NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 546, 29 June 1909, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

To many people, perhaps, Lord Esher may' seem to have mado a very capricious selection from the "builders of Empire" in the speech which was reported in our cable news yesterday; He specially mentioned four men aa owning most of the credit—or much of the credit—for tho de-; velopmont of the present how and iraprovod conception of Empire: .Mr; Chamberlain,- Lord Rosebkry, Colonel Seely,' and the late Cecil Kiiodes'.. • Yet a littlu reflection will show that Lord Esiier's choice was. a iuosfc judicious one. Whatever may be.said of his dream of a,fiscal ncxiit\ there can be no dispute about the trnmendous impetus which Mn. .Chamberlain gave to the growth of Imperial thought. Like Ckcjl Rjioher, he appealed to the heart and brain of the common man. Neither of tlvmn concerned, himself very closely with the less'obvious principles of Empire, or with what: we can call the spiritual side of' Imperialism. \Vhat other Imperialists hold as lucid and well-ordaKd conclusl ca from thought

were in Rhodes and Chamberlain not much more than formless instincts. What Loud Rosebery, for example, can show as the result of thought and:analysis, they could only feel. Their great work consisted, not in showing'the way to Imperial grandeur and the causes that made that grandeur, possible, but in inspiring men with the thought; that that grandeur .'cah.be achieved.' Lord Rosebery's services, as we have indicated, are the Ber- ; vices of fho. abstract thinker. He is little' concerned with the concrete, means to be adopted; he has given the best of his I thought to an exposition of the ethics of Empire. Colonel Sbbly's place in this high company will not be objected to by those who remember {ho speech which he delivered in the House of Commons on July 31 ..Of last year—a speech,which;we noted at the time 'as marking an epoch in the, development of British official opinion on the relations of the Dominions to the Mother Country.. In the course of a.profound.and statesmanlike discussion of the rules; that should guido'the Dominions in their attitude towards coloured; immigrants, Colonel Seely warned the British 'public, that it should remember that the Dominions had a 'legitimate point of view'of their own in this matter, and he definitely laid.down; for the , first time, the comploto liberty of the Dominions ,to regulate immigration as' they: chose. .Tho strength of the Empire—this ,was the burden of ■ his speech—layjn "mutual forbearance.":: Can anyone doubt that inclusion in the roll of the best Em: pire builders is the duo ; of' a statesman who secures that the imaginative treatment, of Empire shall shape the practical policy of. the Home Government ?''

'Mrs. Flora \ Annie the well-; known novelist, has Bent.to tho London Timej a curious Indian prophecy; concerning the last days of the .Kali-Tug, or present age. The prophecy is' contained in the passage quoted below'from a portion of Hindu -Scripture: . ' ■■■.■' v^ ,, "The man' who owns most gold, , And lavishly distributes it, will gain'- ■•■'_";•" .Dominion.over all. Religion.will-consist.■''.;■.; In'wasting alms , at' large, : and : self-willed ■■women ;"■;'■.;':'' : -i:. ■ '.■.'.'.■).. ■/■■■'■' •'' Will seek; for power. They, who rule the

' ' 'State ■'■;,■'■. '~':>■'":'.■ ■ : .' v ' ■■-.;'■.-..'''■ '; Will rob the people and abstract.the wealth . Of; merchants on the plea 'of''raising' taxes. . And in. the world's last age the'rights of man .Will, be' confused, no property "bo .safe.". .'■ ,' :

Mrs Steele remarks that /the 'wide yet detailed sweep of the forecast reminds.her. of-tho Budget recently brought- by, the British' Government, to'fche framers of" which she commonds'.tho lastline but .two. It sliould bo remarked that the prophecy : dates back to 1000 b.C.j' and is-very. romarkable as. depicting.present-day, conditions.. One London jonrnal, commenting on, it, remarks thatitnereUs something almost ,iincanny;in ; thp way in which, the primitive writer has realised the evils of the present day. .-/' Ho apparently; held sound, charity organisation. society '■ views (see third and fourth lines); was an antisuffragist; and an cndmy ; of .bloated; budget, and, further, held, with Bastiat that the rights of proporty are ,one of: the best guarantees' for human lib'etty.", Possibly some of bur. readers, may see. an. application of; at least some part of the prophecy; to thestate of things in New Zealand.'' ■'

