THE STAR. TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11948, 6 March 1917, Page 4

THE STAR. TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

CIVILIAN V. MILITARY SERVICE A curious conflict between military end civil interests has developed in Dunedin, where the Military .Service Board decided yesterday to recommend that three engineers' apprentices who had voluntarily enlisted in the forces should he granted extended leave.to enable them to return to their work. One of tho young men said lie would refuse 1 o return to work, and the other \%wo, who were in a similar frame of mind, asked if tho soldier could be compelled to do civilian work. The firm which appealed on behalf of the apprentices declared that they were essential workers as long as transport work was done at Port Chalmers. The final decision rests with the < amp commandant), and should he decide to retain the men at Treniham he will of course, be acting perfectly within his military jurisdiction. It is extremely doubtful whether the authorities can oompel a man to continue at his civil "work when he wishes to serve his country in the field, and more doubtful still whether it is a wise policy to discourage the voluntary enlistment of physically fit young men. The Empire's most urgent need at this hour is fighting men, and very strong reasons should he shown before the Government refuses tho services of an eligible recruit. It has yet to be demonstrated ito tho satisfaction of the public that an engineer's apprentice is an indispensable man in civilian work. It is likely enough that) much of his work could be carried out by an ordinary unskilled labourer; and it is probable also that men over the fighting age or otherwise ineligible ifor Jthe frontb could give their services in branches of engineering work to which they have been accustomed. The question is one in which the National Efficiency Board may be able to give sompi Assistance, but it must always be remembered that the first! great call is for men for the firing lines and that everything must he subordinated to the imperative task of keeping the- reinforcement drafts up 'to their full strength, and,, if possible. increa.Mng them. All employers of labour must be taught to recognise this and to refrain from setting hindrance- in the way of a man who wishes to «erve in the field.

HAWKE'S BAY. lit retiring from the I'awkoV Bay contest :n favour of Sir John l'imllny, the candidate selected by it he leader of the Libera! Party, Mr A. L. I>. Fraser has done the right thing, for which he deserves the thanks not only of the electors of the district immediately interested, but of the whole Dominion. The election which is being fought in Hawke's Bay is not a parochial affair; it is a national one, ar.d consequently the outcome of it-he contest is of something moro than local interest. Unquestionably Sir John Findlay is one of the strongest men in the public life of the country to-day, a man eminently qualined for leadership, and the time may come when the advanced sections of the community will mlly round him in urging many reforms which the war for the time being. During the time Sir John was a member of -the TTard Cabinet, lie showed great capacity for affairs, and the manner in which he administered the departments immediately under his control, and the way in which he led the Council, drew plaudits from many men who could not* by any stretch . of imagination be regarded as political admirers of the brilliant man whom tire hope to see the elect of Hawke's Bay in sticceseion to the Hon Dr Robert M'Nab. The Hawke's Bay constituency would have done the right and proper thing if it had permitted Sir John to have a walk over, but of course it is .the privilege of every man over the age of twenty-one years to come forward, and Mr lan Simson, whom the electors had more than once previously decisively rejected, apparently thought that this was the opportunity of his life to thrust himself on the electors, and, disregarding vhe circumstances of the election, decided to make another plunge for political faire. Mr A. L. IX Fraser was strongly urged to come forward and at last consented to do so, but; yesterday he decided to retire in favour of Sir John, and in taking, this course, as we *aid before, he had done a magnanimous act for which he deserves the thanks of the community, and no doubt when an opportunity comes fto reward him for his self-abnegation in the national cause, jthe. people will hot overlook the service which he has now rendered to the Dominion. The-retirement o: Mr Fraser, who has asked his supporters to assist the candidature of Sir John Findlay, should place the issue of the election beyond all doubt, and now we confidently predict the return of Sir John by a substantial majority. In a recent issue ;tlie " Xrw Zetland fimes " deals trenchantly with the action of those who forced an election in Hawke's Bay, and incidentally berates the candidates who have thrust themselves into the battle. After dealing with the incidents leading up to the " election, and the necessity for unity during the currency of the war, the "Times" says:— A parliamentary vacancy having oo mrred, the Government has lost no time in selecting one to fill it in whom ft has confidence. Its invitation to, and its nomination of, Sr John Findlay. is a distinct intimation that it wantls his help in the discharge of the onerous duty it is engaged upon. It hp* called upon Sir John because it ■wants him. That is why he is the Government candidate. That is why the two other candidates, who can only be describe as offering their services, cannolt. b® regarded as Government candidates. There is but one Government candidate, and he has been selected as the most capable in lin available throughout the Dominion tto help the Government in the supreme task of prosecuting the war. The honour has come to him unsolicited, "and he is making considerable fcacrifices to accept. tediiJA& 1 )'xii

