The Otago Witness,

Otago Witness, Issue 2505, 26 March 1902, Page 43

The Otago Witness,

WIIH WHICH IS I.NCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN' MEKCL'JiV.

{WEDNESDAY, N ARC 11 ."J, 190; )

THE WEEK.

It b amus-ins to read the Sydney Daily Telegraph's expression of Australian darm lest, owing to the Alarm. rapid development of Mr

Seddon's autocratic rule, Australia, may be 'argely .governed from Wellington. This is* turning the tables With a vengeance yoftn tiie ojony which

; a short time since was to be practically ' crushed into commercial nothingness because she refused to join in the Australian federation. While the Telegraph is correct In stating that there is a manifest disposition on Mr Seddon's part to " grip a general sway,' yet- surely it is a little j bit beside the mark to say that his hand ! needs careful Australian watching, as it seems to be his aim to take the lead in !arger Australasian affairs. If New Zealand has appeared to take the lead; it has been as much owing to Mr Barton's dilatorine&s and indecision as to Mr Seddon's foresight. Take, for instance, the lack of enthusiasm which greeted Mr Barton's announcement in the Federal House that the Government intended to comply with the request of the Imperia l authorities and despatch another CotnmomTealth Contingent, 2000 strong, to South Africa. The fact is tint New Zealand has taken the wind out of Australia's sails by offering additional troops instead of waiting for a request for more. It is not that the Australian people are lacking in . loyalty, for, j judging bj the enthusiasm which was manii I'esit at the recent celebration of South Africa Day in New South Wales, that colony, at «ny rate, cannot he charged with want of patriotism. Amongst the '■ many patriotic speeches made by prominent politicians on that occasion, one of Sir George Dibbs's utterances is worth passing on. That veteran said that he had recently urged on Major-general Hutton that a force of 100,000 men ought always to be available, and had suggested that as the country educated the children at State expense, it should take it on itself to give them a military training, so that when the time of stress came Australia would be prepared. General ffntton had j wondered whether the public would stand anything so comprehensive, but he (Sir George Dibbs) had contended that in the light of the enthusiasm of Austiuhans in the South African campaign there could be nc doubt of the friendly attitude tlie people would adopt. There is one thing, however, which Mr Seddon. autocratic Premier That Poor though he be, does not seem Purse! able to "grip in his general sway," and that is the "national" purse of sovereigns. The straits to -which the promoters of this ill-advised movement have been reduced is illustrated by the report of the Christchurch branch of the Premier's Testimonial Committee, when a discussion took ploce as to -whether paid canvassers should be employed to solicit sovereigns. The Mayor of Chrisitchurch said it was useless to be blind to the fact that the working people were not showing enthusiasm in the matiter. What an exhibition of base ingratitude after all that Mr Seddon has done for the working man ! In Oamaru and Grey mouth the committee have decided to canvass for shilling subscriptions, \i ith, doubtless, the expectation of making a good haul from the old-age pensioners when their pay day comes round. The New Zealand Times, the paper which first- suggested the "purse"' idea, has published the list of subscribers, bwt beyond the two £50 cheques with whieir'the fund started, the amount collected is exceedingly paltry. Prom its inception the "purse" presentation deserved to fail, and now that it has failed no one is likely to regret the failure except, perhaps, Mr Seddon lumself. Mr Kruger's latest statement is another instance of the depths of Superstition folly and obstim.cy to &■(] IgnoraMcr. which a man's- mind oan sink when enveloped in an atmosphere of superstition and ignorance. Poor, deluded Mr Kruger has stated that ht still reckons upon direct Divine intervention on behalf of the Boers, who were God's elect. It was impossible to surrender their liberty without repudiating God and meriting Hi* malediction. He prayed that God would dispel the blindness of the English people. All this is quite in keeping with tb.e debate in the Transvaal Raads, quoted in Conan Doyle's " Cause and Conduct of the War in South Africa,"' on the possibility of decreasing the plague of locusts. Mr Roos said locusts were a plague, as in the days of King Pharaoh, sent by God, and the country would assuredly be loaded with shame and obloquy if it tried to raise its hand againit the mighty hand of the Almighty, The Chairman related a true story of a man whose farm was always spared by the locusts until one day he caused some to bs killed — his farm wav then devastated. Mr Lucas Meyer raised a storm by ridiculing the arguments of the former speakers, and comparing the locusts to beasts of prey. Mr Labtischagne was violent. He 4 said that the locu. c t s were Quite different from beasts of prey. They were a special plague sent by God" for their sinfulne&s. This •-hows in pait the intelligence and spirit of the niPii who wei'u ruling over one of the most piogressjye communities in the w oild. Dm ing the •-3ivie-e«< conducted in FirstChinch in celebration of the The «o»pel of fifty-fourth anniversary of La/in^s. the province of Otago the Rev. J. Gibb said that a good deal of the talk that goes on nowadays would lead one to suppose 4 hit many people aie becoming enamoured of the gospel of laziness. The go&pel proclaimed by the church wa*. a gospel of work, not less than of faith. The church had ever taught, and would ever teach, that the gospel of laziness was the devil's gospel, and they would give it no quarter whatsoever. It is positively refreshing in these degenerate days, when the chief concern of the working man seems to be to cut his work as short and his leisure as long as possible, to come across such an outspoken utterance. Had the pioneers of the province not been made of tougiher meutle than many of the young men of the present day the colony would not have been in its present thriving position. At the gathering of the members of the Otago Early Settlers' Association, the President (JJx Donald Reid) said that the more he

TLe Boys' 'Brigade.

