PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS.

West Coast Times, Issue 3221, 21 January 1876, Page 2

PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS.

(OTAGO DAILY TrMBS.)

Professional politicians,- what are .they ? Are they altonetljer the noxious animals they are made out.fo be sometimes ? We do not speak thus of other professionals — medical men or engineers — and why should the science of Government be held to be the only thing that requires no special training, for the scorn wuh which professional politicians are spoken of implies nothing less than' this. The facts, indeed, are all against such a bold assumption, and ; the common opinion of the electors who ' really take an interest in the, matter of good government is, upon the whole, distinctly in favor of trained and practised workmen in the business of legislation, and quite against mere amateurs Neve*-, theless, the phrase, professional politician's,' is constantly used as a term of reproach. What it means is office-seekers ; when we use it, we mean to denote those who have! no stake in the country — i.e., no private means, who have not been successful in their business, and who hope to delude some unwary constituency into putting them into a position in which their vote and influence may be worth money, and possibly permanent- place and power: Here, again, ' there can 1 •be no ob^ jevtion -in- thfe' minds .of ; reasonable; men to a public * servant looking

forward to a reasonably ;rt«vard ft* his labours, which ,>m\ist in^'e.-firat instance be^ivep^odi highly sSectdttive motive^/ fffierei is $ 9 reason] whrfptiticians alonl of 4|l'cla>es should give $eir labours gratHitoh'fely; They hay& |$ect right to expect ,|oi-be paid.. TBl'most awkward, unfair, < utterly impfofer, and PJual&jrmnoral method of paying them is, however, that which*" we have adopted— viz that of finding them permanent places , ™ e .9!: v lL Ser , vice ' For such a method of payments this tngffe $• ntf eicuSeT-fer less, defence; to be found. It has been adopted under representative institutions, because of that unwillingness to pay directly for services upon a liberal scale, or to be taxed directly for revenue upon a sufficiently wide bans, which isifo Characteristic of the race. Jf we could make up our. mind to pay for what we "want by salary— to pay for Mat we Have to paT directly out of oup purses— the buMness c? rule would be carried on sprne fifty pc cent, cheaper than it now is. We have very little hopes of seeing a statesman with sufficient courage to advocate direct taxation. We should regard it as a Step in the , right direction, however, if we had all jnonl courage enough to acknowledge that [ a professional politician is ex vlterminorum a good thing, and not an evil, when it merely means a politician who has made up his mind to give tlie whole of his time to the service of his country.- ! ■*-

LATEST LADIES' FASHIONS.' 1 Skirts are now doing the work df broomsl much attention being given to the. elegant fall of the folds or the demi-train,: Shoulder seams of bodies will be placed farther back, to leave development for the tight, basqued " cuirass" corsage, which is to be much worn by the slates of fashion. The top of overskirt9 is still trained backwards over the hips as tight >a» can be managed without tearing ; trimmed all round, and up the back, with puffs ana frills, spiral flounces, coquilles, p]i?ses, fronce, loops, bows, tails, etc., all of which constitutes a style highly advantageous to the dressmaker, who kindly shows " how to sit down without crushing," by adroitly giving a little whisk to all this complicated trimming, so as to draw it from under you as you sit down. She assures you that " nothing is easier" than not to sit ori thief elaborate finery, Jjut she knows very tfeil 1 that when it has *' escaped crushing" halfr a-dozen times, it "will Mve-tojbp re-furb ished by the lady's maid, and the lady.will be fain to order a new dress.

, The three favorite hats of tbeTnimeliifc £}re the Mikado, of straw, chip, oV horsehair, trimmed with gauze in which nestle a great variety of very small birds b'f the gayest plumage ; the Castiliaa, a coarse sjtraw, trimmed with Figaro net, velvet bow; and birds' wings ; aw the Peruvian, of Leghorn straw, trimmed with gold galoUnr, ajnd tbe new gauze tbal is called diamante, because speckled over with " diamonds." i Crinoline js absolutely fqrgotten. Tunic* j^re very slightly raised,' being nearly as long as the skirt in front, [and gradually rising to the back of the waist. Skirt&'of ajlate-blue velveteens are to take the, nlace • of black, which will be* less worn; ana bt Vienna cloth mixed with rich silk, instead of the black cashmere which has been so long. Fichus of peach, cherry, qpricot, ivory white, andlemon, are irony croßsed,.oyer Princess dresses. Deep rufit are to be worn. Old lace, too ragged for meeting, is carefully transferred to new foundations, from Richelieu sleeves and neckties. ■ v ~ - <J The hair i? not perched quite so high,; on the top of the head ; but the coils in the neck are more ■ intricate. Flowers are somewhat - superseded by the new and magnificent galoons on rims and crowns of all hats. Bonnets, .with curtains and strings, are " coming in" again.