THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Volume 25, Issue 2321, 25 August 1898, Page 33

THE WEEK.

" Nnnquam nliud natura, aliud supientia dixit."— Ji/vrnil. "Good nature and good sense muac erer join."— Popx.

Monday's Daily Times contains a communication from its own corresStnflhig pondent at Wellington Avhich Hansard. demonstrates the insatiable

desire of the Premier for personal, autocratic rule in everything. Anyone will admit that it is essential that an unimpeachable record should be kept of doings and sayings in Parliament. It is true that much of what is said there is not, worth perusing, and it is equally true that for that reason looking for information from Hansard is akin to seeking grapes from thorns. But hitherto Hansard has been accepted as a true record, wherein, aogm^ers have often found

their utterances rise up against them "like the ghosts of a dead past. The supervision of Hansard leporfcs is supposed to be entrusced to a committee, consisting usually of gentlemen who have been, or are, connected with the pre^s. But the labours of that committee consist of condensing reports according to their importance or the magnitude of the occasion. To report every member verbatim, as the speeches leave the hands of the official reporters, would be too great a task, ai.d too great an infliction on public patience. It has never occurred to the Committee to insert anything in a member* speech that the member has never said. That custom prevails iv the American Parliament, where a representative, by leave, and under due restrictions, may secure (ho admission of a document to the records, but it is done openly, and is simply for the puruose of saving time. Some few years ago the ried'lon Government usurped the control of I! c lltinsard staff, which was previous vaitex the care of the Speaker on behalf nf the House, and consequently the House iuls not only, iv defiance of all precedent, been deprived of the control of its own officers, but the door has been opened to wider evils. If Hansard can be stuffed with pages upon pages of tables, compiled on behalf of the Ministry, by civil servants for the purpose of manufacturing evidence to bolster up Seddonian finance, it is not difficult; to believe that any statement may find its way there, since, while it may not be possible to actually misquote a member from fear of detection, it is comparatively easy to smuggle in something a member did not say, because few members stay and listen attentively to all the speeches. It is trickery of this kind thafc makes the rule of Seddonism so repugnant to all who are not blinded by party prejudice.

In spite of the boasted ease of Seddonian fi-

nance, the urgent lack of Kailway ready money stands out proitoHing St-ock. minenlly at every phase of the action of tho Railway department with respect to the deficiency in rolling stock. The Minister himself has let the cat out of the bag. Dives is starving in the midst of his gold. To a deputation which waited upon him, said deputaton consisting of such approved Government supporters as Messrs Morrison, Ward, Millar, Larnach, Guinness, and Carncross, Mr Cadman said thafc before Captain Russell's amendment was proposed instructions had been given to put on 80 meiK Now, it certainly seems to us that the most straightforward course would have been to have said so at the time the amendment was proposed. Of course, we recognise that there were various subsi antial Government reasons why this honest and open course should not have been followed. First of all, the Government never approaches an object directly ; it prefers to sidle round towards it in a feline manner. Secondly, it would never suit the Government to have iL ever supposed that it followed any course at the instance of the Opposition. This indisposition to follow any given line of action, even though ib happen to be the right one, except upon its own initiative, is also characteristic of the Government. Thirdly, the amendment gave the Government an opportunity of " rounding up " their followers, and makiug them feel the pressure of their bonds. We declare without hesitation that no Government that was fortified by a consciousness of right, and had confidence in the fealty of its supporters, would have made the amendment proposed by Captain Russell one of no confidence. That episode has now passed, however, and has but added another to t^e innumerable political sins committed of late years. What the country now wants to know is how it came about that the rolling stock of the railways has suddenly been discovered to be far short of actual and prospective requirements. It is only too apparent that not only has the department starved the railways and worked them " down to the bones," as practical men say, but that there was actually not enough money in the public chest to pay the men until the critical balancing period was actually past. We all know that kind of business man who is eternally turning a corner. His need is always desperate at the fourth of the month or the twentieth, or else it is the bank's half-yearly balance that places him in a "temporary" financial difficulty. Such men are always ready to produce a balance sheet proving that they are not only solvent, but can pay 40s in the pound. When the inevitable end comes, and the estate passes into other hands for realisation they bemoan the wickedness and incompetence that realised only 15s. The Minister told the deputation that the deficiency was due to the abnormal increase in traffic during tho past two years. But this statement will not stand the test of examination. The number of tons of goods carried for three years has been as follows : —1896, 2,175,943; 1897, 2,461,127; 1898, 2,628,746. No phenomenal increase here. The number of sheep carried in four years was: — 1895, 1,519,921; 1896, 1,839,712; 1897, 1,964,110; 1898, 2,356,595. As a matter of fact, the increase | has been, (steady, and ought to have been pro- I vided for out of the money borrowed for railways last year.

