MELBOURNE ITEMS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2931, 28 April 1891, Page 4

MELBOURNE ITEMS.

M l M i.'Nun may bo excused if at times his attention wanders from the business thab j; now occupying the time of the members of tho Federal Convention at Sydney. Th'cre ar«t two other tilings which must occasionally cross liis mind and compel him to iliink about both. " Timo and tide wait tor no man," and Mr Muuro lias ruined the tide and let tho timo go by when the Victorian loon should have been floated. It had become the fashionarid a foolish fashion it was—to believe that, whenever a Victorian Treasurer wanted money, ho had only to hold up hit finders in order to havo ]>ntish capitalist.'! at his feet. Another illusion v. its that lie had only to name his own pi ice for his scrip, and that tho capitalists aforesaid would cheerfully pay it. And .'■' till another illusion consisted in the fact that that state of things would last fur ever. Some such belief as this probably had a deal to do with tho undoing of Mr Duncan Clillics. Ho is constitutionally unfitted to tight with figures, and seems not to havo been awaro of the nece.-sity of exercising caution, although trending an unknown path. Thus, Mr Monro has had difficulties made for him, far as borrowing facilities are concerned by hi.s predecessor quite as much as by lip'fluctuations in the money market. He (Las not appear, however, to fully realise his . ituation, or lis would not ask a price for the new loan that he is not likely to obtain. For i'would .-urolv bo better to take lesJ and final: his loan, than to ask more and find the total amount ia not sub-t-crilx u for. I'."Miles lb;; lo in there is the Budget to t; < .tih't; him. IJtit here, again, the liilliciilty is not one of his own making, lie will have to announce a deficit. It is line he neither estimated the revenue inn li.'.ed ttie exj enditme, while he is in ji'i\\i;;o nspmisiblo fur the deficit the r lony has to face. Last December he predieh-'d a debi l - balanccof JCj/'J.OOl), and Hi" event will prove him lo have been not far wji'n::. Mr Gillie* hail pledged the i uaiiliy to the i*;. pemlitu ru of large sums ill iiuin.iv, which was f.u be provided out ul'thebaic of the ls'\v lands. liven if Ibe I mil had In-. :> ~o!■; la. neuiey could not. havo been iv#ui.:, ,i 11. would J;.i\ ■•• I" ■iia:i i a pern! ilnre •it i .iji:: 11, for i mi iM la.iu-a'o niiil aihh'iily a portion lie i->»liili) r] ■ i:; 11. lint., although iti .my «•••« i-jh'iil, the lands were not •• >!, 1 •i"*iy thus incuirod cspcnJv. r'.'nit income of any sort to set in.-I:, andjif that i'Jiiot over-running : he e actable and cresting a debit balance it j,-. dilticulty to say by what process that undesirable result might be arrived at. Ob but they say, tho money is to bo ncojin'. Yes ; but when ? Next year, or ten years hence ? In either case there is the debit balance, or tho deficit, rather, and you cannot strike im honest balance by writing on the otlcr side: —Kew lands, to lie sold Ytft. .u, I ur.di'l'..l'ind tin' matter, a portion of 'he metropolitan prist support-, that viow. It i" to he hojied that Mr Munro will not nrike any such attempt : t» creato a " fancy" Undent.

Another mistake ci.nsists in mixing up thi' railway amounts with tho revenue and nxnendituro proper of the Government. I'jisy borrowing has led to the construction of hundreds of miles of rail-

road which not. only doc-, not pay expenses, but actually entails a heavy loss that is like ly to continue for years. Affairs have got. i nt.o such a muddle, however, that either the capacity or the will is wanting to separate the commercial from the political and oliicial expenditure of tho (lovrrnmcnt. If the railway account were kept separate, and an annual balancesheet prepared, the loss on working tho lines would be clearly and more generally under-tood, Above all, tho most obtuse member of Parliament would understand what was meant when the House was asked to vote a lump sum of .f.',"00,000 to enable the Railway Dep artmcnt to meet its engagements. As it is, the department may be said to be bankrupt without a good many lion, members realising' the iact

A iood many people will bo star'lrd win n they rei.d that, during the last.) years the Victorian ( iovernment bus paid away in iion-iion* and compensation to retired civil servant--, t.'uc .nun of Sinco I ho pa-.<inpr of .Mr Raijviay'a Act (1SS1), fib'ili'lniiLj pen-ions and uities, the liabiliti'-* oi' lli■■ Government towards tlio-e who entered tiiM .-.erviee prior to the p:i-irtirijf of that. Act hive been in a ureal measure lost, snrht of. The Act. in question was pushed, it, will be remembered, on account of a st.romr outburst of public aiMmst tho piym">it. of pensions and grnrnitiei to otiiceiN whocondosnended to iiervn tlic State in return for liberal salaries, without tho least, reference to the intelligence, industry, or special qualifications ol the i,tli ! •< aleiv-j :id. tte ques. tion has now L„ i-n tu tlv front fhrontrh the action of the Hon. Sir F. T. S'trw >od, why, -is Acting Trea-nrcr, was i!ixious to ,isc!i tain from 'ho depurtivent :iie u.i! amount pyij by each branch

of tho public NCTviri'. Tim following fiifiiroH nlioiv tin; amount of money paid each year during; the lu-t fivo yenr.i in poiJM'm.-i and l ompeiiKition : — Yi'.'ir IVnsioii-i. Compensation. ISS.VSf, ... £78.101 :! 0 £-16,.»Kl 8 111 ISHIi.ST... SM'JS 17 0 40,407 14 7 1537-SH .. 98.983 0 5 44.031 10 9 1888-89 ... 111,0'W 18 4 57,.">:«) S 3 18S!)-'J0... 131),080 0 (J -1 ;j,L4-5 U 0 Tntal... 507,05!) S 3,535, OSG 'J 5 But thin i.« not all. Including the five vonr.i mentioned, it is entiniated that about £1,0110.000 hiw been paid nway alreadv, and that at least another £1,000,000 will have to be paid before all existiuir claims have been fat.iefiec?. It is to be hoped th*t curtain members of Parliament will take thc.sc facts to heart, arid, when voting for an increase of pay to disaffected railway servant* and others, remember the burdens which the State has to bear already. And, in ca*e they should forget, it would be well if electors reminded thorn that they are set in high places, to do justico to the hardworking taxpayer, and not for the purpose of bwjiittj cults with money that in no wise belongs to them. The baby show, which is announced to bo held in the Exhibition shortly, is meeting with strong opposition from a section of the Press, one journal fjoinjr so far as to say that " t.ho show will do more harm to the public morals than a dozen Cup races at Flemington.'' The promoters of a similar show which was held last year liottcd somethinir liko £0000 profit, and they aro t.h<) projectors of tho present venture, which promises to bo an equal success, if wo are to believo statement that mothers arn rushing to tho office, eager to enter their offspring for competition. Without going so farasto say that a babv show is " a disgusting exhibition"—as described by ono of tho weeklies—it must be admitted thut the spectacle of rows of infants heinsr gazed at aud examined by crowds of young people of both sexes is not very edifying. And does it not seem anomalous that a theatrical firm should he prosecuted by the police for engaging a clover child prefonncr, while the Board of Health shuts its eyes to an exhibition of liuudicds of children in a huihliug whose health is i.MidaiiL'eied by drasjgimi them (ml of their cradles and disturbing their sweet slumbers, to be exhibited to a crowd of people under a bliuding electric light, and in an uncertain atmosphere.