WELLINGTON ECHOES.

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12771, 18 April 1910, Page 4

WELLINGTON ECHOES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) The announcement of the new Gov- ■ ernor has not set the harbour on fare, A gentlemanly, quiet, middle-aged baronet, who has more names than services in Mb record, and has done good work in the field as well as in Parliament; such a one is likely to do well. As a recent convert to the Liberal side, by reason of the, to him, eccentricities of Conservative friends, he naturally has to be honoured, and it is moreover convenient to him to be out of the way for a time. Therefore, the Bplendid exile of "God's Own Country" seems jusfc th© thing for him. Some vague authority once said of him that he would, if ho lived long enough, make his mark on the front benches in the Commons. If he is to do thatever, tho term of Gorernorship he is about to Berve will teach him something he requires. A Conservative who has become Liberal because of his freetrade proclivities is not likely to be ever a Liberal strong enough fof uncompromising tactics, until he acquires some knowledge ot the practical work of the main points of the Liberal programme, which are agreed to by both sides of the House in the Dominion. Such a man, it he, is clever, and this man is said to be very intelligent, is likely to take back to the Old World some good eye openers in the matter of experience ot what may be done by business capacity, untrammelled by thought of political separation of ideas. Even should the inevitable reaction come wS one day will put the Masseyite party into power, the lesson to one ot this calibre will be the same. , In one respect the new Governor is iie antithesis of the old, Lord PluiiTKet has a family big enough, to eatitle "his lady to speak with authority to, 'the mothers of the Dominion, bir John Paynder Dickson-Poynder has none. One of the wags remarked, on hearing of the circumstances, that tne ' 'Colonial Office must have advertised | 'for "a married couple without encumbrance" ; to which somebody said, "You are thinking of the New South Wales controversy." To which the /reply in turn came that in the mmd of the Colonial' Office probably the two countries are identical. Talking of Lord Plunket, one can only say -that if the new Governor is to be like the old, then he will grow in popularity to the last day of his term. That is being proved by Lord : Plunket, who is going round the coun- :' try just now, and by those terse, happy speeches of his, reaping a har- • vest of applause and. goodwill not 1 often attained by'Governofs. The flag flying at half-mast from • the tower of Parliament House has reminded the public that during the week of the death of the Hon. F. Trask, of Nelson: There is general sympathy, for Mr Trask was a kindly, genial soul, straightforward and frank, who did his duty without ostentation, and was much* liked for his ,#(sny good qualities and unfailing ' thought!' ulness. '"'. "There is biit one subject of interest. ■ It' ia notthe racesj.it is not the ap.proaching meeting of tho No-license interest. Neither . is it the looming Municipal Conference. It is Powelka. Many things have happened round about this notorious person, as the • papers have chronicled. But the worst thing thai has yet occurred is that some "faddy creature" has begun to raise the question of the man's sanity, with a decided stateuent to the effect that he is insane. Instinct lias already revealed to this faddist that Powelkarinay stand in.the shadow i of the gallows for the murder of Constable Macguire, and his faddiness i impels him to set up, beforehand, the plea of extenuation. In the case bf serious crimes two things are noticeable; one is the ease with which the faddist pronounces a criminal insane, and the other is the difficulty of those who know anything about the subject — the experts^ — to decide as to his sanity.

The Committee of National Defence has met; has accepted the principle once more of compulsory : service ; has ordered the Government to abide by Lord Kitchener's report without any "s^iinanaking," and has answered for; the patriotism of the Dominion, as ready to pile up behind this policy. If the meetings of this important body were equal in magnitude to the greatness of its cause, the future would be without caro to the earnest military student. But as the Committee has never managed -to get together: more than a hundred persons at a time in a public hall, one can only hope that there are other factors favourable to tho adoption of the Kitchener report in its entirety. -