SIR JOHN SIMON.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 53, 2 March 1916, Page 4

SIR JOHN SIMON.

- Recent deve]ppmrar&-.m,-tte;cftrs£r pf -.< Sir John Simon afford- a striking examr J pie ofihe deficifinciasof bnlliantHalentsi: The-late Home Secretary-is r bj-generi«l j consent a man of quite' exceptional { ability. Success *t "tie Bar .and in. the ' House won him the., appointment of ' Solicitor-General-when ne-.was- -Sunder forty; be was, we believe, the .youngest ( Solicitor-General in history. He was i known, to nave nigh political Ambitions,- ' and some of his-admirers air-ia Tiim'a ' possible successor^ito,Mr. Lloyd George - andiMr.-Asquith. There was little sur- , prise when,, on the ;formation of i CoalitSpii Mimstryrhie-'preferred c in the Cpmmona to , i going>-taitm»"iiord3> ' as Lord 'Chancellor. '.But as John; Bright ■ said of a much,greater man, Hire worst < of great thinkers is that they so •often ' think wrong. 'Sir John "Siiribn provided 1 another instance of this.when he .re-: • signed because .the Cabinet decided : 'to' 1 fulfil Mr Asquith's.pledge'toanarriedmen,; < by enforcing conscription iaMh»s"'c&se)"oi:' ? single men. All his forensic and .politica'lj j ability did not enable him to realise the ! < necessity of keeping a simple pledge, nori ' did it prevent him from setting up ' opinion against Lord. Kitchener's on, a military question, though be .would be' • highly scornful ;.if Lord Kitchener' e6h-| I tradic'ted him on a point of law. He ; made this action much worse by his I attempt "to" justify it, and he is 'goiny from worse to worst by- his endeavour '.' to hamper the/very difficult work of the| ■ recruiting tri&Uha'ls. "If the ; wanted to imitate' Germany,* he said in; ' thc'HouSe, "it should imitate/its effin ciency and not its brutality,". a remark i which one might expect, from irresponsible agitators-, but not'from-a man'Tvho' until- recently was a 'Minister of the) : Crown. ' * " -.-.•:-.- ; Sir John Simon's case is'an not only of-the limitations arid "defects' of the legal mind,-but of that blind and : passionate, dinging to individual freedom which has -hampered Britain so much' ' throughout itb'e twar. Men'-like'Sir'-John gffl° n ',PJ l .?l r < >t ' see things .in^ipopoftiori', The individual, case of .hardshipT'looms.' : larger to -them than, the needs of the hour. No, doubt there.are many where the.'riew-law of- compulsion presses- " hardly or! men, biit the shells of the Germans: are infinitely .more :harsh. anHhe' ' flame mnd thunder of war* peace' WffiJ i tuples cannot be kept intact. It. is as i if, w"oen a house was on fire, and men wemjstriving hard to save- the furniture,- -' tJiel iovroer-abused them for knocking a' prece off 'a corner of the piano., There rs a feeling at Home that lawyers have ! "had too.-imich.-to do-with .the governing- i of Britain,"'and tHe "feeling will be strengthened by the exhibition Sir'"John ' Simon has made of himself." He "was "for- '] seventeen months a member of a. Cabinet entrusted with the conduct of the.great- ' est of Britain'sinvars,-and"omrcan-imagirie ' from .Ills: subsequent conduct -what' harm ■ "A-man '< i-with .isttch 3)r?judioes.,a!jd-. > fnicJi, }*sfe:pf, >.i Judgment has'inoTmore'bTisiness In > : a"'i '•Wa'f' •Ca'b'riet Hhari %' "iandßnia : h : *-w6rild 'i biYean'the'efinaingrtower of awarehip. [.j

...The following is ,—r. D, C. Bates' weather forecast for 24 hours from 9 a-m. this day-. "The indications "are for —operate tb y strt_g i_g. by -south to-east. .-Weather cloudy and unsettled, with; 'rani following; - The barometer has .a. .falling -. tendency. Tide© good. Sea. moderate swell.'" ; Sir. John McAlister, of Nprthcotc, :who has just 'returned frota.- a four months' tour df the United States, expresses the opinion that in connection with, the war, fully .90.: .per-centof. the population on the eastern coast are in sympathy with the Allies, and about 80 .per cent on the other side of the continent.- American people, <■ however, believed that" they could better eervethe Allien by munitions of war, and were reaping a-rich, harvest from the war. They could not' turn out steel quick enough to.cope with the demand. In Detroit,', the Ford factory .(owned 'by Fori of fame) was trebling its capacity; and -was turn-; ihg'otit 2",u00 motor eaisper•__/.