A SYDNEY LETTER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17281, 23 September 1916, Page 12

A SYDNEY LETTER.

[From Ocb ConßrsroNDßNT.] September 13. SUMMER WEATHER. According to the calendar it is, of course, spring. According to the children nnd the mercury it is summer, to-day nt any rate. • Tho youngsters aro off to the ivnter in droves, the afternoon is oppressively hot, and the Indies aro disporting themselves in that light and airy raiment that decorates them and Sydney for nearly nino months of the year. On daya like tiie.se so early in the season one thinks with commiseration of the readers of tho " Lyttelton Times " and their overcoats and their prodigies ot valour in tho bathroom. In a mouth or two wo will be. thinking of them with envy of their happy lot, for then will no be on the grill, doomed to stay tiieio until tho end of i'eoruary. i oij tittlo experience ol Sydney satJsiios ono that tho division of tiie year into four seasons is merely a iictionai uevico oi the individuals who record the I'itinlall .and movements of temperature. A littlo further* north than ...w.ney ilioro aro two seasons—the wo>.aid dry. Hero there are only two also —the hot and the cool. To class July and /lug'Jat as winter when sucn ..i.-uts iu tiie tomato are growing in L.ie open is üb/iously ndicutous. i'bc .inter oi tins ieuer has tomatoes out--5.d0 oil w.ntli the iruit is already torm..it;. Vuuterl Why wo do not know ..nut it is. But we know a few t.,;ngs about summer and are starting now to become acquainted with them .tgaiu. VOTES FOR SOLDIERS. Our State Government has struck a novel idea in connection with registering soldiers' votes at tho general elecuon. there aro obvious diihculties in mo way of hawidng baiiot aixMiid the trenches aim rest camps, imhuiry hospitals and convalescent iioiius. These tno Government is proposing to solvo by the simplo expedit'nt oi getting every soldier to vote oy proxy, not ior an individual but tor a'purty* lima soldiers wishing to vote uiiuutir would hand over their votes to Mr iloluian; those desirous of voting Liberal would do so through tho leader ui the Opposition; and the wildly tumorous suggestion is mado that lriaependeut voice of the- people shoulu o.- given expression by entrusting tho independent votes to Mr Richard Meagaer,' Speaker of the Assembly. Of course the absent soldier would be absolutely in the dark about whom he was voting foi, what policies his parly's machine-made candidate was impounding and about wnat had been revealed during pre-election controversies. And, if as is not at ail improbable, there was a split in one or other oi tho parties his vote would be cast in a manner of which he would in at least 60 per cent of cases disapprove. It is certainly desirable that the soldier's vote should be preserved to him so far as is possible, but the easting of votes in blank ignorance looks a very dangerous thing to encourage. In any case aro tnc soldiers rcallv interested in politics? If they are 'not and cannot know who or what they arc voting for, except a certain brand or trade mark, which means very little, why bother about thjin?

THE CITY'S WATER SUPPLY. It really looks as if Sydney is going to get reallv angry this summer over the failure of tho water supply, to which reference has already been mado in this letter. It seems certain now, owinr to the failure of tho winter and spring rains, that there is going to be a very great shortage. .Therei is talk of watering iho streets with salt water and doing this thing and the other, but it is all more talk and reminds the citizen of nothing except the general futility of our administrative system. The worst aspect of tho matter is that if we are doomed to stew through the summer with unwatered streets in t.-e city and suburbs the doctors are going to be busy men. Under tho system oi government here tho people depend tor water on a board, which in turn has to depend on tho Ministry for cash..lhe result is chaos- According to tho Lord Mayor, this business of a water famine is "ono for the citizens themselves." This is true enough in one way; :n another it is absurd. Tho water supply of a city cannot he made a party political issue. Just imagine what the position would be like in Christchurch if tho supnly of water thero was one of tho questions upon which a general election turned—that issues of national moment were confused with tho problem of whether there was enough water available for tho population to have its bath regularly and keep tho gardens aiivo.

