BRITISH POLITICS IN 1911.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10962, 30 December 1911, Page 2

BRITISH POLITICS IN 1911.

The year 1911, whose last sands are rapidly running out, and which is on the eve of joining the silent ranks of Its predecessors, while marked, hy few extraordinary and world-stirring events, will find a place on the universal calendar as a year of comparative peace and prosperity to the nations of the world. Whilst, in its course, other events of supreme importance to the British people and .the Empire have occurred, the year will be especially memorable as that in which the Coronation of our Sovereign took place and as witnessing the profoundly interesting and deeply impressive crowning of King George as the Emperor-King of his vast Indian Empire. IN THE REALM OF STATESMANSHIP the closing year will be regarded in later days as one of the most momentous in the annals of British, parliamentary work. The events to which reference is here made have not. come as meteors on the political horizon. They have come as the necessary and obvious effects of long-existing causes. No ordinary observer of the political life of Great Britain could have failed to realise that what has occurred is precisely what might have been anticipated. These events have long been recognised as inevitable, not only by the leading statesmen of Great Britain but by the great body of her people. GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS.

Never in the history of the British Parliament have greater things been attempted and achieved than during the expiring year. We are too near to, these achievements to gauge their significance; but the future will render apparent their transcendent importance. Of late years a new birth has clearly come to our people, and wants are voiced with a forceful intelligence which must command the attention of statesmen, if there is to be national peace. Nothing could be more startling than the advance, of human thought and the conception hy the masses of the need of some higher form of human existence than is their lot now, though it is so much better than that of their predecessors-—of some realisation of life befitting men and women made in God's imagei' It is. such thoughts as these which are working as leaven in the minds and hearts of our leading statesmen, inciting them to such heroic efforts as the State can. put forth to meet the articulate .cry of the people. They see that tlie old order is passing—that ancient institutions must be supplanted -' "by expedients adapted to modern conditions. And that to disregard the appeals of the people is to risk the very existence of the Empire itself. Such is the impelling power of those who are seeking to establish

THE NEW ORDERS OF THINGS and to prepare for the better day whosa rays are already illumining the horizon. And great minds amongst, ourselves are evidently inspired by such sentito: work out a higher and worthier form, of. existence" for the people of our great Enipire whose high national status consequent on her justness and: comparative beneficence, notwithstanding her shortcomings, compel | her to; safeguard the national .stability and her great sons' and daughters to maintain with pride the long : succession "of a noble ancestry and to ms>;rch forward "at the" urgent call of- duty. The loud "and long, acclaimsjvVth which the walls of St. been vibrant, \as Britain's ~s£'atesmen have sought to; unfold "thM'r ""''J-> MEASURES OF''AMELIORATION for the greafy'masses of the subjects of our Sovereign, bear glowing testimony to order of things which has arisen.

The legislation with,which the Parliament of Great Britain has been concerned during this closing year has all

liad in view the impassioned sense of the people's need. The great legislative measures which have engaged the tinn* thought, and resources of the House or Commons during the past ses.-ion and the previous year as well have all had this end in view. There was. in the judgment ~f ,>.,;• responsible statesmen. an insuperable burner in the path or progress in the avowed hostility ol the House of Lords to such measures a.s the pcopb-'s Chamber passed. Hence the cesiseless effort to remove the obstacle. Nor have they been deterred . because the opposition was formidable and seemingly unconquerable. And now, happily, after long waiting and dauntless effort', the way has been opened to triumph. Now we may confidently expect the passing of measures which will confer incalculable blessings and STABILITY TO THE WHOLE EMPIRE.

Let us quote the Prime Minister, whose handling of the Veto Bill has placed him in the front rank of British statesmen. Speaking of the "Lords"~the Premier asked: "Favorable to whom? Favorable to some great cause? Favorable to some vital principle? Nothing of the kind. Favorable to the maintenance of their powers and principles! It comes to this: You have a frankly partisan Assembly, always ready to pass the Bills of one* party and reject and maim the Bills of the other party, subject only to the restraining consideration, that as it rests_ upon a purely hereditary basis and in the long run is devofd of any other authority, itmust be careful at all hazards not to risk its own skin.". . . "We have no Second Chamber at all, but only the travesty and caricature of such a system." When the Conservatives are in office. there is no Second Chamber, "but when the Liberals are in office it is the only Chamber that counts." Here, then, we have the Tcason for

THE VETO BILL. It is to secure the full rights of the great body of the electors, so that their will, as declared at the polls and by their representatives in Parliament, shall.be made effective. This is the victory, that has been won. Equal treatment for both parties, with all that it means. The fight , has been protracted and severe: the odds seemed to be on the side of privilege, but, as the commanding voice of the constituencies was too much for the oppressors, they yielded to save themselves. Nor was this a victory merely for party. It was not an honor by which to glorify onp body of statesmen or to gratify one class as above another; it was a victory for the commonweal and the safety of the Empire and the advantage of the world. There was no unreasoning antagonism. Every effortwas made without surrender of principle to arrive at- an agreement on the proposals. Two elections were fought and won over them, within a year, with overwhelming majorities for the Liberals. A truce was granted and a conference held at the suggestion of

KING EDWARD. The pourparlers lasted from June to November of 1910; but without avail, although if a true and unselfish spirit had prevailed, the dispute ought to hare been amicably settled. The Lords were not prepared to yield the

LORDLY POWERS AND PRIVILEGES

which they had usurped and used for their own "selfish and party ends. They considered only that class whose measures for a hundred years, as the Lord Chancellor affirmed, had been all passed without an exception. Such a state of things could not last, and the Prune Minister fought heroically to the bitter finish, and if the Lords would not surrender voluntarily, the only course was to compel them to surrender by the power of the Royal prerogative. She Prime Minister was not to be beguiled by the pretence of the House of Lords to reform itself. Its repentance came too late, to be regarded; and, ultimately, without driving Mr Asqnith to extreme measures.

