WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. WEDNESDAY, JULY iU, 1901.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2471, 24 July 1901, Page 49

WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. WEDNESDAY, JULY iU, 1901.)

THE WEEK.

" Sanqaam illud o&turt, »ilud itpientia dixtt."— Jotimal. "Good nature aud good lease must erer join."— form.

The two New Zealand by-elections have been decided — 'Christchurch

Our in favour of Mr G. J. By-EleetJous. Smith, who was a member

of the House for the same constituency from 1893 to 1899 ; and Patea in favour of Mr Heslop, who is new to parliamentary life. His majority over the Opposition candidate has, however, been reduced to one vote, so that he cannot yet be considered very secure in his seat. But he is the Government candidate, as the phrase now goes, and innumeralble instances go to show that where there is a stroke of luck in the case and Mr Seddon is a candidate for it, it invariably falls to him. We may therefore consider Mr Heslop elected, but whether he is going to add to the intelligence or to the usefulness of the House we shall have to wait awhile before we can judge. Mr Smith, of Christchurch, was a mem-

■bea* of the Left Wing when that small but self-assertive oody was in existence. When he enters the legislative Chamber he will find his old colleague Mr Pirani there as the •sole survivor of the electoral decimation. Mr M'Nab was also one of the band, but he took fright at the general election, and allowed him&elf to be rather unceremoniously thrust into the arms of Mr Seddon. Mr Smith is an able man, and a useful member of Parliament. At his first election in 1893 he got himself rather awkwardly bound to play a role for which Nature never in the least intended him — that of an advanced Radical, or, as lie preferred to call it a " Progressive Liberal," which meant a Liberal so ultra-progressive as to leave- Mr Seddon and his bundle of Labour Bills a long way Jbehind. Mr Smith is also a strong Piohibitionist, and when they were in the House together he was a sort of first lieutenant to Mr T. E. Taylor. With all deductions, however, he is much above the average member, and if he would take the business of Parliament a trifle more seriously, and not allow himself to be too much of a slave to fads, might have a useful public career before him.

It will be seen that we set no store hy the party proclivities of the two newlyelected members. And in truth it really does not matter what they are. Mr Seddon has so many followers that a few more don't specially count ; the men making up the Opposition are so helpless as a check, legislative, financial, economic, or any other, that it does not matter if their numbers are still further reduced. There was a certain Persian King who used to say ,that when women were allowed to meddle with affairs it was high time the men began to put their trust in God. The people of New Zealand will have to trust to Providence that the colony may come through this perilous period of its existence without being utterly ruined 'by corruption, financial juggling, and those harassing restrictions which fetter industrial enterprise, but have come in some extraordinary way to be considered the ibe&t evidence of a " progressive " policy.

The defeat of Mr Findley, the member for

East Melbourne, who was A Satisfactory expelled from the State AsSolution. sembly for republishing in his paper the libel on King Edward VII, \ihich was first printed by the Irish People, is an extremely satisfactory ending to a- very disagreeable episode. It is satisfactory, not because it removes Mr Findley from public life for some years — for we know nothing about the man or his qualifications — >but for various other reasons. First, it endorses .the action of the Victorian Government in a line of conduct which has always hitherto been unpopular, and has generally led to disastrous results. Constituencies almost invariably, and very naturally, resent the summary expulsion from Parliament of the man they deliberately elected to represent them there. When the victim's own constituents so largely approve the action taken (Mr Findley lost the election by about two to one) we may be sure that no arbitrary action has been taken, and no injustice done. Then it will be a, severe lesson to Mr Findley, and to all those who a&pire to representative positions, not to palter with disloyalty and trade upon it for their own benefit. There is all the difference in the world between the most advanced Radicalism, or Republicanism, or Socialism, and the mere desire to spread abroad a scunilous attack upon a person whose high position debars him from the usual remedy in a court of law. No harm will be done by this practical proof that representative bodies have inherent in them the right of expulsion, and that they will not hesitate' to exercise it when the occasion arises.

When we commented upon this subject a few weeks ago we had only before us a few lines of cablegram giving the baie facls. We then said that while at this distance it seemed that the Assembly .was inclined to deal a little harshly with Mr Findley, we had no doubt that a fuller knowledge of the circumstances would reveal some reason. That reason may now be easily detected in the peculiar attitude of Mr Findley towards the House. Asked to .be in his place in Parliament at a particular time on a certain day, he turned up easy, insouciant, and indifferent. Obviously the idea of expulsion had never entered his mind. He had little information to give, and no defence to make. He published the paper containing the libel, it is true, but he had no 'hand in selecting the subject matter. He did not even see it until his attention was drawn to it by some remarks he saw in the Argus. That was all he had to say. A little later, when he had had the opportunity of noting the tone of the House, and saw that the Government was being 'backed up by the Opposition, he in a measure threw off his offensive indifference, and leant rather to the si<^g of the abject. He was sorry that the thing had been published ; he would take care it would not happen again ; he -would even sever his connection with the Tocsin — the newspaper in question. It was too late. The man was evidently not cast in the heroic mould. He did not say the right thing from beginning to end, and fthat approached the right thing was drawn from him under the influence Df fear. The House was ruthless with him to the end, and his constituents have proved as ruthless as the House.

