The Otago Witness WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 9, 1908.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 51

The Otago Witness WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 9, 1908.)

THE WEEK.

" Wunquaia almd natura, aliud sap.entia dixit." — • JUYBSAJ,. " Good nature aad sense must ever jo:n." — Pom. The acceptance by Mr Hall-Jones of the .High Commi^sionership and A Ciiucuk on the loss of his s?oat in Cabinet-maklDjr. Parliament by Mi' M'Xab is reason for the assembling in Wellington at the present time of a number of nwmbers who presumably constitute n caucus on Cabinet-making. Undoubtedly Sir Joseph Ward and the surviving mom bens of the present Government i'ie couhonted with serious difficulties in deciding who shall fill the vacant portfolios in the Administration. To use an Ameiicanism. tliey have a tough row to hoe. Accepting as extremely probable the suggestion that the Hon. J. A. Millar, who at present presides over the three departments of Customs, Labour, and Marine, will be the new Minister of Railways, there still remain the important vacancies to be filled of Lands and Labour. And of these unfilled portfolios, that of Lands presents the greatest difficulties. Mr T. Mackenzie would in many respects make an ideal Minister of Lands; he is popular with tho farming class and well infoimed -on all matters pertaining to their needs, but Ins appointment would naturally be viewed with disfavour by oldtime Ministeiiali.-ts, who legard the member for the Taieri as a comparatively recent addition to the Government ranks. And unfortunately the question of fitness i.i not the y con«ideration which has to be taken into account, lor there are not wanting members who regard a portfolio as the reward of faithful service, apart altogether from the ability required for so responsible a position. Two other names have been suggested for the Lands vacancy, Mr T. VV. Jennings and Mr A. W. Hogg. 80 far a* Mr Hogg 's concerned, his continual agitation for the removal of the duty from wheat and flour, so as to allow of "th" free importation of the Australian product, has prejudiced him in the eye* of the farming class, and his selection therefore would not be a papular one. On the other hand, Mr Jennings's advoracy of the freehold system of land tenure would seem to single him out as the beet man available, and we are of opinion that Sir Joseph Ward will be doing a wise thing in the intereste both of the Government and of the farming community if this appointment be eventually made. There is also considerable difficulty ir arriving at a decision concerning the personality of the new Minister ol Labour. It has been hinted thai Mr,. Millar may retain the Labour portfolio, in addition to the Railways, and be relieved of Customs and Marine, but we scarcely deem this practicable. It is stated — and not altogether without . -warrant — that owing to the ill-health and consequent absence from his post of Mr Hall-Jones, -ie Railway Depaitment has got somewhat

out of hand and T^ill need firm and judicious handling for some time to come. Thus Mr Millar will probably have his work cut out if appointed to the charge of the Railways, and his hands would be too much tied if in addition he attempted to grapple with the exceedingly knotty nature of the problems which face the Minister of Labour. It is known that Mr Arnold has aspirations In the direction of the Labour portfolio, but those who profess to know consider him quite out of the running. The names specially mentioned as claiming a right to be considered are Messrs Hogg, Lnurenson, Davey, R. M'Kenzie, Buddo, Wilford, Guinness, and Baume. Whatever be the final solution, arrived at, and it will involve much shuffling of the cards, there is certain to be disappointment in seme quarters. - And, with the ranks of the Opposition strengthened by the recent voting, there will, of course, be an inducement, which did not exist in the last Parliament, for disappointed Ministerialists to arose the gangway and enlist under the leadership of Mr Masisey.

In the days before the power of the Seddon dictatorship was felt The Anomaly in Parliament, it was an

of Native understood thing that upon Representation, all questions of policy and party the Maori members would divide their votes, and thus matters were properly equalised; but andei the existing system of Maori representation, the Opposition suffer . an injustice which in the case of a close division amounts to an almost insuperable handicap. Moreover, the pakeha electors have also great reasor of complaint. The new Parliament includes fom Native members, pledged Government supporters, in seats which an Opposition has under no circumstances any chance of winning. In the case of one member at least, he represents a constituency of fewer than 400 electors. Whatever can be said a& to th* validity of special representation for the Maoris in the days that are past, it is manifest that the conditions at presen' existing demand the sweeping away of this anomaly. It is monstrous, in a country) which boasts «of the principle of proportionate representation, that the Government should have at its disposal what practically constitute four pocket boroughs, carrying four votes on any important division. For it is idle to allege that the presence in Parliament or this quartette of Native members in an£ way influences the deliberations of the Lower House or carries any weight in respect of legislation affecting the Maoris. The continuance of this anachronism is merely a pandering to a mischievous sentiment, and as suc>V cries for immediate reform. It is generally -recognised and admitted that if the Maori lace is to nourish and be perpetuate^ it car? only be by conforming largely to European usages and customs ; and however much it may be regretted, from an antiquarian pojnt of view, the ancient Maori has to die. This being so, the sooner the Maori electors come under the same rules and regulations as the pakeha the better for al'- concerned. For while the South Island representation is being gradually lessened, there is the fact staring us in the face of the four Native members occuping seats in the House and voting every tune witb the Government. It is to be hoped t&at Sir Joseph Ward will take early opportunity of removing this scandal, for scandal it certainly is when viewed in its proper light.

