OUR MELBOURNE LETTER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13835, 23 February 1907, Page 4

OUR MELBOURNE LETTER

(Fsoxi Ol'p, Own Correspondent.) IMMIGRATION. MKr/801-RXE, February 13. It has often been said tliar the reproach of Australia and the different Australian Slates that, unlike Canada, they take no pains to attract immigrants by advertising their resources. Lately the separate States arc doing something to rid themselves of this reproach, Victoria hvino' among l.lie latest; of thorn. The (lovcrnmenl. recently decided to set apart special area? of la mi for immigrants from (ireat Britain, and it has followed this decision up by inning a pamphlet designed to attract (he right class of settler. The pamphlet lacks nothing in the art of good, bold advertising. Facts are the best advertisement, ii suy.s, and forthwith Iho production per head in various lines is set out, and this is followed by the announcement that there, is room for 200,000 more farms in the State. The pamphlet proceeds: —

Victoria is at tile present time in alt probability tlio most prosperous part of tins dominions of King Kdward VII. and although tho smallest of the live States comprising the mainland of Australia, ranks first in agricultural production and manufactures. Melbourne, its metropolis, is the leading political, commercial, manufacturing, and financial city of tho Commonwealth. It might he said that it is 'the hub of Australia, and what, London is to Great Britain, and the city and State of _ New York are to the United States of America, so aro Melbourne and Victoria to Hie Commonwealth of Australia.

Tho men most, desired, it is staled, aro agriculturists with some capital, but all able-bodied men willing to work on the land will he acceptable. The freehold of valuable farms may Ix< obtained by halfyearly instalments of 3 per cent, on the value of land. In the case of agricultural labourers and milking bauds whoso applications have been approved by the Agentgeneral, the Minister of Land's will undertake to provide them with small improver! holdings, ranging in value from £150 to £200. near tho centres of work, and to advance t.hem up.to £100 to make tho necessary improvements. Arrangements have also been mado to have these imigranls conveyed to Australia b.v steamship at reduced rales, and. to enable them to make the utmost use of their capital, instalments of purchase-money, equal in amount to f.lic passage-money which they have paid, wilt l« suspended for tho time, and may ho paid afterwards, either in a lump sum or spread over the term of the purchase. They will ho met in Melbourne at the ship's side and conveycd free by rail to their plaeo of employment. Tlio Agent-general is to be supplied with great, numbers of these pamphlets. LOSS OF MEMORY. Ts there a microbe in the air ivliicli 'deprives peoplo of their memory so much more frequently -now than formerly? It is not. many years sinco the first casr of tho kind was recorded in these parts. Now they aro reported quite frequently. A rather remarkable instance came under notice here yesterday afternoon. A wolldrefsed young woman of 21 or thereabouts walked up to a constable on the Tort Melbourne. Beach and inquired, "Could you please tell mo my name?" Tho constable finding she was not joking began to question her. She said that she rould faintly remember having been in a boat, having seen big waves, and having been sick, but nothing else. She was taken to tho hospital and admitted for obosrvation, but neither nursos nor doctors could extract tho slightest coherent information from her regarding her identity. Her dress-basket contained several changes of clothing, and ouo of her handkerchiefs boro the name "A. Moffatt." In her purso was some money and a number of small photographs and cards. One caid had tlio name and address, " Miss E. l'irie, M Ghuznec street, Wellington." When asked whether she had any parents or other friends, tho girl was greatly distressed, and she declared that she must have friends, but that she could remember nothing about them. THE NEW LICENSING ACT. < No provision in the new Licensing Act supplies more cases in tho courts than that which not alone makes the buyer of drink on Sunday equally an offender with the seller, but makes it. an offence to bo found without lawful excuso on licensed premises in prohibited hours. Sunday trading, it must be conceded, was very much of a habit with many of tlio suburban hotels. Sunday drinking, too, though not necessarily excessive drinking, was habitual in a fairly larso proportion of tho suburban residents. Even an act of Parliament cannot eradicate at once customs that have become deeply rooted, and tho result is that tho police make some fairly largo " hauls" iu their descents on some of tho suburban hotels. It look as if tho provision would go far to stop Sunday traffic, unless an effort which is now being mado to drive a coach and four through the scction should prove successful. In tho original Licensing Act there aro two contradictory, or nearly contradictory, provisions. Tho one says that a bona fido traveller of 10 miles is entitled to refreshments; the other makes it an offence for tho hotelkecper to have his bar door open on any pretext on Sunday. These provisions have not been altered, but on to them has been grafted the provision making it an offence to be found on licensed premises during prohibited hours. When an offender against this enactment was haled before tlio Bench at Northcote a few days ago the [joint was taken that the provision as to prohibited hours did not refer to Sunday at all, sinco the law expressly allowed certain classcs to be on the promises and served with drink on that day. Mr Colo, P.M., who was on the bench, upheld the contention and dismissed tho ease. Mr C'olc was a barrister of some standing before he was made, a few years ago, a coroner and police magistrate. If his reading of the law should prove correct— and it is going to bo contested—the police will be practically in no better position than before in dealing with Sunday trading. [A recent- cablegram stated .that Mr Justice Hood upheld the above decision.]

