OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 53

OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

(Fhom Oujj Own Cobbespondent.) San Francisco, May 27. THE POLITICAL WOULD

Has almost given over speculating ss to the probable rominee for Prcsideub in the Republican infcerett, and who will be named in St. Louis next month. There has only been one man in the race -from the commencement, of the campaign. Delegation after delegation was instructed to c:>s!} its vets for M'Kinley, until the number secured is so large that; the question has resolved itself into one of Will M'Kinlc-y be nomin&tei on the first ballob or by acclimation without balloting ? But there are a few rifts within the lute. Blaiue was nearly as popular in 1888, yet Harrison secured the nomiuatioa and Bl»ine never grasped the coveted prize. So, too, the combines that doubtless will be entered into may defeat this present idol of the mob. The currency question presents one phase of the major's troubles. He has shuffled, equivocated, referred reporters to old speeches, declined to say anything or nothing, and generally straddled remarkably well. His predicament may be serious. Manydelegations, such as Illinois, California, and other?, have btea instructed to cast their vote for M'Kinley and for the free and unlimited coinage of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1, regardless of the action of any and all cations, and that tuch coinage bs a legal tender for all debts, public and private. Now it is not possible the delegations can do both, as the Republican Convention will undoabbedly uot favour or insert any aieb. RonRense in its platform. M'Kinley must declare for the "honest dollar" or lose the nomination, and I have little doubt he will declare for it, risking the possible los 3of the free silrer delegations. The A.P.A.'s are another thorn in the flesh. These gentlfmsn have beeu meeting in Star Chamber Session in Washington, but it is not authoritatively known whether M'Ki&ley is to be "knifed" or eulogised by this august organisation. For my own part Ido not believe the AlP.A.'s are as strong as they claim, and factional bittercess reigns, at limes, in their camp as elsewhere.

At all events, sufficient has been hinted at to intimate fche nature of the shoals through which M'Kiziley has to wade ere he reaches hia goal. The charge, however, is openly made that M'Kipley is the mere pupae!; in the hands of a syndicate of manufacturers. M 'Kinky is poor, his debts were paid by the men who are now running aim, and his policy and actions are being; directed from the same source. lam inclined to think there if a little truth in the assertions.

Of the Democratic party it may be asserted that there is every ohance of the Chicago convention coming out in favour cf " the free and unlimited coinage of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1," &c. Such a declaration would be a distinct slap at Cleveland and his Administration, and every tffjrt is beiog put forth to avoid such a line of action. Bat Cleveland's name is no longer one to conjure with in the ranks of democracy. He is lampooned, caricatured, libelled, laughed at in Cocgreie, assembly hall, political meeting, theatre, and music hall. Once the idol of the mob, now none bo poor to do him reterenca. In the Senate Senator Tillman spoke of the President and bis policy as under :— " If the people wanted this Cleveland-Carlisle-Sherman rule, all right, let them have it ; let them fry. But I tell you I can see the end coming. One thing I know, there is a God in heaven, and a reckoning must come. We need a purification of public life. We need a constitutional convention to declare the people's rights and to tie the hands of the tkievea who are .robbing them. You are damming up the waters, but wait till there is a full head on. You people are going to see some fine grinding this year or within the next four years. But, oo help me God, we will serve notice on you that our slogan is * America for Americans ; to hell with Britain and her Tories.' If we don't defeat yqu this year, we will' serve notice that we will in 1900." And Tillman some days later carried the South Carolina ' Democratic Convention with him in his censures upon the present Executive.

There are nil kinds of rumours as to a coalition between the Free-silverites of all parties— Republican, Democratic, Populist, and Prohibition ;— but the hour has hardly come for the lamb to willingly consent to be swallowed by the lion.

