The Dominion. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1910. THE POLICY OF SHUFFLE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 910, 1 September 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1910. THE POLICY OF SHUFFLE.

Although the policy of the Fisher Government is, to-our mind, unwise and undesirable in many highly important particulars, yet there are two things upon which Australia may congratulate itself. In the first place Mr. Fisher has a policy, which he considers it his business to proclaim from the rooftops and carry out with as little modification as possible. In the second place he believes in the doctrine that a Government with a policy should settle down to business without delay. Ev,en the most careless newspaper reader must have been struck by the. openness and vigour of Mr. Fisher's cdnduct of business, and- by the sharpness, of the contrast between his methods and those of our own Government. - Having lived for years under the shadow of an Administration which ,has subordinated to the retention of office every other consideration, the New Zealand public to-day is perhaps not properly equipped ■to understand now strange and monstrous is the Government's determination to shroud its principal measures in mystery as long as possible. A Government need not be strong, cultured, and intellectual in order to perform the most elementary function .of _ statesmanship, namely, the acquisition and enunciation of a plain policy. To. do that it only requires to be honest and sincere. ,

At the present time nobody can say for certain what is proposed in the Land Bill. Nobody outside the Government knows even that that Bill-has yet been prepared for submission to the House. Nobody would dare to say that, even if it has' been drafted, it may not be turned upside down and inside out half a dozen ' times. before it is finally printed for circulation. And the Government has not the slightest intention of committing itself to any bint of its contents. . Testerday the first question on the printed paper.of replies was one respecting the rents ot ,-■ pastoral runs. ■ Me. Jas. Allen.'wanted to know whether the Government would provide for the payment of "fourths" of these 'rents to local bodies. The Prime Minister's reply was as' follows: "When the Land Bill is introduced into'' Parliament the honourable member will see what amendments of the present land laws it has been deemed : advisable to make." To ihany; : people—probably to _ most people—this curt reply will be regarded as evidence that the PiujiE Minister's temper is becoming frayed. For our pa'rt, however, we think that the Prime Minister,! did not i.intend to be discourteous, and is 'unaware, that he -.was discourteous. His reply indicates nothing more than his nervous terror, of committing himself on any point whatever, however far it may be outside the area of controversy. And he is thus: terrified, not. because he would regard it as a calamity to give away the; secret which 'his servants,, the public, ■must not learn until he is t graciously pleased : to appease" their curiosity, but because he really has nothing to give away, does not know where.he is or what his policy is, "but is withal shrewd enough to see that if he were to say "Yes" to Mr. Allen he.'might find that his Bill, in its ultimate form, would conflict with his reply. ; t -..-' •: -' ■■-.■■■ , What astonishes us, -and. must astonish most people, is _that tho Prime Minister should/think there is anything to be gained by shuffling and secrecy. The longer he can putoff the introduction of his Bill, so he probably argues with himself, the more likelyjie is to succeed in what, alone amongst the Prime Ministers in the Empire, lie conceives to be the highest function of statesmanship, namely, the divination of what will pay him best. If this is. what he is thinking—and nobody can doubt that it "is—he isdeluding himself and wasting his time. The country, which .he' seems to have overlooked in his plans, will not be satisfied with anything but what it has demanded for years, the freehold with limitation of • area. All his paltering and delay will profit him nothing, as bis supporters must know very well. On the other hand his followers must be realising, with increasing uneasiness, that their credit is a vanishing quantity, since the country .cannot continue to respect members who are the docile servants of a Government that is barren of statesmanship, feeblei in personnel, and wanting in principles, to a degree without example in our history. ■''•■'