THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2513, 14 May 1902, Page 43

THE WEEK.

" Nnaqoaia aiiui natura, *iiud sapient!* dlxit."— JoriK.it.. "flood Datura and food icnc Matt »t«t joim."— Porz.

! The senior member for the City of Dunedin may be taken as represenUr .T. A. Millar tative of a large number of and the New Zealand's politicians, in Gorernnent. , that, when out of session, they find plenty of points upon which to adversely criticise the Government, but as soon as Parliament meets ! they are invariably found voting for Gor vernment measures. It thus happens that criticism which is only criticism, and does not materialise into action, does not carry a great deal of weight, nor is it likely to be very effectual in promoting reform. At the same, time, it must be recognised that Mr J. A. Millar, as a man, is decidedly alcove . the- level of many -.of the : parliamentary : dummies, • whose sole claim to greatness is that they, have voted them-, selves £300 a year in return for faithfully , reflecting the views of Mr Seddon. Hence, I when, at the close of his Dunedin address, •, Mr" Millar was asked whether he .was a i supporter of the Government, an opportunist, or an Independent, his. reply was awaited with a good- deal of. interest. JBufc' ,Mr Millar was too wary to he caught f tripping, and his answer was carefully j couched. In effect, he said that he 'had been a supporter of the Government right through, and he intended to be a supporter of the principles of the Government so long as they were in accord with those he had ■advocated. In the course of his speech he f Jiad previously declared that his idea- of the duties of a representative was first to look after the best interests of his country ; secondly, to look after the interests of his i party ; and thirdly, to look after his owninterests. He then proceeded to detail several important differences which existed between himself and the Government, chief amongst which being the manner in which the Government expended public moneys. Dealing with the figures for the past financial year, Mr Millar put the question, rU the revenue .was only going to increase by £245,123 and the expenditure by £416,211, ■how long was it going to be before a crisis took place?" He enlarged on the fact that the debt of the colony amounted to-day to £51,828,772, that there was hardly a penny left of any sinking funds at all, and the only possibility of repayment was toy taxation. He showed that the debt goer head (had increased since 1899, with a population of 756,505, from £62 17s 3d, until in 1901, with a population of 772,455, it stood at £64 3s 7d. This represented a rise in taxation, from £3 13s 3d per head in 1899 to £3 l&s 6d in 1901, which in the case of a man with a wife and four children meant £24 'for taxation. Mr Millar further ' declared that it was impossible for a popui lation of 772,455 to go on in this way. j Not only did he object to the amount of money being spent, but to the manner in which it was being frittered away. Such stinging criticism from an avowed supporter , should surely make the Government stop and think, and in the event of their ne- , glecting to amend their financial policy, vMr Millar, if he be true to his pubfic' utterances, should shortly find himself on ithe Opposition ibenches, with a view to a reconstructed Cabinet. •Speaking at Macraes the other night, Mr T. Mackenzie gave some The Member slight forecast of his ideas for Waihemo's concerning the political fuForecast. ture. The pivot upon which the whole thing turned was the ultimate destination of Mr Seddon, at present wrapped round with glorious uncertainty. In Mr Mackenzie's opinion, should Mr Seddon dissociate himself from New Zealand politics, a. very' great change would occur, and party lines would undoubtedly materially change. The party which he would like to see evolved would be one which, whilst progressive and constitutionally Liberal, would at the same time permit the influence of our primal industries — viz. , agricultural and mmmg — to be more recognised than had been the case during the past 10 or 12 years. In the event of such a party being formed, Mr 'Mackenzie stated that he would at once associate himself with it ; but, most surprising of all, he declared that until Mr Seddon retired, no possible good would result from such a change. Could there be a imore glaring illustration of the terrorism which the »Seddon administration has imposed upon the colony? Although as regards our domestic policy and finance we are rapidly drifting upon the rocks, nothing can be done for the colony's salvation so Jong as Richard John Seddon blocks the way. In the course of the speech previously referred to, Mr Mackenzie deThe