NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 825, 25 May 1910, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

J , The i?efor,m party has decided not to put forward an official candidate for the Auckland East seat. It is probable that the Government will 1 follow their example, and the con- : tost will in consequence be left to the free-lancers. The reason, we . should imagine, is plain. With Mr. Myers contesting the seat as Independent candidate there is little chance of a straight-out contest bctweeu the Government and the Opposition. Apart altogether from his " political views, Mn. Myers has a 5 personal popularity in Auckland " . which would ensure him a very large following in any circumstances, and 5 he would' almost certainly include ' in the number many electors who " usually vote either for' Government " or Opposition candidates. It is in--1 foresting to note that Mr, Myers ap--3 pears to have made an intimation ', that his independence, if elected, E will bo a very real thing. He will " attach himself to neither party. On present, appearances it seems prob--1 able that ho will score a fairly easy " win. Should the No-License party J enter into the contest in a wholei hearted manner they will probably ' prove his most formidable oppof uents. ' The decision of tho Hospital and '. Charitable Aid Board yesterday to . exclude the press', from all meetings . of tho Hospital and Charitable Aid ! Committees will not, we think, com- . mend itself to the public. _So far . a3 wo understand the position, the , real business of the Board will bo . attended to by these committees and 3 will then come up for endorsement , by the Board as a whole. Wo know , what usually happens in such cases. i An odd item or two in the report 1 may occasion a little comment, or I the report may go through without any discussion at all, and the public ; will know nothing whatever of the , reasons which have led up to the dc- . eisions arrived at. The expenditure . on hospitals and charitable aid in . this country has grown to such a huge sum per annum that the pubt lie should be given the fullest op- , portunity of learning how these t funds aro being administered. The I administration of charitable aid in . the past has not been so satisfactory . that taxpayers can afford to treat . the question lightly. No doubt mat r 5 ters crop up at these meetings which • it is ' undesirable that the press ; should publish, but we have yetjto { learn that the newspapers of Wel- > lington have failed to recognise this 3 fact, or to ignore the wishes of the 1 Board when such occasions arise. The fact that the motion to make > these meetings secret was carried by \ only one vote shows plainly enough !• that there is a 3trong feeling on the r Board itself in favour of reasonable . publicity. i ' The Christchurch organ of the \ Ministry which has striven very va--3 liantly against the facts disclosed " by the railway returns for the past • twelve months has at last.discovered 3 something that makes it really ' happy: , I, Probably (it says) our friends in Wel- , lington and Auckland would be indignant if wo suggested that there were 1 more second-class people in the North Isi land than thero were in the South Isj land. But the railway returns, which - aro giving them so much satisfaction just now, would go some way to justify such " a conclusion. ... On the Main Trunk 5 line tho total number of passengers dur--1 ing tho four weeks [winding up the finnn- ; cial year] roso from 469,316 to 185,801, \ compared with the corresponding period ' of last year, while the number, of first--3 class passengers fell from 70,160 to 07,281). - The samo tendency was observed on all ) the branch lines. But in the South Ist land, without a single exception, the lines , wen- carrying more first-class passengers J than they wero at the samo time last ! year. On tho Main Trunk line the total 1 passengers increased from 373,1.144 to i 400,140. and the number of first-class pas--3 sengers from 63,972 to 04,081. " What our contemporary really wishes 3 this to prove is not quite clear. We 1 would suggest to it, however, that ' its lesson is obvious enough although ! not quite what it would be prepared ' to endorse. The people in this is- • land, having for years had to pay large sums through the Treasury ■ to the users of the Southern railways, are not able to travel first- | class so often as their beneficiaries. ' They have to return 4.19 per cent. ' on capital in order that our Sou- • them friends get off with 3.37 per ' cent. ' -.