Rangitikei Advocate. SATURDAY, SEPT. 14. 1907. "SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8921, 14 September 1907, Page 2

Rangitikei Advocate. SATURDAY, SEPT. 14. 1907. "SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES

IN the course of an article on the tardiness of the. Ministry in attempting to make reparation to a man who suffered wrongful imprisonment, the Post says;—“A month has passed since the introduction of the Moikle Acquittal Bill; seven weeks since the kind words of the Premier sent j the Meikle Committee away rojoic- j ing in the assurance that full reparation of the man they have so stoutly championed was at last in sight; five mouths since the report of the commission was published declaring Meikle “Not Guilty,” and recommending that his conviction should be quashed; and almost twenty years since the conviction itself was recorded! Yet justice still lingers. For more than nine years her trouble was that she was ] blind, and now that the bandage has been removed from her eyes she seems to be stricken with lameness |or some kindred infirmity which I prevents her from advancing with , the speed that humanity requires to i where the victim of her cruel ’ blunder lies prostrate in the dust, ! and from doing what she may to ! wipe off the felon’s brand and re- : store him to some measure of his i former credit and prosperity. | Adequate reparation is, of course, an absolute impossibility. It would have been impossible nineteen years ago, and every day that has passed since with the wrong uuredressed lias put it further beyond the reach of redress.

SOME of the statements made by Minister Millar in support of his tariff were interesting as revealing the reasoning of the protectionists. “Billhooks can be made in the colony,” says the Minister. Then protectionist. logic says “Put ou a tax to keep them out, ’ ’ especially as they are chiefly used by the [man ou the laud, who ought to bo made to pay as much taxation aa ~y u be squeezeri 37. Jj of him. Of course, anything might be made in the colony—at a price—if the people are willing to pay some of their number specially to do work which can bo done by others for them at 50 percent less cost. ‘ ‘ Cash registers are a luxury—a check ou the honesty of the employees, ” says the Minister. Why this makes them luxuries is not clear, but possibly the socialists consider there should be no check. There is indeed little difference between the clerk who robs the till and the employee who limits his output by the “ca’ canny” policy, or the other devices of unionists “to make the work go round. ’ ’

BY the use of the party whip the Ministry has driven its team to carry the tariff proposals, and very shortly after the new duties conic into operation there will be an appreciable rise in the cost of living. But the socialists will have accomplished their object of having more neople employed in unnecessary factories doing useless work. The facts that this means that the rest of the community are being made to pay more for what they require, that the benefit to the community is therefore less than nothing, and that a certain amount of labour is thus diverted from useful work, are, of course, details which have no significance to protectionists. And now, having drilled the party into perfect obedience by means of the Tariff Bill, the Ministry no doubt believe that there will be no 'difficulty in carrying their land proposals. It remains to bo seen whether members for constituencies will be influenced by fear of the Premier or fear of the people.

THE New York Chamber of Commerce appears to have correctly guaged the situation in connection with the recent ' anti-Japanese demonstrations. It ascribes the cause solely to the proessional agitators’ sordid desire to maintain a shortage of labour, enabling the unions to enforce their standards of wages and hours. Precisely the same cause operates here to develop race hatred and exclusive legislation. The Oriental is a worker, a human labour-saving machine, and the same insensate rage that impelled the operatives in England to smasli labour-saving machines when they were first employed in cotton manufacture, causes some of the workers here to howl against aliens who provide them with vegetables and do other service for them cheaper than it can bo ;dono by Europeans. The work of agitators is evidently going to lift the labour question into one of the most vital importance to the Empire.

THERE was one case heard by the Arbitration Court at Dunedin which deserves passing notice. In this a man was charged with a breach of the pastrycooks’ award. He had taken 'upon himself the duties of second hand in his own shop, and to this the high caste pastrycooks objected as an invasion of their sacred privileges. The court decided that he was not competent to do second hand’s work, and fined him £3 and costs. To the ordinary individual it will seem that as he employed himself in his own shop, it was no business of anyone else’s whether he was competent or not. But the Court apparently assumes that the man who pays 'the wages and takes all the risks of a business in which ho has invested his capital is not the owner of the business. His employees own it, and he is fined if he dares to do work in his own shop. It seems to us that the day is rapidly drawing near when there will be a general revolt against the tyranny of the caste system of labour which has been developed by the aid of the party now in office.