PRESS OPINIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 96, 16 January 1908, Page 11

PRESS OPINIONS.

—« —-— . A' NfiW CAPITAL. , Biich a sit« as has ,been suggested, somowhero on tho railway line, enough to take, advantage of tho com;Dierpial'facilitios provided . by. Wellington Harbour,, might ivcll seem to Sir Joseph IWai'd. and his-colleagues o happy solution of tholi'diffieultios.' .t'-'And', it; atfst'.bo admitted that, if .tho State'retained the oitjr area as vits y'owii/i'iniiilicnablo' ■property;.' the revenue r ; ff6m. jo&es and ground'urenfs i .,,wquld /i sooh ; 'putyeiijyi", tho}. tonipor'ary- financial .' loss . that sibh V'.c'h'aiigo would involvo. ■' our i; readbrs hrd, probably ; awaro that tho l'reiflioi- -haspiiblic'ly any intention, of. supporting such a projeot as this; and it is' hQt..]ikelj' i v.that. i ,tho-. schomo will secure 'official:approval unless it pan bo pre- • Dented to- the general' public 'in afi : extremely attractivo ■ guise.. -The l ito tho proposed ..change aro, obvious enough.. The ■ 'eipehsij-'of . 'constructing a"'i flow city; would ~ Igreiti';'''aaijl,.; '."if: tho k fricomo dc- . .rSv'ccij frqrn : tho, Staito* preserves., ;,tiltimatoly - iffeichcdjft-high I ' figurO;ihis-is-ihardly,. the'timo to oCir . finances with superfluous burden£i, :,.',.T,he choice of site, if once ,tho fchetae stage, would of course arouse. bitter IooUV jealousies,and our past exparipiicea "of provincial. rivalry do not enoourago". u£ :;tb- ..upon ; .such, a iSVAustralia vqver .'tKo,ie.!ectibn .'of '.a sitel for. . tfigr. Federal; capital' may'i us .some'iilca ..fflaking'such ! -'a;selectidn.-- And-though:it- is possible, that some day our country may'-have to face: the risks of' : war, \ the probability seems at present so remote' that we'are hardly justified in indulging in heavy ex-. pondituro solely to- guard against so distant arid shadoWy a. contingency.-' 1 For all these reasons we do not-expect that the suggestion for a neiy Empire' City will bo taken up with enthusiasm.At" the ;samo 'time - it must be jthat the ,spaco, necessary. for or ? 'gur legislative uwjembheq jand. tho, many offices and institutions required, by - a?, centralised-.' ■ administra-' " tion cannot bo supplied in "Wellington; and. .At- Jeastrvworth our ..while..to, consider , whothor, without any serious pecuniary,: ; loss,' at., would not bo possible to effect a change that would f acilltato the work of governmoiit'afid.at tho saine'.'timesecuro our most, valuable publio possessions against tho risk of sudden destruction of war. —Auckland "Star." , THE mMROD'S DEPARTURE. ~ Jfsatisfact'ory , to' - think ..-'that > New • Zealand recognised, no less than the Comm'o"ii^ealth(;.;tne; desirability.- of- manifesting' 1 of encouragement' of thef most practical kiiid towards, the undertaking, and Niinrbd's sojourn' in Lytteleverything possible was done to Bhow ,a Suitably appreciative recognition of Jfitish . /The greatest importance . attaches io tlie scientific side 1 of the undertaking; and the fact that Professor •David, of Sydney, , and-.' other Australian scientists,ate members of the.expedition, and. will spend'some time'-.'with'-.' it, - gives it: another connecting link with, this par£ of the. Empire. yAn -arduous? feajture;: of the .-expedi-..-tion finds place .its vem.ihceptibn, and it,' is (to be hoped that the thorough preparations made for the Jong; tow of the Nimrod by t6i within measurable, distance •iof 'iier 'destinatiibn' Viirertable- the feat to' W accomplished withoutvUrilue 'diffioiiltyi of rfushap.. The send-off accorded the > departing .Vessel at Lyttoltoii on Now Year's Day seems 'to'haye beenjh ever Way calculated to mako the; ; occasion doubly iriemorablo, and Lieu- ' tenant SKaekllton's' farewell message showsthat he aridi'.his ( companions .havo deeply appreciated the manner in which the. Dominion has'.welcomed the coming and sped the part-, iog;•guest.-in?'their/.caso, and'the pra'otioal • aisjstahce'Ment -by,; tho. : Government. and the .TJnionj Company^.not to -omit generosity. of a ' ■™ore j priyato.<6i'iglfr.' Risk'-'in- proportion-, to ofinvestigators' 'heeils ' attach 'to 'Antarctic 'exploration/ but if 'jgood ■wishosfcftuld;determine* the issuo: Lieutenant . Shackle'ton and .his stout-hearted ' comrades carry; with. them ; a-freight that would make ' a-/successful .termination of their expedition a certainty.