PRESS OPINIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 58, 2 December 1907, Page 9

PRESS OPINIONS.

Considering .. all the lt ,ci«umsances,..' $j»,T,•'•:•• .H.ojibo . of T J{cjprcsentatiyes '"cjiniiot be very'"' ' fe '.seriously" blamed'' for v Goviriuuenti" t'd-'rush' through > tho '- rplbmentary Saturday night.,i4: -Joss j.aii;; hour, and,,a half;'. ~Of > course,•.J th.9 tiine.,was totally, inadequate for tho pro-' ' ..per coiisid<i)''ati6ii' 6f 'Scores;'"of' votes, 'Volving' aii'i b'&penditurty of • nearly' £300,000,' :<•; ! bst |rnembcrs- : had-r been viii session for close-. I'iipon lye months,; and may be forgiven, for . (nr , ~£ul)imttihg mor<=..or. loss quietly to the hustle "; J~ . ami 'haste' of'the" concluding scene.-' Tho'G'>-' " ' ! vcfrmnen't, however, can- liardl.vv.plead the -ap'■proval oik.the House if any of those, votes.aro drilled .in ; !questio.n. :i ..Jlombers, yore, .too weary, ~,i v: r ;.op". Saturday night, ..and too. anxious to get V j" Jiome,' |o offer'' aiiy' 1 . cifectivc resistance lo' ..ijnythihg-thii Gbverhirient might have pro* Jposedi:,'-'.':^:.-,'. .Soino":bf 'thb litems, might,'; 'have '.justified more .searching, inquiry. _ tbindn,..glassware and,.sundries."for Bellamy's refreshments l 'iuifl''"paj 1 ' '•'£(Joo,'copies-ofi:'Mr." Ji.'C. Anderson's ' ! bifo j d in Aotea'.'y experiments .at s Oam!aru £240, Dominion Day medals for' -school children £1500, copies of Mr. VP: iJitt- . luar's "Te • Tbliunga'-' . £150.. nnd\ repayment > of''partof, Mr.,..Hone Hoke's,honorarium. Which'' liadljeoii' deducted' whiliy-'life-was' away from the House "settling-Native difficulties," ].f~ ■ £po.' :iDonbtless all these, votes, ( could have ,bc.en .easilyjC>;plained, ..but. no .ono. seems to -- - 'Jiai-(3 liiicl, tiiup tolasjc about' tHom." . In-' '■ ftdad 'of 'this' being- thiP'-'casb on Saturday night/ they'-must: havo 'taken tho,.whole -.list-. vqn« triistfj -knowing ,as.:,|ittlp : ..about the defails' a?.;their cpus'tituents .know,-to-day. We ,do';not require to bo told that'the same thing '/ft 'lias .b'jen ; going oil' session aftei 1 '" session. )t> "llfi'S beiiA'm'e'stfllamilisr, indeed; ithht-tlie gn»« 'majority• fofvtliti electors; regard it.with in.jiiid- members of tho House ,'ijfc' ad inevitable.. L ! 13iic we this latest - ''fff\toiariipie':''Af' expenditure' • eshaustionV ; i nylitch.'is' if-'anythirig a-':degree'-.worse thaii. vV; '-legislation, by : exhaustion, .-will provoke -two. K.o 1 -,%tjiree ioljstuiate ; uienihers a J>rae- t jttcjil. protest next year by. insisMjl that 'every • 'ft't'in' 'itii' tFc Supplementary Estimates tellall rrtn: be fully (!xjy]a'ined before it is allowed to pass. This'- probably: would induce, the .Government .to produce ...JJie .earlier in,tho ses- • 'Sion, and .^p..save t the'.country'from what"'is .'at'-present' a.flagrant' public scaii'dhL ' ' P;

1 .THE .COST OF LIVING. „'.)Vo;:do-..not.think,..the..bread consumer in New:. Zealand is being plundered for the advantage of anybody.,. The present price "of r' 1 ' •:thd 41b? loaf'lias'"been forced : 'upon the bii-- '-- ' r.kqj's; arid ; 'w'e have' yet to be 'advised of ,'any ■reliable evidence of deliberate collusion-,,tp r..viadvance the cost unduly. Governments and 'Parliaments can do little', as the Political Labour League, ,must soon discover;. >; there is"no legislative road to'clieap living, <•»•- . save*'through'the-lessoning or abandonment ofyCustoms duties-on foodstuffs, the levying . • little,taxatiqu, as possible,, and economi- ~/ '"cal government.' ' Oitr government', like all - .goyerriinents, : is riot' economical,' and (itf tho naturd'.'of tilings , cannot: be : so.' If tho workers insist.- upon new machinery arid an arm}' of- officials to supervise and., •'direct'it, they must provide the wherewithal •- to spay for'it. State Socialism, like feVei'y- ■ thing' else, costs money. ■?>•'lf" the cost of living,; which is-a direct and personal ex- , 4 ,. f perience, . has .. the, elfpgt of causing, us to .. learn .wherein, wo have erred, and in tvhat, '■"direction; ire should 'and how- im- ''■■■ vpoterit Govern ment-s are to do-"a tithe of- <.!> ■ iv]iat is demanded''of them, ,' ; tljo. pinch ..that. ,we ( iix.common Jf with.the i;est .of the world; a , n . are no\V experiencing may, jiko". the uses of be not wholly unalloyed bitter-' "Star." ..■■'u * *

