The Star. MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 1895. To-Day.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5167, 28 January 1895, Page 2

The Star. MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 1895. To-Day.

♦ The taking of the Ardgowan estata under the Land for Settlements Aot is satisfactory in every way. Some four fchSusind acres of good land will henceforth support men instead of sheop. The friends of progress will realise -anew that the Government meant what it aaid when it declared that; it would do its utmost to promote the settlement of the country j and the enemies o£ progress will understand that the Act is not a mere "paper tiger," but an engine which will knock them down and run over them if they continue to block the way. Probably, too, the company which owns the land will not, in reality, be sorry to get rid of it at the fair price which will be paid for it. The good beginning made at Ardgowan will, it is to be hoped, be followed up in other parts of this island. Are we to, reduce the hours of labour still further ? A discussion on this subject has been started in the columns of the Lyttelton Times, and it ought to be closely followed by all workers and those interested in their welfare. In the opinion of many capable thinkers, _ the shortening of the hours of toil ia the only effective means of preventing men being thrown out of employment by the competition of maohinery, unless the' machinery is " socialised." The Workers' Political Committee, of Dunedin, a Bhort time ago passed a resolution urging upon the Government the necessity of putting Government employes on a forty-hour week for the purpose of easing the unemployed difficulty. Thiß resolution received strong opposition from several quarters, bue more especially from the Engineers' Sooiety. That all Trade Unions are not bo selfish and antiquated in their notions may be seen from the reported action of the men employed in the building trades at Chicago. The men in regular work recently made a proposal to introduce a Bix hours' working day, in order that they might divide tbe work with the unfortunates who have no work at all. To do such work ns is to be done at the rate of six hours a day, instead of eight, would require a fourth more hands. Eight men would find work were sis are now employed. Not only so, but in this oase the original sis were willing to surrender a portion of their .wages to the incoming two. Such proposals as theße are deserving^ of all commendation. It is held by some writers that a reduction of the hours of labour to six daily need not entail a fall in wages, as the reduction from ten to oight honrs did not do so. ' That is a debatable question, but however it may be answered, it cannot be denied that it would be better to have the work of the world, and its remuneration •apportioned among all the workers than to have the latter divided into two great classes— the employed and the unemployed. Will the members of Trade Unions everywhere consider thia problem ? •^ True to its instincts, the Press this morning has a long article misrepresenting and sneering at working men, and glorifying the " aristocracy." It iB truly sickening to read the Tory canting praise of wealthy people as being the only wise, moderate and patriotio members of the community. According to our contemporary, the modern Democrats are " dens of thieves," and it gleefully quotes Lord Salisbury's definition of " three men sitting on two men and picking their pockets." This, of course, is a gross libel on democratic ideas and methods, bnt it happily hits off the supremacy of the majority, whioh iB one of the most hopeful features in modern political life. Majorities are not always right; but right or wrong it is better that they shonld rule than minorities. What Lord Salisbury and the Press would like to see is a return to the " good old rule— the simple plan "—of the few terrorising the many and levying toll and blackmail from them. As for the contention tbat "the so-called aristocracy has shown itself a pattern of patience " and has manifested great " self-control in defeat," how does this hold with regard to the New Zealand Conservatives? The answer is _tp be founds in 'the— wild— rage of retaliation for the imposition of a land tax leading Bheep - owners to refuse employment, food, or shelter to working men ; in the mad efforts of the Conservative Press to discredit the colony's financial standing by malicious inventions and recklesa assertions ; in the organised resistance to laws which do not suit their interests, and in the evasion of factory regulations and legislation for a weekly half-holiday to clerks and shop assistants. The patience and self-control of the so-called aristocrats glorified by the Press do not shine very conspicuously in these particulars. The sneer at the principle of payment of members of Parliament is also characteristic of the Tory Party, who would like the wealthy minority to have a monopoly of law-making. The Democracy of New Zealand, which is not at- all of the truculent and dishonest stamp drawn by the Press, is not likely to be persuaded to " make progress baokwards " to mediaeval serfdom. I The Hon J. G. Ward was entertained at a '.' social " in Dunedin on Saturday evening, and he is to be banqueted at Invercargill to-night. This method of "sendoff" and of ' wishing him Bncceis in his missions to Hobart and London is much better than the plan pursued by the Tory Press of the colony of maligning the Colonial Treasurer and calling for hia resignation as a preliminary to his departure from the colony. The publio will be glad to have, on the Treasurer's authority, a complete denial of the lateßt "invention of the enemy," and an assurance that the year's revenue, so far from showing a defioit, will probably show a surplus of over .£350,000. We wonder what will be the next move of those patient and self-controlling patriots on the Opposition Press ? At last the claims of the captain and crew of the Costa Rica Paoket are to be arbitrated upon. The St James's Gazette sneers at Lord Eoßebery for having taken three years to bring this about. Publio opinion in the colonies will re-echo the sneer, for the affair is moßt discreditable to the British Government. Long ago, so long that the tale seems almost like a page of ancient history, the captain ofa Sydneyowned barque took a few jars of spirits from an abandoned wreck in the China seas. On arriving within Dutch jurisdiction, he and his crew were thrown into prison. After a long delay the Mynheers, having apparently discovered that the incarcerated Britishers were neither piratea nor smugglers,' let them go. No compensation was offered, eitber for the insult to the British flag or for the lobs and hardship inflicted npon innocent men. Had they been Tankees, Brother Jonathan would have seen their wrongs righted in double quick time, for tbough the Government of the Great Republic is not a model for Englishmen to copy in everything, it certainly knows how to make its flag respected abroad. The sufferers, however, were Englishmen, and the British Government is ever alow to " put its foot down " unless when dealing with savageß or other people who can be bounced withont fear of "international complications." Nevertheless, the indignant protests of Australia roused the British Foreign Office to a certain extent; and after much vexatious delay the But oh agreed to compensate the owners of the vessel. The sufferings of poor Jack and his skipper were to go unrequited. Hie Imperial Government would have meekly accepted thia decidedly unsatisfactory settlement, but the colonies were less complaisant; ! and we are informed tliat what ought to ' have been done a year or so ago ia to bo done now — the matter is to be submitted to arbitration. Had the Home authorities insisted on this at firßt, the " silken bonds" whioh unite ths colonies to the Mother Country would hdve been considerably strengthened. Aa it is, they bave entered % naaty wrench.