Tht Victoiian Premier, however, made a

mistake in consulting Mr i. Dangerous Chamberlain beforehand in Course. connection with the Fmd-

ley matter. The precise ground the consultation covered is not known. It is alleged that the Secretary foi the Colonies was consulted as to the propiiety of seizing and suppressing the Tocsin, as was done with the Irish People. This line of action, we are told, Mr Chamberlain "deprecated"; but Me are in the dark as to whether he advised or suggested the expulsion. The leader of the Victorian Opposition (who had supported Mr Peacock in the expulsion of Mr Findley) did not fail to use the weapon thus put in his hand. The Government, he properly said,

" should have taken the whole responsibility," and in not doing so they had placed the State in a position 'but little better than that of a Crown colony. There is some exaggeration here, of course, but a considerable kernel of truth at the heart of it all the same. It is perfectly allowable to consult the Imperial Government on my mater which does not admit of authoritative decision in the colony, or where both parties agree that reference to that quarter would be more satisfactory. Even then the reference should be made through the Governor. But it is not allowable for a Colonial Premier to shelter himself behind the opinion or advice of the Secretary of State, or to throw aside any portion of the responsibility that should rest on himself. If he is uncertain aibout the law of a case, as a lay Premier may well be, he has- his Attorney-general at his eJbo-* to advise him. If h« is led into error by advice tendered him he bears the full responsibility, and must answer for it to the House, or ultimately to^he country. It is well to specially note this incidenit of the Findley affair ata time like the present, when crude schemes are in the air ,for " drawing closer the bonds between the mother country and the colonies."' The .tinest and closest bond of all is that which springs from practical independence, from affection, respect, and pride. There is a curious resemblance in the condition of party affairs in A Debat-le. England to that of New Zealand, only that so far as parties themselves are concerned it is. "the other way about." The "great Liberal parly," as Mr Seddon delights to call it, has had a monopoly of power here for a whole decade, and as far as numbers go may .be said to be stronger now than ever, while the Opposition has just resolved itself into its original elements. At Home the Unionist party have the monopoly of power, and the Liberal party, once truly .'jreat, is on the verge of collapse. Sir Wenvyss Reid, who writes the review of .the month for the Nineteenth Century 1 Magazine, and who is himself a strong a<l.herent of the Liberal party, declares that Avhatever the blunders and failures of the ; Government, it is the slate of the Opposition which is the most serious factor in the political situation. " There is something unnatural and almost unprecedented," he 1 says, " in the complete collapse of a party which is the official custodian of the great traditions of English Liberalism, and which ought at this moment to be in command of the support of at least a moiety of the electors of the country." He sees no sign of an early change, either, and judging by the talk in political circles is almost inclined to the conclusion that " the old days when the swing of the pendulum seemed to govern the course of affairs had passed away for ever."' Nothing well could be gloomier than this, although it has to be confessed that since it wa3 written, some six or seven weeks ago, the process of disintegration has gone on apace. We may judge of the rather pitiful condition of affairs by the Asquith banquet incident. Mr Asquith, who is Imperialistic in his views, was tendered a banquet by his constituents, and accepted it. Sir H. C. Bannerman, leader of the Opposition, threatened to resign if the banquet took place. It has taken place, but without producing any startling result. Its tameness was no doubt the result of the fuss niade over it. What has caused this extraordinary downfall? Sir Wemyss Reid, who see& behind the scenes, says that " personal questions and personal rivalries have been perniilted to assume an importance to which they have no claim," and that the present Government continue to be maintained in .power because no one can «cc how they are to be rejilaced : there is no alternative. This latter was the statement made hj Mr Herbert Gladstone (whip of the party) to a meeting at Leeds not very long ago. and which 'brought down upon' his head the wrath of his own party. It i« beyond doubt true, but it doesn't resolve the difficulty ; it onh pushes it a little farther back. Our own contiibutor, " Civis,"' comes nearer the mark, and covers much more ground in saying that the Liberal party in England was ruined by its " opposition to Imperialism and the unity of the Empire." The beginning was ! in 1886, when the late Mr Gladstone's Home Rule Bill drove Mr Chamberlain, Lord Hartingion. and the other Liberals — Unionists as they were afterwards called — away from the party. To put it plainly, the late Mr Gladstone ruined the party. For ourselves, however, we should put the date much earlier than 1886. Mi- Gladstone, capacious as was his intellect, should never have been allowed to meddle with anything outside finance and Home affairs. He had no eye for, and very little patience with, foreign affairs. The colonies he seemed to regard as troublesome appendages of the parent State. His grand policy was to keep out of trouble — and at any price. Hence tlie atrocious surrender to the Boers in 1881. The nation swallowed the policy, but grudgingly, and with * good deal of astonishment. The abandonment of Gordon a year or two afterwards alienated a Lal'ge section of supporters. Finally came the Irish policy, and that proved to be the beginning of the end. The British people made an honest attempt to ."wallow the policy, until they became ilarmed at the hopeless character of the legislation proposed to replace the Union. Then the section of Little Englanders, which unfortunately included some, of the leaders of the party , made their voices heard : they objected to the occupation of Egypt, and to the reconquest of the Soudan. " When the Liberal party supported the Boer cause, after an ultimatum had been sent us and our territory invaded, the last straw was added. The support given to Lord Salisbury was consolidated to such an extent that no blunder he can commit, and no misfortune that can overtake him, would induce the English people to accept a Government from the other side. And so the great English Liberal party comes to be what it is. But its demoralisation is as great a misfortune for Great Britain as the cellapse of our Opposition is here.

