NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 73, 19 December 1919, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

It yet remains to be seen whether the defeat of Silt Joseph Waed for' the Awa.rua seat will mean his retirement from politics for the next three years or permanently. There is some talk of a safe Liberal seat lining found for him in the present Parliament, and it is possible that an effort in this direction may be made. Should the Leader of the Opposition decide to abide by the decision at the polls on Wednesday last it will mean the removal for the time being at least of one of the most prominent figures in our public life over a very long period of years. Whatever mav be said of his weakness as a party leader, it would be ungenerous to pass ; 6ver his thirty yosirs of service in the public life of the Dominion without acknowledgment. The fact that hn has for so long'retained the confidence of the people of the southern pn.rt of Now Zealand is ■in itsolf a remarkable record and one on vhiMi he can look back with pride. He has held Ministerial rank for a longer period than any man in the present Parliament, and in subordinate capacities under Mr. Bav lance and Mr. 'Seddon did good service, more especially as Postmas-ter-General. His failure as a party leader and an increasing tendency to plunge .recklessly at election times and to give party interests undue prominence have gradually, weakened his hold on public confidence. /His absence from Parliament may serve to assist in breaking down the old artificial party divisions which were kept alive largely through his leadership and the loyalty of his * followers to his personal claims to consideration.

A factor not without its effect in the late election campaign was the work of the Welfare League. This league is a non-party organisation which aims at educating electors to appreciate what is involved in the issues of the day. Its efforts of late have Been chiefly devoted to pointing out how much more the community stands to gain by cooperation and teiim work in miWic Service than by the propagation of ideas of the "class war" as a necessary adjunct to nrogress. The league has effectively exposed the nuatrmire into which the. extremists would have, liked to lead the country, and has provided valuable c'id in" defeating the_ campaign of disloyalism and social disorder.

The name of the late T)n. Edith UumEY will loner, bo kept alive in grfiMul memory by the fine bequest of which thn details were disclosed 'at yesterday's meeting of the Wok li ngton Hospital Board. Under the terms' of her will, the greater narfc of Dn. ITiJNray'p estate is left in trust for the creation, maintenance, and endowment of a ward or wing at the local hospital, to be devoted to the care and treatment of expectant mothers and to such research work as will tend to lessen the pain and peril of childbirth. The sum thus made available is apparently between £9000 and £10,000, and the terms of the trust arc admirably broad. It is for the benefit of all women without distinction of creed or station. Such a bequest worthily erowns'a long career of useful public service, and Br, Huntley's beneficence assuredly could have been devoted to no nobler object. The mothers of the race are supremely entitled to generous consideration—in too many respects to far more generous consideration than they have yet received—and besides being a noble contribution to the relief of suffering womanhood, Dn. Hustler's bequest ought to serve as an inspiration to both public and private generosity in similnr beneficence. As being devoted to a specific object, the bequest may'not in the ordinary way carry a Government subsidy, but in view of the acknowledged need of supplementing the institutions now 'available for maternity patients, the case clearly is one in which a substantial subsidy should be prrnnf.ee!. if necessary under special legislation.