-' /A -New York • millioiiaire ■ lumberman • told him that 600. of his men—strong;, ablebodied young fellows—had smuggled through into Canadaand" enlisted with the Canadian forces. The "VVoolwortu Building-was New York's/'boss" skyscraper, comprising 54 stoieysi "It wants a man Vfth a maul and four wedges to open tip their brains and let in some ■■said rthe chairman of the Aryfcland Education Board '(■Mr.G J. Gr___ a nd) in summing up the ■methods oi'those at the head of the Educatic-xi Department in Wellington. Mr Gartad. hoped he would be given permis-1 sior_ to indited letter to'the Minister ojC Education, and promised'to give that j gentleman "such a shaking _p" as he j, had never had: And-the other members | of the Board said equally-cutting things, j One thing that annoyed the; Board was that the Minister was still. '.'quibbling*' over acquiring some-land at Takapuna for urgent, extensions, although the Board had. offered to finance the schein'cv: and not. ask the-Department for the j money for two. years, no interest to be | charged. A second instance occurred at J Hamilton, where the Department could' have made, one job of some additions, but went about.the work in such a man.ner that it will probably cost double when it is done- The Board decided to once more write to the Department and I endeavour to sweep away a Utile more-' 'of the red-tape in which it is swathed. ' | The annual meeting of members of the j Huntly "School of Mines was held on [ Monday night. The annual report showed.: that 24 students attended tTje.classes in , the year 1915, six separate subjects being taught by the director, Mr.. J. I____ont, Of-the-students, two are .now at the front.- The-school-had-bejai greatly improved by the addition of equipment, and it was hoped' that the gas-testing - plant would be in _ operation" shortly. The outlook for the present'year was bright- The director .had carried on the work.of the pehool.-jn,a-.highly satisfactory and efficient manner. The balancesheet showed an income of £426 19/11, made tip of 'last'year's balance, Z/VS, subscriptions, donations; etc-;--£. 133, and Government subsidies,. £293,16/1. The expenditure.,totalled. £384 .0/2, thus leaving a, balance in hand and' ih" baitk of £42 19/9. Office-bearers for the present year were elected as -follows: • Pre-sident,-Mr. J.: P. Bailey; vice-presidents, Messrs. F. Harris and B. Greenwell; secretary and treasurer, Mr. E. A. Jones; council, Messrs. W. H. Bailey* G. S. .Lanffiford. <,G. \Staris. E»'-J/ Farrell, WmT'-.rcrwiifie',* _.-' __fjfl_n£j__._ it W. IGarland*. .... f ; Mr. ion. secretary to the Auckland -unrrerga-rten Association, writes: —"May I be- allowed to correct a small inaccuracy in the report.of ihe\ , speech.of Mr,- _..-:__ Mulgan-at'the Kin- . dergatten meeting-'on Tuesday: :; _e is • reported to have .said:. " The .Association - has lost the services of a.large number i of- efficient workers m-.the. war". .This referred to' the' Ed-Cation Department generally, the Association not'haying lost ■ one member Of-its staff, all of whom are of. the gentler-sex.-. There is, however, the prospective loss of the Valued'services of Mr. H. A. Milnes,' our late vice-presi-dent, now leaving for the;front, ; to whom a cordial-vote of thanks was passed for the, good work, he -has done Jor the Association, with best wishes for his welfare and safe return after the war." A business session of. the Methodist ' Women's Missionary-Union was -held at the East Street Hall.yestefday; rwjhen the constitution waV;considered-.,and _ip"r- ' oughly discussed. .In the afternoon the members met in the Pitt Street Metho-' dist schoolroom. An address i-'was delivered by the Rev."WV. 8./Poole; of Fiji,, who spoke, of ,the influence-and- work of women :in - the world; ,and -jpaue -special mention of the work of Hhe -missianary-y sisters in the Sbuth'Sea,'__il_s. The ladies later in .the afternoon entertained, the -members'rif'.'ihe-Conferenceiat afternoon tea. in. the .schoolroom, the president of the, "Wo-oen's .Auxiliary, (Mrs. W..F. .Pacey) ipresiding!' Mrs. G., Bowron (president of the JSe— Zealand -Missionary Union)' welcomed the delegates. .. ... ..:.