MR MASSEY AT METHVEN.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14326, 11 April 1912, Page 6

MR MASSEY AT METHVEN.

In the present state of politics, it was not- to Ik* expected that Air Massey would make an elaborate policy sueech at Alethven last night. No one knows yet what policy the stop-gap Ministry will put before the country, and until the Leafier of that wonderful combinaton : takes the public into his confidence, the Reform Party can well afford to "sit tight and say little." The fact that such a Government presumes to hold office, to spend the public money, and to make appointment-, without its policy being known and without its very existence as a Government being endorsed by Parliament, served the Leader cf the Reform Party as the text for some caustic remarks. The position is unexampled,, and as improper as it is unique. Of the methods by which the Government was enabled to creep into power much has been said, and will yet be said, especially when the time conies when it will have to face the representatives of the people: In the meantime Air Mas,»ey very rightly ridiculed its appeal that it should be given a chance, and-that its opponents should " piay the game." The appeal comes well, indeed, from a Ministry that has •• pointed' so deliberately., aud that has discreetly evaded, for as long as possible, the opportunity of .showing that it in entitled to the position which, in defiance of al! the rules of the political game, it has assumed. We shall have occasion to refer later on to some of the points of Air Massey's speech, but we must draw the attention of our readers to his brief statement of

the land policy of hir. party—a policy

which is that of the "square deal" for ail concerned, and which effectually disposes of the allegation that the party are under the thumb of the big landowners. It ; .s a policy which must commend itself to the country as offering the best solution of the problem of land oettlenient, while refraining from violating ihe principles of justice and fair dealing.

One remark in Mr Massey's speech at Methveti last niglit was addressed particularly t'* the electors of Selwyn. Ho urged them to "send as their representative to Parliament a man belonging to the same party as Mr Hardy belonged.'' It was a timely reminder that there .slumid be no delay in selecting n Ileiorni candidate of character and ability I'ntil -Air Hardy mado his public- announcement of his intention not to contest the seat again, there was always, no doubt, in the minds of supporters of the Reform Party in iSchvyn the hope that he would again offer himself for elc-ti'on. Now that that hope must be relinquished, it behoves thus.* who have supported him in the past to ehoo.-e a candidate wiio shall carry on his work. The necessity lor bringing him on:, may not arise until Parliament has run its full course, but in the present condition of political affairs there is no saying what may happen, and it will be well if not only iSelvyn but every electorate not represented by a Reform member prepares without delay for a possible election in the near future.

It may not be quite fair of the '-.Daily Mail" to attack the Government for its aviation policy just after the Government has decided to mako a considerable advance, but the plain truth is that England continues to lag behind Prance and Germany in this important branch of defence. The Government proposes to spend over £300,000 this year on military aeronautics, an increase of £177,000 over last year's fi._r.uros. A joint Army and Navy school is to be established for the training of officers, arrangements have been made for the purchase of machines and other equipment, and there is provision for experiments in connection with tho science. So far so good, but ivo should like to know whether all tho energy possible is being expended in pushing this programme forward. The comparison instituted by the "Daily -Mail " makes Britain look

ridiculous—six Army aviators and only one up-to-date aeroplane against hundreds of aviators and machines on the Continent. While Britain proposes to spend -300,000 odd this year on aeronautics. Franco lias just added twice as'much as this to the amount already voted for tho purpose, which now comes to .-1,080,000. However, there is no parallel in England with tho splendid wave of enthusiasm for aviation that is passing over all classes in France. Subscriptions to a fund to strengthen tho Army aviation equipment havo been opened in every important town, and people appear to talk aviation much, as they talk crickot and football in England.

Tho new Minister for Public Works might do worse than look into the stato of affairs on the North Auckland railway now in course of construction. Some time ago, it may be remembered, there was much controversy up North as to tho .best route for this line, but while the matter was being discussed the Publ'c Works Department pushed on with all sp»*ed what wa.s known as the "western deviation," a route other than that originally .selected by the Government engineers, and when Mr IJ. McKenzio was urged by tho Railways League to submit the quest'on of the route to a Itoyal Commission, ho declared that the work had gone too far for reconsideration. Ho was warned at. the time that the line that had been selected would take, tho railway through very treacherous country, and apparently the warning was well justified. A recent visitor to tho railway, who has, traversed it from terminus to rail-head, asserts that "public money-is being absolutely buried there, with no hopo of return. On the other hand, tJio North will bo penalised for" ever to the tune of something like £-50,000, while tho journey will bo about an hour longer. I believe if every stick was left on this job, and tho original route adopted, even now the country would have a lino with reasonable curves and grades, over which a train could travel at a decent speed, and still be £200,000 in pocket-"

The treacherous country, of which Mr AfcKenzie was informed, is met with on the Bickerstaffe Estate acquired by the Government. This country, according to tho visitor, "is nothing more nor less than a moving mass of silt, yet that is what they are trying to tunnel through. Ono tunnel three-quarters of a milo long passes through a slip about fifty acres iv extent, and the whojo hill has simply slithered towards tho river. What (he'asks) is this section going to cost for upkeep if it is put through?" The chairman of the Auckland Railway League, who has also visited the place, quotes reports to the effect that tho floor of one tunnel on this section has had to he" excavated to a depth of over 35 feet, to enable solid foundations to be put down to support tho lino of rails. He suggests that if this is true, the extra cost per mile of this section will be very great, and will unfairly handicap the North Auckland railway in its ability to pay interest on the cost of construction, besides seriously delaying the completion of the line. If these statements aro all true, they afford ample reason why Air .Maedonald should investigate the matter without delay. At present it suggests a rather unfortunate example of the way tho public's money goes.

In recent times there has been a marked improvement in the general conduct of the British soldier. At his worst he was never, as a class, as bad as he was painted, and now that he is a great deal better than he-used to be, the public do not give him full credit for it. Much of this improvement is due to more humane, chivalrous, and sensible treatment of him by his superiors. General Smith-Dorrien. in vacating the command at Aldershot the other day, was ablo to say that his jKiiicy of treating the British private as a soldier and a gentleman had lieen entirely successful. AA'hen the General •.vent to Aldershot a few years ago he withdrew the military picekts from the streets, and suspended the regulation against entering public-houses. Some 30,000 men were put on their honour to behave properly, and they justified

the trust placed in them. Their con-1 duct outside barracks was excellent". and manoeuvres were held on a large | scale in which not a single case of mis- | behaviour was reported. AVould the j same number of civilians, in any part j of England, show a record as good ns j this? Sir A.rthur Conan Doyle, niter j seeing British soldiers in mock war- ! fare, declared that another Badaioz j might be stormed, but it would not be j sacked. Is it not probable that the I excesses which stained that great j achievement were largely tho result of j the old barbarous punishment code? j