THE WAYS OF THE WORLD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1734, 8 May 1888, Page 2

THE WAYS OF THE WORLD.

In a ptniphlet on Protection, written by a Mr Pozsi, of Christchurch, it is stated the value of our imports Imve exceeded the value of out exports by forty-two and a»half millions. "Civis," in the Otogo

| Daily Tim»B, doubts this, on the ground »that "political economists affirm that a country canuot consume more than it produces; that imports and exports

invariably and necessarily balance eacb other." Mr Pozz' is right, and so is Mr —and New Zaalanrt is wrong. It ie a fact that New Zealand has imported over forty millions pounds' worth of goods more than she has exported, »nd it is also a correct political principle that no country cun afford to buy more than she sells. New Zaalund hus, therefore, violated the laws of political economy, aud it is New that i 3 wrong, and not political economy.

New Zealand has worked exactly on the

same principle as ber own bankrupts She has bHen all along living "on tick ;" she has bought with borrowed rroney more than ahe has sold, and anyone who has had any experience of bankruptcy knows what that leads to. Finding now that New Zealand's depression has arisen from the fact that she has violated economic laws, it appears to me that h*r remedy lies io a return to a severe compliance with these laws, To make the position easy of compiehension, 1 will just give "Civis" a homely illustration of my meaning. Supposing that Mr Oivis went on the spree, would he not thus violate the laws of health and purse? To continue on the spree must necessarily multiply his ills, until one fine morniug he finds himself brought up at the Police Court, probably in delirium tremens, and charged with lunacy from drink. If Mr o ; vis had "doDued the blue" in tirno he would have been s»ved from th*t humiliating and miserable end. New Zealand has been oo a mad borrowing and importing spree, and she is now mffering from consequent exhaustion, ifer pockets are erripty ; slie is weak in energy j youug aad beautiful, butenfeebWi—she' cannot Understand what i$ her ailment, It comes

to this ; that just as tbe druokard violates tbe laws of health she has violated the laws of true political economy by having lived on borrowed money, and she mast now, if she is to regain her strength, discontinue her madness. He ions must at once lay an information against bar, and take out a prohibition order to stop her from importing goods. She must in future import less and export mora, and she can do that, only by the aid of Protection. If the continues importing goods with borrowed money she uust coma to grief.

School politics at Winchester are amusing. Amongst the seven who constituted the Committee there arose a dissensions recently, the formation of two distinct parties being the outcome. In order to tell my story it is necessary for me to give these parties names, and consequently shall call them the " right party " and the " left party." The reason 1 give them these names is because when one party resigned the other remained in power, and then that was the only party left. Following immediately on the resignation of the " rights " there came an appeal to the country, and the " lefts " were put right and the "rights" were put left by tne popular voice of the free and independent. The original " rights r y.uuhed amidst the shadows of common people. Pope probably had them in his mind's eye when he wrote—- " 0 Sons of Earth ! attempt ye still to rise By mountains piled on mountains to the ikiesj Heaven itill, with laughter, tho rain toil

surveys, And buries madmen in the htap they raise." They were buried in their own actions. They resigned and they were not reelected. But, after having been twelve years in seclusion, there came forward, with a Quintus Gurtius generosity, a noble leader to do battle for the party, and he at once became Premier. He sent. a report of the transactions to the Imperial Education Parliament of this part of the world. Here now I find myself in a fix. I have heard on good authority thai the Board came to the conclusion that the present School Committee at Winchester, is like Don Pedro in "Don Ciesar"—"null and void"—and consequently reduced the anatomy ot that body corporate to fragmentary parts. The report of the proceedings, as published in the papers, however, do not harmonise with this, and thus lam puzzled. I do not knew which story to believe.