THE HOUSE OF LORDS PASSED THE HILL.

Efforts had been made to avert the inevitable. An ex-Lord Chancellor (Lord Halsburv), supported by his "Die hards," took the field, but their tactics also iguominiously failed and terminated in a mere banquet to the fine old fighter. The value of this victory will be best estimated by future generations. For the present, it will open the door for the placing of useful measures on the statute book. But even now it remains for the "Lords" to be wisely reformed on democratic lilies and to «*ive it a legitimate place in the Constitution. Rule by Divine right is to be abolished, its numbers are to be limited, and it is to be constituted a revising and advising body, with a wel - defined power to delay for a time all hastv legislation which might be passed by a snatch vote in the other CliamThis is the House which the Prime Minister proposes to call into existence before the end of this present Parliament. It is well to remember at this stage that the real author of the \ eto Bill is not the present Prime Minister, nor his illustrious predecessor (Sir Henry CampbeH-Bannerman). who once passed a Veto resolution. The real author was Mr John Bright, who unfolded the scheme in Bingley Hall. Birmingham, on August 4. 1594. On the same platform a verv different scheme was implied in a speech delivered by Mr Joseph Chamberlain, in which that gentleman shewed little mercy to the House ot Lords. ... Mr Bright said: rThe question which is now before us is this: The Lords do now what despotic monarchs did formerlv Shall we submit? or shall we curb" the nobles as our fathers curbed the Kings? I wish to act on the old lines of constitutional advance. !r our forefathers could curb the Crown, their sons can

CVRB THE NOBLES. And, to fulfil the prophesy, they have been curbed. Now for Mr Chamberlain's words on the same occasion. Said Mr Chamberlain: -'The House of Loras for a hundred years has never contributed one iota to popular liberties or popular freedom, or done anything to advance the commonweal. During that time it has protected every abuse and sheltered every privilege; it has denied justice and delayed reforms; it is irresponsible without independence, obstinate without coinage, arbitrary without judgment, r.ml arrogant without knowledge.'' The issue of the fight has found the gifted LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION -

yielding up his position, whose duties lie has discharged with conspicuous abilitv. if sometimes with a lack of the sense'of what was due to his rival. And now Mr Blfour is succeeded by a leader whose Parliamentary career has been comparatively short, and who has been placed in the position although he has nerer held any prominent governmental office, but whose great mental force and debating power, together with rare business gifts, mark him out as certain to prove a famous leader, though, to all appearance, he is likely to accompany his camp followers during a proloiiged period in the wilderness. It is somewhat remarkable that the same session which saw the introduction of the Veto Bill has also witnessed the introduction of

MR LLOYD-GEORGE'S INSURANCE BILL,

which promises some of the highest benefit? to the great toiling masses of Great Britain. On its introduction, from all sides of the great House came cheers and applause when its intrepid author had finished his speech, lasting over two hours. The Bill is divided into two sections: Sickness and Disability, and TJnemployjnent. ' It makes such provision for the

MILLIONS OF WORKERS as to const it me it one of enormous industrial and social benefit. At present 42,f100.0(Jf) workers insure against death, 6,000,000 a.gainst sickness, and only 1,400.000 against unemployment. Despite heroic efforts, there are 250,000 lapsed policies every year; state the Friendly Societies. Whilst the Bill pays deserved "honor to the great Friendly Societies for their splendid services, still there remains an enormous mass of distress and misery to be dealt with. • Probably no other statesman in England at this hour, was competent to general such a measure. Few men are endowed with such gifts as those possessed by Mr Lloyd-George, and the experience which help him to enter into, tin sufferings and needs of the poor. Bom

and brought up in the humble home <;i his uncle, lit- knows, sis few men in his position to-dav know, the virtues and laults of tin.'" classes. And yet there are many who regard hi 3 .-'■heme s- n!ie which will .squander the people's money. They fail to realise tii<. wiij.- u'.ilf which .-('[);>. rates :ich and poor, ami til.' claims which tile masses have 11- wealth-producers to participate mf.:c fuilv in the benefits of wealth. The world-wide labor unrest cannot he disrog.-uded without serious reprisals. All the facts and figures of tile Chancellors measure cannot he tabulated here. The estimated figures of the persons who would come within the State scheme are. however, as follows :

Men, compulsorv 9.200.000 Men, voluntary* ' 600,000 Women, compulsory ... 3.900.000 Women, voluntary 200.000 Bovs and girls under 10 ... gOO.OOO

Total ... ... 14,700,000 Mr Lloyd-George laid' great stress on medical attendance. It is to the interest of the. family, the employer, and the State that THE WORKMAN SHOULD BE RETIRED EARLY.

Special provision is made for consumptive sanatoria, and for maternity. Those coming tinder the unemployed proposals will be 2,200,000. - Taking the two schemes together, the total sums raised in the first year will be £27,000,000, of which £24,500,000 will come as contributions from workmen and employers and £2,500,000 from the State. The State contribution will rise to £5,000,000 after four years' operation of the scheme. It is hoped that the formidable opposition of the medical faculty may be satisfactorily settled. Amid all these absorbing issues the nation had little time for others matters, Imperial or otherwise; but Britain is always agitated by questions which touch her affairs either at home or abroad, and

i INTEREST WAS SUDDENLY AROUSED by a famous speech delivered by LloydGeorge in the Mansion House to the London bankers, and which closed with the following words: "I conceive that no.tb.ing would justify the disturbance of international goodwill, except questions of the gravest national moment: but, if a situation were to be forced upon 'us in which peace could only be preserved by the surrender of the great and beneficent position which Britain has won by centuries of heroism and achievement, by allowing Britain to be treated, where her interests were vitally affected, as if she were of no account in the Cabinet of nations, then I say emphatically peace at this price would be a humiliation intolerable for a great country like ours to endure." In the spirit of these noble words let us bid adieu to the departing year, full of hope for the Empire's peace and safety and for the righteousness, prosperity, and happiness of the British people.

