Topics of the Week.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVII, Issue VII, 17 August 1901, Page 298

Topics of the Week.

The Faddists’ Fall. Auckland may have given the coup de grace to the rating on unimproved \ allies movement last week, but it would be vain to hope that her decision will in any degree suppress the leaders of it. The friends of single tax may not be numerous, but they are endowed with a fanatical zeal that would be invaluable in a better cause. For years now the single-tax-ers have been working among us, hopeful that in this land of experiments the occasion might arise when they could have a chance of putting their theory in practice—a privilege that has been denied them in every other country. Recently they managed. under cover of the rating on unimproved values, to get the thin edge of the single-tax wedge into the margin of the social fabric, and had they won their point in Auckland last week the victory would have been the most important gain they had ever made. They lost: and the loss discounts in a very large degree the advantage they had assured themselves was theirs. For it proves that the movement is not gaining in popular estimation. as they fondly imagined. Tested by the common sense of an intelligent community their doctrine has been found wanting, and their teaching c’'Credited, as they will certainly find whin in some other centre they endeavour by the same specious methods they pursued in Auckland to win the sanction of the ratepayers to their dishonest proposals. Other places, we are assured, will take their cue from Auckland in the matter, so that that city’s action has done something to save her sister boroughs. How those of the latter who fell victim to the single-taxers* devices did so is plain enough. It was the wonderful fluency of the faddist vrh‘ h took them captive. Questions of the relative justice of the different forms of taxation and the financial and social results arising out of them are fraught with numberless di incut ties. The average man finds himself hopelessly entangled when he strives to get at the simple position of the complex subject: and then comes along the single-taxer, possessed of one idea, which he launches with the overwhelming enthusiasm of the faddist, against the totally unarmoured mind of the average man. Thanks to the study of one economist only—and that a very amateurish one—Henry George—he is versed in all the specious arguments that seem to teTl tn favour of his view of the case. And the average man. never having given the matter a moments com I leration. is caught. Calling a Halt. Mr Silicon, it appears, is in some uniasi ■ witl i . ' . —- ces of the colony. The fact is. we have been .-pi-ncing so lavishly of late r aw n, and m ing j pular cot cessions in the matter of postage and Customs, and promising s gs in other ways, that even the Premier's sanguine mind is beginning to have apprehensions '•til regard to the future. He c infessed the other day that in framing the estimates for the coining year he con'd not yet see how the receipts would balance the expenditure. For the champion surplus raiser of Australasia to admit such a lition of-thi gs n Ist cause US unfeigned astonishment. We could not but be aware of the fact that the public money w :s being spent with an open hand; but when anyone raised a whisper of protest he was met with the cry, -Oh. Mr Peddon knows what he is about"; and did not the Premier himself declare. ‘‘Hang the expense." <>r words to that effect? We may have doubted the ability of our revenue to stand the strain of these reduction* of taxation, concessions, and lavish expenditures, but. with the Premier constantly assuring us in his easy way that he was looking after the matter, we were lulled into a sense of security. Doubtless the same wisdom that could call up surpluses

