THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2688, 20 September 1905, Page 52

THE WEEK.

s:v5 :v -■ ■■'; . xliud nitur*, aiiud sipientit dixit."— Jpykhm. - " "flood Diiurs iDd (ood sucse must enr joiu.' r —Por»,

<f Jt is stated on good authority that the j %~-- - Premier proposes to make %'. - The Position a desperate effort to ring , L\- of the curtain down upon 'f, ' Parliament. - the present Parliament £*_i- in about three weeks' Vrfciine in order to enable members to re-•J-turato their constituencies by the third, J/week in October-, in which case they will j^jhave been aosent in Wellington for close £;"iipdn four months. Of course, taking ; c^into consideration the abject obedience of I £fthe tulk of Mr Seddori's following, all j sr,things5 r ,things are possible in this direction; but J >r the closing of" Parliament by the time can only be accomplished by a ' |- serious disregard for the business yet jf.undealt with and by a persistent pursu- %'- ance of the methods which have previ- > pusly rendered the Seddon regime remark- . Sr-able. So fax, the only actual work comUpleted is the passing of the Old-age "^'Pensions Bill. As we said last week, it * is a matter of course that all land tenure .^'legislation will be left in abeyance. But fVteven allowing that the- balance of the .> Consolidated Estimates and the Public .(Works Estimates can be forced through '. at lightning, speed and vast -'i.jiutns of public money voted away by a £ "sleepy and exhausted House, a_ number of !_ r bills — sojne of them of a highly conteni, tious nature — must be dealt with before -^*the Parliament finally dissolves. In jr-yegard to the Shops and Offices Bill, the - Jjower House has confessed its incapacity -to deal with its difficulties, and, has ■S Ignobly attempted to evade its responsibilities by passing the bill in an acknow1r [edged incomplete and unsatisfactory condition on to the Upper House. Judging ' -by the experience of last session, there _'is still a harvest of trouble ahead in re- >: *pect of this measure. The bills which / jnust yet engage the attention of the v 'House comprise the Electoral Bill, the :L-Civil Service Superannuation scheme — not i forgetting the special scheme for the teachers in the- public schools, — the ' 'Housing of Workers Bill, and amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration ; and Workers' Compensation for Accidents ; *- r Acts. But even should Parliament be , \ able in the few short weeks to which Mr -^iSeddon intends—so it is said — to limit r'lts -life contrive in hurried and unstatesiJnanlike fashion to place these measures j 1 tipon the Statute Book, the slaughter of --the innocents must be even more- whole- ;, *ale than usual. The Harvester Trust r~;will presumably, despite the vigorous pro- * "tests of New Zealand workmen, be 'allowed to prosecute its operations un- j "^checked, since the Government has neither =' the time nor the. inclination to interfere. ;.--The bills for the prohibition of trusts and for regulating money -lenders' , £-'~rates, for local government reform, for { the suppression of gambling, for the fifretter inspection of hospitals and chari- '-" lable institutions — to say nothing of the -jßeferendum Bill,— although all included r Jn. the programme of the Governor's Speech, "ire not likely to be heard of again. The j ; Responsibility rests with the Opposition, Wen at the risk of being charged with , . impeding the business of the country and ' *- Df wasting the time of the House, to see , '^ihat whatever legislation is undertaken j khall be prope2*ly digested, and that the Statute Book shall not be encumbered by j 'pcomprehensible and unworkable acts, j \ xhis is far more important than that , /'hiembers should be set free to visit their "constituencies and prepare for the t Exigencies of a general election. " As soon as the Public Works Statement made its appearance the Tlio Stalking eagerness of the Premier Horse of to wind up the present Public Worts. Parliament was » at once explained. Mr Seddon is - anxious to go to the country whilst the '- Impression made by the announcement that 1-Jihe Government propose to spend two and a-quarter millions of money upon - -loads and railways and other public .-jvorks is still dazzling the imagination of ' jthe electors. It is impossible not to ad?nire the political '"cuteness" visible in ' jfevery line of this latest electioneering "■' propaganda, for that Mr Seddon has jprompted Mr Hall-Jones in the prepara- * -jfcion of his Statement it is impossible to Jloubt. It has been framed for the ex- - toress purpose of catching votes. It is a tity that neither the Premier nor his Minister of Public Works possess the ability to word the Statement so as to jivf it the greatest effectiveness. In the

