THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY MAY I3, 1898.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10752, 13 May 1898, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY MAY 13, 1898.

Rarely, if ever, has Auckland had such a treat of natural and persuasive eloquence as that which last night held the crowded audience in thrall for two hours at the Choral Hall.' Auckland had heard often of Mr. Scobie Mackenzie as a public speaker and a leader of popular thought, and the fame which preceded him was amply justified in the lucid, logical array of facts and arguments with which he riddled the Government armour, and presented to view the hollow pretentiousness of Seddonism, as the hegemony of" the Great Liberal Party." It is almost to be regretted that—whether from his own magnetic influence over the meeting, or the decadence of the new Liberalism — Mr. Mackenzie did not receive that resistance to his expression of opinion in the form of interruption which seems to put him at his best the very few interruptions that occurred bringing out some of the most witty and brilliant corruscations of his speech. In truth, the whole audience was with the speaker from the first, and amid repeated outbursts of applause, the speaker 'was followed with unflagging interest to the close of his address. But though versatility of argument and illustration, quickness of retort, and a playfulness of fancy that brought the speaker into the frankest relations with his audience, gave a piquancy and' sometimes a pungency that was singularly "taking," it was the solid array of facts, and the irresistible deductions from them, that made Mr. Mackenzie's address one of the most remarkable and convincing that haveeverbeen heard in Auckland, and it would have been impossible for any intelligent supporter , of the present Government to have followed item by item the points in Mr. Mackenzie's indictment, sustained as they were by admissions, facts, and documents, without leaving the meeting a more thoughtful if not a wiser man. Much of the speaker's exposition of the former and more recent position and principles and actions of the leading members of the Government party will doubtless be a revelation to many -the resistance given by the Minister of < Lands, Mr. John Mckenzie, to the principle of the one man one' vote when introduced by Sir George Grey in his, Bill for the repeal of plurality of votesthe inclusion of the Honorable t! Thompson and Honorable ; J. Carroll among the; supporters of the 1 "Torv" Government of Sir Harry Atkinson, " a 1 f . th fall .' °' I that Government, turned them into worshippers of the rising sun, as well as the total void fact of the members of the present Govern mant, excepting Mr. Seddoa himself on the question of the management of the railways by ; Commissioners. But the most' effective part of Air, Mao. kenziesi 8 eeoh i was that in which he stated the work to be undertaken by the Conservatives on-their return to

power, aa that" of re-establishing t^. i first principles .of ..Liberalism. 'j>hi 5 ;' position 'he maintained with' siaga] ai :t| cogency, showing how the tyranny 1 exercised over Elections,; the polity /! M terrorism over the civil service, th 6 % interference 'With the judges, Were ;j| illustrations 'of the many tyrannies foi f| the bad 1 old . times, in . resistance to 'IJ which liberalism had fought and bled,. •■! || The ■• British House •' of |p had deolared that it was highly criminaiffi 11 and . against the Constitution of th 9' ; ; |j country that Ministers should interfere J|| with.; elections, yet here we had the . I Premier actively participating fflßffl i M the polling booths, as no Ministers ijJ I | the colonies had ever interfered before.,".] The various violations of the principles '■ If. of Liberalism were submitted v.toW|| scathing review, and it was maintained that Liberalism could not be Liberalism |g vhen divorced from liberty. |$||| || With the full report of Mr. Scobij I Mackenzie's speech—which is given jr/* ;i| our other column-it is unnecessary ; §| review his exposition of principles inj'l . detail, but his references to so-called';; labour legislation deserve the most; , attentive consideration. There .■ jj V-, hardly one of .the so - called labour' laws that' had not been dealt with by other Parliaments;ana| other Governments with the utmost carel and consideration in proportion to'the | advances of popular opinion at ; the j time, and the efforts made by Govern-J ments and by individual members iq' ; behalf of them were just as though nobody then regarded them as ' in the category of class legislation j"|\ and, with but insignificant exceptions," I all the so-called labour Bills are but j amendments of previous -legislation; The principle of conciliation , and r arbitration was as earnestly contended " , for a decade'ago, though the measure's was then resisted by the representatives ; of the working classes on the ground!-j of the measure containing the com. pulsory principle now so cla'tnor. ously demanded; while the most advanced principles of settlement on the land were embodied in all the varieties ' p of application to the circumstances' q| . ;': the humblest of the people, to an extent inot surpassed, if equalled ,by anything'•■: advanced under the Seddon regime. \ In':-: factory legislation such advance had . been made through the efforts of Mf, Bradsliaw and others, that the Trades;- 1 Council at Wellington has demanded - that the factory laws should be brought back to the state in which they were in ! 1881. The claim of the Government to '■; be a progressive Government was sub-;' l ' jected to trenchant criticism, and the : \ claim to a non-borrowing policy, with the evils that have resulted from the' i stealthy form of borrowing carried out I by the Government, was placed in I a lurid light before the audience. One'. , ... of the most striking portions of the,; ' address was that in which all the salient features of the notorious Tam- | many Hall, its absorption of patronage, the control and demoralisation of the •.' police, the centralisation of everything,! and the principle of spoils for the! victors, were startlingly disclosed, and d l '" altogether the address was one of the j most lucid and the most scathing re-' ', , views of maladministration and of*, political and pretentious humbug fiat'*; have been presented in Auckland for : ; ' many a day. '' • '4 '• GERMANY AND THE PACIFIC.; It will be remembered that in Decern* ber last a powerful German squadron left Kiel under the command of Prints' Henry of Prussia for China and theF»|ft||i East. The departure of the squadron l from Kiel was made the occasion WM great naval demonstration, and at» banquet the Emperor took a dramatie; 1 farewell of his brother, and made a speech which was characteristic,'■':'■ Wl|P immediate object of the squadron WWM to take thorough and assured posses*, 1 ! sion of the German acquisitions' in} j China, and to demonstrate to the world) f: that from henceforward Germany! . claimed to be reckoned with as a great naval power in the Eastern Pacific, Wapf hear that in all probability the fleet;! | or the greater part of it, will shortly'}!''-;--': cruise in these waters, and call at J Samoa, making some stay there. MM 1 was stated some time since that Ger- M many was accumulating a store of co&ll 1 V at Samoa. Possibly this has been done' m.:. anticipation of a visit there : of' W& Prince Henry's squadron, or with the. j ■' view of making Samoa the head- I quarters of a more powerful German f;. fleet than has hitherto been stationed:'. in these seas. It is not to be anticii pated for a moment that the appear* ance of Prince Henry's vessels■«-)' intended as a hostile demonstrations ; against Great Britain. We may possibly ffl see them in Auckland Harbour, where ] we are sure they will be cordially well. ; corned. But the recent proceedings in : ■■•■■■ regard to China will undoubtedly lead! • to the increase of the naval forces of I, | all the Powers in the Pacific, ' '*' <*' : I = 1 NOTES AND COMMENTS. '1