i-• ; '"•■ ' THI'; EXHIBITION. I '"The" filial.figures in, connection yith the In« . "tdfiiiitobiiat"'jivluGitioii 'snow the total loss' ~to.-'h l aVu' beeii JL"i:7;(jl7, which is considerably more than the estimate of £60,000 which iias .betju taken: a= . the-basis of criticism during the pasf, : l'e\v\ months.,, Wo an;, bound to say 'rtha't the'exjiciifiitiire,' which rcablied £239,971) ' jappears" to" us"' to" 'liave' been''Excessive, and •'?**' filrere are items, in tlto.-list". telegraphed bv.-bur. •' Ellington correspondent that the public '.woiifd be glad to Have more fully explained. - 'Hie factual ..buildings seem to liavo cost well over- £'11)0,000, ana the fittings, decorations " j sand' furnishings' were responsible-lor more" .than £30jO(JO. .Of course tho work was done' well, lajuj,, probably,, large ..economies w0u1d:.,., hi've diuiiiiis.heit tlje.attractiveness of the Jix- ' liibitibri. c ' t yo'iti'c piiople 'inay -bo inclined' to ■condemn', tho-expenditure-'of'h'early £6000"-''"V----011. aco 1 itjel't> ; h4'l l A ifco. lie occupied;for ti brief - six monthsj. pf.,,£0000 on,, a .temporary art. gallery aiul so forth, but that line''of criticism. would riot lie justified.' 'JLiai'iug regard to,-tlie.'general-: results 'iyo cannot say that' - b.ig.ii price ,to pay. lor ,tho .^dyertigenieift,,..aiiU-,...the , !u- ..... directly'.tlie uomiiiion gained iu so iriany wayii *« '' ''tfiati tlic 'iilxliillitibii'-was"'probably run without; :-lt''peimy of'coSt -t<>'the' taxpayer,' but it' would ■ rbeiiriitliei'-tlillieult: to ranalyse, the -revenue 1ewit|Ktlie,iidca of..uipcovering,jusb.what - iiici'4a's'e's ;'s6uld be/Svntt'e'ii', down as due to . Exhibitiori" business/';' Even while s )ve believo' '*'• that'; t'lfe- 'inight Miave been 6b- } ' ,-taineil i'ior-,-,.a-, smaller, expenditure wo think . tli,s public-,may:-bp,satisfied that.tho £37,00 i! Vas ;\vel!,',investe'tL— "LytteUou Times.".' '■■ SERVANTS.-,AND POLITICS. ;, ,\\Vliicliever way we may look :at it it ia ,-plaiii that the rule laid Uown for the guid* angol of the public service in 'Now Zealand ? is ; aSsound-.and'wholesome rule,, and that. it ... "is'to; both "of the public servants and io'f 'tlteiiN emplbyei's' the public that it i should ; ::bb.-.'strictly enforced. ' It has been 1 . , -argued-,Vy : some,of- : Mr. M'Gullough's friends r . ;; [. that- the. ,rulo, referred to is. quite properly '■ ' Applied'to heads of "departments and other ' iiilportunt''bfficials; but that worknicn in the " " railway-sliops :■ and -.members:'of' tho -rank: and ifile sliouy bo at liberty to stump .tho cQVijitry as, political agitators, to any ox-! 'Ipjit,that,seems good in their.eyes. This is ' Velilly''"a littlo too absurd for serious arguincrit.'' '-'-It- is-tho'same as' saying that nilos t "(laid .down:,for.;a private establishment 'should appjy .paly to managers and, heads.of ,depart-'. li)entSj hot to shop assistants clerks, *brlhat'''tli<! Articles of AVar should , not bind 'th'e "in" tli'c army, but " shoiudvbe.-,enforced, only. in the: ease ol of. vlj<)ldiugy a .^mmissiou.-rChristchuroh. >