from the deeps of our finance could not make a mistake. Now, alas! the wizard is fain to confess that he has got himself into a corner. He is astonished at his own prodigality, as Warren Hastings was at his moderation. and he hints at the necessity of raising more revenue by additional taxation. It says little for the financ'.ai foresight and management of the Government that such suggestions should follow so fast on the heels of changes which were the evidences of an overflowing treasury. Cue is inclined to associate a glaring lack of statesmanship with such mrscalculed generosity. Cheap postage is a great boon, no doubt, but, after ail, is it not just possible that New Zealand may. as her finances are. have been a trifle premature in initiating a reform other countries are hesitating to adopt? If it means we are to iose revenue by the change, and the revenue has to be made good by additional taxation in some other direction, then it is very questionable whether we did well to interfere with a source of revenue that presses lightly and equally on the community. We have had fat years, but we certainly must expect to have lean ones, and one fails to see the wsdom of squandering our substance when we have plenrv instead of laying by something for the rainy day. O O O- O O Brava Men and Cowards. rhe coion als have proved -themselves as br-.’.- e as any men in South Africa. One thinks of every individual one of them as courageous as the British lion himself, ami the cables and official news from : he front give no other picture. But it would be impossible < • suppose that in such a large congregation of men there are no faint-hearted ones. D< übtless when they set out from our shores every mother's son of them felt he could face the entire Boer army, and with almcs: equal equanimity pictured himscif winning the Victoria Cross or v ing n » ly - : < . ■. ■: - >t takes t rigours of the cat paign and the h; :l of bullets to test the heart-stria-;-. and r.o man can reallv s: y t > h:::r-y? ‘ whether he is brave or a coward t;nti! he has gone through the ordeal. The m tst unlikely come out of it with honour, and the most unlikely men with disgrace. Now a nd ag; in during the war ths have come to us whispers which, because they do violence to our pride of race, we iigt inti stiflt wins ers »f how sucl ir bars gered in s ■ sick camp and never - ’ r all tl Low such another’s heart failed him at sight < ■ ■ • ft is whi ed. too, of men whose honour and courage t Id have vom bed here the t id who woul 1 ably have r. seated the idea of their requiring such guarantee? Who shall say what is? The French have a proverb that it is often the effect of fear, and certainly one can easily imagine that the power which has borne a man up the steep konje in the face of the Mauser bullets whistling their death song was not the stoutness of his heart, but his pr-de. How much is mental and bow much physical in that quality which leads a man to do deeds of valour on the battlefield, is still a puzzle for the py.-chologists. It is undeniable that a shrinking from pain and danger mav be characteristic of a man who is in no sense a coward. We should be careful in arrogating to ourselves qualities the possession of which is seldom proved in the ordinary work of life. o o o o o Theatres and Fires. The Auckland City Council has decided that considerable changes must be made in the means ot exit provided at the two principal places of amusement in the city, the Opera House and the City Hall. The construction of l>oth buildings in this respect is faulty in the extreme, and it la almost certain that if a fire occurred in either there would be great, perhaps appal-

ling. loss of life, while even an alarm of fire might be accompanied with serious consequences. Adequate means of escape front 'fire is more indisper.Sable in the ease of a theatre than of any other building, hotels even included. The risk of fire is obviously greater where the necessarily circumscribed space of the stage and the striving after brilliancy of effect bring numbers of naked lights and quantities of inflammable scenery into dangerous proximity, and the statistics abundantly pro»e this to be the case. It has been remarked that the ultimate fate of every theatre is to be burned. Every theatre-goer knows how long it takes in a well-constructed theatre for the audience to vacate the building, when they are making their exit ig an orderly fashion. But imagination cannot conjure up the awful scene that takes place when the frenzied mass of men. women and children leap to their feet in an instant and madly rush for dear life to the narrow egress. I have been in a theatre onee when the stage caught fire, and I shall never forget the miraculous and indescribable change in the scene. In the twinkling of an eye the merry faces of the spectators were transformed with a look of horror. Every thought save that of selfpreservation had vanished from the great majority. Fortunately, the flames were extinguished almost on the instant, and a clever device of the manager stayed the panic ere it spread. It is difficult to conceive any ordinary means of exit that would s-ifliee for a panic stricken mob, but certainly the means provided in some places are criminally inadequate. In regard to the Auckland Opera House, the “•Star” suggests a balcony should be built ali along the face of the building, and access to it should be from the dress circle through numerous doors. Such an arrangement, it is pointed out, would serve the double purpose of a speedy means of escape from the burning- building, and an agreeable promenade for ladies between the acts in the warm weather. The Traveller ” Again. The traveller, bona fide and otherv ise.mnst ;>e atertibie trial to the well meaning but not too intelligent publican. In the course of a case heard last week by one of our best stipendiary magistrates, that gentleman spoke with much sarcasm of the parrot fashion iu which the publican had asked certain persons requesting refreshments whether they were travellers, and had not endeavoured to find out if they spoke the truth when they said they were. Though I hold no brief for Sunday trading, for travellers. or others, yet this does seem rather hard on 'mine host." If. as in this case, they were genuine, the examination would ‘‘be irritating.” If, on the other hand, the ‘‘travellers’’ are not bona fide, no amount of crossexamination will shake their original statement. Having told a lie. they will certainly stick to it. and I do not see how their further perjury wili advance either the cause of temperance or morality. Again, it is laid down that a man must not be served with a drink as a traveller, even if he is outside the three miles radius, unless he can show that he has not travelled those three miles tor the purpose of getting a drink, but on purposes of business or pleasure. Now, how in the name of ail that is reasonable is the publican to find out of a traveller who has passed his examination on the point of his travelling is also a traveller for business or pleasure? How is such a point to be decided? Might it not be urged by certain folk that to drive out for a drink was to drive out for pleasure. Indeed, with certain old topers one wots of, is uot the obtaining of drinks on such an occasion a business, and (to them) a mighty important business, too. But, to be serious, is there really any use in attempting to cross-examine so closely persons representing themselves as travellers? Is it not only encouraging lying? Let detectives occasionally drop on persons so describing themselves, and if perjury is proved, let th; punishment be severe. But to expect a publican to go into buch details us now seems necessary, is. to the mind of the writer, impracticable and absurd.

