TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1908, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Proudly the Mayor (the Hon. T. W. Hislop) points to the pro. Municipal fits of the city's electricGas. , lighting enterprise, and he hopes some day to wave a glorious balance-sheet, all aglow with figures showing the benefits of" the municipal acquisition of the Wellington Gas Company's property. The people, the prospective owners, wonder when .(he story of gas is to be like the tale of electric light— better illumination at a cheaper rate. In The Post yesterday they had the Gas Company's side of the matter, and the case was well put from the point of view of men who naturally desire to get as much money as possible for their assets, material and otherwise. "The directors," said the chairman [Mr. D. J. Nathan), "feeling that the proposal to purchase the undertaking is not likely to eventuate on terms that they could recommend, have now decided to ask the shareholders to provide ficsb capital without delay." Very soon after this speech was finished the meeting sanctioned the increasing of the capital up to £400,000. A casual reader of our full report of yesterday's proceedings might imagine that the shrewd men at the head of the Gas Company were unaware that th© City Council some weeks ago engaged an expert to frame a comprehensive report on tho Gas Company's business, and this report will probably be in the Mayor's hands to-day. There has been much talk about tho purchase of the gas works by the corporation, and now the City Council is getting reliable information for guidance in very important and delicate negotiations. Obviously the corporation could not opon its mouth widely for the Gaa Company's recent offer, any more than the company could be expected to cheerfully swallow the council's terms at a gulp. Both sides are naturally finessing for vantage ground ; it is a catch-as-catch-can in which the citizens are very personally interested. In the meantime all have to wait for the expert report to enable tho great topic to be finally debated., ' ' '

Cosily the public leans on the iGovem-

merit, and the GoWaiting on vernmont leans on Public Opinion, the public. Theyaro propped up nicely, shoulder to shoulder, the Government's ear close to the public's lip, and tho public's hands in the Government's pockets. It is not difficult to picture the Ministry waiting eagerly for the voice of the man in the street before deciding a matter of State. The Prime Minister says that public opinion is not ripe for compulsory military training; the Minister for Education declares that it will be well to wait for the education of public opinion before the Education Act is amended to provide a strict rule for compulsory attendance at school. It is the natural bent of the public to take the line of least resistance; it' is easier to drift down stream than to pull against it, and the public often prefers to drift. Military training is a "bore;" the people want none of it till the shells begin to burst about them. The Government forgels that times come when the people must be protected against their own apathy. What is public opinion, anyhow? As understood by Governments, it is often the raucous voice of timorous or selfish minorities who think that their comfort is imperilled by certain measures. Strong majorities are sometimes silent, and the noisy minority rules. Ministers are apt to waste too much time in watching to see which way the cat of public opinion will jump, and sometimes it is not tne right cat that makes a move. The multitudinous files of papers, all nicely numbered on and Patrolling shelved, and the maps Government and the furniture of Buildings. Government Buildings, and the structure itself, are not insured in the ordinary way against fire, but are "covered" by the eyes and feet of sentinels detached j from the Permanent Force. Apparently some members look upon these guards as merely ornaments, and desire to replace them with "men unfit for other employment and at present unemployed." That would be a reduction to an absurdity ; the insurance policy would then indeed be a farce. If the buildings are believed to be worth watching, then the guards must be sturdy, they must be sound of wind and limb, capable of a fast sprint, a rapid bounding up a flight of stairs. The safety of the whole block might depend on a little prompt attention from a strong, energetic man. A feeble person may do well enough to watch over the comfort of legislators in Parliament, but he is not competent to keep ward over a mtional asset contained in a tinderbox. Mr. Allen remarked that the soldica' energies were rather wasted on this fatigue duty, but it must be remembered that a few men do not have a monopoly of the patrolling ; it is so well distributed that there can be ro jealousy. A little "fatigue duty" is good for discipline; there is much "fatigue duty" in actual war. The Government has promised to give consideration to the representations for the engagement of broken-down workers, but it is hoped that the "consideration" will be Of the real old-style Cabinet brand. 1 In the olden times the Axawas had a mana over Lake RotoThe Maori rua and .other waters and thereabouts, and the the Trout. kura (a dainty little crayfish) nourished for them. Then came the trout and the tourist. The trout ate the kura, and the licensed tourist ate the trout. Soon there was no kura for the Maori, and as he could not afford a license to kill trout, he had no more of that delicacy than he could poach while the ranger's back was turned. It is pleaded for the natives that some of their leading men should be allowed, under certain conditions, to fish, without fee, for food for the tribe. That is only a fair request, 'i'he pakeha's trout took away the kura, one of the natives' staple items of diet; the pakeha, therefore, is uuder a moral obligation to permit the Maori to take reasonable revenge on the trout. It is only the old justice — an eye for an eye, a trout for a kura. The Government recognises the equity of the plea, and has promised to do something for the natives, but the fulfilment of the promise is an indefinite matter. It seems a small affair for a Ministry, but it is really more important than it looks. The pakeha hopes to make the Maori continue to have confidence in him and his law-making, and he can retaih the natives' trust only by iust dealing, even in the little things.