SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12618, 23 March 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

POLITICAL AND GENERAL.

A considerable amount of interest has

jjeen excited throughout the colony over the developments that a dispute which was the subject of a reference to the Arbirtation Court in Auckland has taken. The Court decided that the minimum wage- for cabinetmakers .should he increased to Ik 3d per hour. It also included in its award the usual clause pruviding that workers :who felt that they were unfit to earn the minimum wage might accept e> smaller wage, which should be fixed by the union and ihe employers. The five firms that employ cabinetmakers in Auckland declared, however, that they could not afford to pay tlie minimum wage fixed by the court. To do so, they alleged, would raise the cost of production to a. figure that would permit ot their manufactures being undersold by imported goods. Consequently, they agreed to dispense with the services of the bulk of their employees pending an agreement for the re-iengagement of these men as " incompetents " at a wage below the minimum. In pursuance of this resolution, about 75 men lost their employment—being, it is complained, locked out. On behalf of the union it has been urged that the minimum wage fixed by the- Court is paid by employers in Wellington and also in the South Island, and the circumstance that 90 per cent, of the hands who were in the service of the Auckland cabinetmnking firms have been suddenly branded as incompetent has not unnaturally been made the subject of comment. There, however, the situation is: out of the Arbitration Court's settlement of a dispute in the trade a really grave dispute has arisen. The Secretary of the Department of Labour hurried : from Wellington up to Auckland to make inquiries on the spot and to establish, if possible, a modus Vivendi, but he failed in his mission. The employers have been tuking on men under the incompetent workmen clause, but they have- declined to recede from their refusal to pay the minimum; wage except in the case of a- few exceptional workmen whose services they have retained, and the union has remained firm. The Government has decided to prosecute the employers for having committed a breach of the .ward, and Mr Seddon lias declared that it is the duty of the State to find employment for the men who have lost their situations. 15iit whether he proposes to establish a Government furniture factory or how far he is willing to push the principle that, when employers plead they cannot profitably pay the wages fixed by the Arbitration Court, the men who are thrown out of work shall be entitled to look to the State for employment, he has 'jiiot made clear.'

The comparative failure of the New Zealand £1,250,000 loan, which was placed on the market at Home last month, has been the principal topic of Mr Seddon's most recent utterances. In one of his oracular deliverances he declared that the British investors had cut the first strand of. the financial painter, end that without warning, dole-cutting during war might, he said, naturally be expected from the snemy, but the severance by those on whom we relied caused more than passing regret. Proceeding, he asserted that what had happened did not say much for the British investors' knowledge of the finance of this colony and its commercial and general prosperity.. Buft he did not .admit 'that the failure of the British investors to subscribe to the loan caused him liny anxiety because the Government had no pressing need for money. In a speech he delivered atHanmer on the 7th inst., the Premier argued that there was no reason whatever for a fall in New Zealand securities because the colony's credit had never stood higher. In the next breath, however, he attacked the colonial critics of the Government's fiahance, declaring that they had done more to injure the credit of New Zealand than Ohe criticism of Australian finance in English newspapers had done. He claimed that the Government had acted with wisdom and foresight in haying had the loan underwritten, so that, although the British public had declined to be a customer at the price, tne colony " had got the' money all the same and would go on all the same." No money-lenders in the world, he asserted, should dictate a policy to New Zealand. If they attempted to do so there was, he implied, a way out of th,e difficulty in the funds that were held on deposit in the banks of the colony, " and tlw money-lenders would have a lesson taught to them that they had better leave New Zealand alone."

The third and last instalment of the " national purse," collected by private subscription in recognition of the part Mr Sedd'on took, as head of the Government, in encouraging and directing the patriotic movement in the colony during the South African-war, was presented to the Premier at Christdiurch on the 10th inst. Mr Seddon; in reply, declared without the slightest justification, that the objections tbat had been raised to his acceptance of a pecuniary recognition of the services he had rendered the patriotic cause emanated from,the pro-Boer press, asserted that it Tras untrue that he was a wealthy man, arid expressed the opinion that there was no substantial difference between the acceptance by Lord Roberts, Lord Kitchener, by admirals, generals, and statesmen of similar presentations, and his acceptance of a presentation of money from the people of New Zealand. He'even expressed the belief that in the future those who had objected to the presentation in the form it took would regret that they did not come forward and assist the movement. Generally throughout New Zealand there is a feeling of relief that the national purse incident, of which most people- in the colony were somewhat ashamed, is now closed.

The Cabinet has recommended the Governor to make four fresh "calls" to the legislative Council, the nominees being 'Messrs T. Thompson (Auckland), W. Ca'rncross (Eltham, Taranaki), F. Trask (Nelson), and A. Baldey (Ryal Bush, Southland). Messrs Thompson and Carncross have both sat in Parliament, and the former lias actually held Ministerial' oflico under Mr Seidon, but. was probably the most incompetent of nli the mediocrities with whom the Premier Ms at different time associated himself. Neither Mr Trask nor Sir Baldey has previously been heard of outside the districts to which they belong, but both may probably be depended upon-to give a steady support to the Government, and thus tn swell the overwhelming majority the Ministry already has in the Upper House.

