OBITER DICTA'.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19066, 30 July 1927, Page 14

OBITER DICTA'.

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(ByK.)

What many of us must have thought is a real- blot upon the Mandate system devised by old Bill Clemenceau and Bill Wilson and Bill Lloyd George and Bill Spaghetti is that it is not a reciprocal arrangement. New Zealand has a Mandate over Samoa, and can empower the Administrator to deport anyone he pleases. Unfortunately Samoa has no Mandate over the Dominion, and the Samoan Administrator is unable to empower Mr Coates to banish people to the Chatham Islands, where they "would have no way of revenging themselves except by voting for Mr McCombs. But since the Samoan'question is settled I am free to turn my attention to goitre, not as a medical, but as a political question. The following paragraph appeared in Thursday's papers:—

In the House of Representatives today Mr J. Mason (Napier) gave notice to ask the Minister for Health if, in view of the increase in goitre, he would introduce legislation making it an offence to sell any salt other than iodised salt..

This member does not know what goitre is, nor does he know anything about iodine. He has read something that somebody said about the value of iodine, and that is enough for him. That he should make up his mind, if " mind " is not too strong a term, that it is criminal to sell salt unmixed with potassium iodide is as if he made up his mind that, Dr. Coleridge Parr and other physicists notwithstanding, • electrons are large cubical objects composed of cheese, or that it should be made illegal to wear earwigs.

In coming to a conclusion on a. subject of which he knows nothing this.'M.P. has done nothing more than the'average man is always doing. But even the average man, thickheaded as he is, would hestitate to impose his childish notions upon others.. This is what; distinguishes the M.P. from, the'ordinary dullard: he would impose his - ideas, gathered from sbme stray piece of paper, upon everybody. And he does. One could without much difficulty maintain the doctrine that most of our democracy's legislation has. just as much knowledge and thought behind itasj the notion of the Napier M.P. And it will continue thus until it is njgde.a criminal offence for a man to offer himself for Parliament unless- he passes some searching test., of his intelligence. But if anyone were to make such, a proposal, the politicians would laugh-them-selves ill. .-,'..■ V .

Of course- may come; &.day; when there/will be .tests for politicand, as a result, a reduction of

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