The Press MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1920. The High Commissionership.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16729, 12 January 1920, Page 6

The Press MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1920. The High Commissionership.

As the extension of Sir Thomas Mackenzie's torm of office as High Commissioner draws to a close, prophets are becoming increasingly confident in their assertions that Sir •Tamos Allen will be chosen to succeed him. Hie Duncdin "Star" now declares that the position has been "earmarked" for Sir James for a long time past; indeed, over since, as a Minister, lie paid his first visit to London. Tho official oracles aro dumb, on this matter when invited to Htate tho position: Mr Massoy carries reticence to a point at which, in tho opinion of the inqnisitivo, it ceases to bo a virtue. Wo shall know all about it in good time. Meanwhile it may bo said unreservedly that if Sir James Alien wishes to tako tho position, ho deserves it. If ho goes to London, either as High Commissioner or Resident Ministor (if wo aro to have one), or in .both capacities, New Zealand will have reason to congratulate itself upon tho choice of an admirable representative, and to regret tho removal from tho Dominion at this particular juncturo in its affairs of a Minister possessing undoubted qualities of statesmanship, unflinching courage, an enormous capacity for hard work, and a willingness to undertake it, which is a separato gift altogether. There was never a timo in the history of New Zealand when such qualities in a Minister were moro greatly needed.

Whocver tho new High Commissioner may bo, it is to be hoped that his appojptmont will mark tho beginning of n now regirao in connexion with New Zealand'* representation in Great Britain. Sir Thomas Mackenzie lias •lono good work, under difficult conditions, and tho samo may ho said of Mr T. K. Donne. But New Zealand is very f»r from receiving tho benefit from its Jxjndon offico that it should, and that it requires. Tins office is in a goad position in tho Strand, but it does uofc fill with New Zealanders at Home, or with intending or possiblo emigrants, anything like tho placo that is taken by the offices of Canada or tho individual Canadian provinces, or Australia House, tho London house of the Commonwealth, or the separate offices of tho various Australian States. Thoso aro nil making great efforts to attract emigrants, by appropriate window displays, by masses of most appealing literature, and by affording enquirers the fullest and most up-to-date information about any portion of the Dominion or Common-

Health. In all thoso respects, »o learn from i-ecenfc visitors to London, the New Zealand office is behind its competi-

j tor.-. This i-. emphatically. not as it ■ k n.'i;;ji] ln->. \ 0 man who £or> to the j If- ;h ( omnii'i>inrirr'« with a ha!lj formed idea that ho might like to , sottV in Xc-.v Zeal,mil should ho alj lowed to leave without n pocketful of J | nttraf-tivelv written booklets. tolling , him all that there is to he known about the country. and a:-o a larfio quantity i "i information riven him, at first hand. I by member.* ».t the staff who know Now ;j /''.d;.iid. One <.f the defects of : ' """ Ilish Oom:!ii.»*ioner\< OfTir.. that j j h( \\ 7,< r.]:inder- form a very small proj portion or" the stall, and that in most : these uiio have lived here left the | Don.inien many year; The swiff, in j ' 1 "i '■ j•:ni<>ri. should in- recruited f I :o.|. -aPv l,v abb- member l - of the . New Zealand Civ.i S• • rvi. e. wl:o should i he pji:d >ery £'iod -alarie-. and -!;ouhl j i.<- to look unon appoint- : 'ne;;: lor a term of not more than four I ;or, , e tear- i:i London as ;» reward fir J ; t ;ve ai:«l ability .shown in NV.v j , Z*■ • • I'; r.■ ?. '| j... . (i.- 4 (liry b:;rrau in the ! ! "i~h ( <>:nnii--i'itier'> Oliice »~houl< 1 hp manned very largely liy thi-.-o officials, anil it should posM\-s ample accommodation ;o enable per.-ona! interviews with i r.'j .'iror-. to he conducted in a more !>:«■.;"~:i:it manner than the present overth"-, iiiniti'r system. As everyono i.nov, ~, oIIe o, : the greatest needs of \< •••. Zealand to-day is more popula- | i.on. We want hoth mm with capital, j and men with no capital but their ! muscle.-, ami stout hearts. There is ! ample opportunity for hoth in this i Britain ot tue South. What arc wc j to attract them to these shores? I (ei lainly much less than we should., and a yreat deal less than our competitors. In an am- of advertisement wc are hei;;;; beaten by moro enterprising advertisers, who have nothing better to offer their clients than we haw, hut are making better uso of it. I liis is a branch of the Commissioner's duties to which whoever is appointed must, for the sake of the nonunion, pive immediate and practical con.-' idc rat ion.

