CURRENT TOPICS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1291, 26 November 1896, Page 23

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE EXHIBITION OF 1896

The Exhibition is a great credit to the city in which it is held, and to the country which has contributed to its collections. It is a specimen of the new policy of exhibitions which has lately been established in New Zealand. Before that policy the system was like the system obtaining elsewhere, to depend entirely on public money, and squander the public cash with both hands, in the belief that the resources of the Colony had not become firm by development, and that the will of the people to help themselves had not yet awakened. The large Exhibition of 1885, held here in the Drillshed, with large annexes, was a specimen of that policy. A very moderate affair it was in the matter of expenditure 'when compared with the hundreds of thousands wasted by Australian Governments over their various international exhibitions. It was, however, a great display, and very well organised, and it opened the eyes of even casual observers to the vast developments that had taken place, by the year of grace 1885, in the commerce, the industry, the manufactures, the mining and the agriculture of these islands. Moreover, the public support which was afforded in 1885 demonstrated the power of the resources and of the people to be reliable foundations for a valuable exhibition. Two years before that the " Great International Exhibition " which Messrs Joubert and Twopeny had got up in Christchurch had proved that large subsidies from the public Exchequer were by no means required. The hint was, in great part, taken in 1885 at Wellington, and on the present occasion it has been improved upon. The object of a display of this kind is to take the industrial census. We want, in addition, to compare our conditions and our works with those of other people. The two great questions are: " What is our industrial strength ?" and " How do we stand in the great industrial campaign ?" The answer to these questions is supplied by the contents of the bays, furnishing forth the long avenues, which give us a view of the products and industries of the country. These have come by tribes and by hundreds, and they speak for themselves, for the most part in bright array. They are the value of the Exhibition. It is not an exhibition of architecture, it is an exhibition of products natural and manufacture!. No one cares about the buildings which house them, which are like any other temporary erections of wood and iron, which are expected to give the maximum of shelter for the minimum of money. Their ideal is necessarily the economic; the economic climax being reached when the flimsiest material covers the largest space. For the entrance economy must obviously be sacrificed to taste, and we have consequently a little architectural display, elegant and good of its kind, and all round without and within much bunting has covered deficiencies with gaiety and colour. The Americans at Chicago turned their backs upon the economic idea, and they were right, for they could afford to recognise a great anniversary of four centuries. Even so their undoubtedly most splendid architectural display was but temporary. The glorious dreams of the loftiest architects were realised in flimsy material as perishable as the " wattle and dab" of the savage who seeks merely a shelter from the elements ; and the edifices are now for the most part nowhere else than in the land of memory. Our people will one day be able to afford to make these displays of glorious architecture whenever they take the industrial census, and when they are they will, if their present public spirit continues to animate them, take the fullest advantage of those unique opportunities. For the present we have to be content with the utilitarian spirit, and the Managing Committee has been content in the severest sincerity. It is a high compliment to them that they have placed the real interests of the Exhibition and the exhibits above everything. The management is necessarily an enormously important factor. It has a diilicult problem to solve, the problem of making a dry subject attractive to the people for many days, without giving them any- * thing wonderful in the way of architectural or scenic effect to attract them, and without lavish expenditure to dazzle them. On this occasion the problem has been solved —we think there can be no doubt on the subject—by appealing to every wholesome instinct .in the heart of the people. Sports and pastimes-without, music and pictures within, and all the elegancies which make places of resort popular. Thus, amusement and education going hand in hand, the object of the industrial census taking will be attained in the best way, and the . Exhibition will be in evory possible way a great success. It was well opened yesterday with appropriate sentiment, beautiful music—produced* on the spot, composed and performed by our own local people, some of them natives of the Colony—and appreciative crowds, themselves probably the most effective part of the show. That good beginning guarantees a sound and prosperous career.

