ALL SORTS

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 43, 5 January 1912, Page 3

ALL SORTS

Mr. A. AY. tlio Independent Liberal candidate lor iln&torum (who, by the way, was defeated», in the course of one of his elaiioneering speeches, said:—"Wo have sonic ,St;ilo coal mines. Their output decreased by 20.827 tons last year. Yet we have, the Railway Department-, which -consumes 200,(Mi ion%ot' cnal a year, taking oijly (j7.U(kj tons from "onr- J own Statfl mints. Dues this not show you that tJio Government- is nor a State enterprise Government, hut- is playing into the hands of private owners.' , '

A number of romplninis have b< i n made about the ballot papers used for the election at AshLnrtcn, which, it has been said, were riot .such as to cn,Biiro the soereoy that has always been Claitiivtl for the ballot-lxix. The complaint is that the voter's number on the ballot paper is not urrud down and sealed, and this niak'S it possible for anyone who assists in vhe votes to discover what, ramliiliii*-" .iiiy particular elector has voted lor One intends to chnlleiiyo ilio legality of the ballot paper.

The latest boycott is the inventini' of the 0)1(1 Tea Party. At a no-li<-(use convention in "Windytown. a lady speaker said tho yoniig weincn of Maoriland were. goin<: to form a union

against union. In other woi+ls, the motto of tliO you and unionists is <.o bo "Lips that touch \y.ino shall nov<-r touch luine." This iiii|--'lit to be the Inst straw on the hack of Wir.e blinking Homeos will havo t< , forswear the ruby and sinj; with old Un Junsou: ''Drink to mc only with ihiiie eyes.-' , A i'r.voiite couplet. saic(""to have horn y.niten by Martin' Luthefy-.iH'eds up-to-datfi. Hero is tli'C^i-oVisccl version: "Who loves not worni-iut"/! Remains a fool his whole i^;..long."

Gem from Hansard. — Mr. I.;,wry (Pnrrjll): Mr. Speaker. I rtmemher when I was a young tellow a yor.ii!* lady came down from the city of Bristol as a giie&t of my mother. I took her out for a walk; and, walking along in the moonlight, she looked so fascinating that I put my arms round her neck and kissed her. She said, "I cannot, find words to express my scorn and contempt for you." I said, "My dear, I am glad you cannot." Now, I could not, if I tried, find words to express my gratitude for the remarks mado by "my friend the Right Hon. the Prime Minister, who came into tliis Rouso with mc, .and who from that time up t.o the present has accepted my advice, and by adopting it has never gone wrong.

■In a symposium on war ir> an American contemporary. Dr. Sheldon, author of "In His Steps," writes: "Teach the children in the Sunday schools of the herrors of war and the real meaning of brotherhood. Stop buying guns for boys as Christmas gifts."

"It is not a living wage if a ir.r.n's wages are not enough to enable him to save enough to enrich and complete his home gradually with more delicate and substantial comforts, and to lay by rue.li store as shall be sufficient for the happy maintenance of his old ago (rendering him independent of the help provided for the sick and indigent by an arrangement presupposed), and sufficient also for the starting of his children in a, rank of life equal to his own. If his wages are not enough to enable him to do this, they arc unjustly low.—Rnskin.

It was reccnily announced that our French comrades, Paul Lafariiue and his wife, had committed suicide. We gather that Lafargxie was doomed to paralysis. One recalls the noblo Roman matron Porcia, who, when her husband was ordered to die, would not survive- him, but stabbed herself, exchiming, "Partus, it docs not hurt.' . In such a spirit might one expect the daughter of Marx to share her husband's death. Lafarguc wns in the Oomnmno of 1871; lie was then a Paris medical student. Tn Lr->o, ;,> with Gnesde, organised Maixiiiii Socialism in Frmiee. He was •: prison—in 1883 and IS9I. In the. lat i< v year he was liberated to fab' his tcac for Lille, the great manufacturing town <if North-eastern France. _ [.afarg'.ulias written much on Soeiali.-m. Tt was paid of him by Emiio Vnmiorvrlde that ,ne 'Moves nothing so much as to shock the timid by his exirerne paradoxes-.- , Lafarguo aviis nearly 70 -Milb. cialist."

