PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 5

PASSING NOTES.

(From Saturday's Daily Times.)

There are indications that bad times, so called, are as bad for the labour tyranny as for things of greater worth, and this although the said bad times be mainly of the labour tyranny's own making. Times are bad just now in New South Wales and Victoria. The drought has had something to say to that ; but in Victoria there has been no drought. Yet Victoria is losing population at the rate of 16,000 per annum. If there can be in communities as in individuals such a malady as cretinism or rickets, that is what is the matter with Victoria. Here are a few illustrative remarks from the Review of Reviews : —

The Age, the organ of the Protectionist party, and which interprets, as far as any one journal can interpret, the mind of the working classes, is publishing a striking series of articles on " The Industrial Situation." It gives statistics showing that Victorian manufacturers have lo3t since 1899 trade to the value of £800,000. This meana, of course, a great reduction in the amount of labour employed, and a shrinkage in the wage fund of the State. It is proved, as far as figures can prove anything, that the legislation intended to serve the working classes of the State has serious'y injured them. Behind this legislation were the most benevolent intentions; but nature is very cruel sometimes to mere " benevolent intentions." In New South Wales the Tamworth election exemplifies the anti-labour-tyranny reaction — labour consoling itself with a " moral victory " at the bottom of the poll and a proportion of one vote out of every 11 votes polled. Bad times have done this. In good times it matters little what the labour laws may be. Here in New Zealand, for example, give us this year a good harvest with better prices for our exports, and Mr Seddon may play any labour jinks he pleases — ordain preference to unionists and correct the decisions of the Arbitration Court by Act of Parliament. Wo can stand all that as long as times keep good. On the other band as soon as Providence sees fit to afiiict us with bad harvests and declining prices, Mr Seddon and his petted unions will handsomely complete 0111 ruin — ours and their own. All that it is permitted us to hop; is that their own may come first.

King Edward, say the Americans grudgingly, is a good ambassador. That is the best account they can give to themselves of the phenomena that have attended th'. 1 King's progress from Lisbon via Rome to Puris. A good ambassador ! — as though the attitude taken by press and people in these three capitals were attributable to bis powers of persuasion or his diplomatic astuteness. What the Americans are unwilling to admit is that a King still counts for anything real in the thoughts and affections of sane mankind. Take any American newspaper, respectable or ditrespectable, its tone about monarchical institutions is that of the railing accusation. Kings are belated survivals imposing themselves beyond the time on the ignorance of backward populations ; the subjects of a monarchy are serfs unable as yet to breathe the air of freedom, etc., etc. This etc., etc. is from time to time expounded at length in the pages of even such an intelligent and reputable journal as Harper's Weekly. That republican Frenchmen should be wrought to enthusiasm by a visit of good will from the King of their traditional enemies is, to American sentiment, what Mr .Richard Swiveller would have called "a staggerer. ' That the relations of the two countries should be substantially improved by such visit they find inconceivable except on the theory that the King is " a good ambassador.'' Which shows how little they know about it, and how seriously the American has been left behind in th^ later stages of human progress. The re;il laggards nowadays are the copyists of political forms that were worn out 2000 years ago, and were finally discredited in

the collapse of republican Greece and Rome.

" The Kaiser, the Crown Prince, and Counts Bulow and Waldersee have arrived in Rome." Not exactly on pleasure bent, I guess. When the Kaiser comes so pat on the heels of the King it is at the bidding of urgency. Exit the uncle, enter the nephew — a day behind the fair. That is how the thing would look if we supposed the Kaiser's visit unpolitical, and all Europe would be laughing at his expense. But, so far as appears, Europe is not laughing. Europe has every reason for taking tne Kaiser seriously — in his downsittings and his uprisings, in his goings out and his comings in. Italy, be it remembered, belongs to the Triple Alliance, and it is the plain interest of her partners, Germany and Austria, that she be kept up to th© mark. There have been whispers of slackness. Italy has betrayed a tendency to coquet with France ; and now, capping tnat offence, has welcomed the Sovereign of Britain with a degree of enthusiasm totally unnecessary. These phenomena needed looking into, and the Kaiser has lost no time. Let us give him credit for promptness. In the Triple Alliance joint-stock concern he is the predominant partner ; if a surprise visit to the Italian branch of business should be needed, it is on him that the duty falls. In a surprise visit, the more malappropriate the time the more appropriate. That is why the Kaiser enters .Rome by one gate as the King leaves by another. Such a concatenation is odd to the verge of indecency ; therein lies its excellence. And the doctrine that Germany is laying down to Italy with all available emphasis may be expressed in the classical formula, Codlin's your friend, not Short.