Anothor anomalous provision which has been brought to light in practice is section 32 of the new act., which says: —

Tho holder of an Australian wine license shall not keep nor bring, nor permit to bs brought, any liquor other than wine, cider, or perry, the produce of fruit grown in My Australian Stale, on tho premises specified in such liccnse. If any liquor other than wine, cider, or as aforesaid, be found 011 any such premises, it shall be taken to be prima facie evidence of the unlawful sale of liquor by the holder of such license.

It- happens that most of the lending restaurants in Melbourne are furnished with Australian wine licenses. ]f a man asked for a. glass of alu with bis lunch or a boltlc of stout with his- oysters the custom was to demand tho money from him at once and to send out for tho liquor to a. neighbouring hotel. A Supreme Court decision recently given hold that this was not a contravention of tho provision prohibiting tho selling of liquor without a jicensc. But the anomaly now created is_ that the restaurant-keeper who lias a. wine license dare not send out for a glass of ale, while tho restaurant-keeper who has no lieensc may do so. Further than that, if a man in a remote country district has a. wine liccnse he may not keep a bot-lle of whisky for his own use; nor, should he bo the keeper, say, of a summer resort, can he allow a boarder without peril to bring in a bottle of whisky in his portmanteau. Some of tho leading restaurantkeopors who adhered to the old practice have been summoned, and notwithstanding the argument, of counsel that tho provision was not intended to touch these cases, they have been fined. These eases, also, are to go to the Supreme Court.

QUEENSLAND MINISTRY.

Mr Donliam, the Minister of Agriculture and Railways ,in Queensland, has seccdcd from the Government. Mr Dcnham's reference lo tho matter when it wao first announced a few days ago was enigmatic. Ho said:—"l had a brief interview with the Premier (Mr Kidston) on (lie Lucinda, and verbally tendered my resignation. He requested me lo withhold tho resignation for a few days, to which I readily assented, as a few days are. necessary lo clear up the papers in both departments. My resignation has nothing to do with private affairs or personal feelings. It is purely upon public grounds."

Mr Kidston put rather a different complexion on tho incident when, 011 Saturday, lie delivered his policy speech al Roci;hampton. It has to be remembered I hat the Kidston Ministry is of 11 composite character, being partly composed of Labourites (of which Mr. Kidston is one) and party of seceders from the Philp party (of which Mr Dcnham is one). Mr KitUlon said in his •speech that when he wa« in New Zealand a great deal of negotiating was going ou. and when be returned he found that. Mr Denham's idea, of dealing with the .situation was that the Government should coalesce with the Philp party. "Tliis extraordinary proposal, if I had agreed to it," Mr Kidston went on, •' would have meant that while I was graciously permitted to remain Premier, 1 should have to remove from the Cabinet three or four Ministers who Jiave always proved loyal and against whom I never xeason. to utter 0110 .word\of

Apart from, the personal aspect of ihc question, slich a proposal. if carried out. mulct liavo bom demoralising in the extreme to the tone of public life and to tlio host interests of Queensland. 1 tohl Mr Dunham that I could not seriously discuss such an alliance. Later Jh- Dciiliam .frankly admitted Unit lie intended to join the Philp party whether his colleagues did or not. It was therefore deemed advisable (hat he should relive from the Cabinet.'' The elections take place in j\lav.