NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1175, 10 July 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

When Christchurch chose Mn. T. E. Tayloe, M.P., for its Mayor it probably did not expect that that erratic politician would display such a deplorably wrong conception of the Mayoral functions as he has shown in the attitude he has taken up in connection with Mn. Massey's forthcoming address. If Mr. Tayloe, as Mayor, did not wish to preside over the meeting, ho had only to say so, although a refusal would have shown a very petty spirit. But to express his willingness to preside and at the same time to issue a political challenge to Mr. Massey in connection with the meeting in highly provocative terms is a breach of good taste that reflected on the people who placed him in the Mayoral chair. It is quite impossible for Mr. Massey, as anyone can see, to make an attack upon the chairman of his meeting, even if he desired to do so. It is Mr. Taylor's business to preside as Mayor, reserving his right as a member of Parliament to obtrude his own personal affairs and to fight Mr. Massey at the proper time. He is apparently unable, however, to distinguish between his function as a Mayor and his capacity as a reckless and bitter politician. We are quite sure that the people of Christchurch as a whole will strongly resent this violent breach in that Mayoral tra-. dition of which they are rightly proud; but they cannot altogether escape the responsibility, for having made the situation possible by electing as Mayor a politician whose ways they ought to know thoroughly by now.

The resignation of Sir Eldon Gorst of his office of British Minister in Egypt is not altogether unexpected, nor will it be unwelcome. In a recent article we discussed the situation in Egypt, and incidentally indicated the dangers attached to the growing unrest and the insolence of the Egyptians towards British authority. Sin Eldon Gorst has been largely blamed for the policy which has encouraged this state of things, but it is to bs said to his credit that he has freely admitted the failure which has attended his efforts.' In a recent report he summed up the situation as follows: —

In my view the principal and sufficient reason has been that from first to last the adoption of this policy ("of introducing Liberal principles into the government of Egypt] has been attributed both by the Egyptians and by the local European colonies to weakness, to an attempt to pacify the. nationalist agitation by ill-timed concessions, and to an intentional diminution of British authority. It is not my purpose hero to dwell upon the manifest absurdity of this legend, which has been industriously circulated by many whoso motives .nre not above suspicion. . . . But there is no doubt that the motives of our action in endeavouring to meet the. reasonable desires of the Egyptians, coupled with our traditional policy of keeping British control as far as possible in the background, were misinterpreted, and led to the erroneous impression that the aspirations of those who are" in favour of the immediate establishment of full representative governnient would be furthered by an agitation directed against tho British occupation. This being tho chief causo why our recent policy has not produced tho results which might otherwise have reasonably been anticipated from it, the course for.the.jmuiediato fu-, two is fairly simple and obvious. We have to make the Egyptians understand that his Majesty's Government do not intend to allow themselves to foe hustled into going farther or faster in tho direction of self-government than they consider to be'in the interests of tho Egyptian people us a whole.

It is interesting to note that the suggestion has been made that Lord Kitchener is to succeed Sir Eldon Gorst. The idea seems one likely to find very general favour, and,,with the extended jurisdiction hinted at by the journal making the suggestion, may prove agreeable to Lord Kitchener himself. It would not'be easy to suggest the name of anyone more suited to the task of carrying conviction to the Egyptian mind that Britain was not to be hustled or browbeaten in the matter of extending self-government to Egypt.

As our readers know, we are always delighted when some "Liberal" politician is tempted from the stock arguments of his class into emphasis and originality. Mr. G. W. Russell, M.P. for Avon, is our latest find. He delivered an address in a Christ-church suburb on Wednesday, and began by saying that if the Opposition or some of them had their way, they "would repeal old age pensions, manhood suffrage," and so on. We hope his fellow Liberals will keep on saying this silly thing, for they could not better servo the cai'se of reform than by so exposing the bankruptcy and desperation of their party. But we refer to Mr. Russell here in order to give publicity 'to his candid talk about borrowing. "They had heard," he said, "a cry for the cessation of borrowing. He had only to say that if tho Government ceased borrowing and the public works stopped, things would 'go into a state of chaos, and tens !of thousands of people would be walking tho streets, without work and without food." He went on to say: "He would ask these people making the outcry, would they like 6d.. a pound put on their tea, and 2d. tT £ on their land tax, etc. 1 That was the only ■alternative to borrowing. Whilst in public life he would never assist in stopping public borrowing." It is characteristic of the "Liberal" politician that ho should represent the Reform party as crying out for a cessation of borrowing. Nobody has demanded any such thing. But it is worth while to notice what this politician's argument implies. It implies that enormous borrowing alone keeps from starvation a public that has had twenty years of "Liberalism" to put it in a sound position. "Liberalism," it implies, has failed so dismally that we must annually borrow gigantic sums for poor relief works. For that is what the public works must be if their suspension would fill the land with unemployed, and create tho state of chaos suggested. It is not surprising that politicians of this kind can see no alternative to huge loans save paralysing taxation. The alternative of economy and a revival of public confidence never occurs to them. But the point is that Mr. Russell, a .typical Wardite, hailed by a loading 'Ministerialist paper in the South as a genuine "Liberal," says, in effect, (1) that twenty years of" "Liberal" rule have been so beneficent that millions a year must bo borrowed to find employment for a large section of the people, and (2) that, alternatively, twenty years of "Liberal" rule have produced this result that if the public works were suspended or curtailed there would be'necessary a taxation policy cruel, crushing, and desperate beyond all precedent. The case of the Government is pretty bad when it requires 'bat amazing defence.