THE HUGHES POLICY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 67, 18 March 1916, Page 4

THE HUGHES POLICY.

So far as Mr. Hughes has gone, in his published utterances at Home, he has not put forward any novel scheme of fiscal policy or committed himself to the advocacy of any detailed system of Imperial reconstruction. But as we have already remarked in commenting on the "Hughes boom" 5 which was worked up bo assiduously by the British Press before the Federal Premier ar rived, it is evident that a large number of people at Home have been waiting anxiously for an efficient spokesman to voice their view's on certain topics, and that finding the recognised heads of the great political parties over-cautious or irresponsive, they are only too glad to follow the lead of a vigorous and enterprising colonial statesman. Mr. Hughes has a great opportunity at his feet. The war has impressed upon the minds of the British people more clearly than ever before the necessity for the closer consolidation of the Empire and the even more urgent need for a policy that, while binding all its elements more firmly together, will enable Britain and the Dominions to hold their own against the insidious commercial rivalry of Germany which, under the specious guise of "economic penetration," has menaced so gravely our political and national existence. The conviction that some such change in our Imperial policy is urgently required is natural!) - forcing itself with ever-growing intensity upon the public mind at Home as the war goes on, and Mr. Hughes has appeared on the scene just at the moment when most people seem to have given up hope of anything like bold and statesmanlike lead ing from the recognised heads of th» dominant political factions.' All this, of course, account* for the enthusiasm that his visit has aroused, and for the eager desire to expound or even to anticipate his views that the leading organs of British public opinion are now man , , festing. But we must repeat that spite of all these things Mr. Hughes has so far said nothing but what many colonial statesmen have said before; while many of the newspapers that are now applauding his utterances have in the past condemned in the most sweeping and uncompromising terms the very principles and doctrines that the Federal Premier so ably advocates.

Anyone who takes a cynical interest in human inconsistency can easily find material for humorous reflections in the laudatory accounts of Mr. Hughes and hie doctrines that have appeared in many of the leading British journals of late. The "Daily Chronicle" and tbe •'Daily News," for instance, have hailed the advent of Mr. Hughes with sonie'thing approaching enthusiasm,"ana the "Westminster Gazette" has gone so iar as. to declare that Mr. Hughes, in his already historic address to the Imperial Council of Commerce, "said nothing' with which we cannot all agree." It is, indeed, a remarkable fact that the leading Radical and Liberal organs at Home should regard Mr. Hughes as a fit subject for eulogy. For the Federal Premier ifcpresents, in certain important ways, two great ideas to which the newspapers we have quoted are most obstinately

opposed. As a colonial statesman Mr.

Hughes is perhaps best known as a strong Protectionist and a consistent supported of compuleory military training; that is to cay he is an ardent

champion of the two great principles of national policy to which the "Daily Chronicle," the "Daily News" and the "Westminster Gazette" have always been resolutely hostile. It would appear that some uneasy suspicion has already eroesed the minds of the leaders of the

Free Trade and "anti-conscription" parties at Home that everything is not as it should be with Mr. Hughes. For some of them are hinting that the distinguished stranger must remember hew complicated are the internal politics of Britain, and expressing the hope that Mr. Hughes' opinions will not be interpreted or utilised as an endorsement of certain "narrow policies" which they regard as heterodox. But etill the grett majority of people at Home apparently fail to realise that what Mr. Hughes i"s chiefly concerned about is some sort of Imperial fiscal programme which, as he hae -frankly told them, will involve a complete reconstruction of Britain's traditional policy, and will 6f necessity bring in its train something closely approximating to that Imperial Reciprocity or Preferential Trade, which the Cobdenites have so persistently banned and contemned.

The "Pall Mall Gazette" has described Mr. Hughes' speech as the boldest and most sagacious utterance on Imperial questions since Mr. Chamberlain retired; and the comparison is highly significant. For Mr Hughes is as keen a Tariff Reformer and as bold an enemy to Cobdenism and all its works as Mr Chamberlain himself could desire; and the irony of the situation lies in this—that newspapers which are now lauding him to the skies are ;he very organs which induced the Imperial Government to reject Tariff Reform, and thus "bolted the door" in the faces of the Dominions with their well-meant scheme of Imperial Prefer-, ence. So far as we can gather, the only' point in which Mr Hughes differs substantially from Mr Chamberlain in regard to his conception of Imperial policy is that the Federal Premier hopes, not only for Tariff Reform, but for a political and constitutional reconstruction of the Empire which will give the Dominions a larger share in the control of Imperial policy and the administration of Imperial affairs. On this point we must confess to serious apprehensions; and we sympathise entirely with the hope already expressed by the "Daily Chronicle" Melbourne correspondent, that Mr Hughes will not venture to commit himself on this difficult and dangerous topic without specific instructions. But that for the moment is a side issue. What we are chiefly concerned about just now is the new fiscal policy which Mr Hughes is advocating for the Empire. Everybody knows that for many years Britain has steadily rejected the colonial echemes of Imperial Reciprocity and Preferential Trade. Mr Hughes is now reviving these schemes as part and parcel of a wider national policy, and the fact that erstwhile champions of Cobdenism are nowi hailing Mr Hughes as a. great Imperial statesman is surely a proof that the tide of public feeling in regard to Fiscal policy has turned under the pressure of the war at Home—an indication that the great purpose which the Tariff Reformers have striven so hard to achieve is now nearer accomplishment than ever before.

