ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1915, 14 October 1884, Page 4

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

The animal meetimr of tho Anglican Synod has just concluded, and a good deal of inteiesting business has been transacted at it. One thing was sti ikingly manifest, and that was the exceeding inconvenience of the member being coin polled to go to the Bishop's Library at the top of P.irnell, to attend the meetings, which certainly should be held in some more central place. Of course, the great objection touny <»tlier place of meeting is that all the necessary books and documents aie at the Bishop's Library, but I think that the difficulty of remov ing those books and documents would be insignificant in compaiison with thetiouble to which the Kane majoiity of the members of the Synod aie put by having to go to the top of Parnell to attend the meetings. And yet the top of Parnell is the place .selected as the site of the futuie Cathedral. Of course, at present there are no funds available for the erection of a Cathedral, to say nothing of the money requisite to pay the Dean, Canons, and other officers, and I have no hesitation in saying that the money will not be forthcoming unless some other site is chosen On the face of it, it seems absuid to propose that the Auckland Cathedr.il should be erected beyond the boundary of the city. Besides which there is not sufficient population there to make it at all possible that the services would be attended, if they were held. One eminently sensible lesolutioii was carried, to the effect that the necessary authority be obtained to lease a portion of the Cathedral property for 60 years. I think it would be better to obtain authority to lease the whole of the property for the term, and, if the funds were carefully husbanded there would then be a sufficient sum in hand to build and endow a Cathedral, and sixty years hence is quite as soon as such an edifice is likely to be needed. * * # The Government Insurance Association Bill, introduced by .Sir Julius Vogel, seems to be a step in the right direction, so far as it provides for the policy-holders having the right to elect some members of the Board of Directors to be authorised to lend the funds of the association on mortgage of fieehold property, but it is to be hoped that it will be altered^ in committee so as to allow the policyholders to elect moie than three members of the boaid. It is but fair, seeing that the state guarantees the payment of tho policies, that Government should have the right to appoint the majonty of the board, but if the insureis aie to have a potential voice in the management, they should be allowed to elect five, instead of three, of the eleven members. There should also be local diiectors in each of the piincip.il cities. Every opportunity should be taken to discountemnce the present s>stem of centralising eveiything in Wellington. Besides that, it stands to ieason tint people in Wellington cannot efficiently manage business m Auckland and Dunedin. The management must thcrefoie be enti listed to pJoplo living in the other cities The question is to whom To Government officials or to local board of diiectors? Undoubtedly the latter. Tint is the piinciplc affiimed by the hill, and it is the couisc winch will most effectively tend to the eaicfuland economical in.ungcmcnt of the business of the association. * Sir Julius Vogel is attempting to blow another South Sea bubble, and as suiely as it is blown as he pioposes. .so suiely ■will it bin st. If any tiade, I cue not what it is, requiics to be suppoited by a Government guarantee, a. id the light to issue paper money, that tiadc is not sound. These aie lottcn foundations on which to build, and the consequence must be that sooner or later the superstructuic must tall. No doubt it is a vciy giand idea to attunpt to diaw all the tiade of tho Pacific Islands to New Zealand, but if is to be done some other plan of doing it must be found thin that now proposal, So long as Sydney is piactically a ficc port, while theiG is a heavy tan If levied on all good-i imported into New Zealand, so long will we b" unable to complete with Sydney. I make this nsseition, not on account of any lack ot p.itiiotism, but because, it is a fact Of com so, it may be said that goods intended for the Islands tiade can bo ti.iuslupped under bond, but that entails expense, and that expense handicaps us tin Julius Yogcl is undoubtedly a veiy clever man, but his scheme for makin<! New Zealand the centre of the tiade of tho Pacific Islands is uhimciieal and will result in ruin if it is caniod out. It may be said that this is not his scheme, but that the Bill is the result of the delibciations ot the committee appointed by L'aibamcnt to consider the subject, but his ir> the master-mind of the coinnNsion, and, though the hands may be those of Esau, the voice, is tint ot .Jacob I am no pessimist, but I feel quite a it.un that, if the Bill is passed, which I doubt,, and the bhaies aie taken up, whiih I doubt still moic, the co'iip.iny will end in sei ions loss to the shareholders and to the Colony of New Zealand. Judging by the leport submitted to the shareholders of the South British Insuiance Company at the annual meeting on Wednesday, file and marine insurance business has not been of a very profitable nature during the past year. Despite the fact that Hie company lias received the very large sum of £283,000 for fire and marine premiums dunng the year, the company does not pay its shareholder more than ten per cent, dividend. When a company which is well and economically managed as this company is, does such a laige amount of business with so small an amount of piofit, the conviction is forced on the c ireful observer that there is something wrong somewheie. I believe that, in this case, the company is snOeiing for the sins of others — that other companies, in their anxiety to do business, have accepted risks beyond the value of the piopeity insured, the consequence being that files have occurred which would not have taken place had those properties not been over-insuted. I believe that Captain Daldy, die chaiiman, struck the key-note when he said, " One of the growing evils of insurance business is the question of further insurance without notice being given to the insuiing companies, by which means over insurance is sometimes effected," The only way to prevent this evil, an evil not only to the insurance companies, but also to the honest insureis, is for the Legislature to pass an act, rendciing all insuianee polities ■void when the insurer incieases Iho amount of insurance on his piopeity without giving notice to the company in which he is alicady in&uicd, and having that notice accepted on his policy. No honest man would object to th a, and it would tend gieatly to prevent fiaud. Last week I had the pleasure of congiatulating the settlers in the Morrins- ' ■villc distiict on the opening of the railway to take place, and 1 am very pleased that I have now the opportunity of congiatulating the settlers in and aiound Cambridge on the fact that they also are placed within railway communication with Auckland. At the same time I congiatuldte the Auckland people on the fact that they arc now placed within railway communication with those two important distiicts. '1 he advantages in these ca>es are always reciprocal. Whatever tends to the advantages of the country is an immediate benefit to the merchants and manufacture! s in the city. The easing in freight increases the spending poweia of the settleis, so I think wo may laiily congratulate each other and shake hands all round over the opening of the Morriusville and Cambiidgc llailwajs. I am afraid that there will be trouble between the Hospital Committee and Dr. Bond, the House Surgeon, that gentleman having, despite the committee's objection, assumed the duties of medical fcJuperintouUent of the Luuatic Asylum.

One great object in Imvinu a Homo Surgeon at the Hospital, is that lie way lie always there to attcml to any urgent cases. That he cannot possibly do dining the hours that ho is away at the Lunatic Asylum, and I foul qiuto sine that the public will support the committee in objecting to Dr. Bund's neglect of duty. Tli it is what it really .1100111111 to. He is engaged to attend to the Hospital, and though he may be attend in» to equally important duties at the Lunatic A«ylum, that is not the work for which ho was engaged, and he has 110 business to absent himself from his post, ttesides this, as I haveaheady pointed out, the medic il superintendence of the asylum is fully one man's work, and who ever undertakes that work should bu constantly on tlie spot. Dr Bond is, I believe, i\ clever young man, but he is attempting to do more than he can perform, and I think it is a great pity he did not follow the example of that man in Chicago who made his fortune — by minding his own business. St. Mdsgo.