it. That, however, though most creditable to him, is his personal affair. The pVunt is that he has been brought out. by the Government —not! nominated na'one of sever.nl candidates in the field, but nominated as one brought out by the Government. Ho. represents not a narrow, but tho broadest possible selection. .That is easily understood. Sir John is equipped for the work expected from him. He has a highly-trained mind, great ability, much r>olitical experience, and his culture includes the study of ail the problems which engage the attention of the modern statesman. No one who reads the speeches he has made to the electors of ilawko's Bay can fail to be struck by the fact that in this matter of the prosecution of the war, and the solution of tho many problems presented by the war, Sir John Findiay, tho invited candidate of the National Government, has proved himself a close, far-seeing, able thinker on the best lines of statesmanship. "How best to will the war and meet the conditions and solve the problems which the war has raised " —that phrase of his using conveys the attitude of liis mind towards tho great national crisis which takes precedence of everything else, both local and general, to-day. .As we have said, his handling of 'the details of that principle is masterly. We may add that it justifies the Government's selection of the only Government candidate. The impression we gather from Mr Sim son's speeches is of a wildeyed politician running amok in search of the millennium, which is not likely to present the smallest fraction of its glories for the consideration of tho Parliament, into which he desires to subside a<t the end of his feverish course. Moreover, ho gives one the impression of a man talking in a. period of profound peace, without a single Hun in evidence, either on tho horizon or under the sea. THE COMMONWEALTH DISSOLUTION. There are few students of Commonwealth politics who will not applaud the decision co-rived at by the HughesCook Government to give the people of the. Island Continent an opportunity to extricate the country from the unenviable position in which it was placed as a consequence of the consciiption. referendum which was held en October 28, and which '-esulted in placing political patties and political programmes in the melting pot, A Government without power or ability to translate its policy into acts of parliament is am anachronism in any ctfantry, but in a country claiming to be in the very forefront of democratic states a.s Australia does it is simply intolerable. Under tho circa insumces the Government has unquestionably adopted the proper coursa, and per Imps the only one which offers a reasonable chance of clearing up tho position am) allowing the affairs of tho country to he conducted on constitutional line*. Tho Hughes-Cook Government, although possessing a majority in the House of Representatives--made up or strangely diverse and almost incongruous elements, elements which find

themselves in alliance not because of any common political beliefs but because of their aversion to the principles of tho party led by Mr F. G. Tudor, the party which is frantically opposed to conscription, is in a minority in the Senate. Under ordinary conditions onehalf of the senators were d'ue to go outs of office in a few weeks—three from each State, or eighteen in all. Of these eight are strong adherents of the Tudor party, four are Liberals, whilst six are followers of Mr Hughesj the last-named being South Australian and Western Australian representatives. Eleven antt-Hughes-Gook Senators, in the ordinary course, nad still three years to run, and consequently if the Tudor Labour Party wore able to capture seven of the eighteen seats wJiich were to have become vacant shortly, that party would have half the seats in the Senate, and the consequence would have oeen that, no matter if the Hughes-Cook Government, possessed a majority in the "Lower HfAise, it would he impotent in tho Senate, and with parties thus in conflict it would have been impossible to expect, any legislation or political achievements which would have made for the betterment of tho Commonwealth.