Farmers' clared that, with few excepUiiiou to lions, the legislation of our the Rescue, colony had been largely dominated during the past 10 or 12 years by selfish combinations. To oppose* this domination many people are looking anxiously towards the Farmers' Union as a power the force of which ought to be increasingly felt. For whilst the special interests of the farmer ought naturally to be the union's first consideration, yet the interests of the colony at large must not be sacrificed to class legislation Necessarily, the leaders of this important organisation, if they are wise, must take a wide outlook of affairs. The curse of Labour Unionism in this colony, as in other parts ■ of the world, has been the inability of their ' leaders to see beyond their own particular needs, without due consideration as to how the satisfying of those needs affects the community as a whole ; hence the strident { advocacy of that ultra-socialistic legislation (

with which we are only toe familiar. " Arid now, as a' corrective, __ the Fanners' Union" begins to loom large upon the political .horizon. Without doubt the union has' a ,great political' future before it, and hence its energy ought not to be frittered awayat the outset by the discussion: of. such a»stract questions as- the trial by jury sys-' tern. In view of the approach of the general election, there is more serious -work in hand, chief amongst which is the discovery of plenty of parliamentary candidates pf the right sort to replace -some of the automatic nonentities who" have too long~ j>layed at representing the people. With the proper exercise of this rapidly-increasing, jpower, the future of this colony for some years to come may be -wonderfully -influx enced by the action of the Farmers' Union. Th result of the deliberations of the Colonial Conference of that body will, therefore, be animated with a good deal of interest. The Federal Premier has lost an opportunity, and Australia conAn Ansttrftlian fesses to a great disappointDisappeintment. ment. The farewell banquet tendered to Mr Barton at the Sydney Town Hall, on the eve of that gentleman's departure- for London to represent the Commonwealth at the Coronation, •was an occasion , when Australia naturally expected her Premier to make some defiriite v declaration regarding - the attitude he- intended to assume towards- the 'very important proposals to be discussed in London at the coming Conference. 'Nor would any such pronouncement of policy have beeri : ofi to Australia alone, for the Com'monwealth's.vpossible attitude/ notably.- on -the questions of preferential "tariffs and Jmperial defence, vitally affects New Zealand. Mr Barton certainly spoke, and at considerable length, but he succeeded in the not very difficult- task of saying nothing. Indeed, the most striking sentence in the whole speech was 'Mr Barton's declaration that he did not agree with those people who considered that Air Seddon had ceased to be a democrat because he was such a loyalist. The disappointment and dissatisfaction which possesses the people of the Commonwealth may be fairly gauged from the following expression of opinion by the Sydney Sunday Times. That paper states : — " In proceeding to London without stating his policy or allowing Parliament or the people to state theira, Mr Barton is fair neither to himself, to Australia, nor to the conferring Premiers. Why should he appear in an important Imperial Conference Avith no more authority than a shorthand clerk., whilst the Premiers of /New Zealand and Natal have power to act as well as deliberate? Why, again, may not Australia know the views of the Prime Minister and of his Cabinet before he sails as well v as after he returns? And, finally, ■what right has Mr Barton to nullify the Conference by confessing that, though all Australia knows what are the subjects tp be discussed, he has lacked either the courage or the candour to announce himself, and has therefore no power to pledge ithe Commonwealth in even the least debatable question. To go to the Conference and do nothing, subsequently reporting something to Parliament, and asking that .body to decide what shall be done,- is hardly dignified so far as the Prime Minister and Hie Commonwealth Cabinet are concerned." Although in Ne»v Zealand considerable difference of opinion exists as The to the merits of Miss Amy Amy Castles Castles's much-boomed voice, Boom. yet the prevalent curiosity concerning this youthful soprano has made her .tour through the colony an undoubted financial, if scarcely an artistic, success. In this New Zealand has only followed Australian precedents, for we learn on the authority of Mr J. C. Williamson that he is more than satisfied with the tour up to date. The takings at