NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1839, 27 August 1913, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The Committee stage of the Public. Trust Office Bill afforded the Opposition another opportunity yesterday to indulge in their foolish comedy of "make-believe." They set afloat the slander that the Government desires to cripple the usefulness of this State Department; the Minister in charge of the Department proves the falseness of their assertions by bringing down a Bill strengthening the Department in important directions, and extending its powers; and when the Bill comes before the House for consideration the Opposition are stupid enough, in face of its provisions, to try and bolster up their allegations with a pretence that there is more behind the Bill than meets the eye. It is all a game of make-believe. They know perfectly well that the Bill is a good Bill, and that they dare not vote against it, but they have not the moral courage or the fairness to admit their initial error and facilitate its passage into law. Instead they waste time in petty discussion, and in the end are forced to discredit their own assertions by voting in favour of the measure which they have been blocking. It is really time that the member for Awarua or someone else took the party in hand. We believe that strong, intelligent criticism from the party in Opposition is essential to good Government, but the constant foolish waste of time which the disorganised factions constituting the present Opposition in our House of Representatives dignify with the title of criticism is a reproach to the Parliament of the country. A correspondent, Rosa Dahtle, has written asking us "how much it costs the country per day or per hour for the would-be Leaders of the Opposition party to entertain each other' and obstruct the business of Parliament with their worthless vapourings?" We cannot say what the cost is, but the late Mr. Seddon used to put it down at'something like £20 an hour. Probably it is a good deal more than that amount, but the financial cost is perhaps the least objectionable feature of the tactics of the gentlemen who have so poor a conception of the intelligence of the public and of their own responsibilities and obligations as members of Parliament-.

protection to authors and _ playwriters, and also gives protcfction .in other respects, such as lectures, works of architecture, mechanical-instru-ments' records, and kinomatograph films, and also to translations. Ample provision is given to_ resist infringements, and full penalties are enacted against anyone infringing the provisions of the Act. Somo noticeable improvements are made in tho law within the Dominion. Whilst ample provision is given to authors and their works, yet it is specially- provided that tho remedies provided by the Act may only bo taken advantage of by registered owners. It is well known that most of the plays on which copyright is claimed are not registered _\vithin the Dominion, and the provisions of.the Act in this respect make it clear that if amateurs and others desire to give a performance of a play or a farce they are at perfect liberty to do so without the payment of royalty fees, unless the play or farce is registered in tho Dominion. This has at times proved a vexed question between amateurs and agents. In the past permits have been granted and fees collected where the copyright has not been registered, and.whero the performers thought they were under no liability. Another notable amendment in the present law is the provision which was formerly embodied in the Act of 1903 against "pirating" of plays, and in which it was provided that in default of .payment' of any fine that might be given by, the Court against a defendant he "was liable in case of such default to three months' imprisonment, with or without hard labour." This provision was passed in an Act introduced by a private member, and evidently it was not deemed necessary to _ re-enact it in the present Act, and is therefore not now the law. If people who are entitled to copyright are prepared to register their plays, then ample provision is given to protect them and their works, but the former-provision providing for imprisonment is done away with.

An amusing example of Opposition inconsistency was given by the member for Huruuui in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. Mr. Forbes, who was at one time a Whip of the "Liberal" party—that is to say, when it was a party with a Leader and subject to disciplinehas been rather a silent member this session, and in that respect lias shown an excellent example to some of his Canterbury colleagues. Yesterday, however, he apparently had determined to make up for some of tho lost opportunities, and on the Public Trust Bill he spent a good deal of time criticising the refusal of the Minister to lay confidential evidence, given before the Public Trust Commission, on tho table of the House. To illustrate the heinousness of the Minister's offence he delved back into dust-covered pages of Blue-books and- quoted what the Government had done some twenty odd years ago. No one objected. It was a fair enough point for an Opposition critic to make. But a few minutes later someone on the Government benches gave the member for Hurunui a Roland for his Oliver. "What about the Income Tax Department inquiry," he was asked, "when t' e Ward Government refused point blank to disclose any of the evidence given 1" It was a nasty question for Me. Forbes, but he rose to tho occasion with a quite sublime disregard for, fact. "Never mind the .past," he retorted in effect. "I never rako up the past. I confine myself to what is happening now." The member for Hurunui presumably attaches so little weight to 'His own words that five minutes after he has delved back twenty odd years into the past in search of an argument against an opponent he scornfully repudiates resort to such tactics even when they involve reference to • happenings of only three years ago. If Opposition members will not take their own utterances seriously they can not expect, other people to do so.

The wily Turk has been quick to profit by the dissensions among his Balkan foes. While they were fighting among themselves he made a bold move and seized Adrianoplc, and he seems quite determined to retain possession in spite of warnings. and threats. Nothing but force can shift him, and no one understands better than he does how to trade on the unwillingness of the Powers to start another Balkan blaze. For centuries the existence of the Turk in Europe has been almost entirely due to the inability of the Powers to agree as to the apportionment of his territory, and, knowing this, he has been remarkably successful in playing off one against the other. It is his last card, and no one can blame him for using it to the best advantage for himself. The presence of 300,000 Turkish troops in Thrace places Turkey in a very strong position for negotiating" in reference to other questions that have arisen, and the other Balkan nations have only themselves to blame for the forward movement of their once beaten foe. The Turks suffered most at the hands of the 1 Bulgarians, and they have had the grim satisfaction of seeing Bulgaria humiliated by her former allies. It was at first thought that financial considerations would make it impossible . for Turkey _to take advantage of the new situation created by the dissensions among the Balkan States, but recent events have shown that this was a mistaken idea, [ and it is quite possible that the Porte may secure, further benefits before the final settlement is reached. According to an interview with the Sultan recently published by the Temps, a great effort is to be made to establish the Ottoman Empire on a sound foundation. Mohaiijied V laid "special emphasis on the desire of the Ottoman -Empire to avail itself of the assistance of foreign specialists. The inspection services would be entrusted to them, and they' would be given, the opportunity of establishing, not only in the capital but also in all the provinces, sound administrative traditions. Every effort would be made to attract foreign capital, _ which would he expended exclusively on the economic regeneration of the country and the development of education.