NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 651, 30 October 1909, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

A pinch of salt; must.be taken with the interesting report: that a French; investigator has succeeded in. giving Cinematographic representations of .bacilli at work There are not many-things 'nowa : days which it is safe to call incredible, but it is- pretty/safe :to.say. that' this re : port is incorrect.. .It is just the kind of " news " that the public finds interesting ;y the latest example of thoj influence of the eager and curious man in the street. ' : So many striking advances have been made 'by 'science in recent years that there is, a very' general tendency to believe that, almost anything is possible. '.Side by side with this tendency there seems to be. one. rof exactly the opposite kind: tho man,in tho street is credulous where scepticism is wisdom, and sceptical just where boliof is the more reasonable Sir Omveh LonOE recently complained in the London Times that there woro -_" signs that physical science is.progressing too fast for the educated or semi-educated to follow; and the result," ■ he went on, "is a sort o£ revolt,rand a.tendency—' manifested in organs of popular opinion —to, stigmatise all the latest, results as more speculation.". He quotes tho Times m saying in'a.leading, article that tho President of the British Association has said that if the ether is-not'compressible it is millions' of times rarer,than, air, "Ho did not say this,' and only carelossness "could' so misinterpret-his words. .1 take this, however, merely as an instance of the sort,of 'fog in which minds uneducated ' in scienco necessarily' are: with regard to. *it'.".; Sin iOlivee . goes on : to 'arguo that the!ignoranco of" the man in the' l street,"--'does -really' matter, .for :it ultimately results' in tho. discouragement of investigation; There is really no paradox in tho conjunction' of scopticism regarding transcendental theories arid' a •readiness "to '• believe that you : can- have bacteriological living pictures. .Indeed, the occasion for wonder would, arise when ."the man in the street'",;showed the'same accept_transccndjsntal':"..doductiohs;from'definitcWn/ffl i " , a"s'to' : accc'pt i strangp - stories'';qf" bacterial, (cinematography.; \.\ : ~'■ -/--';'; •.■'■'K : '' ; ;'.''-;'v-vi;',^

■ i ... -.11-,. -.-■ There is'ari article in the London Spectator oi September 11 on - the -famous " Fkeycinet programme'■' that, should bo, read by every member qf\ Parliament who has any;real Vcgardfpr economy in public expenditure; The ,is-M.. Yves: Guyot, one of the' ablest and soundest of modern economists.-.He gives a history of the extraordinary wastefulness of' M. .Freycinet's gigantic, scheme- of public works—a scheme that .was begun thirty years ago, and that, although still.unfinished, has already cost tens of millions of pounds- more, than .the original ■ estimate.;Wo only intend-to .'call., attention ,herc to the cohcludinc;.paragraph of the Ifamous French publicist's'; communication:; '; \■''...;.','.";■;;:'?;.-', [;\'\: '.'• '•' ':■:]'[■'■ . To justify M. de Freycinet's programme, it was repeated over" and. over again that " the State.should take over tho-direction,of French pavings." Deputies and journalists created and kept up, the. illusion that-'.the'-.'execution-of public-works mecessarily • creates/wealth.-'; Now any-enterprise 'tlio \llso of which does, not ensure, with profits 'the power to redeem tho capital which has, been.' expended - thereon spells loss. ' Any private individual knows.that; Governments'.ignore" it,' Once-more .wo see a justification of Adam Smith's' declaration:— "Great nations .'are, never .impoverished' by private, though they are Kometinies'by .public,' prodigality anii'hiisconduct;".:.'.•'-. :■'•.'-.'.'•;' These arc truths which .it is urgontly, im-' iportant to have recognisod by our -own/, 'members of Parliament. ■'■'. "'; - .".'■'• ■'.'.'•; ' One,of the members of Parliament, who: visited the Trades and Labour Conference : ;yesterday was Mr. H;;'G. Ell, 'and he i distinguished himself byuttering a?senti-' . ment that -.it would bo; unjust to 'withhold from tho prominence that it desorves. rHcre.it-is:.:. '.;.; ' /.'..;: '..'" -•'' -.;, " When the Dreadnought proposal comes upY the working men of'this country aro not going to.pay a cent towards it. (A voicoi'Wko will?) Wo will put it on tho right shoulders." The mind of Mr. : Ell 1 isa thing that we j can never be sure ■ we understand,- but there can bo,little!doubt as to,the . senti■inpnt underlying his declaration.-; Ho was not .greeted, .with' cheers, we. beliovc, when he told, the representatives of Labour that they will,bo in the happy position of not pa'yingfor national defence... At the same timo his observation aroused no dissent.. Possibly the Conference Was too 1 staggered at Mn. Ell's high-soulcd • patriotism ,t0 make any response. MR; Ell evidently ■ thinks that the worker's- affection for his country,depends upon his not having-to pay a cent for.! keeping it. The worker that Mr: Ell would rush to. shake hands with.is evidently ,a 'man/who "finds solid satisfaction in, the. thought that ho. has 'done nothing for his native land. We do not think that, the member' for' Christchurch' South will find a : very largo nuihbor of this class of people in New Zealand. ; •'".>"'■'■''■ .''■''"' ''''"■■'' , The Bill introduced by the Minister ■for' Finance providing for the creation of a special State borrowing and lending de-. partment, passed through its second read-ling'-stage in the House yesterday amid a chorus of approval.' There wore differences of' opinion as to details, but the main principle of the Bill met with endorsement from both sides of'the House. There was very little new-matter in the Prime Minister's speech on tho Bill, but his. statements' regarding the..issue -of. debentures in lieu of cash in connection with purchases of lands for settlement afford an interesting glimpse behind tho scones. The financial critics of the Government have long condemned the loose methods of the Ward Administration in tho. mattor- of'.issuing . debentures.; and' short-dated, loans. . The main consideration too-frequently,has been to tide over 'an immediato.necessity, leaving the. fu-. turc to' care for itself,. 'Short-dated debentures, 'however, have a habit; of qxpiring at inconvoniont times; ahd deben-; turcs issued to land-owners in payment' for 'land .appropriated by ;thc"-' Ur'owri seem to havo been .unloaded on the London, market-'at .'.moments prejudicial' to bur'; laan-r aismir." _■'.-.Tha-EjililE sister. .

since hisrecenfc visit to Eneland, has come to realise. these things..:' It is quite evident from his attitude on the subject that it has been firmly impressed on him.that in order, that New Zealand shall retain' the favour of the financial world of England, it must mend its ways in these respects. Sin Joseph Wajid does not put it quite thai way. What he says is:- .

*-' WUfln purchasing lands it was found -in nine cases out of'ton,'! in-fact in all-cases except an odd one hero and there, tlio.owners wanted the right of payment-of; interest in' England. If that system, wero to beoontinuod it would have a very injurious effect in connection with tho .raising of loans at Homo. When; at Home he had informed! the. people who were : concorne'd in connection" with the operations of this country that ho intends,! to stop,the present system.", ;

Reading between the lines, ,it is'quite evident that the Puijib Minister, who member of, the Government which instituted the system • now condemned received a hint from' tho financiers at Home;-and it is satisfactory to see that he is:now abandoning the old methods in this particular, matter. Wc hope to see him mending his ways in. other directions.'.'.'