There was a tremendous rumpus in the newspapers when Weyler proposed to summarily shoot some American citizens captured on the filibustering schooner Competitor, and the consent s>i the Madrid authorities to stay •S£outlon. pending a fuller inquiry, and granted

in answer to a mild vote from Washington, was claimed as a great victory. A women's congress,

attended by the brightest and most intellectual

women in the country, was held in San Francisco during the pasb month. The congress prop?r extended throughoub a week, with three sessions a day, and at each session the numbers were large — the evening one?, in especial, being "standing room only" shortly after the doors were open. Subjects as vait as the limit 3of human knowledge and as manifold as the feathers in a conjuror's hat were debated. No topic was deemed, and rightly, beyond the ability of the congress to disouss. Bub ifc was around the everlasting " female question " that most of tho essays revolved, and upon ifc were all the arrows of wit, and shafts of ridicule, and oceans of rhetoric expended.

Chief amoDg the many noted women present were Miss Susau B. Anthony, Miss Anna Shaw, Mrs Sarah B. Cooper, aud professors and parsons aud rabbis of the' other sex. Flowers decorated the stage and music enlivened the debates. The men when they spoke were apologetic, and scanty in point of number. The women were ovo; flowing, aggressive, sarcastic, olerer, and ready. Every male, such aa Rabbi Voorsarjgec or Professor Power, of Stanford University, who gave his paper, and did nofc approve of dragging women into the gutter of politics was promptly torn to pieces by a host of conribiting Jadies, who were upon their feefc before the daring speaker had resumed his chair.

And so throughout the c:ngre3S. There was a glow, an exaltation, the warming influence of coming triumph running through ib all. Nor did the notable speakers and workers confine themselves merely to talk. The Republican State Convention was in session at Sacramento during the sittings of the Women's Congress, and up to Sacramento posed Miss Anthony and a score of female delegates there to tiy their hands at "lobbying." Their efforts were successful. The conventiou inserted, as one of the planks iv the platform by which its party is bound the pledge to obtain by constitutional amendment the exercise of the franchise for women, and mighty were the cheers that went up from the throats of the 634- delegates. Only one opposed it. Among the faithless faithful only he. And ho declared he spoke for the wife of bia bosom. — (Roars.) Another delegate patronizingly said to Miss Shaw : " Ah ! we fellows were up till 3 o'clock this morning sA committee work ; I cau'b help thinking how hard such a thing would be for you women." " Oh ! wtll," replied Miss Shaw, "I gut si a good many women are up to 3 in the mcruiog taking csre of baby, aud ib don't seem to worry anybody."

Then, when the ladies had finished off the Republican party they tackled the Populist and Prohibitionist Conventions, although these were over solid for ike female suffragists ; and htvo they bad a tight royal fcim?. Wfcen the ladies applied for admissiou in order to outer their ple», they were received with the honours given in other countries to genius and r<tnk. The hundreds of delegates rose to their feefc, and, amid waving hats and shouting voicas and wild hurrahs, Miss Anthony, the venerable, and whose mind must have wandered back to the far off aud so different days, passed mi'h her friends and supporters up the hall to a seat of honour.

Nor has the work ceased with the close of convention and congress. California ii to be won for the female ciuee divine in nexb November, and an active, earnest, determined fight is being mad?. Lady orators are stumping the country, leaflets and pamphlets are choking the mails Gags, debates and parliaments ara be'ug convened, and the— to some — great cause goBS on apaca. Music, art, oratory, aye. even poetry, are being enlisted in the struggle. Songs are sung at the commeucement aud close c f the exercises, and threats and fire and wrath are mingled in some lines that tell of what our forefathers did when George HI taxed us wiihout giviug us representation.

