The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED RATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1913.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3103, 3 September 1913, Page 48

The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED RATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1913.) THE WEEK.

•' Nunquam aliud Batura, aliud gapientia dixit.”— JUVBSAI.. “ Good nature and good sense must ever join.”— POP,K.

As the days go by it is becoming manifestly more and more The 0. position unlikely that Sir Joseph . «ui! Ward will accept the leaderItH Leade ship. ship of the Opposition. It is nearly a fortnight since the offer was made to him, and still he shows no sign, but continues to take his seat in the House as a private member. As a matter of fact, the past, the present, and future unite to make the position — from Sir Joseph Ward’s point of view—as untenable as it is unsatisfactory. 'lhe past holds the memory of men—once his supporters and followers —who were ready to. turn .-upon him and rend him am! make him their scapegoat in the hour of defeat and political disaster. The present shows him many of the same men, too tardily realising’ that their former attitude was a mistake, approaching him, cap in hano, and entreating him to assume the leadership of a forlorn hope. Bat. unpleasant as are the memories of the past, and unpalatable as must be the position of the present, it is the promise of the future which Sir Joseph Ward doubtless considers, contains the most menace. What that promise is is more than hinted at in the series of articles which Sir John Findlay is contributing to the columns of the New Zealand Times, and in which the pitiable condition into which the pseudo-Liberalism of the Continuous Ministry has of late drifted is plainly and foithfufty ■»et forth. The significant point about Sir John Findlay's articles —which in reality amount to a political manifesto—is the portent they contain. Sir John Findlay does not hesitate to declare that the party with which he was recently associated —self-styled and erroneously named the “Liberal” party — is doomed to extinction, unless revitalised by the adoption of an active propaganda closely allied to the programme of the “Red Feds.”—a programme which has scant regard either of the sanctity of contract, the rights of property, or the value of capital ■ to the country. For. although Sir John Findlay has not yet fully developed hie nolitical programme, already he has bcti; hailed as friend and brother by Mr Kdward Tregear, head of the Social Democrats —the political organimost favoured by Socialists of the “Red Fed.” type. In a letter to the New Zealand Times, written as an applauding comment on Sir John Findlav’s articles, Mr Tregear says:—“When the Liberals adopt Sir John's taia policy, there will be no division or between them and the Social Democrats, so they might as well join ns straight away, and get to useful work in a strong organisation.”

There is clearly no room both for Sir John Findlay and Sir Joseph "Ward in the Opposition ; and if- Sir John Findlay’s manifesto be taken.as a distinct bid for the leadership of a Labour-Socialist party, what becomes of the political prospects of Sir Joseph Ward? There are those, however, who decline to regard Sir John Findlay as a practical politician, but who look upon him as a theorist and faddist of a peculiarly windy and frothy order, and from whom little more than words meie words—may be expected, 'there is always, too, the possibility that Sir Joseph Ward s ■way of escape may lie in the direction he himself recently hinted at when he declared that if the policy. of a local nax j were adopted in New Zealand he was one of many men of large interests in the Dominion ivho would at once jcause their estates and leave the country. One good result of the discussion last week in Parliament of the Dominion's naval policy was the Prime Minister’s explicit declaration that the idea of a partnership with Australia in naval matters has never received any encouragement from any member of the Cabinet. And, although the Minister of Defence was unable, pending the arrival of important despatches from the Imperial Government, to make tub disclosure of the naval policy of the Government. Mr Allen was able to give assurance that up to the time of his departure from Great Britain, on bis return to New Zealand, he had not committed the Dominion to any expenditure beyond that which it has now to meet in the form oi a direct contribution to the Admiralty, and the interest and the sinking fund upon the cost of the construction of H.M.b New Zealand. While it is probable that the Government’s proposals, when made kno.vn, may include some additional expenditure on naval defence, it is now certain that the suggestions—wildly indulged in by irresponsible opportunists —that the Government is about to commit the country to an extravagant programme of ship-building has no foundation' in fact. The advocates in the Commonwealth of an Australian navy, would, it is well known, be only too pleased to have the coperation of New Zealand m this ambitious scheme. Mr Allen, when on his way Home, had conferences with members of the Federal Government in Melbourne, which appear to have left the impression that the New Zealand Government was not unfavourable to the idea. A recent utterance of Mr Massey’s mav seem to lend colour to the same thought. Dealing with the nature and character of the Pacific squadron, the Prime Minister said: —“As a British citizen and a New Zealander, I will never be satisfied until there is in the Pacific a fleet—whether made up of Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, or Imperial ships, cm all four combined under one Imperial control —able to hold its own against my combination or any enemy, white or yellow, that might happen to come along.” The sentiment of this exclamation is splendid ; but, in so far as it might be interpreted to mean the possession bv New Zealand of a navy of its own —either in conjunction with the Commonwealth or with Canada. —the hour is, clearly, not yet. For some long time to come, having regard to its small population and limited financial resources, this Dominion must, in prudence, restrict its contributions to naval defence to such direct monetary assistance as she is able to give to the Imperial navy. Any project for the establishment of a local navy must be deferred indefinitely, 'and this despite the plausible arguments advanced by so ardent an advocate as Mr Richard Jell, in that recently-published book, “ The Britannic QueaHon,” Sir Joseph Ward, than whom no more ardent Imperialist exists, has forcefully, but fairly, set forth the difficulties that bar the way to the establishment of u New Zealand' navy, and his facts and figures can scarcely be successfully controverted. In the attainment of this and of other Imperial ideals, the surest and safest police is to make haste slowly ; above all. avoiding even the suspicion of weighting the people of Now Zealand with a burden of taxation which in time might become too heavy to bear. There will be so much expenditure needed for many years to come for the due development of internal resources, that necessarily, the cost of external defence must be held in check. At the same time, there must be steadily kept in view the vision dreamed bv Cecil Rhodes, and which, at the time of that empire-builder’s death in March. 1902, was put in pungent phrase and set to unfoigetable music by Francis Thompson —a. dead poet, whose muse is only just receiving recognition; And. this is in his dream, And, sure, the dream is great. Lo, colonies in colonies The furred Canadian, and the digger’s shirt, To the one Mothers skirt Cling, in the love of Empire, to be wise; A hundred wheels a-tyrn, All to one end—that England’s sons may learn The glor\ of their son ship, the supreme Worth that befits the heirs of such estate. All these are ’n his dream, And, sure, the dream is great.

