JOTTING from WELLINGTON

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4789, 2 August 1894, Page 3

JOTTING from WELLINGTON

■; ■ (By Our Own Correspondent). >. Tuesday. ' The Assistant Civil Scmmt and tie ■ £5 " rise."—The Speaker ami tk Ladies. —The Earthquake Scare and the Professor's Prophesy.—Tk Knit/Ms of Lulmtr. A Big Ordcr.-A Munificent Oift,Graeen in Let ten of GoM.—Kotcsfrom the Gulleri/.—The Wellington Umrersiti/ College Bill—Hoimtal hndomncnts ml Control.—The Dehute on the Financial ■ Slutemtnt. A Long Session.—HardKorkcd Memhers.—Superfluous Commit-tecs.—■Conscience-struck.—The Wellington Technical School, The Estimates do not contain very many " rises " in salaries for the downtrodden civil servants, those young aristocrats, as some of thcinembers with quitoamistakcnnotionastothc/wwMiirf 1 of the service, will persist in dubbing them. There arc, however, a few pro- • posed increases, which may may not bo knocked off by a parsimonious Parliament, hut this is by the way. A certain clerk in, let us say the Budget Manufacturing Department, noted with intense gleo that ho was down for the 4, prju,coly" rise" of £5 per annum, thus HllfWbig his salary from £lO5 to £2OO . a yenr. So unaccustomed was lie to the sight of even a nimble liver advance that ho almost swooned away on the spot. Pulling himself together with copious draughts from the cooling ■, depths of the departmental water bottle, ho determined that after office hours this auspicious event should be fittingly celebrated. Therefore as tlio clock struck five, and the staff ceased for the day from the arduous task of warming their ollicc coat tails in front of the roaring fire which a benevolent Government provides for its employees, our lucky Civil Servant rallied his boon com- .. panions around him and sallied forth with conscious prido to "wet" that " fiver," A certain establishment noted for the excellence of itsliquors was soon reached and our friend, inflated with joy mid pride, ordered champagne ad HI: and Pommcry, trcs sec at that. Tlio word was soon passed round that so and so had just received notice of a big increase of salary* Of. course, all came in to conv - griitiilato him and in the twinkling of an eye that £5 rise was represented by sun- ' drygold-neekcd bottles, alas empty, and as the " clock struck the hour for retiring" our Civil Servant standing amid the ruins of the carouse slowly but sadly realised that the rise was discounted for a whole year in advance, and that even without Parliament having sanctioned the vote, Our friend says he will be more careful the nest time he gets arise -it he ever does get onc-and certainly he won't christen it in champagne. It makes the Government rises look so silly.

Sir Maurice O'ltorkc did a graceful thing the other day when he gave his casting vote in favour of Dr Newman's Bill, for the admission of women into ' Parliament being read a second time. It was not so much what he did, as the woyhc did it. Possibly Sir Maurice knew the Hill could go 110 further aud he might, by giving his casting vote for the second reading cam a cheap popularity. Anyhow, no matter what his motives were, genuine or not,' he very plainly applauded the admission of women to the Franchise and more than hinted that the logical outcome was to go further and extend to lliem the other pplitieal privileges of men. After such an expression of opinion so aptly put and given effect to, seems rather inconsistent that the Speaker should only a few nights afterwards order that some ladies who had taken scats iu the Strangers' Gallery should be asked to withdraw, Now, the Strangers' Gallery is open to all, and any respectable person may enter at any tune. Hitherto this gallery has been used exclusively by mcn.allhough occasionally I have seen women in it. No ticket for admittance is required, and there is no standing order preventing the admission of womcu to the Strangers' Gallery. A Ladies' Gallery is provided, certainly, but admission to this is by ticket only obtainable through a member or direct from the Speaker himself. Suppose a woman does not happen to know a member, it is very unlikely sho would be able to obtain a ticket direct from the Speaker, aud then again the Ladies' Gallery is very often full, while the Strangers' Gallery, which is very much larger, often contains plenty of spare scats. Thus a female elector, if she cannot obtain admission to the Ladies' Gallery, is debarred altogether from listening to the deliberations of those she assisted to place in Parliament, This certainly seems inconsistent, and from the manner hi which Sir Maurice spoke the other night, I should have thought he would have been the first to recognise the present equality of the sexes iu this respect. It is evident, howcvcr,_that k docs make distinctions, despite his desire to see women in Parliament,