"It is thf real beginning of tlvr. n ii.r. of Dcsmos." Such is the sintuhing i\y in a nutshell of tho late indiu-trial !<•• Toll in Ort'At Britain, foiitainrd :n ;.t. article ivliii-h £tts lii'&t :n i^

"Fortnightly Review" for September. Tlio \witcr contends that tlie widespread strikes mark the advent to power of tlie working-class democracy in ph.ee of th-i■ middle-class, which at tlic time of the First R< form Act seized for itfev'lf iliO controlling position formerly in , kl by tiic aristocracy of Engl:, ml. Xer dire, is he express much regret ihal the middle-class ascendancy is ov<■;•. or at least threatened. "The lei.'.'ii o! the middle-class in England," he cleeiures, "was not an attractive \,: riod. although it established tlie commercial superiority of Great Britain. These, middle-class had no notion eitlier of the beauty of art or the beauty of holiness. Their god was a Jehovah who was on the side of money bngr. find they were almost to a man Little, All tlie same, this "Fortnightly" writer admits that the methods of the new domination are anything but pleasant, consisting as they do largely o fstrikes, and what is. in embryo, civic revolution. Vet ho dor-s not seen what other method than the strike- tho democracy could have employed in order to give effect to its ck-ir.aiids.

Jack Johr.sor. the rcgro pugilist, has told a press interviewer in London that ho has fought Lis Last fight. "I shall never don the gloves again as a professional bcxciy' ho said. "I am giving a nurnbe-r of music hall performances, and then I ru\ going to Ameiiea. I am retiring while still holding the heavyweight championship of the world. l\\y n if<; has persuaded mo, for s 110 i;i',s ;.fur liked this boxing business. 0:;<:- way and another, I have ir.i.dc ilHi.COi.i from boxing business :h:;ii,L the h,st five roars. I received .C'.T.Cl'O as my .--hare in the proceeds of my lirl'.t with J ll'rics,. and I have .CIiO.OOO hard cash, now, besides my meter <nr9. jr-u"(llery, and other p , ■> petty. I shall settlo down in some, business, prebably tho motor car busi-tK-ss. for I r.ir. very nmcli intorrsted in niei-hiUiiEin. £!)O,fllK) from boxing in five yr;.in. "\VI:( j re did the money cunic ire.n.r AVlirre all money comos from — tiic laYer ef men. Men like .Tack John-i-en t rpr. ss tini working-class as mih-li ■•;* l.he <"f.(,:!-ii!:>f. fi is time the v.ork«rs- f.e<«lf b< intereft in "sport" and locked afu.i their own business.

"Disgusted Farmer" writes to a Christehurch paper complaining of the inconvenience caiised by fanners' sons and helpers having to' go into camp during the busy season. Men used to earning £1 a day don't see any fun in putting in nine days in a camp at £s Gd per diem, even for the sake of capitalist and country. Not to speak of the forced abstention from sports meetings. Farmers are generally disgusted at anything which interferes with their pefcy interests, but in this case they nave a genuine grievance. The compulsory system of inal-'iiij.: soldiers will be useful, however, if it opens the eyes of the cocky to the fact that militarism is the enemy of honest labor, and is a blood-sucking vampire living on the toilers. » • • # Cabled from Paris: In connection with the suicide last month of tho well-known Socialist, M. Paul Lafargue and his wifo (a daughter of Karl Marx), the executor of the Lafargues' estate states that the couple inherited £1400 sterling, which they refused to invest. The husband and wife, estimating that they could live upon it for ten years, divided the capital into ton parts, and decided to commit suicide at tho end of the dreade. They carried out their resolution. * » - During the holidays "Tho Worker" office was glad to see a number of visitors from other centres, amongst whom were the secretary of the AVaihi Miners' Union (Chris. McMillan) and J. Robertson, M.P. * v * We acknowledge with appreciation tho receipt of Sew Y< ar mementoes from tho Hon. T. Mad->nzie and Messrs. Gordon and Gotcli. The greetings arc reciprocated. * . • • Tho "Lancet," in an account- of a I'liro Fond F.xhibitiiH! at Xi.-w i'oi'k. gives particulars of how lends ar<? adulterated, "fn an. exhibit of ndiil torn tod tinned foods a den!f>n>i;ainr show-i-d a doll, the cl.-thing of i\li;di was dyed sold, with the colouring'matter taken from ketchup. tomato and vegetable soap; a sbcl hatpin was stf-rp-i-d in a tin of petis pois, and when withdrawn showed a brilliant plating of pure coppea. , Strawberry jam was proved to

