NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 863, 8 July 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Tun Address-in-lieply debate is disposed of in Parliament, and there is hope that the House will now settle down to business. Yesterday's speeches might very well have been done without. Nothing -was said that could not be equally well said on a more appropriate occasion, and in some cases at least at very much less length. This afternoon is pretty certain to be fully taken up with a discussion of what has become known as "the ]J. A. Smith incident." It is very much more than an incident. Wo would advise those members, of the House

who have interested themselves in this subject; to refresh their memories by reference to The Dominion files of January 21, 22, and 27, and March 17. The (Jhristchurch /Ve*.« issues of January 17, IE), and 21 will also repay perusal. Sin JosEPit AVaisd might, perhaps, explain the flat contradiction given Ijv Mi;. W. P. 11 eh vus to his statement as to the knowledge possessed by the Government of what was going on in London in connection with this immigration business.

A. little notice is due to the decision of tie' Municipal Conference upon the question of municipal markets. Two motions on the subject were carried, one affirming that whore municipal markets ai'c established all fresh fish shall pass through such markets for inspection before being exposed for sale, and the other that where municipal markets are established in boroughs of not less than 10,000 inhabitants all wholesale sales of fish and fruit shall bo held in them. These decisions were arrived at without any proper justification; at all events, the arguments of those who supported them are barren of any good reason why the municipalities should make haste to invade the rights of private enterprise in the manner contemplated. If the private markets arc hostile to the interests of the consumer through the presence of "rings" or the absence of inspectionary precautions, something may be said for the establishment of municipal markets, but even in that case the proper remedy is an Anti-Trust Act on sound lines and a proper system of inspection. But on both pointu we have nothing but vague assertion, and on the strength of this vague assertion and an equally vague feeling that municipal markets would "meet a longfelt want" it is proposed to destroy competition, wipe out private enterprise and embark on a schemc that will amount to the provision of cheap fish at the expense of the ratepayers. Merchants here have _ spent many thousands of pounds in providing suitable buildings for carrying on the wholesale fruit trade, but that counts for nothing with the innovators. The Hon. J. B.\rii!, M.L.C., was quite frank. "He did not see," so he said, "why delegates should concern themselves about the investments of auctioneers in business." That is the true Socialist attitude, and it is the attitude which a municipality has to endorse if it wishes to monopolise the wholesale markets in fruit or fish or anything else. We do not think any of the larger municipalities in New Zealand arc prepared to threaten private enterprise in this drastic fashion. It is to be regretted that the matter received consideration at all on these lines. The great need in New Zealand today is the encouragement of private enterprise.

It is pleasing to record that the Denniston miners have rejected the proposal to "strike" as a protest against the refusal of the AVestport Goal Company to grant an increase in the rates paid to its employees in the mine. Apart from the fact that strikes are productive of so much economic waste, the hardship to many innocent people which almost inevitably follows them makes this form.of industrial conflict abhorrent to all thinking people. The very large majority against striking on the present occasion affords ground fur the hope that more settled conditions will now prevail at Denniston—a slate of things as much in the interests of the miners themselves as it is helpful to the industry by means of which they earn their livelihood.

Nine hundred old age pensioners were the victims lafat year of the bad methods of the Government in forcing legislation through Parliament at express speed in the dying hours of the session. It is by direct illustrations of this kind that the real evils of the end-of-the-session scramble are clearly demonstrated to everyone. These unfortunate old people were penalised needlessly and improperly because the Trime Minister refused the advice tendered him by certain Opposition members, and rushed through a wearied House an amending Act which deprived old age pensioners of their pension in proportion to the size of the small sums they had been able to save for times of extreme, emergency. An unfortunate woman who had scraped together a few pounds to provide against the possibility of a pauper's funeral; an old man who, by scraping and saving, had managed to get together a nest-egg of a score of sovereigns to meet the possibilities of sickness or to enable him to pay a visit to his relatives—this was the class of people who suffered. These petty, but to the persons interested vitally important, savings instead of being respected were, under Sin Joseph Ward's hastily-passed Act, made an excuse for penalising the old people. The fact that the Government may have done this in ignorance does not excuse them—they are to blame, for the system of conducting the business of the country in the manner that permits of such cruel blunders. It is satisfactory to note that as a result of the strong representations made to -the Puijie Minister by the deputation of members yesterday and in the House of Representatives the day before, the law is to be amended and an exemption up to £50 provided for.