PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2558, 25 March 1903, Page 5

PASSING NOTES.

(From Saturday's Daily Times.) At the St. Patrick's Day celebration in Sydney Sir Edmund Barton made a curiously suggestive defence of Cardinal Moran. Ho did not believe there had been, or was now in contemplation, any sacerdotal interference with the freedom of voting. Cardinal Moran was a wise man, and would not be so foolhardy as to rush into such a course as mi"ht procure for him the resentment of free people. He believed they would find, as they had done on many other occasions, that the suspicions of interference by those who ruled their Church with voting at elections were unfounded. The Cardinal was there in evidencepresident of the banquet, indeed; but on this point his cue was to lie low and say nuffin. He had said too much already. If we may believe the newspapers he had said, or alloAved it to be said, at an Hibernian gathering that "he had threatened the See Governimnt that the Roman Catholic vote would go against them if they failed to reverse their decision not to proclaim St. Patrick's Day a public holiday."' In ths light of this fact Sir E. Barton's excusing of the Cardinal takes on a new aspect. It was the kind of excuse that accuses, a defence intended as a warning. So I incline to read it, anyhow. Cardinal Moran is a politician as well as a churchman ; and he is a dangerous politican. It is no use disguising the fact that there exists in the Commonwealth a disloyal element, partly ecclesiastical, partly associated with the Labour movement. It is an element of disloyalty to the Empire. The cure, — yes, there is a cure, a perfect cure, but it would be expensive. If we could hand over one of our colonies to France, or Germany, or Russia — just one; and I think we could spare one for the salvation of the rest— Heavens ! what an object lesso.i it would become. Picture Cardinal Moran under the drastic regime that obtains in France, where a bishop is nothing better than a sort of police inspector, and the Church is being literally dragooned into slavery to the State. Imagine the Australian 'Labour demagogue who scouts Mr Chamberlain's Imperialism and talks of hoi-ring kis own flag and setting up his own nnvy — imagine him holding converse with the military heel and mailed fist of Germany. It may have to cr-ine to this. For desperate diseases desperate remedies. I coula bring myself to sacrifice one colony, iust one, for the good of the rest. All that I stipulate is that it must not be our own. The "workers" — by which term we shall soon have to understand those privileged persons who work fewer hours in the day and fewer days in the week than the rest of us— ths " workers," I say, are fully entitled to fight for thei- own hand. I have never denied it. By all means let them get the highest possible wages for the least possible work ; it is the common right of selfish human nature. But even in a " worker " thus happily conditioned one would desiderate a modicum of intelligence, and such a recognition of the facts of organised society as a school inspector might think commensurate with, say, the Third Standard. Yet what do we find? At a meeting this week of the Otago Trades and Labour Council, Mr Hood, president of the council, gave his estimate of the use and function of commerce in relation to labour. Chambers of Commerce "represented a class whose sole object was to have goods carted hither and thither so that they could come in between worker and consumer." In this sapient view concurred Mr Boreham ; merchants and traders were " men who lived on the workers and the producers " — a parasitic growth, inconsistent with health, urgently needing excision. And so the whole chain of agencies that collect for the " worker " the necessaries of existence and bring them to his door— his coal from the pit's mouth, his bread from the farmpr's stackyard, his

