NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9735, 4 February 1895, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The election of Bishop Cowie, of Auckland, to the position of Primate, the highest office which the Anglican Church of New Zealand has to offer, will meet with the approval, not only erf the members of his own Church, but also of Christians of every school of thought; and the unanimity displayed by the Synod in selecting him by a substantial majority of each order on the first ballot must have been very gratifying to the "Bishop himself. It is indeed an honour, as Dr. Cowie said, to succeed to an office formerly occupied by such men as Selwyn, Harper, and Hadfield— each of whom was a man of great ability and actuated by a high sense of duty. Though these men—especially Hadfield and Solwyn—were more than once on the unpopular side, it has never boen suggested that their motives were other than the highest. We are sure that Bishop Cowie's tenure of office will be marked by the same lofty principles that guided his predecessors. The late Bishop Lightfoot, one of the moat eminent Anglican prelates of the century, and one whose words Bishop Cowie is fond of quoting, thus describes the tequirements for a position such as the one under consideration: "A large sympathy of love, a quick insight and a calm judgment, great caution, great boldness, a staunch tenacity of conservatism, a ready fertility of innovation." This is oertainly a high ideal, but the record of his episcopate of over a quarter of a century goes to show that the new Primate has kept some such standard before him, though no one could be more ready than himself to admit his shortcomings.

Bishop Cowio is in many ways suited for the Primacy. He is in no sense a party man ; ho is a man of culture and has kept himself well-acquainted with the more important developments of modern thought; and he has had experience of religious and social work both in England and in India, in addition to his twenty-five years episcopate in New Zealand. He was consecrated by the late Archbishop of Canterbury with Bishop Chambers of Labuan and Bishop Marsden of Bathurst, both of whom have since resigned their sees. He is senior Bishop of the province of New Zealand as far as consecration is concerned, Bishop Hadfield, now living in retirement coming next. The first General Synod he attended was hold at Dunedin in 1871, the other prelates present being Bishops Harper (Christchurch), William Williams (Waiapu), A. B. Suter (Nelson), 0. Hadfield (Wellington), and Patteson (Melanesia). Of these, Bishop Cowie is the only one now presiding over a New Zealand diocese. Twenty-five years ago, as junior Bishop, he took part in the conseoration of Bishop Hadfield, and a few days ago, as senior Bishop, he assisted in the consecration of Bishop Hadfield's successor (Bishop VVallis). We hope that Dr. Cowie will have strength of mind and body wisely to perform the duties of his new position for many years to come.

Carbine, who is on all hands regarded as the greatest racehorse Australasia has ever produced, is, we are informed by cable, to go back to the land of his ancestors, the Duke of Portland having closed with the trustees of Mr. D. S. Wallace's estate for the purchase of the famous son of Musket, for the sum of 13,000 guineas—l2,4soguineas more than was given for his sire. This, though along price, cannot be said to be above the value of the horse, for had he recorded the same performances in England that he has done in Australia, it is very doubtful whether 20,000 guineas would have bought him. For Australia to lose this great horse iB undoubtedly a severe blow, but it is some consolation to know that he goes to Old England, instead of a foreign country. Though Carbine recorded his great performances under the colours of an Australian owner, Auckland can lay claim to the more important distinction of having bred him. As a yearling Carbine was purchased for 640 guineas, and at three years old he was sold for 3000 guineas to the Hon. Mr. Wallace, for whom h« wop in stakes over £29,000. Though Auckland cannot lay claim to the possession of a horse similarly' bred to Carbine, Mr. T. Morrin has at Wellington Park hie only full sister (Lady Waltusley).

The session .of the Imperial Parliament, , which commences to-morrow, will be watched with uncommonly keen interest both at home and abroad. If we are to believe the political prophets—indeed, if the signs of the time, which all who observe English politics with any attention can read for themselves are not deceptive-— the session is likely to prove both stirring and momentous. We are not unlikely to see a stimulus given to new impulses and aspirations which, though they may not be successful for the moment, are yeb destined to influence to a great extent the future history of England. There is naturally great curiosity throughout the country to know something definite about the programme of the Government. When the mail left the Press was exercising its ingenuity in speculations as to its character. The Daily Chronicle, the Radical organ, which represents the more advanced wing of the Government party, has the following remarks about the programme:— " What is it to be—what is it to inolude and to exclude? One or two things wa assume as a matter of course. There will bo a Bill for the Disestablishment of the Welsh Church, and there will be a measure for the reform of the Irish Land Acts in the sense suggested by the Irish Land Committee. It would only be natural that such a Bill should go again before a specially-consti-tuted body. We say that such a course would be natural, it would also be proper and constitutional. Sectional businessand Irish business pending Home Rule is sectional — may well following the useful Scottish precedent be referred to grand committees, and the details of Irish land legislation had better be threshed out among the experts. These items of the coming programme are, however, foreseen. The question is as to the supplementary business. We assume, after Lord Rosebery's and Mr. Asquith's statements, that the problem of London unity will be duly considered.

•'How/' the Chronicle, will the other great legislative tasks which await his Government be fulfilled ? The Budget will, we hope, be a serious one. Sir William iiarcourt did get things in the spring, and we may hope that the equalisation of death duties and the graduation of taxation will be followed by the other gre<»t Radical reform of a free breakfast table. Of payment of members we hear nothing, and its omission must needs count seriously against a Government whose appeal de pends largely on working-class votes. There remains the problem of the suffrage. ' One-man-one-vote' is long overdue, and wo imagine that the Government are bound to make one more effort to abolish the plural voting, which already tends to disappear in the local suffrage. It is with regard to the labour question that we feel a reasonable anxiety. Some amendment to the Truck Act—with especial regard to the abolition of disciplinary finesmay be looked for: but what about a new Factory Bill ? Sir Charles Dilke, in his useful survey of labour problems, intimated that it had dropped out of sight. That is a very serious statement. We cannot imagine that Mr. Asquith, who is certainly the best Labour Minister of his generation (the Chronicle apparently has not heard of Mr. W. P. Reeves), can desire to quit office withont impressing on the public his view of the change in factory legislation which he thinks necessary, and for which public opinion is ripe."

The resistance of the Chinese at Weihaiwei is said to have been very feeble. Considering the natural strength of the position, and the large force which bold it, it ought to have been impregnable. But what happened at Port Arthur was repeated at Weihaiwei. The Japanese have captured immense quantities of war materiel. An extraordinary assault on the Moorish Ambassador at Madrid is reported. While His Excellency was about to enter his carriage for the purpose of having an audience of the King, he was struck on the face by a military officer holding the rank of captain. His assailant has been arrested. The captain, officers, and men of the steamer Crathie, which ran down the El bo, and led to such a fearful loss of life, have been arrested by the German authorities. The captain makes the extraordinary statement that after the collision the Elbe signalled|thatshedid not require assistance, thereupon, believing her safe, he proceeded on his voyage. The mild and unseasonable weather which was experienced in England at Christmas time has been followed by severe snowstorms and intense cold. There appears to be some misapprehension in regard to the position of Mr. Justice Williams. It is not, so it would seem, the intention to remove him from the Court where he has come into such prominence. He has been sent on circuit, bub on his return he will apparently take his old seat on the Bench. It is hinted in one quarter that " o'er-vaulting ambition " has had something to do with the matter. On the other hand it is asserted that the lord Chancellor has been exercising undue pressure on the judge, and statements of a very serious character are made.