BISHOP AND PREMIER

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 234, 26 June 1908, Page 7

BISHOP AND PREMIER

DR. JULIUS INTERVIEWED.

THE SENTIMENTS OF THE PEOPLE. " TOO SMUGLY SELF-SUFFICIENT." (BT TELIGBAPH.—SPECIAL COnnEBPONDENT). ■ Chrlstchurch, Juno 25. A representative of The Dominion called on .fishop Julius'to-day to'ask if he had anyJiing to say in reply to Sir Joseph Ward's references to his sormon at Palmerston North last Sunday. Tho Bishop, it must bo oxplained, has ..only just returned from his visit, to the North Island, and has naturally considerable arrears'of work to ovortako, a fact which may account for his opening remark to tho intorviaw'or. "I must confess," tho Bishop said, "that I have not yet road Sir Josoph Ward's references to my addresses in Palmerston North and "Wellington, but I don't mind saying quite unroßorvodly that nothing of a political nature was in' iny thoughts on eithor occasion.- I'endeavoured to deal .with something deeper, something more significant—tho 'sentiments'of our people. I cannot recall that I did not make my meaning plain. Perhaps ■ I'i did not • succeed, but at any rato 1 apjjear to have proved of some use. to the Wellington newspapers. Ono of them used my. remarks as a sort of handwriting on tho wall for Sir Joseph" Ward's benefit, while another employed them to metaphorically slay the Bishop of Auckland.

' "No, I had no thoughts of .the Premier or the financial position, of'the Dominion in my, mind when I spoke. As a mattor of fact, I am not given; to following the dotails of : political speeches very closely, nor can Isay whether Sir Joseph Ward is in' the habit of. boasting; as', The Dominion suggests. Sir Joseph "Ward, from what you tell mo,. appears ,to ,have . taken, me to task for what'l said in reference , to- New, Zealand, that if, it should suddenly disappear England would' merely go into mourning for eight days and the Admiralty would wipe us off its charts.; .That statement, of course, was employed as a figure of speech, arid no ono could possibly suppose it to bo literally true. It .was' a forcible way of stating tho fact that while iwe imagino ourselves i to be tho hub of • the; Universe, in reality wo aro only an outlying, far distant; and comparatively un;importantipart.of the.Empire. - .. "I ■ reforred, 'I think, in my addresses to the Press being'a far bettor judge of what tho people liked than I was. The mannor in which the reports of the Anglican Congress were, dealt,. with ,is an example of the; prevailing sentimeiit which must be catered for. Tho: only., reports of the unique.:gathering. of' world-wide interest. wo have been supplied with are thoso referring to tho . speeches of New Zealanders on Now Zealand'and Australia. We hear what a Now Zealand Bishop has to say respecting. Now Zealand,-but upon that which affects''tho great concerns of,tho Church we hear nothing. The same is true of-sport, and much olso .besides. It is' a reflection: uponv oiir people, "and not upon tho Premier or tho financial-position, that they cannot rise to great Imperial issues.', They are too' smugly , self-sufficient, 1 and that was the point I strived to. emphasise."

THE ANGRY PREMIER AND "THE DOMINION."

, ..To, THE ,'iIDITOK. , } ,

Sir,—When i, read'tho head-line " The Pre-, mier Angry," I looked .oagerly, through -thoreport or his} Wairarapa speech to find out what .you had'.been doing wrong. As I understand it, tho Premier is hot'and angry because you quoM words," that this, colonywas' outside / the zone "of American fmanoial' ; troiibles''' : and' " that riot oven a rijpple of the American' troubles would 'reach our shores." , If I remember right, yon said: (1) Wo are not outside, the zone; (2), Not only ripplqs but big wayes.aro attacking us. You showed also: That- wool is down to one-half; that pelts are down to one-half; that hemp, was so low most mills had.closed-; that'nioney. was both scarce": and dear; that merchants wete not launching but; that there is 'a gen: eral. .dullness of trade and a'marked ,;scarcity of. money.' throughout New Zealand..'• Well/ I read; the Premier's'.Tauranga' and Wairarapa attacking ' you—and I. readthem' carefully to' see whether the. Prbniier could ,deny thom. '. l :,find the' Premier do'os'nbt deny those facts, and as lie does not deny them,'he. admits .they are true. '

; T'read that in Russia last year some officials reported on a railway , with absolute truth' th'at it was in;a,Bad.condition.; . The. official heads- were angry, and the. men who reported: wore dismissed—"becauso the re:pbrt3,;wero not in'accord, with the wishes, of their superior officers." . : ; .' Now, Mri, Editor, ..please ; when writing re r member'this Russian story, 'arid write in a tone to please the : Premier. ,If you do not do '.this, and write as the Premior • wishes, then : .his proper remedy will bp to bring in tho. Kaiser's law/in Germany to throttle' a reptile Press. - -His other alternative'will lie to nationalise the Press, and then 'writers like' you. who dare to tell unpleasant truths, will" no longer ■ disturb the Premier.—l am, 8 C 7 INDEPENDENT. Wellington, Juno 25. \