NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 922, 15 September 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

"The country was asked to believe a considerable time ago that: all. the Government's Bills were ready for presentation to Parliament; -Whether anybody believed that -,tho Government even knew what if meant to do about its promised legislation we of course caiinot say. But nobody can jioubt any longer that the real reason; why the Pkime. Minister did not bring in all his most important proposals weeks ago is that some of them are not yet finally drafted.. Tho Land Bill, which ought to have been ready at tlie beginning of the year, was withheld and postponed again and again, and when the Government did'bring it down, it was plain to everybody that it was a hasty, improvisation, at the last moment. The one Bill of all others that should have given the Government no trouble is the Gaming Bill.' Months untl months have, been available for its preparation, in any case. Moreover, the Government has already been given a lead on the subject by resolution of the House. Yet when he introduced it on- Tuesday, the Prime :'Minister was unable to circuhite it, It has not yet been printed, or, if printed, has not yet been finally passed and declared fit for,, circulation. The public will be inclined to ask what Ministers have beon doing with their time that they cannot, after many months, make up their minds upon their Bills, We, do not think that, there has ever been in any previous session such a remarkable body of testimony to the' Government's inability to find a policy. Its present ignominious situation is the natural end of its abandonment of principles.

Whatever the ultimate end of the •shearers' dispute may be, one thing is certain: tnafc it will be quite impossible any longer for the friends of the Arbitration Act to claim that their pot meisure guarantees industrial peace and stability. In sotting up the informal tribunal of three Conciliation Ooi/iniissiqncrs, the astonishing proceedings before which at Christchurch on Tuesday were reported at length in our issue of yesterday, the Government practically confessed that the regular "conciliation" machinery of-the Act 1 is worthless, .if. a .powerful union chooses tu

take up a firm stand. The Act exists, obviously, only by the grace of tho unions. It is only as strong as they allow it tu be. Thfey <:ai, make it au extraordinarily powerful engine of opi)ression, or a pitiful paper toy, just as their interests require. They can stroke and patronise it, ay fctioy can kick, it into the gutter, JHR6 as they choose. So much was finally and conclusively'proved when tho Minister for Labour found, himself driven to abandon tho' Act and resorc to. an unofficial tribunal. The failure of even this to induce the shearers' organisation to promise that it would agree in advance to whatever award was wade is proof of a further truth: that'the Act, after sixteen years, has not made the smallest impression upon the mind of organised labour. Eulogised until two or three years ago as a measure that had replaced the worker's old conception of industry with a new ide.a coloured by a love of peace, patriotism and piety, the Act is now revealed as a helpless sham. When Mr. _Laracy refused to give allegiance to the Act on Tuesday and declared that the shearers will promise nothing, and. least of. all that. they will respect the Court's'award, we do not.suppose that he intended to affront the Act. As,a matter of fact, we should say it never occurred to him to consider the.Act at all. Wo hope that Mk. Millar is satisfied with having helped, by setting up the unofficial tribunal, to bring the Act into greater contempt than ever. • And yet, no doubt, some foolish people will still assert that the Act makes ■for industrial peace, for. a lawabiding spirit, and for sweet reasonableness all round!

■-. ■: The party provided an attractive-list-of speakers for its public meeting last evening, and as a result !made a veTy fine demonstration in favour of the cause which it advocates. The various speakers' covered ' ground very familiar to most-of their audience, but there was a newness in the emphasis which was laid on the demand for the bare' majority. In the: past. this claim ■ for'., the.-bare majority, has' been- put forward rather as a, matter of-prin-ciple than' with any real hope of attaining it—an ideal never to'be lost sight of but only' to bo reached after long_ eli'ort. Last evening quite a dilfercnt tone was adopted. The bare majority-was insisted 'on as an immediate and.pressing need —a right which must be dragged out of Parliament during ! the present sessiquj a thing to-be refused at thupcril of; those opposing , it. Any talk of "compromise was scouted as impossible. In view of the incidents relating' ; to licensing'; legislation last session wheii compromise was- the mood of the' moment, this new attitude is a little surprising.- We suspect that it has. its origin in the growing feeling that the Government can be! very easily terrorised by any vigorous act of aggression backed by H proper display of force. /Weak people, and weak Governments make! trouble: for themselves .and others in this way. .Wc' doubt very much, howover,. that .the! No-License, party; have quite jihe numerical backing, which they imagine on . this , bare majority issue. -That they have a very. large following in favour of liquor "reform Local Option polling results prove beyond question. It is quite; another question, however, to class all-who .vote with thorn as favouring the bare majority or ;6f, going with them the full length'.of. .their deniands. It' is very! difficult, to tell what .will, happen in the,present Parliament in the way of licensing legislation. It may be .taken for granted that there majority against tho bare majoi'% proposal to-day;' but what the position,will, be next-week or the week after is not.-easy to anticipate. :: In view of" the small amount of progress made with the important .matters alreacly ■" bofore _ Parliament" the efforts o'f the No-License! party are not'likely.;to .lead-' to legislation being passed this session on the lines outlined'-at: last.; night's ; meeting. 1 Probably the leaders of the'party are aware of this, and are -merely making a-tactical demonstration to impress Parliament and to clear the way for a supreme effort next session —on the eve of the general election and Local Option poll. ,