DANGERS OF DEMOCRACY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 853, 27 June 1910, Page 5

DANGERS OF DEMOCRACY.

THE- KNYVETT: AND I'OWELKA v AGITATIONS. ° C Sir,—lt is a well-recognised fact that many of tie keenest intellects of our time, men holding assured positions in the van of human thought, entertain tho opinion that democratic institutions aro still upon their trial. The experiences in i life of the average individual are largely r composed of mistakes and errors of i judgment, which he is, us a rule, fieo c to admit when in the evening of life, i with its accumulated knowledge he takes 1 a restrospect view o[ a past which _ has gone heyond all recall. And when it is c remembered that what we call nations 1 are mere aggregations uf individuals, it S would be illogical to assume that either t Democracy or any other institution eon- 1 structod by human and fallible hands ] can ever prove an infallible method for ] the betterment of human kind. 1 write ( without a shadow of hostile feeling to . i democratic institutions, for the reason i Hint, all things considered. I can see no t better method of Government than that t of men governing themsclves._ Wo may \ perhaps, in a spirit of evolution, be tra- i veiling in the direction of a better goal, 1 but if so ,it is not yet in sight, nor can 1 any living man tell the direction iu i which it lies. . ' Granting the. accuracy of the foregoing lines, it follows that we should be care- t . ful not to claim too ranch for the bene- g ; fit.s to be derived from any institutions; f • change for the better, and reform must l . come, if at all, from within. The hideous ] corruption to be found to-day in tho ] : "great Eepnblic" shows that a "benefi- : ' cent democracy" can synchronise with a : . state of affairs so polluted, that tho position amongst tboughfiil and patriotic i ■ Americans is regarded with a feeling i closely akin to dismay. And with such 1 a warning placed before us, the peoples i of these island communities, of Australasia should refrain from entering upon , these pathwavs which have proved so disastrous to the inhabitants of the United i States of North America. I sailed for some years in Yankee ships from nearly , all their seaport towns, and 1 was in a. sense surprised to liiid that a man iu America could do almost anything ho f ; liked so long as he had the shield of ;- political influence, and I suppose some ( . weapons as well. The endeavour to ap- , proach the Government by the way of c the backstairs appears to be one of the c , weaknesses of democracy, but the agita- ( 1 tion in connection with the Knyvett case furnishes n very remarkable feature of j , pressure upon "the Government of tho c . dav. 1 feci sure that from all that we. c ; have read, Captain Knyvett proved him- , .-elf to be u gallant, highly-respected, and 4 . popular voung soldier, and he also re- 3 cei-.ed the sympathy of the whole Do- c minion; but he appears to have been guilty, of nn infraction of those iuili- c tarv regulations which it was his c . place to unhold and ■ defend. And I suppose that for the infraction of those rules the punishment is regarded as being commensurate with the offence. The Government appear to ino to have ,j done their dutv in the matter. But sup- j pose that they had yielded to the pres- c sure brought'to bear upon them, what s u dangerous precedent they would have j established. Interference by the "man in t the street" with our military rules aud f tribunals! This is one of the dangers of democracy, which was responsible for c much evil in the armies of tiie 'North ] during the great Civil War. , The agitation in connection with tho I'owelka' episode constitutes an attempt ( on the part of irresponsible minorities to j interfere with the administration of jus- j tice. With the list of convictions before j him for a number of most serious offence.-, the .ludgo had practically' no option in administering the lnws_ which regulate the punishments of criminals of the I'owelka type. Faithfully and well ho carried out the paiuful duties of his high position, and he is entitled rather to the sympathy than to the censure of the s p'eonle of the Dominion. It has been ] suggested that meetings should be con- ( veiled for the purpose cf expressing apprnval of the Judge's administration of j. the law as a counierblast to those already j held with the object of giving expression j to disapproval aud censure. This suggested course of action would be a mis- l take, as, iu view of tho character of tun l agitation, it would be calculated to r falsify the perspective by attracting to it; a value and importance to ' which intrinsically it is not entitled. One feature , of this agitation is most noticeable, and . that is the omission of the fact' that. ' I'owelka is of unbalanced mind, Ms-whole * escapade with its attendant cirenni- I stances proving this beyond all possibility of doubt. lie is of an interesting , v type a.s well, for he does not appear to be ' fitted for incarceration in gaol, nor does lie seem to merit a position ill the asylum. f But as in the other case to which 1 }' have alluded, I ho fact; remains that there have been attempts made in our do- a moeraey to interfere with the course of a justice. 1 am quite frepared to adiui l . that those taking part in these agitations * are actuated by humanitarian principles ' and .feelings, but I would remind them }' that without strict discipline any arm" ■* is nothing more than a mob, and not one ' that can like, say, the Germans, mov-i J with the accuracy and precision of ma- . chinery. And any movement which ji ! calculated even in the smallest degree to •' interfere with the administration in our ' courts of justice may well be regarded as ' constituting a peril to our wuole com- '■' inanity. As a proof that such is the case, t the United Slates present us to-day with I an example which we will do well to avoid. Burke, the great Irish orator and statesman, was regarded by Gladstone as having possessed one if the greatest intellects known to mankind. And in con- [ noclimi with ilns question of the administration of justice (his groat authority '. may well lie quoted to-day: "After all," ' he said, "the principal fvuetion of a Gov- a eminent consists in placing twelve good fmen and true in the jury-box." The ; quotation will be seen to have a consider- i able degree of relevancy to I lis subject discussed. I am, etc., t K. C. BRUCE. I Ngaruru, June 24. a