THE LICENSING POLL. The tremendous vote cast for National Prohibition on December 7th was more startling to the outside world than it was to New Zealand itself, and the reason is not far to seek. The "Trade" received provisional notice to quit when, in 1593, the New Zealand Government granted to the people of this country the right to vote for No-license. Ever since 1894, when the first local option vote was taken, the No-license vote at each triennial poll has shown such a striking increase that it became easy to predict the entire overthrow of the sale of liquor in New Zealand at no distant date. The following are the figures that sound with increasing clearness the death-knell of "The Trade" :

No-license Year. Vote. Minoritv. Majority. 1596 ... 98.312 41,268 1809 ... 120,542 23.420 1902 ... 151,524 3,075 1905 ... 198.76S 15.884 1908 ... 221,471 33,331 It is because of their familiarity with these really striking figures that New Zealanders have been prepared in great measure for the note of advance sounded by the votes recorded on December 7th. * That preparation would have l>een still more complete if the liquor question in this country had been decided, as all other questions are, by a bare majority vote. In that case for nearly three years now New Zealand would have presented the spectacle of tho sale of liquor entirely abolished in all but 16 out of the 78 electorates. It is the handicap of a three-fifths majoritv that has limited the operation of No-license so far to 12 electorates. The provision in the Licensing Act Amendment Act of 1910 for taking a National Prohibiten vote, in addition, to the No-license vote, introduced an element of exceptional interest into this vear's poll. All kinds of predictions were indulged in concerning the probable effect of the new issue on the Nolicense vote. Many hoped, and some feared, that the practical result would be a distinct set-back to the remarkable progress previously • recorded. The actual result shows that the prophecies of retreat have all been falsified. A larger vote than ever before has been cast for No-license, and the new National Prohibition issue, at the very first venture, has secured a majority of more than 55,000. There can be little doubt that the National Prohibition issue is mainly responsible for the fact that, although* the total No-license vote is the largest on record, no further additions have been made to tho number

of No-license districts. I Tt is of interest to note that in eight electorates, other than the present Nolicense electorates, a three-fifths majority vote was secured for National Prohibition, so that if the voters in those electorates had only obeyed the injunction to ''Strike out the top line on both papers," the number of "dry" areas in New Zealand would have been increased to 20. But there, as nearly everywhere else, the majority of the • voters preferred to exercise their right to vote the liquor traffic to death outright, rather than by the piecemeal process of local No-license. Various attempts have been made to explain away the bigness of the vote for National Prohibition, but the fact remains uncontestable that the great majority of the people in this country have made up their minds that the liquor traffic must go. It is certainly a remarkable circumstance, without a parallel in any other country in the world, that, out of a total population of a little over a million, more than a quarter of a million of votes have been cast in favor of prohibiting the sale, mauufacture, and importation of alcoholic liquor in any part of New Zealand. The significance of that vote as-

yerts itself in various ways. Big as it is. it leaves the liquor traffic, for the present, unmarked by a single scratch. | The three-fifths majority is the high fence behind which Trade" lies immure and laughs at all attempts to injure it. It is not wonderful, therefore, that 'the demand now most immediate and most insistent is that that fence must be lowered. Of the newlyelected members of Parliament it is reported that 43. a clear majority, are in favor of reducing the majority to 55-45 oer cent. They will certainly be called "upon to redeem their pledges. The heavy nature of the existing handicap is seen in the fact that, notwithstanding the 55,000 majority secured for National. Prohibition, nearly additional votes would be required to reach the three-fifths necessary to make it effective. With the handicap lowered, as it doubtless will be, to 55-45 per cent., the next vote for National Prohibition gives every promise of lifting the liqnor question, once for all, clean out of the pathway of New Zealand politics. No country in the world offers so fine a field for so threat an experiment. NEW ZEALAND POLITICS. IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

The year was one of unusual activity in political circles, and its close was marked by excitement throughout the constituencies. At the Imperial Conference New Zealand was represented by 'lie Prime Minister and Sir John Findlay, whose services in the cause of Imperial Federation have been recognised on all sides as invaluable. Sir Joseph Ward's proposal for a Council in which 1 all the British dependencies would be represented was not accepted. There are difficulties in the way of the scheme, but it is generally admitted to be on

the right lines and that it will, with modifications, probably be carried out in the near future. Parliament- met later than usual, and until the return of the delegates, who were such indis-

pensable elements in the Legislature, at the end of August, sessional work was not pressed. On their arrival a num.. b"i- of imjxirtant measures were submitted, and. though the session was comparatively short, the most was made of the time available. ••FOR THE CAL'SE THAT LACKS ASSISTANCE."

The most prominent measures passed

Mas an Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the care and custody of mentally defective persons, including those who are incapable of man-

aging their own affairs owing to mental disordei. or mental infirmity arising

from old age, or the decay of their faculties, or owing to being mentally weak from birth or an early age; or those who, though capable of guarding themselves against common physical dangers, are incapable of earning their own living, or who, though feebleminded, may be capable of earning a living under favorable circumstances, but are, through mental deficiency, incapable of competing on equal terms with their normal fellows; or epileptics. "In all these variations of pitiful mental insufficiency the State makes provision which will promote the comfort of the subjects as well as protect the welfare of society. This philanthropic measure, so long needed, is mainly due to the industry and solicitude of Sir John Findlay.

