Clipper (Hobart, Tas. : 1893 - 1909), Saturday 3 September 1898, page 7


"SPEEWAH"

That Tas. legislator's sympathetic in-vocation of a dead mother for a much discussed Civil servant roundaboutly re-calls "Speewah Mick's" exploits in the "back countree." "Speewah" used to follow the shearing. Having secured a place on a shearing floor, he would made himself very agreeable to all hands em-

ployed, and work steadily for about a week. Then he'd get a telegram or letter from his sister or aunt in Adelaide to say : "Father dying, come home at once." The telegram would be shown round the shed, and "Speewah" would mention sorrowfully that he didn't know how he was to get home, as he only had a few shillings in the world, and couldn't get any from home, as his people had spent all their money on doctors "for the old man." Then he would suppose he'd have to tramp it somehow, but as he hadn't been the best son in the world he would dearly have loved to see the "old man" once before he died, etc., etc. Of course the good-hearted shearers al-ways made up a subscription for their mate in distress, and sometimes the boss would head the list with a pound. "Speewah," with tears in his eyes, in- variably thanked the boys for their kindness, shook hands all round, and left — with the subscription cheque in his pocket. If the "old man" died or got better within a month "Speewah" would try and come back to the station and repay the money, he'd promise; but if he didn't come the boys would know he had to stay in Adelaide to get a liv-ing for the family. The great soft-hearted "boys" always said, "That'll be alright, Mick; stick to the old people and never mind about paying us back." Then "Speewah" would start for the nearest coach route to Adelaide, and after going thirty or forty miles branch off in a south-westerly direction, strike another woolshed, and play the same game over again, with variations. The telegrams or letters were all pre-arranged and sent by pals in one or other of the cities. "Speewah" always made a good cheque during the season, but one unlucky day a new manager arrived to take charge of the station that "Speewah" was just then exploit - ing. The new manager turned out to be the old manager of "Speewah's" last place of call. When the shearers' sub-scription order came to the office the manager made enquiries, with the result that "Speewah" was told that he had too many dying or dead fathers in one season to be pleasant. So "Speewah" skipped, but the writer supposes he is at the same old game still. Elections and Qualifications Committee — the Supreme Court — is just now seriously engaged on the Devonport dispute. A cloud of witnesses are swearing all sorts of evidence, grave, gay, picturesque, and variegated, to su-t all tastes. It is good to observe the shocked expression on the innocent faoes of the politician lawyers employed in the ease when a witness hints a*- free drinks having been served out by friends of either one or other of the candidates on that hislorio occasion. They never did! The Bench, too appears fearfully pained at the disclosures! Touoliing, very. It seems a moral that another eleotion will be necessary at Devonport. A THEIOB wedded, and twice divorced, New York seclety man {wye an exchange) who died recently near Paris, in the arms of his last and only worthy love, a Buselan peasant girl, who he had taken cut of the cashier's deek in a restaurant, said, out of tbe richness of bis experience, 6hortly before he died : ?' I have found out one thine in tbe course of my life, and that is, that the women of the class in which I w;ib brought up are not fit to be wives. They gee married with the object of amusing themselves as much ae possible, and regard a husband as an aid to that end.' Evidently the N.Y.S. man thought that woman was only made to amuse nassiety men ; but strenuously ob jected to a sasrfety woman having any such notions about bis mo-t manly sex !

Pbofessoe Marshall Hall is quite useful to the newspapers. Numerous letters to the editors and columns of articles on the ' impious profeneor' and his bookn, all more or lens oripnnl— rather leB8 — have appeared. One writer says— I wbb asked the other day why the revelation of Christianity was delayed eo lone in the history of men. I replied that I thought one roason was to give the world an objeot lesson in the direction of the utter helplessnesB of mere intellectual power to oontrol the weakness and passions of men and to lead them into the ways of righteousness. So so. Let us bewail the utter helplessness of intellectual power to lead men into the ways of righteousness. Of course, the smug self.righteouBneEs of the ' rightthinking' is referred to. And it is a curious coincidence that the greater the intellectual power the less inclination for the generally approve! waya of rlghteomBo'B.