The Speaker, however, is a great stickler for etiquette, and I believe it is an unwritten law that men and women slinll not sit together within the precincts of the Chamber. Hence, I suppose, Sir Maurice's objection to the presence of the ladies in question in the Strangers' Gallery. However, as I have pointed out, as he only a few nights before voted for the admission of women into Parliament, liis subsequent action seems to belie the sincerity of his vote. There have becu ouc or two other instances lately which tend to show that (lie Speaker is not the man to allow his privileges or rights to be invaded or set at naught. The Artillery-man on duty at the Ladies' Gallery was very nearly summarily dismissed, because on Die assurance of no less a person than the Chairman of Committees that "it would be all right," he allowed some ladies to enter without tickets. Members and officials have been accustomed to Hie somewhat free and easy regime of Major Steward that are somewhat inclined to jgnoro the fact that such a high, mighty, and puissant personage as the Speaker does exist.

It is surprising, as a lecturer in 'Wellington pointed out the other night, that i in these days of enlightcnmcnt.and more especially m New Zealand, where education is so widespread, that people ' should be so superstitious, And yet it is a fact that a large amount of superit what you will, ™s exist., This is shown to an astonishing extent over the announcement made some time ago by a trance medium, who from alleged . inspired spiritualistic sources, warned people that an earthquake would destroy the whole of the southern portion of the North Island on the 6th August. There are many people who have implicit faith in this announcement, and wlio arc waiting in fear and trembling for the fateful day to pass over. Some few have even nacked up their belonging* and iled the scene, firmly believing that the prediction will be verified. It is only fair to say that the medium believes his own prophecy ' also, for ho has departed likewise, TJioro may be, therefore, more in the earthquake scare than meets tho eye. I believe that the medium, who is known by tlio euphonious naino of Professor jfilgcne, lias departed for South Africa and that ho lias induced some people to soil UP their property and go with him. Possibly the Professor intends to start • i spiritualistic colony in the land of the Zulu and the earthquake is the means to the end. Anyhow there an, beyond doubt, many people who are honestly frightened and they won't bo happy till Sunday nest is over, It is by the way a fairly safe thing to prophecy an earthquakoin tins part of tho Colony for thcro in always wore than a chance of one I'pming off and the slightest sembjancc of a shock on tlic day m question would lend a vpry strong colour, 111 tlie pf soDJc to' (lip professor s occult powers. ' Tl|p K'iigl'l ß of M'our, who have just finished their Annual Conference, Wo goMomcvrhat of o big order on handfor thoiGovcrnmcnt to perform. ' No doubt the member for your district, Tfho I understand is a Knight of very .exalted rank irithe ordcr.and Mr Pirani, - of Palmerstori,' who also holds high office in the fratemity.will duly sco that ■ $ the recommendations are given effect

to. Hero is a liltlo list of n few of thoir immediate requirements, and no doubt a Bill will bo prepared giring effect to tlio recommendations, aud the Standing Orders suspended to cuablo the noccs' sary Legislation to be passed through '■ all tho stages inoiio sitting:(1), Local Bodies arc to be compelled to pay a living wage in all their contracts. (N.B. What is a 'living wage'? This is somewhat indefinite,) (2). A State system of National Fire Insurance to be instituted. (What about lliolliulgot proposals forforciiißForcign Insurance Companies to deposit ,620,000 each? The Government surely will not like to part with the half-a-million to be raised in this manner). (3.) State Inspection ot Liquors. (The Knights arc evidently not "Templars," and they like their liquors good. This is one ot the few sensible suggestions.) (4.) Subsidies to Country Libraries. (The Knights want all the latest esoteric literature free of charge.) (5.) Billiard snloonsto bo licensed, the same as hotels. (There can bo no objection to this. It will prevent sly grog selling and gambling by rendering the saloons as liable to police inspection.) (0\) A national paper currency. (This is a very big order, modestly put down near the end of Hie list. What more can the Knights want now (ho Bank of New Zealand is under State control. The paper currency is possibly only ainnttcr of time.) (7.) Free school books and requisites. (This is of course n popular cry. I should, however, think that free schooling was enough for the present. The country is taxed enough for education as it is without making the burdenheavicr.) (8.) Old age pensions. (As a select Committee of the House is already considering this question, the Knights may rest assured that something will be done—sometime.) There are several more suggestions, but I will not take up your raiders' tinio ' by enlarging on them further. I have | merely set these few down for the pur- I tposeof showing how modest the Knights | arc and how nioderntc Ihoy arc in their | demands. If this is the licit result of their deliberations it is a pity they did not stay at home and help the "missis" ' keep the wolf from the door, '

