NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1267, 24 October 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

One of yesterday's cable messages reported the substance of a warning to the English public by Lor.D Dudley, late Governor-General of Australia, against what his Australian experience had. shown him to be the evil of paying salaries to members of. Parliament. No Australian or New Zealander would dream of questioning a single word of Lord Dudley's criticism; and § the Westminster Gazette, which is almost tho official organ of the Asqititii Government, can only say in reply that if Loud Dudley had said all this in Australia his Governorship would have been brief. This is the best reply that a very able Liberal journal can make; and it is a very unconvincing reply, no reply at all. The fact that Lokd Dudley would have been promptly "sacked" had he as Governor expressed a strong personal view on a political question proves nothing save that Governors are bound to be discreet. Lord Islington, as Sir John Dicksox-Poyxder, had some very definite views on the land question. When, as ho ultimately will, he goes Home, is ho to be reviled by the "Liberals," of England or of New Zealand, if he expresses the views that as a private person he is free to express, but that as his Majesty's representative, he is obliged, and rightly so, to keep to himself ? The principle of .paying salaries to M.P.'s is really entirely bad. You may justify it as a temporary measure, or on grounds of expedience. The current cant is that non-payment of salaries secures government to tho rich, which is to say the cruel, the selfish, the villainous, tho grindersdown of the poor, and so on. But without payment of members Britain has been able to obtain a very Eadi«il Government indeed. The fact is, men's opinions aro independent of their purses. Who arc the wealthiest politicians in this democratic New Zealand? Everybody knows that they are the "Liberals. , - , We do not for a moment question the sincerity of Messrs. Fowlds, and M'Nab, amongst the ex-Ministers, Sir Joseph Ward and Sir John Findlay amongst the Ministers, Mr. Vigor Brown and Mr. Myers and many others amongst the "Liberal" members, and all the others in the ranks of the Government's private supporters. But it is absurd to suggestthat a man's purse determines his views, or that an unpaid Parliament will grind down the poor.

An interesting sidelight on the Chinese revolution comes to us by mail in the shape of fuller particulars of tho Szechuan disturbances that began early last month. The people of Chenghi, the capital of Szechuan, were incensed at the Government's decision to build main tiunk railways with_ borrowed money. This, they considered, was "injurious to their interests, and a violation of the sacred principle of China for tho Chinese." It is impossible for New Zealanders, who are told almost daily by the apostate successors of the Ballance party—the party of real national "self-reliance" —that we must borrow huge sums for our national development., not lo admire the spirit of Szechuan. The same London journal reporting the iSzechuan developments contained a report of Loud Roserery's Rectorial address at the five-hundredth anniversary celebrations oE the famous St. Andrews University, and the two things make a natural bracket. Lord ]\OSEBEry was emphasising the fact that "Scotland rose and throve by notrlect.". DroenorinK. moro when nc-

glectcd than at any other time. At the present time Scotland "seemed to Iμ , - in danger of becoming a spoonfed nation" : What was in (ho spoon was not for him lo say. The fiituru only could reveal. Jt might he nourishment;* it might be j;ois<111. ]l. iiii|;!il simply lm some lan((iii<l mid relaxing potion; but wlicllior it' Ix , noxious or biwlieial let. them at least remember that it wius not by such means or in this tt-ay Unit. Iho Koiltish Tuition was bracitl juid built up. (Cheers.) I'mrowliiij; on our pnx'iil linos wo produced :i ii.ilion .stronger ami more seli-reiiant (linn it liail hitherto been, lint it was not by .such mc.llicxl-i (hat the strong, noble, wlf-roliant Scottish nation as wo had lniown it. was evolved. (Cheers.) The, gospel of self-reliance, of ceasing to live, on credit and leaving the bill to posterity to pay, is the gospel that has only to bo ardently and faithfully preached in order to win in New Zealand. It is the only New Evangel that anyone not a sentimental triilcr would think of preaching. The competitions which arc to open in the Town Hall to-morrow under the control of the New Zealand Competitions Society promise to bo the most successful of their kind ever held in the Dominion. There are stated to be 840 entries for the various sections of the elocutionary, singing, and instrumental music competitions from Wellington alone, while the 964 remaining entries comprise aspirants to fame from all parts of New Zealand, and a few even from Australia. This speaks emphatically enough for the popularity of the competitions with those who arc anxious to seize the chance to test their qualities and incidentally gain experience and possibly materially improve themselves by discovering their weaknesses and the means of remedying them. The public, which can expect to bo in turn both entertained and amused, has in other places where such competitions have been held proved quite as enthusiastic as the competitors. In Ballarat where the competitions were inaugurated as far back as 32 years ago, they have grown into such favour that the huge hall, capable, it is stated, of accommodating 6000 people, is filled nightly during the progress of the So also in other places in Australia and in New. Zealand they seem to have corac to stay. Here and there voices are raisod in protest chiefly on the ground that the competitions are likely to prove unsettling, and interfere with the regular studies of the students taking part in them; but there can be little doubt that the competitions have come to stay. It is anticipated that so far as the Dominion is concerned the New Zealand Competitions Society which will hold its contests at Wellington will eclipse all others of its kind in New Zealand, mainly on accountof the- central position which this city occupies and the excellent hall available; but also because it is likely to develop into the final convincing ground for the Dominion. It is hoped to make the competitions here a- meeting-place for the champions of the other centres with our local talent, and _ it would scorn, from the information available, that an excellent beginning in this respect will be made on the present occasion.