THE OUTSIDE WORLD

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 6052, 9 November 1906, Page 7

THE OUTSIDE WORLD

RECENT CABLE MESSAGES,

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Five months ago Mr Chamberlain predicted that the House of Lords would not pass the Education Bill, and warned tho Unionist party to get ready for a general election in the spring. It certainly did not require a seer to forecast trouble when the bill got into the hands of its opponents’in the Conservative Chamber, which is so largely representative of the interests and prejudices of the Established Church, and probably few persons anticipated anything for tho bill hut a stormy passage ending possibly in its wreck. Events of tho past few days have justified these expectations, hut they have done more —they have shown the hopeless weakness of the Government in tho House of Lords. Amendments have been carried of so sweeping a character that tho Lord President of the Council (Lord Crewe), who seems to be sharing with Lord Ripon the charge of the measure for tho Government, says is being battered out of recognition. The most contentious part of tho hill has now been reached, namely, that dealing with facilities for religious instruction, and tho divisions that have taken place have shown the enemies of tho measure to bo in a majority of something like three to one. In striking contrast to this, it may ho recalled that the Education Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons by a majority of 192 votes.

What is to happen? To reform tho House of Lords so as to bring it more 1 into lino with- tho popular wish would bo as difficult as to get the Education Bill passed, for tho reformers would have to obtain the consent of those whom they sought to reform. An instance of this, on a.smaller scale, has just been afforded in South Australia, whore the Government failed to get a bill affecting tho Legislative Council franchise accepted by that body, and appealed to the country. There the -people have supported the Ministry, but the Franchise Bill will ho rejected again, and there will be another deadlock. -In South Australia, however, tho Premier will probably he able to do what Sir Henry Campbell-Banner-man cannot —he will force members of the Upper House to face tho electors, and have the maftor in dispute decided. Prominent, members of tho British Cabinet have during the past few months made it clear that they are prepared to accept the challenge and face a general election. Indeed, after the Opposition debacle of last January and February there would appear to bo nothing'for the Liberals to fear or for tho Conservatives to hope—unless it bo that some of the less Radical among the Liberal party’s front rank- are apprehensive of the Socialist vote increasing. There have, been some indications of this feeling in recent utterances of prominent Liberals.

At all events, * present indications point to the probability of ah early extraordinary general election, with the principles of the Education Bill almost the sole issue. Lord Portsmouth has declared that the main principles of tho bill were affirmed at the last elections by an unprecedentedly decisive expression of opinion, and if tho Liberals, with a majority of over two hundred members, allow the Tory Episcopal party in the House of Lords to repudiate the deliberately; expressed voice of the nation they will be' convicted of political sterility. If extreme hostility to the hill continues, he has said, the Government will be prepared to accept the challenge, confident that an appeal to the electors would strengthen tho cause of Church Disestablishment. , Mr Runciman, speaking seven months ago, warned the Archbishop of Canterbury that if he attempted to use the House of Lords with the object of wrecking the wishes of the House of Commons, it would not only make the Disestablishment - of tho Church of England but would shake the House of Lords to its foundations. Lord Loreburn has stated that the rejection of the Government’s honest attempt to solve the religious dilficutly would lead to tho establishment of secular education. Yet another Minister. Mr Winston Churchill, has urged the constituencies to be ready to support the Government in the event of Tt being brought into collision with “an unsound and irrespousiole assembly., which had become a partisan weapon of one particular faction of the State.” When the Education Bill is defeated —as it almost as-; suredly will—the Government will have an exceedingly effective rallying cry in its appeal to the workers of Britain, with whom the House of Lords finds little favour.

The ’Land Tenure Bilk which has been taken over by the British Government (in resisting which ,action Mr Balfour was defeated by over two hundred votes), was introduced. in the House of Commons by the Hem. T. C. 11.. Agar-Robartes, Liberal member for Bodmin (Cornwall), and; was read a second time in March by » majority of 253 votes. The object of the bill is to extend, cheapen, and simplify the law of compensation for tenant improvement. A tenant may, on the determination of his lease, claim compensation for addition to the agricultural value of the holding, for damage to his crops by game ivhich it is not lawful for him to kill, and for unreasonable disturbance in . his holding. At the time of the second reading the Unionist press complained that the measure was an- attempt to initiate universal dual ownership in England and Scotland. In the course of a speech last month Lord Carrington, President of the Board of Agriculture, urged tenant farmers to show that they were in deadly earnest about the Land Tenure Bil'ji, otherwise the House of Lords would reject it. Whether farmers were granted a charter or not would depend cm their enthusiasm in the matter.

A recent-cable message reported an interesting discovery in West Australia. Dr Klaatsch, a scientist of Heidelberg University, is prosecuting extensive inquiries into the customs • and ethnology of the aborigines of the Territory, Ho has collected a mass of 'intcrestdng and valuable information, and a great number of skulls end skeletons. One of his discoveries is of unusual interest. This is a species of the Darwinian missing link in the person of a Port Xveats .black now in for having been concerned in a Port Keats tragedy. This man possesses feet like liands, or like .the feet of a monkey. The big toe is as far back on his foot as the thumb on his hand, and the other toes have similar relative proportions on his feet as the fingers oh his hands. This, if a single example, might be considered abnormal, but the blacks

are emphatic that there are numbers of natives in the unknown country between tho Daly and tho Victoria Rivera with foot like hands. Strangely enough? a correspondent of the London ‘‘Times,” writing from Ceylon, gives further testimony in support of th* great evolutionist's theory. Thus, Darwin’s conclusion that the progenitor of our races of domestic fowls was tho or' rimary jungle - fowl of India has been put to tho test of experiment in Ocy lon, where it was claimed that thn wild fowl of that country interbred with the common hen. After many ex. pertinents, Darwin has been proved cor-‘ rect. Tho chief’test was the mating of hybrid birds, for if that could be achieved tho question would ho settled in favour of the Ceylon jungle fowl being regarded as a parent stock. But , not a chicken has been obtained from this mating.

Sydney’s response to tho appeal by tho Young Men’s Christian Association for £15,000 to erect a suitable homi" for tho association will bo regarded with special sympathy in Wellington, whore £IO,OOO was raised a few mouth? ago under very similar circumstances. In these two successful campaigns tho Y.M.O.A. has given many kindred socioties an object-lesson winch ought to prove valuable, if only as showing what may ho accomplished by organisation and perseverance. Tho last week of tho Sydney campaign was marked by an offer which added stimulus to the. closing days. On Tuesday, October 30th, tho Y.M.C.A. officials received a telegram from two gentlemen in tho country—brothers—promising £SOO to the fund on condition that a total of, £14,500 was raised by Wednesday last. The funds then in hand amounted to £11,591, so that the collectors wore given eight days in which to gather in little less than £3OOO, with a prize of £3OO as the reward for success. Tho last £3OOO, it will readily bo understood (particularly ; by' those persons who participated in tho Wellington, movement), presented much greater difficulties than the .previous collections, and it says much for tho energy of the campaigners that their effort? have terraiifatcd successfully.