SIR JULIUS VOGEL, IN LONDON. THE EX-PREMIER AS, A NOVELIST. A TALK ABOUT AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS. PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE CABLE ROUTE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 315, 10 November 1888, Page 3

SIR JULIUS VOGEL, IN LONDON. THE EX-PREMIER AS, A NOVELIST. A TALK ABOUT AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS. PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE CABLE ROUTE.

Tnrc special correspondent of the " Sydney Telegraph " says : I had the pleasure the other day of having a long and very interesting -interview with that ■ remarkable iSTevv Zealander, Sir Julius Vogcl. My visit ( was paid in the forenoon at Sir Julius' d chambers-,, in . St. Margaret's Mansions, Westminster, quite close to the offices of the various Agents-General. This is a claws ot building quite unknown in Australia yet, but I am at raid it < will soon be if we take tofcuyingandsclling property at £1,600 a foot. There are several groups ot these "mansions" as they arecalled, in various parts of London, and they are extensively patronised, for they have become a necessity in the busy' life 'ot this over-crowded city. They are generally 'seven qv eight storeys High, and aie practically the English equivalent of the French "Hats," or a kind of superior " arbie&n.s' dwelling-houses" of the kind "Mr Kent' has been proposing to I erect' in Sydney. These buildings , are tastefully hbtod up, are situated ,in convenient and fashionable quarters, and afford homes for hundreds ot families who do not dare or do pot need to bjikc a large houee. In th'c&e mansions you can take a lint, with drawing-room, uining-room, bedroom, study, waiting-hall, kitchen,, servants' quarters, etc., all complete in one or two flats, according to the natuie of your requirements. In this instance I went up by a litt to an elegantly-furnished suite ot apartments on the &_ixth floor. I wasieceived by Sir Julius with that cordiality which seems to mark the greetings of all fellow - Au.*tialian3 when they meet at this end of the world, dnd 10 seconds afterwards we were sitting in co<.y ( communion and smoking our' 'cigars in cheerful companionship.' ' For Sir Julius can bo a veiy cheerful and entertaining Companion when he likes, although 1 know some people" don't think &o. Possibly .Ins bodily infirmities make him sometimes rather testy. By the aid ot ' crutches' or 1 sticks he can sometimes walic a little ? but practically he is a prisoner confined to his wheel-chair. His novel is as remarkable as the man. himself. I have not had an opportunity of seeing the complete work, but Sir Julius Was good' enough to read to mo an abstract of it, from which I gather that :it the book is as effective in execucion as it is striking in design, it should command a very large measure of attention in the literary and political world. It would not be fair to the author to give any description of the plot, or rather narrative of the book, but it will be of general interest, and may stimulate some to read the work when published, if I briefly sketch a few of the striking ideas embodied in it. In the first place, jLt be understood that it is not a ndvei in the oictituu-y sense", but is a narrative of certain soc al and political events of a moic'or les^ sensational character which arc supposed to happen in the next cenury. It ; opens with a prologue, in which theic is 'a meeting "of Australasian. Canadian and Sou tn African Premier?, who de-, mnnd of the Prime Minister of England tho immediate settlement of the Irish question on the basis of a concession of Home llule Government similar to that enjoyed by the, colonies. An impertinent answer from the English Prime Minister initates the colonials, who promptly take measures to force the hands of the English Government, and thus secure the carrying out of their demands. The year in which this event is supposed to happen is, I : think, 1920. fiom which I infer that Sir Julius V'ogel is not hppeful of seeing Mr Gladstone realise his ambition of settling the Irish question before he dies. Thenauative then jumps into the year 2000, and describes a .series of sti iking events. The dream of Imperial federation has been realised, althpugh in a much more practical way than the present advocates ot that scheme contemplate,' and the result is a magnificent English-speaking territory,' with the balance ot power transferred to the antipodes. The leigning inonaich is a King but the Prime Minister of the" Empire is a woman, and the leader of the Opposition is ot the same sex. Equal political rights are enjoyed by the sexes, but the dominating patties in the State are controlled by avoiiicm, who are supposed to show superior adaptability for political work. From this we may readily gather that Sir Julius Vogol, like Mr Gladstone and Sir Henry Parkes, shares that "dream of fair women " of the future, in which the perfect equality of the sexes, socially, politically and commercially will be recognised. I fancy ho even goes beyond most of us in this respect, for he expressed his comic ion to me in conversation that the experience of the future would prove women to be '/he best fitted lor intellectual administration and rn.cn lor • the performance of executive work. Not that he looks upon physical labour as one ot the conditions of the future centuries. On the contrary, he holds — and I think there are ,not many thoughtful people nho will not agree with him — that the forces of nature supply the world with a^ much physical power as, wo can possibly utilise, and that it is the i unction of mankind to furni°h the intelligence necessary . for the control of ,the&e great forces. Physical- labour he very properly holds to be a condition of mankind in his transition stages ftom barbarism to perfect civilisation, from the state of existence in which all mankind won its bread by the sweat of its brdw to the state when mankind, with highlydeveloped intelligence, holds in --control wind and wave, >and light ,an 3 , heat, and all the multitudinous phases of nature's forces, and utilises them at his will to do the work of the world. This does not, in Sir Julius's view, imply any condition of idleness, for in the days of which he writes it will be regarded us a term of reproach to be called idle. In thoso happy days also, there is to be no poverty, for it shall be the duty of tho State to provide every human creature with the necessaries of life in the way of food and clothes and habitation, but those who are the recipients of this bounty are to be marked out from the rest of the community by unitoim as vagabonds content to eat the bread of idieue-s. * There is to be no more recovery for. dobfc. If one man is in debt to another he may be proceeded against in the courts of law, .but the limit of tho functions ot the court in such cases shall be bo determine, the amount of the debt and to post the debtor, as a defaulter— a reproach from' which 'he. shall not be free urttil he > shall have disohargod the debb. I know there are a good irmny people who think .some such plan as this capablo of immediate adaptation to our

