BIRTHDAY HONOURS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 852, 25 June 1910, Page 4

BIRTHDAY HONOURS.

The birthday honours announced to-day, so far as they affect New Zealand, will probably be regarded by most people as favours worthily won by the, recipients. Sin William Hall-Jones, X.C.M.G.,. and Sir Charles G. Bowen, 1t'.8., are both gentlemen who have served their country in high public capacities over a long period of years, and with distinction. But when this general recognition is made we cannot refrain from expressing our strong dissent from the estimate implied by the honours bestowed of the relative value of tho services of the two gentlemen named, nor can we help feeling that further injustice has been done in again ignoring claims far greater than those of one of the gentlemen now honoured. In expressing tljis opinion we wish it to be clearly understood that we fully appreciate the public services and personal worth oi Sik William Hall-Jones; we feel, however, that great as these services may be, there are others who have stronger claims to consideration. With .the honouring of Silt 0. C. Bowen we think the whole country will _ be in complete accord. His long life's services to the Dominion date back to the founding of Canterbury. He has at various stages of his public career filled with distinguished success many of the most responsible offices within the gift of this young country, and is universally respected for his high conccption of the obligations imposed on public men, and ■for tho splendid example he has set in acting up to those ideals. His greatest achievements, perhaps, belong to a bygone day—he was tho founder, over 30 years ago, of our system of free, secular education— but now, after something like 50 years of public service, he is still a distinguished member of tho Legislature, and a fine sample of the splendid type of men who underwent great hardships and surmounted so many obstacles in laying tho foundations of tho New Zealand of to-day. That he has been passed over for so long has formed the subject of commcnt in the press on more than one occasion; that ho should now ho honoured in lesser degree than a very worthy, but far less distinguished, gentleman will cause still further surprise. While on this subject it is worthy of note that the great claim* of Ml;. Justice .\Vil-

liasis have again been ignored. The subject is not one which "can be discussed with the freedom necessary to make the position thoroughly clear to the public. It is suffiqient, however, to recall the fact that on the last occasion that lloyal favours were bestowed on New Zealanders newspapers on both sides of politics protested against the action of the Government in passing over the obvious claims of the distinguished member of the judiciary named. It is nearly 30 years, wc believe, sincc a member of the. Supreme Court, Bench was singled out for distinction, and in view of this fact and the distinguished record of iIK. Justice Williams, it is small wonder der that the public speculate as to the considerations which govern the recommendations of the Executive in such matters. Me. A.. E. Guinness, Speaker of the House of Representatives for bo many years past, and one of its oldest members, is another gentleman who, if precedent counts for anything, should ere this have caught the eye of the Prime Minister, but he also has been passed over. When the distribution of honours in recent times is taken into consideration it becomes only too apparent _ that a great many considerations _ are weighed before the actual meritsof those whose claims deserve attention come under review. The inevitable result must be a depreciation in the public estimation of titles, the hold L ing of which should be regarded as evidence of personal worth and of high public distinction.