Sir George Lewis writes to the Times I 1 - letter on the subject of West End usurer*}! m which will be read with not less interest ft i India arid the colonies than at Home. 01 - the directions in which these financial leeches | operate, two are especially painful and difgj'\ficult to deal with. With regard to. the wife ■ who surreptitiously raises loans at a rate J : V 60 per cent., and is driven to all sorts ol| :; : desperate expedients to meet the demands | of the usurer, ample evidence has recently been forthcoming. Regarding the son, who,; f* when sent Home from India or the coloniet; $ W purposes of education, gets into W ' dutches pf the. latter-day Shylock, Sir Gwl Lewis affords a striking, though not W>'':/{ happily a peculiar illustration. He tells V Row a rich Australian sent his son Homo to'l Cambridge. . The son, although allowed Sffl | » year, proceeded to raise £550 from a money* lender, at an interest which carried the debt 1 to £1500. Sir George Lewis managed to «V Pnve the money-lender of the ; greater fsWr, of this monstrous profit, and to get the young man shipped off to Australia in time to sari?] 1 WW from prosecution for obtaining money , M under false pretences, by representing Mnw j "" to be of age: What happened in thif % ■J" 10 a colonial, happens all too frequently,/} : to young Indians who find themselves England subject to the temptations whiehare unfortunately the accompaniments '«* g university life. .' ' , . The correspondent who uses the nom d»| Plume ''Miles" has a fetter in the Times of, ' * & V n \ 5, in the course of which' he expresses | j very emphatic views with reference $MM acquisition of Wei-hai-woi. ' mti&SiSm ~ r l"'? a i theory, founded upon nothing* 1 ,- Wat one fortress can neutralise another. Tin ; JJUJKiof Wellington recorded his opinion th»* ; J$ tne fortifications of Alderney would 'cjfl ;/• and ;- aa um.'of;nlaril sterling was ' accordingly f« penned upon', no Vy crumbling monument *»■ • [ tiumaa error, !■ presume that-a r«i^

