THE POLITICS OF 1911.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1330, 6 January 1912, Page 6

THE POLITICS OF 1911.

; A RETROSPECT. HOW WARDISM WENT DOWNEND OF AN EPOCHTho year 1911 marks tho close of an era in tho political history of Now Zealand. The defeat of tho Ward Government lit the gcnoral election iu December has put an end to tho twenty-ono years' domination of the political party which came into power with the Premiership of tho lato Mr. Ballancc and continued to cxerciso control, though largely changing its character, under tho lato Mr. Seddon nnd Sir Joseph Ward. All tho preceding events of tho political year, seen in retrospect, seem to lead up to tho striking electoral verdict with which it has closed. By action after action, and by repeated l'uilnros to act,'the Ward Government has further nnd ever further nlionated .tho sympathies of the people. Its opponents, meanwhile,' have been steadily gaining in numbers, in confidence, and in tho favour of the country. Tho result is a situation, which, amid certain perplexing features,' is dominated by tho indisputable tact, that the Ward Administration is discredited and rejected. ■ - Bound for London. '• It was in tho month of February/that the Prime Minister, accompanied by the Attorney-General (tho Hon. Dr. Fiudlay, At.L.C.), left for London to attend tlie Imperial Conference of tho - 'Coronation Year. It was only in tho closing days of tho. session of 1910, that the countrylearnt,' from an announcement mado in the Ilonsa by the Minister, that lie had derided to'. take tho Attorney-General with him to London. The reason given for Dr. Findlay's attendance was to the effect that ho would bo able to do valu-, .able service to tho country in tho matter of the'Te Akau Native'land litigation and the Webster land claims.. Nothing "but vague and meagro information has I>cen afforded as to. what the AttorneyGeneral did in-regard to. tho Webster claims, while tho Te Akau;case appears! to have-been left to other hands. Ho did, however, attend and' talcd part in tho , deliberations of. tho Imperial Conference. It' .was' anticipated that .''he would do ■ "so, ■ and tho feeling that he nas liot a representative of. 'New. Zealand'in so full a senso as a member of the conference should.bo caused some dissatisfaction. and incidentally increased tho difficulties of those who undertook the organisation of a valedictory banquet in Wellington. .Another rausc of soreness was thoT'rime Minister's failure to advise members of Parliament, until too late, of gortain invitations for a limited number of them to visit. London and take part in tho Coronation icstivitics, as the guests of members of the British Parliament.- Nevertheless tha banquet was held. . Tho Mayor (Mr. W'iford, 51.P.) having declined (though a Government supporter) to preside, spent the evening at a picture sho.v in Petone, while tho Chief Justice took his place at the head of the feast.-It was c.ipected• that tho Prime Minister would embrace the occasion for tho purpose ..of outlining/his Kchemo for the federation .of the Umpire.' Ho had given notice to move.at .the conference in favour of tho establishment of a central body, which- he described variously as an Imperial Council or a Parliament .of Defence, biit he, had refused to, givo Parliament an opportunity of-dis-.' cussing this or any of tlio. numerous mor. tiom which he intended to bring before the conference. =. His'alluSious. to Imperial topics in his speeches between the rising of Parliament and his departure from Now Zealand had been, few and-; vaguo, and had been quite overshadowed by his efforts to defend tlie procedure taken in the raising of a five million loan against criticisms which had come, not only from his opponents in th's country, but also i'rjm most' of the loading English financial journals. Thoso who expected to gam from his speech at tho farewell banquet any light upon tho scheme of Imperial reorganisation which ho was soon, to propound in the name of New Zealand wcro dieappointedi Ho was, however, comparatively explicit on the subject in an interview which was cabled over from Sydney.

