The Evening Star MONDAY, APRIL 19, 1909.

Evening Star, Issue 14037, 19 April 1909, Page 4

The Evening Star MONDAY, APRIL 19, 1909.

It should be unnecessary to urge the citizens of Dunedin to put in Roll Up! an appearance at the indiguation meeting at the Town Hall to-night; but, having i„ mind the adage about everybody's business and nobody's business, as well as past evidences of civic apathy at criticial junctures a word of exhortation may not be superfluous ' There will be plenty there without me " is a form of excuse apt to bo prevalent on such occasions; but every man who has the interests of the district at heart should feel a personal responsibility and a desire to participate in what will, we hope, be an imposing demonstration of- just remonstrance. Otago, not for the first time, has been treated shabbily, not to say dishonorably, by the Government of the day; and it behoves the local population to show unmistakably that they are not disposed to take this latest slap in the face in a meek and poor-spirited fashion. It may be that the protests against the sudden stoppage of the Lawrence-Roxburgh Railway will have no immediate effect; but even if the Government should prove stubborn, and refuse to recognise,,the duty which ("in common honesty") they owe*to the people of this Province, there must still be a. persistent effort to influence the mind of Parliament in a right direction, and to secure a reversal of the recent decision at the earliest possible moment. The lame and impotent defence issued by the Prime Minister has only served to intensify the

'general feeing of dissatisfaction—though tho Minister of Industries and Commerce apparently labors under the delusion that his chief has successfully met the criticisms of the last fortnight. It may be observed, too, that Mr Mackenzie's advocacy of a narrow-gauge lino is irrelevant and practically worthless at this stage. The Government—with just as much information as is now available—started the construction of an ordinary line ; and the work has got to be finished, or Otago will know tho reason why. Wo have already dealt very fully with tho whole question, and shall not further anticipate- the facts and arguments to be adduced at the Town Hall to-night. "Roll up!" is the motto of the moment.

In another column will be found a report of some remarks A Victorian made to a ‘ Star ’ repreVisstor. eentativc by the Hon. H. M'Kenzie, the Victorian Minister of Lands, who has just been touring the Dominion, mainly in the interests of his department. The name “ M'Kenzie ” is abidingly associated in Now Zealand with the cause of popular land settlement, and wc can wish nothing better for our Victorian visitor that in furthering the progress of liberal land legislation in his own State ho may be as successful as his distinguished namesake. The work is in its infancy in Victoria, and a • large amount of prejudice and interested opposition will have to be overcome before a policy of close settlement can be carried out with real effect: but Sir John M'Kenzie had to meet the same sort of difficulty in New Zealand, and we can only counsel the Australian Minister to be strong and very courageous. He should certainly try to get rid of such a hampering restriction gs is involved in the provision that the specific consent of both branches of the Legislature must be secured before any estate is compulsorily resumed. Mr M'Kenzie seams to have been favorably impressed by what he has seen of the conditions of land settlement in the Dominion—though when he says that there ic- a great demand for the freehold by those settled on the shortlease basis'he makes it clear that some of his investigations have not been of a very searching order. Such evidence as is available indicates that the short lease of IGO7 is going to be decidedly popular. The Victorian Minister’s allusion to the question of Prohibition—“as a traveller, “give me the towns where the licensed “houses are”—is likely to occasion further controversy on a subject regardin'- 7 which there has been more than enough discussion of late.