NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 603, 3 September 1909, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

An extraordinary dilemma in which the Waiapu County Council finds itself ■I s i thatl the ne S lec t *» deal seriously with the Native lands problem is productive of some" quite unsuspected injustices. Xhe Council wishes to construct two bridges across the dangerous Waiapu liivor—bridges which are necessary • not only in the interests of public safety but xt ?• ito °P en «P a S re at area of good Native land which is at present of very little use to anybody. The white settlers are.quite prepared to rate themselves for the purpose'of constructing the bridges, even although' the' bulk of the' benefits would accrue .to tho Native landlords of the district. ' As the law stands, however, the rateable value of Crown and Native lands must be less than twothirds the rateable valuo'of tho whole area, and in the case of "the Waiapu County the Native land that would come within the boundaries of the special rating area amounts to 85 per cent, of : the whole. We are guito accustomed'to tho monstrous injustice of forcing the European settlers to work and spend their capital for. tho enrichment of Maori landlords,-.upon whom the burden of financing the land development from which they chiefly benefit docs not fall. But it is still more monstrous that the law. and the Government's sluggishness should combine to make Native landlordism an effective veto against'the proposal of white settlers to pay tho whole cost of a bridge which is on every ground urgently, necessary, and the construction of which would lead to benefits of which the Natives themselves would reap the major portion.. The Maori, under the present Government, is obviously a more grievous obstacle to progress than is generally known. .

Our comments on the curioußsqnso of humour'possessed!by our venerablo evening contemporary produced from '■ that journal an interesting exposition of the blinding effects'of political partisanship. VjTe are quite prepared to recognise our contemporary as an authority on the subject. It was so blind on a recent occasion that it was unablo to sco the unique spectacle of a squad of police a dozen strong escorting the Prime ' Minister of the country through a noisy but harmless crowd of citizens assembled to witness his departure for England. It-has been so blind since .the last general election that it has'not yet been able to! see which sido.of thej fence it is safest :to alight, on—whether to. come, down and continue as a wobbling supporter: of' the Government, or to become:-again : a bling advocate of tho Opposition. As to its remarkable sense of humourj it would be interesting to have it explain where the humour lies in the insinuation by Mr. ■Fo'wlds that Mr;; Massev. was actu-. ated by pro-German sympathies in ■■.•'his criticism of the' new naval proposals. Even our comic, contemporary ;;must, admit"- that i tho ■ statement .•' would not!; be humorous if,it was;true. Does, then, the. mere fact that it was not true mako it humorous? '