Art and the City Council.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14919, 18 March 1914, Page 8

Art and the City Council.

In nine cases out of ten when a local body deals with art it gets beyond its depth, and is apt to flounder rather badly. There is, of course, no reason why a member of a local body should not know something about art, but the fact is that comparatively few members da. This would not matter much if they would only realise their limitations. It is curious that while men will hesitate to question the special knowledge of an engineer about drains or bridge-build-ing, they do not hesitate to express opinions on the huge and difficult question of art. The City Council, like many other local bodies, is not happy in its handling of the question. It wisely gives an annual grant for the purchase of a picture to add to the Art Society's, permanent collection, but having decided to do this, the Council should leave the choosing of the pictures to experts. We are not sure that the restriction of the purchase to New Zealand artists is wise. It is arguable that if the public's money is to be spent in this way. the best picture obtainable should be bought. We are quite sure that the proposed restriction to landscape would be a mistake. There is too much landscano in our exhibitions

as it is; besides, such restrictions only hamper the artist. The appointment of representatives of the Council on the Committee of Selection is a mistake, j unless these gentlemen have .special 1 knowledge of pictures. It is in accord- I ance with the democratic principle of j control of expenditure, but the principle ! has nothing to do with art. There is no ,

reason to suppose that the Mayor and ! Mr Hiram Hunter were selected be- j cause they are specially qualified to j choose a picture, and the thing almost I looks as if the Council thought that j picture-buying was like apportioning ! the cost of a joint road or drain. When i the Council comes to build the Town ; Hall it will be guided by the opinion ; of the expert who judges the designs sent in. and it should

adopt the same policy in regard to pictures. A correspondent who writes to us this morning on the subject, makes the good suggestion that the Council might for some years devote its grants to prizes for works of art to be used in the decoration of tho Town Hall. This would wid.n the field in which the Council seeks to give en-

couragement, and give a .stimulus to a kind of art which in this young country is particularly stunted. A yearly grant for a picture tends, to become mechanical, and encourages the belief that art is an esoteric thing that begins and ends in an art gallery. Tho Town Hall, as the centre of city life, might well be made the means of widening both the application and appreciation of art.

We have yet to learn what is tho nature of the process by which the Australian scientist referred to in our cable messages last week claims to be able to bring on rain. It may bo pointed out, however, that this is a field of activity in which hope is particularly hopeful, and realisation particularly difficult. Tho "Morning Post" mentions that in the twelve years in which its "Discovery and Invention" column has been published, seven new methods for interfering with Nature in this and similar ways have been described. One was the rain-making experiments by explosion near Oamaru in 1908, of which the present Government meteorologist said that they wero as powerless to produce rain as the striking of a match in a room. Another was a series of acetylene bomb explosions in Italy, extending over five years, a report on which declared that there was nothing to be gained or hoped for in the prolongation of the experiments. One of tho latest devices of the kind was an elaborate electrical device designed to mitigate the hail-storms that do such serious damage to the French vineyards at intervals. For two or three years tho apparatus, which stretched over the countryside and was designed to protluco a flow of electricity from tho upper to the lower air, appeared to answer well. But last year the protected districts wero visited by devastating hail-storms of exceptional severity and frequency, and the vinegrowers liave now no faith in the "protection." The Australian invention must be submitted to long and severe tests before people will be disposed to accept it as fulfilling the claims mado for it.

Nobody is at all likely to suppose that in thinking pretty discreditable the decision of tho "Liberals" to rely upon disorder and animal noise we are altogether sorry that their political bankruptcy declares itself in this particular, way. Actually, the new "Liberal" manner is rather an asset for Reform. We hardly thought, however, that our "Liberal" friends would be quite so foolish as to rejoice over Mr Atmore's uncouth behaviour in Nelson, especially as they have for some unknown reason been extolling him as an excellent type of politician. They do not actually cheer, but they say that "probably" the disturbance ho created with the assistance of his friends was proper and admirable. "A wholesome fact," we suppose, as the official organ of the party, writing of the outrage at Mr Fisher's meeting in Wellington, described the fact that "Liberalism" has settled down to hoot free speech out of the country.

