NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 669, 20 November 1909, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

; ;|-,lt- js ncoessary tocall attention ib'. tho extraordinary -reluctance "of :Siß: : Joseph WARDto-followHhc e'xainplo of the , other Prime, Ministers. ;of, the,,Enipire; in : 'the matter of taking tho public: into hi? confidence :upoh-questions of ImperiaV im : portanoe. apiongst his fellow Premiers! he aims' at' secreo'y : where candour if'-tiba -only -proper■ thing; ho -has againand again l appeared, toTjelievo that'the affairs of the nation are hja. private We'-learn to : day; that '.Blue-bbbki dealing with the Irapbrial Defence CohV ference have' been. published; in' London and Ottawa. 'We should probably all be waiting oveni v 'now for iyen that eelectibn of cprrespondencje relating to (.heOonferepee which Sir JogKFH tijjs made' : public :if, the Australian' Goyerhment: had'.not prpmptljf.printed all-ib;could/last May, Nor has;'anybody. who has given the majr ter any study the smallest;tjoubt that the selection referred'to is a quite ungatisfac•fcbry and incomplete representation of tho position .at the- Gonferenco.\ For , one thing,).'ifr' was-evident from; a- lettor ; 'of CoLONEti Foxton's that the' Admiralty had supported exactly that.; proposal. for' an Australasian navy which Sill 'Joseph Wakd led us to .believe- was condemned by the Admiralty and naval experts generally. We trust that the House will-realise that if it'swallows ,thc ;,Government,'s naval proposals without further ! infofma-! tion;it will be taking a leap in. the dark. The'; Blue-books to may contain sugpect that;thoy'actually?do contain evidence^hat.may.;cause a.vast change in- public opiniop ■' here.- The PniiiE Minister is not likely to give'.furtho'r information. The Hpuse; will pe asked to deal with the question of naval defence bpforo Ohristmaßi ' \Jo trust, that; it tyill refuso to 'do so until:tho British ; Blue-; book is available. .This i» the only course consphant with' perfect safetjj not:; only in policy,',but in finance; ;; -. /■-■■. ■'.".;; '-";/

• The. very,. grave injustice which may be, and .'has done minder coyer" of the Crbwn Suite Act was ycry iuily- exposed in the • Houbo yesterday, Wβ, have at different; times-commented , on, the grossly unfair treatment'" meted out to the Farmers' Distributing l Company 'and the mofcorraan ; Barton; by'' the Government, in refusing thqin the right.to bub for .rodress.,; for : the: injuriessuffered; or alleged to.havpbepnaufforedt from the actions of a State . trading Department. , -It -really passoa comprehension that -Ministers should ba propared to ignore .the.claims, of those, who.have sufferod at the hands-' of,. the, State' to take their just : to the Courts of Justice. The ■'attitude assumed by the Prime Minister-; and the Minister 'for ■Publjto: Works yestorday,.amounted to this: that the State may.enter into Indus-, trial competition with private individuals, without,being subject to tho' laws which govern .and rostrict: those private individuals. It may.damage the property ofjte neighbour", and becauso it is the State, the unfortunate.noighbour has no 'redress at law. lts;scrvant(i, in thd.courßo of their work, may, cause injury to the private citizen',: but, becauso thoy aro >the servants of .the State,', the/privato .citizen cannot call-in ; tho "assistance: of: tho. Law Courts to.secure;• that j ustidp Which would havo- been-his'had he suffered similarly at the hands;of a privateiiridividual or a'cpinpany, vThe only 'defence bffered by the Goverriment'for to.permit recourse- to the" Law' Courts' was "that it would cpst,the-«ountrjr hundreds ol'thou^

