The Star. THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12063, 19 July 1917, Page 4

The Star. THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

ffHE LAND AGENTS ACT. Many instances could be given of ! faulty draughtsmanship in connection ■with the laws of tho country—where Acts of Parliament on being interpreted by the Judges of the Supreme Court 1 , have been found to mean something very different from what they were intended, to mean by those responsible for placing them on the Statute Book. How often has it occurred that when a law has been put to tho tost, when every word and phrase have been placed vmd<s the legal microscope and tho meaning given in legal phraseology, it been found that it conveyed or implied something entirely different from tho intentions of the Legislature? It, must bo remembered that a Judge can take no cognisance of the intentions of the framers of an Act. It is his duty to interpret the words of tho statute without any reference whatever to intentions. Fortunately the Bench of the Dominion has ever been occupied by men of unimpeachable integrity and the highest legal knowledge, and once they have given their interpretation there has been no cavilling, but the Legisla- ' tare has hastened to amendments "remedying the defeats, and making the fording of the Acts in consonance with YUe intention of the Parliament of the 'country- How often Parliament lias W called upon to pass amending ~-legislation it is, unnecessary to say, but

we are afraid that its labours in that direction have "by no means yet come to an end. Faulty draughtsmanship has been responsible for interminable and costly litigation, and sometimes it has happened that people have been substantial sufferers through placing too implicit reliance on loosely -worded Acts of Parliament.

In this connection, it is interesting to read a decision given in the Wanganui district a few weeks ago relative to the Land Agents Registration Act, 1911. That Act was ostensibly pasged for the purpose of protecting the interests of clients. Before the passing of the Act anyone, practically, could act as a land agent, and irrespective of whether he was reputable or otherwise. Whether lie was a man of millions or a man of straw, he was free to engage In the calling without any restriction as far as the law was concerned. A clause in the Act specifies that among other things an applicant for registration shall give a fidelity bond for £SOO from some approved insurance company. No doubt it was the intention of the framers of the Act and the Parliament that this should serve as a protection to clients, that in ease the agent defaulted the insurance money would be devoted to compensating those who had sustained losses. There can t>e little doubt that' the intention of the Legislature was that in case the agent failed to meet his obligations the amount of the bend should be divided pro rata among those who suffered loss. But the Act does not specifically provido that) this should be done, and the Wanganui decision directed that the amount, of the bond should bo paid into trie public account, and inot to those who had suffered loss! The Grown took the whole of the £SOO, and the victims of tl;o land agent, received nothing; Such a law is, of course, an absurdity, ancr me sooner it is altered the better. The mention of a fidelity bond m connection with the Act naturally served to allay any fears wfcieh prospective clients may have entertained, but the Wanganui decision will cause much perturbation among those doing business with land agents, since they are nm\ aware that as far as (.her are concerned the bond is absolutely useless. Surely Ihe authors of the Act did not intend that .the Government should benefit by the default of a land agent, and that the victims should have no redress? Hut that in the position; and, although the present session isf likely to be devoted n'.mo-:t, exclusively to wnr measures, it will be o. serious reflection on our legislators if this palpable defect in the Land Agents Registration Act is i-.'jt remedied.

THE EXCESS PROFITS TAX. That, the sympathies of the present House of Representatives arp with the wealthy classes of tho country has admitted of no doubt since the election of December, 1011,- and although it contains a number of men imbued with a spirit, of democracy, And others who use democratic watchwords solely for their own ends, the House is unquestionably less progressive than many of its predecessors. Prior to the election of 1911 wo were promised a " square deal and the removal of all the ailments <trv

•which tho body politic is heir. But wo have looked in vain for these promises | to materialise, and judging from whispers which have reached us from Weir.' lington we are afraid that there is' serious""7]angor that an attempt will boi made during the present session to., place taxation on tho wrong shoulders! , It is openly stated that certain sections 1 of the House are industriously intriguing for tho repeal of the excess prolits tax, and that the following obtained by this selfish coterio is so largo as to inf'use the leaders of the movement with confidence of achieving success. Much of the engineering is being done in secret, for the promoters of the plot to transfer a just tax to other shoulders nre not desirous that their schemes should be revealed to tho light of day. Obviously the little coterio and its meek and mild followers inside and outside tho House prefer darkness to light, but that it is thoroughly determined to leave nothing undono to win success is perfectly clear. Already the Government has, it is Understood, been approached; innumerable wires have been pulled, .and the whole train has been laid with the sinister aim in view of transferring this just tax to other shoulders. The success or failure of the machinations of the plotters must depend almost entirely on the attitude of the Government. If the Ministry shows any disposition to listen to tho pleas of tho conspirators the tax may be regarded as already repealed. If, on tlii> other hand, the members of the Ministry aro united and firm, there is nothing to fear, as we feel sure that) if Mr Massoy and Sir Joseph "Ward were to announco their unalterable determination to stand by the Act the conspirators would quickly recede from their unpatriotic position.