The number of young men who nro adapting the profession of mqdicine in Now Zealand, as revealed when the examination lists of Otago University wore published, was the subject of sonio comment, and a fear was expressed that in a year or two the profession might, hero mo overcrowded. In this connexion some statistics in the December issue of the Journal of tho Department of Public Health arc of interest. These show that whereas in. November, 1917, there were only 501 civilian practitioners in N'ew Zealand, at the end of last November tliero wero fi23, besides 22 medical officers'in military work in the Dominion and 53 overseas. On tho former dato the average population, including Maoris, to each medical man was 22(5); two years Liter it was 1972. Details of tho fort}" hospital districts in the Dominion show that in twenty-six of them tho average number of the population to eacTi doctor is nbovo this average. Tho Nortl Canterbury district approximates mosl closely to it, with 1878. Tho comparative table shows some remarkablo discrepancies. Thus, while in fivo districts there is only one doctor to over 3COO people, and in one, Stratford, only one to -ISIPi, in the "Waihi district there is ono to every Ut)2, and in Mnniototo one to every INil. If tho latter number is sufficient to provido a medical practitionor with a sufficiently good) living, then thcye is obviously room in tho Dominion for all tho young doctors that Otngo can turn oiit for years to como.

» The detention of the Niagara at Sydney owing to tho inarino engineers' Btriko in Australia supplies tho "Now Zealand Herald" with tho test for Eomo interesting remarks on tho irregularities that have lately marked tha running of tho Vancouver stoamers. It points out that this mail sorvico was carried on -with great regularity during tho ivar, but that buioo about the timo of tho armistice, which was also that of the severe influenza epidemic, there has been continual disorganisation of tho service, owing first to quarantine) troubles and latterly to strikes. In order to sccure regularity, one steamer ought to leave Sydney when tho otTior leaves Vancouver, this arrangement enabling tho two steamers to make thirteen round trips in tho year. It is obvious that if one vessel is held up in Sydney for any length of timo, tho other will overtop it. This will happen now—tho Makuru arriv<xl at Auckland' yesterday from Vancouver—unless, as has been dono on three oocasions during the past twelvo months, tho trip from Auckland to Sydney and back is cut out. That trip, by tho way, shoulcl occupy fourteen days, but twico during tho past year it hsis coveml moro than twenty, four times more than thirty, onco fifty, arid onco oG "days. It is already twenty-two days sinco tho Niagara left Auckland for Sydney, but instead of boing rather more than a week on her way from tho Dominion to Vancouver, sho is still hung up on tho other side. Our oversea mail services

liavo for long boon in an unsatisfactory condition, and tho situation is becoming so bad us to demand the serious attention of tho Government.

Tho latest available figures, according to the Sydney "Daily Telegraph," show that there aro now 23G,0U2 persons permanently employed in tho Federal and State Government services. "This standing army of 'Government stinkers' represents approximately ono of every ten adults in Australia." Our contemporary points out, as was pointed out in these columns, tho effort of this stato of affairs, j "Tho voting power of tho Government stroke," it says, "increases with every Act of Parliament by -which a new Department is created. Thingß have only got to go on as they aro going, when sooner or later this vote will tako control of tho situation." That is one of the great dangers of the nationalisation j erase—tho creation of a hugo bureau- I cracy, so powerful at the polls that it j can practically break any Government that docs not give it what it wonts. In j the end, of course, what it gete will i come out of the pockets of the pre- j duccr, who may reasonably objcct to being tho supporter of an army of highly-paid State cmployoes, and will decido to join tho army himself, in which case the last state of the com- ; inanity would bo considerably worse | than the first*