preparation of State papers they nave to rely largely upon their suboidiuates, and consequently, in point of grammatical construction and general arrangement — to say nothing of unnecessary padding and dirfusement— the Ministerial announcements lose much of their force. Ti is to be hoped that the electors will not allow themselves to be blinded by the shower of gold which the Government promises to throw broadcast upon the country as a reward for their return to office. To the thoughtful mind it will at once occur that, were the financial position a sound one, such a theatrical display would not be required. The only sound position to take in regard to the public works expenditure of the Seddon Government is to examine on the one hnnd the sums they have expended during their term of office and compare them with the actual work accomplished as the result of such expenditure. This has been so effectively done by a Christchurch. contemporary r that we pass on a few of the striking i conclusions arrived at; which, moreover, are based upon the figures quoted by Mr Hall-Jones, so that any inteligent man can check the results for himself. The Seddon Government has been in office I for about 14 years, during which time it has constructed 462 miles of railway, at a co&t of £3,867,814, or about £8300 a mile. Taking the previous 14 years, in that period no less than 1074 miles of railway were constructed and opened for traffic, the comparison showing | that the Seddon Government v has constructed about 33 miles a year, as against 87 miles a year made by their predecessors in office. Nor is the showing against the present Government only in point of mileage. When Mr Seddon took office some 1909 miles of railway had been opened for traffic, at an average cost of about £6200 per mile, as against the present Government's £8300. 1 the weakest point in regard to the last 14 years' expenditure on railways is the way in which the money has been distributed. Instead of concentrating upon the more important trunk lines, four millions sterling has been frittered away in making a few miles in this electorate, a few chains here, and a few chains there, little of which has any chance of becoming revenue-producing. But when electorates have to be placated and votes purchased, what else can be expected? The history of the Otago Cejitral has been repeated in respect of the North Island Trunk railway. During its 14 years of office the present Government has pushed on that important work at the rate of 4^ miles a year, at which rate the remaining 90 miles may be completed in the course of another 14 years. Certainly Mr HallJones promises that visitors to the Christchurch Exhibition shall go overland from Auckland, but that will only be by means o? a lengthy coach journey between the termini of the existing lines ; and, besides* the promises of the Minister of Public Works are no more to be relied upon than are those of the Premier. If the Government elect to stand or fall upon their railway policy there can be little doubt of the result.' And level-headed electors should ask themselves the question, whether they will put it into the power of the Seddon Government to squander another two and a-half millions in the way so many millions of the taxpayers' ireney has already gone. The distrubances at Batoum, following so closely upon the The Bising in the massacre at Baku, taken | Caucasus. -together with tho revolutionary proclamation recently issued at Tiflis, suggests the possibility of a general rising against Russian rule on the part of the curious conglomeration of races which compose the inhabitants of the Caucasus. Last week we referred to some of the characteristics of that historic region, famed for its upheavals, and its chequered past. In view of the present situation, some more detailed mention of its history may prove both useful and interesting The Caucasus has always possessed a certain fascination not for the Russians only, but also for Westorn nations, and is peculiarly rich in historical traditions and in memories of ancient times and ancient nations. Here to the rocks of Elburg Prometheus lay chained; and to Colchis, where the Phasis flowed towards the sea through evergreen woods, came the Argonauts. The present Kutais is the old capital of King iEetes, near which, in the sacred gvove of Ares, hung the golden fleece. The gold mines which the Russians discovered in 1864 were apparently known to the Greeks, whose colony. Dioscurias, vas an assemblage of 300 diverse nationalities. Here on the coasts of the stormy and dangerous Black Sea arose the famous Pontine Kingdom, which, in spite of its valiant resistance under Mithridates, fell a victim to Roman aggression. Along the rivers Knra and Rion ran the old commercial road from Europe to Asia, which enriched the Venetians and the Genoese in the Middle Ages. Up to recent times this trade con&istfid not only of all sorts of other merchandise, but of slaves. Numberless girls and' women were conveyed to Turkish harems, and there exercised an important influence on the character of the Tartar and Mongol races. In the Middle Ages the Caucasus was the route by which the wild Asiatic hordes — the Goths, Khasars. Duns. Avars. Mongols, Tartars, and Arabs — crossed from Asia into Europe ; and, consequently, its secluded valleys contain a population composed of more different and distinct races than any other district in the world. Il was in the sixteenth century, under Ivan the. Terrible, that Russia first turned her attention to the conquest of the Caucasus; but it was not till 1359 that the defeat and capture of the famous Schamyl brought about the final subjugation of the country. It was in 1785 — the year after the partial conquest of the Caucasus The Rnssian by the Russians — that Conquest the Circassian mounofthe taineers were incited to Circassians. take up arms by a so-called prophet. Scheick Mansur : but he was seized and banished to Solo-

