sea; bat patriots have good cause to give thanks in that the Couni cilia still an integral part of the Constitution and that the majority of its memb»rs are to be neither cajoled nor cowed by the autocratic tricks and menaces of a " Liberal" Minister.

In writing about the Wages Protection Bill last Saturday we did not dwell upon the | second half of the bill—dealing with the guradigging induotry,—aa rhe Houaa had excised these clauses and we supposed the matter had thus bsen settled. But in the present House a matter is never settled, according to the Premier's way of thinking, unless it has been settled in accordance with ! the Ministerial-will. Accordingly the Eaith- ! ful were whipped up on Wednesday, ths bill j was recommitted, and the gumrligging I clauses were passed with the addition of a proviso which we shall mention directly. The bill proposes to bring gamdigging under the operation of the Track Aot. Mr Houston, member for the Bay of Islands, explained the whole matter with admirable clearness in the House on August 20. Speaking from personal knowledge of the working of the gumfields, he declared that the passing of the clause would iead to hundreds of men being thrown upon tha Charitable Aid Board. i " Men travel about from one field to another, and they are unknown to the storekeeper. They go to the nearest storekeeper and ask for a supply of goods, and they agree within a, certain time to bring the gum to that store and sell at the ordinary price in payment for thosa goods." Mr Houston added that the storekeepers would not take the risk of supplying these men if the bill ware put, into force. His rr-ference was specially to Crown ! lands, whera everyone has a right to dig, and i where no conditions are imposed by the storekeepers or agreed to by the diggers. .On Wednesday the Premier proposed and carried a proviso to the effect that a worker shall recaive such price for gum sold to his eroployeras shall be mutually agreed upon ;at tha time of sale. This may possibly have ■ been meant to cover Mr Houston's objections (which were reiterated by Mr R. Thompson, who declared that the only I sufferer would be the gumdigger himself). We are not in *. position to say wb.Btb.er Mr Seddon's addition is caloalated to improve ths situation, but we i suspect that the House would have done well to refuse the recommittal. List week we dealt with the first part of the bill—relating to insurance—which alone is sufficient to damn it in the eyes of reasonable people; and altogether we are inclined to think that here is another suitabla object for the tender mercios of the Legislative Council

There is perhaps a danger lest leagues and societies should be over-multiplied at the present time, and we are not quite sure that the Liberty League was a necessity. With the principles of the league, so far as we | know them, we are heartily in accord, but it jis possible that those principles might be more successfully impressed upon the public without any kind of incorporation. Leagues are liable to stigmas of a party or class kind, and in the present instance prohibitionists will not Bcrupie to reflect upon the project as a device of the enemy. Wa frankly admit, however, that tbera was a great deal of truth and good sense in the speech delivered by Mr J. D. Sif.vwkight, of Oamaru, on Wednesday. The prohibitionists are as energetic and perverse as ever, and moderate people who hate tyranny and injustice must be ou their guard in viaw of the coming elections. The licensing vote will bs taken on the same day as the political vote, and tha extremists are professing confidence. The Rhv. h. M. Isitt (who seems to have given up to prohibition what was meant for Christianity) expects that a considerable area between Invercargill and North Canterbury will be brought under prohibition. By ths way, Mr Isitt denounces as scaur)&lau3 the refusal of certain churchss to co-operatp with this unjust movement. We rejoice that ac least two great historic denominations hold aloof, for the most part, from a project which has tyranny for its baßis; and we trnsfc that this attitude will never be changed. A fearful amount of rubbish and cant was talked at a prohibition mesting on Thursday night. People who identify prohibition with "the eternal birthright of "God-given liberty" are beyond argument. Mr Jago appsars to hold that because Parliament controls licentious tendencies by regulating the traffic, therefore Parliament would be morally justified in removing all the reasonable liberty of the subject. We are afraid Mr Jago is the victim of a fallacious pedantry. Let us grant, by all ! means, that the State, in many instances, thinks fit |to interfere with personal liberty, or licence, as we should say. Are we thftrefore to declare tbafc " personal i liberty is gone "1 No; legitimate peruonnl liberty raniains, though it would soon go if Mr Jago and Mb friends had the making of the laws. As for Mr A. O. Begg— he is perhaps the most noteworthy local example of an able, normally lovel-headed man, whose poblie usefulness is vitiated by adherence to ah objectionable and demoralising fad.

