NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1875, 8 October 1913, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

In commenting on the Plunket Medal Competition for Oratory on Saturday night, Sir Joseph Ward gave somo advice to young debaters, lb was given with the best of intentions; but it is to be hoped that the young men and women of Victoria College will not. bo ill too great a hurry to give it a trial. He told them that if they wanted to know how to debate they should try to speak for ten minutes' consecutively upon a single article, coherently and elfectively. He suggested "spoon" for instance as a subject. The effect of such a method would probably be to cultivate a facility in the mere use of words without any real ideas behind them. There is already far too much shallow volubility in public and private life, and one of the crying needs of our timo is less talk and moi'e thought. A man who can get up at any moment and use a lot of words about anything is not worth listening to, however useful he might be as a stonewaller in Parliament. A young debater ought first to find a subject worth discussing; then he ought to think out something worth saying, and say it in a striking and original way. Thought is tlTc first and tho words snould give expression to the thought as clearly and concisely as possible. Nothing is more irritating than an unending flow of words, and no man ought,to address an audience of sensible men and women unless ho has first thought out and mastered his subject. There are plenty of words in' the world, but comparatively few ideas; and the best speaker is the man who can clearly and effectively impart the most ideas in the fewest words. Oratory of this sort will not be acquired by taking a word or a. subject and using a lot of more or less relevant words about it in an _ endeavour to keep going for a given time.

It must bo said for the member for Lyttelton that he at least amongst the "Liberal" following in Parliament has been consistent in his advocacy of the leasehold tenure. While others have deserted and confessed conversion to the _ freehold—or as they prefer to put it to the optional tenure—he has stood firmly Ijy the leasehold. He is, we think, in the wrong in the view he takes of the question, but he sticks to his colours. What, however, can be thought of the judgment or political honesty of a member who can get up in Parliament at the present day and charge the Reform Government, in effect, with waiting until the leaseholders of the country got numerous enough to make it worth while to bribe them with the freehold? Mn. Laurenson did not put the position in those exact words, but his allegation was that because the leaseholders now numbered nearly 30,000 strong the Government was giving them the right to the freehold. The Government has its weaknesses, and has made mistakes, and its opponents have every right to attempt to score party advantages off its errors. But it is well-nigh inconceivable that a party which for over 20 years has made the freehold with limitation of area the foremost plank in its political platform can now on its accession to office find an opponent ready to charge it with giving the freehold because tho leasehold settlers have now become 30,000 strong. This is where the Opposition blunder so

stupidly. They cannot confine themselves to legitimate criticism based on accented facts: but endeavonr to saddle the Government with offences which are so obviously distortions of fact, that none but, the most ignorant can be deceived thereby.

Sir Walter Buchanan put his finger on one of the many weaknesses of the Opposition last evening when he condoled with tlicm on their inability to bring any effective criticism to boar on the Land Bill than discussion. Member of.

| tho Opposition, he pointed out, held bo many different opinions amongst them on the land question that it was difficult for any one member to get up and express definite views without coining into conflict with the opinions of other members of the party. This is of course very true, and it is to a certain extent a handicap to effective criticism. At the same time all the members of the Opposition are not over-particular as to how heavily _ they trample on the feelings of their colleagues. Mr. Laurenson, for instance, was very unkind to his leader when he declared in his mournful and depressing style that the people of 60 years hence would regard the granting of the freehold to the settlers of New Zealand as the blackest crime in the country's history. It was only on Friday last that Sir Joseph Ward had declared himself for the freehold; while the ex-Min-ister of Lands in Mn. Laurenson's own Ten-Minute Ministry, Mr. Mac Donald, had also intimated his belief in the freehold tenure. And .so Mr. Laurenson says that these political associates ; of his with other freeholders will be ' regarded by posterity as perpetra- • tors of tho blackest of crimes. This ! lack of harmony in the Opposition [ camp is not very encouraging to its new leader.

The attacks which are being made by the "Red Federation" and their allies on the amendment of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act proposed by the Massey Government so grossly misrepresent the actual provisions of the Bill that it is quite hopeless to expect fair consideration for the measure at the hands of these extremists. It is constantly being stated that the measure proposes to rob unregistered unions of the right to strike; that it provides heavy penalties for those aiding or assisting strikers, and so 'on. These statements are quite untrue. The Bill does not deprive unregistered unions of the right "to strike and does not provide heavy penalties for. those aiding and assisting strikers. What it docs is to proviclo that before a strike takes place an attempt must first be made to settle the matters in dispute. If that attempt fails, then on a secret ballot being taken by the union and resulting in favour of striking, the strike may be put into effect. So far as the penalties for assisting strikes and strikers are concerned, these apply only to unlawful' strikes. Tho whole purpose of the Bill is to ensure that before either a strike or a lock-out is permitted to take place there shall first be an attempt to settle tho matters in dispute by reference to a committee to be appointed to act as mediators. Is not this in the interests of the members of the unions and their families as well as in the interest of the general _ public ? What possiblo ground of ' complaint can reasonable men have to a course which may save them and their families not only heavy monetary loss but possibly great hardship and suffering? The leaders of the "Red Federation" of course have seized on the Bill and misrepresented its provisions not because they think the measure the iniquitous thing they allege it to be; but in ordei' to make it a means of hardening up their supporters and stimulating the political slide of the Labour-Socialist movement. It is not honest,- but it is their way of "playing the game," and of endeavouring to ride roughshod over the rest of the community.