contain only the cores of apples, grass seed and rosin, with sometimes a little gelatine." • « • The boor drinkers' strike at Broken Hill has ended. The publicans have reduced the price of pints from 6d to 4d. Sir William Russcil, of New Zealand, in an interview, said that there is a great feeling of uncertainty in/England over tho industrial troubles/; and a growing fear that disaffection is working towards a climax, and that no man dare predict what tho climax will be. "You condemn us tramps," said Weary Willie, "biit -there's one tiling we must get credit for." "What's that?" "You don't hear \is indulgin' in labor disputes." At tho inquest on the body of Frederick Tapham, aged 54, a plumber, who was found hanging from a tree in Centennial Park, Sydney, it was stated tliat the deceased was very despondent and had said that ho felt ho was getting too old, and could not compete with tho young fellows. * * * * "I suppose yen are engaged to the duke?" "Well, nearly/ '"What's tho hitch? Awaiting his father's consent?" "No; ho can't marry without a majority favorable rc-uort from his creditors." What-is a vowser? Here is one deAi'iiior.: —A wowser is one who is tuieo' quid: one wlu se artions indicate a certain habit of mind and mode of life concerned chi'fiy with gloom of outlook and chaste- severity of view; one who so dread ? the hereafter that ho cannot find time to participate in the jo.vs of lile Ci even the joy of living! A buK'liti- : t, Piipaiiiii. named Philip Gre-enslade. Elicit himself with a gun. He had boon cut of work and d» -pondwit for some tiit.e. W*- was 08 ;. ars of

Mary Gilniore writes as follows in, tho Sydney "Worker":—The other day I read in an English woman's paper an , article on woman suffrage in Australia, and tho only two names mentioned in connection with the winning c,f the vote were- those of Miss ViriaGoldstein and Miss Eose Scott, it seemed scarcely fair, as the first mtct-i ing, in Sydney at least, for the pur-" pose of working for the suffrage wns held in the house of Mrs. Dora B. Montofiore, and was called by her, Mips Kose Scott being elected' correspondence secretary. Mrs. Montefiore Las travelled and lectured on tho suffrage and on Socialism in many coiintr>p, and her interest in the woman Eiiffrpjre movement has never nagged. • • •

To-day there is nothing so easily produced as wealth. The whole earth consists of raw materials; and in every, breath of nature, in sunshine and in shower, hidden everywhere pro ther subtle forces that may, by the to-uch' of the hand of labor, be set into operation to transmute these raw materials into wealth, the finished products, in all their multiplied forms and in opulent abundance for all. The meresff child can press a button that will sef in operation a forest of machinery and produce wealth enough for a community.—Eugene V. Debs.

The working-man to-day does not understand his industrial relation to his. fellow workers. He has never been correlated with others in the same industry. He has mechanically done hi 3 part. He has simply been a cog, with' little reference to, or knowledge of, the rest of the cogs. Now, we teach him to hold up his head and look over tha whole mechanism. If he is employee! in a certain plant, as Industrial Unionist, his eyes are open. He takes a sum rey of the entire productive mechanism, and he understands his part in it, and his relation to every other worker; in that industry. The very instant h» does that he is buoyed by a freshi hope and thrilled with a new aspiration. Ho becomes a larger man. Hβ begins to feel like a collective son oft toil.—Eugene Debs. '

CRITJCISINC A CRITIC. John Hopkins writes:—

Tho London correspondent of ' tbo "Lyttelton Times" writes drawing attention to the anti-militarist campaign being conducted at Home by New zValanders. 'Mr. Dee, of Tinakori road, Wellington, has written a letter which has been published in scores of English papers. Mr. Dee-is not a discreet advocate of anti-militant,.:;, if the passage quoted be correct. It is' cal in tone, and incorrect in fact. No good can be gained by any cause by distorting facts and giving false impressions to the people at Home. Here is a sample of Mr. Dec's letter which cannot hut raako the judicious antimilitarist grieve, by its misstatementa and lack of balance: —"New Zoalanders, despite the persecution of a tyrant Government, have refused to enrol — from 20,000 to 21,000 refuse to bow down before military law, despite the fact that our boys have been thrown intc jail like common criminals. Our lads, through persecution, fled the land, with many more to follow ere many months are over. Parents have been dragged through our courts because they cannot drive their sons to enter upon a military life against their will. The same cause hae wrecked the happiness of hundreds of homes throughout tho land. Military barracks have been wrecked od officers have near lost their lives owing to public resentment against cruel military persecution. Before many months hundreds are preparing to depart from New Zealand ta lands where freedom and conscience are respected. I write to warn all parents . with families, especially youths, to beware of coming out to New Zealand. II ycu seek freedom and happiness, beware of New Zealand. Let England remember that New Zealand, once a land of freedom, now suffers under a reign of brutal military persecution. Thousands cry for justice in the name of conscience and liberty." It will be an easy matter for the High CWmissioner to discredit these statements, and thus prejudice the minds of the people against anti-mili-tarist literature.