commercial life. We know that ".debts ,o£' : 'honour ;>i areaiow-more-promptly met,,than the legally-recovered debts of trade, and that many nien who think ib",no blemishupon character to r pass, through the bankruptcy court would hang their heads in shain6if they were " posted ." at Tattersall's as defaulters. „ * , rf < 4* 4 * - • The taxation of the future, according, to $ Sir Julius, will be simply income and. succession duties. In the income tax the first!" £500 will go free, above that amount a tax of 25 per cent, is imposed. Upon the same piiuciple in the succession duties the first {xLOiOOO is to escape, but all above that amount in to 'be levied upon to the extent of 25 - per- cent. , .There are to " be no Customs duties within Che, British y dominions, but prohibitory duties on all/, imports from foreign countries, the "reason' being that in the .estimation of the t State' the British dominions are absolutely self- ; sustaining within themselves. The' navy is to be national, but the land forces are to be local and on a volunteer basis, the rank of volunteer being in the popular estimation more honourable than that, of a regular or paid soldier. In the scientific world thereare to be such wonders as terial ships, for Sir Julius shares with the poet the distinction of prophesying that our grand -children will see — .... the Heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sail 1 -, ■ ' Pilots of the purplo twilight, dropping down s. with costly bales. The United State3-Canadian disputes, are to be settled by the combined forces of Britain and Canada invading the. United ■ ' States, annexing- the States ,of New England and, New York (on the Alsace and Lorraine principle), and transferring the ' ' capital of Canada to the city of New York. There is much moie ot the same kind in', this very intciesting book, but as I lnue no .move mfcimate knowledge ot its contents, than I derived, from n .simple reading of this. ' abstract, 1 cannot pretend to give more : ,Uian a rough , and .imperfect sketch of its. contents. , „*,"' It was a heavy drop from the contempla-^ tion of the glorious civilisation of a.d. 2000' to the plain matter-of-fact affairs of 1888,- - - and neither of us appeared to relish tbo transition when we came to the narrow details.of to-day. Yet the future has to bo built up on the work that is going on today. - Sir Julius Vogel does not appear to look" upon the proposed cable from Vancouver, to, v Australia with any degree of , favour. "Why take the cable from .Canada ,to Australia when you can take it by a much shorter route ? You can take ifc, for instance, irom San Francisco to New Zealand j or a still shorter route could be adopted - by leaving the American coast much - further south than San Francisco. This talk about carrying the. ,cabhi. through ( , -British territory, the , whole way is absiud. If it were entirely British that would afford a special inducement to a hostile '^ Power to cut it. If, however, the cable, _ were Anglo-American property, the cutting of it would be an affront to America. I look upon an' alternative cable rb'\j,te as a necessity 7 but a very , much shorter and less expensive, and consequently more profitable route, might bo selected, by^connecting America and Now Zealand. Under any circumstances, it is not proposed .to pass by Honolulu, which is essentially an. American community, and it is therefore absurd to indulge in foolishly sentimental talk about keeping the whole line in ■British territory, when Honolulu must be touched at, and when a more profitable"!' 4 and, from a strategic point of view, mare effective route can be adopted. It is a big scheme, and I doubt very much whether any body of capitalists will be able to carry' it out \\ ithout compromise. I believe the scheme which I suggest would be practic- * 'able and piotitable. It should recommend itself to the' people of Australia and New Zealand in preference to any other scheme. • One gieat ad\antage then would be that if we were at war with America we would ha\e the present cable route open to us. If, on the other hand, we went at war in. Europe, we would have the American route open to us. We could hardly be at war with both continents at once, and this route, therefore, naturally recommends itself as the best strategically and comunercially." t , / lieport credits Sir Julius with .having, some such scheme as this in view. Ib is" also said, with what truth I know, not, thatV he is endeavouring to carry out a big financial scheme for the creation of a wealthy company which would take over,' the picsenb cahle and. telegraph rqu.te to Australia and lay down a second loute from, England to New Zealand via America.