The Week in Review.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 13, 28 September 1910, Page 1

The Week in Review.

The Australian Worker. R TOM MANX has contributed to I | | an English paper come very injj I f teresting notes on Australia / from a Labour point of view. Unlike many who write on the colonies, Mr. Mann did not pay a mere flying visit of a few weeks or months, but he spent eight and a half years in Australia, and made a close study of all matters affecting labour. Speaking from the standpoint of the average mechanic, and allowing for difference in purchasing power, he estimated that a man whilst at work in Australia, had an advantage of 7/6 a week, taking the rate of pay as 10/- per day of eight hours. Mr. Mann considers that Mr. Justice Higgins’ award for labourers of 7/- per day was the best award they ever received, but he thinks it is to be regretted that the award is not universally observed, and instances cases of men receiving only 5/6 or 5/- a day. It is when Mr. Mann turns to the individual States that his remarks are most interesting. lie shows how in many industries the work is only carried on for a portion of the year, and consequently men are constantly on the tramp. He instances the case of Queensland and sugar production. In the crushing mills, which have always been worked by white men, the working hours are twelve per shift—that is, the mills run all the twenty-four hours round with two shifts of men. The wages of these men are 22/6 per week and food, but the work lasts only from five to six months in the year, and upon its termination ninety per cent of these men clear out, and hump their swag, seeking W’ork, and probably getting on the average not more than one 'week in four for the other half year. This means that home life is practically impossible, as the man is always on the tramp, save when he is at the sugar mills, and 5s then in barracks. land and Mines. Most of Sir. Mann’s time was spent in Victoria, and he made, while there, a special study of the land question. He says that some of the land in Vic-

■toria is equal to the best in the world, but he thinks that land monopoly is driving out the farmer. In support of this contention, lie points out that during a period of twenty years the agricultural population of ten of the western counties of that State actually fell by sixteen thousand. Many young farmers who had been born and reared in Victoria were compelled against their inclination to leave their native State, and whole families had emigrated for no other' reason than that there was no land obtainable. From the land Mr. Mann turns to the miners at Ballarat. For day-work they receive 7/6 per day, but only one-half of them are able to get work with a fixed wage; the other half work as tributors —that is, they form themselves into parties of four men, who undertake a contract with the proprietors under wruch they receive no wage whatever, unless and until they produce gold. From weeks to months they struggle to exist. When gold is discovered they pay 50 per cent to the proprietors, and they have to submit to the deduction out of the remaining moiety of the whole cost of working, such as lighting, blasting, and dirt removal. In the end the average earnings under this system work out at about 20/- a week. Summing-up, Mr. Alami thinks England is quite as good as Australia, and that it is quite a mistake io regard the Old Country as played out. He also thinks that there are quite as many means for the development of England as of the Commonwealth, and that the English are more sincere in their desire for land reform. The Gipsy Spirit. One cannot read Mr. Mann's remarks without interest, and he has undoubtedly drawn attention to some grave defects in our social system. But he docs not make sufficient allowance for the gipsy spirit that seems inherent in many Australians and New Zealanders. Scores of men who could get constant employment if they liked prefer to get casual work, and to wander from place to p’acc, seeing the country. Henry Lawson has expatiated on the joys of being “an the wallaby," aud has himself been an ex-

ample of the love of wandering. So that the case of men who go on the tramp for part of the year is not so hard as it might seem at first; sight. The Australian climate invites to an open air life, and'condrtions in tfliis respect are very different from conditions prevailing in England. The abuses of land monopoly will he dealt with by the present Labour Government, and doubtless most of the wo: st features will be remedied. It may not be correct to describe either Australia or New Zealand as a workers’ paradise; hard conditions still prevail in many directions. But when we consider the abject poverty that disgraces most of the large English cities, when we remember that in the United Kingdom, out of 700,(KK> people who die every year, only one in ten dies possessing propertyworth taxing, it must be apparent to everyone that we enjoy a more equal distribution of wealth, and that the opportunities for earning a competency are far greater in the colonies than at Home. -2* J* The Decay of Oratory. From time to time we get lectures from different people on the deplorable manner in which we pronounce our words. Mr. Parr, the chairman of the Auckland Board of Education, in speaking at the annual meeting of the Auckland branch of the Victoria League, said that during the last few years there had been a marked deterioration in both pronunciation and accent in the schools. ‘'Time” was called “toime,” ‘'light” became “foiglit,” “cow" was turned into “caow,” whilst the “a” in "mad" was lengthened by about half a mile. Mr. Justice Chapman has also complained of the indistinct manner of speaking which he met with in the Courts of the Dominion, and he thought much might he done by debating societies to encourage clear enunciation. The truth would seem to be that we are all in too much of a hurry over everything to ever t ike pains over anything. English reporter', complain that the great oratorical tradition of the House of Commons li.is vanished, arid in its place we have the conversational style. The Prime Minister and Sir Edward Grey are said to be two of the worst offenders. Wli.itever they say in the House of Commons is important not only to the Unit 'd Kingdom, but to foreign nations a< well, anil yet these Ministers are so earele-s in their mode of addressing the House as io leave many important passages of their imperfectly-heard speeches open to the conjecture of the reporter. Oratory still remains one of tlie greatest of the arts. The written word may reacn a larger audience, but it lacks the magic personality of the speaker. The barrister, the clergyman, the politician, all rise to eminence by reason of their eloquence, and it would be a matter for regret if we allowed the art of public speaking to fall into decay through any carelessness on our part in teaching pupils to pronounce their words properly, and to cultivate the habit of speak ing coif* -t English. Jl The Mail Services. The mail services continue to give cause for controversy, and Sir Joseph Ward is being blamed because he has not arranged a service with the Oceanic

