NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 723, 24 January 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

"We will wait and see." This reply by the British Prime Minister to an .elector who wished to know what would happen if the Lords rejected a Bill limiting their power of revision speaks 'for a cautiousness that is the result of Liberal doubt and uncertainty as. to the result of the polls. When Mr. Asquith ceascß to be militant, and the Daily News m its distress 1 advises, the agricultural voters, to talk Tory and vote Radical, there is , plainly a great deal of anxiety'in the Liberal ranks, as well there may be,for the Unionist gains have been enormous. It is significant that . even , when he did become cheerful at Ladybank, Mr. Asquith did not/claim that such successes as : his party. had ' made were to be, read as a triumph for the; Budget. He declared that they were an emphatic verdict for Frectrado." Perhaps Mr.. Asquith realises that . -the . Budget as; we liave known it is dead. At anyrate he appears to be speaking of anything rather than "the most popular Budget of modern times.' , In 1 some quarters, however, it is urged that the Budget has;triumphed, and that .the; Lords- must pass it, on its 'reintroduction, without a division! Tikt Irish members, as most people ought to know| are; not all jn favour of the 'Budget, which is by no mbans enthusiastically desired by. Ireland, in calculating. the forces for and against the now taxes, the Nationalist members, who w;erc elected without reference to the Government's policy, and who . would bo elected whatever, Government was in . power: and . whatever policy it might have, cannot be counted' at all.' .The members returned because' they supportthe Budget are outnumbered, by those who were .'returned because thoy oppose it. In othor words, the Budget 'has' evoked ■ more hostility' than support .amongst the / public that,,is moved by ; it. The Prime Minister,,.it appears,' has. been .complaining of the aotion of the Unionists. in "importing into electoral controversies the supposed"opinions of colonial people." The complaint js ..one .that, deserves every' support, but it' is a pity that ;Mit. : 'Asquith's own_ people •do ' not .'set;. an example to their opponents. The most vicious and unwarrantable , offence'of the kind deprecated by. Mr; Asquith was committed by .one of his colleagues, Lord Crewe, in his speech 111/% debate in .the Lords. . The crime of interference with, the freo judgment of '.the - people,, so it would appear from Mr. ;Asquith's. speech ?n Pifeshixe,' and;the' policy of some iladical_ riowspapers •in 'the colonies, is. a crime only when' the interference is likely to injure the British Liberals. • ■■ -'

As is the case with" most of - tho, really, important 1 subjects that come beforo, the . University. ' Senate, tho, question of specialisation, op which' a: import .was received from the; Re'-* cess, Committee,. has: been..'.referred, again to : - that • Committee, and no ■ forward step .can' be taken for another year at,least. ./During the; past; year- ; the'Committee'.;received 1 the"' opinions of 'the . Professorial Boards upon ihe;subject,^but' apparently the; differed' considerably as to .the'extent :to which specialisation' should go. The: report of the Bocess Oommittee was by. no'meahs; radical. As explained by Mu. HoGiiEN, it morely .proposedy'that:.the student : should be. enabled "to carry study inone or. two; subjects to a point which would yield ; ; tho-^particular. benefit derivable from such, subject." • The questions of when specialisation should begin and how far it should extend are exceedingly important »jto;be. hoped that next:'year the Lommitteq will bring up a report which will afford a v definite basis for improving the present system. The. Senato ; should decide at onco on raising the standard of the entrance-, examination to the; University, so that students when they oegin their course will have! a' fair general knowledge of the prclimin • ary subjects,' and;! beready to' - enter upon truo University.• work without y- .■ s necessity' for ,'makirig more dimcult the matriculation examination • has been very general!v "'P.f , The indent should be enabled also .to dispose :of his 1 less important subjects as soon as possible, so; as to : have two years, : instead of cne,:as is often the case at present, lor undisturbed application ,-to : - his honours subjects. .Specialisation should be gradual and limited to subjects ' which; require culture for a basis. Power has been given to the itecess. Committee to call a confer-, onco of the Professorial Boards, for consideration of the question of specialisation, ;and the result should be a series-of' definite recommendations. for the ; consideration .of the Senate when it meets next.year.-'

, It is; to be feared that there is only , one'; explanation ; of, the continued excitement of the people of Auckland , over ,the Knyvett affair. Evidently the military aspect of the case, if it, was ever considered outside a limited .volunteer circle; has quite dropped out of sight. 7 Captain Knyvett, an Auckland volunteer officer,'protested .against 'the sentence imposed ■ upon' Sim for; a breach of military; discipline, 'and the press of the three other oentres, ■ knowing nothing of Captain Kny-. vett, and; dealing with the facts entirely on :their merits, agreed .for .the most; part .in. taking the same serious view of his offence as was taken by tho Board of Inquiry. 'Sir Joseph Wakd, as: Minister for Defence, has promised to give the fullest consideration to. the representations nmdo by an Auckand deputation,,and any reasonable person should have been satisfied at once, but Auckland is_ not satisfied. We are told that indignation, in the northoi'n oity is getting, hotter still. According to tho AW Zealand Herald, "Auckland is seething with dissatisfaction, uneasiness, and' indignation." .All this commotion is quito inexplicable in tho. circumstances, cxcept upon the understanding that Auckland has been afflicted •from tho beginning of' tho affair with its old unfortunate malady—a feverish fear of, ,and ' sensitivonbss.' to, what the other cities of the Dominion, and ospecially Wellington, may think or say about it. Owing doubtless to its remoteness from tho rest of tho Dominion, Auckland has always been like the very young man i who, not being üßed s .to . company, thinks when he is in company that : overy eye is watching him, and works himself into a ferment of uneasiness 'under tho impression that whatever

he does he will bo regarded as doing something' foolish.' -And the young man in that nervous state of mind _ generally does do something foolish. Auckland was apparently much disturbed because it might, be thought an Auckland man had done a rather foolish thing :in Welling™n - „ When Wellington, concluded that the Auckland man had 'done a surprising thing,, and agreed with most of the. rest of : the Dominion that his conduct had been followed by. the natural • consequence, Welquite ready to forget all about the trouble. But the sensitiveness of Auckland has become .more and more acute, and now oro 'can only think that, it is railing against the . authorities and "injustice" in a desperate effort to convince Wellington; and the :-other centres ' that there was nothing for them to be amused at or find fault with. Meanwhile the question as between- Wellington and Auckland is not concerning Wellington in the least, Wellington is much too busy to be always worrying Auckland does or thinks. We do wish our Auckland friends wouldrealise that.