We have before remarked upon the marvel-

loas recuperative powers km Impr*red possessed by the little Financial Dominion of Xew Zealand. Outlook. How often when dark

clouds hovered upon the horizon, and things seemed at their blackest, the sun of hope has appeared, and with its bright rays streaming down has banished every sign of depression. A careful perusa 1 of the speech delivered by Mr Beauchamp, the chairman of directors of the Bank of New Zealand, at the halfyearly meeting of that institution undoubtedly foreshadows the approach of better md more stable times. For Mr Beauchamp is a high authority upon matters financial, aaid a man who keeps his finger ever on the pulse of things the world over. His survey of the financial outlook is both interesting and instructive. He points out that the sudden shrinkage in the value of wool and other experts was cause for customers of th» banks and other financial institutions to seek increaeed accommodation ; and this in its turn restricted the power of the banks to grant such favours, with the result that business became for the time restricted in its volume, and a certain amount of depression ensued. It has taken ! a little while for business firms, as well as for individuals, to rearrange their affairs in accordance with the altered conditions, but now that land booming has ceased and the volume of imports is lessening, the curtailment of credit will after a time cease and matters resume their normal course. Fot some months past the Dominion as a whole has been living beyond its income : tliot is to say the outgoings in the shape of imports have been greater than the incomings in the shape of exports. With the fortunate rise in the value of wool, the exports will now be appreciably enhanced j whilst the imports are already showing 6igns of reduction. Thus the balance will shortly be brought back to the right side of the ledger, and all should be well. At the same time it is obvious that caution and economy must be the dominant note in the commercial world, in order that the right equilibrium be securely established. It is three hundred years to-day since John Milton was born in Tie Milton London, and the event of T«re*atenary the tercentenary of the CeWbratioMß. birth of the authoi* of " Paradife Lo?t " is being celebrated in London, in Cambridge, where he graduated; in Horton, v.here lw }n<>duced many of liis most famous poems ■ in Amtnw, vbcie lii& .name is e\er

g«Tered . and in many other parts of tht 'English speaking world. In this waj public attt .rion is being focusscd, nol only upon the poei, but upor the mar and" upon the times in which he lived. For as one writer has pertinently Te marked, " The period covered by Johr Milton's life — 1608 to 1674 — contains the seeds of modern England. For the nation which beheaded King Charles and whicl Testored his son to the throne after ten years' experiment of Republicanism must have passed through a phase of transition vnd reconstruction. It must have been profoundly dissatisfied with the monarchical theory when the passing of Elizabeth stripped the romance of the trappings from the Tudor practice of monarchy aaid left the theory bare. It must have been equally dissatisfied with the Protectorate experiment, since that violent remedy hardly survived the death of its strong and necessary author. And this doubk discontent was surely a splendid experience in the fifty-five odd years which elapsed from Elizabeth's death, in 1603, to the Restoration, in 1660. When a nation's discontent assumes so strenuous a power in shaping the national destiny, it acquires the quality divine.' No nation could pass through this experience without changing its outlook or politics and morals, and on all that makes up its life. Literature reflects this change. ' It is this which makes a study of the Life and Times of Milton of supreme and entrancing interest to the people of a young country like New Zealand, and the drawing of the contrasts between three hundred years ago and now cannot fail to be boil helpful and instructive. All Milton's vrritings, both in prose and poetry, are full of autobiographical touches illuminative of the motives which actuated the man and the high and exalted ambitions which he held concerning the poetic office. We trust that the attention which John Milton is sure to receive at the hands of writers and journalists in newspapers and in magazines will lead to a fresh 6tudy^ not only of those monumental works of genius "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained," but also of Milton's minor poems and to some extent his prose works, especially the marvellous charm of the stately phrasing of the " Areopagitica."