Meanwhile there looms up a little cloud, uo bigger than a woman's hand,* on the female suffragist horizon. Miss Phcece Cousins, a c.ever lady knowu, thinks to hor owa persistency and the newspaper press, the country over as a most "advfluced" woman, is lying sick and destitute in the city of Los Angeles. She- bore her trouble in silence until the truth could no longer be hidden, then, in dejperation— such as only a proud and sensitive nature can understand— she applied to the Woman Suffrage Club, of San Francisco, for a temporary loan to tide her over. The club answered "it bad the money, but it needed it for the oanipaigu." And so, as Misa Cousins said, " that is all one gets for devolving one's whole life to a cause." Women, therefore, do not seem, much different to men when it comes to politics, and those cf us who have ever viewed the question with indifference can still re&fc secure in our position. As Professer Powers told the ladies, "I have no objection to granting wojnea the ballob. I see nothing to hope from it and little to be feared." And this is' all there is to it. It is.onljr the ardent fighters and advocates of tho female suffrage cause who will be disappointed. Th?se are promising such wondtrs and anticipating such revolutions that man stands aghast at the glory of the dawning day. Yet we know it will not be fo. The world and mankind will jog along muoh the same. There will be no millennium, and the difference in bum»n life barely perceptible. Does not history attest this in all great social changes from the effect of which much has been predicted? Take your own colony. What vast difference to life and manners has the extension of the franchise to women made there P and who are the disappointed ones ?

DEMOCRACY AND LIBERTY. Second only to the interest created in this country by the production of Bryce'a "American Commonwealth," is that caused by the appearance of Mr Leckie's "Democracy and Liberty." The historian is no friend to a democratic form of government, and even the most cursory ' knowledge of history will convince us that he can, without great difficulty, pile up a formid-" able body of evidence against its alleged bless* ings and in favour of its prominent failures. From the postulate " that pure democracy is one of the least representative of governments " Mr Leckie can produce an apparently overwhelming mass of facts and deductions to support it. There is little or nothing in the two great republics of modern times— France and the United States— to disprove his position. There is infinitely more genuine representation and direct power vested in .the hands of the people in England than in either of these republics. The .ordinary visitor will discover this fact, so far as the States are concerned, after a brief residence, and the outside student can gather it from a perusal of the political campaigns. In England % Prime Minister appeals to the country and his policy is endorsed or rejected. The action, iv any event, and calling as it does directly upon the people, is final. It is not so in this country, where we boast the people, and the people only, govern. Our elections come round with unvarying regularity j the Executive is nofc per* eonally Amenable or responsible to the House ; we elect 4>he Lower House at one time, the

Upper House at any and every time, .the President every four years, the> representatives every two years, and Senators every six. Is it possible the people can be represented under such a democracy P In 1892 wa returned Cleveland to power by an enormous majority ; in 189t we returned Cleveland's opponents to power by an enormous majority, bub Cleveland still remains

to veto the latter's measures, and the Seuate

wobbles from Populist to Republican to Democratic in between whiles. Therefore, it is not surprising that Leckie can Had ample ground for his charges and a copious field to draw upon. Ha enumerates many of the vices which he claims • aro inherent in democracy, so far a1)a 1 ) history knows ib here, and while there is nothing new in them they are none the lesj worth notjog. One of the fireb of these vices to attract attention is the multiplication of elective offices ; the second is that this multiplication, instead of strengthening, materially diminishes popular control, for ib confusss issue.", divides and obscures responsibility, weakens the moral effect of e^ch elec&ion, bawildei'3 the ordinary elector, who knows little or nothing of the merits of the different candidates, and inevitably ends by throwing the chief power into the hauds of a small knob of wirepullers. As a correefcire bo this, the system has grown up rapidly ia America of concentrating power in individuals, and making them responsible for the gpod government;. This is especially noticeable in the. cities.

Examples in support of his contsntion of I the corruption of American politics— their number is legion. Any reader of the American press, or tine correspondence forwarded from this country, can furnifh his own evidence. The easefs are co many, flagrant, and notorious, that it is merely beating a dead horse to revive or repeat thawi. Comipcioa permeates the whole system from President— so the papers allege— down to janitor. Every one is out "to make " ; all are ou the steal, and it is only the fool who does not gather hay whilst the sun shines. Bub the worst feature is nofc, perhaps, the corrupticn itself so much, as Leokie points out, as the acquiescence in corruption. He say*:— "No feature of American life strikes a stranger so powerfully as the exfc-aordtnary indifference, partly cynicism and partly good nature, with wbiohnofcoriousfi'AudsandnoSorious corruption in tho sphere of politics are viewed by American public opinion. There is nothing, he thinks, altogether like this to be found in any othpr great country. It is something wholly diff *j.vnh from the political torpor which is common in half-developed nations and corrupt despotisms, and it is curiously unlike the state of feeling which exist* in tha French Republic. In Atneric*, notorious profligacy in public life and in bhe administr&tio'a.of public funds seems to excite little more than a disdainful smile." It is a matter of surprise to I Mr Lcckio, as to everyone ehe, how a great, civilised, intelligent nation like the United States permits itsslf to be so governed and so represented. Nor dors he look forward tj a ohange with a very sanguine spirit. Democracy, with him, contains the seed of its own annihilation.