Company. It would appear that this company was prepared to put the Sierra and her sister l>oats on the line again, and to iun a three-weekly 17-day/ service between Auckland and San Francisco if New Zealand would give a sub sidy of £34.000 a year. The subsidy is high, and the steamers are old and unreliable, while the time is very little better than that on the Suez and Vancouver routes. The Imperial question also comes into the proposed service. The Americans have their own navigation laws, which they maintain very stringently against us, and they do all in their power to kill any competition. In addition io this. America refuses to pav anything towards the service, and the whole subsidy has to be paid by New Zealand. The proposed San Francisco service that is to Is run by the Union Company’s steamers is far from perfect, but it has the advantage of being under our own management, and we are sub sidising a local and not a. foreign com* pany in supporting it. Sir Joseph Ward hopes that ultimately we. may be able to arrange with Canada for a direct Vancouver service with Auckland as a port of call. We are more likely io establish a profitable trade with Canada than with the I nited States, and it will bo a distinct gain to the Empire to have an ‘‘All Red” route for our mails. Under the circumstances it would have been unwise in the Premier trf have committed us io a large subsidy for n foreign service before we have had an opportunity of seeing what can In* done with our own kith and kin. The Selwyn Library. Considerable interest ha- been shown in the removal of Bishop Selwyn’* library from its old homo at Bishop>eourt to St. John’s College. The building at Bishopscourt was unsuitable in mans ways for the storing of valuable book-. It. was damp and without any proper moans of warmth or ventilation: and. in addition to this, it was u-cd for various social functions. Dust accumulated rapidly, and some of the* more valuable books were being mined by the ravages of insoots. For this reason it was deemed better that the library should be removed to the new Kinder library at f t. John's, and gla-s eases have been procured for some of tno rarer volumes. There an» many very interesting books in the lection. An edition of Euripides con tains notes made by the Bishop siatii v when and where he had re id certain plays; several volumes are autograph. by the authors, and others contain in script ions by eminent men. A corona lion Bible of William IV. has a nu.mlxo of family recon Is on the Uy hat. nnd there is a beautiful little pocket edition in cijild volumes of the Old Testament in Hebrew. There is an exquisitely writ ten copy of suggest ions made for trans luting the New Testament into Maori, and the early Church almanacs contain many interesting records of the ( hurch as it was when Selwyn first came. The editions of the classics include several of the famous Dolphin classics, which wore prepared for the Dauphin. ns well as editions by Dindorf and other wellknown editors. There were many duplicate copies of bonks. and a few books that had become obsolete, but Io the student the library was full of interest.