The following is Mr. D. a Bates' wether forecast for 24 hours from 9 ajn. this day: "The indications are for variable and strong breezes, but moderate to 6trong easterly prevailing. Expect dull weather, with much mist and fog in parts. Rain probable. Barometer unsteady. Tide 3 good. Sea considerable swell."

Mr. J. C. Griereon, secretary of tbe "» Auckland Co-operative Building Society, n " has been subpoenaed to give evidence at a Wellington in the inquiry to be held th with respect to the appointment oi TU Lieutenant Grierson as an officer of the to Sew Zealand, Expeditionary Force. P° Lieut. Griereon, who is a nephew of us Mr. J. C. (Jrierson, of Auckland, came from England a year or two ago on Su account of his health, and has been (s employed in different offices and farm- th ing. "He enrolled in Te Aroha as a co mounted man to serve with the Tenth < Reinforcements, but was prevented! from a leaving with that body on account of as the present inquiry. The suggestion, we J" understand, is that Lieutenant Griereon w. has German sympathies, but his friend* th state that there is nothing in his family > n history or previous career to justify the hi aspersions made against him. The ftili » facts- will no doubt be ventilated by the <-] inquiry, which opens at Wellington on se luesday nest. , A day or two ago an elderly gentle- n( man called at the YAI.C.A., and in- h( formed the general secretary (Mr. P. J- cc L. Kenny) that a sum which would run if into several pounds had been left to the fi) Association by Signaller Neil McMillan, t y who was killed in action some months c( ago. The caller was Mr. J. H. Black- a , wood, superintendent of the Onehunga Si Congregational Sunday School, at which {( the deceased was an attendant, and to c< which he has also left a portion of his oi possessions. Although not a member of the V.M.C.A., he desired to heljj that B institution in appreciation of the splendid services which its representatives c were rendering to soldiers at the front. t( Tbe funds are in the hands of the Pub- t j lie Trustee. rr Apart from the fact that it interfered v considerably with the preparations in 11 connection with the St. Patrick's Day s j carnival, the rainfall of the past 24 hours s i would be appreciated throughout the a Auckland province. It would be espc- t eially beneficial to farmers and stock- f, owners in the production of crops and a pasture, and also in the extension of the t: i milking season. It is the theory of t leading doctors that the rain will have v a considerable effect in minimising the r, spread of the infantile paralysis epi- a demie. The dust, one of the most pro- r lific sources of infection and disease, was effectively laid. The total rain that v fell during the period was I.l'in. This brings the total for the month up to (■ 3.36 in. . a A social gathering took place in the b Public Hall at Ellerslie on Wednesday c evening to bid farewell to the second i son of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Byere (who i left to-day for the camp). This is the v second son who has volunteered' for bm s tive service. There was a large attend- s ance at the function. Mr. F. Lawn', £ who presided, made a patriotic speech, I which was much appreciated. In the i -course of, ,his remarks, the chairman said t was present, I must," as chairmarPof the 'Ellerslie School 1 Committee, be proud of the fact that already 50 of the old boys had gone to the < front. Brief addresses were also delivered by Mr. Bust, of the Ellerelie Town , • Board, and Mr. McKinney. Later in the j i evening dancing was indulged in. ] A visit was paid to the Stae Farm, i ' Te Kauwhata last Wednesday by the i , Rev. W. Beatty and Mr. James Hall i i (chairman and a member of the Dilworth 1 ' Trust Board) accompanied by Mr. 1 . fVHalloran, secretary to the Board. The < i object of the visit was to obtain informa- ] ; tion as to the best variety of fruit trees - to be planted on a large orchard that ( ; the trustees intend to establish on the i f Trust Farm, situated at Otara, East i r Tamaki. The, authorities imparted s i valuable information re the best varie- f » ties to plant, the first for commercial ( r purposes and generally for useful pur- ■ ■ poses. Owing to unsuitable and stormy ' i weather when the grape vines were in } - blossom, there will be a large falling off ] ; in the wine production this year as s compared with last year. It is estimated that there will be two thousand less. . r The variety of grape that suffered less f than any other was the Albany Surprise. t The Dilworth party were hospitably en- - tertained. and tendered hearty thanks f for the information imparted. A collision between two railway trains t fortunately without any loss of life, oc ,- curred at Kirwce yesterday. The trains § concerned in the accident were the 3.3-5 f p.m. train from Christchurch and the c Springfield train, timed to arrive in the I i city at 6.30 p.m. It is stated; that the I .- collision was due to the failure of the f brakes on the latter train to act. The • Springfield train, although it is 5 reported that the signals were - against it, steamed right into the I station, and struck the other train, which was stationary in the station, a with considerable force. The two c engines hit head on, and were hope- •- lessly entangled. When the engine was r. finally got back on to the rails it was i- unfit for further use, and had to be r towed back to Addington. One of the d carriages attached to the stationary II train was badly damaged, but all of the [f passengers escaped unhurt, although i- considerably shaken and frightened. h Owing to the Australian mints being " c unable to continue the manufacture of • half-sovereigns, a further supply of these coins will not be available until after n the war. In -reference to this peculiar l J effect of war conditions, the manager "> of one of the Auckland banks states that C_ the coins now in circulation will not jn " be withdrawn, hut no further supplies ft j can be obtained. The resulting inconvenience would be trifling, as payments j| may be made by half-crowns in place of c . half-sovereigns. The non-production of ie half-sovereigns doe 3 not entail the dis0 ] continuance of the supply of soverei<ms. a . It is understood that the London mints, n t m common with those of Australia, n- have also discontinued the supplies of th half-sovereigns. ly A violent thunderstorm occurred in at Taihape on Tuesday last. At Tirirau'Jt kawa, a few miles from Taihape, Mr. F. us Mickleson, an old settler, had the misut fortune to k»e 105 6heep. When th-* ie- gtorm was at its height the flock ** rushed into one of the corners of the dr paddock, with the result that many re " were suffocated. ™ Mr. T. Donald, a settler of Mataroa od was riding a young and somewhat frac-' )w tious horse last Wednesday, when it nd S ave two or three severe bucks with ad the result that it threw the rider' causof ing a fracture of the slculL He was at ies once conveyed to the Ruanui Hospital jl y at Taihape. He is reported to be i n doing well. er The Education Department invite apan plications for the position of work-in* eh editor (associate) of the "School JouT--80 ™ *- B * * £25 <> Per annum m- The posrtion ss to be held under Winer" rao* durag the period of the war