Fsitbfal attention to the duties attachirig to tna position of city councillor involves no insignificant tax upon the lime of an otherwise busy man, and Mr MAkk Cohen cannot be blamed for desiring a respite. Nevertheless, we are sorry that he has felt obliged to reiits, for he has been a decidedly useful councillor. He has never allied himseie with any party or clique, and has always dinplayed commendable independence. We have not approved o£ all the propositions which he has brought before the' council, but if his idea? have not always beeu practical, their occasional imconventionality and boldness have constituted a slight ralief from ordinary j municipal formality. We hops to j see him back in the council before many years have olapssd, and though his first aolioitation of mayoral honours was not Acceded to by the ratepayers, we have no doubt that he will eventually attain this end of municioal ambition i£ he chooses to renew his request. Having sat in the council for uome years, there is no reason why he Should not become a candidate for the mayoralty at any time without re-entering the cotmcil. ■■■~".■■■.! . ■ .

In the Legislative Council yesterday the Defamation Bill , was: passfjd. The Abattoirs and Slaughterhouses Bill, Trades Union Bill, Wages Protection Bill, and £ome local measures ■were read a second time, /phe Private Benefit Societies Bill was again. thrdwn out. In the House of Representatives yesterday the afternoon and evening were taken up with the second reading debate) on the motion to commit the Master and Apprentice Bill. The measure met "with strong opposition; but the motion was 6ventual!y carried by 33 to 22. The Shops and Shop Assistant* Bill and the Hankers Bill were ordered to be committed without debate, and then the House' cose. Councillor Euston intimates that he iatfends to contest the Carersham mayoralty.

The Monowai, with the inward mails via Ban Francisco, reached Auckland yesterday. The Mahinapuaj with the southern portion of the mail, left for the south ati 3 p.m., and is expected to reach Wellington before 12 o'clock to-night. The Omapere will be sent on as soon as the bags can be transhipped.

Mr Faulin at 9 o'clock last evening predicted :—" The weather during the next 24 hours will be fine with the exception of a few small showers, which will occur in about 16 hours."

A boy named Willie Ingram, aged 7, mysteriously disappeared from his home in North D.unedin on Wednesday last. He was sent to a grocer's shop, where he was supplied with groceries, bub he did not return homo. Anxious inquiries were set afoot on Thursday and daring the whole of yesterday, but last evening it was ascertained he had turned up at his aunt's place. South Dunedin. The boy stated that a man conducted him to that part of the city. An important addition has within the last few weeks been' made to the Botanical Gardens in the shape of a fernery, which, hat been erected close to the Castla strest entrance. The ourator and his assistants have goue Co a great deal of trouble in equipping this new feature of the gardens, and they have succeeded admirably. The fernery, is small, it is true, but these are the d&ys of smull things at the gardens, which have, it may fairly be Baid, been literally starved by the authorities for some years past, and yet a large number of varieties ■of New Zealand ferns and some British nnd Australian ferns have been gathered there and planted upon a well-designed rockery, in the centre of which a fountain plays upon the foliage. The walls.are built up with moss from which are emerging fronds that give promise of a lively growth. The whole internal effect is exceedingly charming, i but the exterior of the building in which th»j j fernery is housed, being constructed from portion of the training hall that formerly stood oh I a corner of the southern market reserve, does j not »uggest the csol retrea.t which it will in the summer months ba found to bo. The roofing of the building with galvanised iron has been ' pointed to as a disadvantage, bub it is proposed ! to cover the iron sheets on the inside with heavy cauv&a, and this it is hoped will neutralise the | injurious offest which ths blazing of a hot sun j npon the roof may be expected to have upou the j ferns inside. j

