NOTES OF THE PAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2177, 17 June 1914, Page 6

NOTES OF THE PAY.

Thi; Government has acted wisely in'.falling in -with the request of the local bodies of Hawke's tlay that it slioukl jmrchasß the bush aruttiid the sliftres of Waikarjewoaiia. The matter may not seem of much importance at. the maniftixt.. The for-i-Sts of New Zealaiul, despite the great inroads that have been ina-dff on tlieni, arc still far-ilitng. But. every year sees some new area down, and one never knows what block of bu-sh wa ; y b'e the n&xb lo go-. 'Waikarcmoitna., bhe "s,ca of rinplirie watevs" of Maori song and legend, is one of the most beautiful .spot's in the North Island. Stripped of the forest that- surronn'ds it, its charm would he go-He. By the ditisioH now (tiinounced, the, ' lake, with careful guardianship, will remain a sourcc of heal till ul pleabu.ro and enjoyment for generations yet ta come.

i; The Wardist organs are evidently i 11.H1 ch jierturbed at the •praipec.ly.cif ! losing the Nelson scat. ' Tlic loe.nl niouthpieec of the party, devoting one ot its usual abusive articles <o | Mr. Field, the ileform candidftte, fe i not able to refute his criticism that the Ward Party -h® irp. policy and sadly shows the decrepitude of ageAll it can do is to take up the atti-tude-of ■'! horse-dealer w,hd drags <Htf, a decrepit, bog-spavined ruin of a eab-horse and calls for bids on the strength, ol its performances, on the tuff twenty years back, The Napier evening jottrna]_ also deals, with tho new candidate in an artic-c appropriately headed some (!am.c<ly 'nl Home,-, The writer professes to find "food 'fot niir!.h'' in the a.p-pear-anco ■of M®. Fiei.T) as the Reform candidnte for Nelson, and adds that "at th<> last election 'Refoim' Party fought all it. knew to keep Mn. Fiki.d , out of I'-nrlmnient, and so anxious as. to this that Mr. Mas-.' 7 What followed was too preposterous even for the linotype to swallow, and the next two lines are an indecipher* able blur. Mn. Fn.t,ri has, ofcoursf:, never stoo'd i for. P'lwliaßie-nt before.. For the enlightenment of our muddled ' contemporary, let as recall the ■ past his't-oi-.y ®f the. Nelson seat. B:e----foi'B M it. Atmouk appeared on the floor of the Haii-SR .'in .Mg he had. ■ four times pievioitsly knaeked at the door and beer, iknied ritlniittance, It ; was not until the opposition to him j was. split and divided among four other candidates and lie had carefully trii-iTTne'd his sails to catc.lt a good share of '.he Beform breeze that he at- last got in on a second ballot/ These nre file facts of the situation. But Warf'Hsttt doffs not want facts today. Facts, cold, hard!, solid facts ■a-ve for it things- to fee forgotten,. ghK-ed o<ei, luined upside down, fot/ktt! at any way you will except squarely in the Incc.

Thk day when the New Zcaiander is going to sit on London Bridge Mid look cm tho ruins fif St. P'oul's is a long way e.fi—at aay, vato that

is the opinion of the Rev. J. D. Jones, the distinguished English Cougregi:.tk)i.ialist., who is at present on a visit to vVijiliiigtorn The Muthor (.'inin.tr.v is undoubtedly going through a critical period of its polfsocial, n'ncl religious evolution, hut- those pe?ipi»: who think that ita energy anil vitality arc therefore at n low ebb, wo are told, are greatly mistaken. In al't and scionc®, in commerce aiirl industry, Ml® is -still in the vau of civilisation,' and she has jivon birth to a group of young liatioji.s which 'a.M now sufficiently powerful to he a sour® of strength' her when the day of trial comes. One is impressed fey M». Jokss'b optimism, beca-usa it is based on reason, art'd represents the conviction arrived at by a c&mpctent observer alter making Allowance for all the facts. He knows there are tnany ! tendeftoks at work which are, giving . rise to mucli anxiety., but, on ' the whole, : he believes that things- ire ori. the up grade, ant! that the, nation may accomplish in the days to come, "mightier things even thaii she has accomplished in the past." . Cheeriiil views £>f this nature am doubly welcome in those times when the tend-ency is towards pessimism. Hit. Joxes's statement that there is 3. danger that Englishmen may bec-orae I insnliir has ajamilinr ring about it. j T'hfe avevagfe 'Epgiis-hnWn's insularity is a standing joke- if. not a gibe. But we can assure Mu. Jqses that the danger cf insularity is not eonfined to Englishmen. New Z colanders and- Australian 6fteo suffer from similar limitations of vision, and for : those of us who do not have in any opportunities .of travelling beyond our own shores the visits of di'sMn-■ gttished men from llritam and other parts of the world are especially welcome. The New Zealand CongrcgS.fciiS.nal dwell has. been fortunate in having two guests or such eminence Dn,. Adexey* and (lie Rr.v. J. D. Josj;.s. of Hournfimout.il, during the presell 1. year. They are both. men of "such broad -sympathies and widc_ experience that t;he siimtilatihg ihlluences of' their visits must ; extend beyond the borders of • their own denomination, ■ '