Those Invitations. ' ' The Prime Minister and the AttorneyGeneral sailed from Auckland. Not very after they had departed the eor'o subject of the Coronation invitations was again raised, and this time in a now aspect. The information came to New Zenla.id from newspaper correspondents in London that the committee in London haying learnt that members of tho House of Representatives could not accept the invitation had asked that, the party should bo mode up of members of the Legislative Council. It appeared from subsequent statements in Parliament that this invitation reached tho New Zealand Government after tho Prime Minister arid Attorney-General. had. sailed. Their colleagues, did not transmit it to those for whom if.was intended. Strong protests •wero mado iu both Houses of Parliament; incomplete ond confused Ministerial explanafions were given, and the request ol the Legislative Council for full information was ignored by the Government. This Was one of the affairs that helped to discredit the Government in the eyes of the country, and to strain tho party loyalty of us supporters. l% . '•The .Secret Caso.'!i"

. , Hon. James Carroll, Native Minister, was Acting-I'rime 'Minister during the absence ot.Sir Josoph Ward, and as tin ring a ; previous similar period,' hi 3 policj, so far ; as; tho public could see was one of restfulness. The popular mind! however,.-jsoon fcecamo deeply "stirred by the disclosure .of, a remarkable judicial scandal. liiL'PojriMo:; made known the ct that ;an - important caso affecting, a prominent politician had been proceeding before the. feuprcmo • Court for.years, and ' fc Jiad-.;boen heard-: throughout in camera, the press being forbidden -to refer to it in any way or even to mention even the names ot tho parties. Other naDers in : all parts of the country, and7s? ehadn,/ of -political opinion, joined with Tjib Dosiinion ill, protesting against tho exceptional course taken by the Chief Justice and certain other Judges'iu what was soqii: talkotj of .throughout. New Zealand jmder tho name of "The Secret i^to'thnr wa ? TV" 1 " 1 , the case camo t?'t h» f , n U 'f °( A PP eaI early in April that the iull facts wvvo disclosed. What the public then learnt was that the Hon J . Kennedy Macdonald, M.L.C.,' had. beeh oidered to refund to, the beneficiaries of the Greenfield Estate, nf which' ho was trustee, a sum of about ,£3500, arid that since December, 1910, the Court had been occupied at frequent intervals with appli" cations relating to tho issue of mi J" i .attachment for his comnuttd. to prison as a consequence of his non-compliance with tho order to pay. L 1 0 "nanimously affirm«<l that the writ ot attachment could 'is-sue,-but when, after some further deiav, -Jacd(m«ld. in compliance with the writ. J l ,® 3 , brought beforo tho Supreme Court then; Honours the Chief Justico and Mr! Justice Chapman found that the Judicature Amendment Act, 1910, enahled them to discharge him on the grriund that tho statu of his health was such that imprisonment might imperil his life. The clause under which they-acted had ori"--lnated only a few mouths beforo in tho legislative Council, of which-Macdonald was a member. The news tho-t Maedon--ald had got off scot-free caused another outburst of indignation. All classes of the community were shocked. It was felt that Mr. Blair, counsel for tho plaintiffs, had spoken truly when he declared to the Bench that < that was a sorry day for the-beneficiaries -of trust estate.?. Apart from that aspect, there was the popular feeling that overi in New Zealand there appeared to -be one law for the rich and influential' and another for the poor and unknown.

It was not )>roved that the Government hail instigated or approved of the secrecy of tho proceedings. Ministers were siient on the subject, but wlien to their folmco'were added the efforts of some of tlvir supporters (a few months later) to defend the action of the Court, ami when the public heard such declarations from tho other side in politics, as Mr. Mnssay's 'aying: : "J. .believp. in an open Court and an independent -Bench;" there oould In no doubt lis to how the incident would affect the coming election. Tt alsn operated jmwfi-fu'ly to (!ce|tt r "'<• distrust with which ir.x>j>!o naturally regard wcTi'tivi! method- in public affairs, and as tlifl -.Ward Govornmont .had- to