Some excitemsut was caused yesterday among those interested in acclimatisation matters by a report which gained currency to the effect chat two lobsters had been captured in the lower harbour by a fisherman. It will be remembered that some 12 mouths ago some English lobsters were liberated on the mole at tho north heads, but as nothing has beta seen of them since doubts wars entertained as to the success of ths experiment. On learning the news, Mr D. Russell, the secretary of the Acclimatisation Society, proceeded yesterday afternoon to Port Coalmsrs to inspect the capture, and was thsre met by Captaiu Stevens, who takes a groat interest in the mutter. They proceeded to Puil'ug B,iy, where the fisherman who discovered tha supposed lobsters resides, and there received two young specimei)t of some spiicits of crust&coau, which were brought to Dunediu. These will be submitted to Professor Parker, who will no doubt ba able to decide whether they are the young of the English lobsters imported or the young of the New Zealand crayfish. In England the female lobster deposits tins eggs from the oviducts in tue aiitamu. They then become attached by adhesive threads to the Bwioareerets, and &r« carried in this manner by the parent for several months, flually hatching abuufc June or July of the follbiriug summer. The time of hatching, it will be seen, lends support to the theory that these ay.', young English lobsters.

Dr Fultou reports the following of the Dunedin Cycling Club Ambulance Glass, &o. as having passed his examination :—Messrs E. I Falck, G. Crow, Alex. Crow, W Speight, 8. G. I S Orhell, J. Wood, T. C.-mUs, R. M'lndoe, J. Wilaou, K. HelviHe, J. Psddie, W Wallace, h. Whitfciagbou, A. Budd, Q. Oalder, W. H. j Hintoiv J. HJslop, J. Milier, John Sco.t, and Sergeitut-niiijor M'Pharsoii. Oa Thursday eveningp : Dr Will gave the foucbh of his series of I nursing lectures. A leadiug member of the legal fraternity has had imported a pair of pneumatic roller skates —the first piir, it is believed, that has been brought out to Dunedin. (Jreat speed, it is claimed, may be attained by this raeann of locomotion, and it is not too macti to surmise that the day is nob far distant when, basides cycling clubs, there will also ba pneumatic roller skating clubs. Thead»ent oE the learned gentle-, maa, ni'eantime, gliding noiicleftily along at a rapid rate is anxiously being looked forward to.

The cycle has entered into the kingdom of grace, and according to an American preacher, has a fair chance of being canonised. It is to the Rev. Dr Shaw, of New York, that a frivolous age is indebted for quite a new light on the ethics of serious cycling. "Half the religious doubts of the age," says Dr Shaw, " are dyspeptic doubts, and cycling is spiritually benfficial because it cures dyspepsia. All praise to its holy inventor ; if I only knew his name, I would canonise him." But alter this encyclical on things cyclical, Df Shaw grows somewhat Qugallant. Here as el«ewhere cherchez lafemme. "And yet, and ycfc among the riders are women with yellow hair, and we know, alas! how they got it." Do we ? These things are generally mysteries of which hus" bauds and brothers know sadly little. As to the inventor of the cycle we must go very far back. Even Juvenal npeaks of ladies "tenu qnie cyclade sudant," which must mean " who perspire along on the slender cycle." And Aurora, and Ceres, and every Ohloe Horace loved, had yellow or saffron-yellow hair. Perhaps that was the reason why the epor6 Uad so little of the grace that saves in those early daye.

