TRUTH TELLS.

NZ Truth, Issue 253, 30 April 1910, Page 4

TRUTH TELLS.

Criticial Current Comments.

PAROCHIAL PIFFLE.

Auckland has lately been developing an undue penchant for airing its real and fancied grievances, which is, beginning to bore one by reason of the' monotony of hearing of them. A "storm of protest" i was aroused by the northern city's pari liamentary representatives over the Government's expressed intention of abolishing the vice-regal residence m Auckland. i The "storm of protest" (an expression dl hyperbole for which the Auckland "Star" -is responsible) was aroused, be it. noted, by the Auckland members, i.e., A. Ji. Glover and C. H. Poole (for F. E. Baume is away), and not by the citizens of Auckland. On reading the violent utterances of little Glover— whom apparently the /Government did not deem necessary to acquaint with its intentions— one would imagine that a great and lasting indignity had been cast upon the northern city, e.g., by depriving it of its rights to claim rank as a city. "This land is the heritage of the people," said Glover, "and I shall exercise every constitutional means available to retain the grounds for the people of Auckland"; and, again, "1 can give you my positive assurance that 1 shall exercise my best and strongest influence m the direction of keeping the good old traditions of the past faithfully safeguarded." Thus thundered forth tbe diminutive member for Auckland Central to a "Star" reporter. The idea of Glover using his "influence" i to safeguard the "good old" traditions is preposterously absurd ; but talk is cheap, "and. he was merely "skiting fl m the fashion of most of the Opposition to a newspaper man. Now, what is all this "storm" about ? Let us come down to solid bedrock. Wellington is the 'official metropolis and seat of Government of the Dominion. That, of course, has always" been a sore point with the Aucklanders, who are apt tq' lose all sense of proportion m their judgment ol matters political and otherwise.. . i'ariiament; sits m Wellington alone ; the Prime' Minister arid the several members of the Cabinet all have their , offices m Wellington. It is only right and proper, and m strict accordance with constitutional practice, that the Governor should reside where his advisers all have their headquarters. A properly-equipped Government house* is now m course of construction, and is approaching completion m the metropolis. With due regard to economy and a laiwiable desire to abolish all unnecessary extravagance, the. Government has very properly decided to dismantle—has, m fact,, dismantled— the figurehead residence m Auckland. Hence is aroused a "storm, of protest" from (not the Auckland citizens, but) the Auckland representatives m Parliament, a "storm" which the Auckland "Star" is trying, with the aid of the valiant Glover, to magnify into a veritable cyclone. The fate of the Dominion does not depend^ upon a vice-regal residence, and, while one such establishment may be, and probably is, necessary, there exists no palpable reason why Auckland should have one simply because the metropolis has. If Auckland, why not Christchurch and. Dunedin too? On the same principle, why not establish one at every town m New Zealand, and then no one could reasonably "complain ? " v - .

SALMON D SUCCEEDS.

Mr Sahnond, who, heaven be praised, has expressed his disapproval of the prefix of "Prof." (so suggestive of a quack doctor or an ' itinerant corn -„ cure man), has, since his assumption of the oftice of Solicitor-General, blossomed forth ' into a lawyer and an advocate of the very first water. He is unquestionably a man of sound legal knowledge, and can run rings round most X.C.'sin an abstruse argument ; his predecessor,, a relative of "Deeds that won the JUmpire" Fitcbett, was not a brilliant success m the office, tout indolence was probably the true explanation. By the way, why is it that academic "Legal Liberty" Findiay.seldom or never appears m court for the Crown? What does he do for his sal-asy-?j

A "REVERSION OF FORM."

"{netemeat" Wragge has recently bees devoting his energies m tbe direction of proving by means of a certain stone found on the west coast of the Coromandel Peninsula that prehistoric man inhabited New -Zealand; Tbe stone, be says, weighs l&b, and has a human face carved upon it. Tins doesn't seem very strong evidence that New Zealand was formerly inhabited by prehistoric man. "Truth," however, cordially agrees with the conclusions of the . y ueeuslajtd exmeteorologist, and, indeed , goes one step further, and asserts, wittaout fear .oftcontradiction, that the Dominion is more or less inhabited now by people of a prehistoric, antediluvian, and aottquated character who are so insular that tbey do not realise the' extent to which they are behind tbe ' times.

• • < "TMEMW ALLOWS IT."

Were "Truth" to baldly make the assertion tbat there are no Police Courts m New Zealand, it would probably meet with an equally bald assertion that such was an egregious pervious of that virtue which gives its name to this paper. Nevertheless, it is a fact. There is no "PoKee Court" m New Zealand, although the term is frequently used. The point was referred to by Mr Salmottd, Solicitor-General, m the Court of Appeal at Wellington recently. He said that a "Magistrate's Court" is known, to the law, but not a police court. "A Justice of tbe Peace has no court," he added. But they get there just the same, and the average New Zealander slinks round corners with a furtive air, never knowing when the law may come down on him wifth sledge-hammer force for sometning thiict has just beea legally declared to be ■an offence.

UTO€ IN A CAVE.

"Truta" is. becoming weary of endeavoring to impart to the New Zealand press some knowledge of current events m Australia, as the. result is somewhat disheartening. As. ShaKespeare, (or someone else) once said, ■ "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis foily to be wise." Under date of Sydney, April 18, "The Northern Advocate" publishes the following telegram :— "lt is believed that the New South Wales Premier, Mr Wade, contemplates accepting the Chief- Judgeship, made vacant by the death of , Sir F. Darley, and that Mr Wood, Chief Secretary, will succeed Mi Wade as Premier." /As a matter of fact, the vacancy m the Chief Justiceship (not "Chief-Judgeship"), caused by the death of the Right Hoa. Sir Frederick Darley, P. 0., G.C.M.G., was filled, long prior to the date of this telegram, by: the appointment of the Hon. Dr. Willjum P. Cullen, M.L.C., as Chief Justice of New South Wales. The vacancy to which the Wangarei journal's correspondent really referred— and m relation ta which the .name of the Hon. C. G. Wjade, K.C., M.L.A., Premier of New South Wales, was mentioned— was that cawsed by the , retirement of Sir George Bowen Simpson, senior Puisne Judge ot the Supreme Court, which vacancy has since been filled by the appointsmen* of Alexander Gordon, K.C., one of Sydney-' s most eminent Equity and Bankruptcy . counsel. Meanwhile Me Wade remains Premier of New South Wales, despite repeated rumors that h« | contemplates seek.'ig the seclusion of tfeti I judicial bench.