THEATBICAX WORtD.

The appearance in this city of Ada Rjhan, probably the foremosb EnglUh-speakiug aofcrcs* of the day, is a matter worthy of passing commenfc. Enhanced prices fcastified to the coafidenoe of the manngement that the sfcsi: coald draw crowded houses. Nor has the anticipation been unrealised. During the three weeks' engagement the Baldwin Theatre was excellently patronised, end Miss Rehan received with a warmth and cordiality seldom extended to any but actresses of the highest rank. Her repertoire comprised " Taming the Shrew," "Twelfth Night," "The Honeymoon," "The Belles Stratagem," "The School for Scandal," " Midsummer Night's Dream," and adaptations by Manager Daly from the German. Every play was carefully staged, and the support exceedingly good. Shakespeare's pieces were given ia the same elaborate and painstaking manner as whan produced in London, where each sad all wore warmly commended by the critics. Nor is it necessary to dilate upon Miss Rohan's acting. Every character is a study, admirable in conception, perfect in detail, and finished in production.

Her wonderful pay of feature, h9r flue presence, her magnetic personality stamp hor as a queen in her profession, and the stage, or play, "never slumbers when Ada is upon the scene. It is to be hoped the Australasian colonies will some day hav»an opportunity of welcoming this lady to their shores.

Hoyt'a "A Trip to Chinatown" Company leaves by this trip of the Monowai, and opens nt the Lyoeum Theatre in Sydney. After seeing this variaty and specialty entertainment joined together by a distinctly "Pink Dominoes" plot, it is difficult to believe there is muoh money in the Australian venture. The play presents no original feature, no great actor, actress, or finger, no life, bustle, or anima« tion ; and, with the exception, perhaps, of Harry Conor, contains no artists above the level -of the ordinary stock companies of the colonial stage. However, tha > manager informed a friend of mine that he hoped to fill the Lyceum throughout the entire 12 weeks' engagement and drop the other cities out of the programme altogether ! How confiding and simple is such a display of managerial faith !

Abbey, Bcbaffer, and Grace, the great operatic triumvirate, have come to grief. Thufe is, they have passed their affairs over to the bands of a receiver, and this gentleman says : Asset?, 150,000dol ; liabilities, 300,000d01. Probably means 10 cent 3in the dollar.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Mr Cleveland, it is now asserted, has made over 8,000,000d0l during his tenancy of the White House. The charge is made by Democrats as -well as Populists, and no one seems to be fhocked.

It ha.% transpired that the Carnegie Company has offered to sell armour plate to foreign Governments for nearly 200dol a ton less than the inferior plate he has sold recently to the U.S. Government. Bravo 1 Carnegie. In 15 years the membership of the Christian Endeavour Society has grown from a small body formed iv a little church in the State of Maine to over 2,500,000. President Cleveland's order putting the mints and custom houses under civil service rules releases 30,000 positions from the clutches of the spoilsmen. There is a fearful howl over this " latest act of autocracy." The town of Gaylord (Kansas) is governed by women, the offices of mayor, town clerk, police judge, and Town Council being filled by them, Everything is progressing smoothly. _ Commenting ~apon the shameful technical points raised by lawyers sad approved by. Supreme Courts to kesp known murderers from the gallows, the Examiner says: — "America holds the record for great crimes. If it was understood that every man who killed another without ample justification would be hanged within 60 days the murder record of the United States would ba cut down by 75 to 90 per cent. But when it is understood that punishment, if it comes at all, will come at a date so remote that it fails to appeal to the imagination- of the ordinary man, passion and nia&ce have full sway and make the murder record i\l the country one

that is passed only by Turkey in the year of thti Armenian matsacres."