1 reflected upon those enrly times tr-?' he was impressed with the* grea\ ccediu I that was due to the first settlers, and espe-. i cially to the leaders — Captain Cargill and[ the Rev. Thomas Burns. These anniversary celebrations cany a moral which the present generation, in. their eagerness after I holidays and &hort hours, will do well to take to heart — viz., that hard work is the rock-bottom principle of all real prosi perity. , The announcement that the King will re view at Hyde Park nexrt June 11,000 members of the Boys' -Brigade calls attention to the wonderful progress made by tihat interesting "movement, which is associated with the name of the late Professor HenTy Dr'ummond. The brigade came into being as the result ol the -well-known difficulty of getting boys to submit to parental authority. Many oi. them are done with school before any habits of self-control are formed, and being wage-earners they become independent, and, growing up untamed, unprincipled, . and lawless, contribute lai'gely to the .larrikin class. Boys have a natural aptitude for military organisation in every shape and form, and it is the one form of discipline wJuch is not only the most thorough, conceivable, but also actually .congenial to- boy nature. In the year 1883 it occurred to & Glasgow volunteer officer .who took .part in the work of a large Sunday school £p utilise this idea in the hope of securing a finer and more spontaneous discipline among his senior boys. By bandin-g them into -a military company for week-day drill ,ha thought he could teach them valuable lessons in obedience, reverence, patience, manliness, neatness, and punctuality without their being directly conscious of it, and almost in the form of an amusement. Drill — not mere playing at soldiers, but regulation drill in its most thorough forms — was instituted, and kept in dining a whole winter. At the end of the experiment the result was successful beyond expecteition. The school Mas transformed, discipliiw was perfect, manners Avere acquired, the physical bearing was improved, the moral character was strengthened, and the foundation of religious principles laid. Other companies were speedily formed on the same model, the idea was heartily taken urt, and the scheme spread through the United Kingdom, and subsequently to the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Austialn. Although primarily a religious movemeut, the brigade caiter.tNfor the amusement of the 'boys by the formation of club? for football,- cricket, gymnastics, and swimming, and for their instruction 'by ambulance work and the formation! of instrumental bands. The movement is a capital one. and deserving of wider application than at present obtains to the boys of our own colony. On much the same Unas, but dealing witJj boys of a larger growth, Resorts for was the suggestion thrown Young Bleu, out by Mr J. A. Park tho other evening, when presiding at the annual meeting of the Dunedan Htgli street School Old Boys' Club. Mr Park pointed out that under "The Municipal Corporations Act of 1900," the council hard*the power to help gymnasiums financially, and that the clause was so general that any club wanting a little assistance to get a proper equipment could secure it in this way. Mr Park added 1 that not o.ily did he conceive it to be the duty of the municipality to assist all athletic associations, but he was in favour of the establishment of buildings in each of the four wards of the city, combining reading rooms, billiard rooms, and gymnasiums. In this way, many young fellows who hung about the street corners because they had nowhere to go, and who were thus subjected to numerous and undesirable temptations, would be able to meet together and spend their evenings in healthy recreation. There is the germ of a good idea in Mr Park's suggestion, although in practice it would be beset with many difficulties. It is passing strange, however, tha>t whilst philanthropist.* are ever to the fore in championing the cause and endeavouring to brighten the life of the young men in the toun, the \oung men in the country, whose existence is one of considerable monotony, are left severely alone. Here is a virgin field for some enterprising spirits to exploit. The cabled death of Mr Nicholas Chevalier, the well-known artist, whea A Cheratier pictures of New Zealand Anecdote. scenery formed such a. feature in the art gallery at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition in 1889-90, recalls an amusing incident in connection with his Australian career. Chevalier i\as then connected with Melbourne Punch— in fact, it is said that at that time he was the only man who made anything out of the paper, for his salary as. cartoonist at the rate of £30 per week would make <i big bole in the most substantial profit'--. He was very particular about being paid promptly, and ]f it happened that his salary vas in arrears he invariably iefu.«ed to do the weekly cartoon. On one occasion funds were low, Chevalier was obdurate, and the editor was in despair. The paper had to go to press, and the blank page stared the editor pitilessly in the face. All at once a brilliant idea occurred to him. The page went into Punch blank, and under it appeared in bold lettering, "The Present Outlook in Victorian Politic*." It hit the nail on the head, and the public were tickled, but they did not know that sheer nece;--pity had been the inspiration of that biilliant cartoon. Authorities Mate that the present drought, which is devastating large The Drought tracts of Australian terrain Australia, tory, particularly the burntup Western districts of New South Wales, has been unexampled] in severity for the past 40 years. Thus not only is this year's outlook a highly, depressing one from the agriculturist's safi, pa s'tora list's standpoint, but, according tc* 1 Mr H. C. Russell, the New South. W&2S '

