CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2287, 30 December 1897, Page 3

CURRENT TOPICS.

The beauties of Protection are admirably illustrated in a set of leaflets issued the beauties by 'the South Afrioau Political of Committee. The Coloaisl Psrpkotkction. liament w*s induced to raise 'the import duty on flour iv order fco protect the farmer and put an end to the need for importing wheat. Bub when the statistics from 189 \ to 1895 are analysed ib is found (1) that the increase {•i duby has nob had tho eificb of leducing the importation of wheat ; (2) that the Cape is I no mors self-supporting now than 20 years agj ; aud (3) that the Capo wheat supply fluctuates merely according to the rainfall. The necessaries of life consnoied within the South African Customs Union are, roughly, fcheee :— Wheat, flour, tea, sujcar. coffee, j batter, cheese, rice, jams, preserved meats, j candles, matches, bacon, paraffin oil, dates, currants, * and %*, of a tital value o! } £1,085,740. The duty on fchssa is £499,446, or actually at; the rate of 4-7 per ceafc, Side fay tirta with these are the duties oi> wines epirits, beer, and tobacco. In tho United Kingdom the duties on those articles amoutit to 53 per cent, of t.he toUl revenue. Iv 1594 in Cape Colony the proportion of roveuao from j these sources wrs only 9 per ceut. On the other j hand, breadstuff', tea, sugar, coffee, bufetor, i cbresp, rsce, candle?, aud parafihi paid ! £122,868 ia duby, or 21 per cent, of the total. In co-asequence of this brandy, wine, beer,, and 1 Ichxceo ara among the cheapest articles jn ! C*ps Colony, wbiie, on tho other hand, it is one of the dearosfc countries in v/hioh to live. Ib is estimated that, a working man in Ctpe j Coloay who earns £2 a week, and Fupporfs a i wife and ihrte children, spends no leas than 17s Sd a week in duty. And it cannot be said that in Cape Colony there is no other source from which revenue can be drawn.

Every householder naturally takes «n interest

in the price of bread, the staff the cfiFAP of life, which everyone eats, and loaf. when bretd rises in price, as

some pessimists say is its prevailing teudency, ifc may ba a subject of greater domestic imporhaiico than a change in the personnel of a Ministry. In Auckland recently the bakers demanded higher wage*, and coupled with their demand a ihre&t that in default of compliance an appeal would bo made to the Board of Concilia* ioc. In order to meet them the master bakers determined to do away with the 3d 2!b loaf and make tho prica 3£<l all round. This naturally induced seme inquiry, in which the New Zealand Herald was prominent. It was estimated thab in Auckland, with 40,000 inhabitants, at least 80,000 loavts » week wero eaten. An increase of one half-penny amounts to about £166, which would give 150 journeymen an increase ia wages of upwards of £1 each. Bu 1 : the concessions given to th<3 men amounted to oi ly about 6s per weoic, the new arrangement being that they work 54- hours a week and are allowed to work two hours' overtime on Saturday at the rate, of time ami a quarter. A master baker — one who has hitherto charged 3£d for broad — said, in an interview, that the balance over and above the extra amount given to the mea would be fcpenfc by the master bakers in good flour, for if everybody had to pay 3£d tboy would insist on getting the be3t. Only 122 21b loaves can be made in Auckland from a 2001b sack of flour, and the baker interviewed said that if the beat flour were used, beat labour employed, and full weight given, 3-£ dis but a fair price. In this baker's opinion, therefore, the cheap loaf is probably inferior and perhaps light. Few persons insist on having their bread weighed, though the law is very stringent' on the subject, and the fraudulent baker may, for a time, cheat with impunity. It seems, however, that the combination among the Auckland master bakers is already broken up, and the fcrado is threatened with reckless competition..

The Government; have again ra-cast the Local Government Bill of 1595, and rocAL have followed their customary authorities course of laying it on the table bill. of the House pro forma, so that persons interested may become acquainted with its provisions. It may be sately prophesied, we think, that the present Government will never seriously tackle this or any other important question which fans nob a distinct party flavour. They will shriek thsrneelves hoarse in declamatory harangues about the rights of the people, and angle for support by means of the Master and Apprentice and WageaJßrotection Bills, but; when it comes to domestic legislation calculated to facilitate and simplify the every day business of life the Government displays its incapacity. Ifc plays, in facb, the part of the man with the muckrake in Bunyan's immortal work. The new attempt to deal with the complex question of local government is re-baptised "The Local Authorities Bill." It does not deal with boroughs. The colony is to be divided into not more than 40 counties, none of which is to contain a population smaller than the electoral quota. Special districts may be constituted for river protection and land drainage, and these may include boroughs. Parts of counties may be constituted borough districts, the county council exercising

