A PROFESSOR FROM A FAR COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12866, 26 July 1907, Page 9

A PROFESSOR FROM A FAR COUNTRY.

ITHF QUESTION OF IMPF.HIAL * U I\MTY. FAME OF A M-AV ZEALAND (ercciAi. to -the rnrss") WELLINGTON. July 25. ' ; Abo.it n week .iRo I «<lv'«*j y°" °' •, t n c Yir tStflp ti'ii Ltacock, • j '" • n ...- lc -s .r of political ecienco at A #5 f silir..ivrn»ity, Montreal. Dr. ? !" ' k r.lin arrival hero ye.,t«'rday. I a 1"'* ,50 ." 04, h V° ° l ' ) Kence from his university and ' Tor of the BritWi l--»'i>.>r«> »<>r the • J t V*» of studying colonial p,v«rnSonten'l question* relatin C to matSncf Iinpo"" , smniht-anco. _ lit. is ■ particularly in quest...,,,oi i nnerial defence and trade witmn tho y np 3J e Aβ an author Dr. Li-ucock, 2kb B l ' l ' l ,l * (>U " K mo " ?' it:, , " ia " y } - 1,m1,0d Uno ot hid book* • lh'. ungual «i. j .. 13 ■• KSdSJti: only pubii*..Hi iidfSn nwutlie «;;<>, .it * now m a> sS edition. Uo * also known as i . ~rnnr of a btamlard Canadian '■ ik" 'Sldwin and LaFontnn.c,' Thero wore 1 K r<?at ," m,, y If 01 ° YOn in Canada who did not know very i" uc h about Baldwin and C«re tho men who hold the liret io nl French and JSugluh Proiiiiorahjp S the country. Tl.i ? wok .is one of "he "makers of Canada" aerice. Or Loaeock has also written a great deal on political science and kindred suo ierts in tho newspaper I'reee or thti ft.iV, including such well-known joiirn,i; M tho London "Morning Post k tiil tho ••Manchester Canaan. Ifa hoe ulso tlono a good dwil of humorous writing for euch well-known papers M 'Tudt," "Life," a"< J tl2 o "Detroit froe J 'ma." These a publisher !uu asked, him to'fpoct for publication in book 'form I found tho doctor and his wno at tho Grand Hotel this morning, and having boon udviswl of his coming hy a mutual friond in London, I was able to mt tlieso fow dry details of his career ,'oiit of him. For thereat, ho is evidently a ?ory slirowd obw.irver of men and things, original, even, in his wuy of observing, and decidwlly original and quaint in his ex»rcs .ion of conclueiona arrived at. Ho started on his present initaion in Canada, ;nid then went to London, whore he promptly pot in touch with tho leading men oi the day who are engaged in wideuvonrmg to wire tho Imperial problem. From JLouflott he travelled »jy 1».. and O. steamer to West Australia, whore ho spent eonio throe weeks at inlying the political situation ia that Stato. il« will romain in New Zealand (or ei.\ j wwkt,, then spend threo months in the i Aiistralinn States, and finally three months in South Africa. After thoso j joitrnervin'js ho will bo in a position to I write liis book on "The Outer Empiri-. , Professor Lencock hopes to go south nnd north, and may deliver addresses in Dunwlin, Christchurch, and Auckland. H« is said to be an original and incisive speaker, and his views on the ImperiftUitiiation should bo well worth touring. So far ho has only bton able to study West Australia. Thcro he found the financial position decidedly intpreetiiitf. There is a yearly delicit. which siu'ccs'uve Jlinistncd ot rival pirtiee ni-o not able to eonjuro away. The federation in gradually extinguishing ntulor tho tivo yeuie , eliding settle i nil rovonue from Customs duties ou Eastorn products, and in withdrawing to Federal uses a portion of the Custrune on foreign produce, hns greatly impaired the ttnniicial resources of the Ktate. In Wi«t Anetralia locnl govornnicnt ia as yet very little developed, nnd tho wliolo bulk of publio expendi- * hire falls upon tho central authorities. The situation is further complicated by the fact that ci tho very time when , revenue is low the obvious necessity of' the development of internal resources oalU for a high nnd increasing ex- ' ponditure. The result is that thoio is on all sidos a fooling of sincere regret one might almost say of remorse— ' against the etep tliai wa» taken in ontering the Federation. Both sides of tho Parliament and all sections or almost all, of public opinion, are united in the fooling that the federatfon was premature, and that Wefet Australia is saorificod upon the altar of eeatinontalie.ni. The adivowUea of federation urged at tho time that a trau*-«oMtinental Tailroad would be built aa one of the first frtfiito of union. Tb» was not made a.n item in tho ba-r----gaiu, oor wa« it tJi« eubjeot of a definite promiw>, bu* it w«t epokea oi wiMwbat tooaeHy as an inevitable reeuH of union. It is iaow eeen that the proepecta of build'ina a railway are Terj renioto. Tho line -would have to tr»T«n» a oountqy of relatively li'ttie value of one thousand miles ia width in order to connect with tlie South Australian syßtoro. Even when buih it oould haixlly reduce tho tiino bobiveon Adelaide and Perth by more than "4 honra. It would also remove part of the £o]<taelds supply trade out off the hands of the Perth and Froniantle . people, and give it to SoutJi Australia. All joints considered, khe trans-cou-tKMirta/I railway looks a more than doubtful proposition Nevertheless, the doctor does not ihinik themo is oJiy Wai danger of scofeeioii. As he quaintly pute it, 'The entrance into - federation ie by • door that wall only open one way.* Legally epenklng, eeoetsion would rcqtnre bed Act of Muc Imperin.l Parliament, and thaifc would oer«r be grantotl without tho assent of tho other Australian States. The machinery U too cti-mbroMe for oper.atittg. It has been found Ln. all foc'.wations tiaitheVo are certoin difficulties U> ht> overcome, oortajn growing pnins to be suffered ac best -tthey may brifore the uaion becomes reaffly onganio. This wa* the oaee in tho Unite*} State© of America, which had its 'whisky , rebellion in Pennsylvania, and its seoee»ten movement of tilw baclt districts m the years folilmving tho federation of 1787. I think that West Australia will probably repeat tho cxperi--»rtc« of Nova Scotia, which underwent j a eimilnr period of depression nnd remorse after its union with Canada in 1867. The remedy there, adopted nftor HJC or seven years of discontent lay in tho adoption of 'better terms, , as it , was rtlled, namely in tho grant of a \ • special yearly subsidy to .tho province ont of the general 'federal resources. Tbat would eeem to mc the. only fair way of dealing W<-st Austrniia, whoso natural resources are indeed v «at, and whoso present financial posii tton does not in any way reflect a ' poverty of its own, but merely its pcenliar relations to the Australian Union. Tho mornl to bo learned would w, I shoulfl think, to look before, you .' p »p, a mornl no doubt applicable to this domininon in the quwtion of Pflwuble conjunction with tho Commonwealth."" * ."Tell mc something about , Ruthorfail," I said. "Of courao," ho replied, "I know Rutherford very well. I worked with hifU at the Mc'Gill University for six "•ara. although wo were in different -faculticv,. Rutherford ia a brilliant follow, and there i< no doubt in niy *md tbiit lin will br- tho Lord Kelvin . m the coiniug gonorntioii. Ho was too *U[ a fish for us, and lie sivnm nnay. • would hnvo givon him as much ■ B>nnoy u.s anyone else, but for him it *U not a question of money, hut of in the centre of thing*. All tho American universities know him well. lalo tempted him with a lnrp; sum. I '}nd I know that for tho lmst throe or I . four years several of t!n> Aimrir.'ui V "niYeriitiea have been ondeavourint: t.) r m\lfi% hiio eway from McUiU, but they j *i '"'

