WELLINGTON NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 241, 29 January 1898, Page 4

WELLINGTON NOTES.

[VIIOM OUK OWN CORRESPONDENT I. Wellington, January'2l. VERY EASILY PLEASED. OUTSIDE the childish and distorted references made by Premier Scddon to his West Coast fiicnds regarding several members who judge him on his merits and not at his own estimation as a statesman, there were a few crocidilo's tears shed because the Hon. Mr Bon.ir, a Hokitika citizen, moved the laying aside of the Old Age Pensions Bill, and a hint that the Upper House would cease to exist in consequence. He only found cue crumb of cemfort in his review of the past session, iu which he learned the bitter lesson that he is not exactly the supreme ruler of New Zealand yet. Me boasttd thut this excellent Government began the session witli a majority of 15 in spite cf the defection of the left Wing, who were only fair weather supporters. He ended the session with still a majority of 13 on policy measures. Now, this statement is true as to the majority, but not as to the policy the majority supported. The real facts of the case arc so grotesque that they deserve to be recorded among the queer Btorics in Truth. The policy measure was the Technical Schools Bill, which was heralded in the Budget in nearly a page of forecasts of what the Government intended to do in teaching our youths bow to become manufacturers and agriculturists and fit them to undertake scientific, mechanical and mining pursuits, and Parliament was to be asked to vote £25,000 for the purpose. So far, tli2 " policy " was all right. It was what Sir Robert Stout and the Cpposition had asked for years, but the contempt Ministers openly showed for higher education in past years stood in the way. Both the leading .Ministers have frequently in and out of Parliament held themselves up as eelf-madc men, who knew nothing of colleges and thought very little of those who had graduated in Universities. Their claims to be self-made certainly takes a load of responsibility from the Almighty, for the making is sad'y lacuing in finish. But although the crude ideas of Tech-, meal schools were accepted by the House there was a fly found in the honey when the Bill came down. Trouble came in the Interpretation Clause, where the ** controlling authority " was described as "any Education Board, Beard of Governors, society or person establishmg and conducting any class under this Act." This was very wide, very vague and very suspicious. In spite of all attacks, our magnificent and costly system of free and secular education remains to us while so many changes have been made in other directions. Premier Seddon, when the Bill came on, was determined to push his policy measures through and take no heed of time or the exhaustion of members, and on this occasion the Technical Schools Bill tot into Committee on the Interpretation Clause on a Thursday evening at 8 p.m., and was argued for 21$ hours. The time was entirely taken up in endeavouring to so frame the clause that no denomination or creed should receive State support. Air Scddon was appealed to over and over again to explain what was really intended, but would* give no reply. Six divisions were taken in cudcavourinc to preserve our secular system intact, and the majorities ranged from 4 to 11 by the aid of the Government followers, who kept vigil in the lobbies and whiletl away the tinr.c scrapping yarns and playing six-penny nap between divisions. The Premier tried at one stage to drop the Bill, and moved, " that progress be reported," but this was negatived, and then further attempts were made to discover if it was intended to admit Buddhists, Jevts, Mahometans. Catholics or Hau-Haus to take advantage of the Stateaid Premier Scddon was discursive but unsatisfactory, and when Captain Russell moved to report progress, the last division took place, and Mr Seddon, who had tried some hours before to drop the Bill, now whipped up his legion, and saved a majority of 15—not mark you on a policy question as he claims, but on a division as to whether the Bdl should be kdled or not. Shortly afterwards, seeing that further fighting was useless he gave way and progress was reported and the Technical Schools Bill appeared no more. The action of the Opposition was a defence of cur National Education System, nothing more, nothing less. Premier Scddon calls it obstruction. He is welcome to do so if it gives him any comfort, but when he trots out such drivel as to claim that his Government was as 9trong at the end as it was at the beginning of the session it is very strange that he has lost all his old selfconfidence and taken to whining. He cannot disguise in his speeches that the day has gone by when the colrny was under one bac and the head under it a swelled one. THIS ENGINEERS' STRIKE. The prolonged and lamentable war between capital ami labour has ended in the defeat of the men, This was inevitable from the fiist, for the masters were asked to concede more than they could grant—and live. Tho effects will be far-reaching, and in this colony will lead first of all to the ridiculous Conciliation, Boards becoming a dead letter iu the tarly future. Were it not for paid agitators there would be no differences between employers and employed except in isolated instances. Having had some experience in the working of this " beacon to the world," my firm conviction is that the Conciliation Boards are a source of mischief making, tor the !>lain reason that so long as alleged eadcrs of labour are paid a guinea for n'ttings varying from a few minutes to five hours, that it is to their interest to fomcut disputes. This is proved by the fact that some of the Boards sit almost continuously, and here in Wellington we have the spectacle of a member of the Board signing the demands cf the employees as President of two Unions SO diverse in their character as bakers and tuiloresses. The utter incongruity of a man demanding concessions from a Board and occupying a judicial position on the Board itself is one of the comicalities of this beacon to the world which Plain Bill Reeves is so proud of flauntii'g at public meetings in London. No doubt some sort of a tribunal is neeeseary where sweating and injustice exists, but to be effective the Board should be composed of experts who are acquainted with all the technicalities of the industry they are called upon to arbitrate on, and what is more to the purpose they should not be paid by the State, or indeed anyone, and then their decisions wouldnot stretch over weeks as under the present system. The late Mr Muodella framed a bill which was passrd in England as far back as 15590 n the lines indicated, and were the disputes only between employers aud employees and the mischief-making paid agitators relegated to working at their trades if they have such, matters would go on much more profitably and pleasantly for all partic Tho demands made grow more preposterous with every appeal to the Boaid. The next one to sit in judgment on is that cf the tailoresses. The average career of a tailorcss is three year 3, according to records in the books of the chief house 3 here. After that period these ladies appear to find employment enough in constructing garments for the ccxt generation. They demand 8d p«r hour, and piece-work based on that rate. But, as I gather from a large manufacturer, a taitoress' hour is not necessarily sixty minutes. Each operation in making a garment has a time allotted to it, and it sometimes happens that a pocket for which an hour is set down is made in forty minutes, which is called an hour. 1/ these combative females succeed in their demands, the unfortunate superior sex will mostly find colonial-made clothes tow expensive to wear, and most of us

will have to go back to the blue serge shirts and moleskin pants, which were worn by all classes i'> my youth. And somehow people wero more contented and hopeful in that age than iu these too progressive days.