'The grievances, of the' tramway, .employees, as reported elsewhere, relate 1 in the main to matters of detail and tions of fact. . While most: of \ the complaints appear to be-reasonable enough, they, on ,the .whole,.''are of quite a minor, "character. ; It is not \to be 'expected that in- handling a body of men' like the itfamwayyWorkcrß,..-whore it ■' is- imperatively necessary.' in the public interest ■ to oxorciso a/close scrutiny of fares and the running of cars, that occasional disputes on questions : 'of. fact ; entirely •avoided. Some of the cases mentioned:by tho deputation which: waited on'the Tramways Committee . the 'City' Council yesterday plainly, require treatment on their individual merits, but,it ryot remains,to bo seen ;what .the.officers-of. the Council' have to say in.reply to the statements 1 of' the men. The complaints regarding' dis- : charge: certificates and holidays arc of a different !qb.'aractcr.'. ; It -is difficult [to tin.dorstand why.in ,the' case of an employee leaving the'service' he should not receive a. proper certificate of ..discliargoi; If Mnv •Young's statement.on 'this' point is 'correct,' -it:will be:intercstihg■ to learn' ; the. explanation for theblanks in , the certificates complainod of. ; The holiday trouble is probably explainable by the! desire of the manager to adjust the so as to .interfere as little as. /possible with the routine working of. the service. We cannot believo that: any attempt has 'beoii; made, or would be ;made, to rob the employees of their rights',in • this respect. Stiir ho room' for, complaint .should bo left. -.■>■.■' ■■.-.V. .■■■.-././.":.;• " :;"-•':■; I;,-

Organised labour has' yet to' learn the tactical value;of , concessions. ''In tradesunionist circles,here there iB-"strong. opposition.to the Suggestion'that the unemployed should .in any; circumstances be paid at less than : the, award rate of .wages'. , A telegram from Christehurch reports, that" some .'of the.' Corporation's workmen .have'refused: to*, accept'underrate .wages. The,general trend of their opinions, wo arc told, is that "they would rather starve than accept less'than a. shilling an hour." No doubt the public are expected to admire this heroic /attitude. But few people, will have admiration or applause' for unemployed' workmen • who will insist; or for "trades-unions that will -.drivel.them to'insist,on being paid when employment.is manufactured ior them-as if their services-'were .''•.urgently desired and eagerly competed for By private employers. The anxiety of the; unions in the matter is intelligible onough.... They are not concerned with the ethics; or the oconomics of the situation; their concern begins and ends'with trades 7 uni6n policy. They aro. making a huge l mistake, however, in taking up. this attitude. The public can bo trusted to understand the plain rights and , wrongs of; theVmatterj and it will not feel very kindly disposed towards : these trades-unions' when it sees them trying to make capitaf out of industrial distress. Trades-union policy is in this matter simple impuden'co.,.lt is apparently 'nothing ■- to, the loaders of "the labour movement", that insisting pnaward rates of pay will 1 restrict'the numbor oi men who can derive relief.from the £200 to be spent.op painting,some State, buildings that; dq not require painting. Is it the now unionist doctrine that aman must hot be allowed to livo unless he lives, so to speak, like a lord 1 If the opposition; to relief rates of. : pay -is necessary in order to preserve the.principle of the Arbitration Act, the public will have to ask itself what kind of principle that must be whicli._d«pends for its existence on T contentions that are plainly opposed.to coii.miin son?"., to economic soundness, and toordinary humanity. . . ..,.;.