—" Otago ..Daily. Times." . PARTIES AND PARTIES,„ , oandidates. differ-so jjttlo ■: £i Governmerit'i candidates that it is - ■.frequently impossible'to. distinguish between ' -tnejß :*>y "discovering 'wMat': th'fiy : v terw ttomselr'ijf. l .. And "yetthere is tho . •most >-antagonism - -between ' tho ' averago'-su, 5,, ,or of the Government'and • - ft' '^ X r -''T' ar,e - cla'mo'Uriiigfifor un-calleu-for le§i'i!ation, ..and are threateniii" Be",-ssionjf thev are ref,used. At such a MM r "!y.'.®onvilioing, to" hear,'from ,'t.. |Hp; effect',tljat . the .firsthand ■ ■ 01 .'y,-'s'' o 4'b)tizen vote .witiijlns ■ - 'howeyor,-'. to -rknow 'that whatever .fissions.- are made by tho Gov'a,l£!'whatever appeals aro made.'for ..unity, .the end must inevitably bo tho secession-'.of.tho ; extremists, from jthe-Goyeni-ment ' camf i or tho revolt "by the' Moderates submission. ■ -New "■Zieaiaiiaeas'-R 1 . country''is' peculiarly:'practical, " ''.' ,'Q.t : for' tho ■ pl-osjie'rous' times J ihe. most 'would";lbng 51 that. t|ie -Government pays 'i ;too^doa.rly: for the: supp'ort'.- of- -a '.political i; ' Whwh .no; compromise 1-can possibly. :The .^Modorates..on .ybotH sides rarliamont, with their, supporters". thrOtifh-i ?ut.v the ..country,., really .constitute v ft - 6 treng and.decisive majority, as would,bo-soon at onco were Apolitical exigencies' to break down tho artificial barriers . which divide them. ° :W9< mc ' i - partisan, the, read justmeni of ' appear/to fe.-.wcn%Dtei'W tho'truo citizen knots', thati'such, readjustin J. very, nature -of 'honegt and ! politics. Tfr, cry. out.for,,','}i)iity." :of partv when S V' of riwrpos.o ... to declaim -against,secession of' has ~^n;'Co>nj»U)Cg. th<\ Govornment-into patlis-' ' d " eve r.' nll -';^ v tread, ,inay bo very good poutipr.. iut* is verf poor patriotism. It j" -y simo ■ that mon who hold i?;®"! 1 '? c - , rat ®, political .views should 1 di;3W ? .-.closer together. ? dangerous ■KB' .. which ;imßeHt,tho prod?f tho country, and t sjiould. ignore* ■ party imes: which -have'.. Meaningless;—'' New "Zo&lax# Maid." " ' .THE,MANAWAJ'I?,.yNE.., Very fow of the decisions reached by Gov®rnfflent d urmg. the,past,toelve months havo mot.-wifeh such' genoral a'nd emphatically, expressed approval- 1 - as the notice which the' iremier has lately given of his intention to .^ for the' Stato. On ■ vl)ocottber^»';£ i- formal writ' was served on the Company, intimat-ugj-jthat J ito 'exerciso tho powers:^reste'd-Ai'itf by:tho^-Railways Cbnswuction Aipt/qf-1381-; Mind take; over tho lino Mij'jintttioW ■ TOg^contract'.' , raado' botVeen IM9 'Company in ,BrP!ft (lcs that the-State may r lEkWf purchase, any timo after Sfeitgß..years from the comple-the-,railwayi -jU this : -line'-has been" ip- 1866,-and it-is the OBiyvJong stretch of privately-owned rail-way--m^tho"country, ■ it has long been understood that Governmpnt must ultimately buy 1 was. ; ,recontly, ,intofyio T ,vod Cftriatchurch . 0n.,-;''the subject, a ; n <J' bft'-Miarta sot ', forth ■ clearly • tho reas94i, i i | f? I r ,iw® itop that Oov.flniment now.-fools cOmpelloaetfti takoi :Ho- pointed' out" ttiat' ii very, largp ( ypljiniq of Government, traffic already paWeS-dvor the Manawatu line. "The Company,'' sold the Premier, "could' not maintain the lino if it had to depend upon tho tradeoffom 'the particular districts that it servesc-buf tho position at present iß'that it'Teceives the benefit of tho through traffic collccted-from tho districts further north by • tboj; Government." This, Sir' Joseph Ward contends, is not fair., to tho country. It would, be. of, course, possible .for -Govefna through Connection to Wellington v,with-the Main Trunk,. line. But,' " apart'from tho expense,' it' would not' 1 bo ■ to tako this course without* offering f-'tb' can"y out the terms of'the original agreomont with , tho Company .to purchase, its property. ,t)rider ; the' circumstances,' and more especially in view of tho approaching completion of the Main Trunk line, Government. cannot do bettor than arrange to take ovqr.'tho Manawatu lino on reasonable terms '• »i. Abeedily as nossible.—"Auckland Star." ,