AUSTRALIA TO-DAY

Otago Witness, Issue 3031, 17 April 1912, Page 37

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY

(From Our Own Correspondent.) Sydney, March 30. When Mr J. Russell French, general manager of the Bank of New South Wales, speaks on matters of finance his remarks carry great weight, he is recognised as one of the highest authorities on 6uch matters in Australasia. On Thursday night, in his presidential address before the Bankers' Institute of New South Wales, he made a " financial statement." Some changes had taken place in the outward features of banking during the year, he said, and perhaps the most noteworthy feature had been the large extension of the advances of the banks. Developments had been proceeding with considerable rapidity, and as long as they were legitimate and in accord with the natural progress of the country it was the part of the banking institutions to afford reasonable facilities for carrying them out. Year after year the wheat harvest required more money set aside to finance it. For some years past the deposits had shown an enormous growth, chiefly due to the good seasons, but there was evidence that the very -prosperity of the people was weakening to some extent their habit of caution, or thrift, which was born of the financial crisis of 1893. Imports had greatly increased. " The people generally are spending more," he said, " and their expenditure has been increased to some extent in the direction of luxuries rather than necessaries; and luxuries, as a rule, have to be imported—motor cars and things of that sort." The increased imports were also duo to increased Government expenditure. " The question had been raised," he ■went on to say, " why not use the rate of interest as a factor for checking undue expansion of advances." To some extent, this was a desirable way of dealing with such a situation, and no doubt at the present moment it was being availed of to some extent; but the legitimate requirements of the people for financial asssistanc*. ■were better satisfied by a steady rate, changed as seldom as possible. It was not desirable to use the rate too freely or drastically in case of excessive demands; it wa« better to check the demand by the judicious use of " No" as an answer. " It should be the endeavour of those responsible for the financial affairs of Australasia," he proceeded to say, " to make steadiness of finance their watchword. Australasia hag done well, but that it has always been prudent one cannot safely assert. Good seasons and good prices had brought about a very prosperous state of affairs of late. It is all the more necessary to recognise that steadiness makes for solid ■well-being in our national development—steadiness in character, steadiness in progress, and steadiness in finance, public and private." THE SIMPLE LIFE AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE. There is something peculiarly refreshing about the new Governor-General, Lord Denman, and his staff. They are so different from other Government House parties. For instance, it was recently stated that Lord and Lady Denman had got the 6urf-bathing craze and had made special arrangements for the setting apart of portion of the beach at Brighton, near Melbourne, for the use of parties from Government House. And now we find some of the Governor-General's staff sleeping out in tents. As one cf the papers remarks, the Federal Government residence is about the last spot in Australia where one would look for the simple life—and yet right in the grounds of the Governor-General's residence in Sydney there is pitched a commodious military tent, within which Captain Sir Walter Barttclot, A.D.C., and his wife oanip, untrammelled by undue restrictions of civilisation. But the tent pitched at the corner post of tlie cottage sot apart as the town residence of the officer in question is quite an aristocratic affair compared with most tents. It has a carpeted floor, comfortable beds, and roomy armchairs, to say nothing of many other things calculated to make life under canvas a pleasure. And the weather is tot at present- Sir Walter was questioned as to why he had done this thing. " Well," said ho, " there really is not enough room in the cottage for the kids, and therefore my wife and I have taken to the canvas; and wo are enjoying it immensely." Some time ago the State Government issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government to the effect that it did not intend to give a further lease of the historic residence in Sydney for the use of the GovernorGeneral, as it was proposed to use it for other purposes. In reply, it was threatened that if the State Government adhered to its intention the Governor-General might not. visit Sydney at all. The replyto this was that it was the business of the Federal and not the State Government to find a residence for the Governor-General. It has been playfully suggested that Lord Denman has asked Sir Waiter Barttelot to go under canvas by way of an experiment, in case the Governor-General and Lady Denman and their staff should find themselves without a roof over their heads and have to requisition a slice of the domain for camping purposes. NEW ZEALAND POLITICS. New Zealand has been receiving more prominence in the Australian papers of late than is usually the case. For this the somewhat curious political tangle in the Dominion is, of course, responsible. Such a set-back as the old Liberal party in New Zealand has received was unlooked for, whilst such a thing as the resignation of Sir Joseph Ward as head of the Government never occurred to anyone a few months ago. Over here Sir Joseph Ward was the Ministry, and the Ministry was Sir Joseph Ward. One rarely heard the name of any other Minister; it was all Sir Joseph Ward, and a Ministry without him was unthought of. Moreover, the late Prime Minister of the Dominion has a great many friends in Australia, and byAustralians generally ho is regarded as "a strong man," stronger than most of the politicians of the Commonwealth, and the greatest Imperialist of them all. However, the political pendulum has swung round, the old Liberal leader steps down, and Mr Mackenzie takes his place. Some fine tributes are paid to Sir Joseph Ward by tho newspapers here. His downfall, remarks the Sydney Morning Herald, is the outstanding feature of the situation. " This is a tamo ending of his long career. . . . Sir Joseph Ward would nrobably have preferred a much less inglorious descent from the eminence to which he has boon so long accustomed, and, as a matter of fact, his