meot charges of undue secrecy in several important matters, the case of Ifoso v. Macdoriald (to givo it its formal name) l\a(l a powerful intluence upon tho principal event of the year. Tho Co()k Islands. The ciiso was still quite fresli in the public mind when Mr. .Tiuiics, Allen revived tlio protests which (ho Opposition had already made in Parliament against tho payment to Sir Robert Stout (Chief Justice), of sums amounting to oliout .£•4000 for extra-judicial work. The work in question consisted of service on tho'NMiv® Land Commission and I lie Statutes Consolidation Commission, to which Sir Robert Stout had ■ been appointed by Iho Government. It was urged that a bad precedent had been created, if Judges were, to bo nbl.o to cxpect rewards trom tho Executive of the day, and it was the controversy over this subject which gave half its significance to-the I'oform leader's dsclaratioii for open Court and an independent Bench.", . The controversy was still going oti, and the "Secret . Case" had .only just been disposed-of, when the Government commissioned: Sir Robert Stout to proceed to Earotonga and there to try a charge of murder and inquire into several grievous complaints against the administration of the C'ook Islands under Iho Resident Commissioner,. .Captain J. Eman Smith. These complaints nad first been inado in 1910, in the columns of The Dominion, and had received some attention from Parliament., but without result. In the interval they, grew,- and. Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P.,. in. n letter to the Acting-. Premier, formulated them into a-series of 'charges against the Cook Islands Administration.. .These were the charges which; were referred to Sir' Robert Stout for .investigation. The complainants in the Cook Jslands had asked that, a public' inquiry be held, and that tho witnesses be examined'on oath. The ActingPremier, however, informed tho Chici Justice, in the'letter in which' he asked him .to act, that "there" was "no power to administer an. oath in- the Islands, and when' Sir Robert' Stout arrived at Rarotonga,. he announced that with a view to making, tho inquiry more "effective he w;ould hold it' in''private.. Two, or the complainants—Dr.'C. M. Dawson and Mr. Rupert Hoski'ng-rthereupon declined to give ovidence. A third, nolds, ex-Inspector of Police,* stated his grievances.' Tho effect of the n'pojl, which was signed by,tho 'Chief' Justice and subsequently laid Parliament was generally' favourable to tho Resident. Commissioner. Tho Chief Justice's findings were vague, inconclusive, and admittedly based to a' great extent, on hearsay. Nobody,. except . possikly. the Resident Commissioner and the Government, was satisfied. The. unsatisfactory .character of'tho'report was made clear when' it camo before Parliament, but nothing appeal's to have beyond the appointment df-a Native Land Court Judge, arrangements for improving the medical sorvice and the contemplation.of improvements in tho education of-the Natives ami in- tho regulation of tlie salo and consumption of liquor in the Islands. •

