COLONIAL MODESTY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11873, 27 January 1902, Page 4

COLONIAL MODESTY.

[ Nobody in England expects modesty from a. colony, and the people there re quite willing to tolerate a very large amount of self-assertiveness in consideration of our youth and defective training. But there are still a good many amongst us who object to this sort of thing being carried too far, and who do not like to be made to feel abashed by the statements of those who assume to speak in our name. The memorandum which the Premier has furnished to His Excellency as the basis of a cable message to the Secretary of State for the Colonies on the meat contract is right enough, but it is to be hoped that Mr. Chamberlain will not read the report of the proceedings at the luncheon on board of the Surrey. If he does it will probably give him more annoyance for a time than the attacks of the English pro-Boers or the German calumniators. The Premier says several times that " the meat contract had gone to the Argentine," whereas the statement of the cable message was, It is reported that the contracts will include a proportion of Argentine meat." Then follow some indignant exclamations—"Were they still asleep in the Mother Country 1 Did the War Office and the Home authorities want waking up ? Because if they did they would get it," and then we hear about" what the colonies would have to let them know." The Premier says that he did not receive the schedule forms until too late to compete. He adds: "It would appear to him as though they had done this deliberately," and Mr. Witheford interjects, "They did not want it done." It will come as something new to the Home authorities to be accused of paltry trickery like this, and they will feel sore on the subject. Mr. Witheford also makes the suggestion that the Eighth Contingent should be kept back till the English Government is brought to its senses, and Mr. Seddon says that the money-saving by including the Argentine as one of the, sources of supply is surely not to weigh as against what New Zealand is doing in the war. All this is bad form." The colonies have received abundant praise from the English Government and the English people for the zealous way in which they have stood by the Empire, and surely we are not going to tarnish our laurels by threatening what we are going to do unless Ave get just what we want in respect to the army contracts. Another incident in this connection is in regard to one of our troopers. He was sentenced by a court-martial to a long period of imprisonment for sleeping at his post as a sentry. Of all military crimes this is the most serious, for the safety of a whole army may depend upon a sentry. The rule in all ages and all nations has been that the offence, is punishable by death. By the exertions- of Mr. Jellicoe in London the whole facts were brought under the notice of the King, and ultimately the trooper received his release. This was a very gracious : act, because there is a danger that such a thing may be considered a precedent, that sentries may think sleeping at their post is a comparatively trivial offence, and that every man who is convicted may expect to be treated as this New Zealander has been. We should have cordially acknowledged the magnaminity of the War Office and the King and have confessed that they had indeed stretched a point for New Zealand. Now our London correspondent says that the War Office is somewhat surprised at Mr. Seddon referring to Tasker's case, and saying that "it was time the War Office knew its position and should. clearly understand that itmust not snub the colonies." Mr. Seddon's further remark that the Imperial army might go elsewhere and leave the colonies to finish the war will not be very palatable to .the War Office or to the army. We are afraid that Anthony Trollope will be again quoted, who said that the chief colonial characteristic was a tendency to " blow."