©ovemment astronomer, the prospect for some years V> come is not one whit more encouraging. Interviewed by a Sydney pressman, Mr Russell said: "I have not stated it before, because I have not cared to pose as a prophet of evil, but I fear that we are not at the end of the lane ret. You are acquainted with my 19year cycle theory. Tie present cycle, as indicated by my rainfall tables, began with 1899, jso that we are jus* entering the fourteenth year. So far as we oan judge by the records of one previous cycle and a portion of the one preceding that, neither this year nor next will be a good year; the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth have in the past been fair, and the nineteenth very bad." The reason of these regularly recurring droughts furnishes matter for much speculation, and Mr Russell pointed out that the period' of greatest rainfall coincided exactly with the periods when the moon is working southward. The latter half of the southern declination of the moon is the sax-year Wriod of greatest plenty. The immediate Effect upon New Zealand of the droughtconditions in Australia is the strong demand which has set in for dairy produce from this colony for Commonwealth consumption, thus affording proof of our pre-viously-stated contention that when the ■Federal tariff was imposed upon New Zealand products the protectionist policy would, sooner or later, recoil disastrously upon the Australian consumer. The Nemesis has come quickly, and, from all \ccounts> is likely to continue.

A somewhat startling explanation has been given to the Sydney Sunday A Reported Times by a prominent VieComer torian dairyman oi the rein Bitter. ported shortage of the butter inß.tter. P ytpufc dvr .e g 19Q1 Tfais authority declares that the total production of butter in Victoria during that year was greater than in the previous year. In inrte of this fact, the statement has been made that the output for last year was »nlv about half what it was in 1900, and bhat the export of 12,000 tons represented die complete exportable surplus for that rear And this is the Victorian dairyJnan's explanation of the discrepancy between the two statements :—" It will biirprise a good many people to know, he says "that instead of the exportable surplus'being but 12,000 tons, it was nearly 18,000 <ton«. But instead of it all b«sng Benif away, a large quantity has been cornered "by syndicates, who commenced to operate early by buying up large quantities of butter at the low prices prevailing, and holding it in cold store chambers lor the rise, which they regarded as certain if they could succeed in creating a scare that there would be a scarcity. I know two firms that held 1000 tons each, and they are refusing to sell locally at Is per Ib "'being determined to keep ihe produce till it reaches Is 3d, which it undoufecedly <wiU do if the false alarm already created be not dispelled, in the meantime. These tiro firms 'bought at from 9d to 10id per Ib <md it is only a matter of calculation to find out the total profit they will make •on. the transaction. Supposing they pell at a -profit of 5d per Ib on the a\erage, that will give over £45 a ton to the good, or £45,000 clear to each of the firms I refer to." This statement is a sensational nae, and even allowing for possible exaggeration, it certainly merits inquiry on the part of the Victorian authorities.

The way in which these "comers ' and - " combinations ' aTe affect - rhe Control or ing the prices of staple comCombinatiqns. modities is. making patent

the need for restrictive legislation, and action in this direction is already being taken in England and in Hie United States. In his recommendation* to Congress on the subject of " Trust*. '' President Roosevelt strongly urged the need of publicity, thus exploding the theory of a certain set of financiers that the trustees of a national industry have no knowledge that the public ought to share. The new English Companies Act of the last tVictorian Parliament was the direct re»ult of the exploits of Hooley, and it will probably be the model for United States legislation to check the evils of speeula4ive promotion of over-capitalised industrial companies. All through- the English Companies Act runs the question, flow much does the promoter get out of it? The law aow compels a disclosure of the promoter's profits. It requires that the prospectus of .a new company shall state (1) How many shares are to be issued for other than a cash consideration ; (2) The -mount of money to be paid any promoter ; (3) The amount to be paid in commissions for Belling stock ; (4) The amount tr be paid to the directors. The company mint file ■with the registrar copies of all contracts by which stock is imied otherwise ilnn for cash, and any person may obtain copies of these contracts on payment of a small fee. As soon as the company is organised a full st?«tement of these gifts of stock must be sent to every shareholder. and at the end of each year a similar report must be made to the Government Any officer who makes a false report may be fined and sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labom. Any com•pany which does net make these reports can be promptly wound up by Government. When the capital of an English .nmpany !has been subscribed, the company must bold a meeting, at which the sub>cribers are entitled to all the facts in the hands of the directors. A week jefore this meet- - ing a statement must be sent to eath shareholder of (1) The total number of shares allotted, with particulars as to the •shores not paid, for in cash; (2) liie re- ' ceipts and payments on the capital jc- . couat ; (3) The total cash received by the company. There are many companies now being formed in the United States which could not face such a meet-ing, and it is hoped that the essential provisions of the English Companies Act will form the basis of a new Federal American law, and thus to a large extent check the growing evil of over-cajpiUlised tru&tfe