The Evening Star FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1908.

Evening Star, Issue 12101, 6 November 1908, Page 4

The Evening Star FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1908.

Tbz Minister of Lands delivered a decidedly effective speech at Mr S'Xib at Gore last night. The variGara. ous subjects of controversy are becoming trite, not to eay tiresome, and it will bo a relief when tho final word has been said; but Mr M’Nab managed to impart considerable freshness to his treatment of the familiar topee- The land policy of tho Government, which has been subjected to so ranch unfair criticism, was once more defended with genuine force, and the Minister showed uncommon wisdom in frankly admitting that some of tho provisions contained in tho legislation of last year were not literally consistent, with earlier suggestions of his own. Liberal policy must •always bo more or less a matter of compromise betweerT'varying degrees of propa»S»—differing in this respect from con-

eervatiye policy, which, being mainly negative, binds its adherents m a simple bond of union. To bear Mr Massey talk; it might be f,opposed that Mr M'Nab should have resigned when he found it impossible to give legislative effect to cveVy opinion which bo had expressed ns a private member: nut, of course, this is ono of the Jiblc tricks of Opposition partisanship, and there is real cogency in the Minister’s contention that when he was n-ked to take over his present portfolio “it was not supposed that the policy in connection 4i "ith ike lands of the country was to be tt ■tktolutely identical with every point “advocated by the individual member who “took up that portfolio." The practical verk of government and legislation would he, impossible on any narrower principle—though, of course, in ignoring the pedantic claim of an over scrupulous consistency, politicians should be careful to avoid the baser sort of opportunism. No one can even plausibly pretend that Mr M‘Nab and bis colleagues succumbed to this serious error. Some of the features of the kind legislation were a disappointment to us, but we recognise tiiat the arrangement was the best that could be made under the conditions of parliamentary feeling, and the compromise need not be disturbed lor «ome years to romc. Not tho least interesting passage iu Mr M'Nab’s speech was that in which he offered an explanation—not altogether unnecessary—of Sir Joseph Ward’s much-canv.rml remark about the acsirability of stopping legislation. We said at tho time that the remark would almost certainly be misinterpreted, alike by those who desire to see an arrest of legislative activity and by those who are of j list the opposite way of thinking. The Minister of Lands has evidently consulted his chief on the point, and the explanation virtually amounts to this—that a number of important matters (such as land Jaws, land taxation, and the tariff) laving been successfully dealt with, there is so much less for Parliament to do, and t.h.-it the question* settled (luring the last three years will not require to be reopened for manj a day to come. Also an increased amount of attention is to be given to subjects connected with administration—a proposal which has interesting poasi biJitice, though the details have yet to be explained. More time would be given to departmental work and to discussing the Estimates and Ices time to the discussion of Bills and other legislative work. There was an impression in tho minds of some people that the Government as a Government was averie to what went on behind the scenes being made known, and that there weie things carried on in connection with administrative work that Ministers might wish to cover over. There was nothing of the kind. That is all very well, but we do not see how the new Parliament, with its legacy of work from the old, is to avoid giving a considerable amount of time to “ the diaenssion of Bills and other legislative work.” Probably there will be no great change of method, and certainly there will bo no arrest of politictd progress.