NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 897, 17 August 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Now that the Financial Debate —the longest on record we are told— is finished, we trust that the. House of Representatives will insist on the immediate election of a Chairman of Committees. It is really a most improper thing that Ministers, simply because they cannot make up their minds which of their numerous party to choose as the official candidate for the office, should trifle with the rules of Parliament and militate against the efficient conduct of the business of the House. Already, since Me. Wilford's resignation some weeks ago, a number of temporary Chairmen have been appointed to'fill this important position as occasion demanded, with far from happy results. The members chosen have had very little to- do, the Government has seen to. that, but naturally they have known little of the formal duties of the office and the result has not been edifying. Nearly half the. session has now slipped by without the House having a. Chairman of Committees to -officiate at Committee proceedings and this without tho slightest justifica-. tion. Nothing, perhaps, could em phasise more strongly the weakness and irresolution of the Cabinet as at present constituted. It feared to give the party a definite load in the matter, and having created something like chaos throwing the onus of selection on the party as a whole, it has not the courage to step in and straighten out the situation. This timidity is in striking contrast to the. overbearing conduct of Ministers in such matters in the past, and indeed until very recently. One effect of the Government's attitude has been to encourage an unusual number of members to hope that the position may fall to thenlot; and when the final selection does take place there will be a correspondingly large number of disappointed adherents for Sin Joseph Ward to pacify. Ifc is quite time that a determined protest was made against any further delay being permitted.

The fact that the New South Wales Government is contemplating the introduction of the second ballot, for precisely the ' same reason as actuated our own Government in 1908—namely, a desire to rig tho elections in its own party interestshould remind somebody in the House that it is time to repeal our Second Ballot Act.- That measure, condemned by every independent critic prior to its enactment, was condemned by nearly everybody else after it had been tried. Members will find an abundance of evidence against the principle of the second ballot in the recently-issued report of the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform set up some time ago in Britain. The system is in operation in several European countries, and it is disliked everywhere. We gave in these columns in .1908 the opinions of many eminent statesmen and publicists against the second ballot, and these need not be . repeated here. Tho Royal Commission found that the system had practically no merit save simplicity. "The practical objections .to it," the report continues, "are so serious that we are unable to recommend its adoption. The necessity of holding a second election after an interval which could hardly be less than a week, if allowance is to be made for official and political readjust ment, involves a most undesirable prolongation ■of electoral turmoil and disturbance, besides greatly increasing the expenses of candidates." The, Commission also spoke of the probable diminution in the number of votes cast at the second ballot, but this argument will not count for much here, since-the voters rallied as well to tho second ballot as to the first. The report goes on to say that "it has been the experience of other countries that the interval between the two elections offers undesirable temptations for bargaining and. intrigue." The Rangitikei by-election bore out the truth of this argument. The dec--torate, it will be reraemb'ered, was influenced by the Government into voting for its candidate, through the promise to sell certain Native leases which had previously been declared not for sale. It is worthy of note also that Mr. Georgetti, an Independent candidate, who, after his defeat at the first ballot, became an ardent fighter for Mr. Smith, has lately been appointed by the Government to a scat on a Land Board.

The London newspapers of July 7 last print summaries of a very interesting report drafted by a Departmental Committee set up, under the Chairmanship of Lord Balfour of Burleigh, to deal with the general question of' Royal Commissions. Although some of" the Royal Comnissions set up in Britain have proved costly and useless, ye 6 must of them have resulted in reports so valuable, and often so final in authority, as to have become the treasured possessions of statesmen and scientific investigators in every civilised country. This is becauso British Governments take pride in appointing learned, capable and disinterested experts, of whom this country is almost barren so far as big social and political questions are concerned. The Timber Commission appointed here last year stands in about the same relation, in every respect, to the average British Royal Commission as, say, one of our Socialist orators to Loud Morley. Yet there are faults in the procedure of British Royal Cominissione, and the Departmental

Committee's .recommendations on some points are worth attention here. "Possibly, ,, it says, "the printing and publishing of verbatim reports oi all 'evidence' cannot be avoided, though a summary of the same, when feasible, would cost far less and probably afford as ranch satisfaction to the public, though possibly not to the witnesses." One Commission published 416 maps, charts, and diagrams of the most elaborate kind, the printing of which alone cost over £2000. In order to curtail extravagant expenditure it is recommended that the Stationery Office should have authority to refer back for consideration any "copy" when there is any doubt, on the ground of cost or prolixity, as to the desirability of printing it. Four recent Commissions have cost £17,758, and the receipts from sales have amounted only to £3386. We wonder, by the way—some member ought to ask— what are the receipts from sales of the Timber Commission's report. A difficult point considered by tho Committee was the "reference," its barms and the interpretation of thorn. The recommendation is that if differences arise, the final decision should be given by a Minister.; but as tho Times points out, there are grave objections to such a course:

The chief value of the report of a strong Commission is that it is the outcome of inquiries conducted independently of any Government Department. It may well happen that the question of tho limitation of thb range of inquiry is one of the chief matters in dispute; and to- say that any Department should forbid inquiry into this or that matter as ultra vires is to take up a doubtful positiou. ■ It would be safo to leave this point to the chairman, or, .in case of disagreement, to a majority of the Commission.

• The suggestion is made by a correspondent that before proceeding to appoint a new caretaker for the Zoo at Newtown Park some competent person should be appointed to advise as to the site chosen for the cages of the land birds and animals. The idea is worthy of consideration. Exception has at times ■ been taken to the position chosen, and the time is opportune for obtaining advice on the subject. It might, of course, be suggested that the matter should be allowed to stand over until- the new appointment is made; - but on the other hand, if the services of a conipstent authority are available, there is less likelihood of , friction if the subject is gone into now than later. Perhaps Councillors will give the matter their consideration.