THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 51

THE WEEK.

" Xooqoun ajiad natura, ailud lapicaUa <lxlt-"— Jo»«»*t. 'Guod nature and (cod Man aunnir Jolo.*— Por«. Somewhere amid his delightful "Table Talk" Leigh Hunt reThe Fire marks :— " Fires are still at Parllanent happening every , day, notHoase. -withstanding the tremendous lessons which they give to the incautious. People are shocked at the moment and say something must be done; but in the oourse of | twenty-four hours they forget the shrieking females at the windows, and the children reduced to ashes; and the calamities are risked as before. It is really a pity that Parliament does not interfere. Officious legislation is bad, but if the public are children in this respect and don't know how to take care of themselves, grown understandings ought to help them. Parliament can ordain matters about lamps and pavements; why not about balconies for great houses ; and corridors at the back of smaller ones?" What, then, shall be said when Parliament sets go bad an example in the matter of fires as in the conflagration which last week utterly destroyed the Parliament House buildings! For although the origin of the fire is a mystery, still the authorities-ap-pear to have neglected some of the most ordinary precautions in the way of prevention. That so combustible a pile of buildings should have been left in the charge of an aged! caretaker, who was without proper appliances for fire prevention and without any means of calling up the Fire' Brigade, would seem to show neglect somewhere.- Then again the fact that so ill-protected a pile of buildings were not in any way covered by insurance does not indicate that care for the public purse which the taxpayers have the right to expect from the Government. So that while it is easy to solace one's self with the idea that sooner or later the Old Parliament House would have to be rebuilt, and that the fire has only hastened the work of rebuilding, the fact remains that the Dominion has been mulcted in a heavy loss and now stands committed to a heavy expenditure in (providing proper accommodation for the ponderous parliamentary machine. The idea mooted by the Premier of erecting ths new Parliament House on the site of the present Government House, and the provision of a new residence for the Governor, has been dropped' for the present. So comprehensive a scheme i© altogether out of the question at the present time, involving as it- would an expenditure altogether beyond the needs of the moment. Probably the : best idea is that agreed on — that is to make temporary accommodation for Parliament übon the present site, such _as .would enable the business of next session to be carried through, and then gradually erect the necessary buildings in permanent form. The destruction of records and documents will in itself constitute a serious loss and render necessary a large expenditure; it should, therefore, be the aim of i Parliament, especially in the face of the

falling prices for all lines of produce and the consequent impoverishing of the land, to minimise a!s far as possible tbe expenditure on buildings for the present. It will do members no harm to put up with temporary accommodation for a year or two, and in the interval rebuilding operations could be undertaken on a moderate scale. All around us is -reminiscent of holidays. The papers have teemed Home for with reports of break-ups the HoHsstr. and prize-givings ; the streets have been crowded with happy-faced boys and smiling girls, dressed in their best, hurrying home with arms filled with prizes. Grave and reverend eigniors have been improving the occasion with speeches of varying length, recalling their own school days, and endeavouring to impress the young neople with some idea, of their responsibilities in life. The holiday atmosphere is contagious; busy men and hard-working women are beginning to babble of green fields, and to sigh for the sound of the eea or the* murmur of the bush. There is a charm about a holiday, peculiar to the schoolboy's temperament— a spice and a delight which are hopelessly wanting when the boy has grown to manhood's estate. And of all the holidays in the days of the year the Christmas holidays, both by reason of tradition and present enjoyment, are amongst the best. Yet Christmas' in New Zealand is in itself a carious contra- | diction, for the changing seasons Tender impossible all that makes an English Christmas what it is. Still the spirit which animates the festivity is in no wise altered. Contrast, for instance, with a New* Zealand Christmas holiday the following account of an old-fashioned English Christmas .as drawn by Washington Irving, and allowing for the lapse of time and the change in environment, how many points of resemblance can we find :— " Perhaps the impending holiday might have given a more than usual animation to fhe country, for it seemed -to me as if everybody was in good looks and good spirits. Game, poultry,' and other luxuries of the table were in brisk circulation' in the villages ; the grocers', butchers', and fruiterers' shops were thronged with customers. The housewives were stirring about briskly, putting their dwellings in order ; and the glossy branches of holly, with their bright red berries, began to. appear at the windows. The scene brought to mind an old writer's - account of" Christmas preparations : — 'Now capons and hens, besides turkeys, geese, and ducks, with* beef and mutton — must all die — for in twelve days, a multitude of people will not be fed with a little. Now plums and spice, sugar and honey, square it among pies , and broth. Now or never, must music be in tune, for the youth must dance and sing to get them aheat, while the aged siF by the fire. The country maid -leaves half her market and must be swat again, if she forgets a pack of cards on Christmas Eve. Great is the contention of , holly and ivy, whether master or dame wears the breeches. Dice and: cards benefit the butler; and if the cook doth not lack wit, he will sweetly lick his fingers.' " The financial situation in America still presents a considerable 1)h» American menace to the progress and Financial prosperity of the world, for Situation, although the ultimate result will undoubtedly prove *of great benefit to the people of the United States, the process is a painful one, • involving as it does the temporary cessation of mighty industries and the throwing out of work of thousands of men. President Roosevelt lias refused to come to -the aid of (the millionaire class, and the trouble brought about by the wholesale undermining of the system of credit and the shortage- of money caused 1 by the almost universal hoarding will take time and patience to amend and improve. The crisis has been precipitated by the forgetfulness on the part of financiers of many of the sound* maxima laid down by Adam Smith in his famous text book of political economy, " The Wealth of Nations." And because of such forgetfulness many men in America who deemed themselves wealthy have seen, their supposed wealth dwindle away in a moment, and have awaked to the fact that they are poor. ■ In some instances so terrible has been the awakening as to lead the unfortunate sufferers to take their own lives; in other in6tantes the lesson has been learnt in a salutary fashion and should bring about a betterment in the future. A perusal of Adam Smith's dissertation on " Money " is useful at the present time, for it undoubtedly explains just the very points upon which the American financial world has gone astray. For instance, the great political economist points out : — " The whole of the pap_er money of every kind which can easily circulate in any country never can exceed the value of the gold and silver which supplies the place, or which (the 3ommerce being supposed the same) would circulate there if there was no paper money. . . . Should the circulating paper at any time exceed that sum, as the excess could neither be sent abroad nor be employed in the circulation of the country, it must immediately return upon the banks to be exchanged for gold and silver. Many people would immediately perceive that they had more of this money than was necessary for transacting their business at home; and as they could not send it abroad, they would immediately demand payment for it from the banks. When this superflous paper was converted into gold and silver they couldi easily find a use for it by sending it abroad; but they could find none while it remained in the shape of paper. There would immediately, .therefore, be a run upon fhe banks to the whole extentof this superfluous paper, and if they* showed any difficulty or backwardness in payment, to a much greater extent ; the alarm which this would occasion necessarily increasing the run." ' j — — — — —^~

A band bazaar at Wanganui realised £431 net; -after obtaining new instruments ft credit balance pf £15 retoainetfc ' i