NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1223, 4 September 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

No doubt tho_ Mayor, Mr. Wilford, will explain in due course why he selected the member for Waitalu, of all people;, as the person to whom his attitude respecting the Hutt Railway and Road Improvcmentßill should be officially communicated. Tho point does not to be of much importance, but there is enough of oddity in the procedure to occasion comment. AVhat makes the Mayor's action the more queer is tho attitude ho took up in connection with a debate on the Hutt Railway and Road Improvement Bill of 1905. On October 2 of that year, in the second reading debate (Hansard, vol. 135, pp. 358-9), Mr. Massey said he had been asked by Mr. Duthie, then member for AVellington City, to read a letter that he (Mr. Duthie) had received from the Mayor of Onslow. Mr. Wilford promptly protested. "It rather surprises me, he said, "to find the Mayor of one of the boroughs sending a letter to Mr. Duthie in reference to this subject. It comes as a surprise to me, considering what I know of this matter, that he should have communicated with Mr.. Duthik, asking him to make certain suggestions with regard to Clause 3, instead of calling upon me." If it were worth while, it.might be productive of entertainment to ask for Mr.. Wilfokd's explanation of the mystical connection between Wellington and Waitaki. Ilis ideas appear to be singularly variable when it is a question of etiquette.

Most New Zealanders will have rciul with mixed feelings the news that Mil. W. 1\ Reeves is publishing a series of articles in the London Daihj Ghroniclc witli the oliject, of commending the New Zealand system of industrial arbitration to the favour of the British public. It ia

both pathetic and ccmic to find, according to the cable message, that he "instances the sncccss of the New Zealand Act, which has been copied by Western Australia." Nobody would expect him to condemn the measure with which his name is chiefly associated, but it is a pity that he has not taken the trouble to discover the facts before extolling it at this time of day. The Act is really a failure, and like so many other "Liberal" enterprises owes such appearance of success as it exhibits solely to the enormous sums of money that have been borrowed during the past seventeen years. Had New Zealand been exposed to the operation of normal circumstances during all these years, had it not lived so freely upon increasingly heavy loans, the Act would have collapsed years ago and been replaced by a good wages board system. Even as it is, the workers are not on the whole better off, and industry as a whole is worse off, than if the Act had not been passed. The Act has not stopped strikes, and it would prove as worthless as ever in the event of a big strike to-morrow. It has greatly hampered industry; it has raised the cost of living to the whole public without increasing the means or amount of production; and it is producing increasing discontent amongst employers and employed alike. There could be nothing more saugrenu than to speak of its success. Mr. Reeves was equally unhappy in his reference to West Australia. That State did adopt the New Zealand measure, but the Premier, as we recently noted, has announced that they have had enough of it, and intend to repeal it and adopt the wages board system. It was just this carelessness of facts and experience which he now displays that originally led Mr. Beeves to introduce his plan here.

Tee Prime Minister, was at his best at the social gathering of the letter-carriers on Saturday evening. His speech was of a most interesting character, covering a wide range of matters associated with the Post and Telegraph Department. It is as Minister in charge of this great Department of the State that Sir Joseph Ward appears to most advantage. The secrecy and evasion which he usually practises give place to a quite expansive freedom of speech where telephones and wireless telegraphy and postal matters arc concerned, and lie in most cases has something of interest to say and' some information to give. Amongst the questions touqhed on on Saturday evening was that of cheaper long-distance telephone connection, and it is satisfactory to note that Sir Joseph Ward holds out promise of improvements in this direction, llccently Mr. Buchanan, M.P., brought certain proposals under the notice of the Government to meet the cases of country settlers willing to bear the cost of installing telephones for themselves on a time-payment system. The more wealthy settlers can afford to pay cash for such installations, but those in a smaller way require some concession in the way of time-payments. There arc a great many "directions in which the convenience of the telephone system might be extended, but it is especially deserving of consideration where country settlers are willing to bear the full cost provided the terms of payment are made sufficiently easy. However, our purpose in referring to the Prime Minister's speech was mainly to congratulate him on its interesting nature, and on the amount of information of public importance which lie embodied in it.

The hard words about Mr. Taft that hav2 been .cabled to us to-day as part of a speech by a leader of the progressive Republicans are probably considered important as indicative of a general feeling amongst the "progressives." The split m the Republican ranks is of course the great opportunity of the Democrats, who have been feeling very confident sinco their sweeping victory at the Congressional elections last year that the tide will be strong enough to carry the Presidency next year. On the Republican side no figure has as yet appeared who. is likely to support Mil. Taft : Mr. Roosevelt will not be a candidate, and is probably done with. The Democrats suffer from a surplusage of leaders. There is Mr.. Bryan, .of course (although there is not much likelihood of his ever being a victorious leader), and Governor Harmon and Governor Woodrow Wilson. If there is to be a Democratic President he will be one of the two lastnamed. Both arc strong and able men, and both arc perfectly equipped for the Presidential position. Mr. Wilson, who was formerly the President of Princeton University, has already made a beginning with his campaign, which he intends to conduct without the aid of the party "bosses" or machinery. The North American Review is of the opinion that Mr. Wilson is . the strongest man the Democrats can put forward, but it is largely helped to this conclusion by its belief that the best way to fight a Presidential election is to be physically and mentally as unlike the adversary as possible. Mr. Wilson is unlike Mr. Taft on all essential points. He is "lithe and sinewy, of Scoto-Irish descent, uncompromising in his disposition, and intelligently Radical in his political tendencies." His candidature will afford a good test as to whether the idea is sound that America is grown weary of "boss" domination.