NOTES OP THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1598, 15 November 1912, Page 4

NOTES OP THE DAY.

TfiE Speaker of the House of Commons has ruled that the Prime Minister is in order in moving,to rescind the amendment restricting to £2,500,000 a year the British taxpayers' contribution towards Ireland under the Home Rule Bill. He added, however, that it was "unprecedented." In New Zealand it was tho practice of the AVakd Government, on being defeatcd i on a clause in a Bill or an item' iii the Estimates,'to whip up enough of its men to reverse their votes, and reintroduce the clause or item. Essentially a vicious practice, subversive of tho honesty and independence of Parliament, it has never been adopted until now in Great Britain, and MR. Asquith's adoption of it will seriously damage his prestige as a Parliamentarian. Of course he had no option. As Lord Selborne; put it, he is able to shirk resignation by virtue of the. fact that the Upper House cannot force him to do so, and the second fact that the innovation of salaries to members has mu&ded the Ministerialists and given them £400 worth of good reason for not forcing a defeat and a dissolution. The carrying of the amendment, the Prime Minister admits, 'was a fatal blow at the Bill. If he had been faithful to precedent, and to the practice of past Governments, he would have taken the opportunity to ask for a dissolution and go to the country on the-Bill. Bun that is the last thing he d&res to do. Gladstone would thave resigned, in like circumstances,' -without a day's delay. Tho amendment will probably be rescinded by judicious -whipping; but the Government's position will remain greatly impaired, for it is now made plain that it fears an appeal to the country.

A naval event of real importance, though apparently of complete insighiiicaiLce, took place last month, this was the promotion of Lieutenant T: J. S. Lyne, of the. Royal; N&vy, to the rq,nk of Commander., Captain Lyne'wbs. originally of a lower deck rating: ne is the first Commander in the Navy to rise from the' lower deck, In the Army, 0! course, there have been some notablo examples of graduation fronV the ..ranks to the. highest commissions, but in the Navy there has prevailed a rigid conservative tradition , . body who is not a- Tory of the Eldbn school—and there are few of these left in .the wdrld-r-but welcomes the opening of all' doors to merit and character, wherever that , merit and character may come from. The Admiralty issued regulations providing for the promotion of >(;-■ fected warrant officers and men. to commissioned' rank, and. Me. Churchill announced last month that a irst batch of' recommendations had been received. . These recommendations -were made after consideration in each squadron pr port in Home waters by a. committee of officers appointed by_ the flag officer in command. The eighteen men recommended to undergo special train* ing are nearly all gunners.

The newspapers are stated to be more optimistic concerning the possibilities associated with the war m Turkey, and there seems to be some reason for this. Servia, which was very positive respecting its desire for a port on the-Adriatic, is now showing signs of &■ .willingness to reeedj somewhat from the position it recently took up, and which met wiU so unfavourable a reception from Austria and Italy. It now suggests that instead of Albania being placed under Servian rule, an 'Albanian port should be granted, with which Servia would have connection' by means of a. neutral railway. "While this proposal is not likely to be very much more palatable to Aiißtriaand Italy than the previous one, it is welcomed by the Powers generally as an indication of a readiness on the part of Servja to endeavour to arrive at an amicable settlement. The situation is, of course, still full of unpleasant possibilities, but the. fact that the London Stock Exchange and | the Continental Bourses are buoyant is an encouraging sign. It indicates at least that the tension has for the moment passed away.

Minister for Marine, who has Keen closely interesting himself in the question of lighthouses, apparently proposes to make a'trip with his officials to view the suggested sites for the proposed now lighthouse in Cook Strait. It would be just as well, perhaps, if he could secure the company on the trip, of one or more cl the numerotjs captains who have signed the requisition favouring the erection of the light at Tongue Point. The first petition sent in contained the signatures of 68 master mariners who have charge of vessels which trade in the vicinity of Cook Strait, and yeeterday a second petition bearing 26 additional names was forwardWe find it difficult, in view of the weight of expert opinion thus disclosed, to understand why there should be any serious doubt on the question of the site. ( All the master mariners who have signed these volitions are familiar with the navigation of Cook Strait, and they are the people who know the risks, and who have to carry the responsibility jor the safety of their vessels, and Uje lives of passengers and crews. It' is obviously to- their advantage to see that the light is placed where it will most benefit navigators, and they represent all classes of vessels trading from all parts of the Dominion and from overseas. It is hardly necessary to add that the sooner the work of erecting the light is put in hand the better. .