TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 110, 6 November 1911, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

■Sir Joseph Ward has announced that the first ballot of the GenAll Eyes on eral Elections will be 7th December, taken on 7th December, and the final voting in contests requiring a second ballot •will be on 14th December. Though the day for the first voting is only a month away, the campaign ie comparatively mild. Some candidates have been toiling steadily for weeks, but no remarkable amount of excitement has yet been worked up. Each wooer of the electors invites them to exercise their • minds about a nifmber of subjects, of which many are important. Distracted by the appeals to study many things, great and small, national and personal, the people are debarred jfront concentrating their thoughts on any special issue. From one quarter comes a cry that the election, must turn on the land, but one of the most prominent land reformers, Mr. G. Fowlds, declares that the country must settle the liquor question mist on permanent lines. Other cubjectß are education, labour, tariff, local government, national defence, reform of the public service," reform of th» Legislativa Council. Tha "anti -militarists" are taking car* te. try to bring discredit on the new system of defence. They have arranged for a demonstration in Wellington this week, and it is stated that delegates will be here from all parts of the country. W© repeat our belief that the anticipations of the "anti-conucriptionists," who have misunderstood and misjudged the purposes and character of the new system of national defence, will not induce New Zealanders to turn and go backwards, but it is well for the friends of sound national defence to watch and frustrate the methods adopted by their opponents. This is the first issue to come conspicuously before the public, but. it will be soon only one of a bewildering number. EwpUy. th« vojiiig eg SH£s'

tiona will be finished on 7th December, ' and th« people will have h clearer vision for the second balloting. The present points to numerous duels on 14th D<?cember. There is a time in the affairs of cities for stock-taking, and City in Wellington thab stock-taking, time is now. At the last meeting of the City Council at least four questions (excluding water-power nnd prize-fights) came up, and each touched things of much importance to citizene, but not one of the foul- got the attention deserved. Kegarding o, complaint about a fishmonger's premises the council decided that no action should be taken, "pen.ling the establishment of a municipal fish market." If it k true that a nuisance exists it is the City Council's plain duty to grapple with it, for we see no signs, of any municipal fish market's approach. What about the milk ? What is tlie City Council's position now that the Act of last year has been amended ? If the City Council feel* that it is not worth while going further with t/he milic station project, we fancy that the fish market will tarry. The attitude about that complaint looks like an evasion. On another subject Councillor Cameron asked for a definite policy concerning the council's properties in Adelaideroad. The Mayor remarked that tho locality should be a residential one, and an avenue of trees could easily be planted. We assume that these properties will not be overlooked by' the Congested Areas Committee, which 4ias been commissioned to draw up a comprehensive report. Investigation of these areas must necessarily bring in the question of air and playing spaces. Housing and recreation ground policies have to go together. Incidentally on Thursday night the pro. poicd recreation reserve on the Town Belt, between Nairn-street and Ohiroroad, was introduced. The engineer's estimate of the cost of forming a suiti able ground for games was £13,805. At 5 per cent, (interest, sinking fund, and maintenance), that means ah annual charge of at lea*t £690. Will this come wholly out of rates, or does the council hope to raise any appreciable parti of the money by a charge for admission? The attitude of Parliament towards charging has to be considered by tho Wellington City Council in the making of grounds for set games. The fourth subject was t»he proposed Kilbirnie traffic tunnel (Rixon-grove route), estimated to coet £68,000. The council properly decided that "the proposal be not entertained." but this resolution does nob dispose of the issue. A better traffic connection between the city and the growing district* beyond the Mount Victoria range is indisputably needed, even if money for such a work is not available at present. The *City Engineer's opinion is that the beet line for a traffic tunnel would be from the locality of Wellington College. This question has to be considered with others on a town-planning basis. There is no, critic so prejudiced, bo narrow, in his political Political outlook bb the intensely Independence, passionate party advocate. Point ie given to this statement by some comments published by the Dominion. The Poet has always, for reason* which need not be specified, been the object of much invective aimed by our contemporary. The latest ' ebullition occurred to-da.y, when our contemporary betrayed its annoyance at- an article we published on Saturday reviewing the political situation. Because we declined to allow party bias to interfere with our sense of justice in pointing out the weaknesses of both the Government and Opposition Parties our contemporary is not pleased. This fact does not surprise us. The Dominion's one object is , to discredit the Government. To, adversely criticise the Oppoeition Party is,' in the oye« of our contemporary, an offence. On some questions our contemporary has done a public service, and has had tho co-opera-tion, of The Post. But, true to oui' policy of -placing ihe best interests of the public as a whole before those of a section, and of desiring to secure for the country the service* of the best men, irrespective of party, wo must emphatically maintain our right to be discriminating in praising or blaming either side, whether Government or Opposition, and, as a matter of fairness, we must resent the attempts made by our contemporary to misinterpret our attitude, it is an easy matter to misrepresent the meaning of the word " independence," and the method* frequently adopted are questionable, to say the least of it. One difference between The Post and the Dominion—a difference which people not swayed by party passion understand— is that The Post is independent and makes no pretence at biased partisanship, while the Dominion ie palpably parbisan and makes a pretence at independence.