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Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1810, 17 July 1906, Page 1

The Legislative Council lias become a sort of political scrap heap, a refuge for tho rejects, the misfits, aucl the unknowns of political life. Redeemed by a few striking exceptions, mostly dating from an earlier day, the Cham* ber, which ought to represent the mature wisdom and independence of the country has become a byword for incompetence and subservience ; and this has happened not because capable men were not available, but because the same strong man who had succeeded in imposing his will upon the popular branch of the Legislature could not submit to have it thwartod by the other.—Wellington Post. An extraordinary cbec of wholesale suicide is reported by the Vladivostok papers to have taken place in the far north-east of the province of Takutskj just within the Arctio eirclf. A portion Oi the Tchuktohi tribe, which wanders about in the valleys of tbo Rivers Omolon and Opoja, in view of the total destruction of their herds by foot and mouth disease, consequent upon a lack cf fodder, decided that further existence was impossible, and resolved at a communal gathering to put an end to thoir lives. The decision was carried out in a truly epical manner—each headman killed first all the members of his family, and afterwards killed himself. A remarkable inetaneo of the rapid accumulation of wealth, which astonishes even the blaso habitues of Wall Street, New York, has boon revealed by the for* mation of a syndicato to finance tho Chiocgo firm of Sears, Roebuck, and Com - pany, whioh is to bo oonstitulod a limited oompany with n capital of £8,000,000, Mr Richard T. Sears, the founder of tho firm, was a telegraphist in tho employment oi the Northern Pacific Railroad fifteen years ago. He began selling watohes and firearms to his fellow employees, and finally he opened a store in Chicago for the sale of goods, whioh wore despatched to the purchasers by mail. Tho firm today employs 8000 persons. It dees a cash business to the value of £B,OOO 000 monthly, and makes an estima'cd profit of £600,000 annually. The plant occupies a great tract of land on the outskirts cf Chicago, and the firm has its own police force, schools, and hospitals Mr Sears is not yot 45 years of ago. Not until the Motbor Country loarna to regard the self-governing parts of Great Britain as equally wish herself entitled to manege their own n flairs and equally competent for tho task : not until her statesmen and her poopio see that not a part only, but tbo wholo of tho British people are entitled to a vo'oo in tho policy of the Empire on all questions that affect it as a whole, will any real approach have been made to a consolidated Empire. When this comes about no difficulty will bo experienced in obtaining colonial contributions to common purposes of Imperial dofence by sea or"l>»Dd ; until it docs so it ia well and it is inevitable that the colonists should object to anything that rosy oven seem to impair their powers and rights of unfettered self-government Auckland