THE New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 1896. A UNIVERSAL TEETH.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 2824, 20 May 1896, Page 2

THE New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 1896. A UNIVERSAL TEETH.

With which are incorporated ttye Wellington Independent, established 184$, afrdj the New Zealander.

It is the morning newspaper that reaches, and is read by, the substantial and Intelligent people who have money to spend and know what they want. Hence its superiority as an advertising medium, SUNBEAMS FROM CUCUMBERS. “A pounds was offered on a certain famous occasion in those days by a leading financial newspaper for the best essay on the art of extracting sypthQq.ms from encumbers.” This is the sarcastic writer of five centuries ahead, will, in all probability, write obopfe the Statist prize for the best essay cn the com* mercial federation of the Empire.. The prize has been fought for by Iso applicants, it has been won and dlyided; and. what is more, the two essays which could not be divided on the question of merit will be printed. What is still more is that these works of genius profound, ingenious, learned though they be, will be forgotten before the ink is dry of their printing. They will repose on the dusty shelves of one of the great provinces of the empire cf .cbliyion, while the Empire will continue to greet l£g proverbial perpetual sunshine without any nearer approach to a closer commercial federation,* The truth is that there is in the present temper of the public mind of Britain no more love of an Imperial federation of commerce than there is sunshine in a

cucumber. ■ Mr Chamberlain, the now Joseph, appeared a fuw weeks ago to speak to the old commercial Pharaoh whose dream of the fat kino had been fulfilled, in a sense hopeful to the idea of a commercial federation based on differential tariffs. Bat Joseph, itturns out, was misreported by the compiler of cable news; and, indeed, after reading his speech at the Canada Club, wo are not astonished at that. He began in a high state of enthusiasm neatly bottled off in crystal sentences, he embraced the dependencies small and large, he waved the great Freetrade system over them, and actually performed a tremendous feat of jugglery, conveying the impression that he, a Minister of the Crown, nursed in the great Birmingham-Man-ohester traditions, was ready to throw the Freetrade system overboard. " A convinced Freetrader,” he said in his best manner, “in the sense of believing that the theory is undoubtedly the theory on which the world would become most prosperous, yet I have not such a pedantic admiration for it that if sufficient advantage were offered mo I would not consider a deviation from the strict doctrine.” It is as if a man were to say, "I am very fond of my father, whom I revere as the best of men, as well as the best of all possible fathers, but if you offer me a reasonable inducement to cut his throat I am not so idiotically pedantic as to refuse your offer.” Mr Chamberlain, who was discussing the resolutions of the Canadian Conference, deepened the mystery produced by his feat of legerdemain by ostentatiously brushing aside Lord Ripon’s views which had thrown such cold water oa the proposals of the Conference. “I am not convinced of the truth of his statements,” he said lightly, and then he proceeded to show his own hand, iron under the velvet glove and the mysteries. The proposals, ho declared frankly, are not sufficiently favourable to the British side. In return for a differential duty on the raw products from outside the Empire, the colonies must impose very substantial duties against the foreigner. Lord Eipon had said it would be impossible because the colonies could not afford to throw away their revenues. To whiohMt Chamberlain replied thatthe thing was so enormously advantageous to the colonies that they ought to think of it. The truth is out after such a performance. Freetrade is the breath of the British commercial system, because that system must have cheap food and cheap raw material. If the colonies could supply all these wants fully, the question of differential duties would be merely formal. But as the colonies fall short of the supply very largely, the duties bulk substantial in proportion. So long aa that is the case, so long shall we fin-i ourselves listening to tho words of patronising refusal. “ Your proposition was made in very good part, but, when considered from tbo point of view of British interests, is not sufficiently favourable to be considered by this country.” These are the words of the new Joseph, who is like all his predecessors, except in the matter of words, and then he has a surprising coat of many colours. In fact, it is for us a case of sunbeams to be got from cucumbers. If wo wait for the sunbeam of commercial protection to come from tho Freetrade cucumber, we shall have to do without it for some little time.

POLITICAL DISCIPLINE,

In many things, in fact in nil things pertaining to the Government of the people by the people for the people, this Colony has been for the past five years an object lesson to the world of the first importance. Wo saw yesterday how far the noise of tho Ballanco-Saddon achievements has reached, and how remarkably accurate the hold they have obtained on men’s minds in so “ remote, unfriended, solitary and low ’’ a place as Kalgoorlie, fly infested, fever haunted. That was in relation to tho Government programme. But programmes are nothing unless there is a force to carry them out; and without party discipline there can be no such force. Discipline is the key-note of the party system, which has given more to mankind than any other tho world has ever seen. The profitableness of maintaining that discipline is one of the great object lessons the Liberal Party has taught the world ; and Australia has learned, in addition, what havoc tho want of discipline and cohesion can make in the Liberal and all other ranks. It is satisfactory, therefore, to see in Victoria a movement on the Liberal side for a consolidation under party discipline of all the Liberal ranks on a basis of practical politics. Hitherto they have been divided by the rmattainable: they have relinquished the substance of practical reforms to run after the shadow of things which can never be in their time. But this, we may presume, owing to the example of the continued liberal successes in New Zealand, is being changed. The Labour Party has united its sections on a broad basis of practical reform, and has. apparently undertaken to submit to discipline. As to the details of their programme, they do not concern us any more than lies in the fact that they have a strong resemblance to our own Liberal policy, so much of which is now, thanks to party discipline, on the Statute Book. It is a reminder, and a very strong reminder, to the Liberals of New Zealand to stand shoulder to shoulder in all things great, sinking all things small, for the sake of their cause, which has po friends in the world but themselves. Their discipline has in places become loose. They should lose no time, especially here, which is one of those places in need of organising, and that on a well considered base of practical politics,