The periodical exhibit of examination " howlers " by school inspectors and other pedagogic persons of imperfect sympathy is a thing in which I take no pleasure. " Howlers," forsooth ! — there is cruelty in the word itself ; it suggests the writhings of examinees of tender years under torture. When, however, the examinee is a pupil teacher, 18 or 20 years old, and at the end of his apprenticeship, there may be some justification for publishing his mistakes ; it is a way of showing up the weaknesses of our education systems. On that view I present the following list recently given to the world by the English Board of Education : —

Lord Lister invented the " aaiti-sccptic " treatment.

Sir John Aird is noted for the big " damn " which he has made upon the Nile.

Amongst well known novelists are " Maria Crawford " and " Colan Dolye." Sir " Harem" Maxim makes guns, and " Sir Alfred Milliner" is distinguished in art.

The Lord Chancellor is the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Lord Chancellor travels with the King and acts as vallet. Pekin is * the centre of celebrated Chinese boxing matches." Venice is " remarkable for its volcanoes, which aTe very frequent in that part of the world." Venice " tries to keep possession of its Venezuelan boundary. '

Rontgen rays are to enable burglars to see what is inside a safe. Submarine boats are " a new type of steamer useful to save time and trouble in passing others ; they would simply dip gracefully under and come up on the other side. Nansen circumvented the opposition of icebergs by using these boats, for he could go underneath them."

Tree-pruning is generally clone in summer, so that the prunes caii be dried for export. There are more of the same sort — English examples all of them. One would like to know whether our New Zealand pupil teachers are wont to do any better.

Mrs Civis, going from home for news, lias learned from an Australian newspaper that " forty-six members of the New Zealand Parliament have just started on a six-weeks' cruise in the Pacific." Some exaggeration there, I tell her ; the number must have been less than forty-six. At whose expense are they getting this trip'/ ''Nob their own, you may take your 'davy ! — at the public expense ; in fact at yours and mine." "Why has this been kept a secret?" — she asks, severely. "Secret — good Heavens ! — there is no secret ; it's been in the papers for weeks and montbs!" Mrs C. looks incredulous, but admits thatshe never reads anything about members of Parliament, except when there's an election. Did they take their wives with them? They did not ; in fact, there is probably not a woman on the ship. Poor creatures? — I dou't know about that ; they will have plenty of fun ashore, and on board there is always the stewardess ; often fi stewardess is a great resource — but, ah, hum — I break off, warned in time by a stony uncomprehending stare. Resuming after a pause, Mrs (,'. is gratified that " cur good young man " (for whom, it is morally certain, she plumped at the last election) is not among these dissolute cheap-trippers ; he still goes about holding religious services and opening bazaars —an employment which, she thinks, is " much more seemly." I concur; — "and safer, as well," I add; " 'twere a pity be should lose bis innocence before the time." This somewhat graceless remark eliciting no response, I suppose the subject dropped ; but, no ; — Mrs C. is again consulting her Australian authority :

Tho feeling of " the man in the street " undoubtedly is, that it the whole 'A — or, inciuding New Zealand. 16— Australasian Houses of Parliament could be put on board a ship, and despatched, say, to t hr> South Pole, it would be the greatest possible service these bodies cou!<l rentier tha Stale. 111-natured? — hardly that ; banter merely — a form of humour respecting which your sex, Mrs C, is congenitally inapprehensive. Moreover the idea itself — I continue — is a good one. There will be a race for Antarctica, sooner or later ; are we to withhold the boon of parliamentary institutions and social democracy from those desolate regions? Either New Zealand or the Commonwealth will have to take up the white man's burden in this behoof — New Zealand preferably, since it is from New Zealand ports that the exploring ships have sailed, and because possession of the southern continent will be essential to our empip." over Oceann. '"Over O-what?" put in Mrs (.'. "Over Oceana, with the accent on tlic cc, if you p'.ease." "I should have put it en the an," said she. "Yes, no

doubt you would — Oce-ana, to rhyme wit Johanna and her planner ; and you would have been wrong.' If you will scan anY line of Greek or Latin poetry in which Oceanus occurs—" " Please stop that nonsense ! " — she broke iv ; "I hate a pedant ! " " But that is no reason for hating me ! " — and with the word I put out a hand, thinking to grasp her. But she had gone. The rest was silence — for that time.