The Government and the Tramways. During tho recess the Government issued a series of regulations "under the Tramways' Amendment ' Act, 1910. The prospective cffec-t of these regulations was to'impose such numerous and harassing restrictions upon the running of municipal tramways that many of thoso concerned were forced to the conclusion that the Teal object of the Government was to malco it impossible for such services to bo carried on-.by any authority but the State. Draft copies of the regulations were forwarded to the various tramway authorities, They were marked . "Confidential," but the Acting-Mayor of . Wellington (Mr. John Smith), realising the importance of the! public interests concerned, and noting that: it was apparently intended to . bring the regulations into forco at a very-earl v date; applied: for. the removal-of'the embargo of secrecy. Receiving/no answer, he- made his copy available t'o the press, and the regulations, were published in The Dominion". There followed a conference qf tramway authorities a.deputation from the conference to tho Hon. R. MlCenzie, Minister for Public Works (who avenged himself on the Acting-Mavor by refusing, in an insulting to hear him speak). The regulations were revised, and it is understood that 3 fresh draft, the result of the fctmbined labours of the conference and tho municipal and Departmental experts, was placed in tho hands of the Minister, but nothing further has occurred. Platform Politics. < The platform politics of the Parliamentary recess included a vigorous campaign by-the Reform party in all parts of the Dominion, the principal speakers being Messrs. Masscy, Allen, Herries, Herdman, and Fisher. Their efforts forced the Acting-Primo Minister into unwonted activity, and he delivered addresses in several, places. Tho Hon. ■J. A. Millar, Acting-Minister for Finance, in a speech at Dunedin; went into the financial position of the country, and stated that, in his opinion, it would not be necessary to raise a loan during the current year—a forecast ! which was subsequently set at naught by his chief. . The principal political meeting of tho recess was' a very large gathering in the Wellington Town Hall oa July G. The speaker was Mr. Massey, and he took tho opportunity of .announcing and expounding the Reform platform, which he had that day revised in conference with ■members of the party. Among the planks were financial reform, non-political control of tho. Civil Servico and of Public "Works expenditure, "acceleration, of the settlement of Crown- and Native lands, the'righjt of Crown tenants to purchase the freehold, electoral .reform, an elective tipper House, town-planning, unemployment insurance, and an effort by means' of .the "tariff'to rriuoo 'the.'cost of living. The nic&ting carried with enthusiasm a motion affirming in omphatic terms the needfora change of Government. Such resolutions had rarely or never ..been put before political moeiings in this country, but, in ( the ensuing months, they . became quite common. The Mokau Dealings.

It was.at this meeting- that Mr. Massey first brought prominently forward what has since been so widely discussed, ur.der the name of Moknu dealings.' Tho charges he: made ngflinst the 'Government were of too grave a character ; to be ignored. The matter was discussed in' the Ifriuse upon a statement by the Acting-Prime Minister, who moved that, an inqniry be held by tlio Native Affairs Committee. Mr. -Massey' pointed '' out. that' that committee comprised a > great' preponderance of Government members, and he" moved.accordingly for a special committee on'which the twopartiesshould.be equally represented. The Minister's motion was carried, but tho. committee, after sitting at-frequent intervals during the greater part of tlio; session, arid taking a great amount of ovidence, presented a report which substantiated in all essentials the statements -made by Mr. Massey. The Mokau-Moliakatino Block comprised 53,000 acres of Native land, suitable for settlement ,and rich in minerals. The leasehold interests, acquired many years ago'by Mr. Joshua Jones, had passed into tho hands of.the trustees of the late Mr. Wickham Flower, of London, and thence tn Mr. Herrman Lewis, of Wellington. The Nalivo Land Act, 190!), limits tho area of Native land-that, may bo purchased by .one person to -100 acres of first-class land, or a.corresponding area of second or third-class land, but contains also a provision enabling the Government to issue an Order-in-C'ouncil permitting the limit to bo-exceeded. This was done in the present instance to enable Mr. Lewis, to purchase the freehold of the Mokau Block from -the Natives, which he did, for ,£25,000. The total cost of the freehold and leasehold to him . was .£40,000. He sold almost immediately the whole property . (less 7000 acres) for .£75,000 to a syndicate of Hawke's Bay capitalists, who in turn sold to a company which was formed for this purpose under the name of the Mokau Coal arid Estate Company, Ltd. The.price paid by the company was ,£85,000; The above are the main facts, and the Government -was v'Cry strongly condemned for enabling, through the issue of tho Order-jn-Counoil, several speculators to make large profits which must .ultimately be recouped by them from tho settlers to whom they will dispose of the land. It was contended that the Government should have itself acquired the land, and cut it up for settlement. The Government's defence was that, if it had bought the land, it would have been troubled with costly litigation. This plea was scouted by some competent authorities, and the general public regarded the whole affair as highly discreditable to the Govenimenl. The history gained piquancy from ihe fact that the chairman of the Mokau Company is Mr. I!. M'.Nab, au'ex-Minis-lev of' Lands, nf strong "leasehold pro- [ dmties,". and. tho' .Ward' party's candi-

