WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

Evening Star, Issue 14039, 21 April 1909, Page 7

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

NATIONAL ECONOMY. j With-a greatly redaced expenditure on j imreproductive railways and administraj tion we shall enter upon a new life. There will no longer be any need to maintain the taxes which are heaped up by means of the refined robbery, either through cunningor ignorance, of the Customs ■ Department. The settler will be favored with roads over which he will be 1 able to take his produce' to market, and ; the ordinary farmer and the worker will I not be called upon to pay any taxation | worth mentioning. There will also be l more money available for purchasing proI perties for settlement, so that both the • arable and pastoral lands of the country will. be parcelled amongst the people to the greatest advantage of all. No one, howeveT, can yet, imagine the far-reaching . effects of. the policy of seeking to avoid I extravagance instead of cultivating it. j Those who are from time to time entrusted with the 'government of the country will gradually get into the way of saving money instead of spending it, and will view as an insult any idea of sacrificing money to win political favor where itwould otherwise be considered a crime to devote money to such work.—' Oamaru , Mail.

; NEW ZEALAND'S GIFT. i The' Dominion is pledged to one Dread - . nought, and another if required. We have ■ as it were, given with both hands. Th?t we do not possess what we offer to give is merely n .pleasing paradox. When Parliament meets it will naturally confirm the ] t on °f. Cabinet ' and make ifc <l nite c!e ar that Cabinet must not throw about millions without authority in future. It was little things like that which led to the cutting off of King Charles's head, and the unauthorised giving of two and a-ha-lf millions may cut short our Sir Joseph's term of office. All these meetings and resolutions' are merely supplying ammunition for members of Parliament on either side, and soon the seriousness of the whole affair will be lost in the haze of party recrimination, of which Wednesday's Christchurch meeting affords an excellent illus- ; tration.—'Wairarapa News.' * PAMPERING LEGISLATION. The well meant blunders of our labor legislation are responsible for the production of many shirkers and incompetents. Mr Strachey, the ablo editor of the ' London Spectator,' reminds us that "Rome fell because 'her heart was stone,' and her heart had become petrified because her people had been ruined and pauperised by the insidious action of State Socialism." A nation is only as strong as the spirit of the individuals who compose it, and New Zealand will pav dearly for its so-called legislative advancement, if th" ultimate result- be demoralising of the spint of the people. ' Marlborough Herald. * . THE MONEY MARKET. We believe that the Government might do a great deal to relieve the situation by borrowing more largely at Home under the Advances to Settlers Act. Money is still urgently needed to aid in th°.' development of the country, and Government can safely do a great deal for us in this , way, without imperilling the country's credit or complicating their financial operations now or in the immediate future. And money secured in this way will become available to settlers upon much more favorable terms than if furnished through the agency of mortice companies, which look for heavy dividends upon their invested capital.—' Auckland Star.' . ■» LIBEL LAW. For .years past the journalists of \~ew Zealand have asked from Parliament an amendment of the law of libel which would among other thing? give them protection against men of straw. The remedy in this instance would be the power to compel the claimant to give security for costs before proceeding, or at any Tate to satisfy the Judge in Chambers that he has a prima Facie case, failing no writ would issue. So far, however, the Legislature has not found time to give the Press thi<= reaeonable measure of protection. In the absence of some such provision, it frequently happens that a newspaper proprietor with a perfectly good cause prefers to make terms with even a speculating accuser rather than face a loss that is inevitable. Such a state of things is not good' for the public nor for the cause of mora-lity-—Auckland 'Observer.' ♦ LIGHT RAILWAY LINES. The suggestion that a railway line mav one day run from Stirling or Balclutha along the Clutha valley, opening up the rich country in the district, will almost persuade the critics that a mistake was made in extending the branch from Milton -the project certainly has a great deal to commend it A large amount of settlement has taken place on both sides of the valley during the past year or two, and if "a, light hne were laid down as far as Beaumont it very soon would make a reasonable return upon the cast of its construction Enterprises of this kind are not likely to be taken in .hand for some years vet, but probably the Hon. Thomas 'Mackenzie will live to see his light lines playing a very important part in the developjnent of the resources of the country.— 'Lyttelton Times.' - « ■NATIONAL DEFENCE. Beyond all question, it is the dutv of svery New Zealand youth to train "for the defence of his country and the duty Dt the Government; to enforce this rainm.g. But beyond mere training there is the supreme question of arms ntl^T- a i ,d tl,is question demands official reply. We are told repeatedly that in time of danger every iKiS* C r^ n " COuld he <klle(Hnto rafsf to li J hlCh "'What we should raise, to aid our volunteers against a £h£wv. enen,y ' aU ™a™ed mob for Rhich there were neither arms, «pijment, nor officers—Auckland 'Herald.' RAILWAY RETRENCHMENT ♦J,? is V already e3:ce ssively annoyed at the discontinuance of the Roxbim-h-Law-fW6^all?ay>.calmly oblivious of the fact that the line ls not. paying more than" a Suarter per cent, upon the cost of "on Jtruction, but the complainants will find )roii eW W^ isw ? W - it!l tbeir Parochial protest. Aldington is similarly concerned J its experience and there are other econo tties to come which will be the source of Ward will have the general support of the lectors throughout the Dominion in his npleasant task, and if he sets the service ttoroughly in order he will have earned toe thanks of everybody. There wH be i e ? P ?- r J. r - v , acc entuation of the unem nil have to give some attention, but thh an only be solved by a strong'poUcy of eveloping the country's resources and >pemng up its lands.-Christchurch <Star*