could not do so and he has gone to Manchester. The real truth of the matter is that in physical science the J'irM.'lish h;ive been making suck tremendous advances within the last ten yvr.vA that England is now the centre or thin.'.? in iluthcrford's line. The (•■nitre u-(h] to bo on the American side of tin , •.'."«■« or at nil rvents the best opportunities for studying physical seit-iK'<j Mere tlifse. and ulso probably I lit , hist men. "With tliG awakening in .Viur.f-ln ster and Hirmingham and the sc>:ni-;r ■>. liniml luiivcrsity education thro'iglioiu r.ng'.jiul. nil that has been (•limited. >o tiit'in is no doubt that J'l.rh'irViK! ][»=. done tho right thing/ Ifiinn;: tl'.e fon noon it was my priviii■::»• !<> 'iiii:-o(in< :<\ tin- visitor tn quite ;i (Miinl)cr nt uiir Icidini; men. and w'ioii ''MtCliil' , was ri'CMtior.ed, almost crer.vono .'i-k'tl nbotif Rutherford. It would sc(!ii is if. w!h'lp McGill h«d <i(iuo a good df.-.l for Ituthcrford. Ruthi'rf i<: tl hul ;.j-o dour, aoniething to add to t\." fiuiir- ot M«-0i!l. and tho brother jwriff---s.tr fioia ii far ountrv was p!ens- <•<] ti) bi-f- tii:it New Zealand was proud of lu-r man. »