At the meeting of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board (says the Southland Times) an aged m»», with faltering gait and partially blind, who hud come from Diptou, waited on tha board with a request that he ahonld be taken into the home. Addressing the chairman, he said: " Noble sir, I have been helpless, blind, and sick. I have no friends, no relation!! iv the land, neither kith nor kiu. So long as my wife lived wo struggled along comfortably, but since she died I hare failed in health and Bigb.s, and now I want the board to take my little property and take care of me for the remainder of my life. The only conditions I ask are that when my property is sold a few pounds shall bs aefc aside to pay some small debts, so that I can settle fair with everyone, as I have always tried to do, and that when I die mj remains shall be buried id Dipton." la answer to the chairman, he said his property was worth £70, and his bnrie.l ground was already, set apart. The secretary was instructed to ascertain all'particulars wiih regard to the sections referred to, and the chairman assured the applicant that the board would take care of him as well as they possibly could.

The Paris Diily Messenger, ia an interview with Li Huug Ohang, says his Excellency went oa to speak in terms of great respect of the English colonies in China. " Tjfey are admirably governed," ha snid. "Ths English in them live at peace with us and wita their neighbours ; they do not interfere in otir politics or trouble us at all, and their power of keeping order is wonderful. It fills me with admiration." "And the English missionaries ?" asked the editor, venturing to smile aa ha put the question. Li Hung Chang smiled in reply, and spread out his h&nda with a " What would you have ? " air. "We really have no objection to their work, and are perfectly content to leave them alone if they will not meddfs in our government m»t(;ers. I do no 6 think, in fact, that they do meddle much. Tha qusrrelliog on both sides ia exaggerated."

Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs are already in the field with their New Zealand Diaries for 1897. The quality of the paper is good, and the workmaniibip is excellent. The diaries contain much information likely to be of interest, including in the larger numbers the Customs Tariff with the Commissioner's decisions. As the price will compare favourably with anything imported, there is every reason why this local industry should receive general support. The diaries range in size from a neat leather pocket book to the large official diary, cloth bound. Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs are also publishing a most useful desk pad and Calendar for 1897.

Two performances will be given to-day by Messrs Pinlay and Prbbaiico's Circus Company at the Rink' Stables, when a numbsr of new items will bo introduced. In the evening a gold medal will be presented to Mr Allan in connection with the trotting exhibition given by his horse Brooklyn. The Circui Company will give two performances under canvas toward! the end of the month, and will then start on an inland tour. '...,■•

TO-MORROW'S CHURCH SERVICES.

St. Paul's Cathedral.—Holy communion 8 a.m., matins and litany 11 a.m. (preacher, the Bishop); evensong 6.30 (preacher, Rev. Canon Richard*). St. Andrew.! Church - Rev. 11. WaddelL Evening subject, "The Surrender of the. Will. Trinity Wesloyan Church.—Preacher, Key. H. E. Bellhouse, morning and evening, bubjects: "The Throne and ihe lUinbow" and Incompatible Affections." North Dunedin Presbyterian Church.—Preacher, Rev. I. K. M'lntyre, morning and evening Evening subject, " What is it to be a Christian ? Cwsill Road Wesleyan Ohurch.-Morning Mr A. S. Adams; evening. Rev. R. Taylor Evening subject. " A Sincere Regard for the Salvation of Others.'' Mo'giel Church— Mormug, Rev. R. Taylor ; evening, Mr W. Ma^on. Tabernacle, Great King rtreet.—Mr Charles Watt will preach in the evening. Subject, The Conversion of a Treasurer of State. _ Methodist Central Mission.-Mormng, Rev.-J. N. Buttl-; evening, Key. W. Reaty. .Subjects: " Good Cheer" and " A Woman Who Saved Her Nation." '..-., St. Matthe.w's Church.—Services morning and of Christ.-Mr Mazengtrb, morning and evening: Subjects: "Spiritual Sight and Physical Blindness " and "The Faithful Maying. North- B.ast Valley Presbyterian Church.— Rev. I> Dunlop, morning and evening. Oavershani Presbyterian Church.—Anniversary services. Preacher (morning and evening), Rev. K. 0 Tennent (of Victoria). St. Mary's, Mornington.—Anniversary services. Holy communion Bam. matins and holy communion 11 a.m., children's service 3 p.m., evensong 30. Preacher (afternoon and evening), the Biahop. ■ *