Topics of the Day.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XIV, Issue 710, 7 January 1919, Page 1

Topics of the Day.

(By Bystandmr;. The short Parliament of New Z?a land has ended. The' last. 'scrap of legislation has been- rushed through , The -doors of the Houso have been bagged, barred and bo' ted; and our lolitical Siamese t}^ is are av..iy. vVZien we reflect onz the shame7-"ss has^q that markel the- proceedings, m Parliament, it is easy to s>g how Mti".-*' it was to them lhat the Niagara ■ should hot be quarantined, and.de spite Sir Joseph Ward's indZgnaut .declamation it will 1^ very, hard to convince the = peopl^. .of. flic 71)6 " miuion that it was -not the' chief reason the passengers- were all to. land from tin Jn'ot-tol ve >;:•!. As it is our rej" ;s -.!;.• -cos w'Z Xi late' for the.' Confeiv X,.hA pr7jal:y that will trouble theiu but -iule as long as rhey arrivo in. : .iini * f >r ths, merrymaking an-d pigeah ._y <■[ tho final peace ce!e*bra.iops, - a .il are o hand when the reward's m iho sh .-..:-. -7 of titles and de'coralious are b.; .- handed out. -y Before leaving, tlie .'. two .ministers wore given ~a sort of pcriiameiit^ry. send-off at which fulsome -flattery oad exaggerated . adultation.-. wero t.eiped on them, that ardent reformer, . Mr McGoembsß, joining m the chorus of 'praise, although he Ikjs to 'thank the Primo Minister for th;- ..;efeat of his latest effort at reform. .- Mr- Massey took ad^ifug.i of the opportunity to _ assert jthut •' b^th he and his colleague wou'd^jav.e-preferrad-to.remain" here, but th^y -fv-U it "to be their duty to; 'go to-'Eng!abd," a statement that will bareeeiv'ed with a good ,doal of cynical innredu.i'.y. If the Prime Minister /was so noxious . to remaia heie it was easy f:.r bin to do so as . there appears to bono reason for a small country like this having two representatives at the Conference, and I Tjiave hot Ihe slightest doubt tha&7 "ihe Finaacg Minister would- have ibeeb only too. pleased to go alone. But the fact of j the matter is that -nSi her of them' dares trust the other put of his sight."! The relationship, betw.ai'n them v not entente cordiale, but an 7 -armedneutrality. .'. -.. \-..." However, they had soma^nei^loe's wishes to consult, perhaps more •potent than tho Imperial Government -.or the people of New Zealand and: that was Mrs Massey .and LaVv Ward, who, whatever the . dtsires. c 7 their husbands, may have bean, are 'most probably overjoyed; at ths prQT spect of B gain spreading themselves out m the stately homes, ef. England > •and associatig with duchesses, and, countesses, whilst Mrs Massey will no ; doubt comfort herself "for her. present titular inferiority to Eady Ward with the reflection that she. wilt propably be Lady Massey When they, return. . ./ -. .- • j On the other haud,;it is highly" probable that there 'is many yan aristocatic lady ia .thq; old cdutitry who looks forward with. feelings of b'. nor to the time that' Is a^ain a.p^, propelling, when, ' iv ? 4he inten'sls* of the Empire she^ will; have to be gracious to. a crowd t ofT bblonia': parvenus 7- "whose- .gducberusTz ahd solecisms continually j^r on patrician nerves. . : ..

'■ Althougb wo are now at peace with ih; Central.; Powers, there aie dark clouds still on ihe political' i_o:iaon ia Europe and p-ob!e_H- Invito be iea t with that" wi i require all. the " ast'itobes^', rleterta^^iiou^ndi'iraource^ of :, h.! Afiie-.1- ioade.B 10 0- ps w..h. ■.Unhappily Presi -Jen t Wilson appears likely to bo utfcher a stumbling ".. -block."" than an aid m arriving ai; a set.ie . ment as he appears, to be going to' -the Conference asa so*t of " Devil's Ad'vooite," demanding changes th# J cannot be accepted by Britain. l"have never bad much confidence m him, and it has heea obvious since •the pui break of oho wur that he was .not -T.aetuared. •by ■' very friend/y teeling* 1" >r Britain. " Ho has now thrown off all disguise and we "now learn .hit the cryptic doatrine of the Freelpm _oi. tbo Seas, tha-i no one hither: o understood, meio3 nothing less th?n tbo de'siruction oi Britain's ***c.v Supremacy th.it Wi?s' tbe main factor ia iho defe.it of the Central Powe-s. We are told, moreover, that '•If Mr. Wilson does not succeed iv' Inducing Great Britain to abandonher i(Ua of sea supremacy the United •fates wfll proceed with her. programme which is destined to make. • i.ho United Bia^s equal'and, perhaps,. -. superior' to !~':yjar:i op 'the Sea. That was Germany's" droam, and we know how it-ended ! There is hot a man m the British Empire but who would j rather see oar glorious fleet go to 'the | bottom of the sea with the flag flying . m a naval Armageddon- th-an that our j sea supremacy, so vital to £he existeac6 cf the Empire, should be voluntarily sacrificed to Presideut. Wilson's whims. ; ; ' '.>■■ It has been decided by Britain aud- • France. -Jtliat' the Kaiserf the Crown Prince, and it is to be hoped, the the military chiefs m the late war are" to be brought to justice, and that Germany shall pay an indemnity ,to the ufcterm )st . penny m discharge of tho enormous expenditure she has caused the Allies to incur, To both ; -thase .proposals 'theV President appears tbboopposed, so that it seems evidently, to say the least of tt, that his. leanings are not very strongly' on the ■ aide of America's late Al'ies. aS^ ■It" is not va'y reassuring bo bear that Mr Wilson is to. visit /'the, ' Pope, ; and appropaately,o.nodgh will occupy Zthe rooms m tbe v Qaisinal'whioh#he ex- Kaiser occupied The Pope, as%he head. of tbe groateafc. political organisation m the world, would bo only tod glad to see Protestant England humiliatsd and the enormousT power she possesses destroyed. It was' with this / end m view that tho opposition to - couscription-in Ire'and, Australia/arid- ■ Quebec wero organised, although m tbqiatter case th^ adverse vote m the y -0 holic province was ignored by the C radian Government • . ■ " ;--■■-■■- ' - ..-'■<...