NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2217, 1 August 1914, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

A public service was performed yesterday by Mn. J. H. Bradney, chairman of the A to L' Petitions Committee in the' House of Kepresentatives, when he called attention to the overflowing generosity, of some members of the House where the disposal of p ( ublic money is concerned. The particular case which called forth Mr! Bradney's comment was that of a petition presented by Mn. W. T. Jennings, in which he asks that the State should pay the expenses incurred!by him in resisting his removal from the Waitara Harbour Board. The petition was unfavourably reported upon by the Petitions Committee, and on the facts as they were ;stated. yesterday this conclusion was- amply, warranted. Mr. Jennings was advised on the authority of the Crown Law Office that his appointment to the Board was illegal, and that ho must retire. Instead of doing; so, he chose to incur a considerable outlay in vainly resisting removal. Disregarding these plain ■ faote, Mr. Payne, Mr. Isitt, and other members; one or two of them on the Government side of the House, raised 'such a storm of protest that- it was eventually decided to refer the petition back to the Committee. The'incident was characteristic of the misguided sentimentality which.too often finds expression in the House, and those members who are prone' to indulge in it would do well to give heed to. Mr. Bradney's reminder the duty of the members of a Petitions Committee is riot to indulge in sentiment, but to judge cases in accordance .with their 'merits and report in ■ accordance with- -the' evidence. When a Committee has carried out its duty in this way it should not be subjected to,the assaults of sentimentalists who are inclined to overlook the fact that the public, purse is not inexhaustible. The public will be pleased to see from the annual report of the Department that land settlement, as the result of the subdivision of large estates, is at last receiving the attention it ■ deserves.' Sir Joseph Ward and Mr. G. W. Russell have wept over the lot of the landless man on public platforms up and down the country' fof many a long day but their emotion has apparently been too overpowering' to.enable them k> take any very effective measures.for his relief. Mr. Massey and his colleagues have been little less demonstrative on the subject, but decidedly more practical. ; The Wardist Party—in theory-is'" the one hope of those, whe- seek to get on the land; Mr. Russell, we all kndw, has succeeded in getting oh the land to a,very fair extent nimself, but how modest have been his party's efforts on behalf of the general public the figures we publish this " morning disclose. Tho numbor and ■ area of the estates settled under the Land for Settlements Act during the first two years of , the Massey Administration (including three months of the Mackenzie regime) and the last two years of the Ward Government compare • as under :,— Massey Administration.' Year. No. of Estates. Area. 1013-U 16 15U10 1912-13 19 ,-i 123,138 35 279,748 • Ward Administration. .Year. , No. of Estates. Area. 1911-12 6 76,451 ■ .1910-11 9 . 7,752 . . lT 84,20*3If the four last years of the Ward Administration are taken, 'it is found that the number •of estates resumed was 29, with a total area of 217)185 acres, or decidedly less fchonthe amount cut up by the Reform Party in two years. During tho_ period from 1892- to 1912 the- ■' Liberal" • Party out up per ■ annum on an average eleven estates totalling 65,000 acres. Mr. Massey's average so' far is.eeyenteen estates, totalling 139,000 acres' per annum. A change friom the unsatisfying diet composed so largely .of words to one of deeds must very decidedly imprpvo the fortunesof this Dominion,

The position in the Pacific in the event.of a general European war is not one to cause alarm. Of. the three , partners in tb.6 Tri-plo Alliance, Germany is the only ono with any interests whatever on this side, of the world, and her small naval force in the Far East should be readily disposed of by the British squadron in Asiatic waters. The statement that? Japan may possibly participate in a general war as Britain's ally is hardly credible.' The Anglo-Japanese Alliance, which was-renewed in London in July, 1911, for a further period of ten years, is specifically limited to the preservation of peace, the defence or British and Japanese interests in Eastern Asia and India, and the maintenance of the integrity of China. If cither party is involved in war in .defence of its rights and interests in India or the Far East the other is bound to come to its assistance. The Alliance obviously does nofc contemplate the cntranco of Japan in,to a purely Europoan quarrel, and it is difficult to see what Japan would have to gain by,participation in such a struggle. She might conceivably seize the German lease of Kiau-Ohau in China, or some other overseas ' territories held by one or other of the partners in the Triple Alliance. But by doing so uninvited she would run a grave danger of a misunderstanding with other nations. •

When, the City Council has at 'last made up its mind what items shall and shall not be included in its extensive Iqan proposals it is to bo hoped that its members will devote themselves to , educating the public oh the merits of tho various works pronosed. The sum total to be borrowed has reached a very respectable figure, and it is desirable that tho ratepayers should be thoroughly seized of tho pros and rows before they are asked to record their votes'. Tlie indebtedness of tlie City is already some- distance ahead of that of any other loual body in the Dominioii. and the. bulk of the citizens will undoubtedly wish to know exactly how the burden of tho new charges will fall. . ' . '