FOR THE SAKE OF THE POOR. The Old Age Pensions system was improved, so that those who might be possessed of small properties would no longer be penalised, and a male, at 60 years, or a female, at 55 years, who is the parent of two or more children, receives a special allowance not exceeding £ls per annum. Another Act provides for a pension for a widow with one child of £l2 a year; with two children, of £18; with three children, of £24 ; with more than three children, of £3O. This constitutes the .social and philanthropic legislation for the year, and is such as to reflect honor on the Dominion. We need not enumerate the other sessional work, which was of the usual kind. THE ELECTORAL STORM.

More absorbing than legislative enactments were the proceedings to select those who create them. Impatient to get before the constituencies, in view of an impending big election, the members of the House of Representatives hastened the end of the session, and, without delay, became embroiled in a life-and-death combat. We need not recount tho incidents and the results. They havo been repeated till they have become inseparable from tho meal table, or the office, factory, or shop, and have provided subjects for dreaming as well as waking hours. Those who value mental rest and a pleasant health-giving holiday will not bo offended if we cut politics short in this review. We shall, therefore only refer to Sir John Findlay's rejection and his retirement into private life. The loss is ours, not hi 9. No yew Zealand politician has ever been more self-sacrificing and placed tho people under a greater obligation to him. It is one of the misfortunes of political life that a great man's goodness and genius are too often only discovered when he is lost to the community. It is an honor to bo trusted to serve the people, but it is an incalculable advantage to the people to have a public man in whom they can repose their trust. Such a man is Sir John Findlay, who has not finally disappeared, however, from the political arena.

MORE TRIBULATION. Before the coming vear has expired there will, in all human probability, be a recrudescence of, electoral activity, with all its shocking inhumane and selfish accompaniments. In tho evolution of human character and destiny these things are as inevitable. An electoral storm clears the political s atmospliero just as an electrical storm purifies meteorological conditions, and the Prime Minister will probably yet decide that the electoral convulsion just over has not effected its purpose, and summon and mix elements for the'more effective clarification of the political atmosphere. There is everv reason to hope that the end of the disturbance will be the reestablishment of a stable, peaceful Government on a still sounder basis, and the continued prosperity and happiness of tho people, of our richly endowed heritage. INDUSTRIAL STRIFE. August last was a month of troubled disturbance. If the astrologers may be believed, the predisposing cause of the unrest was the malignant influence of Saturn and Mars. The general strike was declared within 24 hours after their conjunction. In July the latent feud between the Shipping Federation and the Seamen's and Firemen's Union came to a head. There were partial strikes at various ports, followed by concessions of increased wages to the men. The Shipping Federation does not interfere in wages disputes, and the battle, in the first instance was waged outside its lines. But the victory gained on the wages question by the seamen encouraged related trad.es to endeavor to improve their condition. This spread under the stimulus of Ben Tillett's oratory in London and Tom Mann's in Liverpool until at last sympathetic strikers tied up the whole trade of the ports of London and Liverpool. There was not much dispute, at either port as to the justice of the demands of the workers. These demands were indeed conceded in substance both at London and at Liverpool before the j serious struggle began. After fhe wages and hours question had been settled at the docks, a dispute about the wages of 1500 lightermen kept London port with its hundreds of thousands of workers in idleness. In Liverpool the general strike was prolonged for a week over a difficulty as to the reinstating of two hundred and fifty striking tramcar men whose places had been filled up. Both sides complained of breacEes of faith, of bargains not loyally carried out. The shipowners locked out 28,000 men in Liverpool because a minoritv broke their agreement. In London'loo,ooo men were forbidden to work by their leaders in order to enforce a favorable settlement for a mere handful of workers whose claims were ultimately disposed of satisfactorily by Mr John Burns.

In August a- few hundred goods guards and others employed at the Liverpool station of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 'Company complained that they were only earning 17s a week. The directors replied that wages, etc., were fixed by the Conciliation Boards appointed under the Railway Act, and declined to discuss the complaints of their servants outside the limits of the Act. Thereupon the men came out on strike. The strike dragged on for a few days, spreading to Manchester, but being confined' at first to the Lancashire and Yorkshire line. When the Liverpool shipowners locked out all their men they placed at the disposal of Tom Mann and the strike leaders a force which was promptly utilised for the promotion of a general strike. The Strike Committee adopted the cause of the Lancashire and Yorkshire workmen as its own. Finding that the directors still remained obdurate, they decided upon a general strike on all the railways, nominally for the purpose of compelling the railway companies to meet and recognise the trade unions, but in reality as a demonstration in force of the ability of the workers to "paralyse everything" if their will was thwarted. The NorthEastern Railway Company, which recognises the trade unions, fared rather worse than tho other companies which had refused thorn recognition. The real difficulty about recognising the trade unions is that the railwaymen themselves refuse to join them. Of the 600,000 men employed on the. railways only 75,000 belong to the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, and about

25.000 others to three smaller unions. The two days' strike inflicted upon the public considerable inconvenience. The London and South-Western Railway Company, most fortunate of lines, was not affected in the least by the strike. It maintained all its services without the least difficulty. Other lines were less fortunate. But thanks to the precautions taken by the Government in stationing troops at centres where violence might have, been used ~<~. prevent the passage of trains or the delivery of goods, there was nowhere an entire cessation of traffic. Not more than a third of the railway-men came ! out on strike. If the struggle had

continued the places of many of the strikers-would have been filled up from the. applicants for. work. Instances of sabotage were numerous even in the first two days of the struggle. The North-Eastern men refused to come in at first, and the difficulty about reinstating two hundred and fifty striking tramway men kept 70,000 men out of work for a week at Liverpool. But in the end matters settled down without much difficulty and with a minimum loss of life. In the whole dispute only twenty shots were fired by the military, and only four men were killed injuobs which were savagely stoning the soldiers at Liverpool 'and Llanelly. On the other hand, five or six persons were blown to pieces by the explosion of a. van laden with ammunition, one of thirteen which the drunken mob at Llanelly had looted and fired by way of expressing their defiance of law and order.

