NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 747, 21 February 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

In a day or two certainties may be substituted all round- for the uncertainties and the possibilities that still make up' the political situation in Britain. The cable. messages of to-day make it. plain that the position -of the Government is still highly critical, and it is quite pos-: sible that even the Ring s Speech will not settle the public , doubts as to what :will be the -Ministry's course; of- action. There appears to be a doubt as to whother the Budget or the attack on .the - Peers will come first, but, there seems to be little dpubt that the position taken ; up by the Nationalists and the 'Labourites iiLopposing-the giving of precedence to the Budget is founded on -considerations which will not admit any suggestion of compromise. The hope of the Daily' Chronicle thai all parties will be in a more reasonable frame of mind this; week is one for which it is.hard' to expect fulfilment, although -the Chronicle certainly shows some very good reasons why everybody should dislike the thought of a dissolution. As some, at anyrate of the dark places will 'be illuminated by to-morrow or Wednesday, we need not speculate upon the immediate proceedings' in the House, further than to .repeat- that., it is difficult to believe that the argument's of the Liberals will: persuade the King of the advisablcness of interfering in' any way with the nor mal working of Parliamentary Gov-' orument. - British politic seem likely to be in a state of flux for some time to come. Before the present crisis and the. crises that may follow it, havo .run their ' course, thero -may be' a .wholesale redistribution of parties; A strong Liberal Imperialist party, having;/for V its objects the maintenance of Freetrade, the resistance of Radical doctrines, and the bestowal of a wide, and genorous system, of Irish local government ; is, under such, circumstancos, a possibility, not to bo ignored. Such a party would probably draw upon both the Liberal and tho Unionist ranks. Lord Rosebery would seem 1 the ideal leader for this combination, but would he bo willing !

That very curious and interesting things can be found without going abroad for them is a truth thatfinds illustration in a remarkable Post Offioe comedy that is described in anothor column. Maramarua, near Pokcno, in the Auckland district, is the soene of this rich affair. There is a post and telephone office in,the township, but no postmaster, and as a . consequence, when the. mails . arrive, ''anybno who happens, to be about" sorts' tho letters. The explanation of this most extraordinary situation is given by the Secretary: of the Postal Department to a resident: who is very anxious to ring up somebody. "I havo," - ho writes; "the honour"—and: it really is an honour to be able to do such a unique thing—"to inform you that the settlors cannot agree : amongst; themsolvcs as. to who is to/be postmaster. Ono section Want .Mr. Mahey, tho other' Mn.. Larsen. Until the settlers comc to an agrecmentj the reopening of the telephone office must be deferred." The Chief. Postmastor' at Auckland is less ur-' banc. Ho might evon be called a very testy fellow. "If you people," ho writes, "persist in a family quarrel causing the office to remain closed the fault is your own. The whole question has now been referred to Wellington." For the, sakc_ of. the gentleman-who is still waiting to ring up, we trust that Cabinet will

not shrink, after giving the matter careful attention, from appointing Mr. Mahey without delay, although we shall ■ not .complain if Me. Labsen is the Government's choice; Although the Maramarua residents may not think so, the incident supplies a really beautiful illustration of the Government's fidelity to its admirable policy of "trusting the people"—the policy that Sir Joseph Ward has put into these words: "We find out what the people want, and then give it to them." If it had merely decided to appoint an official to sort the letters and. look after the telephone, it would have, done a very convenient thing, but it might have appointed the man with the smaller following, and so alienated the votes of the other faction. 1 '

, The garden party annually tendered to Me. Massey by his northern friends affords an excellent illustration of the high personal esteem in which the Leader of the Opposition is held. Mn. Massey'can certainly claim a greater personal' popularity than any other man in New Zealand politics " Both in and out of Parliament, his breezy, good nature, straightforwardness; courage under difficulties,. and . clean fighting methods havo won him wide respect and esteem. Possibly ,his, political strength would be greater, in Parliament at least, were, he less punc*. tilious in .hiß tactics, and more ready to take advantage of tho weaknesses , of; his opponents. Be that as it;may,; however, the Leader ox the Opposition is always certain of a hearty welcome in practically any part of the Dominion. At the entertainment: tendered to him on Saturday last, which resulted as usual in a most enthusiastic gather-: ing, there: was;a .good.deal of talk about political matters and the future, and the sentiments given ut-. to rancc to Mil .probably find favour with most; people. ; Everyone, with the exception'of the few who directly benefit by it, must object to the extravagance_ that has characterised the administration of, the: country's affairs for so long; and a:systematic campaign against it would be endorsed by the. whole country. There are very few people now. who do not feel that thero is something wrong with the affairs of:the country when taxation has to be' increased''after years of huge surpluses. The Reform party, -however, will require to do something more than send" Mr. Massey on a tour which necessarily-' must .miss great, part of the Dominion. In order to properly focus public attention, on; the weakness- of the financial administration of the' Government,, and to further the cause of reform, it will have'to call on its full strength and conduct an organised campaign. Mn.- MASSEY-ia •. a strenuous fighter, - with a great' capacity for,. work,; but he v cannot cover the; whole country singlehanded. Moreover,'the Reform party ■presumably does not'; want' .to .be regarded as a one-man party. ;