NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1819, 4 August 1913, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The efforts of our anti-Reform friends to rope in Sir Joseph Ward as their leader aro almost pathetic in the evidence they afford of the terrible state of helplessness the party finds itself in without him. The bid. familiar little circle gathered round the returned traveller at Auckland and assured him with tears in their voices that the great heart of "Liberalism" yearned to once more call him master. Me. A.,M. Myers, who only a few days ago threw over the alliance with "Liberalism,", which had won for him an all too brief term as Cabinet Minister in the tenminute Mackenzie Government, and announced his return, to his "Independent" state, was amongst the select few who, metaphorically speaking, fell on Sir Joseph's rieck. .Mr. Myers apparently is a man of moods and blessed with adjustable ideas. He can swing round to "Liberal" or "Independent" as the breeze of popular opinion seems at the moment to most strongly favour. And Mr. Foivlds, too, who has almost "boxed the compass" in his endeavour to find a place for himself with the ideal party; he also was present to welcome back the member for Awarua. It was the same Mr. Fowlds who, in disgust with the inability of, the Warp Government to secure that measure of party loyalty from its followers " "necessary to carry on the Government of the country with some degree of dignity and self-respect," handed in his resignation and set out to preach a new evangel. Since then he has of course lost his seat _in Parliament, and has been hovering somewhat forlornly round the outskirts of Labour-Socialism. He was not a success at the recent Unity Congress, and so we find him drifting back in the direction of the party, which he in 1911 spurned as not being "truly democratic." -These and other gentlemen of the same type have rushed to greet Sir Joseph at Auckland, and in Wellington here the remnant of the party organisation has also been busily at work to engineer a fitting welcome for the ex-Prime Minister. Sir Joseph Ward should really feel flattered at the anxiety of his old friends to assure him of their devotion. The local anti-Reform journal on Saturday gave up nearly a page of its space and resurrected. a portrait which did similar servicc in a long bygone day, in. its effort to live up to the momentous occa-sion. It is hard to believe, in tho faoe of such carefully prepared evidence of popular enthusiasm, that the member for Awarua can resist the appeal thus made to him. It is a little unfortunate, perhaps, that the organisers of the movement have followed somewhat closely on tho lines of the demonstrations which preceded the last general elections, as they may serve to recall unpleasant memories. But otherwise tho arrangements appear to have been made with every regard for the returning member's feelings. Reading between the lines of his Auckland reply, wo 6hould imagine that with a little pressure Sir Joseph Ward i 3 ready to yield a reluctant consent to once more lead the "Liberal" party. The party has surely humbled itself sufficiently to warrant him overlooking its past indiscretions, and it really does not appear to be able to find a leader anywhere eke, should he refuse to take the rathei thankless office.

The tactics of tlio Opposition are at times very stupid. In the House on Friday last, for instance, they were foolish enough to attempt to block two Bills which, whatever they may say, tbe anti-Ruformevs dare uofc votes against. Ono of tho

Bills afiirms the principle that relief from taxation shall be granted where possible to those having families to support, while the other extends the scope of the Old Age Pensions Act. It was very indiscreet of the Opposition to attempt to block two measures so manifestly just and liberal. But-their stupidity was accentuated by the very plain evidence they gave that they were holding up the Bills deliberately and with intent to block their passage on to the Statute Book. What other possible reason can be given for the action of Messes. Ngata and Parata in endeavouring to address the House in Maori 1 There is no better speaker in English in the House than Mr. Ngata, while Mr. Parata always addresses the House in English, and, indeed, acts at times outside the House as an interpreter. What, then, was their object in suddenly desiring to address the House in Maori 1 As a matter of fact, they know quite well that no interpreter attends the sittings of the House'of Representatives now,, as all four Native members are highly educated and can speak English quite as well as the European members. Their purpose was plain enough; and it was a very clumsy way of wasting time at the expense of Parliament and the country. This sort of bungling, and the still more serious blunder which has shown to the country the readiness of the so-called "Liberal" party to throw in its lot with the "Red" Federation Socialists, or anyone else, regardless' of principles and professions, will not make very pleasant reading for those who still have any lingering hopes regarding the future of the party.