Tn those strenuous times, v.-hen the imposition of new taxation is imperative, it is inevitable that there should ho inequalities, but we cannot imagine how anyone can reasonably object to an excess profits tax. The marvel is that the Government has been so moderate, that it has taken such a small share of the, excess profits. On a historical occasion, when "Warren Hastings was arraigned for making undue exactions in India, he declared that when he looked back at the opportunities which were his during his years of unrestricted ivilo, he marvelled at his own moderation, and well might we marvel that our own Government has not taken a larger share of the excess profits. If, indeed, the country were to take tha whole of the excess profits, would it have imposed any great hardship? AVe think not. There has been much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in connection with this tax, but we feel sure there has been little, if any, justification for complaint. Only a few days ago we heard the story of a wealthy Aucklander who lias for months been in a state of chronic grief because —his excess profit*; tax last year amounted to' £798! As our informant said: " Even when he writes a letter the pages bear »videnc« of tears shed for tho shekels which an unjust Government has extorted from this highly deserving and sorely .stricken plutocrat. If such cases were singular wp might afford to laugh at their absurdity, but

that is not the case. There are many who nurse their grievances to keep them 'warm, and they are now banded together to secure the abolition of the tax. Wo look to' the Government to thwart the effort', and feel sure the country will be bitterly disappointed if it yields to the pressure which is being brought to heav on it. The Government in its capacity of guardian of the publio interests cannot afford to show any weakness in its handling of tlio rfaeotion of tar.ation. GEORGE OF WINDSOR. The King's new family title, rather tardily replacing the now disreputable enemv names, may not exactly fulfill all the anticipations of those who expected a territorial, title "calculated to appeal to the public imagination," to quote the words of the. cabled forecast;, but it certainly possesses the needful qualities of dignity and historic associations. When the ancient name of Windsor is mentioned, the reader's first thought perhaps is of Kipling's verses. "The Widow at Windsor," which shocked courtiers by their free and easy references to Royalty, and which, indeed, are said to have deprived their writer of any chance he had of the Poet Laureateship and a title. Mr Kipling makes Tommy Atkins, the Atkins of the old Regular Army, sayWalk wide o* tho Widow at Windsor, For 'olf of creation she owiis. We've bought 'or tho same with the sword

and tho flame, An' we'vo salted it dora with our bones. The royal castle at Windsor is no doubt more intimately associated with memories of Queen Victoiia than ot any other figure in British story, but, its history begins at a very early period in the records of England, antedating even the Norman Conquest. As> early as the times of tho English Heptarchy there was a stronghold at "Windsor ; there is a remnant of tlnat remote epoch to bo seen there to-day, a great mound, moated and circular, about 125 ft in diameter. Even then, therefore, the, spot which is now the chief residences of the world's greatest, ruler was the rude fortress of some ft axon chieftain. History tells us that William the Conqueror was attract-cd by the grand forest of Windsor, slonip of which still remains, as a preserve for the bunting of deer and the wild boar, and his immediate successors made the beautiful spot their principal royal home. Edward tli-} Third wholly reconstructeu the primitive castle on a massive scale, about 1341, to form a meeting place for his newly established order of Knights of the Garter. He selected this spot because, according to a legend quoted by the chronicler Foissart, it was on the summit of the ancient moated mound that King Arthur used to sit surrounded bv his Knights of tho. Round Table. From Edward's time miwardsi throigh the centuries the Windsoi buildings were further fortified and added to, and many noble structures were reared about the original castle. History, romance, and poetry, too, have united to build a literary structure about. Windsor; we rend of its deer forests and the inns of the Old Town in the merry pages of Shakespeare, and a wealth of fascinating 'egendry his been woven about its walls, and towers. Windsor is a name of olden glamou-, born of more than a thousand years of history and romance; in our New Zealand phrase it is a title of high " mana," and as a family name for Britain's ruling house it could scarcely be improved upon

THE SOUTH SEA SERVICE. The usual reply of tho steamship company which holds a monopoly of j the communications between New Zealand and tho South Sea Islands, | whenever a request is mado for an improved service, is that the present service is being run at a vei'y heavy loss. Indeed, a similar excuso is put forward whenever an improvement is requested in any other branch of tho company's traffic; and in tho absence of any effective means of bettering affairs, the public have simply to submit to whatever services and terms tho biggest shipowning concern of Australasia deems fit to provide. The caistomary reply of " very heavy loss" has just been given tho Auckland Chamber of Commerce, which protested against a proposed reduction in tho Eastern Pacific cargo service. The Union Steam Ship Company threatened that if the service were to be. maintained _ the freight rates would have to be " revised." Under existing war conditions it is impossible for travellers and shippers of cargo to do otherwise than submit to tho company's terms, however extortionate, but there is undoubtedly a growing conviction throughout the Dominion that State regulation and State competition are absolutely necessary in order not only to set passage rates .and cargo freights on a fair basis, but to extend and improve the various services. The South Sea Island trade, for one thing, is crippled under the existing monopoly. These island groups, especially Samoa, the Cook Islands and other Islands under New Zoaland's jurisdiction, aro retarded by the want of reasonably frequent and cheap communications with the Dominion, their chief market and chief source of supply. Some islands, in fact, have no steam connection at all. Tho largest island of all, outside the Samoas, Niuo or Savage Island, with its population of nearly fivo thousand peopjkv, never receives a call from a New Zealand steamer. Tho excuse given is that it lies off th B usual round. For the sake of a few extra hours' steam, therefore, a large and productive island within New Zealand's Pacific boundaries—indeed, tho nearest/ of these islands to our shores -is entirely neglected save by small sailing vessels, and' its fruit crops go to waste for the want of a market. If wo are to obtain th© maximum benefit from our South Sea trade and coniu'ctior;,?, and if the productive islands are to be developed as they should bo, tho State must extend its activities to the steamer business when tho return. of peace enables us to devoto proper attention to our commercial affairs.