It must be borne in mind that- tho Commonwealth Senate, as far as "legislation is concerned, is not a semi-im-potent body like our own Legislative Council or like the House of Lords since the passing of the Parliament Act. It has powers and privileges very mmrtar to those possessed by tho House of Representatives; it is elected on the same franchise, although by State-wide electorates, and although the Constitution provides elaborate methods for the adjustment of differences between the two chambers, it lias been found m practice that they are not altogether satisfactory, and the only way to secure the smooth working of the parliamentary machino is to have the majority in both Houses of one way of thinking, that is, to have a majority in each chamber supporting the Government of the diiy. In the present House, Mntil the split in the Labour 'Party, that was tho position, bur in previous Parliaments it has occurred on mo r e than one occasion that while the Liberals were in possession of the representative chamber. Labour dominated in tho Senate, but this much must be said in all fairness to the Labour section in the Commonwealth: Senators have never tried to me their powers and privileges to thwart the wishes of the Lower House, and consequently nothing in the nature of a serious difference of opinion has arisen since the establishment of tho Commonwealth at the beginning of the present century. Only recently, too, we have had an assurance from a responsible Labour Senator that members of the party wtfuld not offer any factious opposition to the Hughes-Cook Government. However, it was inevitable that the time could not be long deferred when the two Houses would come into conflict, and wnen the Uovernment would be rendered impotent. As we said before, the course which the Government has decided to take" is beyond question the right one, and although there will be much indignation, especially amongsj. those Senators whose term of office has been so rudely shortened, we have every confidence that the majority of Australians, irrespective of party, will welcome an opportunity to have the position cleared up, and which offers at least a reasonable chance of .enabling the Commonwealth, tp

take her right place as one of the sister dominions of the Empire. The position which obtained during the last few months has certainly not been altogether creditable to tho statesmanship of tho island continent, and we wink tho Government would have been entirely wanting in courage and prescience if it had allowed things to drift any longer. In all probability the elections will be held with as little delay as possible, and we hope the result will he to •uplift Australia as a nation, and enable her to recover some of the, prestige which she unquestionably last during tho last six months.

INVADFN'C SWITZERLAND. The cabled report that tho German General Staff professes to expect French violation of .Swiss territory, for the purpose of executing a turning movement, is very obviously one of the lying tricks in which tho Teuton is so prolific. That it is intended as an excuse for the very act of violation which Germany intends to commit unless she is effectively resisted is equally obvious. For some months past the probability of Germany making a last desperate attempt to turn the. French western defences in the \ r osges by forcing a passage through Swiss territory has been a subject of discussion in" Switzerland and :n France, and there are sufficient indications that the enemy will attempt such a movement immediately an opportunity presents itself. At the New Year Germany, it was reported, gave '' very definite and formal assurances' in respect to Swiss neutrality," but more than one, writer reminded the Swiss Government and people that precisely the same thing happened on the eve cf the violation of Belgian neutrality. The Kaiser. Von Bethmann-Hollweg, Von Jagow (the German Foreign Secretary) and the Prussian War Minister, all en various occasions shortly before the war, declared that Germany was determined to respect the neutrality of Belgium. The object of all these lying assurances was to lull Belgium to sleep. A British writer, recalling these facts, advises the Swiss to sleep with their "guns under their pillows."

A few weeks ago M. Marcel Hutin, writing in the "Echo tie Paris," uttered an emphatic warning on this subjrnt., dwlaring that Germany was planning an attack via Switzerland. To allay the growing apprehension, the President of the. Confederation and several members of tho Government spoke, of Germany's formal assurances, but said that in the event of her committing such mad folly Switzerland would resist, to the last man. Then a mysterious warning appeared in the Cologne Gazette." which said : " After the Allies' repV>' to our Note, tho war will be prosecuted with redoubled energy, and under these conditions what fate does tho future reserve for Switzerland, and what, dangers are ahead of her?" Part of the Swiss Press saw in this an attempt to encourage Switzerland to make further efforts in favour of peace, while others expressed the opinion that Germany would he- committing a most stupid and unpardonable act after confiding the representation of her interests in enemy countries to Switzerland, who, in addition, was giving hospitality and health to many thousands of interned German soldiers It is scarcely likely, however, that these considerations would weigh for a moment with Germany if she saw a chance of .striking at Franco through neutral territory. The only hope for Switzerland lies in continual preparedness and watchfulness, and there is ground for satisfaction in a recent declaration of M. Edmund Schultless, the new President of the Confederation, that the people of Switzerland "would never allow a foreign army to invade its soil," and in the statement also of a Federal Councillor, M. Hoffmann, that "he who supposes us capable of allowing the Germans to pass through our territory without opposing them knows neither the Swiss nor their history." That spirit of resolution and independence may he put to the test very soon.