NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 685, 9 December 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The sparring which ,took place last: evening between the Prime Minister-'and i the Loader of the Opposition on the subject of the conduct of.. business for the remainder 1 of the session ended quite inconclusively. Both appeared to enjoy, the encounter; possibly the. thought of closing down business a fortnight hence added zest to their .repartee; but, after all, it is iujit a matter to be brushed aside with levity. No one. for. a minute believes that the Land Bill will get through this session, but if the Government is to be allowed to drivo through as it pleases tho House may find itself rushed into doing a good many things that it and the country will be sorry for later. Early in the session, when Bills come forward for. consideration and members have ample time to deal with thenv many, amendments are; made,'not so much as .affecting the principles of the measures as in the details. Ministers thomsclves frequently: admit the. necessity for the verbal .and other amendments thus v put' forward, Tho Bills are in this way improved in draftsmanship,, and often serious errors and omissions corrected. But in the rush and stress of the long sittings towards the close of the session there is neither 'time .nor inclination to attend to; these, matters. The Opposition has' been talking a good deal about its intention to stop this end-bf-the-session and we hope that it intends to dp soi '.Members no doubt are very anxious to get away to their homes, but their duty must not dc , shirked. The first thing 'to be: done, is to .secure from the Prime Minister a statement, as to the business to: be, proceeded, with this 'session. -.-.!Members,can then concentrate thoir-'attcntionon/'this, instead of wasting 'tlmd'bri matters' which will riot v be dealt with, this year; and'.the business can be disposed of with reasonable dispatch...Shou|d:the Prime Minister refuse to give this information, the Opposition has no_ other course open to it -than'', to use air the forms of Parliament to prevent • the usual session scandal; The Opposition is strong enough to do this—it.will.betray its trust if it fails to exert its strength,' whatever .the-personal sacrifice .may, bo.

An object lesson.in practical Socialism is afforded by the report of; the British Consul at Lyons on the ''Miners' Mine" at Loire—an experiment that failed. The experiment, which was commenced in 1891, was heralded as marking the ,\ in; auguration of a new golden age, of industrial co-operation.; A concession. consisting of four pits, covering an area,of somo 183 acres, had beon obtained at ; a low price from a; Paris banker, and subscriptions flowed in from i all sides, including one of :£2OOO ; from.,the Petit Journal, which fathered the enterprise, the same amount from the. Government, and £400 from tho town of St. Etienno. The essential point of the statutes of tho new Society was that; all the profits ware | to be divided among the workers in the mine. According to the British Consul's report, ; . ■ .-■ .;;■ ■' C; ■'. ■■•' '.'.■• ''-;.

' Dissensions and difficulties were not long' in making thoir appearance, and practically never ceased until'the final closing down of the pits. Tho. chief' of these disputes arose from, the fact that, soon after tho opening of the mine, tho regular members of the Society began to get m qutsido. men to help. iTheso auxiliaries .gradually'grew' to consider themselves just as much. shareholders as tho original. members, and therefore equally entitled to share in the profits. -Moreover,' it not" infrequently ' happened that when funds wero low an all-round pro rata reduction had to bo made in wages— an arrangement .which caused great dissatisfy tion among many of the then, vho, : boing unable apparently to grasp" the principles of co-: operation,.demanded ■ their full wage. What they apparently failed altogether to grasp was that the principlo of co-operation involved their taking tho rough times with the smooth. This quarrel.is said to have marked the beginning of the orid. Further internal troubles followed thick arid fast; chairman; after chairman .was elected, intrigued against,! and deposed. Fires in two of the pits were succeeded by hard times—in which the whole of ithe 'Loire Basin; where the mine was situated, suffered—and the "Miners' Mine'' ,was least of all able to make headway against the storm. Money rah short, creditors became pressing, a receiver was put in, and the pits closed down. Such is the story of a,"Minors' Mine" in Franco. It has its lessons for those who may choose to profit, by'them. ~ _ :

Residents of Brooklyn made it plain last "evening that: they have a yory real grievance inthe matter of drainage connections. A loan of £IOO,COO • was sanctioned on the specifio Understanding that a portion of this money would be used to connect the houses of residents with the drainage system, tho cost so' incurred to be repaid by instalments. After completing tho system, howpver, at a cost of £65,000,. the balance" of the loan .was diverted to drainage work elsewhore, and the Gity Council in consequence has not funds to carry out'the hpuso connections as promised. This is a' very improper state,of things. There does Uofc appear to be any doubt as to the obligation incurred by the Council in the matter, and justice must be done to the Brooklyn residents. The' Mayor, Dn. Newman, 'has promised to take action, and the Council should support him. ; Another: Question raised at the,meeting of Brooklyn Presidents last evening related to tho taking over by 'the Council: of certain private, streets of less width than that pre-' scribed by. law.' A.Bill to; givo authority to do this is bufore Parliament,: and has; met with a hostile reception., This is not altogether surprising:: The evil of narrow streets has been a-subject ; of-universal

condemnation/in recent times, and Wn|lington's reputation in this respect is not a good one. At the same time the circumstances in the present case are exceptional.- and if tho deputation which is to wait on the Prime Minister and the Minister for Public Works on Saturday puts'the position clearly and forcibly, tho objections raised may be overcome. It is a matter of some seriousness to this portion, of the city, and the. proposal should bo considered on its merits, and uninfluenced by the preconceived and natural'prejudice against legalising narrow streets. .■'■.