eight concerts, three in Melbourne, one in Bendigo. and four in Sydney, amounted to £5676, and had the hall available at Bendigo beer large enough, the grand total would have reached fully £6000. "I was told," volunteered Mr Williamson, "that in bringing Miss Castles back I was mad, as it would be impossible to have another 'Castles boom,' but I am quit© satisfied with the development of my insanity. So far as Miss Castles herself is concerned, her return was due to her patriotism. When she spoke in London of returning to Australia, she also was considered mad. It was pointed out to her that a> failure- in Australia might ruin her, or, at, all events, - seriously interfere with her career at Home — that it would be injudicious to run such a risk after a big London success." Mr Williamson added : "Miss Casfcles *ent Home as a pupil, and has returned as an advanced student to report progress, and in a few years she may possibly return as a finished artiste." If, in their enterprise, both Mi^a Amy Castles and Mr J. C. WilA Striklnar liamson were deemed to be Contrast. mad, there was considerable method in their madness, and the result lias caused thinking people to ponder. Thus Dr Fitchett, commenting in tiie Southern Cross on the coining power of each of the Australian soprano's songs, at a time when the Melbourne Simultaneous Mission was in full swing, declaims after the following fashion : — "Had Miss Castles been an apostle with a new message, a statesman with a_^new political theory, a scientist with a new discovery, would the crowds have paid as much for the privilege of hearing her? Miss Castles is, of course, only a girl with an immature voice and an unfinished musical education. It is ■clear that for money-making purposes the vocal chords of a singer are more effective ■than the brain of a sage, the learning of a scholar, or the tongue of a poet. The great sums paid to a popular, singer suggest one ■ somewhat painful comparison. The cost of the Simultaneous Mission now in progress is, roughly, £2500 — less than one-half the isum Miss Castles earns for a couple of dozen songs. Now in the Simultaneous ( Mission, no less than. 214 churches are

joined. There are 50 missionerai 700- committee men, and 2000 ; personal "workers, ■whilst. 50,000. .people have -been attendingthe mission services every night. . And yet the' modest. '4)2soo which represents the money cost of this great enterprise is at least" £1000 short.". The writer winds up by asking the following" pertinent question:' "& eight Australian audiences— riot one of which equalled in scale the crowd at the mid-day mission services in the Melbourne Town Hall—can give nearly. £6000 for the pleasure of hearing a few songs, cannot the 2i4- churches, associated witK the Simultaneous Mission -give half that sum?" .Which query prompts the" reflection that if . the - world .is ,to - be VimpreSßed with, the Te»lity*of leUgious. effort, itififehoves those .who'- already-" 1 believe: ah r it -to .unloose their purse strings. " - 1 '- x " _' "-'-'. It is becoming quite a common: thing to ■ be told, by citizens of reThe Kttiiag pute who '^have returned to of a« Important this* colony/ after paying a Industry. visit of inspection to Southi Africa, of the splendid mariket there is in that land^for New Zealand • (produce of all descriptions.- -But all such encouraging .intelligence -is invariably accompanied by the reminder that owing to the absence of any. dif ecfrand/i ; egular "com- - Biunfcatibn .fVe'nwrlref l^befng, completely" * monopolised by other .riatiQiis. The latest - industry'- about to be on the- altar „ k>i . Government , dilatoriness"' and negligence • ■jis the' export of- poultry^ and' just as it^is : showing- signs of , profitable development. ,| It is stated as a fact-^ilthough such a state J of things is. scarcely credible — that no ship- ] meats of poultry - have, been made from this , colony' since February,' although ~ at" the : present time -the freezing chambeds in Lytitelton' contain isoov- cases, besides large quantities at the other chief centres, re.presenting a total of probably 50,000 birds. lAs the result of the absence of any facilities for sending this poultry" forward, in- • etructions. have been received by the agents ■here either to stop buying altogether or "else- to greatly reduce the.pricesipaid. , This means a serious J>low to poultry-farmers ; throughout the" colony, ,. and is i but. another instance of the way in .which the Government, whilst profuse^ in promises"; ignore the interests of the primary producer. Had.