SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13889, 29 April 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

POLITICAL, AND GENERAL,

The New Zealand International Exhibi-

tion, which was opened at Haglcy Park, Christchurch, on the Ist November last, was closed on the 16th April, when speeches were delivered by his Excellency the Governor and the Acting Primo Minister (the _ Hon. W. Hall-Jones). The official figures with relation to the attendance at the Exhibition are exceedingly misleading, and afford l ' no basis of comparison with (ho attendance at the previous important Exhibition in the colony—that at Dimedin in 1889-90, —but it is undoubtedly tho case that a large proportion .of the residents of the colony visited Christchurch and attended tho Exhibition. And when the increased revenuo that has been earned on tho railways in consequence of the undertaking, and the increased receipts from. Customs duties that aro also attributable to it are balanced against the direct. loss which has been incurred over tlio Exhibition, it is probable that it will be found that the net cost of the enterprise to the colony has not been very

considerable. On the other hand, it is

. to be recognised that there was no unusual i influx of visitors from Australia, and that the object which Mr Seddon had in view in originating the Exhibition scheme, of advertising tlio colony to strangers, tvns hut imperfectly realised. Unfortunately, also, Jie manner in which the important •business of judging the exhibits was per- . formed cannot be regarded with any feeling other tlnin one of profound disappointment and dissatisfaction. Under the regulations that were submitted to tho exhibitors, none of whom fseem to have raised any objection to them—probably because) tho judging of the exhibits had been delayed to a time when every nujtncnfc was precious if tlie work was to 1)0 completed before the date of tho i closing,—extraordinary powers were entrusted to the superintendent of awards: he was at liberty to alter any award made by the judges in the case of appeal by a dissatisfied exhibitor, and also to

alter and 1 amend any of the regulations that were laid down for his guidance.

It cannot be said that there was any

lack of generosity about the distribution of awards. Roughly, every second exhibit that had been entered for competition was awarded a gold medal, In addition

a largo number of silver medals were granted. But before the work was completed the superintendent was- suspended in consequence of irregularities, .it having-

been discovered that in ono class there had been an apparently deliberate tampering with, the judge's decisions, and a few days later lie shipped away from tho colony by a Homeward-bound! steamer ' under an assumed name. The' whole of the . circumstances are such as to have created a very unfavourable impression. Tho Government cancelled the awards in tho class in which there was evidenco of irregularities—tho class for wines and spirits—and invited the exhibitors to submit fresh samples, but this the Australian exhibitors have declined to do on the ground that any awards that might now bo granted would bo valueless. The Government has taken stops to sccnre the arrest at Monte Video of the levanting official and his extradition on u- cniuge of having misappropriated Exhibition funds. ■The annual conference of delegates from the Trades and Labour Councils of tho coloiiy was 'held' in Dunedin early this month. Tho Socialistic aims of the conference were as markedly' conspicuous as in previous years. The usual resolutions in favour of the State ownership of clothing and boot .factories, flour and woollen mills, bakeries, iron works and iron shipbuilding yards, and of the coastal and intercolonial shipping wero carried, and flthong other revolutionary proposals that commanded tho support of the delegates 'fas ono-urging tho people of New Zealand to "demand legislation thai will initiate a system of producing the necessaries of life and: of supplying them, to tho people at cost." Upon the subject of the recent, etrike of slaughtermen the conference made no direct pronouncement, but- its sympahties wMi the strikers were only thinly disguised, and it went out of its way to attack the Attorney-general (Dr Findlay) and tho Minister of Labour (tho'Hon. J. A. Millar) for, as a resolution put it, their " uncalled-for, offensive, and contemptible reference to the fellowworkers of Australian extraction in the slaughtering industry.'.' Upon the general .question of the character and effect of the law relating to industrial conciliation and arbitration the conference held its discussion behind closed doors, but tho conclusion that was arrived at was expressive of disappointment with the results that havo flowed from the existence of the statutory arbitration system. "Tho Conciliation and Arbitration Act," tho conference affirms, "is not even a practical solution of tho economic and social troubles of the wage-earning class, nor can it ever touch tho matter unless the court is given power to adjudicato on the matters of interest-,! rent, and profits at the same time as it dcids with that, of wages"—a rather unduly hopeless conclusion!

• Tho report of tlio Meikle Commission, consisting of Mr Justice Edwards and Mr Justico Cooper, who were appointed to inquire into tho claims of one J. J. Meikle for redress in respect of his alleged wrongful conviction (in 1887) and imprisonment on a charge of sheep-stealing, lias been issued. The Commissioners, after giving full weight to the evidence, conclude that it was insufficient to justify the conviction, and that Meikle should be treated as having been acquittal upon a retrial beforo them of the charge of sheep-stealing, of which he was found guilty. Tliey point out, further, in respect to tho cluim for pecuniary compensation, Meikle having already, accepted £500 from tlio Government in full satisfaction, that his present claim cannot be put higher than as an appeal to the bounty of the State, and that Parliament alone has tho power to regulate the bestowal of its bounty in such manner as it thinks fit. Further than this, the Commission suggests that if it- be thought, desirable to adopt tlio remedy of quashing the conviction on motion by 'the Attorney-general and entering M acquittal, the necessary legislation 6hould be general in its terms and be by no means limited to Jleikle's case.