The motto ox 'Jed " beslobborers" (we borrow

the word from the proceedTlie Real Koad ings of the Education to Board, and where can one Fortune. sio for a higher authority?) ' of the Government appears to be that you cannot bestow upon Ministers more " slobber" than they can cheerfully absorb. Two gentlemen who have been actively engaged for a number of years in , the fascinaung pursuit alluded to, and who, not discouraged by these years of weary ! waiting, kept it up with unflagging per- ■ sistency, until at last their reward was j bestowed upon them, have now the right ! to innate Hansard and go free on the railways, and are happy. Their "merits" — as adulation and sycophancy towards people who have good things to bestow are called nowadays — have procured them a title and seats in the Legislature ; and one would think that after so many years of anxious and tireless tootling on the Ministerial tinwhittle handed them for the purpose, they might wipe their hdnourablo brows and take a brief rest, if not, indeed, indulge for a change in some not too obtrusive degree of mental independence. The Hon. Me Lee Smith, indeed, has already betrayed

symptoms of doing so ; he has made a sensible speech or two, i f we r^men'ber right. Tho Hon. Mr Twoniey. h.jwci - ?v, lias grown so accustomed to the cunlmii'-.iis exercne of tootling jusl alluded to thai, f yon in tlis gilded halls of the Upper House his mind find muscles continue to work together at the old, old tuno which has brought him his tardy reward. Speaking on the Bunking Bill the other day, he explained to the country that its present pro&peiity, such as it is, is duo to the banking legislation of the present Government. Of course we are not going to attempt to make fun of a great truth of this kind. The thing, in fact, is its own bmleoquc — an achievement in oratory tlinl paralyses the powers of ridicule. As an utterance, it is monumental — it ought not to be spoiled by garnishing, but should be gazed upon in Hansard in reverential siiencp. '" To appreciate it," as Bunlhoino say. of hi.'< nursery poem, '■ it is not necessary to think of anything at all." ([t might be ?dded that no person who had failed to observe these same instructions could have ever uttered the sentence we have quoted from Mr Twcnney's speech ) The blessings of possessing (at a probable cost of several millions) the Bank of New Zealand, the A&.sets Company, and tho Colonial Bank have never been placed in quite so lurid a light before — not even by Mr Ward himself, — and a profound sensation should be produced upon the London Stock Exchange when the intelligence of Mr Twomey's opinion (which is not quite the same thing as the resultant opinion of Mr Twomey's intelligence) bursts upon the bond-holding world. Now, at last we ought all to know how to become rich. Financial prizes like the Bank of New Zealand, the Colonial Bank, and the Assets Company are, doubtless, not to be picked up every day by individuals — it lakes a Liberally-governed colony to acquire lightning fortunes like that — but we have all of us friends, if we only like to cutivale them, whose liabilities are multiples of their assets, if even iv a modest way. Let us each take one such over — assets, liabilities, and all, — and then go to England and keep our carriages firever.

