Untitled

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8980, 14 November 1907, Page 4

The Chinese Immigrrants Amendment Bill was read a second time in the House of Representatives last night. It is sufficiently stringent to place an effective check upon the influx of Chinese into the dominion. In addition to the poll-tax of £IOO the celestial immigrants will be required to pass an educational test, which nineteen-twentieths of them will not be able to accomplish. They will have to read a printed passage of 105 words in English. Further, a. penalty of £SO is imposed upon any captain of any ship allowing Chinese to land in New Zealand before the legal, requirements have been complied with. Under these conditions there is not. likely to be a serious influx of low-class "yellow agony" until the English language is taught in Chinese schools. Some generations will probably have passed away beforo then, and the matter will be in the hands of our great-grandchildren, or, perhaps, their great-grandchildren.

The sick Kaiser seems to have speedily recovered, amid .the fogs of London and the game in the Windsor preserves, from his indisposition. He has, so the cable correspondents seriously inform us, bagged 700 birds at Windsor*. Anot-her cable tells us of the Kaiser's kindness and sympathy. The maimed birds suffering in the coverts doubtless would, if they could reason and speak, express gratitude that they had been chosen as a sub-

ject for the idle sport of so great a potentate. Of course the birds were driven towards the barrels of the Kaiser's gun, and hadn't much chance. That is the way royal sportsmen generally do their "bagging" of game. It is a pretty occupation, and a kingly; and it was well worth the cost of a cable to the Antipodes to chronicle the marvellous performance.

The Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Bill, which passed its second reading in the House of Representatives last night, is intended to put an end of a condition of things which had become a public scandal. "Desertion" by collusion has become so common that the, judges [have frequently commented upon the state of the law which enables couple 3 to have their matrimonial bonds severed by what is practically a fraud. The passage of the bill will make divorce by illegitimate processes less easy. Whether the remedy will lead to still more immoral methods, as was suggested by Mr Barclay, member for Dunedin, remains to be seen.

In the Legislative Council, yesterday afternoon, a resolution was passed on the motion of the Hon. Captain Baillie, "That it is desirable that the Government should take into consideration during the recess the importance of preparing legislation to provide for the sanitary inspection of all schools and colleges (private as well as public), and for the medical inspection of school children." The Attorney-General said the matter was one of very great importance. It had not escaped ■ the attention of the Government, but the suggestion that all children should be systematically examined would, if carried into effect, involve very qreat expenditure. At the same time the Government had not overlooked the matter,, and* perhaps* by next session might.have some proposal to lay before Parliament.