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OUT AND ABOUT.
[BY RELIX ROMER.]
Mr. Sandover has not the [?] of
wisely introducing a deputation, if one
may judge him by his performance on
Friday last. When citizens resort to this
rather stgle yay faf tiiq&'mi their wants
in the eelwtion of 4b, o^. %^s oi
trades jurionists were ousje4 Sn/tto* *f*
stance %-.tine induec^tiinicafgr of their,
interests, by Mr. SaiidofeeiTu tteJtogisls*
tiye CounriL. Yet they nwbt fewtiteW
that he received' neithfer sumwrt jaftt*H>'
couragement 90 that o^casio^ and id re- 3
peatiag op Friday lie .assert^s'W^n
made; the Attorneyj-Gew?ral; twj ?a*nHf>
rebuked ban. iflMt draw.* ritftriwiij di??
claimef from 1; *fr: SftttfttW^/ -bot
on irefleciiol^ddte he reilnt,"think jo€
the pret*nded triend' aofrfl*^
deputation, -who perforce J^s f? ?ij? Jfl *
deprecating tone —"^Pardon me. I.aidjE
spoke for myself.- The depHtafciqn man
not consckras ttait I was $r(66g%8 tbaketfir
reference to that matter; ftfad^f rfhb sf&HF
I allowed mj feeli%s to carry me, b^Ai
the l>OUllds Of Aini?raffan l w Tn ot|ff liff
added a fiflrmal apology ;for ]a^odin;^|a
part of the subject ;.w|bich had nonoK
whatever to do witfi the etgect of the de
putation. In fact^iif Jkt tables mfomta
sought what Mr. SandOTw^wdnld hi?Metp
them to seek and Parliament, to ff-gfft
they would we refused. • £very"disaufiity
that has hitherto "a&sctett^hsm, as j^jpieties
lOr> milt^tSa^ 'yaiiy- !|^> Birwiflai|?^jiMHy
removed. iTbere li no ?ea*r'qjfimiiit
investing them with tfae ?ttrtb?tes j?c
martyrs, llie-ease <tf %?&%'fc :iCS?i%;
among others, showed years agq ti^jts
wrong was being done to traded unj^aS. in,
permitting them to he defrauded Tag $&
honest oflice-bearerg, shnpiy because thej'
were not recogtiieed onjhe same footing as .
friendly sociefjesT Their funds we^J
inainly used fo*fte^derirtfenie^^f
for aiding others as wellaefortttying therf
selves in attacks upon the master*. Safer,
indeed, they did nothing StegaLth^y^inft^
by their actse of this kind placed themselves
onteide the lam. A? tiiey *e? then=ie4il
to dowhatthey did "in TOtniiitef toads,*
the law gave them no refief when they
were cheatedTuid rob"bed. AM thW has bean
changed. The phrase "resftaint of trade/*
-isobsolete, and even the old word." mas-t
ters" hae been deleted from Beeent statutes^
"employers" bea^r ?diejit?ted, so thatlte
sensitivity of the menmay^iot bejtouched.
These and kindred im^rATemsftts fakvs
been hailed wfth pleased acceptanoe *hj
the best friends of trades jmicma, by thosa
who favor their combinations bat Btron^j
condemn the vkaoue practice^ which hare
defamed them. Have the fund^ecured
by all means, place contracts betwefe em
ployers asd: employed on the Bameptat~
form of responsibility, blot out every-ws^l
that needlessly ofFendk those who h*v?%l
come unduly sensitive^ yea, gOrfor?fer
if you wffl, andpeosit the unions to dif?Tt
Aeir funds to tt? eanying m&ebBB?
wMile ficreeMng ti^ea??Bive <W^^??
and their unjustifiable attempts to crush
the masfenrVs6~ ?lFiid? ydUTlo Aeir
vexatious demtais. J8? mm&vtoq*
of this kind ftaait[ I^^ V',',.>:'..:ii
One bears'^twrjwfe?Te' tlirt W
very alack. Sne?comj^an^ aie}^ unij^tn^
mom, but they are addom ?o weiMonna?4
as' at present. There S, too, Bomewimg
more than the mere comparatira dullness
of the season. But the colonies do not, ia.