Very enterprising and very ruthless gentlemen are the Portuguese Carbonados. They have a method all their own of terrorising and intimidating, and it is very effective in their own country. So now they are trying it on the • Lord Mayor of London. They are much annoyed at the exposure of the condition of slavery prevailing in certain Portuguese colonies, and so the Lord Mayor of London has been threatened with reprisals. These Carbonarios are the extreme radical section of . the Republican party, who claim to be the successors of the leaders of the French Revolution. They have captured the machinery of Government, and have set up a most oppressive tyranny. The more moderate Republicans have little sympathy with such methods, but they seem powerless to restrain the extremists or to suppress the secret society by means of which they avenge themselves on,real and imaginary enemies. A London newspaper declares that "spies are in every household. The very walls, have ears and every window is an eye. Justioc and _ truth play no part where convictions are determined beforehand. False witnesses can be had for the asking. An acquittal might be followed by murder." The state of affairs is receiving serious attention from the English press, especially in connection with the harsh and unjust treatment of political prisoners; but instead of abandoning their evil ways, the ' Carbonanos now threaten to feet their secret society to work in England with the object of closing the mouths of their critics. i

The Government of South Africa appears to havo taken effective measures to maintain law and order on the Rand. Conciliation having failed, prompt steps were taken to place tho authorities in a position to meet possible emergencies and to protect life and property against labour lawlessness. It is not surprising to learn that the extremists arc "disgusted with the Government's attitude," but it is sure to meet with the hearty approval of the great bulk of the people, • who have no desire to see industrial disputes develop into civil war. A democracy has nothing to gain and everything to lose by a resort to methods of barbarism which involve the triumph of brilte force. Tho law is a protection for the weak against the strong, and is the 'most effective safeguard against tyranny, whether of-kings or demagogues. The threatening attitude of the extremists has to a largo extent alienated public sympathy, and the more reasonable section of tho workers have shown that they are not prepared to mako war on society, a resolution against a strike having been carried by a large majority. Now that there is every likelihood of an appeal to reason instead of to violence, it ought not to be impossible to arrive at a settlement which will remove legitimate grievances and put an end to the present state of social unsettlement and industrial strife.

The . appointment of the Rev. Ernest Chitty as one of the Government's representatives on the Board of Governors of the Jubilee Institute ■for the Blind is sure to meet with the cordial approval of the inmates and also of the citizens of Auckland, where he is so well known and respected. Being totally blind himself, Mr. Chitty is peculiarly fitted to oonsider questions of management from the standpoint of_ those suffering from the same misfortune as himself, and he will also be able to bring to bear an extensive experience of the outside world. His presence on the Board should therefore be very helpful, for in the work'of administration he will have the advantage of direct understanding as well as sympathy. Mr. Chitty has had a wonderful career, and is a striking example of what education and training can do to compensate for the loss of sight. He was one of the first pupils of tlie Institute, and showed such a capacity for learning that he was given the opportunity ot continuing his studies at Auckland University College, taking his B.A. degree in 1905 and his M.A. degree in 1908. He then decided to enter the ministry of the Anglican Church, and was ordained deacon by Bishop Neligan. He is a first-class musician and organist, a fine classical scholar, and quite a good preacher. He has also had considerable experience in parish work, and managed to find his way about the district under his care in a marvellous manner. 'His cheerful disposition and bright conversation mado him always welcome in the homes of tho people, and lie made friends wherever he went. He is at present one of the tutors of St. John's College. It was a happy thought that suggested his appointment to the Board of the Institute for the Blind.

Very careful scientific investigation into the cause and cure of cancer has been going on for years, (jut though a. great deal of valuable information has been obtained, including the welcome _ fact that the supposed alarming increase in the discaw is oontradictcd by. fcho

statistics which have been compiled in recent years, no very notable progress can be recorded. A recent cablegram stated that the London Times, in discussing the report of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, had said there is no justification for the claims of many so-called cures, and that the most reasonable expectation of curing cancer still depends on complete removal by the surgeon at the earliest time possible after its discovery. Still, the work of investigation is not likely to be abandoned by reason of its difficulty, nor by the indefinite nature of the results so far arrived at. The 1911 report of the Research Fund stated that "a long step has been taken in defining the direction in which the future investigation of cancer is alone likely to be profitable." This means _ a great deal, for by concentrating attention on the most promising lines of experiment waste of energy is avoided, and the probabilities of success are increased. Valuable statistics have been collected for the purpose of tracing the possible connection between certain kinds of diet and cancer, and long experiments have shown that mice with a cancerous ancestry are more liable to canoer than those born from a healthy line. All this accumulation of facts is very interesting and important, but the world is still waiting for the curc.