A happening which 13 turaauv «»i '"•■' the North Island was' *,3g2'to at the meeting Whangarei Board of night, when the closing of V-'cert? country school, where tiie'atttnrhm had fallen to three pupils,',„The chairman (Mr. Fred Kra'ni) smini was a matter for regret. A lot of roLI had been spent on the schooL u&.' nice garden had been made: Thetroubl* was that a company had mopped'nn'jii the surrounding land for one'bigihS run. It was dec'ded to shift the ■&&':, to a locality where there wa»'£ beft&; possibility of there being children 1 use it. '■.-!?;■- A curious point cropped up in tto ■Supreme Court, Napier, on (says'the Hawke's Bay '•'Herald?)i|. the ease of Henry Baker, charged intio counts- (1) breaking and entering jj " dwellinghouse " with intent to" coffina a crime; (2) breaking and entering'aa'd assault. At the close of the case'tjit jury came back for direction as "to whether they could return a verdict 0 i the first count, omitting the intent to commit a crime." had asain retired his Honor Mr. Sijifa Edwards, who had been looking up'thi Crimes Act, made the discovery, that section 278. under which the charge *v made, although it specified' boiling, houses and various other premisesi maL no mention whatever of "d»oIii». houses." He discussed the'positioh/irtk counsel, and said that he was afraidJhat if the jury brought in a verdict'on the first count, he would have to reierf, the point for the Court of Appeal.'-'"'"Hi could, however, accept a verdict "of assault in terms of the second'coast .Strangely enough the jury, on retnrn'nit. found the prisoner guilty on' count, and acquitted him of the eharee of assault. At the last meeting of the Auckland Bricklayers' Union a resolution liai passed protesting against the Order-it Council suspending the awards in respect to discharged soldiers and empowerini the Inspector of Factories to grant per mite for such terms, rate of wages,'or upon any other condition he thinks it It was held in the course of the ductasion that the order was illegal trader sub-section of section 23 of theJTraas and Commerce Act, imposing a d3y iw the inspector which, it was impoatiWs for him to perform with satisfactioß; also that it was an infringement'of''lotion 66 of the Arbitration and Concihttion Amendment Act, 1908, deprrving'fii unions of local control, as the underrate workers were provided for in tie award, and no permit was refuted 9 reasonable. Among those on board the transport which arrived at Port Chalmers on l^pday evening was a passenger froai Colombo, to whom some intfßti attaches by reason of the fact that }t has come to New Zealand in order to enlist in this country. He is a young man of fine physique, and hii peoplelitt in England, but he has been soisuresM with the prowess of the New'Zealui t soldiers that he has-decided to join this section of His Majesty's Forces.-.Acta- , a ted by this desire (says the"?otaji , Daily Times"), he threw up a'posifini : in lie service of the Railway Depart I ment at Colombo, and paid big o«[i , passage-to hope th»l i he'wTsT r gpeKlfls( berffcepted^Merviet * %n the appeal..of .her gM ! of twelve years who had been.faaai "_ wandering aimlessly in the itreetraheal ' eleven o'clock several night* ago, »| ; this morning permitted by Mr. F. ?