THE PREMIER AT HOKITIKA. At Hokitika the Premier dealt -with three things chiefly. They were the weakness of the other side, the strength of six years of Liberal history, and the continuation of that policy- Of these, the first naturally occupied but little room in the speech. There is but little for anyone to say about the weakness of a party which has no policy except the policy of getting on to the Government benches to carry on the work of the men who are there now. If anything could make such a policy particularly discreditable, it is the fact that the men who are wanting to carry on this programme are the very men who have bitterly opposed every step of it. No Parliament in our history ever saw such fighting and Obstruction in the House as the fighting

and obstruction which met the Liberal measures from 1891 to 1893. In the next Parliament the will was present, but the resources of obstruction had been themselves obstructed by the electors at the polls. Still there was a good deal of hostility, and the political heirs of that hostility are seeking to become also the political heirs of the policy at which the hostility was directed. The wilder and more powerful obstructors are seeking reelection we observe, and there is much glorification in the Oppositionist ranks in consequence. Mr Scobie Mackenzie, Mr Buckland, Mr Fish, Mr Valentine and others are said to be possibilities for three years. The only thing to be said for them is that their cause and their party are alike weak.

The strength of the six years of Liberal history, which has been written in the Statute Book in spite of the hostility of the outs, who want the privilege of leaving well alone, gave the Premier a great deal more to say. It is the fashion on the other side to criticise the length of the Premier's recessional speeches. But these criticisms never find an echo on the Liberal side. The reason is plain. The Opposition very soon weary of hearing of the achievements of the Government. The Liberals are perfectly ready to listen to the story for hours at a *;ime. The Premier is long because he has a great deal of ground to get over. The six Liberal years have been very eventful years. The Liberal chiefs by no means forgot their promises which gave them their majority. They set to work from the first with great energy to keep that majority together by keeping their promises. This is the secret of the success which Opposition scoffers put down to autocracy. The so-called " Dumb Dogs " were too busy moving the .Liberal policy forward to make long speeches, or many speeches, and they were too loyal to the policy to think of joining the Opposition in abusing the Government. Why should they have joined in abuse of the Government ? Their talk would have been fruitless. They preferred working, and the fruits of their six years of work the Premier displayed on Friday evening at Hokitika. His list of measures placed on the Statute Book reaches to not less than 75, and among the whole 75 there is not one that was not necessary, and none that has not worked beneficially to the public interest. Even with the briefest of pithy descriptions for each Act, it takes a considerable time to detail a successfully carried out programme of 75 Acts of Parliament. The length of the Premier's speeches shows the strength of the Liberal position. The strength of the Liberal position is increased by the programme announced for the future. The secret of the success of the past is to be applied to command the success of the future. The promises given in 1890 and 1893 were the first consideration with the Government in each of the Parliaments that followed the polling days of those years. They have a right to ask the country to believe that the promises of 1896 will be the first consideration in 1897, '9B and '99, and that any of them remaining unfulfilled — as is possible enough, for no Government is ever able to pass the whole of its programme —will be before the country again in 1899. Here, in fact, we have a party with a definite policy, and with determination to carry that policy out for the good of the country. The Premier has outlined that policy very fully. The promotion of Imperial trade is a great subject; there is only one way to settle it, and that is on business lines ; on lines, that is, of mutual benefit, on lines that shall give the products of the colonies preference in the great British markets, and the goods of Great Britain a preference over the goods of foreign countries in the markets of the colonies. Reform of the Upper House by the Referendum, reform of Charitable Aid. and Local Government, Old Age Pensions, the Eight Hours Bill, the Masters and Apprentices Bill, the repeal of the Private Benefit Societies Act, development of mining, roading and survey of lands, acquisition of lands, facilities to settlement —all these are living subjects, in which the Government have an interest very much more than academic ; an interest such as they showed in the case of the 75 measures of the six years' list. The case for a continuance of their reyime is unanswerable. THE HAPPY MEAN. Wherein lies true statesmanship ? That is a which is suggesting itself more or less forcibly to the average Maorilander during these campaign days, days when the air is full of the noise of battle, and of rival shibboleths. True, the question is no riddle of the Sphinx, but nevertheless it is one that now demands the attention of every citizen. True statesmanship, we take it, Hgs in keeping the ship of State steadily in the mid - stream of progress—with guiding ideals ahead—avoiding alike the stagnant pools and backwaters of Conservatism, and steering clear of the rocky rapids of revolutionary fanaticism. The average Anglo-Saxon is naturally of a Conservative bent. He often requires a strong lead to get him out of the backwaters; but AngloSaxondom also furnishes a contingent of over-sanguine individuals, and of one-idea folks, who may, without derogation, be classed for convenience as fanatics or enthusiasts.

