Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 15 October 1913, page 12


THE MACQUARIE PAPERS.

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Recently public attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of documents re-lating to his tern of office in Austtalla have been discoveied among, Governor Mac-quaries papers and that these are in due course to be sold by his descendants . A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Piggott, if we remember aright, asked the Prime Minister if the Government proposes to take any steps towards securing these documents for the coun-try most interested in their possession. Yesterday in our columns Mr. C. H. Bertie, who has lately returned from Britain, pointed out that it is an op-portunity which we should not let slip. He further observed that if we do not take action soon the chance will probably be gone, as there is an American competitior in the field whose hobby it is to collect

Australiana. Certainly it would be a

great pity if we neglected to get these documents It has been suggested that they may be simply early issues of the "Government Gazette", and as such of no particular value to anyone save the col-lector of such things. But it would at any rate be worth ascertaining exactly what they are, and if they possess any possible interest to our archivists and historians present or future, or even if their interest is purely sentimental, to acquire them for our national collection. The obvious place for them should they prove to be worth having is the Mitchell Library. This is expressly designed for such things. The object of its founder and the aim of its committee have been to provide for the student of Australian matters the fullest range of material on everything appertain- ing to its researches. No doubt the Federal Government leeognises this and it Is not 111 el} to tij to outbid nnj icpiostntithe of Now South \\ ales In oht lining these docu ments which nie so peculHilj and inti matolj assoei ited witli the .last of Now South Vi ales Of couise the 1 edeial Go veminent would be well advised to move should this State neglect its oppoitunities but we hope that this State will not be bael wind should these documents be woith getting Hie Mitchell Libiary has an annual giant but tlieic nie nuinj calls up ou it and it maj not be equal to the add! tional stiaiu In such cltcumsliuces tin State should come to its assistance Hie amount lequlied foi the pinchase may be bpjomi the lesouiccs of the libiai} jet t may not Indeed It piobablv will not be vei} foimidable \ud It would he a de plôinble state of uffalis if tluou(_h paisi monv and apathy we lulled to sctuio docu ments lelatlnt, to one of the most vi"oious peiiods of oui existence and to the leglinc of oin most enteipiislng Goveinoi Indeed while on this subject it maj not be out of place to iel ei to lathei a sei ions neglect of the mcmoiy of Mticquuic on tile put of New South \\ ales One may seaieh the length tnd breadth of this State md find no monument to him sav o those ho m ide foi himself Olhoi Govemois whose sei vîtes have been less have been eommemo ruted but Mnequtuie has had to suppl) his own monuments In one sense he has done so Ills epitaph in Now South va ales mlfcht be that on the tomb of Sii Ghi is tophei Wien in St Pauls Cathcdiul- Si monumentum lcqiilils ciicumspiic

\.\ inn lie built his name was set in a cou spicuous plate aswi stout St Times s mid at the old 1 quilv Cotnt mid at valions tilinches and couti houses lu the old dis ti leis Indeed the countv of Cumboilnnd with its loads and ancient fal ins and his toiieiil issocititions Is his monuiiK nt Ile ¡,iv o his name to ilvois and lim bonis md mountain p isses and lakes and stieets No one will deny that sin Inking modest} was not one of his chaiacteilstlcs but no oue will denv that his services to the colony weio liteiallv Incalculable Under lils iodine its boundaiies weio extendel noilh south and west until fiom bein., a tiuv settlement ou the coast It became the gatewu} to a continent TJndei his retime louds weic built and llveis spanned so tint the wealth of the inteiior mi_,ht lind an exit And vet what mink of appicclu tlon foi all this have we to show/ A pic line in Windsot Comt house of which few luivo lieiud and which fevvci have seen Surely it would be a graceful tribute If wc

ut least erected a memorial of him in the capital of the State for which he did so much, and for which, perhaps, he alone of his time dreamed of so glorious a future.

The "Sydney Mall."--Following on the two admirable) special naval numbers of the "Mall" comes tho issue of to-dny with a

j four-page naval supplement, which convoys a 'capital idea of tho renmrkablo children's dc.raonstratlon of last week. The subject Is done full justice to. A good deal of space

¡Is given to an entertaining turf budget, which

.includes many excellent pictures In connec-

tion with tho recont A.J.C. Spring carnival, among theso being a double-page, made up of photographs of Duke Foote and other turf favourites. . The wreck of the stenmer Tyrone on the New Zealand coast is illustrated, and there ai'o striking pictures of the crow and baggage bolng hoisted up a precipitous cliff. A sketch of tho gun-section of a modern British battleship has especial interest, be-cause of the presence of the Australia. There Is a picture Illustrating tho Dublin riots, and another showing M. Pcgoud, the French airman, whose sensational "looping the loop" performances havo lately boen described In the cables. The prospects of settlers on the Yanco irrigation area aro discussed In the land pages; and the grand opera season Is specially dealt with, portraits of many of the principals bolng published.

Totalisator Investments.-The latest returns In connection with tho totnllsator in New Zealand contain some Btrlklng ligures with regard to tho growth of that form of betting In tho Dominion, and give Bomc Idea of the hugo sums that annually pabs through the bookmakers' hands lu New South Wales. It is shown, for Instance, that last year no less than £3,600,105 was invested on tho 265 machlncs, which had been registered, being nu lucroaso of £713,004 on that of the previous year. Tho machino Is a good ussot to tho Government, which collects 21 per cent, of the gross takings, their share last\ year being £80,095. This Is tho only method of betting on horse races in Now Zealand, for all formj of bookraaklng are prohibited, and even th-i publication .of totalisator dividends, except on tho racecourse, is Illegal. Tho ligures for tho past 22 years show that tho growtn has been a steady one. Starting with £506,078 in the year 1801-2, the million mark was reached in 1899-00, and tho two million mark In 1909-10, Inst year being the flrst oc-casion on which £3,000,000 had been Invested. Tho total bum which pnBBOi through tho ma-chines during tho 22 yours was over £31,000,000 while tho Govcrrjniint received in commission nearly £550,000

Panama Con mi.LlonerB.-Tho American

C.nsul called yce'.-rday on tho Panama Ex-position Commissioners, who returned the call al hour or so later. To-day, a" noon, the Commlssioncis will call on tbc State rrcmier (Mr. Holman). They made a motor trip yesterday afternoon, and woro surprlsod lo And that tho suburbs extended so far out. "It Is 'somo' town, this Sydney of yours, ' said ono of tho party who added thal he saw in It many points of resemblance to up

to-dato American cities.