We are rejoiced that after much hesitating and half-muzzled expressions Heroism of indignation from various

by quarters the scathing power Letters Patent, of Mr Scobie Mackenzie's

finest rhetoric has at last been let loose upon the scandal of the heroic Wrigg. The colony badly wanted a mouthpiece to voice its disgust — we hate that word in politics, but for once we find it the only suitable one in the dictionary — at the sordid history that has been unravelled in connection with the issue of the New Zealand Cross to this obscure protege of Mr Seddon. Nothing is sacred, of course, from the contamination of Tammany, as we all knew before this latest instance. The sources of justice have been recklessly defiled, the Legislative Council has been stuffed with truckling nonentities, the Cabinet itself (outside of two or three leaders) has been a home for nobodies, and now we have the Queen's honours chucked to a person whose almost sole qualification for the title of hero appears to be that, after he has allowed 30 years to ensure general forgetfulness of a very commonplace incident, he has said he is one himself. There happen, quite unexpectedly, to be a good many people living ■who do remember that commonplace incident, and those people say he isn't, and never was ; but he wanted the New Zealand Cross, and Mr Seddon knew of some very good reasons (which had nothing to do with nasfcy wars, "and battles, and unpleasant things of that kind) why he should get it, and get it he accordingly ultimately did. We do not know quite so much of the facts of the case as Mr Scobio Mackenzie (and many others "in Wellington) evidently do, and we are therefore unable to quote as justified his vivd presentation of " a man who had gone round the colony creeping and crawling to get people to testify that he was a hero." But quite enough has been unearthed of this transaction to make it clear that the Queen's honours have been tampered with, and that under the present Government solicitation, not soldierly conduct, is the key to the tibbon basket. Are there any more heroes d the Wrigg order and the right colour who have perambulated some peaceful country road in the North Island in the sixties, and feel like petitioning to be bedecked for the achievement? If so, why not come along? Never mind what people with inconvenient memories say, or what prying public men to whom public honour is yet dear may insist upon bringing into the light of day. " Yet there's room " where the Wrigg medal came from ; and a hero, unlike a poet, if net born can be made.

We note the revival of the Midland Railway trouble, in the shape of an The action against the GovernMuddled ment by Mr Coates, the 7eMidlaitd. ceiver appointed for the com-

pany, to recover compensation for the alleged improper seizure of the company's property. It is very difficult to make the exact history of this somewhat extraordinary affair clear to the general reader, and at present we have not the space at command to review it ; but it is one that is regarded by outsiders from curiously opposite points of view. The English stock- , holders and debenture-holders to a man iegard themselves, for instance, as having been < simply swindled. We are not sure but what , they were, but not in the way they mean. ' The " swindle " took place, if at all, much earlier in the Listory of the concern than ' the seizure of the property by the Crown, and it belongs to the political history of New Zealand, as well as to the financial story of the company. The Government, and especially Mr Seddon, regard the whole thing on the other hand with unmixed gratification. The.y, too, have good cause for their feeling. It is impossible not to admire the skill and daring with which the Ministerial action in this matter from the time immediately j preceding the seizure to the present, has been conceived and executed. It is legiti- . mately a feather in Mr Seddon's cap — none ' the less so becau.se, in his necessity,, be | waived his political prejudicps and called in . the invaluable aid of Sir Robert Stout. The third party to the business, if we may so call him — the New Zealand taxpayer — regards ( the entire complication ■with, singular indiffe- -

rence (in so far, at any rate, as he I out oj Canterbury). That, no doubt, is ci.o to vie real difficulty of undorstun. ;';*.■ * it, ;uv£ especially of keeping its extioiwly interesting successive steps in his Wuid during tiio long; intervals which sepavile its specific cevelopments. Otherwise, its intimate connection with politics daring 14 years, and its unique course of evolution, would certainly make ita history more widely known than is actually the case. We have read the summarised pJeas in defence of Mr Coates's action, and we continue to recognise in this latest instance the sagacity and boldness with which the mat ter hss been so long conducted. More than this, and especially as to the rights and wrongs of the matter, we canr.ot. of course, go into in connection with a pe/Kiin*? eviuse. It is, however, always a pleasure to us to commend the action of public men, and wo have long been* impressed with the belief that a high order of ability and caution has been at work on th« part of the colony in connection with the curious life history of the Midland Kail, way.