__"; - ' ■■*■ Much satisfaction was expressed ait the meeting of ihe.Auckland,Education Board yesterdayrafternopn oyer the fact that the Auckland City Council had agreed to ' supply water free 'to the schools, and it was decided the other local bodies to'fall :in-.line. The chairman (Mr. G. J. Garland) pointed out the value of a plentiful supply of pure water at the schools. The Board passed a "hearty-vote; of .thanks to Mr. G: W. Murray, a-member of ; thc Board, who' is also amember oftheXity Council, . and. was instrumental in getting the. Council to.grant the water. Two American- four-masted barqucntines have;'according-to news received'in Sydney recently, just changed owners. The most important of "them is the John Palmer,, and she realised,, so it is -reported, £10,000, whilst the-other, the John- C. Meyer, brought £9,000. The Palmer is of 1,080 tons net register, with a, • hunber.-_irry_g capacity of about 1,300,000 feet.,, ~T.he„_.eye_,.ls of 794 tons net register, with" a lumber-carry- ; ing-capacity- of - ; tEat'iHe steamer •' Matdtua, leaving this month, -would be the -last ca,rgo -'vessel, to-make -the run from Montreal lb "New Zealand direct under the present contract," but private advices received state : that the.Canadian Government has arra-iged'.for more cargo steamers to follow the Matetua in the ; -vlontreal-New.. Zealaad-trade. "A " Gazette ESttfaordinary" has been issued empowering the Minister for Defence to exercise a censorship and prohibit -the exhibition of-moving pictures representing events in the course of or Relating.to, the present war. AnotW ' Gazette " prohibits the export of ariy goods to Switzerland without permission of the Minister for Customs.. Judgment was reserved in the stamp " duty .ease ~he_-d -at Wellington, in-which ;^S?tc*s: o f the' ■ estate'of the:Mte-Je^ie^ihr. _*_>___-• - din/for : 'junountingrto £940-. :.-•--. , ;i;

'-.Owing to a mteunderstanding certain remarks criticising the appointment ot Mr. Scott to the Arbitration; Court were ' pr_bl_Ked"m the Press as "having -been made by Mr. A. Bosser at the sitting of the'^Ar—trationrCourton Monday. The criticisms? were, .not made before the : Court, his "Honor- Mr. Justice Stringer • refusing to allow. any comment on the appointment, which - wae, as -far as his Ho&or could ,see, entirely in accordance with "the provisions of the Arbitration Act. It was made to appear that the criticisms were made before the Court, but the Judge emphatically refused to ' allow any comment on Mr. Scott's posi- : tion." ~ , ' Six' hundred troops who have been : home for final leave will take their de- 'i parture, for Tauhercnikau camp on Saturday at 8.50 pjn. The troops will ' be conveyed by special train. As is the ' usual custom in connection with troops on final leave returning to camp the 1 platform will be roped off. The men will be admitted at the entrance be- i tween the-Waverley Hotel and the post ) office: The general public will be granted '■ entrance at the opening between " the ' post office and —-dean's Buildings. ' The undefended divorce case. William ' Thomas Higgins (Mr. E. T. Field) v. < Hannah Matilda" Higgins and Samuel ' Gray, which'was part heard by Mr. Jus- ' tice Cooper at the Supreme Court last ' -month" and-adjourned for further evidence, came up again this morning. The i petitioner, at the original hearing, 6tated ] that the respondent and the co-respon-dent were living together at Te .Kniti, , .but that neither would give him a writ- . I ten admission of the fact. The new cvi- ' |dence called 7 was that of co-respondent's : . who stated that both her 6on ' ! ; and the respondent 'had admitted mis- j .conduct in conversation with her, and she had seen a child which had been , born since Mr. and Mrs. Higgins 6epa- . rated.. This child she considered to , •bear a likeness to IVer son. His Honor granted a decree nisi in the usual form. ' An application for the adjudication as & bankrupt of Benjamin Em'rys Wil- f Hiains, of Dargaville, was made: at the- * Supreme Court this morning before his | Honor Mr. Justice Cooper, by Mr. H. P. 1 t Richmond, on behalf of Messrs. Pattison i and. Brooks, contractors.' Counsel ex- 1 plained that his -clients were unable to t be present at the sitting owing to j urgent- business elsewhere. The debtor, ( who appeared in person, informed the i ■.Court that last year he found a diffi- - c culty in carrying on the number of j businesses in which he was engaged, and i therefore called a meeting of hisccred- t tors, offering to assign his affairs to : three trustees, but this arrangement had .. fallen through. Mr. Richmond ex-, j plained that the petitioning' creditors , had found that a large blanket mort- a gage over his property had been given i by the debtor since his liability