NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 955, 24 October 1910, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

' The "National League," 'which announced its formation on Saturday, has excited a good deal of curiosity concerning, its There are six separate purposes claimed for it in its notice to the public, but those are set forth in language sufficiently vague to. leave the public somewhat, in the dark as to what, precisely,; the League stands for. "To safeguard' the reasonable and necessary freedom ■■ of; action :of • the individual and of the community" is a" most worthy object. . But, like the young man'• in Frieiidship's Garland who said, "Delicacy! Dolicacy? Surely I .have heard that word before'!" >e. cannot ■' feel sure, as to what is; meant.. .We know what we mean by "reasonable and necessary, freedom; of action,"' but_ we' know that some people have quite another meaning for it. The League_ has not been sparing with its adjectives, the net total of which, is that it stands for moderate, sensible, wholesome, temperate, sound, and rational views, and will oppose intemperate, oppressive, and extreme Ti the League intendsto fight against'excessive borrowing, maladministration, bureaucratic tyranny, oppressive taxation, Vexatious restrictions upon industry, and State paternalism, it can be assured of pur.hearty support. It can do'so and yet remain a non-party organisation. For such a policy there is a great need, and a great future.

A avord of comment seems to be required by the Prime Minister's announcement that, in bringing down tho Supplementary Estimates, ho will propose to restore'the £25 which the House lopped off the salary voted to one'of the officers of the Defence Department. It is highly probable that he will succeed in getting a majority to support; him in upsetting the decision of the House, and we do not think, upon tho whole, that it will bo a bad thing, in the long run.- Indeed, if ho would ask his followers, when the Supplementary Estimates are under discussion, to reverse the decision of the House in respect of all those votes on the General Estimates upon which the Government sustained de-

feat it would probably be the best and shortest way of bringing home to the public the thoroughly bad state of things which has grown up. The will come the more surely, and will be the stronger when it docs come. The Prime. Minister is fighting splendidly for the success of the Eeform party at the next elections. The more rope he takes the better.

In connection with the proposal that the sessional arrangements for next year should' be upset, and the business of the country seriously interfered with, in order that a bodyguard, of M.P.'s-should accompany Sir Joseph Ward to England, there is a mystery which the country would be glad to have cleared up. It was stated on the Prime Minister's authority, in the. Evening Post of October 6, and in our own columns on the following day, that New Zealand had been'invited to send eight members to'the Coronation festivities, but that the question had not at that date been considered by Cabinet. This was a definite statement enough, and it is therefore not a matter for surprise that a good many people, here and in other parts of the country, are puzzled by the reply given by the Prime Minister to Mr. Taylor during-Thursday night's sitting of the House. Mr. Taylor had. suggested that the new taxation would pay the cost of "the .Coronation picnic." He was referring, he explained,-to the invitation to the Coronation, which the newspapers had credited < Sir Joseph, Ward with having mentioned. "There has been no such invitation," the Prime Minister replied. Several of our contemporaries have noted this rather puzzling contradiction by the Prime Minister of the statement he made earlier in the month, and the point is certainly one that shdula be cleared up for the benefit of Parliament and the public. That some sort of invitation has been received is clear enough, since on : October; ; 0, when the.'PRiME Minister first mentioned the - matter, the Melbourne Age stated that all the Parliaments of the self-governing Dominions.had been invited to send- delegations, and that there would. be eighteen Australian representatives. -It is worth noting that' while the Federal Acting-Prime Minister would , not discuss: the matter, ;he communicated., his receipt. of the:invitation-to 'the i Federal .Opposition.. .Sir. Joseph apparently has -communicated: V the messages .'received from 'the. Colonial Office to nobody. It is difficult tio understand why there.should be any. secrecy on: the' subject' in New Zealand while in the! Commonwealth it is treated as one, which Parliament and the public are.entitled to know about. -.-.'.". ■:.';■; •'■! .'■:,'.'.--.■-