The Premiers of the colonies interested have made another, and, let ua TI 'o hope, effectual, protest fcew Guinea against the grab of New Ora! >- Guinea by the syndicate. The

concessions granted to tho syndicate, if carried into effect, will effectually throttle the progress of the island, Mid delay the natural solution of the difficulty that arises from its position with respect 1o Australia by European settlement under the usual conditions incidental to colonisation. In his articlo recently published in out columns, Sir Charles Dilke enumerates the various kinds of tenure by which Britain holds foreign possessions. "Ho does not include New Guinea, but the method by which it is held is not less curious than any. In 1883 Sir Thomas M'llwraith took possession of part of the island on behalf of Queensland in order to prevent German aggression, but the Home Government refused to endorse his action. In 1884 a protectorate was established, and in 1888 the part now known as British New Guinea was formally annexed. The administration is entrusted to a governor, and Queensand, New South Wales, and Victoria jointly guarantee the sum of £15,000 annually, "receiving in return in some nebulous way a voice in the administration of affairs. The German sttempt at settlement has been an ignominious failure, like all Continental experiments in this direction, and the island could only be of value to Germany as a Pacific base in tha event of war. If the reasonable protest of the Premiers is not now listened to, they have determined to withdraw from their share of contributing, and throw upon Britain the responsibiity of maintaining New Guinea as a Crown colony. But if this should follow as the consequence of an action declared b}*- those who ought to know to he calculated to .work disastrously, the British Government cannot acquit itself of- tho grave responsibility of disregarding the warning. In spite of its climatic difficulties, and the fierce character of its inhabitants, New Guinea is steadily being prospected fcr gold. But if the syndicate obtains the -concessions it asks for, there will arise the anomaly that in a British colony a . single organisation will have the power of forbidding access to nearly all the land because it retains a preferential right to selection over a great part of it. No doubt it would dole out concessions to mine for the sake of improving the value of its own lands, but that would be altogether inconsistent with what; colonists have come to regard as freedom. In colonies where even private lands a^o not regarded as sacred against the intrusion of the miner there is likely to be a strong objection to the sanctity of lands owned by a syndicate. Rightly or wrongly the Australian Colonies have come to regard New Guinea as part of Australia, and essential to its freedom from interference from outside. If Mr Chamberlain chooses to intervene and grant conditions which 'he colonies interested regard as unwise, and plants down in their neighbourhood an institution that promises to beget evil his professions of solicitude for imperial and colonial interests must be taken only for what they are worth.

Those who are in the habit of reading Australian newspapers must have Very observed t-ne great promiAmericmi. uence given in them to events that have a criminal flavour, or, failing that, events that bring death and destruction in their train. We were much struck with this peculiarity, from which we are glad to say the New Zealand press is pimost entirely free, on reading the last Australian letter in the Otago Daily Times. It appeared on Monday morning, and contained five paragraphs, four of which described deeds of crime and the other a dangerous pastime. The conductors of newspapers know their public, and accordingly serve up the items which will sell their papers. In doing so, of course, they practise decent restraint, for a spicy divorce case or a piquant scandal will at any time cause a rush for a, paper whose conductors have no scruple. But it unfortunately happens that while no one who has a grain of self-respect will retail venalities in conversation, hardly anyone thinks it necessary to refrain from discussing crimes. Are you proceeding by train to business in the morning, should there be an account of a murder in the morning's papers, it is safe to assume that it will engross the conversation. Though the crime rate in the Australian colonies does not materially exceed that in New Zealand there are proportionately a greater number of accounts of crimes, and this is solely because the contors of newspapers there find that their customers prefer that kind of pabulum. This is perhaps haruiy to be wondered at. There are men and women yet living who remeiti-. ber the days when might was right, and when the disorder inevitable after a fevered rush of settlement was intensified by a strong infusion of the convict element. This has not vanished quite so completely as some good people imagine. There still exist, more especially in New South > Wales and Queensland, vast acres of pastoral lands unsettled. The inhabitants ars chiefly wanderers, who have but hazy ideas of right and wrong. "It would be possible within 100 miles of cither of the capitals of the colonies to collect a 1 *, choice a band of ruffians, going about armec*,. mi ever indulged iv an orgia at an Arkansas