•A section of tho Otago Central railway was opened to Clyde on the 2nd inst. hy the Acting Prime Minister (the Hon. Mr Hall-Jones) in the presence of a large crowd of settlers and others interested. It has been understood for soiuo timo that Clyde is to be the terminus of tho line for the present, pending the completion of other railways that are under construction, but. a representative deputation of residents 'of the Upper Clutha waited upon Mr Hall-Jones while he was at Clj'dcj and strongly represented to

him the claims of this district to lmvo the work uninterruptedly prosecuted, and the Minister undertook to reserve the matter for the consideration of the Cabinet. The Acting Prime Minister lws also during the month turned the first sod of the Gore-Waikaka railway, a short line of easy construction, the cost of which will be met qnt of the proceeds of debentures subscribed by the settlcns who will benefit from the existence of the line. The record of serious, casualties anil grave offences during the month is, unfortunately, somewhat 'heavy. Through the capsizing of an open boat in the Hauraki Gulf on Easter Monday, foul' persons were drowned—two of them brothers, the sons of itlic only survivor among the occupants of the boat. A inotorman in the service of the Electric Tramway Company at Auckland has been committed for trial on a charge of manslaughter, arising out of the death of an old man who was knocked over by a t-ramcar, and a married woman.at Christchurch, who is apparently addicted to bouts of intemperance, has been similarly committed- on a' charge of manslaughter in respect of the death of an infant, the allegation being that,she caused the child's death by neglecting to give it proper food, care, and attention, Chrietclmrch lias, indeed, supped full of horrors lately. As the outcome of a sordid street tragedy a man named Smithers ' is. under remand on a charge of 'the attempted murder of a woman who had been living with him; and the- mysterious disappearance of an' illegitimate child led to the arrest of the putative father, a young warehouseman, named Hellvcr, on a charge of murder, the sequel to this event being-the death of Hellyer from self-poisoning.

There lias been a good deal of political activity during the month. The Minister of Lands (the Hon. E. M'Nab) and the Leader of the Opposition (Mi W. P. Mossey) havo each addressed several'meetings in the Auckland district, presenting the land policy of the Government .before tho electors from different aspccte. In the South Island, the Minister of Education (the Hon? G-. Fowlds) has'spoken at Cheviot and the. Attorney-general (t'li'c Hon. Dr Findlay) at. Palmerston, the design of eacli being to expound the virtues of the Land Hill, while, on the other hand, that measure lias been subjected ,to searching criticism by Mr Thomas Mackenzie on two or three platforms in it-he south and by Mr James Allen at MilleiVFlat.

Mr G. Payling, who was Deputy-mayor of Christclmvch for tho'past- term, in which capacity, as a consequence of the regrettable illness of the Mayor (Sir John Hail), a great deal of arduous work devolved . upon him during' the Exhibition period, has been elected •without opposition to the mayoralty of that city for the ensuing term. There were contested elections in 1 each of ithe other larger .centres. Mr A; M. Myers was re-elected by "an overwhelming majority in Auckland, neither of his two opponents being taken seriously by the electors, and in Wellington the retiring Mayor, the Hon. T. W. Hislop, was returned for a third term;' his opponent, Mr T. M. Wilford, M.H.R., being defeated by 2695 votes. In Dunedin the contest was between two councillors—Messrs James Gore and John Loudon,—and the election resulted in the latter being chosen iby a. majority of 1241 votes.

We have to record the death, during tile past four weeks, of Mr E. M. Smith, M.H.R. for Taranaki, as the result of an ficcident-; of, Dr Robert Burns, a wellknown practitioner of long standing in ■Dunedin • of' Mr W. H. Eyes, Superintendent of Marlborough for" some years, and at one time a colonial politician of more than usual prominence; of Mr P. C. Tlirelkeld, a 'successful sheep-breeder in Canterbury ; and of Mr John Smyth Fleming, of. Balclntha, ,

| Two important positions in the public | service havo been filled during the past month. Mr D. Robertson, who had some months earlier been promoted from the position of chief clerk in the General Post Office to that of assistant secretary aiid inspector of the .Postal Department, has now become Secretary of the General Post Ofllce in succession to the late Mr William Gray; and the office of Engineer-in-Chief, rendered vacant through tho death of Mr P. S. Hay, lias been fillcd'by the appointment of. Mr R. W. Holmes, who has obtained all his experience in/ the service of tho .colony and had gradually worked his way from the humble capacity of cadet 4o the position he now holds.

His' Excellency the Governor paid an official visit during the month to Central Otago and the :Lakes district, and was received with loyal demonstrations at each of the towns and settlements at which he stopped.