OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2606, 26 March 1889, Page 3

OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

(KKOM OUU OWN rOK!:KsrO.\'!)l-;.NT.) I'OLi ncs. In matters political the chief events of note have been evidence that the Government, whether their tenure of oiHce be a long or a short one, intend to impnue their opportunities to the ntmo.-t. Mr Dibbs has already added a number of members to the Legislative Council, sufficient in ease of a critical division to turn the iidu m hi* favour. Mr Fletcher, the Minister for Works, on the other hand lias been making overtures to the ironworkers and engineering firms with the V.--V rt whether they cannot, work up the natne ores of the colony into iron pipes and the like, without having reci.iir.-e to importers. The Council appointments on the face of them are open to censure. It is question- • ble whether a Ministry in so critical a position as that of Mr DiUbs' has any moral right to alter the constitution of the nominee House. But they find the technical right in their bands and have not scrupled tiTv.se it—a course of conduct eminently characteristic of the rough-and-ready type of politicians who shoulder their way to the fr.mt in democratic communities. A great writer on Parhmeiitary usage and constitutional practice says that they take for fraiited there will be in the men who form governments a high standard of personal and political honour. I fancy this gentleman would rather stand aghast if he could see some of the proceedings which are considered to be adequately sheltered by the constitution. In this case the object of the appointments, there is very little question, is to provide a majority for the Payment of Members Bill next time it is sent up. Several times the Assembly has passed a measure of tliis nature, but as often the Upper House has rejected it. However, after this dose of Mr Dibbs's medicine, they may be relied upon to be more amenable to liis desires of the people's representatives in the future. Then, of course, an honest desire to render a quid pro quo may influence many members to give .support to the Ministry which has gone out of its way to secure for them what they deem their due. In the present evenly-balanced position of parties it is considered that this may be sufficient to turn the scale.

Claiming for tliuii- m»n party the majority given to Preetrade by their own party papers, tlie Freetcade Press have been largely ami loudly insisting th.it the Ministry should accept the verdict of the country as a defeat and should resign incontinently. Xn doubt such a step would save a great deal of trouble to the men who wish to step into their shoes. It does not appear to occur to these topsided moralists that the. letter " F" or "P" after a man's name by no means implies that he is ready to be the willing tool A any reckless or vindictive extremist who may gain possession of editorial columns. The interests of the country liave to be considered before those of party. The jurymen have gone into the box, bat no matter how positive the prophets may be as to the verdict which they will return, the party in possession would be insanely weak if they were to play the craven and walk out before they have received their conge from the only men who were entitled to give it. As a matter of fact this cry for a premature resignation is very hollow and insincere. It is not because the Government were beaten at the polls that the Herald, and the Telegraph, and the Evening News adjure f hem to resign. It is because these journalistic niaehiavellis are in considerable doubt whether the Government has been beaten or not, that in this childlike and bland manner they demand a \ictory without the trouble'of lighting for it. As a Melbourne journal puts it Such a course as this is the tactic of savages who try to frighten their foe by the beating of torn turns, in the hope that they may gam their end without any unpleasant recourse to hard knocks. However, by the time these lines see the light, the noise of the toin turns will have been silenced, and the tight will have commenced in real earnest. The first struggle will be over the election of Speaker, which takes place this afternoon. In this instance the Free Trauers have courted defeat by putting forth Mr Young, the late Speaker, as their nominee, a gentleman who c.rtainly failed to command the House, and whose resignation wae demanded hist session on the score of incapacity by a leading Freo Trade journal. The Ministerial candidate is Mr J. P. Abott, a man who in every way seems better adapted to the position than Mr Young. The Free Traders have a good Speaker among their number, in the person of Sir Henry Parkes, whose, knowledge of Parliamentary usage is probably not surpassed by any man in Australia. Put they have another use for him. He, they fondly hope, is to be the cat's paw with which they will pull the chestnuts out of the tire for themselves. For my own part I sinceiely believe (hat one more Parkes' Ministry will be about all that is needed to turn the current of public opinion definitely and permanently against the political party with which ho is identified. DESERTION" 01-' HABItS. Horrible revelations of heartless cruelty and reckless immorality have been made during the prosecution of a woman named de Lawarie for child desertion. Wo have our practitioners who undertake to destroy infant life befose it comes to the birth, and whose hellish practices, though notorious enough. too often escape, punishment. Put this woman seems to have made a trade of making away with babies after their birth for the sake of a few shillings. She used to advertise, it appears, for " A baby to adopt," and the advertisement was answered with a frequency which shows that there are a large number of babies in the community whose parents are only too glad to get rid of them. Waiting on the mothers, she would tell a long and circumstantial story about some family in good circumstances who wished to adopt a child. Having thus excited the maternal instincts she would ask for money for travelling expenses to convey the infant to this earthly Paradise forthwith, and having obtained it sho would depart. The evidence shows that the infants thus obtained were picked up in the streets of the city and suburbs, some of them in drenching rain. They were handed over to the police, and in by far the greater number of cases died from the combined effects «f the cruel exposure and the lack of maternal care. Eight of these distressing abandonments have already been dealt with by the police courts, and evidence of cithers is being received almost daily. The recklessness which sacrifices chastity and the callousness which slifles maternal love, are brought out into strong prominence by an exposure of this kind. They fnrin not merely an indictment against the individuals who are guilty. They threaten the stability of the community, and deserve the best attention both of the statesman and the philanthropist. In many eases, too, the male scoundrel, who is at the bottom of all the trouble, but whose name seldom appears in public, is more guilty than his female victim and accomplice. Grave jurists tell us that offences of this kind, 110 matter how revolting, cannot be dealt with by the law of the land. If this be the case it is evident that there is room for a wellorganised vigilance association, who shall express by appropriate action the moral indignation of the community. BUn.IMXG SOCIETIES. The condition of metropolitan land and building societies is causing a good deal of discussion. These institutions issue glowing prospectuses, offer high rates of interest and succeed in attracting a large amount of the savings of the labouring classes. Most of them can show considerable profits on paper, and, as they always have plenty of their client's money on hand they find no difficulty in declaring and paying dividends that appear very handsome. Whether the paper profits could 111 all cases be turned into cash, or whether the banking department of some of these mushroom undertakings would be able to withstand a very determined run, there is 110 evidence to enable 1119 to say. The teaching of history aVsd analogy, however, gives reasonable ground for doubt. Of one thing, however, there is no doubt, and that is that some ton or twelve of the smaller undertakings could very profitably unite, thereby lessening the cost of management, and increasing the strength of the combination to withstand a period of ad versity. This is the course which is being strenuously agitated by many shaieholder,and otlieis who have the interests of thesf institutions at heart. On the other haul there are very powerful interests which ari opposed to a change of thi-s character. Ii many, perhaps in most instances, the lead ing officers were the prime movers in form ing the society, and they regard it rather a; existing for their sake than they for it Any change, therefore, which promises tr reduce their numVer and send some of then adrift to try and "open the oyster '' in i fresh place they will strenuously resist Yet it is evident that in the interests o shareholders and investors some ch&ngi inu.it bo made. As the latter us a Ir.s jesort have the matter in thoi-v own hand;

it may be expected that the desired reform will sooner or later be effected though probably not without a severe struggle.