Now, your fanatic does useful public educational service, but he is no more the man for the helm than is the reactionary Conservative. Strange though it may appear, the great public—King Demos—suffering though he undoubtedly is from manifold ills and imperfections of the body politic, will not and cannot put social conditions straight by radical political edict. A people .is an organism, whose growth cannot be forced. Woe betide the well-mean-ing and often heroic enthusiast who would force the pace. He may score a temporary mushroom success, but history record*

' again and again the story of how he came to grief in the rapids, deserted by the very people he sought to regenerate in one act. Again, the average Anglo-Saxon loves compromise. This being so, the statesman will take the line of least resistance —call ! it opportunism, or what you will. The thin edge of compromise is truly the beginning of political wisdom. Brushing aside the laissez-faire of Conservatism, and the cureall of fanaticism, statesmanship deals in ideas that will make the world a bit better. It has been wittily said that " the policy of the ' whole hog or none' is an admirable one — for the hog. He remains whole, whole and hearty, and never parts with even one poor slice of concessionary bacon." The two extremes are met with daily in politics. Do we not know the old school Conservative who cries out when freehold is trenched upon ? And are we not | equally familiar with the ardent reformer who demands land nationalisation instanter, or confiscatory land value taxation (supported maybe by admirable theories) ? One party holds the Legislative Council as sacred, while the ! advanced spirits will be content with j nothing less than the total abolition of the ] Lords. One section of the public will not j hear of Prohibition of the liquor traffic on i any terms. Their aggressive opponents I would seek to force this vast issue by a chance majority. " The Old Age Pension idea is a piece of socialistic degeneracy," says the Tory. " A pension for all, straightaway," cries the other extreme, omitting to point out a practicable source of revenue. The individualist thinks that private enterprise is best left alone in the mining industry. The collectivist calls for nationalisation of the mines. And so on, right down the political gamut. Looking around the present political arena, no fair-minded person, we claim, can fail to admit the rational position—the happy mean —occupied by the programme of the present Government. John McKenzie's land policy settled the question of freehold without attacking the principle. It is the policy for settling the people on the land and keeping them there in spite of monopoly. As for the Legislative Council, the Government's proposals as formulated in the Constitution Amending Bill are such as will effectually and instantly make the hog give up a big slice of that concessionary bacon. Then, again, Mr Seddon's liquor legislation has been marked with features which appeal to the fair-minded portion of the compro-mise-loving and moderate public. Turning to Old Age Pensions, a universal pension may be theoretically desirable, but the Government Bill proposes to cut the Colony's coat according to its cloth, to begin with. The mining policy of the present administration extends the functions of the State, and aids the industry practically, thereby educating public opinion towards the ideal of nationalisation without attempting the premature. The same might be said of the Departments of Agriculture and Industry, which are steadily demonstrating what the State can and ought to undertake on those lines. In brief, the policy of the Seddon administration many be summed up as evolutionary, in the most rational sense of the word. The .great sensible majority in the country will, we feel confident, next month renew its vote of confidence in that policy—in the party—and in the party's leaders.