borough powers therein. Existing rosd districts may be retained. The franchise ia extended to the case of a 12 montho' householder. The whole council goes out of office every two yeara, and on acoount of the close) i touch with the electors thus maintained wide 1 powora are to be given to councils. The bill 1 contains the powers given to counties by tha j Public Health, Public "Works, Land Drainage, j River Boards, Water Supply, Hospital and Charitable Aid, and many^other Acts, which accordingly will b8 repealed. The provisions as "to bospibak and charitable aid are necessarily dependent upon the passing of tha Municipal Corporations Bill, or some other measure dealing with the question.

Among the acts passed by the British Parlia nient last session was one for the " congested improvement of congested disdistricts tricts in the Highlands and (Scotland) Islands of Scotland. Ifc is one act, 1897." of the fruits of the 'Crofters'

> ' Commission. A board is to bu I appointed consisting of the Secretary and | Undersecretary for Scotland, the chairman of , the Local Government Board tor Sootland, tha ' chairman of the Crofters' Commission, and three other persons to be nominated by the I Secretary for Scotland. The board is to oe j provided with a fund composed oE (1) £15,000 j annually under " The Agricultural Rates Coni geuted Districts and Biu-gtt Land Tax, 1896 "5 ! (2) any sum nob exceeding £20,000 annually , from Parliament ; (3) any moneys received for payment of interest or repayment of principal of «ny loan under the act ; and (4) any , cthef sums applicable to the purposes !of the acb. The commissioners have power tt» aid arid develop agriculture, provide eeetl, utensils, or »iacb.inexy, x provide land for subdivision among or for enlarging the holdings j of crofters &ud cottars, aid migration of crofter* j and cottara to other districts, aid and " develop ! fishing, provide lighthouses, piers, of boatslipa, | public roads asid bmlge<J, footpaths and footbridges, and rasal mills, aid and develop spinniug, weaving, a:iJ other florae Industrie*, and, wioli the oonneni; of tha Treasury, aid in, the proviair.g or improving of harbour*. The commissioners mxy givo aid by v^ty of giffc or loan, or by way of sale nb cosb price, or upon such conditions as Ihoy think ilf;. Their officers are to have power to outer premises ia order to ascertain wholkor the assistance given is properly taken advantage of. The board ia to have the posvec of acquiring land and utilising it, astl it may Accspt gifts of property, heritabla or movable. Lortiu givan by the board ate %a be gf cured by boud or charge ou the holding, «.nd th.9 loans «re repayable in half-year!,-, 1 instalments, or at the end of a period not exceeding 18 months, or by a t^rmmable annuity payable by Half-yearly instalments. It will thus bo seen that the board has been entrus6e<! with very wide discretionary powers, .and if these are wisely exercised, as there is every reason to hope will be the case, ib io providfsi with the means of alleviating a lot of virtuon-s and uncomplaining pcoplo, whoso aaJfreri^jri have cooie from no fault of their own, bu; from public neglect of their interests.

On a recant day ia Melbourne Mr Justice Hodges granted five divorces, mahiuagb and ib waa noteworthy that i;» and not one of the cases had prodivohcb. vision been ta*de before marriage for the establishment of a home. In one caie the husband was arrested immediately after the marriage on a charge <n embezzlement, and received six months' imprisonment. The nest couple had lived as man and wife for only two day?, Although mar' ried nearly six years. In a third case husband and wife had lived apart for the first six months, and in the fourth the couple had never lived together in the Bame house during their seven yeara of wedded life One of the petitioning wives was asked if sbo could say why her husband had deserted her. •' Only that he was tired of me," was the reply. " He laid five years was quite long enough to live with any woman." Another was a dressmaker, who had married a worthless fellow, only to be told that he had no money, *nd that she must lend him some to look for Work. He never attempted to support her, and now wrote from up-counbry, rejoicing at the step she wad taking, and reckoning that h« had " had the beat of the deal," telling her at the same Maw fcbafc he was enjoying .himself " immense," In all these cases the Divorce Court beneficently loosened the shackles which had grown hateful, and advocate! of cheap and easy divorce would very probaMy point to the remit in support of their arguments. Unquestionably many domestic tragedies would be averted if divorce were within easy reach of poor persons, but on the -other hand when divorce is too easy heedless marriages become more numerous. If the contracting parties know that the uuppiai knot can ba easily untied they have less herffc** tion in tying ib. Few' will contend that tJUoh marriages as those we have mentioned make fctf a healthy condition of society.