HOOOMAM BLIND

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 522, 1 June 1909, Page 4

HOOOMAM BLIND

THE-PRIME MINISTER AND HIS DOTY. % political position hds.become Gilbertisui;; lor. weeks past the .members of the Ministry and the Govcmmont press have been Sedulously engaged in throwing dust in'the : ey« ;of..vth6;-pcopte of. tW.Dominion , in the of Dreadnoughts, defence,-and the },®P B " al M Na val Conference, and the ; terms loyalty , and 'patriotism" ; have been talked' and written rid nauseam, as if iJioro was anything but hypocrisy, in the wholo literary, and oral turn-out! 'The Prime Minister and hiß Colleagues, will nfiver bo able to inculcate the .spirit of, patriotism - into tho people Until no and tihey first prove themselves to ' be patriots, and not self-seeking opportunists, ihey have- not succceded in doing so' as yot, though thoy and their press supporters have strenuously striven to make tho publio Boheye'they, are all they profess to be. the latest phase of thcnolitical posi-tion-that best deserves tho Gilbortian characterisation. Nothing so side-splitting in its absurdity, -wero its results not likely to be irauglit with serious consequences to tho Dominion, has ovOr been offored in tho way of ■political comedy iti the British Empire. If published- and oft-famos reoublished articles ui. the' Liberal press and reports of Ministerial utterances might be taken as . any guide to public, sentiment, one must assume two things: First,-that'the people of New Zealand aro almost ; unanimously determined to, gratuitously 'sacrifice, thoir dearest interests for -the never-scriously-challengod-fiJZ, pother Country; and,' secondly, that tho sacrificial slaughter must'be - performed by Sir Joseph Ward and him alono. , imagine—if ho ..accepted .piess and platfonn utterances for anything more than, napdoodlcj—that New Zealand was tho country of all . tho territorial appanages of the British Crown upon which .the eyes of the rulers of the Empire Were at the present u^, m °n t!l ° exclusion of all else. , J,. 1 Government is exceedingly anxious that Sir Joseph Ward should attend tho Naval Conference," wo are told over : and Over again. "Tho Imperial Government has already postponed the Naval Conference to suit the oonvenienco of the Primo Minister or New Zealand, is also a pliraso which has become so common - that-mahy people are coining 'to believe that.tflio-head of our Dominion Administration, being ' absent from' the Conference, would bo rosponsiblo for terrible possibilities to' the Empire and tho probable enslavement of tho Dominion under the Hag of, Germany, tho Mikado, or the Cliint'So' Emperor. And is there not colour for this! Did ,wo not. save the Empire during tho Boer war? And have wo not already Riven beilicoso European nations a smack in tho faco .bv pledging the monoy wo do'not possess to buy -Britain a couplo of'-' Dreadnoughts! Tako courage, live in poace, bo not afraid; Die-Empiro's safe with woo Now 2#aland'» aid I .

In all the verbal flatulence of Ministers and Ministerial press, not one sound, logical reason has been offered why tho Prime Minister should sacrifice tho best interests of tho country, of which ho is the political chief, to what so far as ho personally is concerned cannot bo considered as anything but a fad. Ono can scarcely imagine the British Ministers leaning across their Cabinet table with furrowed brows and careworn looks wondering if the four-months-old Dominion Minister of Dcfenco jvill be able to reach them in time to relieve them of all their naval tribulations. Of course it may be so, as ws are led to believe; but New Zealand lifts greater calls !@on its Prime Minister's services just now ' than tho Naval Conference. Tllo head of a Government who has to undergo a good deal of hostile criticism at the hands of a very large section of tho people's representatives in a new Parliament should not hesitate, if he is oapable and courageous to faco that criticism, and stand or fall by it; but Sir Joseph Ward is apparently willing to evade responsibility. Even if tho invitation weie j to the Prime Minister, and him alone, tho more "thoughtful and impartial of the citizens will doubtless agree that hero at the present timo lies his duty. But there is nothing to prevent a deputy duly accredited taking his place at the Conference. The High Commis.sion'er sih&uld surely bo able to fill tho bill for all practical purposes, unless we are to assume tho Prime Minister is,to have carte blanche in pledging this country—a tiling hardly supposable. If such were to bo the ease, then Now Zealand may be considered to be without real representative government and to bo under an oligarchy, with a head-man trending' towards autocratic rule. Of course the matter will have to be put before Parliament, and no pledge involving this country in any largo expenditure until the' whole matter has been approved by Parliament should be j>ermitted. In that caso a deputy properly instructed could-serve all purposes. Tho informal gathering of members of the -,T.egislature to enable Sir Joseph to secure the assent of Parliament to his departure is, the Prime Minister says, not without precedent, Ho omits to give an example. Such a unique attitude could only bo justified on a question of the; gravest and most urgent moment. Can this be said to be such? Prob- .}? , bfive thought over the matter will mm it tobo so. With the last Parliament tho decision of such an informal gathering, could almost be ■reckoned upon as a foregone conclusion; but the new Parliament is largely composed of men of a different. jtaftp/.Mdr't,would not bo surprising' tb find that their:reply to the proposition was 1 , after tho fashion-of Portia's to Bassanio:— "It must not be . . . 'Twill be recorded. for a precedent, And many an error by the same example, "ill rush into the State: it cannot v be. —I am, etc., : oA> ™'