- - •Mr Seddon done the right things and accepted the Union Steam -Ship Company's tender for a direct service;- instead .of • trifling with an imaginary Blue Star line, ' . the poultry export trade would now be infull 'swing", whereas its prospects are all but blighted. Anything more awful .than the., volcanic eruptions, at Martinique and The West St." Vincent,' which have Indian blotted whole towns out of Holocaust. existence, and -.caused . the - loss of between '3o,ooo/ and: ' 40,000 lives, can scarcely be imagined. The : first eruption, that of Mont- Pelee, a inoun- . tain lying just at the back of St. Pierre, •• the -chief city of the island of Martinique, » is vividly described as a maelstrom of red- * Jiot mud, which, travelling like spiral • -wreaths of vapour, with, incredible velocity, * devastated everything' in its >path,. carrying t along trees, rocks, and tons of earth. It instantaneously obliterated the whole of the streets, engulphing the town,, and creating & tidal wave which destroyed; 18 vessels. - This has been followed by the eruption of two craters from La Souffriere, of St. Vincent, one/of the most beautiful of the Windward -Isles. According to- latest reports', the streams .of lava render that island unapproachable;" so .that- the -actual extent of damage is not ascertainable, although it is known tHat hundreds of persons have perished. Amid - our .sympathy with the sufferings of the victims of these ' terrible visitations, it is some comfort to be assured, . on the authority of Prdfessor Thomas, of Auckland, that there are no records to show that places so remote as New Zealand and the West Indies would be simultaneously visited. Apart from such " assurance, the recent disturbances reported .from Botorua are -certainly sufficient to inspire some degree of alarm. One of the saddest incidents in connection -with the-outbreak of bubonic • The Progress plague in 'Brisbane "is- the ; of death of Mr Wray, the The Plague, health . officer.. '• He con- '' tracted the disease whilst conducting post mbrtems on plague victims, ' - and thus another name* has beeiv>jwided to the list of heroes who have laid down their "lives in the interests _of .medical .research. , •flfollowing on the death of thej-plague pa- " tienfc at Auckland, the suspicious case oc- "- curring at Christchurch seems to bring the danger of an outbreak in this colony nearer home. It would appear that there is always an element of danger in the handling of cargoes from infested ports. In this connection, the following extract from the report on the plague outbreak of 1900, made iby Dr Ashburton Thompson,' of the Sydney Board of Health, is worth emphasising : — "If the rats are kept outside of inhabited houses, there will be' few' cases &f plagnf. and no epidemic." In. the doctor's opinion, the value of that advice, too often slighted and overlooked, is that it is- a preventive measure which ban be taken. v So long as the infection is allowed to run about on four legs, there can be no complete im ■munity from bubonic plague. It only re- v quires faithful house construction, and a very little special attention to stoD the access of rats by ventilating holes and the like. Any scheme to render all dwellings absolutely rat-proof would, take a long while, to complete, but in Dr Thompson's opinionit is the only practical, line of action at alii likely to be attended with an -important - 1 imeasure of success, go far as Sydney is concerned. • - It is a matter for all-round congratulation that Mr J. G. Woolley has The signified- his intention- o: ' New Zealand abandoning his proposed; • Alliance and tour through this colony. In-i Mr J. G. Woellej. deed, the one word which} he cabled — viz.", "impossible"? —to announce his; determination, exactly expresses the situation. After the way i;u

■which he has expressed himself concerning "the loyalty of New Zealand and the Aus-,l-tiian States, it would be equally "imjpossible" either for New Zealand to receive Mr Woo Hey or lor Mr Woolley to exjpect to obtain. & hearing far his views upon prohibition. It is therefore the more asftonnding that the New 7r?3*"<* Alliance, •upon, receipt of Me WooHej's eoramnmeajfcian, should have decided to pass a resoiuS^ion. expressive of deep regret at Mr Woolly's inabilifcy to cany out his proposed Jriaifr, at the same time declaring their 'jfcpinion there -w»m no speaks 1 who could tender ■ more valuable service in the nolicense campaign. Such action on- the part of the leader* of th& Temperance mopenxenb Will do moch to esffrange public support. It )vrouhl naturally be thought that the Alliance "would have been glad of the evportunity of publicly the implisd cinliection between prohibitaonism and pro(Boerism, but- they- have chosen to take the 'opposite line. They must not- be surprised, /therefore, if their irreconcilable attitude jmilitates against the success of the prohibition, movement.