Jury's Dilemma.-An unusual icqucst was niado to Mr. Justieo Sly, in No. -2 Jury Court yebtorday by tho Jurors empanelled In a caso which had occupied over three days. They re-tired at 2.30 to consider their verdict, and at -o'clock returned into Court for enlighten-ment on certain points. ThlB his Honor fur-nished, and the foreman, with bomo hesita-tion said that an agreement was not likely to bo arrived at for some time, and usked whether a majority verdict could not bo taken

at once His Honor explained , that unless tho patties consented, such a finding could not be accepted foi six hours Tho foreman then put un nlteinative ptoposltion Can wo not bo released for the night on an undci tal lug thnt wo speak to no olio about the caso in tho Interim"' He personally pic idcd an important board meeting that evening, and another juror assured lils Honor that ho was suffering pecuniary loss Mr Justice Sly, howevor, whilo appreciating the difficulty of tho position, said ho aad no powet to remedy it and tile four gentlemen had to bo content to follow the usual courso of pro-

cedure luid down by law

' Settled the Al gument "-Mr Hobort A Harle, Bupetintendent of the collluilos of the A A Co, told tho Minois* Wages Boaid at -Uesdijb bitting in Newcastlo that two of the machine men in his colliery had a qunrlel The outcome was that one hit tho

other over the head with a plck-handlo, I cutting his head and stunning him for soino

time ' That settled the argument," con-1 tinucd Mr liarlo But, * ho added, "why bhould we muko the wages of auch mon up to a minimum of 12s 4d peí daj ' Mr Harle was giving examples of the deficiency In workmen as ovidenco In the Inquiry into the Peluw Main case Tho men at Pelaw Main wore claiming a minimum late of 12s -Id per shift, and tiley held that that was tho custom throughout the dlstilct Mr Harle said that he nevci made the wages of his machine men up to l.'s 4d unless ho considered tint tho place they weio woiklug In was really de-

ficient If tho men thcmsclvoB woro deficient ¡ tiley would havo to bo content with the wageb ,

they earned

New Government Building-A report of tho' Public Works Committee was placed on tho

tablo of the Assembly jesterduy adopting a, proposal for further accommodation for the

Agricultuial Department Iho proposal Is I

for-tho erection of a slx-storlcd building, j

with a basement on the remaining portion of to silo on which tho new educational olhceb ale being built Tho agricultuial building will complete the Government block bounded. by Brldgo, Bent, and loftus streets I he Agilcultural Depaitment will occupy foin floors and tho ba-oment, and the two top floors will bo utilised foi othei blanches of the scrvico now occupying rented premlbcs at a cost of £0020 per annum The total coBt of the now building is estimated at £84,000

The Baker's Similes-A witness giving ovidenco yesterday before tho Cost of Living Inquiry, put forward reasonB wh) the modern hie id bill íb heavier than It was 10 ycais at,o nnd incidentally showed that married life bonis a closei relationship lo bread than is thought, suppljing even similes foi the trade that havo become as common as household words Ten yeais ago the trudo was mostl) confined to the tla-loaf, ho said, and about one-quaiter of It was fancy Now, it ib thrce-quartcis fancy As a mattci of fact, He thought that in this respect Now South Wales was moro advanced in the manufact-uro of bieud than any of the other States Ton yeal s ago the popular loaf was the tlnloar, at 2_d, but this was revolutionised and displaeed almost bj Hie "married-tin " In tho case of the ' marrled-tlu," the wltnebs loft it to bo presumed that two loaves weio Joined and made ns one Latter]}, the "mail lea-tin" was being ousted by the "husbandbeater" Lost the Court might mlsundeiBtand, witness explained that thlb suggestive title is attached to tho long lonf, known to tho publiL as the Vienna roll As might bo expected tho ' husband-bonier" requires moro loom, and only 190 of them can rest peace-ful]) in an oven capable of holding 320 "mariled-tlnB" This was an Important ficlor in the coat, although the roll Is Increasing in popularity with the housekeeper Witness gave this Information from Instances that had come undi r his notice, and he presumed tho rare qunlltles of the "husband-boater" were as popular with Mis Jones as willi Mrs Brow n ' '

"A Calamity "-The Director of Quarantine (Dr Cumpston) describes the lejoctlon of the Vaci lnutlon Bill, lntioduced Into the Now South Wales I'nrllamenat, as a lalamitv rwcnty-nlnc 5ears ago, ho aavs, when Now South WalCB w is visited by smallpox, the State Parliament rejeitod a slmlltu measure In the epldomle 20 ciBeo had fatal results Tho Minister for CuBtoms (Mr Groom) said ho waa not awaro whother tho Now South Wales Government intended to Introduce other legislation, with a view to stiengthenlng tho hands of the Board of Health, who bad con-trol of the ai rangements The Tederal Go-vernment would havo to continuo tho icgulaUonB now In força until tho dlscaso was stamped out, or a moro effective means ol dealing with tho disease than existed, at pre-sent wo* devised.______

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