The chief marvel of the strike is that an enterprise which dealt so fatal a blow at the vitals of the nation should have been baffled with such little loss of life. Too much credit cannot be given to Mr Winston Churchill and the military authorities who acted under his orders for the patience and firmness which they displayed in keeping within bounds the forces of disorder which civil strife always lets loose. The chief surprise of the strike was its sequel in the shape of an outbreak of an anti-Jewish pogrom, in Monmouthshire and South Wales. There, seems to be no real cause of complaint against the Jews in South Wales. But a Jew is always a Jew, and therefore a man more liable to attack and spoliation than a Gentile, merely because, he is a Jew. Australian trade" has been' in a continuous simmer of unrest throughout the year, several disagreements having lasted for months, notably that at Lithgow, where the grievance is the employment of non-unionists, and at Mount Lyell, where the wage question the bone of contention. New Zealand industries have been carried on with an almost entire absence of freedom, until in this week one or two sporadic grievances cropped up to spoil so excellent a record.

THE YEAR'S DEATH-ROLL. "Golden boys and girls all must, Like chimney-sweepers, come to dust"— Says Shakespeare; another wav of stating that Death is no respecter of persons. If any proof were needed of . the truth of such a commonplace it ! could be found in the records of the Great Reaper during the 'ast twelve months. The cables kept up informed , only of the deaths of those who were < "born great," "achieved greatness, : or , "had greatness thrust upon them": 4 they gave no account of the passing of ] "mute, inglorious Miltoau," or "Crom- . wells guiltless of their country's blood." . The following list bears testimony to \ these facts. 1 Two royalties passed in the persons of < Queen Marie Pia (Dowager Queen of i Portugal) and Princess Clotilde Bona- ] parte. ' Among the titled nobility many pre- j eminent celebrities were marked by Death for his own. In January the ; death of Lord Collins was recorded—a ] very prominent legal dignitary, who oc- ] cupied such high positions as Master of < the Rolls, and Lord Justice of Appeal. 1 Lord Cawdor died in February. He ( had attained, in 1905, the distinction. ] of First Lord of the Admiralty, and had . held many important and onerous posi- < tions during a long life. In the same i month there died Lord Wolverhamp- , ton, who'was a M.P. for E. Wolver- • hanipton 1880-1908. He was Secertary , to the Treasury, 1886; President of the I Local Government Board, 1892-4; Sec- . retarv of State for India, 1894-0, among ■ other prominent diplomatic posts. < Baron Winterstoke also died in lebru- : ary. He was a man of many parts, be- . in<' a railway director, chairman of the ] Imperial Tobacco Co., president of the , Bristol Fine Arts Society, and a breeder , of shornhorns and Shire horses lhe , sth- Marquis of Ailesbury died m March. He was M.P. for N.W. Wilts, 1886-92, and was chiefly notable tor tue fact that he owned 40,000 acres of land. The Earl of Carlisle died in April. He was M.P. for East Cumberland, lb/980 1881-S5. Baron Dynevor died in \pril. He owned 10,800 acres. A millionaire philanthropist passed away in the person of Baron Leopold d'Avilher. Other titled persons who died during the vear were: Baroness Alphonse Rothschild, Earl Cranbrook, Lord Airedale (a railway and banking director and ex-M.P.), Dowager Duchess or Devonshire, Baron James of Hereford, Lord Northcote (who held, among other important diplomatic appointments, the Governorship of Bombay, 1899-1903, the Governor-Generalship of the Commonwealth of Australia, and Chancellorship of the Exchequer), Dowager Countess of Seafield, Marquis of Tweeddale (late chairman of North British Railway and ' owner of 40,000 acres, and served in Bengal 1845-62), Baron Swaythling (exMP ) Baron Gustav Rothschild, and the Marquis of Waterford (who was found drowned in the Cladagh River). Among foreign notabdities who died in 1911 were the Emir of Bokhara the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Maharajah of Kuch-Behar, the Maharajah or JNabfta (Sir Hira Singh), M Stolypin (Premier of Russia, who was shot by an anarchist named Bogroff), Ramon Caceras (President of San Domingo, who was assassinated), Prince Troubetskm (also assassinated), and M. Rouvier (ex-1 resident of France). . ,•,••,' + The ranks of politicians and diplomats have been considerably thinned during the year, when the deaths were recorded of Sir John Aird, the first Mayor of Paddingtou, a contractor, and an Al.tr. from 1887 to 1905; Herr Singer, an influential Socialist member of the KeicUstag; Mr Bell, Speaker of the Queensland Assembly; Sir Richard Baker first President of the Federal Senate; Mr J. F Burns, ex-State Treasurer, Queensland; Mr Allan M'Lean, formerly Premier of Victoria, and late joint Premier of the Commonwealth with Sir G. Reid; Mr Irvine B. Dudley, Ambassador at Brazil; Sir Jenkin Coles, ex-Speaker of Adelaide Assembly; Hon. E. L. Batchelor, Commonwealth Minister for External Affairs, who died suddenly whilst walking; Mr MacDonnell, Chief Secretary, Sydney; Alderman John Harris, formerly five times Mayor of Sydney; Sir Harry Yelverton Goring, formerly private secretary to Sir George Grey, in New Zealand; Sir William Tyrone Power, Commander-General-in-Chief of the British' Army; Sir Eldon Gorst, who held high diplomatic offices, and was notable chiefly for his work in Egypt as Minister Plenipotentiary. He was Civil Commissioner at Waikato, New Zealand, 1861-63. The obituaries also include Sir Robert Hart, who held various Consular and diplomatic posts in China from the year 1854 until 1908; Sir Charles Dilke, M.P., an eminent political and writer; Dr Evans, who assisted the Empress Eugenie to escape 1 from France; Mr G- H. F. Rolleston, : British Trade Commissioner; Mr ThalL lon (Brisbane), Commissioner of Rail- ■ ways; Colonel Walker, ex-Conservator - of Forests in New Zealand; and Mr AlJ bert Rothschild. J ' Legal luminaries include Sir Samuel 1 Walker, Lord Chancellor of Ireland; " and Sir George Lewis, the famous law-