grog store. This turbulent element "was particuarly prominent during the successive shearers' troubles, and it is from this class that are drawn those who commit the offence of sticking up from time to time. To such men the grave of John Hall, the bushranger, at Forbes is a hallowed spot, and they will still point with pride to tie scenes of early outlawry. It is not that the population as a whole possess criminal 'tendencies, but the colonies named have a large number who are continually furnishing the breakfast table with sensations. Happily, they are no longer bloodthirsty. The decadent" bushranger now uses toy pistols and pieces of wood.

H.M.S. Porpoise recently returned to Sydney from Suva, after a cruise among the islands, with news that Falcon Island, mid; ,way between Tongsttabu . and the Haapai group, and immediately opposite the Nomuka group of islets, some 27 miles to westward, has disappeared. Falcon Island was of volcanic origin, half a mile or more in diameter, and had an altitude of 40ft aboye the sea level. It was uninhabited, and its disappearance is doubtless due to the Jate. volcanic disturbances in the Pacific. . The 'Penguin was surveying in the Tongan groups when the Porpoise left, ancl it is profcaMq that her commander will visit the spot. •■" vey the surrounding waters, and make noU> pn this interesting occurrence. Some remarkable revelations were made in the Insolvency Court, Adelaide, during the examination of John Curtis, turf commission agent. The insolvent said ho began business as a bottle gatherer, aud amassed large profits, afterwards turning his attention to the turf, from which he gained a handsome income, although unable to read or write. Sorno idea of his transactions was given in the statement that in two years he paid away bycheque over £6300, of which £4900 was drawn in the space of 12 months. In addition, he made £150 from the gates at Onkaparinga during two successive years. But he reached the Bankruptcy Court in the end. On Thursday last Miss Loudon, who lias ibeen assistant mistress of the Waipori School for the last 12 years, was presented by the residents with an address and a purse of sovereigns on the occasion of her leaving to take Tip a similar position in the Highcliff School. 'Mr S. Caudwell, the chairman of the School Con.niittee, made the presentation, and Mr Eerr, head teacher, suitably replied on Miss DLoudon's behalf. At a meeting in the Mount Cargill Schoolloom on Friday evening, Mr Tennent presented r Mr Thomson with a handsome travelling bag and a pencil case. The former gift bears the inscription, " Presented to D. H. Thomson by ,the church members of Mount Cargill, August 29, 1898." In making the presentation, Mr Tennent referred to the excellent service Mr Thomson had rendered to the church by coming Ifrom Dunedin Sunday after Sunday for over eight years to act as precentor. The congregagation, he said, also owed to him a debt of gratitude for the energy and perseverance -which he had shown in securing for them an organ to assist in beautifying their worship. iMr Thomson replied, thanking the congregation for the beautiful and useful present they had made him. There is to be some rather extensive prospecting done for coal in the Upper Clutha 1 Valley. Three coal leases have been applied for in that locality. If a good seam of coal could be got about Queensberry, it would give an impetus to dredging on the Clutha. j • At Gore on Friday William Rae was committed for trial at the Supreme Court for ', stealing a horse from a contractor's camp. A charge of stealing a watch Avas adjourned. I