THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 51

THE WEEK.

" Nnnauam aliud natura, ahud sap.entia dixifc."— I JUVEXAL. " Good nature and good sense must ever jom. — POPB. It has been well said that there are two things that bestow conAnotlier sequence, — great posses.-ions Million Loan, or great debts — and thereis a sense in which the Dominion is hair to both. For it is precisely New Zealand's great posf-essions. in the shape of magnificent natural resources, that render possible the continual in- ( creais-3 of the National Debt. An ancient saga has remarked that a public debt is •a kind of anchor in the storm, bub if the. anchor be too heavy for the vessel &hs will be sunk by the very weight ' which was intended for her preservation.. ! Sir Joseph Ward, shrewdly scenting the storm visible on th? political' horizon, has promptly ca*t anchor in the shape of the inuoduction of a Loan Bill, w hich seeks i'utbority to borrow another million of mon ay for l>hs prosecution of public works. But seeing that this second loan of a million com-es on the tap of the million und a-quarter authorised din-ing the previous short session of the pr^^ent Parliament a few months ago. the inquiry may iea-*cnablv ba made whether there is not a danger of the anchor proving too heavy for the vo.s-.el. "thus rendering possibb its sinking by the very weight intended for it? preservation. It mu=t be reco^ni^d that th.2 Government is. financially, in an •exceedingly awkward position. The shrinkage in the i?v-?mie. -caused by the recent commercial d-prp^ion and the customs remi-sions. -.debd [<> the fact that the much-vaunted rrtienchment scheme hns as yet made no peiceptible difference in the rate of expenditure, renders it \rvy difficult for Sir Joseph Ward to do more than bihme the public accounts. Consequently it is not pcs *>ib!e (o make any substantial transfer from the Consolidated Fund tr> the Public Works Fund, which latter fund ha.s. dur- • ing the 12 month.' ending March 31 last, ' hsen fed with loan morey to the tune of a niill'on and a-hai'f. And tbe pro- ' i seeution of certain public works becomes ' ' an r-bs-ohito nec-f---ity if the present Ad- ■ ministration i.* to continue in office, noth- > [ mr remained but- for Sir Joseph Ward to take the bull by the horn.-, and boldly a«k for another million loan. In view of the foregoing facts, it might at least have bc?n expected that the Premier would accede to the r-ea'-onable ieque.it of the Leader of the Opposition and place Parliament in possession of all the facts ■relating to the financial situation. But I t'jis is not Si* Joseph's way — " Open your mouth and shut vouv ey« ,->nd ?«e what ! I will give you," in th? spirit of the ! mr-scry adage, does the Premier treat | Parliament. Inasmuch a.-, borrowing is a populai pursuit, and with the Government ;n; n a majoiity, it may be anticipated that 1 tb.s Premier vsill have his way and the Dominion will sliM-tlv have another million of money addod to the already heavy public debt. When the alternative to borrow- ' ing is increased taxation, the vote is always given on the side of borrowing It I w?s Shake.=peaic* who fiid "no remedy [against this consumption of the purse; borrow inn onK lingers and lingers it out, but tfo° disease is incurable." To adapt Adam Smith: — "The (Government finds it always- more convenient to defray an extraordinary expense by floating a loan than by imposing a new tax. Every new lax i> immediately felt more or les.- by j the prople. It occasions always some murmur and -leots with some opposition. ■ The more t-ix-es may have been nniltiplied, the higher Misy have b?pr> raised upon e\v>ry different j-übject of taxation ; the more loudly ths people complain of e\ery new tax. the mere difficult it bacomos. too, either to find out new subject* of taxation. <:r to raise much higher the taxes alread\ imposed upon t^e old. The payment of the int'pr^.-t upon the public debt i> not imircdiately felt by tlte people, and occas.on-: n n ithc"' murmur nar complaint To borrow is ,ilway> an obvious and easy expedient for getting out of a piessnt difiicultv." If borrowing on tli<* pn-t of the politician i be dc-eiib^d as a nopulai The Crußiide pin--uit. then "ambling in Asai»«t le^ard to the nvciage (.'ambling, citizen mr.v fo-° deMgirit^d an en(iiain=-d lubil. The | Koj an <rrour>< tog"thf>i' wire and gambling, and dec 'ires tl""Mr sinfulnp— , to be <rrc itcr th.vi th' ir v-: — which is pre-fs-ely tlie rea on why that .-'■ction of sofietv which demands the prohibition of ih 1 lioiiT" traffic i-, foi ever agitating foi t he «uppr«v-ion of g.ui'Ulintr lint \\in!» it i> p'--sible to im.ig'ne .i model conimimity from which the manufacture. f-?Ie, or up of intoxicating beverasi-- i 1 - total! v absent, an ab-olut-elv non-t^mbllnc, conimunitv is a t hinp. beyond th° r?.rj>e of the liveliest Ima7ii!j,tion. C'?rl?<inly. as the old proverb lias it. "Time i.s more art in savinir than in gambling," but p-> lrng as tramblin<r. in any foim. hold.- out the inducement of obt lining wealth without giving in return a due equivalent. <=o lono will there hs individuals who will j find mean^ of indulging the gambling in- , stinct despite every legislative restriction. , Probably the mo&t mischievous feature of the gambling habit is the degeneration of , character which it too often induces. As that witty Frenchwoman, Madame D^s- j houlieres. has sharply said, the gambler begins by being a dupe and end.s by being a rascal. While, however, it may be — and probably is — nonsense to talk about tbe suppression of gambling, there is plenty of room for it« judicious repression, and this is what the deputation which waited

