North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1910. THE HINE CHARGES.

North Otago Times, 5 December 1910, Page 2

North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1910. THE HINE CHARGES.

The great Napoleon is credited wit!) iavingl had a, perfect knowledge of men and manners. When one_of his ambassadors waited upon Him to prefer a request he encourcLred him with the observation! that it wita tip-top comedy, although the ambassador was as solemn and serious as a judge. When the ambassador varied his mood, and became jocular. Napoleon observed that it was tip-top tragedy. So it. is with Ministers—they abuse Mr Hine, and then intimate that legislation.- will be brought in dealing with the phase of political life that. Mr Hine took exception to—that ■'is; : politicians taking part as commission agents in the sale of estates to the Government. Here is comedy and tragedy blended in, such a manner that it is difficult to separate them. Were the ordinary politician as much above reproach as. Caesar's wife was expected to be the tongue of invective would wag were it known that he had negotiated the sale (on a commission) o f,au estate to tha Government of which he happened to be a consistent supporter. Dr Eindlay is credited with being a sftbgr : sided pgliticipn, with an impossioned desire to' bettej? the conditions of life for everybody; and In his place in the Legislative Council on Thursday he poured the vials of his wrath out'on Mr Hine,, and thsn indicated that the Government thought it desirable to bring in legislation to place members of Parliament on the same footing as municipal councils, harbor boards, etc.—that is that they coifld not take part in' the sale o! anything to the Government of the Dominion ! Here is the tragedy./-- and comedy of Napoleon interwoven in such' a manner that it is extremely difficult to tell which Dr Fintllay intends for 'one and -which-for the other. Ministers were afraid- 'that the chargtf of tammanyism : would have more • t-hart 'a-sand foundation to rest upon, and; kept; continually raising the cry • that ' the-charges

were indirectly an. attack upon the late Mr Seddon, 'as if the -interposition 'of Mjf .Seddon's' death had) any; thing to,do with , tiie unravejinent' : uf, a public question,.'; It was ; iiot' Mr • SeddonV.private' life : toutMr Seddon's public acts that were the subject ■oWnq,uiry,.. a nd;no clap-, trap or eleemosynary ~ snufflngs should-have 'been flowed,to. stand in the':way': of a free and full, 'inquiry, Mr Seddon's administration is quite a, different thing from'anything he may have done outside his political' life, and'no one would have the hardihood to rummage through the mausoleum of Mr, Seddon's private acts. The desire of the Gove'rnmen|; to discourage attempts to prove'that tainmanyism existed can ,be excused,.' for when a country brings itself down to the level of Greater New York it'ia time foil de- : , cent people to quit it; But whether the Government succeeded is a matter of opinion. A North Island I newspaper asked for the good offices of Mr Byrnes,; whOj was. a candidate I for a seat in 'the House, to get at the Government advertising. Obvi.ously ..it was not of the right .color. Mr Symes, in; a letter ■ that was not marked '.'confidential" in-' timated that his good offices depended entirely on bow the paper treated him in the forthcoming election. Whether the newspaper treated Mr Symes as he wished we cannot say, but it got the Government advertising. Someone* at the ininpiry said it had changed its color.- Pos-.-sibly that assertion was based on the belief that it would not have got the Government advertising had lit not changed its .'color. Be that as 'it 'may, these m the ways of politicians nowadays. It is peculiar I that all those concerned in these transactions were supporters of the party then in power; hut this may .he. only an incident in' the chato of circumstances, that led up to Mr Hide's inquiry, - Thet comical parti of the' whole thing, however, is that from;top to hottom, the whole party is : loud:in its condemnation of Mr IliniSr.wd then it proceeds to Pass legislation to make it , impossible for;buclj-abuses as those complained of-'by Mr Hine to continue to exist !, Another peculiarity of the. inquiry is that'the Upper House gives the Hon. Mr Mac Donald a Ml and complete .quittance, while the Lower House has Mr Kaihau haled before the Speaker and-reprimanded !