The newspaper account is that Mr Inwood reported to the Education Board that persons outside, the school district voted at the election, and naively insinuated unworthy motives to them by expressing wonder at their interfering in the election. This was good—very good •—and a very adroit way of arousing suspicions, but if Mr Inwood could only disabuse his mind oF party prejudices, and look at facts honestly in the faee, he might be able to remember that neither he nor anyone else present at the annual meeting knew the boundaries of the school district. When, therefore, nobody could define the boundaries of the district what is there surprising in a householder living on the exact boundary, to whom Winchester was the nearest school, voting at the election } Nothing ! And yet Mr Inwood is surprised that this householder did not know by instinct, or by divine inspiration, or by witchcraft, or by some extraordinary means, what no one else knew—that is, that he was voting wrong. I like fair play, but it is not fair to suggest unworthy motives to any outsider who voted at that meeting, when neither he nor those who ought to know knew whether he was entitled to vote or not. '' Vulgus ex veritatepquca ** opinionc muta aeitimat."

The second count in the indictment is that Mr Northani is not qualified to sit as a member of the Committee, because he has no better qualification than a workshop. It is said that the Board's solicitor pronounced Mr Northam disqualified. 11 (Jod help then, Southey, and thy readers, too," said Pope; and I say " God help the solicitor and the Board he advises." How anyone who claim's to have the least idea of the simplest rudiments of English grammar can hare any doubt about the question is incomprehensible. Every householder, male or female, is eligible for a sent on the Committee, and the only question involved is, What constitutes a householder 1 The interpretation clause of the Act defines it as follows:—" Householder means every adult, male or female, person who, as owner or tenant, lessee or occupier, occupies, uses, or resides in any dwelling-house, shop, warehouse, or other building in any district." Mr Northam occupies a shop and uses it to woik in. How can anything be more plain t If the language had been " occupies, uses, and resides," it would mean that Mr Northam would have to reside in the shop to qualify himself, because the copulative conjunction " ana " uniteß together the three words " occupies, uses, resides." But it is not the copulative conjunction " and " that is used in the definition of a householder, but the disjunctive conjunction " or," which disunites the three words referred to, and marks the alternative conditions under which a person may have such an interest in a building as would qualify him as a householder. He must occupy it, use it, or reside in it, and Mr Northam occupies and uses a shop, therefore he is qualified. To give a simple illustration of this, let me suppose that I say " 1 will go to town to-day, to-morrow, and the day after." That means that I intend to go to town on every day of the three days. But supposing I said, "I will go to town to-day, to-morrow, or the day after," it implies that I intend to go only on one of the three days. The difference between the word " and," which couples words together, and the word " or," which disjoins, them changes the meaning of the sentence. Now, on the same principle, supposing L said " I will ocsupy, use, and reside in that house," it means that I intend to live in it. But supposing I said "1 will occupy, use, or reside in that house," it means that I leave it optional with myself which of the three interests I shall have in the house. In the same way in the definition of householder the three interests are separated, and any one of them is a sufficient qualification. I wish I knew who the Board's solicitor is. If i did I would givo him an advice free, and it would be not to interpret the law to please people, as to give foolish opinions like this, so as to suit interested views, must do himself injury. " Sunt aupem sua jura" (the gods have theif own laws), and; by jumbo ! it is so wijjb; the Bqafd, of Education, probably,"

A word of advice free now : Messieurs le Comite, I admit that the giddy height to which you have attained in being elected to manage the Winchester School is enough to turn ordinary minds, and there is an excuse for your vagaries. But really you are exhibiting too much feeling, of a not viry desirable kind, over a vary small matter, and, for decency's sake, you ought now to pull together, and not expose yourselves in futura to so much adverse criticism* If you do not take my advice now, 1 will call in tbs Peacemaker of Rangitatt to my assistance, and then——, but I will oot threaten. Th» Peacemaker is a terror. His motto is : " Homo vita commodatut, non donatus eat," the literal translation of which is " Man has been lent, not given, life." I do not know whether ha pre* sumea to say tiiat the loan of life has been alymced by himself or not, but, anyhow, his custom is to execute under his bill of sale. If you promise to be better in future I will Dot let him know anything about you, and he may possibly overlook you altogether. Cori O'Lanub, K.O.M.G.