WITHIN THE COMMONWEALTH

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 26, 30 June 1909, Page 51

WITHIN THE COMMONWEALTH

A Labour Sunday. G~TT RCHBISHOP CLARKE regrets j I that he cannot set aside a ■ special Sunday to be observed in the Anglican Chureh as a '‘Labour- Sabbath,” on which the clergy should preach on social and economic subjects, with a Socialistic bias. The Archbishop is cute enough to see that the Labourites are pushing this idea with political motives. They would be delighted to have the pulpits turned into advertising media for booming the cause of “Cawcuss.” Just now, when they are conducting a fierce anti-Liberal campaign," the blessing and assistance of the pulpit would be extremely useful, especially if the clergy consented to adopt Labour’s view, and treat Mr. Deakin as the devil, on the assumption that it is better to belabour the devil we have than the devil we only know by hearsay. <s><•><•>

Future Australia—a Forecast. The new pastor of Collins-street Baptist Chureh, Melbourne, the Rev. F. CSpurr, has been prying into the future of the human race in Australia. He points out that they are a cold-climate race, set down to increase and multiply in hot climate conditions, and speculates on results. Already Mr Spurr finds marked departures from the accepted Anglo-Saxon type. The Australian is becoming swarthy; his tendency is towards black hair and bark brown eyes. “Sun,

The Difficulties of English. The English language is notoriously a stumbling block to foreigners, even when they have lived for years where it is spoken. At a Melbourne Methodist Church the other day, during an evangelising service, converts were invited to testify, and amongst those who responded was a naturalised German. . He began by speaking of his humble origin, and then went on to. say, “O Lord, we are truly thankful that Thou are not respectable amongst persons,” and the horror-struck listeners were only relieved when they realised that what he meant was “no respector of persons.”

An Extraordinary Ceremony, An extraordinary ceremony—at least extraordinary for Lucknow—was performed at Phoos Wala Bungalow, near the Shah Najif, recently, when an European lady -was admitted to the privileges of Hinduism, as practised by the Arya Bamajists. Miss Thompson is a young Australian lady, who came here front Calcutta purposely to renounce Christianity and embrace Hinduism. The young lady, who was dressed in an Eastern costume, wore a beautiful pale blue sari, bespangled with gold, and a veil fell from the back of her head over her shoulders. Her arms, save for gold bangles, were bare to the elbows. She did not appear nervous, but she smiled pleasantly, and nodded to those around her. During the water ceremony she was asked questions, and responded in Urdu. Her responses, however, could not be heard by the spectators. Three separate times she took a little water in her hand, and after each question, put the water to her lips. Then she washed her hands, and, dipping her fingers into the bowl, touched her eyes, her forehead, her ears, her waist, and then threw a little water over her body. Next she held a spoon filled with burning oil, stood over the pit, and threw the fire on to the sandal-wood therein; the fire blazed up, and she fed it with more oil. Some reading of Hindu Scriptures followed, and it was now seen that Sita Devi, the new name the convert had received, was looking faint from the intense heat. The ceremony took over an hour.

air, and soil will complete the work.” Mr Spurr is not the first prophet. Unfortunately the prophet who preceded Mr Spurr declared that the Australian climate was going to breed a languid, listless race of whites, living in ease upon great plantations worked by Hacks, and possessing scarcely character enough to part their own hair. It must be remembered that the Australian climate has already bred a race, or possibly several races, as the Queensland aborigines differ as markedly from those of Victoria as the Victorian native differs from the degraded Westralian savage. As we come to know them better we realise that they were in the main a simple, rather kindly people, with a fairly good working system of life and morals. Why sho’Uld sun, air, and soil develop in the Anglo-Saxon marked variation from stock towards characteristics that are not discoverable in the sons of the soil, products of a thousand generations? It is safe to assume that the influence of civilisation will be as strong upon the white Australian race as the influences of civilisation are more powerful in moulding a people than climate is, for civilisation, with her handmaiden, science, is teaching us to become more and more the masters of climate.

Illustrated by Music.

