NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 998, 13 December 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

,; All who value sound learning will take a sympathetic interest in the , silver jubilee of St.. Patrick's Collego, which is at present being celebrated in Wellington. Those ' who , founded tho College a quarter of a ' century ago took a great rcsp'onsi--1 bihty on their shoulders, but the I splendid.results achieved during tho ; twenty-five years of its existence havo completely justified their great venture of faith, for it is now ono of the loading secondary schools of the Dominion. /The high position which' ! it has attained has been made pos- ■ siblc by the generosity of the Roman Catholic section of the community, , and the untiring zeal, ability, and self-sacrifice of the Archbishop—who was mainly responsible for -the foundation of the institution—and the staff of tho College. Many of the "old boys" of St. Patrick's have won high places in Church and State, while others have come to the front in professional and business careers. Its roll of honour is one that any educational establishment might be proud of, and there is every reason to anticipate that the future of the College will be even brighter than its past. Not only in New Zealand, but in other parts of the world, tho Roman Catholic Church is making great efforts for tho advancement of higher education on its own lines. Only a few days ago Cardinal Moras foreshadowed the establishment of Roman Catholic universities in Australia. Ho pointed to the Canadian University connected' with, the Church which has two centres, ono in Quebec and the other in Montreal, and went on to say: "Perhaps something of the same sort may bo introduced among ourselves in Australia. , I think it a great blessing to mnltiply universities, and I hope some day wo may have a Catholic University out here, with one centre in Melbourne and another in Sydney; not. opposed to ono another, but in friendly rivalry to promote the higher studies, and to emulate all that has been done by the other universities, which have been assisted by Governmental'and' private munificence." ■ A question that will havo to be dealt with before long in this country is the reform of the Legislative. Council, and it is possible that wo may be given a lead by Canada. There, as in Now Zealand, the "Liberal" party has held office continuously for many years; and thero.also the Senate has been swamped by the nominees of the Liberal party. Some of the Liberal newsparjers in Canada—and notably the Toronto Globe, the strongest Canadian journal and tho special organ of tho Government— have been complaining that this is not a desirablo state- of things. The Liberal nominees now make up three-fourths of the Senate. Tho Weekly Globe on November 9 last declared that no 'announcement would bo more welcome than a paragraph in the King's Speech at the opening of Parliament stating the intention of the Government to ask for the appointment of a joint committee of the two Houses to prepare and present a measure of Senate reform which could be considered by the people.during tho recess and passed upon by Parliament in the session of 1911-12. Sir Wilfhid Laurier has been discussing tho plan of reform that should be followed. Should Senators be elected by the people or by some other body, or should the system of dhoice be appointive and by ' what appointing power? Should appointments bo for life or for a term of years 1 Canadian opinion appears to bo emphatically against life appointments, but much disagreement continues upon tho other points raised. The main point is that tho movement for a reform that will remove just the conditions that we have arrived at hero is' a strong one, and is almost certain to result in definite action before very long. There appears to be every likelihood of a still further development of the British crisis over the use of trade union funds for political purposes. Mr. Osborne, the railway porter whose opposition to the levy tor the payment of Labour members of Parliament led, to the .famous "Osborne judgment," was expelled by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, and the branch, of which ho was secretary was wound up. He recently sought for a judicial declaration that this action by the society was illegal, and a fortnight ago a decision was given against him on the ground,that the agreement into which members entered on joining tho society was illegal, as being in restraint of trade. He now appeals for funds,to carry his case to the higher Courts, pointing out that the new decision practically nullifies the judgment of the House of Lords upon tho illegality of the political levies. His argument, of course, is that any unionist who seeks to restrain his union from misusing its funds in the way complained of does so at tho risk of being expelled .from his union, and that there is no re'dress against such expulsion. There is little doubt that Mr. Osborne will raise the necessary funds, and as little doubt that ho will bo charged by the Radical press and Radical politicians, as ho was charged on tho former occasion, with being tho tool of wealthy politicians. Mn. Osborne did not succeed in silencing his assailants, but he made his bona fides quite'clear to all candid people. He endeavoured to in- ' duco the Trades Union Congress to investigate all his accounts and papers, but without success. He of- [ fered to put all his papers at tho disposal of a London newspaper which had attacked him with great ' bitterness and pertinacity, but his ! letter was ignored. His accounts < have been audited by a Justice of tho Peace "to the last penny stamp." ( Of ths' total sum of £G55 which he '

10 collected, 75 per .cent was subscribe'" iy by working men, and the rcmainde >n in small sums of one or two pounds :r By those who understand the tru a- purpose of trade unionism, and th l- danger to it in Socialism, Mr. Os >f IjOBNE will be recognised as a tru s, friend of his fellow workmen. '