NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 604, 6 September 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

No reply has yet been made by Me. Buchanan, M.P./to the Hon. T. Mackenzie's, refusal of Wβ-pffeji-to. give'£6ooo towards the establishment of an experiment farm in the Wairarapa district. In th'e : mean time - the attitude taken up by the Minister is too interesting not to bo noticed.. Jlis reply ,to. the deputation which conveyed ; Mn. Buchanans- offer was a lecture upon agriculture'in general, but ho bad very little to say'upon tho offer "excepting tliat. the Government could , npt afford to accept it. - The question/' he 'said, was one of £ % s.: d. ; . B.Ot tw.e'en. the opinion of the .deputation whiclv waited on the Minister and Mn. opinion as to whether the, offer is one worth accepting desire to choose: In any case, since the Government will not accept the offer, i* is of little use giving the Government . any advice. But there is no such prohibition against, asking whe.ro Mr. Mackenzie obtains his authority to say that the Cfpycrnmenti cannot afford'to _spprid •pSQQQ odd a yefirrHye take .tho .Minister's <»yn figures for the purposes, of argument "an important project designed ' io effect "an'■'iirtprpy.emont." in;. .agricultural and pastoral methods. Wp dq' not say for" , tup moment tjjpfc the Gpyernnient pan qr caiinpi} affpjd jt. Wh.at puzzles jus is how any Minister cap. say that'the,Government' cannotafford it: Fpr.tl)e_Governpjent. v'as'laljlp:to,^pesrid,*£2e,ii9 more: qjfi yaripus Departments'in the- June ■quarter of this year tliari ifi the June quarter of 1908. 'It'is aplpto spend over £jp,QpO in every tljrepmonths'on the Tourist Department. It is able to afford £2|Q2.more "on this .Depar,tni'ent In the first "quarter of 19.Q9-10 tnan'.inHho corrp-. s'pqnding quarter of' 10,08-9,. It. is able to ijifford'.a contempqrnneou? increase" of £1059 .on the Mines Department, of '£1014 pn : the. Departmejit of Internal It, sceiiis tp. Us' tha.t jf the \ Qp'ye.rnmont can increase, tfie expenditure on the four-, ist Dppa'rfimejjt at the' fate of ; £&9GB a ye'ar, lfTather disqualifies; itself y from pleading that £2QOQ a'.'yea!r : js too much tp spend on an experiment' farm for the benefit of ■ the'.' farming cpmjiiu'njty, . to'■wiir.ijs'.tjip cost of which a , private person generously cpntnbjitcs £6QOO'.- ■.. Perhaps 'afji; -Mackenzie.will oblige" us. with : 'tho re.'asQns%-wliicji. we canppf qjiito".-"sen-r which', lead him to helieye tljat additions tpthe T'Auristi are fpuf'times' 'as''vajuaplp.a''.thjng -as an experiment 'farm'.-' ' ; h'e jioes ( wp' have fqunded great expectations upon: the flu'endy' of' his ; reply- to Tuesday's ■ deputation^rwp shall "hasten to ■ con'gr,atulato him :pn his" nips); unrMJnJßferiaj,-.realisa-tion .that'economy is a : , good thing to practise. Failing an,explanation, there will be nothing.left to believe oxcepting that pconqmy, r is- a. virtue .which Ministers' nrefer to , practise -when- it is to the disadvantage of tho .country settler; A'

'}' F.on'some .■weeks' past, the- frozen. meat market has .been-causing grave anxiety to'all interested in the 1 trade. .The: best ■[ way ■ to 1 bringjabout an. improvement in t|ie market has been .the subject • of. much discussion, and interviews -with-'." Ministers* and others.... The. position was.seri-. ous enough in the, middle of. .July to' cause ; tliq r meat;■salcsmon- of London .to hold a cpnforence,\and'it was pointed put that, the market/was 'faced with 'a , .gjut. Thia meoting decided to maintainprices, ostensibly to, Irepp the meat: put', of the .costprmonger's , carts, ,Thq schomp, failed .to'worky but;these ■'salesmen, in quent interview with; Sik : Waed; secured 'the:.consent pf the. Prime' Mikister to do a certain', amount .of adver-. tisipg at,the.expense of-the Now. Zealand Government. .; Tlio suggestions: that 'were 'madd'ih Now Zealand were mostly-in thd ■direction of urging a conferenco p 6f meat .freezing cpnipanies,:.ahd there'\verc hot. wantixig sonic'to .urge the Gpvernment to : pommit'.thp country'to..a huge nxpendh ■tu'ro'in'.support pf the , , tradei. : : Wo" are likely.. to hear very little about . these, schemes, and'.suggestions, , ' for the simple! and 'gratifying .reason.: that the market appears to. be'righting'itself.'.' Supplies ■.are* coming within manageable compass, and tlie consumptive demand isV apparently .increasing.. The Absurdly- low 'prices of! mutton and .lamb .were, in themselves sufficient to. attract'. consUihI era, but we fancy the impro.yed indusv trial outlook in Great' Jritain'has h,ad sonjethinc tp dp. with the 'rise"in. ;l3uving the past fprtnighVa distinct ; up- ; ward tendency .has manifested ;, itself. Taking batter grades of mutton,and lamb, tliQthreo last'; cabled .quptatiQiis were as..\}ndpr.:■—■,,. : -' ■■-' : :..\;-:;■';.: ■*■;■