' career deserved a better final curtain. lb has not always been possible to see eye to eye with the late Prime Minister, and) it is a fact that some of his work has merely been the easy road of the Seddon, tradition—and on that account entirely safe without being in the least difficult. Nevertheless, no head of an Administration, however easy the circumstances of his case, could he hold a Government together so long and so firmly rooted in popular confidence without ability of a high order. There can be no doubt that Sir Joseph Ward's success as a politician was very largely the result of his personal qualities as a shrewd and skilful man of affairs. Nor should it be forgotten that he has played a great part in Imperial politics. It is admitted that some of his ideas have been too ambitious for practical result, but, at least, they have revealed him as possessing both reach and courage as an Imperialist. His work at successive Imperial conferences was always prominent and always vigorous. New Zealand in particular has very much to thank Sir Joseph Ward, for in respect of the existing prominence of the Dominion in Imperial affairs. In the domestic politics of his own country he has had so long a career that his absence from the direction of affairs will be felt for some time to come both by friends and foes. New Zealand Liberalism, indeed, could well wish for as doughty a leader to succeed him." SPOILS TO THE VICTORS. It is announced that Mr Jacob Garrard, who has been a. representative of the Government on the Water and Sewerage Board, and who for a time was president of the board, is to be superseded by Mr John Leitch, an alderman of Redfern, and some time Mayor of that borough. The fact is only interesting as an illustration of the old-time principle of spoils to the victors. In the old days before federation Mr Garrard was a pillar of the Freetrade party in New South Wales, and held Ministerial office under Sir George (then Mr) Reid. Then, as a reward for party services, no doubt, he was appointed to the comfortable position of president of the Water and Sewerage Board, which carries with it a large salary. Later on, with a change of Government, another president was appointed, but Mr Garrard still remained as one of the Government representatives, for which he received £250 a year. Ho is recognised as one of the best and most experienced members of the board, but now he lias to go to make room for a nominee of the Labour Government. This nominee is Mr John Leitch, a friend of the Prime Minister's. Mr Leitch has been secretary of Mr M'Gowen's election committee at Redfern for a good many i years, and latterly has acted as chairman ! of the committee. Mr Leitch is admirably qualified for the position, he says, having . been a builder and contractor, and knowing quite a lot about sewerage matters.

PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS. The fight over preference to unionists between the Legislative Assembly and the Council resulted in a compromise being arrived at. A conference was held, and riie result is that the principle of preference to unionists is recognised now by law in the state of New South Wales. When the Industrial Arbitration Bill was before the council it struck out the clause which gave preference to unionists almost, unconditionally. The conference agreed to the clause being eliminated, and the following inserted in ita place: "Preference of employment shall be given to members of any industrial union of employees over other persons offering their labour at the same time, other things being equal, providing that where any declaration giving such preference of employment has been made in favour of an industrial union of employees suoh declaration shall be cancelled by the Court of Arbitration if at any time such union, or any substantial number of its members, takes part in a strike, or instigates or aids any other persons in a strike, and if any lesser number takes part in a strike, or instigates or aids any other persons in a strike, such court may suspend such declaration for such period as it may deem just." The conference also agreed to insert the following new clause—viz.: ."The Minister may also, as prescribed, constitute a conciliation committee for any occupation or calling in which more than 500 persons are employed, other than coal or metalliferous mining, and such committee shall bo appointed in the manner, and shall have the powers mentioned in sections 39, 40, and 4-1 of this act." In the bill, as originally framed, the right to strike was recognised, but the government has given away the light to strike in return for the clause extending the scope of conciliation committees. " Preference," explained Mr Beeby after the conference, " was granted on certain conditions. The provision which allows unions optional registration, which carries with it the right of an unregistered union to strike, was abandoned to the council upon its agreeing to extend the right to appoint conciliation committees to all industries in which more than 500 men are employed, other than coal or metalliferous mining." The bill was passed in its new form. The Council struck out the clause giving clerks and rural -workers the same privileges as other classes of workers, but the Government intends to introduce an amending bill next session specially designed to benefit clerical and rural workers. SPELLING REFORM. Certain reforms in spelling are to ho introduced by the Victorian Education Department. Tiie Director of Education in that State (Mr Tate), authorises the " u" to be omitted in such words as " honour" and " favour." " Plow" is to take the place of " plough," and "center" and "program" are to bo the eorect forms in future. Some of the leading education authorities in Victoria and other of the States condemn the innovation. In regard to " honor" and "favor" no objection is found; indeed, these words have been s_pelt that way for years past, probably more often than in the old way. The new way of spelling the other words mentioned has been in vogue for a long time in America, where most of the "spelling reformers" live. Among these reformers are men like Mr Roosevelt and Mr Andrew Carnegie. 1 remember receiving a letter from Mr Carnegie a few years ago in which he used the expression "This is all rite" ; and when I read it I felt inwardly sorry that a man who could b© such a multi-millionaire should be such an ilitci-ato man. Afterwards I learned that Mr Carnegie was a disciple of .spelling reform, and with some difficulty I forgave him. Old habits die hard with most of us; we cling fondly to old forms, in spelling ris in other things. But as Dr A. A. Aspinall, principal of Scots College, Sydney, remarks, it is certainly a fearful tax upon the memorising abilities of boys to have to learn words whose snclliiur receives no phonetic

