NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1341, 19 January 1912, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

o £ Supporters of Civil Service n>y form in this country should y be stimulated and encouraged by the progress of the kindred movement in the United States. Speakers at the annual conference of the National Civil Service He form League, which was held last month at Philadelphia, were able to point to much "ood II fruit of the popular determination y to sweep away corruption and polis tical patronage from the public affairs of the nation, the States and j j' the municipalities. The venerable president of the league, Dit. Chaiu.ks * \V. Emot, President Emeritus of l " Harvard College, recalled Mil. . Taft's recommendation to Congress that the entire Civil Service of the National Government bo planed on the merit system of appointment, which, as other speakers at the conference showed, is being progressively adopted in State and city Governments througlmt thj Republic - A striking paper was read by Mr. W. T. Denison, Assistant AttorneyGeneral, who showed the real popularity of Civil Service reform by pointing out that the most successful ( American politicians of the last dee cade—such men as Roosevelt, j. Hughes, Cleveland, and Bryan— 1 were enemies of the spoils theory, lie insisted that there should be no difficulty, in getting the people—even t the poor people—of Now York and j other big cities to see that the boasted charity of Tammany Hall w,',s j the sort of kindness that kills. He * used the name of one of the political " bosses with American plainness in j illustrating how reformers might set about educating the voters. Suppose, for instance, you show clearly to Plunkitt's constituents that tuberculosis, which has brought anguish to " most of their tenements, either to their - own families or to their neighbours, had > been fostered there by violation of the t laws concerning tenement air space and windows, and that these illegalities existed because tho force of tenement inspec- ■ tors was made up of Plunkitts, appointed ! by Plunkitts, and for Plunkitts, and ap- ; pointed not to inspect tenements, but to . do political charity work. There arc in New York city every year more than [ 27,000 deaths from preventable diseases, 1 and, of course, vastly more injurious and ; ccstlv illnesses. Would it be impossible to show the voters that these (Ureases [ cannot be prevented if the Health Depart- ' ment is controlled by Plunkitts? It may be said with truth that poli- ' tical patronage in New Zealand has ', not led to any such appalling results ! as those, hut even if it has not wast- ' ed human lives, it has wasted a . great deal of the public wealth, ,and \ even the poorest have had to help , pay for it. The system of political appointments to the Civil Service \ always means waste—and very much more waste than is apparent on the surface. ; With the abdication of the Man- : chu dynasty it now seems to be set- " tied that China is to be a republic, ' with Yuan Shih Kai as its first Prc- \ sident. The strong republican fcel- ; ing, the absence of any other family ; with a hereditary claim to the Im- ' perial Throne, and the strong feel- ' ing which would bo manifested " against the accession of another for- ' eign dynasty, combined to make the republican solution the only one pos- ' siblc. Yet the huge experiment " which is about to be made by a peo- ' pie. numbering one-fourth of the 1 world's inhabitants cannot be rc--1 garded without more or less of > anxiety for the immediate future. ' What Lord Curzon said the other ! day of Persia is true in its degree ■ of China. Ho pointed out (according to the sum--1 mary of tho "Westminster Gazette") ; that after centuries of rois-rulo Persia : decided without experience, almost witli- . out premeditation, to embark upon tho great experiment of self-government by representative institutions. Parliaraeu- ' lary government, Lord Curzon observed, is a "strong and heady physic in any ; country, even in Western countries," requiring the sturdiest frame, tho most ' robust constitution in order to be able to 1 assimilate it. Is it fo bo expected that that which wo with difficulty compass after centuries of struggles, an Oriental race, with experience, with traditions wholly different from our own, is successfully to accomplish in five, ten, or twenty ' years?' , It will be well for China if the . "strong and heady physic" is to be , administered in her case by so able, \ experienced, and popular a states- , man as Yuan Shih Kai, and one in , whom the Western nations place so . much confidence. It must be hoped , t that the attempt upon his life by bomb-throwing does not indicate any . widespread ' feeling against him . among the revolutionaries, for there , is no other statesman available with * his unique qualifications for con- \ trolling Chinese affairs in the present tremendous crisis. j—-The publicity which has just been , given Mr. M'Nab by the Southland , :Vr»',s- is not without interest just . now, in view of possibilities attach- ■ ed to the future actions of Sir [ Joseph .Ward. A good many people ; hold the opinion that Sin Joseph . Ward will not find Parliament a [ congenial place with a seat in the j cold shades of opposition. After , more than 20 years of office, the later years as Prime Minister, it is a , little difficult to picture him settling , down to the role of a private meml her, with a political future clouded ; by the records of the past. Many of i his own party attribute the defeat of ; the Government at the polls to his ; leadership, and he is blamed the > more because he has so often gone ,• his own way, with little regard for i the feelings of his followers. His [ hereditary title, for instance, which j may perhaps influence any decision i he may conic to regarding his future t movements, was a bitter pill for - many of "the faithful." In the event i of Sir Joseph Ward resigning his . scat, Mr. M'Nar has been spoken of 3 as a likely candidate for Awarua. t The ex-Minister has met with so I; little success in his last two political f ventures that one would imagine - that he would hardly care to intrude - on an electorate where the Reform ■) candidate put up so fine a fiirht as ; , Mr. Hamilton did against all the r power and influence which (he head , of the Government naturally possesses, in addition (o the large husit ness interests which Sir Joseph - Ward's firm controls in Awarua. y Still Mr. M'Nar is ambitious, and i possibly those who hold the view that

he will be a candidate in the event of Sir Joseph Ward resigning the scat may be right. The wharf workers have been very iil-advisi'd in deciding to dislocate the whole of the work of the port by holding their meeting to-day during the busiest pari, of the morning. They have just received very material concessions from their employers, mid it is a very curious method of showing their appreciation. We do not suppose'that the men themselves are responsible for the hour at which the meeting has been called; it is nrobabiy the work of their officials. The whole thing is really so preposterous that it is difficult to believe that there is any other purpose behind the calling of the meeting at the hour decided on than to demonstrate the contempt which the union has for the interests of the employers and the convenience of the public. It is just as well that the wharf workers should understand that their organisation, strong as it may be, is a puny thing beside the weight of public opinion, and that such unreasonable behaviour must alienate public sympathy and injure their cause. The whole of the interests associated with the shipping of the port, the travelling public, and the mail services are likely to be interfered with needlessly by their action in the present case, and all this could he avoided by their holding their meeting in the evening, as other organisations do. The union will be very foolish if it permits itself to be prejudiced in the eyes of the public by holding its meetings at such absurdly unreasonable times.