NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 637, 14 October 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

' The Address-in-Rcply debate has hot proved very exciting up to the present. It oponeid very well on Tuosday. Both the mover and seconder, of the Address acquitted themselves satisfactorily for now .members, and Mr. Massey made a very good speech from the point of view of his party. It was, however, largely in the nature of skirmishing work. While he. scored a number of good points, most of the matters touched on were necessarily treated with brevity owing to 'the range of subjects covered in the limited time. The Minister for Education, who was put up to reply, was overweighted with the task, but did very well under tho circumstances. , He was a littlo unfortunate in his very fleeting reference to the land question, but showed some ingenuity in giving a new twist to his now famous declaration that it was the wool kings who benefited by a rise in the price 'of wool. Mr. Fisher was rather severe on.Mr. Fowlds in the pointed manner in which he directed attention to, tho Minister's "covering up" of_ his personal convictions "under his Ministerial chair." It probably surprised some members to learn from tho member for Wellington Central that a "Tory" Government had created tho Public Trust Office; started tho State railways; established the Stato Fire Insurance. Department, and provided the greater part of our education endowments, Mr. ; .Fisiier might, havo added to' tho list. _ Mr. Poole closed. tho day's debate with a speech .of which the. outstanding. feature was tho expression of disappointment at the lack of aggressiveness in the Liberal party, which, coming from so staunch a Government member, wasdecidedly interesting. Yesterday when the debate was continued thero was a lack of life in the proceedings. Government members appeared to havo received instructions, to "sit tight," and tho burden of'carrying op a one-sided debate foil on tho Opposition. '. Several very: fair speoches were mado, but there was an absence of "fire* . works" to stir the House. At a late hour, however,-the member for JUrucc infused new life' into the proceedings. Miu ALtEK devoted his attention chiefly to financial matters, and delivered a very offcctivo speech—.tho bost speech of 'the. debate. It may be taken as an.evidence of: the weakness of the' Cabinet, outside of tho Prime Minister, on financial matters that tho Government had to fall back on Mr.. LACHENSONj the party Whip, to reply to the member, for Bruce. The Prime Minister no doubt is holding himself-, in reserve 'until ! all the big guns on the Opposition' benches' have spoken, and as no other'member of the Cabinet in the Lower House is strong on matters of finance, the party. Whip had to bo called in. Mr. Laurenson did; fairly well,'but his forte is not finance. . He- was, however, properly aggressive, and his ready 'flow of somewhat acrid generalities appeared to give satisfaction'td the'.lpnistbrikl following. -judging from 'the attitude .of .Government'.. members, ; Ministers arc anxious to.get. the debate over.-; -: . 'ly:

In pa«fc years !tho woatHe.r .on Labour Day has,looked as .if it were not- really trying to bo fine, but this year's holiday, was celebrated in the finest suhshiho that oven a Wellington spring'can offer. .The ■ festival. passed off very, success!'lilly, and the Trades.and Labour Council is to; bo congratulated .upon the excellent arrangements which it made and-the satisfactory results that attended its efforts, Although; Labour Day is primarily a trades'union festival, and .had an .origin mainly 1 political, there is nothing in thu manlier of its celebration winch can repel anyone's sympathy with tho holiday.' One cannot but feel that there is matter for satisfaction in the absence from/yesterday's proceedings, and indeed from the 'Labour Day celebrations in recent years, of a;ny attempt to mako of a useful holiday a demonstration of : what is called class consciousness. New Zealand suffers frflm an excess of holidays* but Labour Day—as the annual festival of those who labour, and we all labour—has claims to consideration which are:entirely wanting in thei case, of many other anniversaries involving a suspension of 1 the daily, round, Tho best way to celebrate Labour Day, no doubt, is to work rather harder than on othor days. But. since the. holiday has lost any bitterness of significance that it may once have had,' the future may see it become, more,truly than it is at present,' a colebration of the dignity of toil. It cannot be disguised,that thero have been signs pointing towards the development of the opposite view of work. But for the present it is only necessary, to'. feel : pleased that yesterday's holiday wai a welcome break in the . round of labour, and that the-fine weather enabled many thousands to obtain the refreshment of sunshine and tho open air.

The public will await with interest tho Prime Minister's reply to Mn. : Massey's challengo to him , to' substantiate . his charge that certain people have circulated slanders and falsehoods with the object of damaging the fame of the country. As the Leader of the Reform party says, wo have all had quite onougn . of these vaguo insinuations, and the time has come when tho Prime Minister and ,his friends , should say definitely to what they, refer. No right-thinking man makes vague charges of a serious and damaging character without haying positivo ovidenoe which he can bring forward in support of those charges.' Sin Joseph Wardhas made niany. very , serious charges against unnamed men and unnamodnewspapers; he has over and over again asserted—and has been faithfully re-echoed by his press advocates—that falsehoods have been circulated b.r his opponents with the object of injuring the country's credit, Sir Joseph will no doubt realise that he cannot let Mr. Massey's challenge go unanswered, for more than one good reason/ He should welcome the challenge, sinco it will enable him to fix the guilt upon: tho guilty parties. Ho'cannot surely wish to'leave under suspicion as dishonourable men, those who are innocent, but who are wronged 'by tlio vagueness and" generality of: his; accusa i tions. : Tho public, moreover, has a right to expect that the guilty parties shall be named, and tho character of their falsehoods exposed, i If Sin Joseph does not reply to Mr. . Massey'b challengo by giving names, dates, facts, and figures, the puulic can only come to one conclusion. Wo trust that in ■ his own interest . the Prime Minister will como down to facts.