sands of'.'pounds because of actions. that would be brought'against the Government. , purely; this is a startling admission; and in any casej if the Government has. done this hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damages to private indiit is' only right that theyshould be compensated- according to 'their! deOf course, the Government claims that.it would bo IJable. to eiiffer, hpavier damages on such actions than would be awarded against a private individual; But is that any reason why, whea'the. Government injures a private individual or company, it should refuse them all right of. appeal to the lawl Tho' proposition is an outrageous one. The State, as wae very properly pointed out, having entered into industrial competition with the private individual, should be subject to tho samolaws that govern the private individual in tho conduct of his business. The fact that a motion, moved by, Mn. MASSKYy affirming this principle, was only lost by _ four votes, should help to disillusionise Slinisters who appear to imagine that it is right and proper for them to U3i}rp tho functions of the r Courts Of Jlistipo. . ■.-'■'....-. '■.'■ '■ ' •: ■"■.■.-■'.. '••'-'"''■.■.,-

public will appreciate the tsolf-! restraint of the 'member for 'Christ-' church _ North, -Me. ... T. E. ' ■ Taylor, jn connection with his retrenchment •:'■ proposals.. Mβ.:; Taylor last evening made a vigorous onslaught on the salary attached to the office of Governor of .the Dominion. Ho consid, ered it grossly extravagant io pay any Governor so much.per annum, qnd tho times called for., retrenchmenth-say' Aby •£2OOO per annum. The Legislative Cpunv oil, too, was;costing'too much—far ', too much in view of tho easy-,.times enjoyed by Legislative Councillors. , '' Tho salaries of !: members of that Chamber -ho hinte.4 'could ;bo cut ,; down, : and the saving' thus made turned ■ "to more ; profitable .account. And what may bo■' asked, of ~*fche salaries r of Ministers and the salaries of members of the House of Representatives J Me, Taylor, M, P., may be a Liberal-Socialist; but ho is not an iconoclast. - He 'had done- his duty in: showing his willingness to shed his brother's: blood—it would be,looking for tofl;much.tb.cxpccj; him t#. go a step further/: In any .case, ■vyhat would hive been tho ; use 1 The so-called Conservative Atkinson Government commenced ". its: rev trenchment at'the top by cutting dowh'its own , and members' salaries. : The so-called Lilferal Government iof to-day: bcginii., ; St the bottom, on, ,the clerk—and gets po further.' Mil. Taylor's self-r-Miraiiit should ; commend itself: to Ministers,. if not to the!country. ■, ■, >•:

,: Vbby unpleasant developments appear to.be;in,progress in.connection witn'tho coal' strike in'. AustraliaV;-Wo-"publish te.legramitb.i3 j rnbrnirig, which ; indicate thafc tboro,is.not'.,only' % strong sympathy, ;\yith the; strikers amongst a section* of the workers in this country, but that they , art; ■ propated.!'"evpn'';to:;iß'apj:ifice , Vtheir.'v-l?g%l obligatioDßi;. if\neces^ry v .to ; in'the strike movemdnt v ; , : It; is,, o.f Q6urse,.vdifricult; to tell at present how far union? officials : are acting , without 1 theauppgrt of; menjbbrs,; but" it' ie ' significant that v 'tljeir actions;ahd intentions are. ; publishe d : in the' public press.- .■;The declaration thai steamers trading from New-Zealand w Australia will -riot be permitted to' carry enough "coal to bring them back agijin will arouse the indignation of the whole of the public. -It ;ig,p, : quite;.indefensible attitude for the union to take, and w - do not',beliey.e : : thaj;'.labpur generally.. 'would lend' itsvapjr.oval of so unreasonable' 7 a; Mature.' Equally imprope,f u i^.^th'6 i !strik6v I prb^osa ; i':-, from:., .the ;buh^te v b;r^ncK%{ i -WSe'peri'S i Union.. these union officials areready ; to irauark their members"on industrial ptrife, whichj whatever the ending,must mean loss and suffering to; many* innocent people. >: It. i$ pleasing to. note that;the. Auckland memDprg of the union appear disinclincjil, to boPflmeombroiled.-The great.bulk.ojj.the public, we feel Bure,;.willliave .tno/|jympathy with, those unions in New Zeai'and which,' : ignoring? their pbligatipns under thf Arbitration.'Act, jpip'on such unreasonable pretexts as' havp been 'mentioned in. a struggle which- it is to the.interest? of all.; sections of: to ,see ended;as speedilysas possible^?" -y'""/'.^.