NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 749, 23 February 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

, Ode lato cable messages, which came to hand just as this page was going to press, indicate that the Asqdith Government has failed to meet the wishes of the Nationalist and Labour _ parties in the matter of giving precedence to the . question . of , the: Lords' veto, and that a crisis is -imminent. Mn. Asqotth has determined to proceed first .with the Budget,'and has repudiated the meaning generally taken of the references in his Albert Hall speech to his future intentions in. the event of the Liberal party being returned to office. Mk; Redmond has jn effect denounced the course of action decided on by the Government,- and his . remarks appear to have had the endorsement of the Labour party, as well as that of the- Nationalists..: In the " circumstances' the position of the Government appears' hopeless,- unless the advice tendered by Mn. Redmond is followed. ' ;

Reviewing a new book, "A Colonial Autocra,cy," in which Me. M. PhiIiLIPS discusses the early history of New . South Wales,- the Westminster Gazette relates the particulars of a curious experiment - tried by Govbhnor Macquaeie. To feed the soldiers and. othtr Government employees, tie Governor had to buy corn from the-settlers, and with the hope of keeping : the price of corn steady, he instituted an official price of ten shillings a bushel, which he declared: would- give the farmer a good profit.' In good years, when there was a surplus of corn, . the Government, was paying too much; in bad years.com went up to twenty shiUings a' bushel, and the Government had to pay this price or get corn elsewhere. Macquarie therefore imported corn .from India, ohly : to find that in the- following'year cornwent down, to 3s. 6c1., and. the settlers threw their - land out of cultivation. To relieve the farmers the Government now allowed,liquor distilleries- to be established, and the demand for corn went up at once. To avoid the risk of a -consequent shortage, '.'another; .regulation:, was inadej that on two successive days the market prioe of wheat was above ten shillings .a_ bushel the Governor might... prohibit; - distillation '. from grain. Commenting upon this very interesting'episode,, the" Westminster Gazette ; exclaims': C "Oh, what a tangled, web we. weave when we undertake to play^,the part of; Provi-. dence in superintending industrial enterprise; 1 ';; Wo have not yet begun in New, Zealand to system of price-regulation" that is the natural corollary" of.;'wage-regulation, : but: that is because, the demand for .it has been kept down by the natural richness of the country and .the. enormous sums of foreign, capital—coming, of course, as goods—which the public has been'consuming for many, years. Lest the friends of economic ' "experiment" may. think the Wcslmin: ster' Gazette/has" been V."drawin- a -Tory conclusion from "Tory facts,"' .wei had better ' mention, perhaps, that Gazette: is the 1 chief newspaper. supporter';: of Mb. Li.oydGeoege and the British Liberal policy. • ' : ■ ■ , ..

Tee local educationists who > recently discussed -the question of "free places" in • secondary schools willbe- interested ;to learn "that. the same subject- was discussed by the ■British Association of Headmasters on January 12 at its annual general meeting in the Guildhall; : The following resolutions were agreed to:—

: , "That. a; reasonably_high. standard of. attainment in such subjectsi as are taught in public elementary schools, (regard being had to the; candidate's,age) should be required of all boys to whom free places in secondary schools are. awarded; , experience showing that boys, who, with the opportunities now. . open to them,-fail to obtain such'.a reasonably high or 'scholarship' standard, lack either the natural ability or the diligence,: or both, to enable them: to profit by secondary education.

That obstaoles should not be placed by the Board of,i Education or by the local. education : authority, in the way of removal by. the governors from such free places of those boye who . in the opinion .of .the headmaster of' the school are hot justifying. by their work or conduct the expenditure of public" money, upon their, education." --' .

suspect that similar resolutions, agreeablo' as .they are, not only ;to common sense; but to the experience of ithe headmasters of Britain, whose opinion is clearly of the highest 1 importance, would stand little chance of being _ chrried at any mixed conference in this,; country.,,: The :tendency here is to do nothing;, that might seem "unpopular," rather than to discuss witout reserve the real, merits of .the' questions ;, discussed. The Manchester Guardian which, as a good Eadical,. organ, keeps a .sharp eye open for. signs of what, it may. think, is "snobbery," has an interesting note on the resolutions we have quoted. "It is for the public body, 'it says, "to decide whether- it should" continue to pay public money for the education of a Doy who is wasting his time at a secondary school. '' Beports;' of course, should: be sent out to: the public . authorities who are, paying for the :-'free-placers,', and they should insist' on' a reasonable return for, the expenditure • of'.< public money." It is generally admitted in Britain that with most secondary schools the difficulty is not that the scholarship boys stay too long, but that they do not stay long enough. observes:

'It would be a good plan to,make it a co'ndition for ; the holding of a publio scholarship bursary' or 'free place' in a secondary school that the holder should ■undertake to stay a sufficient time to gain real advantage! from the study in which he ;is working.' The scholarship? might be made renewable every year, but they should- be tenable for a minimum of at least two years.". :

It .is a, great pity , that the local Education Conference failed to adopt the obviously correct principles that should govern the working of the "free, place" system.

The alleged outrage by the so-' called Maori prophet Kua, recorded in our«news columns to-day, calls for the attention of the Department of Justice. Apparently not very much damage was done by Rua and followers, even' if the story told is accepted in j its but the seriousness of the affair lies more' in the surrounding circumstances. Rua appears exercise a remarkable influence oVer his followers,: and claims for himself powers' which are liable at any time to' bring him into conflict with the laws of the country, ■ This cannot be taken excep-

tion to—at least not to the extent of interference by tho authorities—so long as he keeps- within the law. His eccentricities may arouse, and have aroused, uneasiness amongst the scattered settlers living in the locality which he haß made his. home; but so far, apparently, the police have not seen occasion to interfere. But there is a limit to the eccentricities of even a Maori prophet. The' allegations made as to the trespass and threats recorded Mr. Lewis call for full investigation, and should the statements be substantiated tho reproach which is stated by the Guardian to lie at the door of the Justice Department must be removed by prompt action.