AERATED WATERS AND CORDIALS The census figures which we publish in another column show a satisfactory five years' progress. It is plain that the trade in non-alcoholic drinks is increasing steadily. No doubt a good deal of aerated water is retailed in combination with alcohol in various forms. But the combination makes a wholesome dilution of the stronger liquids. Of these combinations a very large proportion consists of such beverages as shandygaff, and various wines with lemonade, all of which distinctly make for temperance. At the same time a large proportion of the aerated waters and all the cordials are consumed without • alcohol in any shape, being distinctly temperance drinks. On the whole an increase of 20 factories, paying .£4426 more money in wages, with an increase of plant aggregating £16,000, and an increased output of the value of nearly £7OOO, is a fairly good testimony to the increase of temperate habits. It will be seen from the figures that the annual bill for this class of liquor is nearly £IOO,OOO. The fact strengthens the main argument against Prohibition. That argument relies on the fact that the population spends nearly half a million less in the liquor trade than it spent when it was one-third of its present number. Temperance is doing well enough without any force. In the presence of these figures and facts force is out of court.

WHAT WE DO NOT PRODUCE. It was a happy idea of His Excellency the Governor to fill up the hiatus in the industrial census. In his speech, which was appreciative of the display he was declaring open, he pointed out the many products which might have been in evidence and were not. To this subject he devoted a great part of his speech, and that part was very interesting and very full of detail. The Colony can grow beetroot, which gives sugar and highly profitable results besides; it grows the olive in the North, and South Australia, a colony not a bit better fitted for growing thatmost profitable tree —"He who plants an olive tree provides an inheritance for his children," says the Italian proverb—has already beaten the Italian oil, beautiful as it is, out of the local market; the mulberry grows in perfection in certain parts of New Zealand, and we ought therefore to produce silk in vast quantities. But one mainstay of the Colony ought to be wine. The evidence of many experts, including that of the Victorian expert Signor Bragato, has proved that in both.

islands there are many districts marked, quoted and signed by nature for the growth of the vine. Our wines are of good flavour, mild in character, excellent in bouquet, magnificent as food for a hard-working population, and great aids to true temperance. Why have we not more of them ? Tobacco grows in perfection, and can be produced, with a like experience and care, in quality equal to the best in the world. But there is no tobacco, except that which is a byword. Glass can be made in any quantity, but there is no enterprise, and the cork tree grows in profusion in the North. Nothing better has been said on this subject than was said by His Excellency in his speech of Wednesday, and it was all the better for his humorous treatment. The moral of the Exhibition is that we ought to stand aghast at the moderation of our enterprise. We are never tired of vaunting it, but we ought to stand aghast at its attenuated proportions. There Lord Glasgow struck the national point. We may add that this Colony has shown what can be done with high wages and proper conditions of labour. With an eight hours day and good pay our people hold their own against the world in many departments of industry. It ought to be the same with every other department suited to the soil and climate. The matter presses because, as Lord Glasgow pointed out, the young people are overflowing from the schools and wanting openings in life. There is no doubt that a people which has done so much to help itself, as the Exhibition proves, will do all that is needed. But it is high time some new thing was attempted. The great aim of the highest and best policy is to put more people on the land of tnis young and undeveloped country. Let vis add to their earning power by increasing the number of the products. It is high time we began. The most suggestive thing said for many years was that part of Lord Glasgow's speech which referred to the industries which are not established among us.

AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION. Many opponents of the Seddon Ministry believe that they must support Prohibition and reduction of licenses, in order to elect their candidates. The confusion of ideas is natural enough on account of the identity of the polling day. Many peoole are dense enough to suppose that the polling for the political candidates is the same thing as the polling for local and general option. It is a very different thing. Voters have one paper for politics and another paper for the liquor question. The two are absolutely distinct; not connected with one another in anyway whatever. It is simply a case of killing two birds with one stone. The voter having discharged his political duty without fear or favour, can turn his attention quite unbiassed to local option, not general option, for that is not yet the law of the land, and we hope never will be. Some leaflets now being issued deal with the local option question, and should have attention. In the Wellington district, we may remark, voting reduction ought to be scouted by all voters, for the simple reason that reduction, in this of all districts, would simply mean the monopoly of the liquor trade to the licensed houses remaining. That would be the monopoly of the most largely increasing trade in the Colony, for no city progresses as Wellington does.