Mr Cruickshank, S.M.. has decided that tie local option poll in the Bruce district, which resulted in a verdict in favour of no-licence being returned by the elector". was void. What the effect of this decision, a* well- as that in the Newtown case, is will be the subject of appeal to the courts, one contention being that it leaves licensee in existence, and the other being thai, intil the .electors have duly express 'rfJW' i«l*r-

mination upon the, point, there aro no J licenses in the district concerned. In the case of the Chalmers-district, in which a .' petition had been addressed to Mr C. C. Graham, S.M., to have the poll declared void, it has beeii decided by Mr Justice Williams that the magistrate in question has no jurisdiction to deal with the matter. The elections of licensing committees throughout the colony are being held this month. We regret to liiwe to record the death of a, distinguished colonist in the person of Sir George Whitmore, who rendered to his adopted country service of exceptional value during the Maori wars, and subsequently became a prominent figure in the political arena, holding the office of Colonial Secretary in the Grey Ministry. In the death of Mr A. G. Horton, of the New Zealand Herald, the journalism of the colony has sustained a. heavy loss, and the , Presbyterian Church mourns the Rtv. J. SkinneT, of Weston. Mr J. R. Thornton,

solicitor, died on the 7th inst. as the result of ii gunshot wound, the jury.at the inquest returning an open verdict. Word has been received during the past throe weeks of the death in England of two old New Zealand settlers —Mr John Stiidholme, of Canterbury, and Mr C. Pharazyn, of Wellington, of whom the latter committed suicide while in a state of temporary- insanity.

The annual meeting of the Standard Insurance Company was held in Dunedin on the 3rd inst. The directors' report showed that the balance available for distribution was £22,144, less £2313 divided in June last. Upon their recommendation the sum of £4687 was appropriated for distribution in the form of dividend and bonus, £1000 was carried to the reserve fund, £5000 to Ihc reinsurance reserve, £2000 set aside as T-rovision for depreciation in securities, and £6644 transferred to the rew account.

The annual meeting of the New Zealand Drug Company was held at Dunedin on the 19th inst. The large sum of £18,957 hart been brought forward into the year's account from 1901, and, including it, the net amount available for distribution was shown in the directors' report to be £51,107. The sum of £20,443 has been absorbed in dividends, leaving a balance of £13,664 to be carried forward to the new account.

M. Allo, the representative of a Swiss firm of manufacturers of hydraulic machinery, has, under engagement to the Government, been visiting several of the principal rivers in the colony with tlio view of reporting upon the practicability of harnessing them for the generation of electrical power. Ho states that lie regards the Hiika Falls, in the North Island, as amongst the foremost of the most fruitful sources of supply that he i;as seen in the world for electrical generating purposes. The Boer delegates have completed their visit of inspection to File colony, with the resources of which, and with the methods of agriculture that are employed, they were greatly impressed. New Zealand has also been visited in the last few weeks by two commissioners from Japan, whose duty has been to inquire into the land legislation of this country and the respective States of the Commonwealth, and' to investigate methods of constructing large public works.

The annual conference of: the New Zealand branch of the Australasian Methodist Church has been held at Cliristchurch under the presidency of the E«v. J. A. Luxford, of Lyttelton. As the result of the representations made by a. deputation: from the Presbyterian Assembly in favour of church union, a committee was appointed to con- , suit with committees of the other churches as to the basis of a federation. Fraternal greetings were conveyed f,o the conference, also, by the Anglican clergy of Christchurch. •' The Dunedin City Council lias accepted tenders for the-Lee Stream hydraulic contiacts—that of Mr A.-Ferry at £18,830 for a tunnel to be completed m 30 months and that of Messrs A. and T. Burt at £3940 fpr two miles of pipes.

The annual meeting of the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association has been held, Nelson being this year the venue. One of the features of the gathering was a speeial meeting of all the chief health officers of the colony to discuss their work and methods-taken-to carry out the provisions of the Public Health Act. Dr Collins, of Wellington, was elected presideut of the association for the ensuing term. ■ .

The colonial prize firing, now conducted under the auspices of the Defence Department, has been held on the Tr'entham range, Wellington. The title of champion shot for the year was won by Mr King, of the Opnki Rifle Club, who ;beat Sir Hyde, of the same club, by the marrow margin of 2 points. • The annual convention of the New Zealand Women's Christian Teropsranco Union has been held at Diinedin.' The discussions covered the usual range of topics. Mrs A. E. Atkinson, of Wellington, was re-elected to tlie office of president of : the union.

Lord Hawke's team.of English cricketers completed their tour of the colony without sustaining a defeat. The two hist matches they played prior to their departure for Australia were against elevens representing All New Zealand, and they won both easily-the first of them, at Christchurch, Iγ seven wickets, and the other, at Wellington, by an innings and 22 runs.

The annual championship meeting of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association was held at Dunedin on the 7th inst. Most of the performances were poor. The Canterbury centre won the championship banner, awarded to the district scoring most points.

Napier was the scene of tiie annual conference and demonstration of the United Fire Brigades Association. The demonstration is said to have been one of the most successful in the history of the association.

The New Zealand Brass Band, consisting of players selected from the various bands of the colony, and conducted by Lieutenant Herd, of the Wellington Garrison Band, Siiiled for London by the steamer Corinthic on the 19th insfc.