ACROSS THE STRAIT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 118, 17 May 1909, Page 3

ACROSS THE STRAIT.

— -«►- ■ GOSSIP FROM THE EMPIRE CITY.

[FROM OUR COIOUISBPONDENT.]

WELLINGTON, Friday. In certain quarters there appears .to be still some doubt as to' Sir Joseph's relinquishment of the trip to London to^ attend the'lmperial Conference, , One cannot help thinking that the Opposition, at least, would 'be pleased to see the Prime Minister out of the way. It is difficult, however, to see how Sir Joseph ; can possibly reach London in time for the Conference, postponed as it is unaerstood to be to' the end of July. Parliament cannot * possibly, meet until very late next month, for the very good reason that ;the alterations at, the^new and old Parliatae.nt Building^iclnnot'be completed much before then", indeed,, the al^Bra^ions and rebuilding going on at 'the old Parliament House are of so extensive a character that it does not seem likely they can Be completed until well into July. And surely Sir Joseph would never leave his colleagues to meet a new Parliament without their chief. Yet, if he does not leave very soon he cannot^ reach' London in time for the opening of the Conference. I may be wrong, but I still-believe the representation of New Zealand will be delegated to the High Commissioner, "Mx McNab acting coadjutor and adviser.,-; Of course the unexpected, may' happen, and Sir Joseph may after all go Home, but the odds seem tremendously against this occurring. Two members of the Legislative Council, the Hons. James Marshall and James Holmes, both West Coasters, have been " re-appointed for a second term of seven years. Both were friends of tho late Prime Minister, who appointed them to the Council in 1902.. Mr Holmes is a harmless old gentleman, who rarely opens his mouth in the Council, but the exact how and why of his original appointment; is. as great a mystery as the presence of the proverbial fly in the amber. Mr Marshall, is in many ways the superior of his colleague, and although he is not given to frequent outbursts of oratory, when he does ■speak he has generally something to say that is worth 'listening to, and what he says is listened to with at--tention.

Sir Joseph is to be warmly congratulated upoil his refusal to transmit to the Home Government the resolution passed by certain electors of (Christchurch upon Mr T. E. Taylor's action in cabling Home his dissent from the "Dreadnought" offer. Further, v he

has adopted a dignified and sensible course in declining to express any opinion, as Prime Minister, upon the actoin Mr Taylor considered it incumbent upon him to adopt. The Home Government has far too much on its hands just now to have any time to waste in receiving and reading any expression of discontent which a section of Mr Taylor's constituents may feel with their Parliamentary representative. If Mr Taylor acted ; unwisely, as most people think he did, he will have to answer at the next General Election. Besides which, he will have an opportunity, when Parliament meets, of explaining and defending his action, and that explanation there-given, it will then be the right time for his constituents to express their dissatisfaction by public meeting or in some other way. It is understood ,that outside the abolition of the' Native Appellate Court and a consequent rearrangement of Native Land Court work the much discussed retrenchment scheme will not affect the Native Department. It is not thought likely that the' Police Department will be materially affected by ,the same •scheme.

A great many seafaring men hold the opinion that Cantain Naylor, of the ill-fated Penguin, was rather treated by the Court of Appeal, and at a meeting held yesterday by the members of the Merchant Service Guild a resolution was passed declaring the opinion of the Guild that the, verdict Was against the weight of evidence. Personal sympathy was doubtless a dominant factor in the passing of the resolution. ' Mr Millar remains 'faithful to his first opinion that a light on Terawhiti is not necessary, but it is a curious thing that practically everyone of the thirty to forty captains and mates of vessels, trading to Wellington who have been interviewed on the subject by a local paper agree that the lighting of the Strait is not sufficient^ and that another light, either on Terawhite or Tongue Point, is much tb be desired. There is no need to add to the opinions I have already Isent you. The Minister favours a system of submarine fog signals. He asserts that there are quite as many shipmasters in the trade, whose opinions are that a light at Terawhiti is not necessary. This may be so, but they seem to display a singular reluctance to come forward and express those opinions publicly.