A PRESUMPTUOUS M.P.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12502, 31 March 1909, Page 2

A PRESUMPTUOUS M.P.

MR, TAYLOR ENLIGHTENS ME. ASQUITH. V Christchurch March 30. Yesterday, Mr T. E. Taylor, M.P.. sent the following cable message to the Prime Minister of Great Britain: —"The Cabinet's offer of a Dreadnought was .-made" without consultation with the Parliament^ or the people. There is an increasing feeling that the offer was unconstitutional and an unfortunate interference with British party politics. I believe Parliament would gladly increase the Naval subsidy.— T. E. Taylor." MR TAYLOR'S EXPLANATION. (Special to "The Colonist.") Cbristcburch .March JJO. "After consultation with the people in Christchurch North and with sther persons," said Mr T. E. Tay- ■ lor, M.P., to a reporter when he was sxplaining his reasons "for sending i message to the Prime Minister of Great Britain, "I f<?lt that it was i wise thing to do. We believe that the balk of the excitement of the aast week or two has been carefully worked up by the Conservative Party n England, and that it was prompt;d more' by a desire to discredit the Liberal administration ,and to emjarrass the British Premier, than by my feeling that there was real danger of immediate conflict with Gernany. My own feeling is that the yhole incident is a fine illustration of ;he confusion that will arise if cololial governments interfere with the sourse of British politics, unless an ictual crisis is known to exist. The jiberal Government at Home has Tied to carry out a programme of reorm, which has naturally aroused he ■ antagonism of the Conservative vnd capitalistic classes. Most des>erate efforts have been made to imiede the passage of the Home Govirnment's bills, and except in regaTd o the Old Age Pensions Bill, the conservative- forces in the House of Commons and the House of . Lords lave combined successfully to block he progress of social reform. The lew Zealand Government's interfernce in the naval dispute has prQ«

vided the Conservative Party in the House of Commons with one of the most effective weapons for electioneering purposes that that party had any nope to possess. If tho ftow -Zealand Parliament had been consulted before the impetuous offer was made by the New Zealand Government, it is almost certain that this consideration -would have been pressed on Sir Joseph Ward, and he would at least been forced to ascertain before rushing into the arena of British party politics, that an Imperial crisis calling for demonstrations from the Britisn dependencies really existed. For these reasons, and because the majority of the people with whom I have been able to discuss the subject during the past week feel that a violation ot Parliamentary, right has been perpetrated, the cable message was seuk Home to-day. I may add that there is also a strong feeling that the attitude of the newspapers of New Zealand on this question does not voice the opinion of the majority of the people in the country. One of the most extraordinary features or the Government's offer is the extraordinary despatch by the Prime Minister to the editors of tho newspapers of a panic telegram. It led the editors to believe that the Government was in possession "of information riot at the "time revealed to the public through the newspapers, to the effect that the conditions at Home called for extraordinary action, on the part of the New Zealand Government. It seems to be increasingly clear that the impetuous offer of the Government was prompted by a more than childish desire to get ahead of Australia and other countries in a demonstration of loyalty to the Empire. A few more incidents like this would do ' much to strengthen the movement for ' independence, which is rapidly growing in Canada and Australia. The quiet dignity of tho Australian authorities and the Canadian Government is in marked contrast to the plunging diplomacy of our own Government^'