date for I'almerston North, while tho legal firm which acted for Mr. Ilerrman Lewis was that of Messrs. Findlny, Dalziell, and Company—iu which (ho gentleman who was then AttorneyGonernl in iho Ward Government was a sleeping partner. The .Baronetcy. Coronation honours bestowed upon New Zealandet-s ineludeil a baronetcy for Sir Joseph AVard and a knighthood for tho Hon. Dr. Pimllay. Both these awards were unpopular, the former as tho first hereditary title gaiiied for a Now Zealand politician', the latter n's a distinction conterred on one whose public career was not thought to justify it. Tho honours list also included knighthoods for Mr. Justice Williams, the Hon. James Carroll, and the Hon. A. R. Guinness (Speaker of tho House of Representatives). Sir John Findlay afterwards resigned his appointment in the Legislative Council, offered himself to the constituency of I'arriell at tho general election, and "was rejected. The Session. Tho Parliamentary session lasted only 13 weeks—from tho end of July to the ond of October. Very soon after the opening, members and many other people were saddened by the death, after a short illness, of that notable .Parliamentarian, Mr. T. E. Taylor. Tho. Christchurch North by-election, which followed, resulted in the return of Mr. L. M. Isitt, the well-known prohibition advocate. ' Mr. Isitt stood as an Independent, but has since, and especially since the general election, when he retained his seat, identified himself pretty closely with the party of Sir Joseph Ward. Legislatively, the session was unimportant, and most of the principal.matters of discussion liavo been dealt with above. Tho attempt at further gainings legislation should, however, be noted. The Gaming Act of the previous year had authorised a commission to make reductions, in the number of days of racing. Its report, which had the force' of law by virtue of the Act of 1910, involved the extinction of a number of country racing clubs. Strong protests were made by many members of Parliament, and an attempt was made, by means of a private Bill/to save the threatened clubs, but nothing resulted; and tho Act Ikls been left' to take its course.

Early in the session, the Hon. G. Fowlds introduced a Town Planning Bill/ which would, incidentally, have increased tho control exercised by the Government over municipal affair's. The "Order-iri-Council clause,'' in which this feature was chiefly apparent, was rejected by the House in Committee, jrnd .tho Minister 'withdrew the Bill. Not long after Mr.-Fowlds resigned from the Ministry, which,, hp considered, was no longer guided -by theprinciples' of Liberalism and democracy. Before his resignation, Mr." Fowlds piloted through tho House the bulkiest statute tho year. .-This .was the Mental Defectives Act, which consolidated and amended tho-law relating to the treatment of the insane.

Other legislation of tho year included a Death Duties Amendment Act, Industrial . Conciliation and Arbitration Amend-' ment Act, Local Elections and Polls Amendment Act, -Military 1 Tensions Act, Old Age Pensions Amendment Act, Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act, Tramways Amendment Act, Widows' Pensions Act, and Workers' Compensation Amendment Act. Civil Servants and railway employees were gi anted increases of salary.

Sir:.Joseph "\V;ird, in liis Budget, announced a surplus of'. £1,386,483,-of which ,£BOO,OOO had been transferred to the Public Works Fund, and stated that ho would ask Parliament to authorise a. loan of:a million and a half for public works. (This ■ was afterwards agreed: tp.) - He- estimated the revenue for (he current year at .£10,429,010, and the-ex-penditure at .£10,136,566. Tho Budget contained much that was regarded as electioneering writer, and which ltai now largely lost its importance. The same may be said of several of tho Government's legislative proposals. Elections and After. Tho general election resulted in the return of '31 Government supporters (including three Maori members), 37 members of the Reform Party, •! Labour members, and 5 Independents (including one Maori). Altogether, 42 of the members (in a House of SO) are pledged to vote against tho Ward Government. Ever since the elections, Sir Joseph Ward has been negotiating privately with his supporters and' others, but has not yot #nnounced how he will meet the position. The public is becoming impatient.