cence of this theory in its baldest form is the explanation of a proposal to assume a lease of Wei-hai-wei. I venture to think' that' few ports in China are less . fitted for the requirements present and : future of the British Empire'.; Wei-hai-wei hag no good natural harbour, possesses no docks, and involves the occupation of a long land front ill adapted for defence. ■ To make the place secure, a garrison of about 10,000 men will he required. To create here a well-equipped naval station will require immense expenditure, diminishing pro tanto the sum available foi the fighting fleet. , Whatever mistakes have been made in the past, and they are many, our rulers have hitherto abstained, as a rule, from occupying such positions as Wei-hai-wei. The only similar cases are Gibraltar and Sierra Leone. The formei, however, by means of its unique natural advantages, is practically an island; the latter is already throttled by the absorption of its hinterland into the West African possessions of France. Behind Port Arthur) with its docks and admirably sheltered narbotir, lie the rich resources of Manchuria, and within a few years a railway will connect the new leasehold property of Russia with the heart of her Empire. Behind Wei-hai-wei lies the province of Shan-tung, in which Germany is already established, and ha. obtained important concessions. A glance at the map shows that Kiao-chau Bay is much nearer to the valley of the Hoang-ho than Wei-hai-wei, which, together with Chifu, 50 miles to the west, can have no commercial value in the future. Our reported new acquisition is 300 miles from the mouth of the Pei-ho, but the near neighbourhood of a great military Power which will begin by having 60,000 troops at hand, must apparently impress the Government of Pekin more directly than an isolated British naval station 1200 miles from Hongkong. To regard Wei-hai-wei as a complete answer to Port Arthur is in these circumstances absolutely futile. Even Great Britain cannot be strong everywhere, and events have inexorably ruled that we cannot exercise a dominating power in Northern China. Wei-hai-wei will be a permanent source of expenditure and of weakness to the Empire. The step announced to-day is only another instance of our inability to realise facts, and our disposition to grasp at shadows while neglecting substantial interests, Unquestionably the process of saving one's face leads to curious results in other countries than China,"

In the midst of the hubbub created by the condition of foreign affairs, the British Treasury continues marvellously rich. The receipts of the year amount to the "record" total of £106,614,000 or £3,570,000 above the estimate. The increase, too, is distributed over every item, the death duties, with Sir William Harcourt's retorms, having actually brought £11,100,000. It is calculated that next year the total yield of all imposts will be even greater, though, owing to the immense expenditure, the surplus will he far less. The return is, of course, satisfactory in a way, for money is one source of power, but wo confess, remarks the Spectator, we view the figures with a certain sense of .dismay. The nation is so rich that it regards economy with annoyance and extravagance without disgust, and when the lean years come, as come they will, the people will find themselves saddled with obligations, which, no doubt, they will discharge, but with a bittei sense that their representatives have been carried off their feet. The country needs a larger-minded Joseph Hume.

According to the Premier's speech in Wellington, it appears that he is about to procure some 5000 rifles. It is to be hoped that be lias duly considered what weapon is the best, and tho numerous small details which should be considered in a costly purchase, such as this is likely to be, as it would be intolerable if the New Zealand forces were again armed with a weapon which in a short time would become obsolete. It may bo interesting to give some particulars respecting the rifles now most frequently referred to. The .303 rifle adopted by the Imperial War Office is now known as the Lee-Enfield, instead of the Lee-Metford. The Lee-Met-ford rifles had the action patented by Mr. lee, and the rifling by Mr. Metford. This rifling has seven grooves and the width of the " lands" was .023. The Enfield rifling has five grooves and the width of the lands .036. Of course, it is understood that the Lee-Enfield is a magazine seven-shot rifle. The best rifle for the colonies is probably the .303 Enfield, single shot, Martini-Henry action, or. better, still, the Webley action. In the Martini-Henry action the lower lever gives, with a pressure of 401b, only 71b pressure to the cartridge extractor of rifle; while the Webley action, with a pressure of 71b on lever, gives an extracting force of 401b.

The most important item in oui war news this morning is the announcement made by the London Daily Telegraph that the' Foreign Ambassadors at Washington are discussing joint action in favour of peace. Although the announcement lacks official confirmation, it is by no means improbable. But in the present martial spirit of the American people there is very little prospect of any proposal for peace being listened to until the Spaniards have been driven out of Cuba. Nor docs there appear to be any strong disposition in Spain to stop the war, although it must now be obvious to every intelligent Spaniard that the country is engaged in a hopeless struggle, from which she must emerge, if it be prolonged, humiliated and crippled. We do not think there is the smallest chance of any offers of mediation being entertained by either side until a big and, in a sense, decisive, naval battle has been fought in tho Atlantic. Should the Capo Verde fleet bo engaged and destroyed, America would probably then be inclined to discuss terms of peace on the basis of Cuba's absolute independence. But that fleet has not yet been sighted, and it is even doubtful whether it is at Cadiz after all. Large quantitieb of ammunition are being sent out to Admiral Dewey. It is probable that he captured sufficient coal supplies in Manila Harbour to fill his bunkers, but he must feel the want of a naval base. Further rioting has occurred in Spain. The revolt in Italy is a very serious ousiness. Its object was, or is, to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic. Russia is excluding passengers from Port Arthur. This is regarded as a violation of the conditions of the lease.