NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1316, 20 December 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Tug possibility of a labour trouble on a large scale to which we directed attention a few weeks ago still appears to be with us. ?\ews from Auckland to-day in connection with' the General Labourers' Union's demands . is very disquieting. The Union'cancelled its registration under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act because of its dissatisfaction with the awards of tho Arbitration Court and with the intention no doubt of securing greater freedom of action. The employers, in consequence, have declined to treat with the Union its a Union preferring to deal with the men individually. It is difficult to believe that the onli; reason for the employers' action is the cancellation ' of the Union's registration under the Arbitration Act. The Union have a perfect right to refuse to come under the provisions of tin; Act if they so desire and their decision in this direction should not be allowed to prejudice the chances of a settlement of the dispute. The request of the men for a round-table conference is in itself a quite reasonable one and should be met in a friendly spirit. It may be that the Union's demands cannot be conceded, but before any final decision is arrived at the representatives of the employers and the men should come together in an endeavour to arrive at an amicable settlement. The unrest which exists at the present time may be smoothed over, but the employers in many cases appear to have reached breaking point and we, should not be surprised to witness a serious labour trouble which may bo far-reaching in its consequences. 1 Tiif. plight of our "Liberal" friends is at last plainly revealed as a very sorry one indeed: Mi;. T. K. Sidey has stepped into the breach. When one has,said of Mn. Si.dk> - ; that he'is'ah amiable man—-amiable' is the very word—one has really almost exhausted him as a political topic; and when one has said that he has suddenly adopted the role of a Napoleon of politics, one has said all one need say about the case of Wardism. Mi:. Sidey has explained to the Dunedin Shir that "one of the first things to be done was to ascertain whether it was possible to unite the Liberal, Labour, and Independent members." "If that were possible," lie went on, "there would be no need for any early session." Indeed, an early • session would be wrong, because "the members of a reconstructed Ministry"—our Napoleon's Ministry—would require time to familiarise themselves with the working of their Departments and prepare their legislation. Mn. fiiDEy does not hint, and we forbear to guess, at the i)er?onnel of "the. reconstructed Ministry." Now, Mn. Sidey's proposal is very absurd, of course, but is he not outlining exactly what our "Liberal" friends know is their only hope, and know also is a hopeless dream? We are glad that it fell to Mn.'Sidey, above all men, to propound this scheme. His courage is admirable, for it does require courage on the part of any "Liberal" to propound the solidification of a minority (that cannot solidify) as a means of defeating : majority. But that the Napoleon to meet tho hour should be Mr. Sidey ought to be the last nail in the coffin of Wardism's hopes. A win in the recent election struggle which calls for f comment and congratulation is that of Mr. Hine, whose candidature for the Stratford seat was very strongly opposed by the supporters of Wardism. Tho country owes a great deal more to Mn. Hike than it perhaps realises. It was largely due to his courage and tenacity of purpose that public attention was focusscd on the evil growths which have developed under the long reign of the Continuous Ministry. He had the courage and the high public spirit to undertake tho unpleasant task of formulating specific charges which brought upon his head some of the bitterest attacks that have.ever been made on a private member in Parliament. The whole weight of the Government, and all the influence which the party in power could bring to bear were exercised in an endeavour to crush and ruin him politically. Efforts were made to entrap him; taunts were hurled at him in an endeavour to force his hand; his case was prejudiced by tho uncalled-for and inaccurate comments of the Chief Justice; ho was badgered and vilified, and throughout, it all, he, then a new member, kept steadily to his purpose, undismayed by the tremendous odds arrayed against him; avoiding tin pitfalls with calm judgment, and ithe end emerging triumphant before, a Committee of Inquiry, flu; majority of the members of "which were Government supporters. We doubt if any other member of the House could have gone through this ordeal with the same cool unconcern for the hostility of His opponents and the same unwavering determination lo "see the tiling through." Mn. Hm: is a young man as well as a young member, and though not blessed with a fluent tongue, possesses qualities which promise to make him a prominent figure one day in the polities of the country. He is in fact one of tin soundest'and ablest of the younger members of tho lain Parliament— much more able than of h.

own party give him credit for. There is good reason for congratulation on his re-election ;_ not merely because of the recognition it makes of the great public service he rendered in the session of 1010; but because the country can ill-afford to lose the service of straightforward, plainspeaking men who place public duty above all else in the performance of their obligations as members of Parliament.

The results of the Maori elections which took place yesterday are not quite certain, but Mn. 0. Pauata has been elected for the South Island, and it is practically certain that Dit. Pomare will be elected for the Western Maori District in place of Mn. Kaihau, and that Dr. Rakoihiroa will be re-elected for the Northern Maori district. Both Dks. Pojiaue and Raxgihikoa were a short time ago employed on the staff of the Health Department, and Mi:. Pahata is a land agent in business in Wellington. All three, are educated men and the days of the interpreter in the House of Representatives would appear for the time being to be ended. The result of the electrons makes the position of the Ward Government still worse. Dr. Rangihiroa may continue to support them; but both Dit. Poji'ahe and Mn. Parata have Opposition leanings, and in fact have been classed as Opposition candidates. , There can be no excuse now for any further delay on the part of Sin Joseph Ward in announcing his intentions. There are some who profess to think that he will resign his office as Prime Minister and also his seat and hand over the reins to Mr. Millar. _ For ourselves we do not think this likely. It is more probable that he will recognise the necessity for calling Parliament together about the end of January and testing the feeling of the now House. Any delay beyond that period will merely serve to arouse suspicion that trickery is afoot. The country is not in a mood to tolerate a Government which, after 20 years of office, seeks to cling still longei to the Ministerial benches by buying the support of antagonistic sections pledged to vote against it. The supporters of the party probably realise this even if Ministers mav not do so-and the supporters of th. party require to look ahead and to consider their own political future.