WELLINGTON NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 317, 21 July 1898, Page 4

WELLINGTON NOTES.

[tBOM our owx correspondent!. YOUNG TAYLOR'S EXPERIMENT. Everybody, even Premier Seddon, acknowledges that Mr T. E. Taylor, M.H.R-, is very much in earnest on any subject he takes iu hand. On the Police Commission he ha* been simply relent less, and he still finds time to carry the war in his own fashion into the ranks of the liquor dealers. Tnis, indeed, is his ruling passion and not always directed with the prudence which ought to be a chief characteristic in a modern legislator and crusader. He gets up his facts well, and he is gifted with a thorough belief in himself and a fervid eloquence which is beyond all praise. He has just emerged from an encounter with the publicans badly gravelled. Mr Taylor made the discovery, known to all people, that the Wellington hotelkeepers—or rather most of them—did good business on Suudays. As a matter of fact people who know the business are quite aware that with some houses the cessation of the Sunday trade would affect the rents of hotelß to the extent of SO to 40 per cent. I happened some time ago to discuss the question with a publican in my street. He did a roaring, but illegal, trade with the City Corporation and Drainage Board labourers on the one forbidden day. There is an unwritten law among the fraternity that pints of beer which are sold at fourpenceon week day's shall be sixpence on Sundays, so as lo provide an insurance fund in case of trouble. Now my friend in talking the matter over had a grievance, and a very proper one to. In reply to a sympathetic question as to the state of trade, he put on an injured look and said, "Trade is it ? Faith it was first-class up till last Sunday, when that mane divil forninst n.t the Ballyhooly Arms started selling pints for fourpence on Sunday and spoilt the trade." It is openly stated that one hotel in a prominent part of the city sells 3000 drinks on an average every Sunday. As a question of ethics it is a problem why a man who can swill as much beer as he can hold, and often more (on six days of the week) thin he has storage for, should be debarred from even wetting his lips on the Sunday. In Scotland this is got over by the purchase of a bottle of whiskey on Saturday night to fill up the interval. Here thirst \b quenched by a breach of the law. During the months that Mr Taylor has made himself a thorn in the sides of the Police Commissioners and such of the force as came before them, he has endeavoured to prove through the guardians of the law, that Sunday trading prevailed in the colony ; but the general run of the bobbies, from Inspectors downwards, denied this was so, although no one is so ignorant as to believe that any man need go thirsty so long as he has the price of a pint about him. He, therefore, determined on a raid on his own account, as those instituted by the police themselves were generally fiascos. He entered into an alliance with two gentlemen, one a prohibitionist, equal in fervour to himself, and auother, who owned to haviug at times been wheeled home in a barrow. Armed with 20s in silver, these two made Sunday visits in search of liquid refreshment and were, according to their story, supplied at five different hotels, and the proprietors were duly summoned. But when the first case was called it completely broke down, for it was proved, beyond all doubt, that the landlady was absent with the key of the bar in her pocket when the beer was alleged to be sold. The other cases were then withdrawn and a select gathering of * publicans and their friends gave the witnesses a warm reception outside the court. Then the publicans held a meeting forthwith and determined to proceed against Mr Taylor and his confederates for conspiracy and other crimes, and there, at present the matter stands. The moral of all this is that the law as Mr Bumble says, " is a hass." HeJe we have Mr Taylor and his friends acting on motives which are in the direction of preventing breaches of a statute, actually breaking the law themselves in quite a number of direstions. Firstly, they by their action encourage the publican to break the law by endeavouring to buy drink, then they stand charged with conspiracy and so on. The long existing hatred between the two classes is further intensified, and the cause of prohibition has come in for more odium thiough the brfiakdown of the cases, than the endeavour to obtain convictions. _ All of which proves how necessary it is when spies are sent out that they should be sure of where they went. HONEST JOHN. It only looks like yesterday since I shook hands with Mr John Duthie, wishing him an enjoyable trip Home after his election exertions, &nd here he is back among us, fresh, vigorous, and full of fight Moreover, he returns with a lot of the latest information regarding London opinions about ourselves on all sorts of subjects, from frozen mutton to reminiscences of Premier Seddon ami his doings at Jubilee time. Londoners have not yet forgotten him and the way he made such free use of the Royal carriages and footmen, turning those sacred vehicles to uses audi as are performed in better instructed circles by cabs. The free quarters at the palatial Cecil Hotel and free tickets to everything worth seeing, wereprovided cheerfully by the British taxpayer, but they drew the line at haviug to listen to Seddonian orations. Here we submit to the inevitable when the Kumara prodigy rises to make a few remarks, occupying the regulation 3A hours. In Loudon, they simply went into open revolt when Bichard exceeded the time allowed by custom to banquet speeches. Mr Duthie related how two of the functions struck those who were guests. It was a meeting of Colonial magnates and ex> magnates. Our old Governor, Lord Onslow, was down for a speech. The habits of good society limit such great guns as Salisbury and Chamberlain to twenty minutes ; the others are not supposed to exceed ten. Mr Seddon is not the sort of man to be trammelled by mere conventionalities, even in the best of London society. When he got to the end of the twenty minutes the reporters dropped their pencils, leaned back in their chairs, and whispered one to another. " What sort of a hairpin is this?" Word was passed along from the chairman, " Don't spread it out too much," but the flatulent torrent we are all so conversant with continued. Then the audience began to dwindle, Lord Onslow going with them, for he had timed his speech so as to keep another appointment. Even this hint failed to convey to our Premier's intelligence the fact that he might he giving them too much, and tiicn a committeeman sent along an emphatic note, " For God's sake leave off !" Since that day, eays Mr Duthie, no New Zealandcr has been asked to speak at any public function. It is little incidents like this that eudeared the London public to Mr Seddon, and hi 3 deeds are still green in their memories. THE COMING LOAN. There is no mention yet in the House of the loan which Mr Seddon more than hinted at in Cbristchurch a few months ago, and the news of which was cabled Home and then denied with much industry by our Agent-General. Notwithstanding the half-million surplus and the alleged continued prosperity of the colony, a loan must be raised if Government does not cease extravagance in departmental expenditure and stop public works. Our system of sly borrowing for years past has made our reputation an evil one in financial circles. By keeping off the market as bona fide borrowers, the London investors are ignorant of how rapidly we are increasing our debt. The system of emptying the chests of the PosM'llice Savings Bank and other Dep.itiu'tita and giviug short-dated de-bcntu-esatSjpor cent, and then convert ug these in London keeps our Home

creditors in the dark as to our real posi lion, and they being fully aware that New Zealand must borrow to live are exercised iu their minds at the unusual and scarcely honest methods adopted to keep afloat. Our credit wa*. and pt-r----haps still is, good enough to rii.se a loan at 3 per cent, at p.r. Other colonies can do better, and England has so much surplus money for investment that there would probibly be no gri-at liifficulties" about raisins; money- England dnws something like £130,000.000 per annum from outside investments, and it must be utilised somehow. If not in colonial securities, then in mining or other speculations. Our excellent Mr Seddou has so contrived our mining legislation that not only is no foreign capital coming here for investment, but conipanii s here are winding-up and taking their experts and their exsh to countries which do not profess so loudly, but afford better opportunities for speculators to get back what they spend and something more with it. The treatment served out to the Midland Railway Company rankles in the minds of the shareholders and dc-beature-holders who spent their good cash on the faith of a colony's promises. These promises having been brokeu and evaded, the colony will discover when in want how essential it is to be on good terms with the holders of die money-bags at Home.