Judge Parker says apropos of appeals in case of criminal offences : " The Appellate Court exists mainly to stab the trial judge in the back and enable the criminal to go free."

Put iuto figures, the Appeal Court has made life in the United States less safe than in any other organised country in the world. Laiid year there wero not less than 10,500 homicides in this country. la 1894 there were 9801 recorded, and probably' others that escaped the notice of the compiler. In two years at, least 20,300 men, women, aud children were killed by their fellow creatures in the United States, and only 264- of the murderers suffered the extreme legal penalty for the crimes. : Florida is a State honoured in the-posjession of a gang of self-conatilufced moral supervisor* and regulators known as the White Caps. Their rage generally turns on the " nigger." A band tried it the other night. They wanted a father to hand over his boy in order that they, as custodians of the community's jaatice, might whip said boy to death. The father refused. White Caps opened fire. Father replied. Result: Two White C»ps shot .dead, two mortally wound ad, and father and boy escaped. Good I But where's the civilisation p

From energy generatedby the Niagara Falls —the same beiog pab ia force from an almost imperceptible touch on a golden telegraph key by Governor Morton ia New York— a cannon was fired -in Union square, Bad Fr»noisc:>, simultaneously with tbe firing of other cannon in other States.

The banded indebtedness of the Market street railway system in this city ii 18,000, OOOdol. Our assessor assesses the'company for property tax purposes at 3,800,000 Jo! ! Thus doei Provideaca temper the wind to the shorn lamb. Providence, however, in this case has been hauled up boforo the courts arid called all kinds of naughty names and asked how ha got at his figures. Providonca professes ignorance and says it is political spite. Commissioner Eva Booth, of the Salvation Army, says apropos of American women:— " What struck me more forcibly than anything else was the difference in voices. Ob, wh»t a difference there is ! " said Misa Booth with an expressive gesture. " The English voice is well modukbed and sort, but strong; while the American voice is lond and shrill. American women are better read, have more information on general subjects, and read the nowspapars more, but what greatly impressed me was the fact that they are more on an equality with the men."

The United States Senate— a body which every now and again defies the world to coma. on and fight— adopted a motion the otbsr day to cub down the number of battleships provided for in the Naval Appropriation Bill from four to two !

The Rev. Mr Isitt returns to. New Zealand by the Monowai. To your correspondent he expressed himself »s highly pleased with nia trip, but glad to get back borne.

Mr W. Lenz, of Masterbon, has sent a. trial order of honey to Samoa, says the Wairar*p* Times. If it proves satisfactory, of which there is little doubt, a large quantity will bY taken. '

An Auckland tradesman, in the fish add . rabbit line, defeats the Shops Act by closing bis shop on the half-holiday, and oarryißg -efn his business from » barrow in front of his, pro- . rnises. He thinks the Shops Acb a splendid innovation, for it enables him to do a largely increased trade whilst his rivals ara closed.

Two men, named Wm. Lewi? and George Bcowo, saw a gcey f.eal come up on the beach neav the mouth of the Rangitnta river one day recently, and with a view, to turning an honest penny brought it a'ive into Ashburton and commenced to exhibit it, apparently ignorant of the faob that they were breaking the law. They were charged at the local Police Court a day or two afterwards, with uulawfully having a seal iv their posies^ sion, aud fioed £2 each.

A

An innndation of raining-specalatora from all mrts of the colony is said to have set in on the West Coast. A large dingo, which is oredited with killing 1000 sheep in the Carooar district during the l»st three yearsj was shot recently..

Four lady cyclists at Blenheim have been served with summonses for riding on the borough footpaths. The Taieri Advocate gives as on dit that Mr A. Chisholm, of Outram, is being asked to contest tho Taieri seat as a Pcohibitionisb.