Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1909.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 144, 15 December 1909, Page 6

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1909.

i SNAGS IN THE FAIRWAY. At tho very outset of its journey -through the Committee of the House of Representatives yesterday the Defence Bill struck a snag which delayed its progress for a considerable time, and, ably assisted ,by other disagreeable incidents which followed, brought this invaluable measure into more serious peril than wo had deemed possible. We are sorry indeed to see our old friend, commonly indicated in the margin by "Power of Governor to make regulations," interfering to give a tone of acrimony and partisanship to a debate that should have kept absolutely free from botli these evils. A very old friend he is indeed, for he has figured in innumerable Government measures during the last fifteen, and especially during the last ten, years, with the result that the policy of entrusting the Executive with the equivalent of legislative power has 'become a stock Bubjecfc' of political controversy. The reappearance of this power yesterday was not even that of an old friend: with a new face Clauses 3 and 4of the Defence Bill repeat almost verbatim sections 5 and 4 -of the present Defence Act, which j ill tuvn follows as» closely tho provisions

forward for re-enactment they were, naturally subjected to a close scrutiny on their merits. Mr. Allen objected strongly to the very wide powers entrusted to the Government by theso clauses, and he was supported by several Opposition and Independent members. The military sphere is no doubt ono in which an exceptional amount of latitude must be allowed to the Executive, and the Premier rightly insisted that no Bill could possibly cover all the details that •must be provided for. But we regret that he did not see his way to accepting Mr. Massey's suggestion that the regulations, which when gazetted are to have the force of law, should be laid before Parliament. The result was a "dingdong" debate on the old, familiar lines, and the rejection of Mr. Massey's amendment by 42 votes to 31, after a display of party feeling which put the House in a bad mood for the treatment of the hundred clauses that remained. The breach between Government and Opposition was partially healed by the ill-advised amendment by which Mr. Malcolm desired to provide that the officers of the Territorials should be elected by the men themselves. Mr. Allen, who perhaps speaks with higher authority on these subjects than any other member of the House, declared that to carry the amendment would be "absolutely fatal," and a strong combination of Government land Opposition votes defeated the proposal by 56 votes to 9. The vigour displayed by Sir Joseph Ward in resisting a provision which has worked exceedingly badly under existing conditions, and would give still worse results if applied to the improved organisation of the forces proposed by the Bill, was praiseworthy, and the support of the Opposition enabled him to make it very effective. But the truce between the Premier and the Opposition leaders was of very short duration, and the friction became severe las amendment after amendment was moved, and the debate took on a wider range and a more contentious tone. There were faults on both sides, but we are bound to say that Sir Joseph Ward showed himself unduly sensitive to the criticism of various points in the Bill, a-nd that a little more of his usual suavity would have oiled the wheels of its progress with very welcome results. Once he actually hinted that he might have to drop the measure — a suggestion which can only be ascribed to the overstrain of nerves and temper inevitable in the weary hustle at the close of a session. If ever there was a time for minimising points of difference and concentrating on the vital issues as to which botb parties are in agreement, that time is now. It is emphatically not a time for any true patriot to be boasting of his capacity to "knock the Bill kite high." At this stage of the session it is of course quite possible for any capable and determined man to wreck one of the most valuable measures ever submitted to the Parliament of New Zealand. For our part, though we can see grave blemishes in the Bill, we are prepared to accept them all rathel? than risk the wreck of a measure which incorporates the principle of compulsory training. The country confidently looks to the champions of this principle in the House to show a similar forbearance and to defer until next session the adjustment of all minor differences. To Jose the Bill now wou ] d do the Government and the Legislature a discredit even more than proportionate to the credit which they have gained by its introduction.