A CANADIAN PROFESSOR.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2142, 26 July 1907, Page 3

A CANADIAN PROFESSOR.

STUDENT OF IMPERIAL AFFAIRS.

(Special to Times.) WELLINGTON, last night. Some week or so ago I advised you of the- coming of Dr. Stephen Leacock. who is Professor of Political Science at the McGill University, Montreal. Dr. I,encode, who arrived hero yesterday, has obtained a lengthened leave of absence from his University and is on a tour of the British Empire tor the purpose ot studying Colonial Government and questions relating to matters of Imperial significance. He is particularly interested in questions or Imperial defence and trade within the Empire. As ail author Dr. Leacock, though still a young man with many years of work m him, is already distinguished. One of his hooks the Elements of Political Science, is well known in the Universities ot the United States. Though only published eighteen months ago it is now in its second edition. He is also known as the author of a standard Canadian work, “Baldwin and La Fontain.” There wore a great many people oven in Canada who did not know very much about. Baldwin and La Fontain. They were the men who held the first joint French and English Premiership of the country. This book is one of the “Makers of Canada” series published by Mornng and Co., of Toronto. Dr. Leacock has also written a great deal on political science and kindred subjects in the newspaper press of the day. including such well-known journals as tbo “London Morning Post” and “The Manchester Guardian.” He has also done a lot- of humorous writing for such well-known papers nr “Puek,” “Life” and “The Detroit Free Press.” These a publisher hallow asked him to collect for publi cation in book form. T found the doctor and Ids wife a* the Grand Hotel this morning, and having been, advised ef In's coming by. a mutual friend in Loudon was able to get . these few dry details of hicareer out of him. For the rest Inis evidently a very shrewd observe: of men and things, original even in his way of observing and decidedly original and quaint in his expression of - conclti sion i arrived at. He started on his present mission in Canada, and then went to London, where he promptly gij in touch with the lending men of the day who are engaged in endeavoring to solve the Imperial problem. From London ho travelled by P. and O. steamer to Western Australia, where he spent some three weeks studying the political situation in that State. He will remain in N.Z. fir six weeks, then spend three months in the other Australian States, and finally three months in South Africa. After these journeying* he will bo in a position to write hi? book on “The Outer Empire.” Dr Leacock hopes to go south and north and may deliver addresses in Dunedin, Christchurch, and Auckland. He is said to be an original and incisive speaker, and his views o i the Imperial situation should bo well worth hearing. So far he has only keen able to study AVestern Australia. There ho found the financial position decidedly interesting. There is a yearly deficit, which successive Ministries of rival parties are not ah' 3 to conjure awav. Federation is gradually extinguishing it under fiveyears by a sliding scale on all reveniio from Customs duties on eastern products. The withdrawing to Federaluses of a portion of the Customs ' on foreign produce has great- ' 1” impaired the financial resources of the State. In West Australia-local 1 government is as yet very little developed, and tho whole bulk of public expenditure falls upon tho central authorities. The situation is further complicated by the fact that at -the vory time when the revenue is low there is obvious necessity of development of tho internal resources, which cal,? for a high and increasing exThe result is that there is on all sides a feeliim- of sincere regret —one might- almost say of remorse—against the step that was taken in entering the federation. Doth 1 sides of Parliament and all sections, or almost all, of public opinion are united in feeling that. Federation was premature, and that Western Australia is sacrificed upon the altar of continentalism. ' The advocates of Federation urged at the time that the trans-continental railroad would ho built as one of the first fruits of union. That was not made an item in the bargain, nor was it the subject of a definite promise, but was spoken of somewhat loosely as an inevitable rosult of union. It is now seen that the prospects of building a railwsr j arc very remote. The line would have to traverse country of relatively little value of one thousand miles in width in order to connect with tin South Australian system. Eve;: when, built it could hardly reduce the time between Adelaide, and Peril by more than 24 hours. It won’t 1 als} remove part of tho goldfield: supply trade out of tho hands of tin Perth and Fremantle people, ant l give it to South Australia. A 1 ’ points considered, the trans-contin ental railway looks a more than doubtful proposition. Nevertheless, thj doctor does not think there is any real danger of secession-—as h. quaintly put it, “The entrance to Federation is by a door that will only open one way.” Legally speaking secession would require an Act of the Imperial Parliament, and that would never be granted, without tin assent of tho'other Australian States The machinery is too cumbrous fo; the operation. It has been found ir ail federations that there are certaii difficulties to he overcome, certain growing pains to he suffered as bes’ they- may, before union becomes really organic. This was the case in tin United States of America, which had its whisky rebellion in Pennsylvania ani its secession movement of tin back districts i n the years followin; 1 the federation in 1787. “I thin! i t-lias Western Australia will probably repoat the experience of Nora Sco tia, which underwent a similar pe i riod of depression and remorse aftcr its union with Canada in 1867. Tin remedv there adopted after six o: seven years of discontent lay' ii the adoption of ‘Better terms,’ as r was called, namely, tho grant of ; special yearly subsidy to the prov inco out of the general Federal resources. That would seem to me only a fair way of dealing with AYest err Australia, whose natural rc sources are indeed vast, and whospresent financial position does not i: a:iv way reflect a poverty of its own blit merely its peculiar relations t' thy Australian union. The moral t> be learned would be, I should think to look before you leap, a moral nr doubt applicable to this Dominion ii .connection with its possible conjunc -"tioi with the Commonwealth.” “Tell me something about Blither ford,” I said. “Of course,” ho re plied, “I know Rutherford very well, and worked with him at Me Gid University for six years, al though wo were in different faculties Rutherford is a brilliant fellow, an< there is no doubt in my mind that In will be the Lord Kelvin m tho com ing generation. Ho was too big j fish for us, and ho swam away. AV-. would have given him as much mone as anyone else, but for him it wa not a question of money, but of be ing in tho centre of things. A American irßiversities know luni well Yale tempted him with a largo sum and I know that for the past tbre ] or four years big American Uni versities have been endeavoring t entice him away from McGill, bu they could not do so. Ho lias gom to Manchester. Thtf real truth o matter is that tho -iMiglisli hav< been making such .tremendous ad . vances within the last 10 years tnaEngland is how the centre of thing: in Rutherford's line. The- centre used to he on tliC American side o tho water, or at all events the' bes. opportunities for studying pliysica science wore there, also probably th< best men. AVitb the' awakening in Manchester and Birmingham, and the samo technical University, educa t-iob throughout-England, all tlin : has boon changed, so there is no doubt that Rutherford has dono tinright thing.” During tho forenoon it was my privilego to introduce tho visitor to quite a number, of our leading men and when McGill University was men tioned qjmost every one asked ahon' 'Rutherford. It would seem as if while “McGill” had dono a good dea 1 fu~ Rutherford, Rutherford had also done something to add to the fame of McGill, and the brother professo* from a far country was pleased to see that Now Zealand was proud o' her man