NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1185, 21 July 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The Prime Minister lias made to a London mi-respondent a statement iijion 11st; Coronation invitations, hut lias c|iiitc failed to deal with the real jioiiiL at iss.uo. On October t> last he stated definitely that an invitation had heen sent to Parliament to send a delegation. On December I! he stated just as positively that no invitation had been sent. On February '27 he announced that an invitation to send eight members of the Parliament bad been received, and that he, had passed on the invitation, not to members of Parliament, but only to members of the House of llcpresentatives. A few days later be announced that owing to the poor responseonly one acceptance bad been received—he had declined the invitation. There the matter stood until the first week in May, when most of the New Zealand newspapers published, from separate and rival correspondence offices in London, some interesting facts that the PnutE Minister had kept to himself. On the first refusal from New Zealand the Lords' and Commons' Committee cabled their disappointment, and suggested that eight Legislative Councillors should come, and offered to pay the passages. The Government, without making this fact public or consulting anybody, again refused, alleging difficulty at that time in securing passages to London. The Committee then cabled repeating its invitation and naming boats that would carry the delegation. Again without telling the public or consulting anybody the Government refused the offer. The Prime Minister now says that it is absolutely incorrect that' he withheld any invitations. But be has not attempted to deny the story of the Committee's invitation to the Legislative Council, its offer to pay expenses, and its success in securing passages. Nor does he deny that he refused to invite Legislative Councillors or consult them, although they were included in the invitation. It is possible, of course, that his interviewer in London did not ask him to clear up these points. He will certainly bo given the opportunity on his return to the Dominion. The City Council appears to have treated the Mount Cook School Committee and the teachers with marked discourtesy in connection with the arrangements made for tree-plant-, ing at the schools on Arbor Day. On July 13, in response to a letter from Mr. Murphy, secretary of the School Committee, asking that the Council should supply trees and shrubs from its nurseries for planting in the school grounds, the Town Clerk replied that the request would receive consideration No further communication was received the Corporation, but the Committee and teachers taking it for granted that in view of the movement in favour of tree-planting their request would be granted, made arrangements to give up their time on Arbor Day to the work, and with about 100 of the scholars assembled, for. that, purpose lon the clay in question. To their annoyance and disgust the plants Were not forthcoming, and they found that they had sacrificed their holiday in vain. Wc assume that the lequest of the Committee was overlooked, but that is vc.'y poor consolation, and certainly calls for,explanation. The Hon. G. Fowlds came the ..other dav to the . rescue . of those "Liberals" . who, like Mr. Poole, feel that "things arc upside down" and that so far as New Zealand is concerned wc are living in a badly-made universe revolving on an ill-greased axle. He explains the cabled announcement that Sin \V. Hall-Jones definitely retires at the end of August as the result of a mistake. The cable man, ho thinks, has misunderstood the, extension of the present.,' High, ~Commissioner's term of office until August 31 as the extension of his term until August 31, or something like that. Mr. Fowlds has not made things any clearer. The fact is, of course, that Mr. Fowlds knows as little as anybody else of Sir Joseph Ward's^intentions. To-day the Acting-Prime Minister comes forward with the statement that Sir W. Hall-Jones has not resigned, and that "for aught that was known to the _ contrary" he may be re-appointed. In minor matters Ministers can rely to some extent upon _ their chief, but when it suits his purpose the Prime Minister thinks as little of keeping most of his colleagues in the dark as of dciivering a twenty-column speech. Who has forgotten the occasion last session, for example, when the Hon. T. Mackenzie made a speech that his chief instantly pulverised,- showing pretty plainly that poor -Mr. Mackenzie was not in the inner circle of the inner circle? Who has forgotten the ignorance in Ministerial ranks concerning the £5,000,000 loan'! In the present case wc feel sure that Sir Joseph Ward has confided the secret to the Attorney-General alone amongst his colleagues. Sir James Carroll and Mr. Fowlds know as little about the matter as wc do, or even as little as Mb. Buddo docs. The Spectator, the weekly newspaper which Mr. G. W. Russell, M.P., publishes in Christchurch, has rushed in where other Ministerialist journals have sidled away. A correspondent wrote to it last week asking for a statement as to the policy of the Government. That is the sort of letter that the average Ministerialist newspaper puts into the wastepaper basket, but the Spectator in a moment of buoyancy printed it and commented upon it. It occupied a good deal of space in discussing the laws passed during the last twenty years, but as to the future it could not give any information. It was quite frank about it: And now a few words as t'o the idea Hint the Government party have no pvoprammo or policy. They don't need any. It is this way. When a man has been in business twenty years, and has built up a large concern, there is no need for him to advertise his policy. The reason is that people know he sells good stuff at' reasonable prices. Wc are afraid the other Ministerialist papers will not like this. The analogy is very unhappy: people like to see "what is in the parcel before they pay for. it. But the Spectator puts the Government's position quite fairly. "Give us your votes and we'll give you 'good stuff. Open your eyes and shut your mouth." It is satisfactory, however, to have the considered opinion of Mr. G. W. llussell, a "Liberal" of the "Liborals," that the Government has no policy because it "doesn't need one.'" We should like to have the opinion of the Ministerialist organ in Christchurch upon this cheerful view. That journal openly confessed that the Government's set-back in 1908 was due to its lack of a policy. And it has found no policy since then.