feet, suffer exceptionally. In the old
'•fofld trade; has been unusually depressed
oliate. The rock-ahead which the political
Cfrajyndra has, wifli Warning voice, pointed
oofy has been neared sooner than some ex
pected. 'Hie great speed at which we move
irtWH^dajfe soon brings dim objects, info
?t^fe and full view, ifiere can be no doubt
tm£ Europe at least is suffering from the ,
e£sas? of ? move
ment. Moderation seems to be a thing qf.
tke^pMt. BT? Mean time is kept. Every
t?Jnggote to excess, even a moVement
tttHrtdp ieitravagahce/ This is 'true,'
whether We regard "the habits' of the
p?!tg>le) the. reeaeeeneee of business life, or
the dariqg moods of Government. Specula
te which, in Bigtarid received a shock
tnr&ugh the defaults' of foreign countries,
li&'ftojt^yet recovered from the. panic-
disturbance, although, the specula
bra tendency of the community has been,
but slightly (diverted. "• ?"- -? ?. ??*
c Again, the lowHess?t the bank-rate in '
dicatfes a plethora of ttnemployed cavpititf.!
g^eburitaes that are jfafe enough/ are no
fgs£coming. The mafliets of,the world
woatd appear to be overstocked. England
soot .experiences ib* 4 reactionary-coiwe
rfdenoes of oWis^prodHCtion. Besides, were
fllis not dembnstrabljthe case, some of her
§ are,not in a position to buy.
gy have little or nothing of exchangeable
ue to offer, their credit is lostatalLevents
for the present, andnofreeh -nays and means
are:-at bsid to ?enable tliem to keep
the commercial ball rolling at its
ordinary velocity?"" Fortunately others
may hope .to benefit from this deplo
rable condition of affairs. It's an ill wind
that blows nobody good, we have long been
awa&tomed -60 say, and this dull tirade Wind
xtey helti Australia. - The able-bodied un
cS^loyed will find .plenty of room and
by migrating to this colony. No.
Urnit is placed to their numbers. The
ngpre the merrier, and, gladly ?welcomed,
and those who assist themselves to seek
fresh fields for their capacities and energies
aj| doubly "welcome. The public Works,
ftpwy. which is now being forward
wj£h becoming enterprise could hardly have
been formulated into practice at a more -
opportune time. Railway iron, as well as
surplus muscles, is easily procurable at
prices far below those asked when trade
is brisk. Kdeed, "it" would "be advisable
to lay in a goodly stock of rails
at the current rates, for money can be
obtained cheaply to purchase these goods,
which are alsb extraordinarily cheap. In
another direction, too, my observation leads
me. $0 infer that this colony may expect
gnat prosperity. .If the weather has not
MWBftnsly touched the crops, and the ex
pected unmense harvest returns are realised,
Ktfg&nd will offer ]L fine market for the
wfipat' not required" by ourselves. The
spring-sown wheat has been sorely damaged
by the hsayy Minfc: and floods m Britain,
Mi dimini?hed harvest is the inevitable
consequence. This the prospects of the
colony look exceedingly bright. Easier'
terms for borrowed money, shorter prices *
fgrJuie material to catty on the protected
public works, and a readier and larger
nmrket for cereal products, all concur to
mMke us gaze cheerfully out and about,
aKhdugh temporary dullness may settle for
a few- weeks on colonial industries and
CommercialTelations.