to them had been incurred, and that therefore , .any charge against .the property that j they might have was reduced almost to nothing". His Honor said that"• in the absence of the petitioning creditors he could not go on with' the hearing, and he would adjourn it to April 11. c The Rev. T. G. Hanim'ond (Su'perinten- j dent of- the -Maori Methodist Mission in. o Taranaki), Who ..speaks, this evening at \ the missionary demonstration . at Pitt j Street Church,- has -been engaged in tho f work for 38 years. After nine years in I Hokianga he • revopened the Taranaki i missibn in 1878", which had once been i flourishing, and had become utterly dis- t organised by the Maori war. After v jr_ich work and • patience, .pre- a judice" and superstition are giving way,; 1. and Mr. Hammond declares the-indica-, 1 -tions now are-.or an almost c i-__rM>6fi_ie^Maojfci_^o.3he.'Christian :'t fold. Great interest attaches to the a conference, missionary meeting- this r, evening. His Worship the Mayor (Mr. t J. _.GunsOn) wjll.occupy the chair, and i the speakers will be"Rev. -W.._, Poole',' a af Fiji, the Rev. P.. _\. Knight,-3.A., recently from Melbourne, and T. G. Hammond. £ '___, '''*'-■ '

Amid the nnjrierbu& : stories -.of heroic-. deeds by soldiers at tire jtroijt .comes -the tale- of an Australian =who 4R a .-splendid sense, of duty as a worker/sacrificed ;his, life for. the. sake r df f In the first'accounts : ;.bf the. 'disaster, through' . derailment, occurred' to the iexpress -train aast - month, .and '.been ..responsible if or, seven deaths;soifar,!it'was;set-out that ; the driver Of the -trairi"wns 'imprisoned in "the cab of'his- overturned -engine and there-scalded to-jdeathiby.JSteam. '.It:ap- i pears that the > driver, .Phillip Goodchiid, _ managed to the engine, but % ;beihg nnxibris .lest the boiler of the -3 engine should "burst arid 'increase the' * disaster amohgsi-thoselnthejsurround- m ing -wreckage, he crawled back through escaping -steam to make the boiler-safe. ] He was "frightfully Vscaldfcd from head J to foot, and it-"was these injuries, de- l iiberately submitted to,- which ended-bis .; life. It is pleasing to .record that pa■"' movement has been started ffor a ■per- '* manent '.memorial -of :his iherhism.'"" - ."•] "* , 'This war-charges—what does that -j .mean?"-'3.fr. 'Bishop -'asked ?a plaintiffs S : solicited -in-, a-civilreaseJat'the 'Christ- } church . Magistrate's - Court -(says... the i\ tfLytteiton Times''). The ,'sol"eitor.fß»s; , unable to" explain. >'"'Well, I-won't/grant ' judgment until lam.satisfied- concerning .., this point. If ?plus warxharges'can'be ', shown to be legitimate 'judgment- will j he given,ibut if it is an attempt to place an'extra sum;on for loss incurred 'byplaintiffl willnot.grarit it." Mr.Bishop | said he "ihad never seen the phrase .before. The matter was settled by the ! 'plaiii^ff's'solicitor agreeing.-to strike,out ,', •the amount for' "plus war charges."' ;i .Excellent entries'' have been is for 1 -'-the' -Albany "■Fruitgrowers 'Show.: which takes place -.on Saturday. The- ,1 ■judges-of the sections will-be t~ : ;i Mr. A. Taylor,.flowers; Mr. A. Cochrane," I fruit; 'Mr. J. "Downs, vegetables; Mrs; ,: Adam Geddes and "Mr. Arch. Wilson, 1 :i •jamsi-eto.; A.. .Taylor, industrial; i Messrs. "Isaac Grey and -Wilfred Johns S son, cattle, and horses; -and Mr.'J B- • Tonnr;-poultry. - '■-' :- - ; i-.-. *. * \ At the/Empire Picture Theatre, Do mmron Road, on Monday -evening, there ; will ;be t a -grand military night :in-*id of J the French Patriotic Fund, at which Mr : r* J -- M-P-, ,will : unveil , : lite-sized, photos ana paintings of Their" ' Majesties the.JKing-and.Oueen of v En£' ] land, and also of six Empire veterans " presented ny"a"regular'; patron.' ' - - -.- • ■'• ;•' A mass meeting of miners will be held ' : mHhe King's Theatre at Waihi on Sun- : day -morning -to consider the decision of , the mine owners-relative to the proposed ~ new industrial, agreement. ,A . be taken, if necessary, as to -whether the 1 question will be referred to the Concilia- '' tion Council or:not. -< . A large scrub fire.on' between - Northcote and-Brown's Bay attracted a ' good deal of attention- <in town last ] night, and appareniry. led. to a rmnour • that some buildings at BrownVtßay had ' •been buraed. 'Inquiries -this .morning ] showed that-the-fire-- referred to was the ' only-one-intthat-'dietrict. ; "• K*tto! «Laundry --!