NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 970, 10 November 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

A local butter merchant, Mr. H. G. Hill, writes in very strong terms concerning tuberculosis and the inspection of stock.

Briefly, he states, thore is no proper inspection of stock, therefore there can be no control over the disease. It is possible for the milk aiid butter to be affected. The regulations with reference to pork are so absurd that, if they were not so serious, they would form the groundwork for comic opera.

Mr. Hill goes on te accuse the Government of neglecting its duty in not taking adequate steps to cope with the situation. Incidentally he challenges the Minister for Agriculture k> deny (1) That a certain bacpn factory which was gjctting a large percentage oi its pigs condemned suddenly . notified tho Government Department that its inspectors would not be required any longer. (2) That a line of pigs killed for export recently were so bad with tuberculosis that 90 per cent were condemned. If this latter statement is correct Mr. Hill asks what steps wore taken to prevent the pork being sold on the local market. We referred Mr. Hill's letter to the Minister, but without much satisfaction. So far as we have been able to learn the Department under Mil. Reakes has been working steadily in the direction of securing the pasteurisation of all milk sent to butter factories, hoping by this means to prevent the spread of tuberculosis amongst calves and pigs fed on the skimmed milk from the factories. Material progress, vye believe, has been made in this direction, but we are not at all. certain, nevertheless, that the interests of the local public have received sufficient attention. In the matter of the-exported article there is necessarily inspection, but pork killed for local consumption is not. always subject to inspection—it is optional with the pork and bacon factories. This is a matter of some considerable importance, and as Me. Hill points out the Government should not bo permitted to shirk its responsibilities to the public. An explanation by , the Minister from his place in Parliament might clear away misunderstanding and show what is actually being done to safeguard the Health of the public.

The Australian files bring confirmation of tho report that the Federal Government means to enforce tho "spoils to tho victors" policy. A deputation from the Political Labour Council waited on Me. O'Malley, the Minister for Home Affairs, to urge tho giving of jobs to Labourites. Tho deputation claimed to be asking only for equal treatment all round, and for the abolition of "tho old policy of preference to the other party," but the Argus described this claim as a piece of rank absurdity that would not bluff the public into misunderstanding what tho deputation was after. On the day upon which Mr. O'Malley received this deputation, which he sent away happy, of course, the Federal Cabinet decided that in all Government contracts a ' clause shall be inserted providing for preference to unionists. We need not quote the newspaper denunciations of this unashamed adoption of the Tammany principles; but we think Me. Deakin's opinion, which he gave in the course of a speech in tho Federal House of Bepresentativcs on Wednesday of last week, will be allowed some weight:

Attention has been called in the press to a deputation to the Minister for Home Affairs protesting against appointments in his Department, on account of alleged political colour. During tho whole ot my association with the public service I have never known of a caso in which political influence was attempted, and 1 think' that has been the universal .experience. I believo our public service commissioner and the officers under him, who advise him, have been absolutely free of partisanship of any kind. If there have been any such developments they must have been very recent. I venture-to say they have not existed. I think that from the tone of the deputation very sinister inferences could Be drawn—regarding urgings, through the Minister, upon men who by their oaths of office are bound to impartiality. No bad legislation can have 60 injurious an effect as any suggestion of political influence.

At Cincinnati on September 21 last Peesident Taft delivered a speech somo parts of which are of extreme interest to the people of this country just now. He was addressing an Association whose chief business is to further tho improvement of the Ohio "River. "As a country, he said, "we are all in favour of the most effective and economical expenditure for the development of our waterways, but as members of. adistrict and as representatives of districts we are selfishly insistent upon our share of public appropriations each year, however much that division of the spoil impedes the adoption of the effective and economical improvement of our water transportation." Me. Taft concluded his speech with the following observations, upon- which wo need make no comment other than this, that _we have been expressing similar _ views upon the condition of affairs in this country: .

"The evil in the corrupt control of a Congress or a Legislature by private interests is manifest and always calls for condemnation. But there is another kind of legislative abuse as dangerous, and that is tho selfish combination of tho representatives of the'majority to expend the money of the Government for the temporary benefit of a' part or with little benefit to the whole; It is tho duty of tho majority and the minority to "legislate always for the benefit of tho wholo people, and any enactments that look to the selfish exploitation of less than the wholo at the expense of the whole and without benefit to the whole is a species of. legislative .abuse that comes very near corruption in its effect and is perhaps more dangerous than corruption, because those who support such a combination are generally bold in its defence. The days of the 'pork barrel' Should be numbered. Tho country is roused against corporate .or corrupt control of legislative agencies, but it is doubtful whether the constituencies as yet are able to perceive the higher obligation on tho part of themselves and tho r representatives- not to use their votes in combination to appropriate to a part that which belongs to the whole." New Zealand, we hope and believe, will anticipate America in securing tho reform of the "pork barrel" or. "loaves and fishes" system.