PRESS OPINIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 41, 12 November 1907, Page 9

PRESS OPINIONS.

THE STATE BANK. ] There was nothing unreasonable in tho pro- ' posals concerning the Bank of New Zealand which a deputation of members of Parliament placed before tho Premier yesterday morning. ~ State, in addition to providing half tho paid-up capital of the Bank, has (niarintefd stock to tho valuo of £1,000,000, auv. is no sound reason why it should not stand on the same footing as the ordinary shareholders in respect to the paymont of dividend. At present it can rcceivo no more than 10 per cout on its proferonco sliares whatever the result of the year's operations may bo, while the ordinary shareholders can receive as much as the profits may justify. More than thjs, when the dividends exceed 5 per cent, tho State is entitled to only half the increase that is paid to the ordinary shareholders. When the dividend on the ordinary shares is 10 per cent., for instance, the dividend on the preference shares is only 7J per cent., and when tho dividond on the ordinary shares is 50 per cent., the dividend on the preference shares can be no more than 10 per "cent. Of course no change can be made in the oxisting arrangement without the consent of tho ordinary shareholders, whose rights were established by the Act of 1903,-. but we shcjuld think they would be vory glad to strengthen their position by admitting the Stato to a more equitable partnership; They will never be quite secure m tho privileges they are now enjoying so long as the public have any cause to complain of the' inadequate return ■ they are receiving from the splendid business they have created, i—Lyttelton "Times." ' ' THE WANING SESSION. The Premier informed the House of Representatives yesterday that lie hoped to bring down the Public Works Statement on Friday next, and to closo the session on November 20. It will surprise nobody to learn that although the end of the session is thus brought near there is a long'list of'important measures which Sir Joseph Ward announces his intention (if pushing through in the remaining fortnight, spnio of which measures iiave not even bepn introduced. This is a'ropetition of one" of ' the most' serious 'evils of our legislative v system, an evil froni which the Dominion ' continually suffers. After months' are 1 frittered away in idle and . superfluous discussions upon topics'in which 'nobody "is particularly interested, the most important business of a session is crowded into as. jnany. ' weeks,'with the inevitable'result.' The most vital enactments are carelessly passed, with no clear sense of the significance of their • yarjons clauses, by members who are in a hurfy'lo get' liome, a¥J'who, 'with' tfcat "end' in view, voto in order to expedite business. We cannot oxpect sound legislation as long as this objectionable rule prevails, but there seems _to be as little prospect of a. refqrm in this direction as ever there was.—New Zealand "Herald." .. MUNICIPAL RIGHTS. The concentration of our energies upon the ill-absorbing work of devoloping a new country makes lis negligent of our local rights andindifferent to the encroachments of politicians who have no local interests, and who' are personally interested in tho establishment of a'huge and cumbrous bureaucracy: They, become ambitious of unchallenged authority, hyper-Sensitive to opposition,' habituated to the' role • of. autocrats; and dictators.: They cannot;lbear to think that public parks are - not sliced lip' at their "suggestion,"' that P tramcars i should stop otherwise than at their bidding/ an4 g municipal government should take.any action whatever without consulting their,.pleasure. And when their pretensions arouse coihment and criticism they think of this as quite abnormal and term it as-semi-hys-terical. 1 ' Wilioh is entirely beside the question. For the question "winch" Parliament mil have' to decide is that which was courteously put befpre the Minister for Public Works by Mr. Myers: : Is local government to be mado such a farce -that no" self-respecting'citizensj-will offer themselves for positions which carry no responsibility ? ; In other. words, are' we to remit'-ajl our local rights and local authority to the members of a-centralised Government and thejr bureaux of officials ? This is not what has been considered good government, nor ir;it- on the lines of what is'termed "progress" in "any other part of "the civilised world—NewZealand"Herald." LAND SETTLEMENT. But, as we pointed put in . a recent article, it is not only the large landowner who is subjected to vindictive treatment as if he were an enemy "of the State.' Even the' small farmer is singled-out for exceptional taxation. We have shown that a man with_no more than £3500 of capital will pay much more in the shape of taxation if lie applies it to farming than if he lends it on mortgage or invents' in a city property, and that lie will have'to pay a 1 substantial amount as land tax; whereas a professional man or tradesman making a larger income will escape direct taxation--altogether. When a Government which makes these pointed and unjust attacks on the farming industry—which pursues it with a kind of vendetta —at the same time prates of its land policy and of its "encouragement.of settlement" it merely convicts itself of the most arrant hypocrisy. Its "insincerity is the'inore'marked because, it has ne : 1 glected and left to the last momont the one simple cardinal point of policy whiot; would really" help forward' land settlement , in this country—we mean an equitable, rational solution pf the native land problem. There are million! of acres'* qf land m the North Island which the natives'themselves are' unable to use, and which in its neglected condition is a bar to settlement and a curse to neighbouring .cultivators. If the Government really wanted, to promote land settlement, instead of "kow" towing to the Socialist agitators of the towns, they would have tackled the native land question in' the; first instance, without bothering about the so-called Land Bills', which are mainly instruments for Vexing and robbing those who are already doing the good work of colonists by raising flocks and herds and • tilling' the soil.—Christchurch "Press." THE HOLIDAY QUESTION. What with the different awards under which the various trades aro working and the provisions as regards holidays contained in' the Shops and Offices Act, and tho Factories Act, the position is at any time apt to bo confusing, but the confusion and the disturbance of trade that to some extent necessarily results from a holiday are increased by the Government's decision that next Monday shaU be observed as the holiday. by. the public services. Saturday is the actual day to be obsei'ved by all working under an award which includes the King's Birthday as one of the holiday's, but the Premier stated the other day that the Government would take no action against ownors df factories or shops which remained open on Saturday and closed on .Monday. Hard on the heels of this assurance came the announcement by' the -Labour Department, notwithstanding tho ■■ Premier's statement, that it intended to uphold the law on the question. There sqems to be ' a _t general intention to observe Monday- and take the consequences, which, according to the Secretary of the Otago Employers'' Association; are not lik6ly to be very disas- , trouf Speaking to an interviewer, he said that any union could, of course, institute proceedings for breath of award. "But it "was generally admitted that if unions took "any such steps they-would lie not only "stultifying themselves, but they- would probably finq themselyes in the same position "as the !pcf>l Carters.' XJnjpn did some two "years' ago when it- instituted proceedings "against some of the master carters for . "substituting another day in lieu of tho "one specified in the award, and tho court "recorded a breach of the award, but iiii"posed no penalty?" Still tliero is no certainty about the matter, and both employers and employees who observe Monday as the holiday ;whon strict interpretation of the lav; makes closing on Saturday compulsory, do so at their own risk. THE GAMING BILL. We can give our hearty approval to all those proposals. The newspapers, next to the racing: c|ilbs. have been the greatest offenders in encouraging the gambling habit, and it will be an excellent thing for the community when they are prevented from publishing t-bo "odds" and the "tips," by which they arc now inciting the public to patronise tho totalisator and the bookmaker.