REPATRIATION OF SOLDIERS. In its efforts to re-establish discharged soldiers in civil life the State War Council in Victoria has already found it necessary to exert pressure to counteract a predisposition on the part ol many men for Ufa in the city. Ihe council frequently receives applications from discharged soldiers who beforo enlistment resided in country districts, but who now desiro to be assisted to purchase small businesses m Melbourne and suburbs. The War Council realises that, in the interests of the men themselves, applications of this character should be discouraged. Ihe council wishes it to b e distinctly understood," said Mr Mackinnon, M.L.A., on Saturday, " that men who have formerly resided in country districts will be encouraged, as returned soldiers to sct tlo in tW same districts, rather than in Melbourne., Such men, if they want assistance in connection with purchasing businesses,, should make their applications, in tho first instance, to tho local committees. In other words, the War Council is going to set its face against tho repatriation scheme being used as an instrument of centralisation." THE SOLDIER AND THE LAND. Part of the rather confused plan for dealinp with tho returned soldier problem is to give the men encouragonunt to settle on the land. To that end ve havo the Repatriation Fund started by tho Commonwealth and promises from tho various States to make land aval - nl>lo To redeem these promises will mot be easy, and already the Now South Wales Government is falling back on the old device of purchase by the issue of debentures. It is also throwing open certain areas of Crown lands and resumed lenses, but when particulars of these were published the other day the Government was charged with oftoring for settlement by soldiers land of very inferior quality and in areas quite insufficient. Hie answer of the Government to this is a promise to ma.Le investigations," Apparently the str lection and apportionment of these lauds had been, entrusted to officials, and Ministers simply followed the donartmontal recommendations without quest on This is not a particularly encouraging start, themgi i primps t . ucro is some cxctiso for a ™ tr > which is living m a perfect whirl ot excitement and on its own confession ""merely financing from hour to hour. OUR DAILY BREAD. Mr Justice Heydon, in the Industrial Court on Tuesday, in tho course of a judgment on a matter in which a firm of master bakers sought, among other things, for an alteration of tho starting hour from 8 a.m. to 6 a.m., referred to the changes which had been .ii'de in tho hours for beginning work, ;:d said .that each of those changes mad" the l.i*»ad suppliod to tho pubiio

staler than before, and if that was a hardship it was one from which the poorest people in the community suffered the most, for they ate moro bread, in proportion to their other food, than anyone else. "Tho employers," ho proceeded, " told me that they wero opposed to this last change, but wcro compelled to yield through fears of a strike. It has proved so inconvenient that several master bakers havo obtained exemptions on special terms, allowing them to begin work at six o'clock in order to make rolls. The pressure by tho public to got fresh bread has been very insistent, and at one time members of the public, or persons socking to supply tho public, sont their own carts to the bakeries to get fresh bread. This intolerable piece of impndeneo was soon put a stop to; the union interposed, and insisted on the bread being kept until it was stale. Still, however, tho selfish and inconsiderate pubiio keeps on trying to get fresh bread whenever it sees a chance. Even counsel for the union admitted that ho tried to got some. Fortunately, he Was prevented. It was shown to my satisfaction that if the exemption now asked for were granted tho public would be able to get morefresh bread than it can get now. and I think it is entitled to some consideration. The present, applicants havo adopted a system of two deliveries a day, which will be rendered much more effective if tho bread-making can bo started earlier; and, though it seems quite hopeless now to look for fresh brend at breakfast, except rolls m some cases, the desire of the public for fresh bread is so strong that the various brend-sellw? have to transfer their custom to the baiter who can deliver # to them earliest. For this reason the improving of the applicants' system of t W o deliveries a day may. within tho radius of their deliveries, put pressure unon some other bakers to make two deliveries a day also, nnd that, it seems, would not suit them all, and might put them to extra expense. lam sorry for this, hut I think that the ndvnn-tno-e wh-'ch, it seems to me, will be obtained for the nubl-'c must be con-8-'dr>red and should prevail." Referring .to the non-delivery of bread on holidnvs. his Honor said that, tho public deserved a little consideration "Tho next thing." he added, "w'll he that nnvono vr\\ cot six months, without tho opt ; on. who dares to have about his homo in hob'dav time a. piece of broad fresh eunuch to be e-iten without breaking hi' to"th. On the o*her hand. tV public should pay a fair thing to its "holiday workers." MR HUGHES SHUNNING THE LIGHT. Until tho other day there wore yards of Mr Hughes in the newspapers. For months there was no end to him. While ho was in England he seemed to be with us. living under bold head Jmea at the top of his voice. But since he grappled with conscription and the caucus Mr Hughes has insisted upon being left out of the papers, with the result tint during the last couple ot weeks only a few people knew whore he was or what he was doing. Actually he was wrestling with Labour conventions, authorising the publication of wi-d communications in the newspapers " from an authoritative source or " a well-informed observer." They may havo been substantially correct. They may not. The strkhic point is that the'censor has been under strict instructions to prohibit mihlientmn of anvthing else. Mr HugWa speeches have not been reported. The criticisms levelled at him at his hole-and-corner conferences havo not received publicly. Tt has all been very strang" and wonderful, th's sudden bolt for cover by a man who prev'ously revelled in the long report Of course, we know from Mr Huehes that he is acting on the doctrine thnt "democrncv spota to discover whit the people want and give* it to them," but tb« tying up of the newspapers is certainly n wcv to stort about mnVinc the diVnvorv. Thero were rumours Intolv thnt the censorship is to ho h'fted. Tt mav he, bnl during tho last few dnvs the hnvo for some ronton or other been ' made more sH-iot. fbnn Pr er. t>r.(\ toI ihry present the nmin ocouprtmn of tb P Ponsor is to 'hMA V- TTuf'->« and tbo Minister of Dptorjcp from criticism, oither as .administrators or as politicians.