The Future ot the Baby. Coming of a race which dreads ridicule above all things, and adopts Sn Inordinate sensitiveness in the hiding of its domestic feelings and interests, we none of us care t<J seem openly to appear interested, in the speculation expressed in the heading of this article, but nevertheless it is one which ninety-nine out of a hundred of those just experiencing the new delights and terrors of parentage, have closest at heart. Mothers are probably the greatest dreamers on this point, and spend the larger number of hours in absorbed thought as to the precise manner in which the atom of humanity in their arms will one day startle the world. But fathers even the most unemotional of them, probably spend more time than they would care to confess, in vainly attempting to piece out the future ot their infant progeny. One's thoughts on such points have usually a delightful vagueness, and seldom advance far, to any definite end. so it is with something of a shock that one finds that a Yankee has compiled a formidable series of statistics on the point. He finds, for example, that the chance of a boy filling such a position as that of president, or a "many-multi-millionaire,” as he puts it, is 25,000,000 to 1 against. This, he opines, might discourage American mothers, so he shows that on the other hand a baby born to-day has chances of 588 to 1 that he will not go insane, 1517 that he will not become deaf or dumb, 1250 to 1 that he will not be blind, and 864 to 1 that he will not be a criminal or social pariah. This we must all feel to be very comforting. On the other hand, it is stated that there are only 560 chances against his finishing his life in a charitable institution. It is certain—almost—he will have to be a breadwinner. Of the entire population about 430 per 1000 are bread-winners, this average being very nearly the same in Europe, America and Australasia. But to get to the bread-win-ning stage the baby's chances of life must be considered. According to this authority (I do not vouch for his figures) a baby under 1 year old is four times as likely to die as he is after he passes his first anniversary. At 2 he is not half as likely to die as he was at 1 year: at 3 he has chances over his condition at 2 years; at 4 he is 13 times better than at 3, and when he passes 5 the average chances of life are his, and he is likely to hold out till 40 at least. One could quote further figures, but, truth to tell, this bringing of cold fact to bear on our tenderest hopes and fears somewhat jars. But there may be practical parents who will like to figure out the chances on a statistical basis. For these the figures quoted will serve as a suggestion for a local computation. 0 0 9 0 0 The Barmaid. Wine and women have from of old been accounted the most seductive of snares that beset the feet of unwary man. It was no doubt this fact that first led to the employment of women in hotel bars, and all experience justifies the conclusion that the conjunction of the two is the most alluring device of the evil one. But the advocates of temperance never seem to have recognised this sufficiently or they would long ere this have devoted to the suppression of barmaids part of the energy now concentrated on the limitation of the drink traffic. Probably their ignorance arises from the fact that they are unfamiliar with the temples of Bacchus save from the outside, and know not how much the priestesses of the shrine are responsible for the scenes that take place without. The Austro-Hungarian Government are dealing with this barmaid question at the present time, and according to a recent cablegram the Minister for the Interior has issued an order-in-council restricting the occupation of barmaid to women over forty. The decree has, it appears, created much feeling in the town of Budapest and elsewhere. No doubt it would produce a similar effect here, where barmaids of over forty are probably no more in demand than in Hungary. But let us see how such a restriction would act. Is youth indispensable in a barmaid? Certainly beauty is not, to judge by the success

many plain Hcbes achieve behind the bar. lu the novels of Dickens and that period it was no giddy young thing that was the centre of attraction in rhe cozy wayside inns, but a buxom landlady, presumably On the shady side of forty. Substitute the maturer charms of such a one for the giddy frivolity of golden-haired Flossie, and would the takings of the establishment- decline? 1 somehow fear they would, for the majority of the bar patrons are frivolous theiuselvtes, and love frivolity in their drinking hours. Then, again, a very serious difficulty would be that ot getting ladies of over forty to undertake the duties and discharge them efficiently. If one has not graduated among the bottlea and decanters, and acquired the true Hebe air while young and impressionable, it is questionable whether she can ever be a

success or take kindly to the position. Besides, though the charms of forty might pass muster beneath the gaslight. at fifty rouge and powder could not effectively conceal the footprints of age, and would it be worth while for ten short years of service at the most to take up a profession involving so much work? No, if as they have decided in Hungary, we should think of doing away with the youthful barmaid, let ns rather have done with them altogether, as in the United States.