NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1604, 22 November 1912, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

-» Although his stay with us has not been long, Lord Islington must, wo think, realise that he has created a very good understanding between himself and the_ people ot New Zealand. Last evening's great gathering in the Town Hall could leave no doubt on that point. It has always been with real regret that New Zealand has bade farewell to its successive Governors—half becauso we all rather dislike changes in the Gubernatorial office, and half because we all grow to like the men who are sent to us.' Loud Islington has been indefatigable in his zeal to come into close touch with all tho important institutions of our national life, and he will long be rcmcmbei'ed as a busy and popular Governor. In succeeding BAnoN Plunket, he succeeded a man of uncommon depth and brilliancy,, and it is as real a compliment as can be paid to Lord Islington to say that in his own way he has succeeded in keeping the office of Governor as secure in the people's regard as Lord Plunket left .it. More important than the Governor himself, as Loud Islington would be the first to agreo, is the office itself. Many circumstances, most of which are social arid political (and we shall not go into these, now), but one of which has been the discretion with' which the British Governments have chosen our Governors, have made New Zealand very keenly loyal to the King's representative. In this respect, wo can all feelglad that we differ a little from other parts of Australasia. Loud Islington will take with him into his' future the hearty good wishes of the New Zealand people. ,

The real lcsaoii of the shocking Willis episode in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly is likely to bo missed in the indignation which this extraordinary man's misuse of his powers as Speaker must arouse throughout Australia. His friends say that ho is an excellent citizen and a sensible, man, and that he has really earned a laurel wreath for his brave campaign against the vulgar disorderliness of the Assembly's behaviour. But the fact is that bo gained the Speakership by a disorderly ruse. He sought to justify his abandonment of his party on the ground that he intended to hold office only so long as non-contentious legislation was introduced; but very contentious proposals have been introduced, and he has held to the office. His conduct is an outrage. Yet he is no greater calamity than New South Wales 'deserves. But the real lesson of his atrooiolis reduction of the Assembly's proceedings. to .a tragic farce of the Australian Labour politicians to grasp the fundamental decencies of;government., To_ the New SouthWales Labour Ministry, as to the Federal' Ministry,' it appears to ". be a perfectly proper thing to make paramount the interests of the friendly class, to subordinate everything to the furthering of these interests, and to treat as "a mere Tory idea" the notion that the Ministry of the day is the executive of the nation as a whole. Mil. M'Gowen has endured many maltreatments at Mr. Willis's hands; he has suffered the Speaker to trample on the .principles of Parliamentary government and to commit those outrages against which British procedure, assuming them to be impossible, made no provision. A Government with any sense of the national character of Parliament would have long ago suppressed Mn, Willis or resigned. Me. Wilms is in himself only a rather dreadful political freak; the long toleration of him is an illuminating commentary upon the conception of_ government entertained by Australian Labour politician!

In an extremely long article the Christehurch Press seeks to make out a case for the rapid prosecution of theOtira tunnel. For the most part it is a sort of annotated summary of the evidence token before the Parliamentary Committee, and, therefore, a pretty clear demonstration that everybody wildly underestimated the cost of the work. NoWj the point to be remembered is this: that if Parliament and the country had known the enormous sum the work must really cost, the old Government would have hardly dared to propose to go ahead. Parliament and the country were misled. And now that so much has been donej it : is urged that the country must go further. The arguments for the release of the contractors are all arguments in favour of the fact that the final cost wilt enormously ex-t cced anything that any advocate of the work will dare to suggest. The Press, indeed, says that contractors will be chary about tendering "except at a large increase." But if they can rely on a gracious release, why should they hesitate? . The thing will cost a huge sum-in the end. It is now estimated that the cost will be £750,000,'0r 50 per cent moro than the engineer's estimate. What guarantee is there that it will not cost 50 per cent more than £750,000? None. And_ the Press says that "notwithstanding the difficulty, it is clear that' the work must he gone on with." We are not told whji it is "clear." It is assorted that "it would obviously be an act of folly" to leave the work where it is. Not a word of demonstration— a more bakl assertion that a certain course is_ "obviously" wise and necessary which, to us, is quite as obviously foolish. It is positively a fact that nobody has over attempted to prove that the country will save money by completing a project ot which oven its advocates know nothing clearly excepting that it must cost an enormously greater sum than the estimate with which the country was bluffed into considering it. Mr. J. ?". Rearden has l>scn appointed j zaolf-r of the recenily-pveclaiined Greymoutli prison. Mr. C, H. Weston ic gazetted Crown solicitor at New Plymouth. Mr. Morris King, of (lie China Inland Mission, will arrive in Wellington-to-day from' Auckland by the Tnrawera. Mr. W. Cole, of Manners Street, returned yesterday from a business visit to neyWe guarantee a Warner's Corset to stand hard wear—the boning not to Rust, Break, or Tear. Wellington drapers.— Ailvt-