NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 573, 30 July 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Reading at intervals tho report of the, sorrowful proceedings at tho Liberal and Labour Federation's "social ro-union" on Wednesday night, tho student of politics might well feel Like bno "Who trends nlonc ■ Some baiiquct-linll deserted, ■Whoso lights nro (led. Whoso garlands dead - And all but ho departed I Tho buoyancy of the fat and prosperous days of old is gone—tho,days when tho Federation was a powor in tho land—tho grand old days when the public did not trouble to think. It was a melancholy occasion. Tho chairman "hoped tho gathering would result in galvanising ,1 little vim into the Federation." The Hon % J. A. Millar spoke of "unfortunate circumstances," and implored the dispirited survivors of tho old days "not to forgot the record of the. Liberal party in the past."; "The organisation,", lie said, "required more life," and lie rccommondod that "meetings should be held as often as possible." Then the Hon. It. M'Kenzie delivered his contribution to the gaiety:of the evening. • "There! had been," he said, as sadly euphemistic as' his colleague,' "various misunderstandings." There had been a, "temporary decline of interest." Ho ."regretted"' that the Federation "had fallen off of late." One hesitates to intrude upon the sorrows of fallen greatness, but as the "social ro-union' 'ended with "songs and recitations," and is said by its official organ to have "spent an enjoyable evening" we need not shrink from asking the public to gaze upon the present condition, of the hapless Federation, and to see : in' it a solemn warning that all ■ flesh is grass. The trouble with,the Federation is that it'still clings'pathetically -to the belief that matters arc the same as in tho noisy ■ triumphant era of Mr. Seddon. Who would be'so unfeeling as to disturb that sweet and pitiful delusion?,

The; Sydney papers of last week's dates contain long and interesting .reports of the proceedings at the sixteenth annual conference of; the .Farmers','and Settlers'; Association. The. discussions are very similar to those; at' the Conference how sitting in .Wellington. Since the '■ last conference : v bf the Now South Wales Association, 'an Act '.has '■ 'been passed—the Conversion the State tenant the right, of converting his lease into a. freehold. • But just as the farmers are threatened hero, they arc threatened in New South Wales. There the Labour party is taking up the attitude which the; Government has taken up There, as here,: people, are being asked to believe that farmers' organisations are not representative of small farmers. There, as here, the organised farmers, while opposing fierce .taxation, are in favour; of closer settlement. In fact, the position' in Now, South Wales is much like the..position in. New Zealand,, and why 1 ■■ what the; Government' and its allies are doing and saying hero is being said and done by the frankly; Socialistic Labour party'-in; New South, Wales. . The following passage from the Sydney Morning Herald is appropriate for quotation:, -' ; - : •|^.W ,! :■:.;;,,. The Socialist policy. is in direct opposition to the farmers' best interests."."lt ain:c at suppressing freehold, and'-itha3- been formulated without'any'.real conception of the needs or difficulties of- life upon the land.'.lt is..largely,, a' class, policy',.-evolved.'by., men' whose ideals are bounded by bricks and mortar; \yhose work is done within tho' .limits' .of an "eight'hours' day, and whose lifo is controlled by tho word, of a militant unionism/ The farmers' and Settlers', Association, has •nothing'tosay against these- things'in [thornsolvesl.. So.' far as .they. help the artisan, and' enable hini to live a,' self-respecting ■' life, they. are worthy of all praise.- Bufe wheirthemni]; .on .-the/ land—whose, work . represents .'the, foundation' of our prosperity—"is ,to bo liar-. apsedand bled' to forward' a programme of confiscation';'.he lets.the: Socialist understand that there are two' sides to tlie'question. .To those 'who'- 1 retort" by .saying''that :members of -the association aim.at beuig: squatters, and naturally: resent a'burstilig-up policy,' tho farmer, as represented by .Mr. l'atten, "'■' replies: "I myself am living - and bringing up a number of .little "Australians oil 4 GO nereis"; ; and. 'the-.public will "say that, tiiis about sums up, tho situation. The -"great, majority of our settlers ai'e small men, and they aroconteut tojtcop. upon a living area, but they realise that .tho ' Socialist programme will make .farming lon ..largo or small blocks .practically' impossible ' '

At the social gathering held last night by the Political' Reform League., there was little'that is new in. the: speeches' of; Messrs. Massey,' Herdman,and Fisher,' but it is satisfactory/ to. note that they emphasised the fact that 'what; the League stands for can beVstated in.two words: respectable government. The "activity of tho two parties, as denoted by; the" two gatherings held this: week,'-"does not, we think, mean that a dissolution is waiting: in the early future., . It; means'merely ■that both are aware that the next general election will bo the toughest 1 . political' struggle."for nearly' twenty," years, and' 'that preparations must bo made a: long, time ahead. No doubt the new "third party" which seems to be exciting .our volatile friends in Auckland will be', the keenest observers of the, doings of tho League and the Federation; : Mit." Hoqg will, surely not disappoint the public by leaving the two main parties to fight out the question. Tho .position would become, really exciting,; if the two combatants 'became three. In .any, case Vo,hope .that both the Federation and the-.League will display the energy that is how expected of;them. .'.',' ;■.•..."' .."•:;' '. ,';:.-V .

The public will be delighted to ; learn from a private cable message, which we reprint.elsewhere that the'.Prime Minis'- 1 ter is in excellent spirits, and in his very best' banqueting form. Sir . Joseph Ward, evidently anticipating the probability that, the Press Agent in London might,; in the stress, of tho times and amidst the multitude of great speakers, overlook the speech of Now Zealand's representative, has considerately forwarded a fairly full report of it to, the Secretary of .the Cabinet, who with equal consideration has handed it to the'press of the Dominion. 'The cost of this procedure to thecountry ,at : three shillings a word'is 'a mere bagatelle compared with . the ■ im-, portancc to New Zealand of learning what Sir Joseph said at tho , Empire Club gathering. To those! of : economic' ideas who might be inclined to protest that the "applause" and "cheers" should, have boon taken for granted, and the several, throe-shillings thus saved devoted to the current year's surplus, we would point out the necessity for placing Sir Joseph's romarks • in. a proper setting, •' otherwise there might bo scoffers who would not appreciate them at their true worth. Wo boliove that Sir Joseph Ward is the first' Prime Minister of tho country who has extended to the .people of Now Zealand the consideration of cabling out his speeches for their edification.