Xpw Zealand's Viral Policy.

Tlie Australian >avy Scheme. >o]

New Zealand’s coast-line has an unenviable

reputation for inhospitable Onr Inhospitable treatment of the shipping Coast. sailing the Pacilic, and the record of the wrecks of recent years is a lamentable one. The past two or three months have added in large measure to the loss and waste which such catastrophies entail. The wreck of the Star of Canada at Gisborne was followed by the stranding of the Indrabarah near Wangnui; and, although in the latter case the boat was successfully refloated, the cost to the Tyser Company of these two casnalities must have been considerable. The disaster to the Federal-Houlder Shire liner Devon, on the coast near Pencarrow Head, has proved the most disastrous of the wrecks of recent years,

as in this latter case the crew barely escaped with their lives, and the vessel is a total loss. Without in any way venturing to comment on the inquiry now proceeding, it is at least safe to say that, in view of the frequeucv of the disasters attending New Zealand shipping, some additional survey seems needed, with a view of more accurately gauging the strength of insidious currents, and of charting uncharted rocks and shoals. In view of the importance of naval defence, and of the greater frequency with which costly Dreadnoughts and other ironclads will visit our parts, it may be advisable to solicit the assistance of the Imperial authorities in undertaking this extensive survey. The Minister of Marine has, we believe, some such scheme in view, and the wreck of the Devon will doubtless help to accelerate any steps in this direction which he raav see fit to undertake.

The Dominion is at present suffering from two epidemics—both of which are causing the Government considerable qualms: the one an epidemic of smallpox among the Maoris in the north, and the other an epidemic of Bible-in-schools among the clergy. Moreover, it is a moot question which is the more difficult to manage —the Maoris or the clergy. The Public Health Department is coming in for considerable blame for permitting smallpox to gain so great a hold among the Maoris before taking the present energetic steps, including the despatch of a dozen Otago medical students upon a vaccinating crusade to stamp out the disease It may, at least, be pleaded in defence that the outbreak was an entirely new thing, and that, for a while at least, there was great difference of opinion concerning its diagnosis. There appears every probability, however, of the disease being confined almost exclusively to the Maori settlements where it first originated, and , the action now taken should result in the epidemic being r-duced to reasonable proportions, and ultimately stamped out. Unfortunately, however, the smallpox ecare is likely to militate against the success of the Auckland Exhibition. The Bible-in-schools epidemic has had fresh manifestation in the deputation of Bible-leaguers which waited upon the Prime Minister with a request for a referendum at the - next election. Mr Massey, however, made it plain that the Government did not intend to move in the matter this session, and he gave the deputation two nuts to crack which will keep them employed for some time to come: the first so to word the question to be submitted to the electors as to moke a clear issue answerable by a simple “Yes” or “No" ; the second, to devise a scheme of religious instruction in the State'Schools that will not involve and perpetuate sectarian strife.

Two Kpidem c*.