The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1930. IS IT IMPATIENCE?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19119, 11 July 1930, Page 8

The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd.

FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1930. IS IT IMPATIENCE?

Gloucester Street and Cathedral Square CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND. London Representative* a R. B. BRETT & SON

'TT'HE NARROW ESCAPE of the A Labour Government in Britain may bring Mr Ramsay MacDonald to a realisation of the necessity for strengthening his position with the Liberals. It is, of course, common knowledge that he can do so only by granting a measure of electoral reform. That is the chief condition upon which Mr Lloyd George has given his support to the Government, and it may be that this latest division is a gesture of impatience at Mr MacDonald’s reluctance to redeem his pledges. Evidently he is temporising on this subject, realising that the anomalies of the last general election, grave as they were, enabled him to reach his present eminence. These anomalies can best be set out in a summary of the electoral situation as follows:

Seats Votes Seats to per Votes. Won. Votes. Seat. Cons 8,656,225 256 232 34,000 Lab 8,389,512 288 225 29,001) Lib 5,308,738 59 143 90,000 The Labour Party, though outnumbered in voting strength by the Conservative Party to the extent of a quarter of a million votes, secured a substantially greater number of seats at the election, and through the random operation of the electoral system, three Liberal votes were required to provide the equivalent of one vote of either of the other parties. No system of plural voting in Britain ever produced more unjust effects than this, and the anomaly is deepened by the fact that, although Britain has just granted equal universal franchise, it has not given the corollary to such a franchise—an equal value in the vole.

USEFUL RELIEF WORKS.

TT IS PART of the stock-in-trade A of critics of the Government to say that money for relief work is being wasted, and is no cure for unemployment. A striking reply to the first part of this contention is to be found in the completion of the formation of a splendid tourist road on Cashmere Hills extending as far as Gebbie’s Pass. Of the £IB,OOO spent on eight and a half miles of road surface, 90 per cent has gone in wages. It is true that five miles of the road is not metalled, but this work should have the sympathetic consideration of local bodies in and around Christchurch, and may provide an outlet for further relief work. The road itself goes from Dyer’s Pass, past Cooper’s Knob, and on to Gebbie’s Pass, from which easy access may be had to Teddington, Governor’s Bay or Molukarara. This will be one of the most beautiful and attractive tourist roads for motorists in the Dominion, and its value to the city can hardly be over-esti-mated.

PUTTING IT MILDLY.

, '"g"~'I IE CORONER, in his lengthy A rider regarding the Sockburn crossing smash, in which five occupants of a motor-car and the driver of a locomotive were killed, lets the Railway Department down rather lightly when he says that he can find no fault with the Department in regard to the guarding of the crossing. The Department itself does not go so far, because it has admitted the inadequacy of the crossing-keeper’s little will o’ the wisp lamp which, according to the evidence, was flashed alternately on both sides of the crossing, and also in the direction of the train, and might easily have been overlooked by a car driver among all the confused lights of the locality. The Coroner does say, however, that the fact that the train was travelling tender first was “ not in accordance with the demands made for safeguarding the lives of the railway officials,” but he might also have added “ for safeguarding the lives of the passengers who were in this train, and also the lives of the passengers in the motor-car.” It seems clear that if the train had been running cow-catcher first it would have thrown the motor-car clear of the line, and possibly minimised the loss of life. YVe have no doubt that the Railway Department will enforce the regulations more strictly in the future, but the first and greatest need is a drastic improvement in the safety of level crossings generally.

The 39 Articles were settled as the result of a revision by Archbishop Parker and Bishop Guest In 1563. In a letter to the King, one begins, “Sire,** and ends. “I remain your Majesty’s faithful and dutiful servant.”