tea and sugar and tobacco from over the sea — all this, if the intelligent " worker " had his way, would disappear. As for the . tendency of higher wages to generate higher ! prices, so that the purchasing power of i money continually decreased, that was a ' very simple matter. All that was necess ary, in the view of Mr Wathen, was to make wages higher still. Yes; — and then, with the help of a State bank and unlimited paper money, we might attain to the felicity •■ of the French when they had perfected their j Revolution and made a thousand francs to ! be the value of a cab fare. The Rev. George Heighway — "Secretary j of Church Council," as he signs himself, — writing to the Daily Times on next week's Licensing Bench election, works off what I take to be a pas?age_ from a superannuated sermon. In yonder ocean, when the storm winds arelet loose, and they sweep in tempest over it 3 surface, the vast bosom of the sea responds to their motion, and soon heaves with tumult, and when the storm winds are laid, the sighing of the sobbing sea does not cease at once, nor does the tumult on its waters sink nt once into a silvery and placid calm. 2To ; for hours, or for days, its waves continue to heave and swell and fling themselves 'in foaming breakers jipon the shore. This tempestuous and billowy eloquence is for our guidance in picking the right" kind of Licensing Bench ; more particularly it is for the overawing of any traitor who may meditate resistance to the will of the sovereign people by voting the " Moderate-? ticket instead of the ticket put forward by the prohibitionists. What the effect on my fellow traitors may be I cannot say, — we are usually of a tough sort ; but, speaking for myself, I would go a long way to escape being talked to in tins -fashion. I should prefer the society of "yonder ocean" in its worst mood, its yeasfciest and least intelligible. However, let 'that pass. What I really wanted to say was that "the will of the sovereign people " — gallant phrase ! — has been worked for all it is worth and had better be dropped. Personally I begin to find it provocative of nausea and breach of the peace. In Bruce, 2360 voters out of 4871 on the roll voted no-license; the law, enacted by the Parliament, set the vote aside as irregular. In which of these two facts are we to see " the will of the sovereign people " ? Dear " Civis,"— The Spectator, February 7, , reviewing a magaaine article by Professor j Walter Raleigh, " Concerning Gambling, ' has j the following: " As against the view — which the Spectator has never endorsed — that wagering money on an uncertain event is intrinsically immoral— Professor Raleigh points out that there is one form of gambling not only not discountenanced by the laws of the country and the opinion of our fellows, but positively encouraged — viz., file practice of betting on one's own death — adding : ' I believe that men who abstain from this I kind of hazard are very generally regarded, i unless they are wealthy men, as being guilty ! of an immoral act.' "—Yours, I Anti-Phaeisee. The suggestion of this signature is that the Puritanic saints who discern sin in art unions yet make bets with insurance companies are straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel, as did the Pharisees of old. And that is a tf\ie bill. Reduced to its simplest terms every insurance contract is a bet. You want to insure your house ; in effect yoa say to the insurance company, What odds will you lay that my house isn't burned down this year? The company names the odds — 100 to 1, 500 to 1, what not. " Done," you say, "in , pounds." And if your hou^e is burned, the company loses its bet Life assurance is the same. The sum assured may fall payable to-morrow or 20 years hence. Because of that uncertainty the annual premium required is what it is and not something less, the difference being the amount which the assuree bets on the Lizard of his i own death. This, truly, is a pretty position for the Puritanic moralist who lifts up his hands in holy horror at the wickedness of raffles and art unions. I I Dear " Civis," — I notice, on the authority of 1 the Daily Times, that the prohibitionists of • Bruce offered up prayers that Mr Cruickshank, j S.M., might be guided aright in giving his ! decision as to whether or not the local option j poll in that district was rendered void by cerj tain irregularities alleged to have been comJ mitted. j These prayers were doubtless offered up on the assumption that the promise " The prayers of a righteous man availeth much " holds good. , Now, Sir, if the Bruce prohibitionists believe that tho Almighty answered their prayers ihey I must accept Mr Cruickshank's decision as the > co.Tect one. What is your opinion?— j Enquirer. My opinion is, simply, that the prayer was j a contempt of court. According to a recent cable a Dutch minister in South Africa is being prosecuted for " a seditious prayer." We have heard of "the most eloquent prayer ever addressed to a Boston audience " ; this Soath African prayer must ! have been of similar scope and bearing ; it would be intended less for the ears of the Deity than for the political passions of an earthly congregation. Hence, from the point of view of the authorities, it differed nothing from a seditious speech at a public meeting; wherefore the pious predicant has been clapped into prison. The Bruce prohibitionists are a simple folk, — their i opinions argue as much; 'it did not occur to them that claiming the Almighty as a prohibitionist and publicly petitioning Him i for a prohibitionist verdict in a cause still 1 sub judice was a contempt punishable by 1 fine and imprisonment — this did not occur Ito them ; nor that just as properly they 1 might have held a mass meeting and passed resolutions to help the Court in making up its mind. However, having prayed lor a ' decision they are bound in all decency to 1 accept it. If they believe in the efficacy : i of their own prayer.", it is their duty to ' hold that Cruickshank, S.M., has delivered a divine oracle which it would be impiety to reject. I was unable last week to notice a letter of Mr Belcher's parsed on to me by the editor. Mr Belcher, in fact, suffered the ' fate he would reserve for non unionists — he , was " crowded oilt." Why do I let him in i