• Frazer, S.M., to go back, to her home te , three months on trial, with a warnnj : that any future kicking over the traos 1 would'result in her being lent to Qk 1 kaike industrial school in Otago. lie - trouble, it was explained, was the lcai 3 of stubbornness that frequently teem panics mental backwardness in chiMi* 5 Yesterday's cables referred to-these-t cess of a team of New Zealand feat--e bailers—convalescent soldiers--hi 1 t match against a team of English offices, I at Richmond. The message ~ states, tlai * the New Zealanders won by 20 poiitsti I 6, two tries being scored by Mnir. Tit " player referred to is James Mmr, a» oU f Technical College boy, who resided.fifii 1 bis parentis at Otahubn before he ■■» 1 listed. _ - ... * The new recruiting scheme wfllh launched in Dunedin on Tuesday._«£ *" There will be a series of proceisioM ail f recruiting meetings," in whichi-retuneJ ; ' soldiers, territorials, women's . orgaa» l [ tions, fire brigades, school children, _«. 3 boy scouts, will participajte.' Recrifiaj booths will be open day and night, aal s an effort will be made to have a?? ■#. ; medically examined immediately■■■"™M£ t rolling. The city has been nw 3 lb districts under section cpmnuttau, c which will personally supervise an» c ing. It is hoped the Prime 3£»>»t? f* c be present on Tuesday. * '■;' ' * At the inquest on a soldier who «•" I mitted suicide at the Featheratoa «g last week, no writing pad was ayaflt* for use in writing the deppsitipnjJgJ! 6 the "Wairarapa Age").' A RrPPg! ' was hunted for, and a piece of ■«£?*■ 3 ' duet—was found which served ,ft? F£ ° pose, and was used aecbrdingly." rMJS _' irony of fate was once more ffl*££? when, on reading the title of the.;#P * it was found to be " Life's Dream ffS Farewell." ..v'¥l v Burglars broke into the drapery/|b)» ie of Messrs. Bridgers at WbakataiH !f r .j Thursday night. An entraace'-W gained by breaking a pane of gj*J?/2 the back" window. The till *« I W| 'f about £2, while several pairs of. J* "' were strewn about- The matter ».» the hands of the police. ''; ■ . ; *- A storekeeper at Waimaiama-a * p j ported by the Napier papers .to ; it ing. His clothes were found i 0 + ing shed on the beach after be *"£" gg bathing, and, though he was | n . swimmer, he is supposed to have •*■ | drpwned. of Three small boys who had | of a footpath in Epsom as a i s . were brought before Mr. f. K||3|§i v . S.M., this morning, and w W e M2 i Si any future bicycle riding on foetf»P ; would result in their being fia«4' of At the Grafton Theatre evening, Dr. Julia Seton, viee-prW*? | in of the "international New iv- ance, New York City, and Ne»rJß» j-. U.S_*.. -nill lecture on "Man «<!" is . Mind," Miss Bradney will shtg * Promise of Life." ck Mr. Geo. W. Wilson,, he give a demonstration in tie BirlM*r ny Hall next Wednesday night . Applications are invited for p»W j aa, as male attendants and nurses ** j ic-' Auckland Mental Hospital, it Knowing that Baxter's ith server is a real remedy for esw£Jß is- bronchial troubles, one at these distressing ailments. Bi| P° tal 1/10, everywhere.—(Ad.) s~'.-'~'i* be Ladies of Auckland! Bead nouncement on page 11. I* ip- you, and should not be ;- ng Auckland public are cordUUy ir- to inspect our window displaj- 0 V m. Rubbing Laundry Hel?. 1/ er- cient for seven washinsa.—SWßJl . Ltd.—(Ad,) " ' >