NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 569, 26 July 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

.' ;;It must'be a : . little' amusing7 : to' who have v followed..political; matters,. at all closely to note tho/latest, development in.the career M. : P. Since 'his, 'resignation from thai Govern; ment, Mb. Hogg has , been very much in evidence .on. the public plattorin elsewhere, and there can-bo "no doubt that he. has turned- to the best;advantage the sacrifice'which ho made'in'. relinquishing Cabinet Tank for'the sake'of his „ principles. ;In the;..past ;Mu.';Hoqq.has been , , generally '.regarded as a very,,commonplace, politician, -notably ila'okingvin those characteristics ■ which "single men out for leadership!.:;-There aro ,;-f ow indeed - who could have pictured'him as:-, the loader..of. any; great popular movement;''and still fewer who would, have taken hita'seriously as aleader of Labour: Yet so well has, Mb. Hogg managed ; things since his; somewhat- sensational - retirement',; from the -.Government, that he: is quite '' over- , shadowing "his' late "colleagues-in; public interest, and, if we are to take his AuckJand pronouncements at their face value, he has advanced bo, far that'he ; is-about to introduce that bane of Australian politics, a third party, intovthe;; New : 2ea-, land Parliament. Presumably Me. Hogq will be the of this party, which, be declares, ."will be able to.imake .its voice heard,to; somc^purpoEe';' , .; We are not inclined.; to,-,. take,;Mß. -JHoGG, as, leader of .a new -party,' very seriously,' ibut. it certainly, is remarkablo that in so short a space :'of; time.-he,..shouldi have converted the : Labour party,' or at.least a section of;it, bo completely. -It will be within the memory of bur readers that Me. Hogq, as Minister' for Labour, was, not ;at all a 'persona, yraJarwith Labour.'; He was ridiculed and treated,.with ; ' scant respect on ,tbo few. occasions' on i which he did appear .in- his official role;,v but his retirement from the Cabinet : scorns to have opened: the oyes of' Labour to virtues which previously, had been 'hidden fi'om-thenl. : Possibly with riiany Mr. Hoqq's chief virtue was froiri' the ranks ofva ■Governiiient'r.whiclr his. shown itself 50... completely '.out: : '"bf touch with'public'opinionon recent signs. Be that.:as it may, we think Mr. Hogg is wise to make. the.most of his' opportunity while .the glamour '■■'■.■ which surrounded his resignation of office still remains. It will, probably carry him ther ,than ; his other political qualifications can possibly do,; and, unless w ( e aro much 'mistaken, 'when it'fades he will again drop to the 'level' from which he, was unexpectedly raisediby his call to the Cabinet. Mr. Hogg has many .estimable personal qualities, ..but ho is not to be taken seriously as a. power in politics. ;,/.'..

P ,ii.\NY people besides pur\ correspond* ent, "Constitutionalist,"' whbso letter appears in another column, must have been, struck by the resemblance between :Du. Findlay's recent speech, and ,tho speech whioh led to Mk. Hooa's ejection from the,. Ministry. • The 'two speeches might have been made from' the same set of principles. The chief point of difference between them is that Mr.: Hogg was quite clear as to what ho meant, whilo Uk.Findlay wds often as not rather; vague. Mn/'Hoaa- declared that'the large landholder is "a 'criminal"; Dit. Findlay said: that "gorgeous 1 luxury" is "more than a nioral failing—it is a social crime." lln. 'Hogg used a menuns the tbxt of his fierce address :Dii. ; Findlay ,tiekjcd his audience's oars with a fiercely: moral assault on "Mrs. •Millidnv aire's "gorgeous function." Mk. Hoop's spoceli was a defence , of the.conuscatiori oi laiidj Dk. Fikdlay ako' preached tho

doctrino of confiscation, In the courec of",his ob.wrvatioMß tipon death duties, ho. tincd tliciio remarkable words:

Itomoto niich on HKonii cousins, should be taxed hl:o stranywe in Mood. Whore,»■ remote relative Uiki.'S on ml intestacy, tlio tux should ho yroutly i»(ji(fiM;dIndot'd, there ceoms no reason why, aflorn oortuin degree of remolcnpMi, tho clftim of the State io Uio wholo j)rofH:rty of the int«>tato should not prevail over that of fibwiiti'o relatives. Why should a vory .remote relative in America, whom probably tJie-do-oon.swl never know, take the inOatato etjtate of a Noiv Zealandor in |irofor«nco-to the community atylargo, especially when wo remember tJwt it in the growth jmd development of the country itself that croato much of tho wealth of most largo eutates ?

As a timid contemporary very delightfully ventures to Bay, thiq is a principle which requires "tho most jealous circunv spection"' in its application. To the plain man Dn. Finiuay'b doctrines will appear not ono whit less fierce than Mn. lioao's. But we do not suppose he will follow his ex-collcaguc out of the Ministry'.' •'• It will be interesting to see the effect "pi his threat of confiscation upon the British investing' publip. It seems, that the alarmed attention that people gave: to Mu. Hoog must be transferred to his orjiato disciple. "\ ■'■; ■ r

■ Residents of Karori; are divided into two hostile camps—bitterly hostile- it ■jvould. seem—on the subject of tramway extensions! For many years, this charm-, ing suburb of the city failed to'.keep pace with the times. Perhaps its non-jprogress-iyenessin the matter .of rinunicipal luxuries added a: good deal to the charm, of residence amid -its , picturesque surroundings, for it cortainly ■ made' for privacy. In -recent yoars; however, the land syndicator has made his appear: houses have sprung up in all,,direc-. tions and the .borough lias progressed, in a. variety. of ways, includiiig the ■ in-, troduction of electrical tramways.' These tramways,. t KoweVcri ,'do'",. not' penetrate very' far 'ihto_ the borough, and the pro-, posiil which is [ now the cause of much floated-debate and letter-writing to the press, is to extend- tho tramways right through' the heart of the. borough, practically to the foot of the Makara Hill, At this spot is.the borough recreation ground, and if is fondly, ahtibipated-by the supporters of the jschemo jthat. if -the tramway" extensions are carried ■.out'"the traffic to and from this playipg-field will, contribute largely towards the amount required to inake the line pay.. Judging ffpm the evidence' adduced by the: riyal factions, we should iihaginc that thei poll in.ifavbuf: of the- loan required ; to put through the work will not be carried.' It must !be quite evident that the lino cannot pav for a long time to corac, and the borougK would; no doubt find tlio burden a heavy one to support. We should'advise the ratepayers: to woigh: the < position very carefully before committing themselves to this expenditure. .The schemc v ;is ahrattractiH'e .bne,'. biit'.it carries', it' a ; .liability which 'they canribt^affbrd.tq trifle:,",with.; ! ,; : jSomo less ambitiqus, pto-. posal- might well be' substituted-pohe that, should mept requirements reasonably,well until such time as the, growth of popiila-. jtion places theiquestion of tramway :cbn-. struction pn a; sounder financial. basis. • :