NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1302, 4 December 1911, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Mrt, L. Isitt's rejoinder to Mr. Masrev (which, owing lo our having to go to press with our special issue of Saturday some hours in advance of our usual time, we could not print that day) is given in full in another column to-day. Everyone who reads it will see that Mr. Isitt simply aggravates his offence, and gets himself into a position that most men would give a great deal to avoid getting into. He now savs that when he heard of Mr. Massey's retraction he "was delighted," "and, without recognising or suspecting that there was any reservation," spnt his telegram of approval. His extraordinary story continues that when ho reached Wellington several members reproached him for not having noticed that Mr. Massey's retraction was (in the phrase Mr. Isitt ban more than once used) "partial and ungenerous." Now, Mr. Massey's statement was on record in Hansard then and is on record there still (Hansard Vol. 151 Page 56):

"During last Session in the heat of debate—the fiercest debate which probably the House has seen during the last twenty yi-nrsr-l referred to a statement which had been made to mo some years previously with regard to the late Mr. T. K. Taylor. ... I want to say now that 1 withdraw that statement unreservedly, and regret that it was made.'' Nothing, we think, but alarm at his blunder, and a wild anxiety to bluff the thing to the end, could have led Mr, Jsitt into making the grotesque suggestion that certain members persuaded him that the above was not n, complete and absolute retraction. Mit. Mabsry was careful to make no reserves of any kind. It.is possible, of course, that the unfortunate Mr. Ism was victimised by the "Lib-' evals'' who thought he could be made use of to do what they did not care to do. But we find' it hard to believe. It is quite uneless for Mn. Ism (o protest that he has "uot sunk low enough to make poli-, ticil capital out of an incident anv ; reference to which involves new distress to Mil. Taylor's widow and family." He has tried to make political capital out of it, and we shall be surprised if his behaviour does not turp the. public against him. Mn. Fowlds, it appears, has followed Mh. Ism's lead. We print the substance of a resolution carried in Auckland, condemnatory of the two of them. For Mn. Fov/lds there is no excuse, for, on Mr. Massey making his statement in the House, Mr. Foavlds immediately rose and said (Hansard Vol. 154 p. 56):

I should like to Raj- that I was very pleased indeed lo hear tho closing statement mado by tho leader of the Opposition. I think it was a right thing for him to do, and I congratulate (he lion, gentleman on making his statement." And now, ho joins in Mr.. Isitt's attempt to injure an honourable and upright man by firing from behind a grave. One of the Christchurch newspapers gavo publicity last week to a statement that many Civil Servants were afraid to attend the meetings of opponents of the Government, out of fear as to what might happen to them in their billets. The Thime Minister on Friclay dealt in violent terms with this statement, and declared that it was untrue that Civil Servants were spied upon or punished for their political views. After all, it does not greatly matter. We can easily understand that many Civil Servants, observing how the Ward Administration favours its friends, and how it penalises by a misuse of the public funds some of the newspapers that oppose it, might very reasonably indeed shrink from aiiv public demonstration of their opposition lo the party in power. But, as we have said, there is no need to attend candidates' meetings. The thing that matters is the ballot-box. It is only there that an opinion makes itself felt; and the ballot-box is entirely secret. Tho new ballot-paper absolutely secures that under no circumstances can anyone discover the wav in which any particular voter casts his vote. # Anyone who fears to show his political sympathies openly can vote with perfect confidence. He will be dependent on nobody's forbearance or tolerance. The ballot-1 bos is secret and safe.

The Hawkes Bay gentlemen associated with Me. M'Nab in his Mokau venture who have rushed in to give him a certificato of character will had it somewhat difficult to' justify their statement that- "the charges made against yourself (Mr, M'Sab) and the Government arc in our opinion untrue, and in our opinion are a disgrace to party politics.' l Had they confined their statement to the opinion that Mr. M'Nab, in embarking on the Mokau speculation, had been quite within his rights, a good many people would have agreed with them. When they state that the charges made agaiust the Government arc entirely untrue they arc themselves stating what is not rorrect. .Clio -charge that the Government took an exceptional course in passing an Ordor-in-Conneil which enabled a large block of Kative land to be purchased by a private land speculator, and sold again by him at a large profit to a. speculating svndicato. lias-been proved up to 'the hilt. There are other charges which have also been proved, but, the one mentioned is finite sufiiciuin, In .show thai, lite J]«.wkr ; K liny gentlemen, in their anxiety to come to the rescue of Mr. M'Nab, have over-stepped the murk. No cue, iio far rb wb are aware, has objected to the acUon of

those gentlemen in investing their money m Moknii. Alinij.s(< everyone dors object I.ii l.lii! iir-liyii of tii'! (iovernnii'iit in going diil, of its wiiy l.n H'l, aside Mm ordinary nnivisjons of the law which enabled llicm to (Jo kc.

Tin; ((fivcrjHiieiit'.s boycott of Tin: Dominion and other journals in tliu mutter of Htuto adverliiieiiieiilH lmn been extended to apply to still anollier paper, the I'tihiulua Ilrndd, which is a straightforward and vigorous iidvoeafi) of reform.. It prints the full correspondence leading up lo the oflifiiul declaration of file boycott against it. Jt must first be understood that the, I'uhudmi Herald is'a penny daily paper of eight pages, and the Wood villi: Kmmincr a small and insignificant paper, published three times a week at 2d. The lle.rald's weekly circulation is many times—anything from eight to twelve times, it claims—greater than that of the Examiner, which circulates in pnly a part of the Herald's territory, The most important Statu advertisements in tho district are those relating to railways, and as the small and insignificant Examiner is a Government supporter, it receives these advertisements. In June last tho Herald complained that the new train service between Mastcrton and Woodville was advertised in the Examiner and not in the Herald, A month later it received a reply to the effect that it was "an accidental oversight." These "accidental over* sights continued, and the Herald on July '1 began to make inquiries, clearly showing that it was the only daily paper in the Bush District's and a far bettor advertising medium than the small tri-wecklies. Thero was a great deal of shuffling on tho part of Ministers, who made misleading replies, and the Herald says:

When at last we were advised to placo an application before Cabinet, it took Ministers over two months to make up their minds. Jt was highly improper thnt such a delay should have taken placo in view of the impending election. It suggests (hut Cabinet was waiting to seo if the editorial policy of the paper would bo changed in order to gain the advertising wo asked for, not, as a favour, but as a right. When Cabinet found tr.at the "Jfcrald" was still lighting strongly for reform, (he application was refused, This is-a clear case of another entirely improper misuse, of the. public's money with the object, of penalising free speech. There is no defence possible, for the Government's action. We should judge that the Ministerialist candidate for Pahiatua will be dismayed at this exposure of the abominable methods of the Ministry ho supports. Wo fancy, also, that the Herald will in the end profit more than it temporarily loses as the result of the Government's combined dishonesty and venom. For the Government's days arc numbered.