In Friday's Daily Times the Rev. P. B. Fraser, a man of many "words, sermonises to the length of half a column on " ' Civis* and the Chalmers Poll" without contributing anything new except the discovery that "Civis" is not as well up in his Dickens as he ought to be. And that id old ; it is merely the particular illustration that is new. Last week, it seems, discoursing of Mr Fraser and legal technicalities, I referred to a certain " Solomon Brass." An impulse of unconscious politeness it must have been, I fancy, that made me write " Solomon " when I should have written " Sampson." There would have been no propriety in associating Mr Fraser with a lethal weapon so inglorious as the jawbone of an ass. Some vague notion of this nature in the back of my mind would' explain the blunder, if it needs explaining. Let us set it down as an example-;'' of unconscious cerebration. And now, to show that there is no ill-feeling, I will present Mr Fraser -with a little story bearing on what appears to be with him just now a fatal preoccupation.

A certain popular minister was recently asked! by a lady of his acquaintance to address the young women of a society in which she wag interested. She was an ardent abstainer, and often had had discussions with her spiritual guide on the subject of total abstinence. On' this occasion, however, she requested him to talk to her girls against the love of (Tress, which, she said, was causing the ruin of many) a promising young woman of the present day — ■ in fact, it was fast besoming a curse. The minister promised to address i-hein on the desired subject. Then, with a twinkle in hi 3 eye, he added, " And shall it be moderation or total abstinence?" As Jack Bunsby might say — if I may; venture again to quote Dickens— "the bear* ing of this story lies in its application. Civis.,

Sir Joseph Ward, accompanied by Mr Beni Wilson (private Secretary) and Mr A. L. D.i Fraeer (M.H.R. for Napier), arrived in Dunedin on Tuesday night from Christchurch by the express. Sir Joseph left for Inveroargill next morning, spending Jhe remainder of the week 'in Southland. H<X is in communication with several " of the Canterbury members who have expressed a desire to visit Central Otago, and probably a party will leave Invercargill for Qucenstown and Hawea early this week, Tho season is somewhat advanced for an excursion of this nature, but, given good weather, it should be an enjoyable as well ac a. profitable one.

Sir James Hector has resigned his posfa tiou a3 director of Geological Survey, and possibly this will include the euratorship oi the Colonial Museum. The name of Mr A. Hamilton (registrar of the Otago University) has been mentioned in connection with the appointment of a successor to Sir James Hector, but wo are informed that tho matter has yet to be dealt with by Cabinet, and nothing has been decided in regard to it by the Government.

A suggestion thai- the name of tlid borough be changed was made last evening at the meeting of tho West Harbour Council. The proposal emanated from Sir Joseph Ward, who, in the course of a private conversation with Mr Cray (the Mayor), had pointed out th© lack of distinctiveness o£ such a title as "West Harbour," and ita inevitable confusion with similar names, such as North-East Harbour, Upper Harbour, Lower Harbour, etc. The Mayor 6Ug« gested "Riverside" as a suitable designation. Tho evident allusion to the harbour as a river drew from a councillor the remark that less charitable people were accustomed rather to refer to the same channel as a. " ditch." Another councillor saw possibilities of extra grants under a new name from an unsuspecting Government.- The proposal will be discussed at somo future meeting.

Messrs W. H. and G. E. Patcrson, oi Gore, returned to Dunedin on the sth from Hanmer with their Sterling motor car. The recorder shows that since they left Gore a few weeks ago they have travelled 1103 miles, a proportion of which is accounted for by the fact that when they were afc Hanmer they placed their car freely at the disposal of residents and visitors, and also treated the school children to the treat o£ a ride on this latest form of conveyance. The consideration they showed in this respect led to their being presented beforo they left tho district with a numerouslysigned testimonial expressive of the pleasure they afforded tbfl local population and the satisfaction that was generally; felt regarding the qualities of their car. The Messrs Paterson carno down from Christchurch by easy stages, availing themselves fully of the exceptional opportunities that motor travelling allows for the inspection of tho country.

Sir Joseph Ward sonf the. following telegram to Mr J. M'Lachlan, M.H.R. for Ashburton, on the sth : —"I desire to inform you that the Government baa decided to revoke the charter of the Afihburton Club-: Thiti, of course, has special application to the power the charter gives for tho sala of alcohobo liquor. ■ The club license to sell will bo cancelled as and from tho date of tho expiry of hotel licenses which the carrying of prohibition in the district entails. The license for the salo of liquor at the railway refreshment rooms will also terminate at the expiry of the existing contract, — J. G. Wabd."