help, and it would no doubt be a great aid if boys could spell as they pronounced. '"But our language is not like- that," s^ys he. "The glorious literature of our Empire is based upon our present vocabulary, which has grown through successive stages, and a. conversion of our language to the phonetio sj stem, would seriously impair the ability of future generations to appreciate and understand our great works." In reply to a suggestion that phonetio shorthand would be a, help to boys, Dr Aspinall said: " I would not allow phonetic shorthand to be taught here, because my boys would never i be able to spell in longhand properly. J King's College is teaching a non-phonetic | system, which I think I will introduce here, • because it would not make boys bad spellers, i Of course, with some of the simplified' j words in America, little fault can be found, I and when you read up-to-dato American I books you are not appalled by the spelling changes; they are so simple." Yes, they ! are simple enough, it is true. How beautiI ful in its simplicity, for instance, is the ! word " thru." Where are we to stop? If "plow for "plough," why not " dow" for "dough"? And why not. . ~ . But let us stop "rite here." THE WATER HYACINTH; " The toad, ugly and venemous, wears jet precious jewel in his bead," says Shakespeare; but we do not love the toad for all that. Birds are sometimes imported j for the purpose of destroying insect pests, and birds themselves become a greater pest. Beautiful tilings sometimes lure us to destruction. Which philosophy is but intro-duetor-y— to the statement that the lovely water hyacinth, so beautiful to look upon, is proving a curse to farmers in manyparts of the country, aJ»d meetings are being held in various parts to consider the best means of eradicating thi s " serious pest." But, like the prickly pear out in the far west of New South Wales, it is by no means an easy thing to eradicate. At Coraki public subscriptions have been raised with the object of making war on the water hyacinth, and the Government is also being appealed to for assistance to prevent the blocking of the navigation of the waterway. "Sandy Creek," says the Heralds; Coraki correspondent, "is the starting point, as the hyacinth has a strong hold of that part. Bungawalbyn Creek, navigable for vessels of 500 tons a distance of 15 miles from the main river, is fast filling up, and every tributary of the Richmond, all important waterways of navigation, are more or less affected. If prompt action is not taken, it is considered as only a matter of two years when they will all be blocked to navigation, meaning ruin to hundreds of farmers settled on the river banks, and whtose only outlet is the waterway." And the pest, as already stated, is not confined to the one district. UNION COMPANY'S SHARES. Mr David Mills, the Sydney manager of the Union Steam Ship Company, when questioned yesterday respecting the marked advance which has taken place in this company's shares on the Stock Exchange, stated that so far as he knew, th.ere was no special reason for the advance. There was not, he said, any particular change in the policy of the company in so far as it« shap-build-ing programme was concerned. Scarcely a year passed without the company having one or more vessels under construction, and that same principle applied to-day, the only departure being that the new 13,000-ton vessel was being constructed as to have oil used as fuel as well as coal. The 'Frisco service from Sydney was also a development, but this had been going on now for some few months. The remarkable fact about the advance was that it occurred simultaneously in New Zealand and Australia. He presumed that probably it had its origin from some reports received from London, where shipping shares were becoming fashionable stock. It was to him ■a. cheerful fact in the company's progress to note that this advance had taken place. It showed at least that people of money had confidence in those at the head of the company's affairs, and 'of t'he soundness generally of the company's stock.