honud the Shelves. As one glances round the shelvci- how many interesting memories are evoked. Mere is a copy of Vincent Bourne’s Latin poems, the “Vinny Bourne” of Cowper, who translated so many of them into graceful English veise, and who regarded. Bourne as the greatest classical scholar of this day. The “Noctes Ambrosianae” recall the miisruXir figure of Christopher North, who was said to have thrown hirnm If away on philosophy when be might have been the champion heavy-weight of the world. The “Tracts for the Tinies” take us back to the early days of the Oxford movement and the historic “non placet'’ of th ■ university proetms. “Notes on the Catechisin’' by *a Lady of Quality has a strange sound about it. as has a translation of the INalms by four gentlemen of position. Roger's Italy reminds one of 1 be lavish expenditure of the millionaire poet the book cost L* 15.000 to produce—ami shows how even the most sumptuous setting cannot piocure immortality for a poem. Here ’and there We come acioss books with the name <)1 Keate. the great headmaster of Eton, who was always known as “flogging Keafe." In many of tin- volumes is entombed the theology of a bygone day. and they serve to remind us of jhe progress of human thought. The librurv deserves a good home, and the care and attention that can only lx* bestowed l>\ those who regard book" as their best, friends. At Hi. John's the will. doubtless, be treasured and eared for. and they will be Biply placed in the college for which F-elwyn wanked so hard and which he loved so well. Our Citizen Army. I nder the proposed •amendments to tin* Defence Act of 1909 our citiza'ii army will be considerably strengthened, and we may hope that we shall have in the course of a few years an army at least 50.000 strong. with a reserve of over 40.000 men and oflirer- who have passed their full course of training. I'hc need of some form of universal training has been emphasised by the comparative failure of Mr. Haldane’s territorial army at Home. Mi. Haldane did all that man could do to ciHiire the success of the voluntary FV"teni. In the impossible task he set himself hr would have succeeded if anybody could. lie brought quite extr’aerdinary ability and diligence to bear upon it. But, as a writer in a London •pajM r points out. in attempting to make the volunteer system do what it never lias done and never can do hi* is like a man who ran only change the babel of a bottle when vvhat is really needed is to change the contents of the bottle. The Territorial “army" is not. and never ran bo. a r-al army. Ils “troops’’ an* not, ami they never can hr. real troops. Tin* whole supposition that an active and spirited and imperfect I\ prepared niinorit v whose numbers and training would never even give them a fair chance ?'i thr field should go out to light and die for a "lark and lazy majority is more than a vain fallacy. It is un iniquitous li<*n "V . Mr. Haldane's work is not wasted, far from it. lie has constructed a machine upon an admirable model. If has jio serious fault but one. It will not work. (liilv natioir.il service ran make ithe wheels go round. When manhood training eomi*<, as it will. Mr. Haldane will reap more honour at last from the principle he still tries to light against than he wid ever receive until it is adopted. If this is true of England, it is still mon* true of New Zealand. For adequate defence some form of universal (training is an absolute ne -ossify, ami though the cost is high, yet it is not too high if it secures us again-l danger of invasion. ye Slower Waltzes. Air. Charles I) Albert, vice president of the Impel ,d Society of Dance Teacher*, thinks that though tin* “smart net” may want rapid waltzes, the general tendency is towards a edow movement. But. even the -‘smart set,” Mr. D’Albelt is inclined to think, are be-

ginning to appreciate the beauty of some of the themes with which waltzes are coupled, and will dance to slower time in the coining season. To play them rapidly, he explained, is simply to kill the beauty of the theme. “The Druid's Prayer” i* likely to still haunt the habitudes of the ballroom this season, dividing tin* honours with Offenbach’s “Barcarolle,” from “Tales of Hoffmann.” No more seductive strains have been heard for some time than Gaston de Brevillee’s “(’orisande,” and the came composer's “Le Desir d’Amour,” which lure the dancer into a slow’, rhythmic measure infinitely more graceful than the waltz to faster time. A strange reason was given by Air. D’Albert for the fart that waltz music is so often played too fast. He ascribed it to the orchestras having been playing during the summer months at various seaside towns, where the audiences like lively music, such as Sousa's marches, and thus they acquire the habit of playing fast. Very often, he said, a Afaster of the ( ’er<-moniets will go over to the orchestra at a ball and ask them to play more slowly. They will do so for a few moments, and then habit gets the better of them, a-nd they return to their old tempo. The range of the coming season, Mr. D'Albert believes, will be the waltz, with reversing, the two-step and the “Boston.” Square dances, he said, are absolutely dead. The lancers and quadrilles are seldom seen in fashionable ball-rooms, and when the lancers were down to be danced at the last ('event Garden Ball, only live sets stood up. & St, George and the Dragon. It seems that Mr. Bertram Mackennal, tin* Australian sculptor,’ who has been entrusted with the designs for the new coinage,, is not to be left an entirely free hand. Several people object to the representation of St. George slaving the dragon, on the ground . that. it is. inartistic, and the King's Chinese subjects in Hong Kong, and intellectual Chinese elsewhere regard the emblem as derogatory to themselves. Ruskin pointed out long ago the absurdity of the present design. He sa:d in one of his letters: “Asa design. how brightly comic it is! The horse looking abstractedly in the air. instead of’ where precisely it would have looked at the bea.st between its legs,. St. George, with nothing but his helmeton (being the last piece. of armour he is likely to want), putting his naked feet, at least his feet showing their toes through the buskins, well forward, that the dragon may with the greatest convenience get a bite at them, and about to deliver a mortal blow with a sword which cannot reach him by a couple of yards.” If St. George is so careless of his armour, the day may come when the dragon will be the victor, for the dragon is waking up and recognising the weakspot" in our defence.