THE Waihi Daily Telegraph. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WAIHI MINER THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1905

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume V, Issue 1317, 4 May 1905, Page 2

THE Waihi Daily Telegraph. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WAIHI MINER

THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1905

Hore stall tie I'rosß tho mamtain Unswoil by lnSuenbo »nd uubtibod by «»ln; .; ' Hore patriot Truth lio-glbnoni prompts''din' Pledged to Eoiljrjpn Liberty,uidXaw •'

We must compliment (he electors of AVaihi on the attentive bearing tbeyhave given.to representatives of both sides of the Hope in their late addresses. A few weeks ago we had. Mr Seddon, PreQiior of the colony, speaking from the Gocern. ment point of view on the leading political questions, and on Tuesday, night wo had. Mr .Hemes*' member.for the district and a leading Oppositionist, giving his views on the "matters .dealt with by the Premier. The hearing given, t 0 both was attentive, and forthe most part sympathetic, aud the raeeting B were: entirely free, from the party feelihg which has lately been a feature of political meetings in other parts of the colony. This redounds to the credit of the electors • and not only that, but owing to the attentive hearing they have been able t 0 comprehend clearly both sides of the political issues. The..speocL of Mr Herries proves once again that in the matter of policy there is. no serious difference between the Government and Opposition ; also, that the aim of the Opposition is not so .much to .acquire, office with the 'view of launching anew policy, but rather to acquire it .for the sake of the sweets that belong, to it. Mr Herries eaya that if the. Opposi+ Ition got into power theyiwould.(to [nothing reactionary* meaning, of course, they would, not rescind ■any of tho laws passed by the Seddon Government. If that is so, what ;is the use of a change ? It is strongly urged by the Opposition that if Crown tenants want,the freeI boldthey should get it. As long as ; the '■■ leasehold is riot made general throughout the country, that is afajr j proposal, and .tho best way of finding whether tenants want the freehold is to put it to the vote of those concerned. This is being done, and the views of the tenants are now being taken. Prosperous times have no doubt enabled many of the tenants to save money enough to convert their leaseholds into freeholds, and if a big majority are anxious foi the conversion they will probably get what they want. The member for the district was justly severe on the Department of Mines for its apathy in regard to mining development. The figures quoted from the Estimates, proving that out of grants totalling £3i(i,851 for development and prospecting for the past seven years only .£151,108, or lesß than half, had been spent, show that the Department is niggardly and silised, and ought to be reformed. Good service is done by the Opposition when it sifts out and ex. poses these acts of unfairness by the Government. The assertion of Mr Herries in regard to the Mines Department applies to the other Departments, but not, as far ai we can gather, to so glaring an extent. The proposal to deprive Ministers of the power to make appointments to the Civil Seryice Is a good one. (There is no doubt the power is abused by all Ministries, the present one not excepted, and will so continue as long as the power rests in their hands. Ministers oughtto.be anxibui to be rid of it, for wherever they. go toadies ■: anil

touts are tracking them, all after billets for themselves or their friends or relatives.. A Civil Service Board, as free from control' as Supremo Court Jnrlgep, would be a far better channel through which to make these appointments. The proposal to reform the Upper House by electing it in the same way as the Lower. House will not be approved by the country. An Upper Houae of the kind would simply be a party Chamber, just the same as the House of Representative?, and would never serve the purpose for which it was primarily intended. It would be much better to abolish' it altogether than reform it on pariytyivea. Another mistake,is the 1 proposal that natives shonld be placed on thesi'me footing as Europeans in regard to their lands. Mr Hemes did not say What ho meant by this, but if he means that the natives should be empowered to sell the land, the- idea will be condemned by all except land-sbarks, The lanjl is the only asset the natives have, and if they part with it they must be a burden on the State. But as far as the address on a whole went, there was little or nothing in it that was really antagonistic to the policy of the Government, and the question is whether the persons best qualified to control the policy areihose who gave 'effect to it 0 v those who opposed it tooth an;j na .ji at the time of its introduction?