POLITICAL NOTES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 45, 21 August 1913, Page 8

POLITICAL NOTES

CABLE ABOUT THE SPEECH CURIOSITY -AND STATISTICS. An extensive curiosity exhibited in the form of a question to the Prime Minister concerning what was termed by the interrogator as Government "selfglorification M produced some interesting — .and, perhaps, unlooked-for-—com-parisons yesterday. The circumstances were these: Mr. Hanan (Invercargili) asked the Prime Minister whether it was a fact that on 27th June last, before the people had had time to form a full judgment of the Governor's Speech, the Government had despatched a telegram to the High Commissioner, London, in which was the following statement: "Contents of Speech delivered by Governor to-day received with general approval throughout the Dominion ; " and, if this message was sent, what evidence had the Government for stating in its message of selfglorification, before tho Speech could even have been read by a majority of the people, that the Speech had been received with "general approval." To this Mr. Massey replied that the meseage was correct, that it had been forwarded in accordance with the usual custom, and he added: When the Mackenzie Government, of which the honourable gentleman was a member, submitted the Governor's Speech on 27th June, 1912, his Government on the same date forwarded a message more than four times as lengthy and four times as costly to tlte High Commissioner, of which the following js the opening sentence: "Parliament opened to-day. Speech ipeeived with general approval." etc. "It is hardly necessary to add," commented the Prims Minister, "as evidence that the Speech was not received with general Approval, thai, the Government- of which the honourable gppt.leman wae a member was some ten days afterwards defeated on an aitie'ndmpufc to the Ad-dress-in-Replv to His Excellency's Speech." " The honourable gentleman's reference to ' self-glorification ' i& somfwhat unfortunate," concluded the Prime Minister. » , During the afternoon's discussion on the questions the member for Avon urged, facetiously, that the Conservative Government should really . initiate some original enterprisa and ■ not follow so j slavishly the progi-amme of the Liberals, j He pressed On the House the similarity jof the messages, suggesting a lack of I originality on the part of tho Government. Then th© Prime Minister rose and made further comment in reply to Mr. Russell's teasing. The message, for which he accepted the full responsibility (as head < of the' Government), was not sent until after the evening papers had distributed the Speech throughout New Zealand. . The message on which the question was based was forwarded by an officer of the State, while in the Case of tire previous Government the message went from Cabinet, and that message was just four times longer than that sent by the present Government. The member for Avon had charged the Government with a lack of originality in connection with its message, but it differed from its predecessor in these respects : in regard to length, it did not contain so much trumpet-blowing and high-falutin', and it cost £4 as against the £16 expended on the Mackenzie message. Mr. Russell: I agree with you that was absolute extravagance. That is the only case in which you-, can show we were extravagant. The Prime Minister (smiling) : "It was a straw showing the direction the wind Was blowing. It is only a very small instance of the extravagance indulged in by our predecessors." " UNANIMOUSLY HARMONIOUS " no discord in Government party. The House of Representatives, and the general public, Yesterday received the assurance of Mr. A. Harris that there is no discord (contrary to allegation and rumour) in the 'Government camp. The declaration came towards the conclusion of a dissertation on the old Payne-pledge incident arid Us reported consequences. The member for Waifemata called the House to witness that the allegations of discord were a vile attempt of misrepresentation to tell the country that the Government party was disunited. "Let me tell yon," he added, "that never in the history of New Zealand has a party been so solid or so loyal to its leader. ..." The success of the party wag a divert result ,of the solidarity of the party occupying the Treasury benches. "There is not the slightest, element of discord, and there never has been > the greatest unanimity* has always existed among the members of the Government party ..." added the speaker, who expressed the opinion that the paper responsible for the "I will pull your nose" story, was "dragging journalism down into the dust," and it ought to make amends by a. public apology. NATIVE LANDS TO "SCOTCH" SPECULATORS. The evergreen combination of specula- | tors and Native lands was made the subject of a question by the member for Waipawa (Mr. G. Hunter) yesterday to the Minister (Hon. W. H. Herries). Mr. Hunter asked that enquiries should be made into a report that speculators were negotiating with the Native owners for the purchase of small blocks of land owned by them in the Tikohino district. If such report were correct, would the Minister take such measure as might be deemed expedient for tW protection of the Native owners and in the interest of closer settlement. In his formal printed reply, Mr. Herries said that enquiries were being made. " The Government," added the Minister, "is anxious to prevent aggregation and dummyism, and in the preparation of the new Native Land Bill these questions are receiving my earnest attention." Subsequently the Minister went into fuller details, and was advised by a member to put in the new Bill an improvement clause. Tho Minister: "That would affect the Native owners, too." They would only get so much leas monej- for their land, and he was disinclined to do anything that would injure the Natives. But he thought ho would be able to bring down some clauses which would meet present difficulties to a certain extent—he admitted that in some cases reports suggested speculators were at work. He made one point with regard to speculators— they did not hold the land for any length of time, but subdivided it, and that meant they had to pay the coat of roading, which the Maoris were not obliged to do. He did not want members to misunderstand him —lie was not an advocate of speculators at all. Concluding. Mr. Herries reiterated that, without at all injuring the natives, he thought he would be able to get some clauses drafted for the new Bill, which would effectually "scotch" the speculators. " TURNCOATS " "Not only does -the Government owe its advenjb £o ifc~ draws -if# a

very existence from turncoats." — Mr. J. Robertson (Otaki) last evening. Minister of Marine : "Now you have justified your existence as a turncoat get on with your speech." The member for Grey Lynn interjected (with reference to the Minister) comment anent "Joseph's coat of many colours." Mr. Robertson (speaking towards the Minister) : "When I see fit to change my coat I hope I will be able to give a satisfactory reason for it. That day has not yet arrived, Mr. Speaker." TEACHERS' CHAMPION /MINISTER'S JUSTIFICATION NOT ACCEPTABLE. The member for Riccarton (Mr. G. Witty) is anxious for the welfare of the teachers. Yesterday he received a reply from the Minister of Education (Hon. J. Allen) to the following question: Was it a fact that owing to the small salaries paid them there was a scarcity of male school-teachers, and that several teachers, , especially in Wellington, are contemplating sending in their resignations? To this the Minister replied as follow : (1) Thore is a tendency nearly all over the world for women to replace men in scholastic positions, formerly occupied by the latter alone; but the scarcity of male teachers is not nearly so marked in New Zealand as in most other countries. "It does not necessarily follow," added Mr. Allen, "that the tendency (in moderation, at all events) is bad. Half the children in our public schools are under the age of ten, and women teachers are, presumably, most suitable for them; nearly half the remainder, or nearly a quarter of the whole number, are girls over ten, and it is generally conceded that they should be taught by women. So far as class teaching is concerned, there would be nothing to fear, therefore, if the proportion' of women teachers to men teachers were three to one. No doubt the ( difficulty in directing certain mixed .schools renders it desirable that the proportion of men should be greater than this ; in New Zeala/nd it is more than twice as great." Tile leply was not considered at all satisfactory by the questioner,, who characterised it as a shuffling and evaeivs answer.