Some sympathy must bo extended to tho followers of tho Government in the position in which they find themselves in relation to their leaders. Tho statement which wo publish this morning from one of them, commenting on tho lack of cordiality between Ministers and members, will surprise no one. We havo frequently directed attention .to , the. conflicting viows of Ministers themselves on large public questions—differences which" by no means ended with the"Withdrawal of Mr. Hoacs from the Cabinet. These ■ diverse views sometimes find expression in public—as, for instance, the differing opinions of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Railways on railway manage-' 'metit; the opposing extremes of view held by members of the Cabinet on the land question; the . disagreement between Messrs. Millar and R. M'Kenzie re-; garding the construction of a certain cherished railway.. These arid other, opposing views in the Cabinet are known to members as well as the general public. Moreover, members who hold strong opinions on large questions necessarily do not' feel in : harmony with a Minister whose'views are quite as strong in the, opposite direction. The leaseholders, for instance, can hardly feel any powerful bond of sympathy, linking them to:the Hon. T. Mackenzie. Indeed,' Mr, T. Mackenzie's inclusion in the Government is a sore point with a good many followers of the party. Some .no. doubt are merely disappointed at being passed over for a recent recruit, but others object to,' Mil. Mackenzie's inclusion in the ranks of the Ministry on the ground that he is out of sympathy with Radical sentiment. Altogether,; the_ party is'not a particularly hapiy one just now, and' even the fact .that Sir Joseph Ward has a vacant portfolio to bestow is not sufficient to keep members in order. ' : The truth is, and it'mu'st be very plain to all, that the Prime MiNiSTEßmade an unfortunate selection in choosing his colWhatever merit they may possess individually is discounted to a large extent by their-"failure/, to blend—there are too many conflicting elements. This has been forcibly- impressed oh the Government following during the -present session, and' it is not surprising that they do not like it, and see trouble ahead. Some of : them, too,' are beginning to realise their power, and think that they should have some say in the selection of their leaders. Should the session carry on over Christmas there are certain to be some very.lively' interludes in.the weeks that'follow. .-■

.. Although on many important points ,of general policy the Toronto Globe holds views opposed to:'.-those'' •■ .advocated.; in these columns, we have: always recognised the correctness and force or most of its comments upon the larger questions, of Imperial'policy. It had.an article recently on naval defence from which we take. the. following extracts:—" :;'.:.;■

"The good and sufficient reasonTvhy; Canada should undertake'the Substantial beginnings-of a navy is that sho,is...an.important and integral pari: .of the, British' Empire Tor,the, defence of that Empire fauppwrfnl'jiavy is, in the present state of the Vdrid's* diVilisation, indispensable, and every one of its units is un*dor obligation to do its. part in this v work to tlie extent of its ability, v ; .• :.'-The great and overwhelming argument is that wo are all one people, and the distress of our kinsmen; .in Britain would be only one degree less poignant to Canadians.than it Avould be to those endur : ingtho deprivations. It is not difficult, to suppose a ease where Canadians, would .be,under the harrow, and in the event of such a thing we have a perfect assurance that every ounce of the Emmre's might and' resources would_ be oxerted to'aid us in that contingency. Britain's sons must stand together, not by- estilnating what each might gain or lose, but on the general' principle that we are a ■family of nations, and that a hurt to one, is a hurt to'all." ',:','■■' ■ •'.-.'• : ~v. •'.■

This,:of course,, is a reply—arid.a crushiug reply—to" those who in Canada aro advancing the absurd contention that; to create a local navy is td forfeit the protection ::ab present, afforded by the British/Navy. Sir Joseph Ward made this very suggestion himself on histeturn from London. Should! he make it again, directly or indirectly, when,; the'■ .Dreadnoughtioan is under discussion, wb' trust that it will be'pointed outto.him that in any circumstances "we have a perfect assurance that every ounce: of the Empire s might and resources would bo exerted to aid us" in time of-trouble. .Canada and Australia are enlarging those resources.:.

6nk of the minor alterations made in the Land-Bill by the Lands Committee; deserves a little notice. : It will -bo' rcmembored that in its, original form. thc : Bill contained, a clause providing that any person acquiring under the Act a greater area>ot land than is: permitted would be "guilty of a crime" and would be liable to. pay a; heavy fine or go, to gaoUfor ■ two years. Reflection had evidently brought' homo to,>hc,.PntME Minister the danger, to 'which ho.was. exposing the country's, reputation abroad- in allowing it to go '■■ forth that Mr. : Hood's theory, respecting the criminality of private land ownership had boon solemnly endorsed by the 'Government.' He therefore moved;;in. response to a protest by Mr. Lang, when the Bill was before the Committee,'that ilie words quoted should be struck out. He. did not. propose, of: course, that the effect of the clause shouldbe changed; ho proposed, indeed, that the ponalty} should be increased from two years to,fivo,years." His object in.moving the excision of the plain and honest, if father startling, -words- referred to' apparently was that'he wished to; secure himself, from inebnvchient criticisms.; here and in the older countries whero bur. "credit is.rather an important matter. There is a growing tendency on, .the part.'of "Liberalism" in this country, to disguise the true significance of its policies. Just as Sir Joseph fights furiously against those who criticise the Socialism that is labelled "Liberalism," so he wishes to remoVe 'the identification marks from his: most extreme innovations. ;;■ This very; weakness.of the Prime Minister, it must be admitted in fairness to him,' shows that there aro still in him faint lingering of doubt as to whether extreme Radicalism ' is. really politic after all. •-•■■.,