"Go thou ami do likewise" might well lie said to ninny people in Wellington in reference to the splendid gift from Mr C, B, Izard, of £SOO as an endowment for a scholarship in the Girls' High School. The words in which Mr Izard conveyed his gift totlic Governors might well be taken to heart by many. " 1 have been fairly successful in business in Wellington, audi therefore think it is only right that I should make-some return "or words to this effect. These words should be engraved in letters of gold on the coping-stone of the school house as a lesson to others. It is good to know that the responsibilities mid duties of wealth arc recognised sometimes. _A more appropriate or acceptable gift could also not have been made. The Girls' High School has over under its able management been an immense success, but there are no scholarships or any other inducements to the pupils to push their studies further than the ordinary school curriculum. This want has now been removed by Mr Izard's generosity.

There appears to be very little chance of the Wellington University College Bill passing into law, owing to the deter'mined opposition of (hose members who, having such institutions within their own districts, have made up their minds that Wellington shall not possess the same advantage. Some of the country members arc also very much opposed to the Bill, as they think that the establishment of the College will mean the "mopping up" of the up-country reserves for the maintenance of the College. The Minister for Lands is dreadfully alarmed also at the prospect of some of his pet reserves being absorbed. lam credibly informed that there is a very poor chance of the Bill getting through Committee. Mr Hogg would like to sec the University College iu Masterton. Well, even that would be better than none at all.

A strong feeling exists amongst members, I am told, that the present system of Hospital endowments and management is unsatisfactory, and an opportunity will be taken at an early date to test the question by moving that the control of the Hospitals should beinthe hands of the Government, It is urged that, under the present system, some districts arc very unfairly treated compared with more favored ones, and the management is not anything like so satisfactory as it would he wcro the Hospitals under direct Slate control. The movement seems to originate from country members.

The debatoontheFinancial Statement or the Bfidgct, as it is now grandiloquently ddlcd, is expected to be a most protracted one. Some old members say that the debate will turn out to be the longest on record, It is asserted that the session will not finish until well into October, or perhaps till early iu November. There is a vast amount of legislation yet to be brought down, which if properly dealt with, will occupy fully the time stated.

Members are growling very much at being so hard worked, not only in the House, but on Select Committees,. There never was a session, I am told, in which so many Select Committees were set up. The new members came to Wellington with the fixed determination of working hard iu order to get the business through, and although thoy were very keen on getting to work at first, they are perceptibly slackening oil: now.

Such Committees as the Constitutional llcfprm. The Railways, The Tariff, and the Manufactures and Industries, are generally regarded as being useless as they will have to perform a good deal of work with no practical result, from the reason that any recommendations (licy arc likely to make, stand but a very poor chance of being given effect to.

An anonymous conscicnccstrickcn dofraudcr of the revenue has sent to the •Treasury aone pound note, stating it was for payment of Customs Duty, I wonder whether tire individual, whose conscience has so sorely troubled him that ho was moved to make a refund of one pound, had anything to do with the purchase of Gollan's Valley Whisky ? IJy the way, tlu's famous case seems to have died a natural death. We do not even hear anything more about the publican in whose possession some of the whisky was supposed to have been found. The whole affair has been a completo lizzie from beginning to end.

Comparatively few people outside of Wellington have hitherto known what really excellent work is being done by the Technical School. Classes arc held nightly for the instruction of youths in all branches of trade. Plumbing, earI pentcry, wood-turning, and carving arc tho chief trades taught, and other classes aro, I understand, in process of formation, Tho boys are not only instructed in the trades technically, but great pains is takcu to make them something more than mere machines who aro without the knowledgo why or wherefore it is necessary to adhere to certain rules aud methods. They are, in fact, taught the tlujory as well as the practice of their crafts; Such an Institution as the Wellington Technical School is bound to achieve much good inasmuch as it will tend to produce not only expert, but intelligent .artisans. Tho fact that such ap excellent School of instruction exists requires to bo made known outside of Wellington moro widoly.