yer. . . ~ Naval and military celebrities paid heavy toll to the great Reaper. These include Rear-Admiral Sperry of the United States Navy; General Peit Cronje, who commanded the Western Army of the South African Republics; Admiral Cnrzon-Howe; General Owen Summers, an American Civil War veteran; Colonel Sir Ed. Bradford; General R. C. Low, commander of the Chitral expedition in 1895; Colonel Eustace Balfour; Lord Charles Scott, formerly Commander-in-Chief on the Australian station; and Admiral, Erskine, who held distinguished naval appointments throughout his career and was principal naval A.D.C. to the King in 1901-2. The list also includes General Brim. French Minister for War. Deaths of distinguished churchmen were numerous. ' Among them were — Dr Paget, Bishop of Oxford; Cardinal Moran; the Bishop of Salisbury; Rev. Dr Du Moulin, Bishop of Niagara; the Anglican Bishop of Bathurst; Rev. Herman Adler. Chief Rabbi of the British Empire; Rev. Alex. Low, father of the Presbyterian Church in New South Wales; Rev. Albert Pearsc, of Sydney, a veteran South Sea. Islands missionary; Dr John Paton, Principal of the Congregational Institute, Nottingham; Dr Norman Macleod; Rev. Samuel M'Farlane, a New Guinea missionary; Dr | Frascr, a prominent Australian ConI gregatienalist, and Principal of Camden

College: and Rev. Donald Ross, Presbyterian, formerly of ""New Zealand ; Rev. Jas. Guinness Rogers, Congregationalist; Dr Alexander, late Protestant Primate of Ireland, and an eminent poet: and Rev. Dr Bruce, ex-Modera-tor New South Wales Presbyterian Church. Kings of commerce and finance died in the" persons of W. H. Wills, president of the Imperial Tobacco Co. ; Alfred Holt, the Liverpool shipowner; David Taylor, the famous Australian .sheep-breeder: Moberley Pell, director of the London Times;. Felix W. Spiers, of Spiers and Pond, caterers; and John W. Gates, the millionaire.

Two explorers died in 1911; Edward Whymper, F.R.S.E., who accomplished many daring ascents, and published many books of travel in out-of-the-way places; and Sir Francis Galton, who was a great traveller, as well as a scientist and finger-print expert, and who published numerous works on these subjects. In the domain of sport the obituaries include W. Murdoch, the Australian cricketer, and Birch, •• the eminent jockey, who won the Grand National In 1904.

Literatures-using that word in the wider acceptation of the term, and not as referring solely to writing that is likely to liver—has lost many contributors, chiefly among the jaiks of the novelists. Although he had not latteriy written much, the death of Sir W. S. Gilbert will probably be regarded as that most to be deplored among English writers. The author of the Bab Ballads and of the libretti of The Mikado, The Gondoliers, Patience, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Yeomen of the Guard, Ruddigore, and the other works connected with the Gilbert and Sullivan operatic productions, was possibly the most ingenious rhymster in the English tongue, as well as one of the foremost wits, and gave pleasure to hundreds of thousands' of theatregoers, not only through the Gil- j bert and Sullivan collaboration, but through plays of distinction such as Pygmalion and Galatea, The Palace of Truth and the Wicked World. John ! Strange Winter will also be missed as I a writer of popular novels, chief among which are "Booties Baby" and stories of army life which won praise from so distinguished a critic as John Ruskin. Another novelist of distinction was Hesba Stretton, who wrote for Charles Dickens' publications from 1859 until his death. Myrtle Reed (Mrs M'Cullough) has also gone over to the majority. She is believed to have committed suicide, • and the tragic circumstances of her death lent a special interest to her last novel "A Weaver of Dreams," only recently published. Katherine Cecil Thurston, who made a sensation with her novel "John Chilcote, M.P.," also committed suicide — another exemplification of the saying that authors live unhappy lives. Italy lost one of her greatest writers in the author of "The Saint," Antonio Fogazzaro. Other writers who died during the year were —Elizabeth Phillips Ward, the American authoress; Thomas E. Spencer, the well-known Australian writer; Edward Dicey, author and journalist ; Sir Percy Bunting, editor of the Contemporary Review; and Sir Hugh Reid, journalist. The ranks of pictorial and sculptoral art suffered by the death ' of many notable votaries. John Lockwood Kip-