There is just now a distinctly more hopeful feeling about in connection The Prospects with the South African war. . of Peace. Whether it rests upon any

sure foundation is hard to say, but the instinct is strong that the end is now not very far off. Less than a week ago Sir Gordon Sprigg, Premier of the Cape, announced that communications were passing between Lord Kitchener and the Cape Government which he thought/ would "put an end to the warfare." Of what nature these negotiations are it is impossible to say ; but we may safely conjecture that any suggestions from Loid' Kitchener charged with such important consequences would be the outcome of some previous communication with the Boer Commander-in-chief, Botha. For it has loug been apparent that Botha, though he talks brave words to the Boers after a parley with Lord Kitchener, is himself very tired of the war. and anxious to surrender. It is quite natural that he should be, the man being too intelligent not to see that the game is hopeless. And we may be sure that Lord Kitchener would not commit himself to terms with Botha unless he could ge-t from him some guarantee oi definite assurance that his guerilla lieutenants would acce.pt the conditions.

But there is another cause for optimism — one which is to be found iv the evidence that the Boers are coining to the end of their resources, — of men and money and food and munitions. And as their plight gets worse and worse the war presses closer and closer upon them. The capture of the debris — we cannot call it anything else — of the Free State Government is an instanc in point. Mr Steyn, it is true, himself escaped, but he had not time to take anything with him, not eveu the waistcoat which contained hi& ready cash. His bag and baggage, his papers, and all his " colleagues " fell into the hands of the British. Among his papers was a lettei (never, we may be sure, intended for tli6 public ken) from Botha and two other leading commandtuils with a depressing tale to tell. They wanted permission to communicate with Kruger in order to try t bring matters to a head. This letter, fr is to be remembered, was written towards the middle of May. They (the Boers) were quite crippled and demoralised by the con--tinual surrenders. They had great difficulty in finding food and ammunition, for such as remained. They were unable to fight a big battle. It was therefore imperative to get " a definite assurance from the European deputation regarding the prospects of foreign intervention." They could not " drift " any longer, but must "take a final step."* The ex-President wrote aii angry letter in reply, saying that the European deputation would never have allowed them to struggle ou had " intervention been hopeless " ! One sentence is so significant that it is worthy of bein.g quoted in full. " When the two small republics declared war on mighty England, they trusted to God and to foreign intervention." The statement is as cynical as it is deliberate. Here we get — though we hardly required it, for we had abundantevidence of it before — from one of the prime movers an admission that the Boers took the initiative in the war with the deliberate object of driving the British out of South Africa by the help of foreign Powers. That is really what it means ; and how any loyal British subject can remain a proBoer .after reading such avowals — all the weightier because they were intended to be confidential — is amazing. We do not suppose that the death of Mrs Kruger, which is in itself a pathetic incident, will affect the situation. Those who know the ex-President most intimately say that he never was known to take his eyes oft" his oAvn personal interests. The man who retired with his millions to the security of Holland, and left his wife in charge ol <i race whom he is for ever denouncing as '" brutal and inhuman," can hardly have much sentiment. But there are signs of impatience -vith, and rebellion against, his authority. It is so easy for those vrho are in perfect safety and comfort to urge* others to continue undergoing the most desperate hardships, amid the ruin of their own prospects and with the danger of the decimation of their race before their eyes. There is a limit to human endurance, and the evidence goes to show that the limit has been aibout reached by the Boers in the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies of Great Britain.