In the meantime it is entirely plain that the member for Nelson, by his successful attempt to live up to that reputation as a first-class "Liberal," which the party newspapers have made for him, has utterly destroyed whatever slender chance 113 may have had of escaping as ignominious a fate at the next election as, say, that devoted admirer of Sir J. G. Ward who represents Gre.y Lynn. We print, in another column, the opinions of the two Nelson journals—one an independent paper, and one an ardently antiReform paper—and to these opinions we would refer our readers. The people of Nelson have made up their minds, and require no advice or encouragement from outside. But the people of Canterbury will draw their own conclusions from the fact that this Mr Atmore—such is tho case of the "Liberal" Party--is. with Mr G. W. Russell and two or three others, in the first class of tho Opposition lead-

The loss of a sense of humour is always a pathetic thing, for it means that the loser is by so much less able to enjoy*life. We have to extend our respectful sympathy to the anti-Re-form organ in Wellington for the really lamentable loss which its comments on Lord Newton's Betting Bill show it/ to have sustained. Lord Newton was reported by cable to have advised young men who wanted to exeroi:-e the greatest influence, to buy racehorses. Lord Rosebery. he said, owed a great deal of his position and influence to his connexion with the Turf, while Mr Balfour would not have been driven from the Unionist leadership had he been a sporting man. Our contemporary takes all this with most ainusinj* seriousness, and solemnly proceeds to show that Lord Newton is quite wrong. "Did Palmerston. Disraeli, and Gladstone breed any Derby winners? How much does Mr Asquith owe of his political success to racehorses? How came it, that the horseless Ma.ssey became Prime Minister, while those good sportsmen Russell and Ormond had to be satisfied without. Prime Mini-terial honours? What did racehorses do for Mr Seddrm or Sir Joseph Ward?" This sad seriousness is the dreadful result of daily efforts to prop up a political cause never noteworthy for humour.

In his speech at Goro, the member for Avon was even more entertainingly scrambling than usual. We are all ! familiar with the Opposition habit of saying in one breath that the "Liberals" ! left the country in a splendid condi- ; tion —taxation low. teachers well paid, j and so forth —and in the next breath I that..tho Msssey Government is bad i and "Tory," because it has done noth- ; ing to remove the popular discontent | born of crushing taxation, starving I teachers and so on. Mr Russell gave | this strange device a new application j when quoting some doubtless inaccurj ate figures regarding land settlement. ! The Massey Government, it was true j (so his speech went), had acquired ' more land for settlement than the Ward i Government, but. he urged, '"the Massoy total included three or four large : estates bought by the Mackenzie Government during their four months of ; office." And it is only yesterday that j the Opposition were all chorussing that |it was contrary to tlie public interest !to purchase estates for settlement. Either the jkilicv is good or bad. But ; the anti-Reformers would have us adj mit that it is good or bad according I to tho necessities of the orator of tho i moment. Uut. of course, it i.s the business of j the member for Avon to 6ay whatever may come into his head. At the same time, ho was hardly discreet in his I reference to motor-cars. Mr Massey, jjio said, had thought of imposing "a i new duty" on cars, but had dropped j the idea when ho learned that motor- ; cars belong to Reformers. The absurdity of this statement as a 6tatemont will bo realised by nobody better than by tho "Liberal" magnates who still own nearly the nicest cars. But Mr Russoll forgot what his respected chief had to say on the point last session. Ho excused himself for not taxing motor-cars in these words; —"1 want honourable gentlemon to remember that thero aro hundreds of farmers in this country who have imported motor-cars, not for luxury, but for the everyday necessities of their occupations. There aro tradesmen in this country who have introduced them for tho purpose of assisting them in their business." Of course, Mr Russell may not have forgotten the wise words of his respected chief. Ho may have meant to deal him another oblique blow —to catch him, as it wore, with the ricochet of his bad shot at the Prime Minister.