Tho double-event totalisator lias been already abandoned by tho more respectable clubs, but the system of dividing the investments betweon tho backers of the first and second horses lyjll ren ain until the '•sgislaturo insists upon its discontinuance. Tito Rill, as we have already said, is the lhost drastic measure of the kind that has over been submitted to Parliament, and wo tmst that those good neoplc who were hoping, '.ike ourselves, for tnc abolition of the totalisator, will not imperil its passage by rejecting proposals which'will, after all. carry them a very long way towards tho goal they are seeking — "Lytteltpn Times." THE ENDOWMENT BILL. If settlement could be carried on as effectively tinder leasehold as under freehold; jf agricultural development wore as.secure; if the production of agricultural wealth were as great, there would be only a sentimental objection to tho abolition of the optional tenure up/m lands which it is desirable to have settled and, made productive. "But there is 110 question whatever, in the minds of those who know the facts and conditions of settlement and agriculture, as to tho comparative value of the rival tenures in encouraging occupation andgood farming. That is the particular evil in the endowment scheme of the Government. I'nder a vague pretence of providing for futuro national requirements, which can be and will be easily met in tho ordinary way as long as tho country: is prosperous, they strike a blow at its prosperity by introducing depressing settlement conditions. This is always ignored by those who profess to see in "endowments" a great source of revenue and a great relief to tho taxpayer. The State is, by its constitution, "endowed" with the right to levy in every and any direction for the raising of revenue for all State requirements. It is not like a local authority or a harbour board or a grammar school, which lias very limited sources, and is able to increase thoso"sources by "endowments." To make certain districts contribute mora than' others for general public; :purposes is a short-sighted policy, because it excites the ill-feeling that ever' comes with sense of injustice, and thus disintegrates national harmony and unity. It is as foolish as it is : short-sighted when it injures the goose that lays the' golden egg, when it tends to cripple land settlement upon extensive agricultural areas, when it detracts from the highest possible production, when it discourages that growth of an industrial agricultural population which is the j real source of all wealth and of all revenue;— New Zealand ."Herald." WORKERS' COMPENSATION. It'is provided in the Bill that in futuro practically everyone who is employee) is to be entitled to compensation for accident, no matter what the nature of his employment. This is as it should be. Once the principle of compensation is admitted there is no reason why it should be limited to any particular classes of the community. We note that there is just one exception—viz., in tho caso of employees earning over £5 per week. It is open to question whether it would not be better to allow them compensation, but oil the basis of a salary of £5 per week. A skilful foreman might be getting £5 per week, and it would l)o possible for his employer to raiso his wages 'sixpence a weeii and thus be clear'of any liability for accident. . . . It is a sensible and just proposal to give special compensation to workmen injured while under twenty-one years of age, for in such cases it is obvious that ordinary compensation "does not' make up to them for their loss of earning power. After all, what compensation can really make up to a worker for injury that lessens his capacity, for work? The provision for compensation in; tho caso of cortain diseases incurred in tho course of employment is a good one, and is also in accordance with the latest English Act. There aro various other provisions dealing with minor matters, all of which show the same sound common-sense to have been brought to bear, upon them. The repealing of the' EmployersULiaWlityiMctsi isoa^good. thing, for these have quite unnecessarily complicated questions of compensation and oausod much litigation that could have boon avoided. ~ The common law. liability of the employer has apparently also boon modified, but'to . what extent cannot .be ascertained until the details of-the measure aro to hand. The provisions, of the Bill should commend themselves to both workers and employers, for it is conceived in tho best interests of both. The law is made clear'and explicit, and, so far as can be-j)rovided for ; difficulties have been removed in anticipation. The Bill should become law'without difficulty, for it is a most useful> measure, and one preeminently in the interests of the workers.— Dunedin " Star." I