. •' . .. . a, :; 1 d ■■•,•:■■:;«. i--■;Cqntert>ury Ijrtt .......... : 2f 217 'iffi'"- , ■ I NqrtU Island W .„..„.. -29-16 v iil6.\. sl ! ■ Australian Hgtit ....;.„,,„ 23-16'V23-i6;,.21 : ! .;I4iyer .Plate ligtjt „,;..,.;•;>$ ; ■'; .q SS-i.6 V W'■' J,»n;b--.- ■..■■'/'"'.' ■' ■.■.■"■'': '■■;"' : ' ; ' i /; light : \.:.,..,. 3}. ■:; ''s&?>■%■'■: , .3 - - -3*-.;-v-3wg selected'... .3 ;■■ .-V!('': r ';i>.3i-}6 '■V Aiistralian 'be5t'.;.,;....... 2J ; •'■■ 21 i. ,'i\": '•■• '..Kivfr'piata:....;.;.,.;...,.... 2} ■.■'■: y ;.'■ ?f,;;. Jhjs mpveinocf, though' .'pligjit,i''|a pleasing indeed , .: ■is to' be 'that, it..}? the silver Uning tp- the cjark clqvvd pYcrsliidoyed. cqflitpunity and the meat" export companies ': for,; the ..vast; few and .that }t a return'to : better -condjtions.':. '-'-7< : " v.'' '■ ;■ \ ■: ■;■'.; ~.UJ' '••'.''V'". ,

- athletes.■ covered., themselves with, glory on ; Saturday 1 in 'the thrqe, principal branches -!of. athletic'g'pqr.t. TCKe; te.arqi o|' K,ugby ■■'■' foptbaljcr> mefc ths olect pi Canterbury at ; Christ-; churph,-and those *hq the,'downfall ql the' Wellington, team ohqsen for this tour b,aVe beeri confpmided ■by. thii 'result. ._Jhe; .'secone) Rugby: representative team.put in the v field,. played Hprowhenua, 1"; and victory , again ..smiled qn--.1. the 'Wellington ■ representatives. ■.fhe' 1 -'Association representative 'players Avenged in part.tho 1 defgat..of the..Rugby,, team by Auckland on the : previous Saturday by vanquishing 'locally a team of 'Association playera ', from 'Auckland, and 'by : .so doing retained the coveted Brown Shield, which'denotes,, the' possessors., to., bo-.the champion Association team. •-.■-•ln•■hockey, too,-Wellington scored at the expense of Auckland' A'repiescntaiiyo; hdckijy team' journeyed, to Auckland 1 , and, as the result,'is'now :the."prq.ud holder of the hockoy championship, shield. Auckland held -'.two.- championship shields—Rugby and hockey—but by their successes bn Saturday Wellington ■ becomes possessed of two of the; numbor. When is tho third to be brought to the Capital City? .

. Blqee notice thith it has- yet received is diie to tho extraordinary principlo laid down by Mr. Millar in his apology, for having bought a certain 1 amount, of. Newcastle coal for use on the railways. Newcastle coal, lie said, would not be taken if New Zealand coal were available. It must not be concluded,, however,: that Mil. Millae meant .to .imply that from thc ; railway point of view the foreign article is inferior to the homo product. ■' Far from it. 'But lot Mk. Millab speak; : ' ' . » i . , .'- If. we studied tlio question |of cconony puly in running'tho railways,' I have no hesitation in saying that the, uso of Nowcnstlo coal alone Vould w mote pioitable froin tho railway.

point "<6f view; but we don't look, at it from thatpoint of view.to ihp.fullest extent, as wo bolieyo in U6ing all the local coal that is available and suitable for our purpose?.

Regardless, it will be sepn, as, to how much is lost in doing so. No dfiubt, Me. Milub will defend his policy of using the leas profitable-sort of coal on ~the ground that local industry must bb 611couraged. Up to a'certain point we can sympathise with the principle, of encouraging local industry, . Not much,can be said against artificially stimulating a suitable industry until it gets upon its feet and so improves its methods that it can flourish to'the adYanfa'gd of the country, as a whole. But the cpaj industry is. apt only an old one hsrc; it is a primary industry of tho simplest sort, its pro-' ducts, moreover, are already . existent, and alvray's available to be drawn upon. But we do' not' wish to , go : further , just now into, the strange dpctrinp that cq&\niining, •of ■ all -induscrlbsj should be treated \ ljjce sonic' infant process of. manufacture.' What specially requires attention is Mr., Millar's frank : admission that the railways, so far, as coaling is concerned, are not managed from "the .railway point of view. , ' Wo should like to know by what right the Minister for Railways decides, that the . railways should be-run frpni any ot-hqr point .of view.... It is because' the , railways have been built, and-. managed from other points, of view—fromthe point of view, of keeping, members of Parliament in good humour, from the point'of View of giving billets .tp voters, ; from , the "point of view'of making the Government's, posir tion secufo in- doubtful electoratcsr-that they have lost : such,hugo sums of'money. Mr./ Milmr is.supposed to.he changing, air that. He has sajd the railways ought -tp';pay; .'And yet, a.s Minister for Railr waysV he'scorns to run the railways from this railway, point of view whon it comeri to' buying'coal. .'Although 'professing to be busy , removing 'the" causes of the outrageous losses .on the • railways, ho cheerfully admits; that'heYprcfcrs to boycott; 'so faras he can, the coal which it -.would, pi; more profitable to use.'v Our' rcadftrs :will npte.'that Mit. • Millar's statement of policy,on this.point illustrates the truth of a,' , contention ' .which wo ; havo.\often imade, namelyj : that one great danger of State enterprise' is. the: ease with which State', undertakings can bo run waste:fully, for purely'political purposes.