lam glad to see, Mr. Editor, that the
Advertiser is winillily'lKrfuniiing an excel
lent work just now. The federation
question'has "not yet taken a sufficient
bold on the public mind, and it is only by
persistent reference to it that the advan
tages likely ?to sftcrae from it will be
recognised. Thoughtful men to whom the
fafane 'means fthnf? a great deal, have
bin long satisfied with the truth that
stiooeror Liter this pregnant change must
conic to Australia. Wbat is now required
is^Q stir up the easy-going the live-to-day
ai^L-don't-care-aboutrto-morrowckss. That,
Ie think, you are {gradually doing. The
success that has attended the Dominion of
Canada ought surely toencourage the states
mien of our different colonies to make mutual
advances towards the realization of so
granjl a scheme. However, even the
Nonunion is aiot quite content with every
tmag. As a Canadian paper shows, the
dffl^lty which an independent spirit fain
tfibtild vault is now, the *? word '* depen
a^pjjr." There is, I opine, no earthly
rbjaon, save an phi' custom, why the
cgjuwes should not be talked about as
ifctegzal parts of England, that is, as
England. The ungainly fact would re
cfc&e, however, to "be recurrently expressed
macjxcumlocutionaryfashion. "Thatpart
o£ called South Australia," for
erampte, would not be more significant!
tCbMe.it would be4ertahuy less direct, than
tfce of South Australia." Still,
it the federation scheme becomes as gene
r|n* effective as all loyal subjects wish it
tgi become, then there -will be nothing
injiftious in speaking of England and her
Confederacies. The very slightest, if any,
t&QCh of dependence is concealed in the
?TJie letter, Bigned " Vigilans," which ap
peared in Saturday's Advertiser, merits the
ifcgent attentionof the authorities. Facili
ties for the education of adults ought cer
tttmy to be provided without delay. A
jyliool here and there does not and cannot
meet the difficulty. Night schools should
t?f planted in every industrial centre
thsbwiout the colony. Many who have
neverhad the advantage of even a primary
education would willingly spend an liour or
st> each evening in acquiring the rudiments
ot learning. Those who have mixed much
aptpng the uni?formed and neglected
ckfonwi readily perceive how keenly a
gfortion of them feel the want
from which they now suffer, and how
{Sadly they would embrace opportunities
which were either not afforded them in
tfteir youth, or wen stupidly disregarded.
On tbem, of course, the machinery of com
psiskm seed not be brought to bear. Those
vrho are wOfuHy indifferent may remain so,
the duty of the State going no further in
tsiisxase than making a provision for those
anxious to learn. The advancement of
e&icational schemes is of but recent date,
consequently there are many arrears to be
overtaken, especially among the full-grown
members of 'society. The completeness of
agy system of national education will be
assured when it cannot be said that one
l^Hg-iti the iq fome*A riicflp and
eiigy means of learning to read, write, and
'JfSfoi an 'election, Municipal or Parlia
sfentary, takes place without a large per-
OBntage of inforjaal votes being discovered.
'The army of^Qiterates is freshly recruited
at ?ach jevision. IndjffeKnce and in

? formality go a long distance ill accounting
j for die accidents by w^hich some members
find themselves dubbed representatives.
' Yet, everything considered, the wonder is
that the ballot, with all its acknowledged
faults, works so welt At home, where
I every trick has been attempted to weaken
• its operation, ike political machinery has
; b^en dechired admirably qfficient. . pii
' ferencea exist, but this sounder view, is
that es^res?ed by a commission appointed
; to -fenquCTe into the working of the ballot.
Jjafdrntaliry has, it is true, been re-
from' opposite standpoints by
the English ana Scotch Law Courts,
1 and the ground of their disagreement
is worthy of passing mention. The former,
hold that the directions for' the guidance >
of voters are not obligatory} while the
Lords of Session maintain that hi all cases
the ballot-paper must be marked with a
ososB,-j?4oj9e<mly. No scrawling substi
tute, or perverse line, or device will be
I accepted instead. This is, of course, the
Uteral view to "bike if the "directions" are.
regarded as obligatory and directory in the'
strict sense, and not simply as voluntary,
bits of advice. Nevertheless, it would be
well for electore>to bear in mmd that-very
little carelessness on their parts vitiates
their votes; thus not only depriving them
of the right which they profess to value-so.
highly, and {practically disfranchising them,
but leaving their friends; induced by them
to enter on the contest, to the mercy of ?
: inexcusable negligence. Any -fool can'
make a cross, even though his pen has to
: be guided to the name.

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