The Star. TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1896.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5462, 14 January 1896, Page 2

The Star. TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1896.

• As an index of things left undone that ought to have been done, the report of last night's ineeting of the City Council is decidedly instructive. It was a snowball meeting; the ball was set rolling by the Mayor, it was iept going and the result was— prodigious; The Mayor mentioned the unsatisfactory Condition of the streets, which he declared to be due to the want of a water supply; and his Worship reminded the Council that the provision of abattoirs for the, use of butchers, and the inspection oJE dairies, were yet among the things left undone. Then Councillor Gray practically declare** that , the by-laws badly needed an overhauling, and the cabmen of the ,city protected once more against the system of bondage to which they are subjected. The Cemetery Committee had actually found out that .the grounds -were in an unsatisfactory state, and the unsuit--1 ability of ! the used by the. Fire Brigade came into prominence just once more. Next, Councillor Payling brought up that exasperating, subject, the loose stones that so thickly bestrew the roadways, of which strong complaint has been . made in our coboinns. Councillor Widdowson told the oft-told tale of refuse being swept into heaps and left there to be scattered again. More' yet, and worse yet. 'Boarding houses have, been licensed, according to the report of: the Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, wherein no precaution has been taken for saving •life.: Finally, "the discreditable state of the river banks" was touched upon, as well r as the state of the North Belt and of the Squares. The City Council has "got a little list," and it will do well to go earnestly and persistently to work in scoring out the items. . . ' A case 'Of alleged cruelty to a dog has been disturbing the peace of mind of some Of the "Wellington folk. According to a .communication published by one of the local journals, there was a dog in one of the carriages of a Wellington-Hutt train. The guard inquired to whom the dog belonged, and, receiving no answer, picked ' the animal up, and threw it from a window whilst the train was going at a rapid rate. The matter quickly came before the Society for the.Prevention of Qruelty to Animals, whose inspector in due course reported that he hiid made a searching investigation, and' from the evidence he believed that the dog Was dropped from the train in such a manner as not to hurt it. Assuming this to have been the case, the harmless result may fairly be credited more to good luck than management,- the risk of a mangling being obvious. We are exceedingly glad that'public attention was drawn to the matter, because that particular official will not be likely to repeat so stupid an experiment. The honorary Secretary of the Wellington Society was formally instructed to write to the railway authorities, and to prefer the request that if an unclaimed dog is again found in a carriage, the guard shall take possession of it in the ordinary way — that is, by removal to his van. The incident, at anyrate, serves to show the value of the watchfulness exercised by such societies as the one in question. Some time ago, we drew attention to the Cash- Purchase Association that had been set on. foot by the little army of Civil servants in Wellington, and to the evils that in our opinion are inseparable from such a course of action. We are exceedingly glad to find that the Public Service Journal, a publication which is devoted to the interests of the Civil Service, has taken up this subject, and deals with it in a straightforward and outspoken manner. As was explained at the time, the purpose of the Association is to squeeze the Wellington tradespeople, and compel them to give to the members of the Association discounts ranging from 2£ to Vj\ per cent. The Pullic Service Journal says that the Cash Purchase Association, the membership of which has probably attained to dangerous dimensions, can hardly pretend to be anything more than a club which gets the necessaries of life cheaper, and shares exclusively with particular tradesmen the profit which, under equitable conditions, would be divided between the employer, the employe, and the consumer. TJpon this basis the journal comments as follows : —

and permanent interests of the service. An insight into the working of this Association plainly shows that it will degenerate into a profit-grinding institution exploiting the wage-paid labourers. Already, we fear, this is in process of rapid accomplishment. We have heard it stated that one of the trading firms patronised by the Association has dispensed with the services of the married assistants, and replaced them by single men at lower wages. If this be true, there is no doubt whatever that this is pure and simple sweating. For public servants thus to try and perpetuate what it has been the duty ,of Governments to detect, stop and punish is wilful blundering. "We can understand the anxiety of the wage earners looking askance at any new facility towards a combination at their expense, especially a combination subsidised by the' State. We would - remind members of the Cash Purchase Association that, whilst there are methods by which frugality and economy may be ensured, there is at present no necessity for exploiting any of their fellow-citizens: In the faco of rigid retrenchment such action might find a plausible defence ; -but . at the present time there is no such urgent need. Thef c is no doubt that the methods of the Cash Purchase Association are not in accord with public feeling ; and, putting the case even on the lowest grounds— those of personal interest— we feel that an error has been made which needs to be fully, arid promptly remedied. • ■ ■ : To the foregoing, not: much need be added. The. consequences that may— arid indeed that must — result frQm the operations of such an Association, are of so grave a nature as to demand attention at the hands of the representatives of the people; and we trust that if the situation is unchanged when Parliament reassembles; the. subject will be vigorously debated.