vetsk, on th^ White Sea. In 1820 a Mo'lah, Kasi by name, made his appearance in Daghestan, and began to preach | the "Kasawpi" — that is. Holy War — against the Russians. To him succeeded another equally fanatical adventurer, Ilamset I'eg. The work that they had begun was carried on by Schamyl. who far surpassed his predecessors in ail the qualities which make up a successful guerilla chief, and who maintained the unequal conflict against the enemies of his country for 25 years with singular good fortune, undaunted courage, untiring energy, and conspicuous ability. He was of the tribe of the Lesghians, in Daghestan, and was born m 1796. in the village of Gimri, of poor shepherd parents. In spite of his humble origin he raised himself to the rank of an lmauni, surrounded himself with a strong bodyguard of devoted adherents, whom he named Muvides, and succeeded in fanning to a name the patriotic ardour of his fellow-countrymen. The capture of the mountain fastness of Achulgo in 1839 seemed to be the deathblow of Schamyl's cause, for it brought about the loss of the whole of Daghestan — the very focus of the Murides' activity. Daghestan, it should be noted, is the district of which irSaku is the principal seaport. Schamyl barely escaped being made a prisoner, and was forced to yield up his son Djammel-Edden. only nine years of age, as a hostage. The boy was sent to St. Petersburg, and placed in a cadet corps, which he left at the conclusion of his military education — somewhere about- 1850,— and, returning to his native country, died a few years later. In 1840 the Tchetchens, who had previously been pacified, rose in arms once more,' and Daghestan and other parts of the country followed their example. The country of the Tchetchens was specially favourable for the conflict with the Russians ; its long mountain chains, rocky fastnesses, impenetrable forests, and wild piecipices and gorges rendered ambuscades and surprises of constant and, to the Russians fatal, occurrences. During the earlier stages of the war Russia had ransomed the officers taken prisoners by the mountaineers; bnt subsequently no quarter was given on either side.

At last, by means of a great concentration of troops on all the Pacification threatened points by fHi iortiiymg the chief cenCaucasns"' tral stations - and b y forming broad military roads throughout the district, the Russians succeeded in breaking down Schamyl's resistance. He now suffered one reverse after another. His chief fastnesses — Dargo, Weden. and Guni — were successively stormed and destroyed, and finally he himself and his family were taken prisoners. He was astonished and. it is said, not altogether gratified to find that a violent death was not to close his romantic career. He and his family were at first interned at Kaluga, in Russia, both a house and a considerable sum of money for his maintenance being assigned to him. But after a, few years he was allowed to remove to Mecca, where he died. His sons and grandsons, who have adopted the manners of the Russians, are officers in the Circassian guard. In 1864 the pacification of the whole country was accomplished, and a few years later the abolition of serfdom was proclaimed at Tiflis. After the subjugation of the several mountain tribes the Circassians had the choice given to them by the Russian Government of settling on the low country along the Kuban or of emigrating to Turkey. The latter course was chosen by the bulk of the nation, urged thereto in great measure by envoys from Tuikey. As many as 400,000 are said to have come to the ports, where the Sultan had promised to send vessels to receive them ; but delays took place, and a large number died of want and disease. Those who reached Turkey were settled on the west coasts of the Black Sea, in Bulgaria, and near Varna, and proved | themselves most troublesome and unruly subjects. Most of those who first re- I niained in Circassia followed their fellow- j countrymen in 1874. This brief historical sketch will serve to show the importance and significance attached to the present rising in the Caucasus.

We hear it continually said that everyone is sick of the voucher A Public inquiry ; it would be Inquiry more correct to say that at last. eveiybody is sick of the way in which (.he Premier has mismanaged the whole incident. At last Mr Seddun has seen fit to grant a public inquiry into the whole business, and by so doing takes the only possible way of setting \he public mind at rest. Had this been done at an earlier stage in the proceedings much unpleasantness would have been avoided, and the nn'ster-y and misunderstanding which has all along been associated with the charge made by Mr Fisher would ere ibis have been satisfactorily cleared up. Mr Seddon now announces that in addition to the departmental inquiry to be hiild into the conduct of the three civil servants connected with the case the Government has decided to appoint three judges to hold a public inquiry, when all parties interested may be reoresented by counsel if they so desire. The ostensible reason for this change of froni on iNIr Seddon's part is the allegation by one of the postal officials concerned in the case that the audit system is defective, and also Mr Fisher's statement of the possibility that the voucher which the thice po^t office clerks stoutly declare they saw and handled still exists. It is needless to noint out at this stage that Mr Seddon is now granting exactly whpt Messrs Fisher and Taylor asked for — a full and complete inquiry into all the circumstances connected with the cose— and exactly what the Premier himself at the outset so decidedly lefused. The reason for such a change of Iront on the part of the Premier is not hard to seek ; he evidently realises that it would be an awkward thing to go to the country with the mystery still unsolved : and. morrover ; to be able umnislakably to show.

that the whole incident has no foundation in fact would certainly stiengthen the position of the Government. For, as we have already pointed out. the public mind is not satisfied to know that Captain Seddon has been absolved from all participalion in an improper payment; it wnnls to know whether an improper payment hns been made at all to any one impersonating Captain Seddon. The public inquiiy iioav ordered will set the question at rest once and for ever ; the pity is that Mr Seddon has been so dilatory in allowing it. Nor is it surprising to learn that the inquiry will take place as eaily as possible; it is important that the result be made known before the day of polling.