ipon the Premier in Wellington the other lay evidently had in view. Tbe trend >i recent legislation has been to restrict hat form of g<unbling which is based ipon hor&e-ra-cing as lav as possible to > .he racecourse itself. Out of this wise , •estrietion has grown another cvil — lamely, a large 'ncrea.se in the number )f race meetings. Sir Joseph. Ward took i sensible view of the matter in regard :o this illegitimate incorea.se in the numrser of race meetings, and gave ths depu:ation what was virtually a promise to introduce legislation to put an end to such practically unrestricted racing. The old, vexsA question of bookmaker versus totalisator of course came up again for discussion, and the Premier distinctly evaded the issue by 6tating that he was prepared to recommend tbe taking of a referendum upon the subject. In order to have such a referendum, special legislation will be necessary, and the Government may find it inconvenient to get such a measure pa^ed by Parliament While the Anglican Synod is in session in Dunedin, the General Tno Great Assembly of the PresbyChurch terian Church of New Zea--Councils. 1 3TK 1 ii holding its meetings in Christchurch, and the form which the deliberations of these great Church councils assume is not without its baaring upon the Avelfare of the body politic. Neither Primate nor M >derator, in their opening addresses, attempted to deal with, any of the burning questions agitating the public mind ; rather have they concerned themselvvs and, in the main, confined themselves to the internal welfare of their own partial lar flocks. Whether this i? symptomatic of the trend of thought within the Church it is not for us to declare. Tho Primate, reviewing the work of the dioce*e of Dunedin, is able to perceive encouraging signs of religious earnestness and devotion, while the clergy themselves speak with hopefulness in regard to their work. We trust that the hopefulness has a good foundation, for in another breath the Primate speaks of the shockingly lowstipends by which too many of the clergy are remunerated for their labours. We notice that the same complaint is made in the Christchurch diocese, and it is fair to assume tint it is general throughout the Anglican Church in the Dominion, as it ir. in many parts of the Old Land. Unfortunately, a-f the Primate pointed out, the Church, as a whole, can do little or notliing to mend matters, and can only •rely upon the liberality of the several congregations to effect an, improvement. It is to be hoped that the Synod may be able to devise some form of appea? which will elicit an adequate response, for while it is by no means desirable that the clergy, as a class, should have the reputation of being over paid, yet, the eviJs likely to result fifem the employment of an underpaid clergy are aid great, if not gre-xter. The address on " The Bible and Religion," delivered by the Rev. I. Jolly before the Presbyterian Assembly, last night, is practically a plea for a return to the old positions in regard to the authority of the Bible and the Confession of Faith, which existed prior to the advance of the Higher Critics. And there is a measure of consistency in the plea since the purely Protestant position has been variously endangered by the assaults of thp higheir criticism, until authority has disappeared almost to vanishing point. Whs ther this attempt at the rehabilitation of the old, absolute beliefs will achieve success, remains to be seen, but it is at least significant that Mr Jollv — one of tha foremost defenders of the faith in the Gibson-Smith heresy hunt at the last Assembly — this ve-i,r occupies the Moderator'? chair, and takes advantage of his position to dec-hwe, "Whether it is the lack of religious intention, or whether it is tbs current school of higher criticism which is affecting the atmosphere in which We lave, there- is undoubted cause for both ministers and people to afik them-s-olve.s seriously in what relation they stand to their Bibles."