now? Only because of the unscrupulous generosity which is the note of this column, — certainly not for any merit of his own. " Crvis " and W. Belcher. Sir, — The compliment paid me by "Civis'* in referring to one of my recent letters has prompted some kind Christian— l'm sure the waiter is a Christian — to send me an anonymous letter breathing love, charity, and good fellowship. I enclose it for publication, if you can see your way -to do so. My only complaint is that I foolishly paid twopence deficient postage to secure the loving epistle. As "Civis" is a, "whale" on anonymity anfl other abominations, I recommend the effusion to him as a text from which to preach a real good^ sermon on-the iniquities of agitators, secretaries of unions, and sich like. Living like a sybarite as I do, it would be inexpressibly mean on my part to make a charge for tiie suggestion; but what about my '"tuppence"!' Who is going to refund that? I think " Civis " is morally, responsible, and should pay, pay, pay.— l am, etc., - W. Belcher. Were the libel laws of this happy country other than they are, I might publish also the letter he" encloses. ~lb would' at leasfc serve to show that " the workers " as they self-righteously -style -themselves,' are not altogether of one heart and soul ; also that the services of union secretaries are not held in universal esteem. But perhaps we knew as much: already. So the. enclosure descends to the wastepaper basket. Further, I decline, sympathetically but firmly, to spoil the humour of' the situation by restoring to Mr -Belcher -his lost tuppenoe. 'I offer him instead my condolences; he will admit, I am sure., that they are about of equivalent value. Cms.

Inspector Gunn, of the Health Department, visited a number of homes on the Peninsula on the 17th, at the special request of the school committees in the district, ■with the object of isolating some cases of scarlet fever, which, it is alleged, have been attending different schools. Mr T. Parata, M.H.R. for the Southern Maori District, has been in communication with Dr Ogston, District Health Officer, with a view to making provision for Maori families tainted with consumption — a complaint that is very pi-evalcnt among th» Natives, especially in this part of the colony. Dr Ogston has communicated the information given to him by Mr Parata to Dr Pomare, Native Health Officer, and it is hoped that some steps may be taken in the way of providing special isolation for such families. A Balclutha lady,- Mrs J. S. Algie, wife of one of the proprietors of the Free Press, "was eavagely gored by a bull last week; and narrowly escaped death. It seem* that Mrs Algie was walking along the river bank .road to Stirling, and had just passed thft quarry, where two teams were standing and four men working, when a bull appeared on the road in front, and almost immediately charged down upon her before she had tim« to obey a warning shouted by Mr R. Hawker, who was driving the animal. Mrs Algie ran to the quarry, where two o£ the workman rushed out and tried to stop the bull. The animal, however, rushed past them and tossed Mrs Algie alongside the horses, then making another charge. In the second rush the animal became entangled in tho chains attached to the dray shafts of one of the teams, and the horses, of course, reared and plunged. In the confusion the men managed to get Mrs Algie out, and a minute later the bull broke loose and ran down the road. Mrs Algie'fl dress was much torn. Hor injuries comprised a gash about lOin long and very deep on the hip, the cut reaching the bonct. The workmen, to whom credit is due foi their prompt action, did their best to alle* viate Mrs Algie's suffering, and despatched one of their number for assistance. Dr Steuhouse attended the sufferer, and found it necessary to insert 12 stitches in the wound. He also found a wound on the lefb arm, apparently inflicted by a horn. Yeeterday Mrs Algie had made goo- retorvy, but it will be some time before she will get over the effects of the shock. The bull was one of two being driven in by two men named Hawker and W. Bunten for the sale that day. The drivers state that they were ordinarily quiet animals at home, but became excited on the road. One of them charged several p&rson9 at Stirling, and a young girl only got into a house in time to escape serious injury from the animal's mad rush. The two animals were subsequently sold, and the most dangerous one has since been killed. The Hon. W. Hall-Jones, Minister of Public Works, left Wellington on ihe 18th foi Cheviot to attend a banquet to Mr A. W. Rutherford, M.H.R for Hurunui, on the 23rd jnst. Subsequently he comes south, and early in April will traverse the route of the Catlins-Seaward Bush line, starting from Owaka and driving through the bush to Waimahaka. He will be accompanied by Mr R. M'Nab, M.H.R. for Mataura, Mr J. \V. Thomson, M.H.R. for Clutha, and other members of the House, as well as representatives of the Catlins River Railway League. The Right Hon. R. J. Seddon, Premier, will give a political speech at Feilding on the 25th inst. He then comes south, and will address a public meeting at Gore on the evening of the complimentary social to be tendered to Mr R. M'N*b, M.H.R., by his supporters in the Mataura district. It is expected that the date will be arranged for Wednesday, Ist April. A conference of the different Drainage and River Boards in the Taieri has been called for Friday afternoon to consider the matter of the silting up of the Taieri River and Lake Waipori, thus blocking the drainage outlets, and to devise some remedy^ Mr James Allen and Mr Donald Reid. JuH.it M.H.R.' % will be nr^sent.