THE THOUSAND-MEN PROPOSAL

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4298, 6 March 1901, Page 3

THE THOUSAND-MEN PROPOSAL

RERLIES OK MEMBERS OF I’AUf.IAMKNT. STRONG OPPOSITION SHOWN. The loea.l member-; of Parliament ; re sfrongly oppoMg! to the proposal to so id one thomand men o a r I n rontcseiifc tl i ; folonv at the eocning of the Federal Parliament. XHK RREMIKU’S ORIGINAL .MhMO The following is it.' of tiio TT emier’s original memo, on the subject: ‘■The Premier of the Commonweal'.h. ha.s reipie.-ted New Zealand to -end a, (onfingent of 1000 offio-rs and men, half Maoris, to bo pro'out at the openlag of cue Commonwealth Parliament. Dr-sire your opinion ■ fa) Shall wc send iho c nitiuifoni ; (b) it i" the aflirmelive, shall if corrlst. of both races, and what number ef each. Reply memo. —li. .5 . Seddon.” MU HUTCHESON WON’T HELP. Tli’John Hutcheson, M.1i.i1.. lias replied ns follows : —“I believe the mluiiest of the Commoinvcalth Premier is jdue to the popular spirit of aggressive niilitarKin which yon have recently done |so very much to foster, together with (ho impression you created at tho Commonwealth celebration As you did not need my opinion in that act of committal, f must decline to share your vesp'u:siljilities in its consequences. You inn 1 get (ho genie back into the bottle ns best yen may, without my help. You rt leased him against "my wish.”

-MR WILFOT! D HP IKK AND I‘CHNTED.

Tho following is the reply of Mr \VJfor<l, ML.TI.U. : ‘Do not approve of sending 1000 men to take part in Australian welcome to Duke of York.” Till FISH Ell QUOTES TDK “TIMES.”

| Air George Fisher intends writing to tho Premier as follows;—My views on 11 hi.s question are admirably expressed in ■ Tdc-nlay morning’s “ Times, ■’ or which I havo pleasure in handing you a copy. 1 would .-.peeialjy draw your alien! ion ro . iho following quotation; —“To decide the quasi ion’ <T whether this colony is to semi a thousand .soldiers to tiio opening of tiio Federal Parliament or lire hundred; or only fifty, is a. small Hung- If tin: Victorian Ministers have Keen impertinent enough to raise a quo-dion which is no concern of theirs whatever, that is not a reason for tho Niw Zealand Government to shirk it, either by calling Parliament together or writing to members for their individual ideas on tho subject. . . . Minis, tors would have hurt neither themselves nor tho country had they faced the position robustly. A Government surely stands self-confessed as weak and irresolute that cannot decide so trifling a matter without an unconstitutional consultation. with Par’lament". Mr Sodden and his colleagues have sent away several contingents to South Africa without Parliamentary sanction', in view of which fact their present action suggests Inc old saying in which a gnat and a camel aro placed in juxtaposition. It is to be hoped that in their future actions they will show a greater regard for the traditions of Parliamentary Government and display a. deeper sense of their responsibilities.” MR ATKINSON LECTURES MINISTERS.

Mr A. R. Atkinson has set out his views in tho following rather lengthy letter: “Wellington, sth March', 1901. The Right Hon tho Premier, Wellington. ■— Sir. — In reply to your memo, of yesterday, I have the honour to say that though I object on principle to voting in advance by post or telegram upon •matters on which the opinion of the House of Representatives may be taken in a constitutional way. I am glad in the present instance, without prejudice, to give an emphatic negative to the question you propound. Genuine volunteering in peace nr war has my entire sympalliy: but gtatuitofts and superfluous military display, costly to the taxpayer, disastrous to trade, . useless to the soldier, and demoralising to our civil leaders, by feeding their vanity, and swelling their heads, while distracting them from, their public functions, and degrading the statesman’s officer to tho level of the showman, is not a thing I can admire.

If the chief aim of Australian federation were military aggro toon or oven defence, and we approved it, there might be some point in our joining in a big military display: but seeing that her mission, as we all hope and believe, is ono of ponce, r-uoh a display would seem’ to ho altogether out of place. By sending over IUOO soldiers and perhaps fifty, civilians, wo should also he grossly misrepresenting the relative importance of our own interests and. pursuits. Proud as wo arc of our soldier, he is not yet" the most important, of our products. On the South African veldt his presence has had, and, unfortunately, still ha«, a very real and stern significance; in

the streets of Melbourne it would have little real meaning, he would bo little more than a. performer in a magnificent but futile circus.

The question of expense will, as usual, have little weight with you, though to some of us it is a very grave one. Tiio extravagance ■ and. the bombast must all be paid for, some day, and Iho payment will mean, suffering for somebody. I am nob anxious to increase tho amount by an expense for whi*h I can sco no proportionate benefit to our neighbours and no proportionate return to ourselves. By all means, lot us show all the friendliness and goodwill wo can towards tho citizens of the new Commonwealth. Let us show' it, not by inflated talk about shedding our blood—or our brother's blood—on their behalf, nor by tho wild extravagance of the military display wo arc asked to undertake. Lob us show it in soberer and 1 sincorcr ! asli io ll , iu a fashion not histrionic nor spectacular, but more in keeping with the solid traditions of our race. A GREAT EXPENSE NOT JUSTIFIED. Mr IV. H. Field, M.H.R., has written to tho Prouder as follows:—“I am of opinion that the colony should ho fittingly represented at the opening of the Commonwealth Parliament, but a thousand troops aro far more tfian nccessavv. I consider 150—composed of 100 Europeans and fifty Maoris—would be ’ sufficient. I presume the colony pays the whole cost of the equipment and transport, and in view" of the needs of settlers wo ava not justified in incurring greater expense than above indicated.”

-MR PIRANI REMINDS MINISTERS OF BACK-BLOCKS HANDICAPS.

Mr Pirani, say.?:—“l am strongly against any. r£prescntation at the opening of the Commonwealth Pst* liamont except by. a Minister, of., the Crown, especially in view of the fact that works for which money is on the Estimates are not'proceeded with, presumably for lack ot funds. It seems to. mo more important to relieve settlers in the back-blocks of the intolerable burdens cast on them through lack of decent roads than to waste money on a bootless errand like that suggested. !l

THE WAIRARA f’A RERRESEN--1 TATI YES. Tiio Premier states that Mr Hogg has given a “conditional reply’’ to his inquiry, and that Mr Hornsby has declared against the proposal. MR JAME’S ALLEN’S OPINION. PRESS ASSOCIATION. DUNEDIN, March 0. So far. only the reply of -Ur James Allen to the Premier’.; memo, regarding a Federal Contingent has been made known. Mr Allen favours sending 400 Europeans -nd 100 Maoris to represent tho colony at the opening of the Federal Parliament. The Premier La:-, received a large number of communications from meniers of Parliament in reply to hi.s request for expressions of opinion as to sending a military contingent from New Zealand to attend tho opening of the Federal Parliament. When all Hitreplies are in, the result will be made known. So far tho replies aro of a very oven nature. Very tew members favour sending the full number suggested by tho Federal Premier —namely, a thousand men —but quite a largo proportion of the colony’s legislators consider that a smaller contingent slioiml be sent. The strength suggested ranges from 100 to 300 men.