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. THE IMMIGRATION LEAGUE'S
APPEAL.
To the Editor.
Sir,-Continuing the observations I
made 'in my letter published in Satur
day's "West Australian," as I have
mentioned science .in that letter, it
would be just as well to refer to a
cable I saw in your journal, relating
to Dr. Gregory, of U.S.A. He proposes
to ask the Iowa Government to bring
in a Bill, the object of which is to
legalise the painless killing of the hope
lessly incurable, at the instance of the
patient, and also of hideously deformed
or idiotic children, at the instance of
the next-of-kin. The doctor is on the
wrong track. I would advise him to
read his Bible and start his medical
study from there. He would wish to
legalise suicide and murder. To the
one God, who gives the deformed and
lunatic hfe, those lives are of the same
value as the man with the equally bal
anced mind and the most perfect body.
The sins; of the father are visited upon
the children, and he must bear them,
and when we read His word and hear
His voice the burden of our deformity
vanishes, the loathsomeness of 'our dis
ease is cured. Miracles in the olden
time were performed,, and the inspira
tion is given to-day. There is not a
deformity of a disease which cannot be
cured. Let Science do her. work with
an inspired hand, .and God will do the
rest. "Thou shalt not kill."
The lesson taught by the droughts is
being learned by preparing for future
ones, by cultivating, and putting down
bores for water. The damage caused
by bush 'fires is being minnised by
ploughing or'burning breaks round the1
boundary fences. The loss caused by
floods as yet we do not seem able to
minimise . Rabbits we are doing some
thing with, but not enough. A vigor
ous policy will have to be pursued in
eonneotion with them. They will one
day be a great asset to this country.
They are a small one at present in more
ways than one. At.present they are
cons.ciered a pest. and 'must be kept in
check by wire netting,, trapping, etc.,
To. disease the rabbit, would make the
so-called pest a curse. The present Go
vernment wire-netting fence must have
a termination at your' most central,,
northern, western, and southern' ports.
All owners of holdings and rims over
certain areas should be compelled to
wire-net their boundary fences, or pay
their share of being fenced in. It will
have to be done sooner or later, and'
the sooner it is dbne the better.
Betting and drink are two of the
greatest curses of this country. The
former will have to be stopped, and the
latter will have to be minmirsed. Rac
ing without betting is a noble sport.
Racing can be carried on in the same
manner as our annual shows. Betting,
totalisators, and sweeps must be stop
ped, as they do not tend to encourage
the best breed of blood horses. I
would start by bringing in a Bill to
abolish bookmaking and betting any
where, and in any shape or form, and
have the law carried out with a firm
hand. In the same Bill, I would make
it' compulsory that race meetings
'should he held three times a year, gir
Ine three days for each meeting. With
regard to the racing of horses. I would
have the races for each of the three
kinds, never allowing one sex to race
against another. You would then get
the best of each 'sex, horses of different
ages never being allowed to race to
gether. At the end of each 'year have
three days for the best and final win
ners for that year. No horse to be
eligible for entry or allowed to compete
after once winning. except in the finals.
Handicapping to be done away with,
horses of one age to have each the same
we'iht. Registered jockeys to be done
away with. Any jockey guilty of foul
riding never again to be allowed to ride
at' meetings. Give the prizes a value
worth winning, even if the racing for
a start has to be subsidised. Have two
entries, first and final. There are thou
sands of people to-day who never go
near a racecourse, for the simple rea
son, firstly, that, to be seen on a raec
course is, they consider, to lose your
good name and credit, and, secondly,
they are too weak to resist the tempta
tion the fascination, and the mania
of gambling, playing, or losing, with
other people's money. Wasting one's
lifetime producing* nothing .for oneself
or for other people, and losing very
often one's all. and ending in drink,
imbecility, or suicide. The name of
Wren is standing out rather prominent
ly just now. I always think there is a
lot in a name. Let us hope he is on
the right track and that his motives
are as good and as great as the re
nowned and historical Sir Christopher.
I have not the least hesitationi in be
lieving that if racing is carried out on
the lines I have mentioned" our race
courses will be quite small eniough for
the crowds who will picnic there on
holidays, where they will find many use
ful lessons to be learnt.
I read Mr. Rowe's speech with regard
to racing advertisements, and recog
nise his motives are of the best, but the
cause of the evil must be eradicated.
We recognise that the churches have
each their scnarate work to do for. time
reformation of their different peoples, i
and that they are gradually drawing!
closer together with an equdl share ofl
work,' and on an equal footing, and may I
,they continue to do so without strifeI
or fight, for no Christian Church lifts I
its hand against another. No one Chris
tion Church is greater than another. I
Never let us shift the foundation of our
Christian Churches. no matter *hat the
people niay be inclined to think or do. I
If churches are on the decline as re-'
gards attendance. the progress of the
world is being stopped by some cause
or other. Find out what it is, and root
out the cause. Never be bigoted, for
one must not forget, they were 12 dis
ciples, and their clurches to-day are re
presented in the world. anti the leaven
of those churches is being spread
throughout the world.
Labour has a foundation to-day |
which is like unto concrete, for it is set I
for all time. It has its eight-hour day
set on a trio or trinity basis. May they
be faithful and true to their
employer. and trust the maste-r
man. the master-mind, and the skipper
of the ship. Your half-holiday should
he at the end of the week. instead of
the middle. Holidays in the middle of
the week dislocate business. and turn
men's thoughts into unprofitable direc- I
tions. The Divine command is: "*Six;
days shalt thou labour."
I visited the Museum the other day,
and saw there a picture of the Federa
tion ceremony of these States. I think
I never saw a more true and natural
painting of the rays streaming in the
window on the assemblage. Those rays
appeared to me as the Light of the
World, giving his confirmation to Fed
eration and to the Australian people;
each tinselled r4y to be woven into a
cloth of gold. by the help of you your
selves and those who come after you, and
when that is done the time for Social
ism may be at hand.
How much there is to do in this
world of ours. I saw a tree in, a gar
den to-day which is not considered a
fruit-bearing tree. I know that tree
can be made to bear fruit. I saw an
other tree which is not considered a
lower-bearing tree. I know, that tree
can .be made to flower. In the bush
there are wild flowers without scent.
Bring them in, cultivate, environ them
with. sweet-smelling flowering plants.
There are birds which do not sing; en
viron them with imported singing birds.
And now. with regard to our eat
and glorious motherland, that Trnity
Island of Britain, which. has braved
the battles and the breeze, and has
obeyed that Voice which said "Go into
the uttermost parts of the earth and
preach the Gospel," who has started
for us in' this land of Australia a glori
ous heritage (if we only keep it so). It
would be as well, don't you think, to
do her bidding, and make her allies
our friends? Great Britain's ally was
in the East before we-arrived. She has
awaited our coming. There were pro
blems here she wanted solving.. There
was new country here we hal .never
before seen, and in which there is much
to do. Let us hope it will be done well;
with the trio basis which our mother
ladd has 'foreseen for us. If her ally
shortly visits these shores to welcome
us. give td her a hearty: welcome, and
then we will find at some future t'ime
the fruitless tree will bring forth fruit,
the scentless flower will smell so sweet,
and the songless bird will be" made to
sing.-Yours. btc..
LABOR AMOBJS VINCIT OMNTA.
Perth, 'March 25.
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