ling, the father of Rudyard Kipling, died in January. He was an architectural sculptor, and his chief work was done in India. Easily the most notable loss to art during the year was Edwin Abbey, R.A. Literature owes him a debt for his magnificent illustrations to many of the classics. He also painted many beautiful pictures on a large scale, as well as numerous decorative panels, especially those in Pennsylvania State Capitol. John Macwhirter, R.A., was another great artist, who, in addition to painting fine pictures, published a valuable, treatise on "Landscape Painting in Water Colors." Art also lost Douglas Fry, the well-known animal painter; Josef Israels, the Dutch artist; and Sir Charles Lawes-Wittewronge, the sculptor. An art collector of note.passed away in the person of Charles Wertheimer. _ Music suffered by the death of Alberto Randegger, a fomous Italian composer; and Lady Halle (Madame Norman Neruda), a great violinist. While no great actors died during the year, the theatre suffered depletion of its ranks by the demise of Max Maxwell, the actor-manager; Harry Rickards,.the well-known theatrical proprietor ; and Signor Dammacco, a member of the Melba Opera Co. George Sanger, the famous showman, was murdered in London. During the year no great inroad has been made into the ranks of New /.ealand's eminent men. The political lite of the Dominion was rendered poorer by the almost sudden death of Mr I. E Taylor. The late member for Chnstchurcii North was a fearless fighter, his energies being ever directed: to what he considered the people's cause. The news of his death was received with widespread feelings of Tegret. By the death of Mr F. R. Flatman, the Dominion lost another of its best known politicians. Although not a member of last Parliament, Mr Flatman represented Geraldine in the General Assembly for a number of years. One memberof the Legislative Council the Hon. VVC Smith—passed away. Canterbury lost a valued Territorial officer m the person of Lieut.-Colonel Hawkins, and the ranks of journalism were thinned by the passing of Mr George Hart, of the Christchurch Press.

RECORD OF DISASTER. The list of disasters in the year 1911 is a large one, and it affects all countries Many lives have been lost, and enormous damage done to property. The details include —Gunpowder explosion in a magazine at "Wettern (Germany), with eight lives lost; the Houiidsditch tragedy, when some six anarchists were killed in a burning buildbesieged bv police and' military; a train wreck in Kentucky, 6 persons killed; destructive earthquake in Russian Turkestan —700 families homeless; train destroyed bv fire at Grodno and many passengers burnt; the Aiden Craig wrecked near the Scilly Isles; fatal landslide at Madrid, 5 deaths: train toppled over embankment at Cat-heart, South Africa, and many passengers were mangled; fire at Chamber of Commerce, incinatti, several-firemen killed; gales, accompanied by wrecks, on coast of Great Britain; blizzard in North-west Canada; religious riots in Bombay, 18 persons killed!; pneumonic plague in "Harbin, Mukden, and other places, with enormous mortality; nine business nouses gutted in Winnipeg; floods all over New South Wales and Victoria, causing serious damage to stock and property; steamer Parisiana, burnt at sea, ',rew and passengers land at St. Paul's Island and rescued, with the ex-

ception of three; the Aotea wrecked at Capetown; train collision at Pontypridd'; thousands destitute; explosion of dynamite in New "York harbor, seven persons killed and many injured; storm in the Mediterranean, - 15 vessels wrecked and 4.3 lives lost; locomotive explosion in Texas,- 10 men: killed; warehouses and shed destroyed at Buenos Ayres; goods .depot at Havre burned, damage £120,000; earthquake at'Monaster, -hundreds of houses" collapsed; train caught fire at Perm, 7 passengers killed; fire in cinematograph theatre, Paris, 35 fatally injured; avalanche at Silye, on the Black Sea., destroyed a school, 18 perishedi; mining disaster' at Nevada, 11 killed; 15 burnt through upsetting of a lamp at St. Petersburg; derelict barque found at Astrakhan with 30 bodies frozen to death; 10 persons killeJ by fire at mills at Santo Thyrso; 120 persons perished in cinematograph fire at Bologoe, Russia ; eruption at Manila —3OO persons killed; disastrous explosion at Wisconsin, many lives lost; avalanche in Nevada killed 20 persons; walls of store at Nashville collapsed. | burying 30 workmen; cyclone at Port 1 Douglas, 100 people homeless; riots at j Honduras, 40 killed; 150 persons killed

in fire in shirt, factory in New York; I steamer Schelt capsized, at Vancouver j Island, 13 perish; huge fire at Legislative buildings, Albany; plague in India : fire at Constantinople, damage £80,000; ~5 men entombed at Serewton, Pennsylvania; 5000 houses destroyed by fire "it Tokio ; steamer Iroquois wrecked and 25 drowned : tornado in America, many fatalities, damage £500,000; train plunges mtq chasm at Grahamstown, South Africa, 20 people killed; steamer Asia wrecked at Shanghai; 11 killed and 50 wounded by train leaving track's at Eastern, Pennsylvania : half the city of Kirin, Manchuria, destroyed by 'fire; railway accident at Mintiirn, Colorado', 20 killed : extraordinary snowstorms in prairie provinces; steamer Debavo sunk off Dungeness, 4 drowned;-M. Berteaux (French Minister of War) killed by aeroI plan© accident; the- Gayolargo wrecked