The long arm of coincidence has the habit of striking some unexpected blows at times. At a recent musical reunion in one of Sydney’s suburbs the local chor-1 society was warmly praised by several speakers, and consequently when the chairman appeared to do his eulogistic turn during the interval he found the ground cut from under him. The only thing he could do wa 8 “go one better,” and he did. He described the society members and conductor alike as something a little too good for earthly music, and, as one of the hearers put it, “laid it on with a trowel.” The vocalists sat quietly, and tried to look as if they liked the rather fulsome compliments. And then the speaker concluded, and they sang with vigour the next number on the programme : “ Strike, strike the lyre I ” There were some who wondered why merriment mingled with appreciation on the part of the /

Personal. The late Tom Price was a true Labour member. As a stonemason he helped to build Adelaide Parliament House, and then he became Premier in the House he had built. He was one of the best men the Australian Labour party has produced, and had sense enough to see it was better to secure legislation with the help of moderate friends than to go entirely without legislation merely to gratify the prejudices of immoderate allies. Certainly the Labour party in S.A. is much the poorer for being Priceless.

Sir Frederick Holder, the Speaker, does not speak, and it is a grievous loss to Australia. However, he has been preaching lately, in Melbourne suburbs. Probably, not one member of the House of Representatives has heard him preach, unless it be his brother Methodist, ex-Postmaster-Genera.l Thomas. As a

preacher he is quite another man, and remarkably stern. No divergence from John Wesley. Orthodox to the backbone and spinal marrow. Intensely Biblica. Higher criticism is smothered under the pulpit cushion.

One Mau Companies. Although the Commonwealth has pow* er under the Constitution to legislate in regard to trading and financial corporations, and will one day, no doubt, make the laws of the six States uniform in that direction, Queensland finds it desirable to amend it<s company law at once, without waiting for the slower Federal processes (remarks “the Age”). The Government is preparing a bill to regulate the formation of “one-man companies.” That is a form of company not peculiar to Queensland. It flourishes even more luxuriantly in New South Wales, which mainly depends for its limited liability legislation on an Act passed in IS7+. Uses which the politicians of 35 years ago never contemplated have been found for the law. Not the least undesirable is that which permits an individual to form a business into a limited liability concern, and secure for himself all the advantages and privileges of the law, while yielding to the public none of the security which should accrue. It was calculated not long ago that there were at least 500 private companies registered in this State, and that “crowds of them have only seven shares paid for in cash, and in some even the seven shares have nothing paid thereon.” There is nothing to prevent, for instance, a man holding 999,994 shares in a company of a million, the remaining six shares being in the hands of as many dummies brought into make up the requisite seven shareholders. “It we take the whole lot of the 500 private companies in New South Wales,” said the authority we have already quoted, “there are probably not above 4,500 shareholders, .and of that number nearly 3,000 are dummies. The whole power Sb m the hands of one, two, or at most a very few men or women, who made the company, or are dummies of the actual founder, and alone have access to its accounts.” A misuse of company law, enabling the individual to enjoy practically all the profits from transactions, the risks of which he has shielded himself against by recourse to the limited liability provisions, or, being really responsible to hide his identity behind a dummy, is not in the public interest, ami calls for prompt remedial legislation here, as elsewhere. That the practice has been going On for some years in no way mitigates the circumstances. The full tide of company formation on such lines is only now swelling.

<S> <3> <3> Sunday Amusements. The Melbourne Cyclorama, on Sunday afternoon, had 2000 boys and girls at a living picture show. It would have scandalised the whole city twenty years ago, with columns of denunciation in the newspapers. How is an attraction like this beside tlie Sunday school? The Cycloramie juveniles made a terrific row, like a gale whistling through a ship’s rigging. All this comes of Church Pleasant Sunday Afternoons. What is the difference between a living picture and a theatrical performance? A representation of “Hamlet,” “The Tempest,” or “The Merchant of Venice” would have been more religious than this Cyclorama show. It has no element of instruction, all melodramatic or somewhat offensively comic. Almost the same programme was given at night to 3000 people. There was the addition of fine music by Oyston’s Grand Orchestra, ewenty performers. Their “Overture to William Tell” and very striking “March of the Gladiators” were worth wasting an evening to hear. Melbourne is on the high road to Chicago.