in the Bay of Biscay., 20 lives lost; epidemic of measles in Sydney, 300 deaths;_ 60 drowned' in wreck of the Toboga at Ptmta Mala ; fire at Conev Island destroyed 3.000,000 dollars worth of property: explosion in fortress at Laloma, 150 ' killed : shocking earthquake iit Mexico, with great loss of life and. property: train smash at Albuquerque, California, 6 killed: fire in distillery sit Lisbon, great loss of life and property; town of Whitheright, Texas, destroyed by fire; 30 people drowned in ferry-boat fatality on the River Volga; 75 killed by electrical storms in New Xork; hundreds killed by typhoon in Japan; Maricopa, in Arizona, wiped out'by fire.; firein Sydney, damage £50,000; excursion steamer wrecked sit Stockholm, 400 lest; Princeton, Kansas, half destroyed by fire at Fourth of July celebrations; terrible heat wave in America? 675 deaths; earthquake in Hungary, with great loss of-■' life arid property; New York-New-havett express wrecked, 20 deaths; fierce forest fires in Canada; train, leaped embankment Jn United States, 12 killed, 44 sion, at Dubois, Pennsylvania; cloud-; burst at San Francisco; big fire at Constantinople, damage £2,000,000; mine explosion, Mysore, 80 killed; floods in China; train collision near Boston, 1-5 killed; floods in Nicaragua; boat sank on Nile, 100 drowned; fire at Carlton Hotel, London, £30,000 damage; wreck of the Fifeshire;. 26 killed in railway disaster at Lexington Valley, U.S.A.; Knight of St. George wrecked at Tonga ; 81 drowned in wreck of steamer Tucapel at Lima,; theatre collapsed! at Nice, 16 deaths; eruption of Etna, damage £250,000; violent earthquake at Chili; French battleship Liberte blown up at Toulon, 143 killed and missing; violent storms and landslide in Italy, 25 persons killed; gale in North Sea, many boats wrecked and lives lost; mine accident at Rortmund, Germany, 9 killed; steamer Macleaj' wrecked at Broughton Island, 12 drowned; earthquake at Salonica; 6 miners entombed, at Joplin, Missouri; severe earthquake throughout Central Europe; terrific explosion at Bibby's oilcake works, Liverpool, 33 killed; explosion on City of Lincoln, 6 men killed; mine explosion at Knoxville, U.S.A., 100 entombed; steamer Delhi wrecked at Strait of Gibraltar with Duke and Duchess of Fife aboard: great floods in Wales, hundreds horned NORTH OTAGO'S BEREAVEMENT. The hand of death has smitten North ' Otago and South Canterbury very se--1 verely, and more than ever this year have we to chronicle the passing of old settlers—men and women whose lives are inseparably bound up in the history of the Dominion's development. Included amongst those who have gone to their rest during the 3 T ear are: —R. Robinson (South Oamaru), R. Mitchell (Oamaru), Mrs E. M. M'Lachlan (Waimate), Mrs W. Ambler (Papakaio). Maria Cleverley, George Fow (Waimate), Mrs Ebenezer Glass, John Simmons (Hampden), W. H. • Valpy (Oamaru), Jane Deans (one of Canterbury's original settlers), Mrs Langdon (Oamaru), John Eason (Weston), Anne Walker (Maheno), Christopher Harold (Oamaru), John Crawford (Hampden), John Burgess (Waimate), John M'Leod (Oamaru), J. H. Every (Dunedin), GraceGordon Garrow (Ardgowan), Margaret M'Culloch (Waimate), George H. Graham (Waimate), Mrs John Johnston (Waitaki South), Leslie Wylie (Maheno), Malcolm M'Lean, Elizabeth Searle (Kakanui), Mary M'lvor, John Manchester (Waimate), David Hainniill (Oamaru), Mrs P. S. Hay (Duntroon), Elizabeth Nicholson (Richmond's Crossing), Mrs George Mathieson (Hampden), Margaret M'Cann (Herbert), Helen Fairley (Oamaru), Annie Wright (Hampden), Robert Markland (Oamaru), Mrs Mitchell (Herbert), Adam Baillie (Timaru), Elizabeth Fletcher (Oamaru), Mary Ann Bain (Kurow), Mrs Smeaton, Mrs Walker, Goddard Taylor, William Stevenson (Island Cliff)i H. Baker (Waimate), John Budge (Herbert), Mary Grant (Richmond's. Crossing), John O'Connor (Waikakahi), Bridget Kennedy (Morven), Martha Kerr White (Papaka>'o), Christina Munro Tait (South Oamaru), Louisa C. Cleary (formerly mistress Oamaru Grammar School), John M'Dougall (Waianakarua), Martin Power (Palmerston), Thomas Gibson (Ngapara), Martin Petersen (Oamaru), Janet Cunningham (Oamaru), Caroliue Graham (Otepopo), Michael Morgan (Oamaru), James Barclay (Palmerston), Helen Wills (Papakaio), Thomas Mee (Incholme), Barney Winters, Alexander M'Kenzie, Mrs S. Donaldson (Hampden), Mrs A. C. Weir (Hampden), Joseph Scott (Enfield), James Paterson (Oamaru), John Lyte Allan (Oamaru), Mrs W. Armstrong (Waihaorunga), John Healey (Oamaru), Adam Glynn (Oamaru), Robert Black (Reidston), William Easton (Richmond), David Sandilands (Oamaru), Agnes Marcks (Maheno). Neil Docherty (Ngapara), David Miller (in England), Mrs Franklin (Waimate), W. Reynolds (Willowbridsre), Mrs Matheson (Kakanui), Thos. Shalders (Kakaphaka), Annie B. Jewell (Oamaru), Henry Sidon (Oamaru), William Frame (Herbert), William Barnes (late of Hakataramea), Rebecca Austin (Oamaru), George Will (Oamaru), George Stewart (Kakanui), Alexander Moncrieff (Oamaru), Patrick Morrissy (Kaka.nu,i). William Boyd (Oamaru), Joel Cayford (Taipo), Winnie Shand (late of Enfield), Elizabeth Rowlands (Teaneraki), James Watley (Oamaru), Mrs M. B. Simpson (Oamaru), Susan Campbell (Oamaru), Christina Rosie (Tees street), Edward Carter (Hamp-den),-Elizabeth Everitt (Oamaru), Mary Smylie (Herbert), Sussanua Sumptjr (Oamaru). Alex. M'Donald (Oamaru), Alex. M'Auley (Lome), Edward Butt (Glenavy), Anne Lawson (Oamaru), W. H. Schl'uter (Pukeuri), Hugh M'Caffety (Kakanui), W. H. Cot-trell (Oamaru), Jeremiah Markham (Totara), Catherine Irvine Nicolson (Hampden), Hugh Findlav (Airedale), Georgine Robertson (Herbert), Mary Gilchrist (Herbert), Mary Jones- (Ouse street), Adeline Biss (Oamaru), James Robertson (Tokarahi), Robert Grant (Upper Waitaki), Mary Cameron (Herbert), Charles Peach (Oamaru), Margaret Russell Ogilvie (Oamaru)