Tin: bankruptcy law is in & notoriously obsolete state, And the moveinfrnt for its rcfonn u®y being re* vivid by tiiij Wellington . Central C hamber of Commerce .should b?ito the support of ail business men. Tim matin- was 'thoroughly gone into at the Chambers of Commerce Confer cire in 190.9, but the agitation for reform \va.s hdfc pushed to aiiy definitu eonrhision, Opinions will no ■claubt differ about sonic of the recommendations of j!)09, but many of them ahoulrl have almost unanimous support. It is, for in_sfance, highly desirable that all private assignnwiit's for the benefit of creditors Shcntld 'be registered. There are far too many of these hushed-up priyafa compositions. The provision of cln.ftclwtine^methods of escape for debtors, is distinctly against; tlie public interest, ajid by no appeal to fl'ab->,v sentimentality .should it be possible f')r an insolvent debtor to cOVer up his tracks. T.hn, commercial community has fh& right, fa the fullest pro-t-f:ction on this point, and the law f.honld .be amended to provide that it gets it. There ars ' weak-kneed flttsirtess firms that unwisely—-aiid we might add unfairly so far as the general public are concerned—treat diss- i difenesly.aivd di.faldtihn as a matter of course to be quietly glossed ow, wrilMi off, and the thief passed on scot-free to continue his thieving elsewhere. If it is desired to make dishonesty and extravagance the rule O'f life a section of tire business com-' nir.mty is going nretfy effectually about ■the doing of it. . It can be said for the Wardist journals, that for <]uite a consider-: able time their policy of denouncing jao.il and every act of the' Reform was faithfully adhered to., It- v.as hot a very -elevating policy perhaps; and it no doubt had a tendency to discount its own effectiveness. but its served to prfcservc an appearance of harmony in Wardist circles. Of la to., however, these amiable relations would seem to have become somewhat strained. No doubt MS. WtiTi'j ami some. of til" anti-Reform journals have been a little, indiscreet in handling mat ter?., and their views could hardly ■ And endorsement from the. more in-1 telligen-t of their associates. But it b extremely unkind to oiu- elderly morning contemporary that its well-1 meant, onslaughts on' the perfidious ■ .M asse'y _ Qovemmoilt should be hold : up to ridicule by its own friends, fit the rusk of Jac.e.i'.afclflig the feelings. of. our contemporary, the following extract from the Wardist journal in Christchurcli is reproduced:—

1 In noticing t.fce lurniiig of the first «od pf the otltcr flay,- the "New Zealand. Times." speaking without full knowledge of tlic connlry through which the line will run, siild it ms. "a disgrnceful .proeeduro to so specially cater for the self-ch few when main trunk . raihvars, which wii! t'.O ever so ri.iiioh greater -serVipe to'the country, ilsfiist liiany small settlors and throw' open ; forge areas of land for Close scttlemcr.-t. arc- iu consei}tfe>ice stopped altogether," If : o:;r contemp.erai'.v )uni hoon thorougWv acqu-iint«l Wiih the facts it would have . realised that tlie Culverden-Wni.an railway is just, one of those jiii.es that will do good ser.yi'ce tpi the ■conn'try. #ni assist a number of snudt settlers. It was -evj» dc.ni 1 y thinking of the district as it was thirty or forty years ago when practically ' the whole of thi? land, was held in creat Sijeefi riiii.s ; . Ijut since tlvori itrrtny isf thelarge, estates have henn cut up into rensonsized 1 farm's with siijailof seition's here wnfl tjiere. H will be noted that in order to let down ita friend and ally as lightly as possible, the LiiKcltmi Times considerately remarks that, t'ho Wellington journal w.-a$ "evdjlejitly thinkipK of the district as it was .10 or 40 years ago," Our Eip Van Winkleian contcinpnrary has been dozing along far 30 or 40 years, and has got go out of touch with things that even its friends find it, pruclcnt t« disown its stupid inaccuracies. Yet some readers of tiie- local Wardis.t journal p'obahly will swallow its preiiost«rous story so shamefully misrepresenting the Government's action. The National Dairy Show at Palmerstoa hits come to be. regarded as such an old-standing fixture that it is difficult to realise that it is. only ■tif-ow in its tenth yenr. Ten years. Is' hut <t short space in a- man's life, and it is wonderful to lock back at the growth of the bii? show during that period. T'alinerstosi is excellently Sitttateil for the- lichHug of .ii .midwinter farmers' eongressi and the. tiiwnspeopie have, left no stone unturned to make the gathering a success. The development of f.lic dairying industry during the last ten yi.-;.irs has been remavkniih', i-iiid thereca.ii be no doubt that the ambition to turn out a. really article lias received a Vi'ihi.rbfe stimulus from the annual conferences now in pregress. Ten years ago the. butter export was valued at £t,*sl S.rvjO: last year it had risen, to £2,1 •{.(),,0b0. lii the same, period the cheese exports hnd climbed ttp frg'm itJIOSiSOQ to no less tbaa £2,135,000, The iu-

te rests of the city dweller are much more closely knit up "iyith J'ttlmmton's winter feto than hft often realises, for the abounding prosperity 0.l the coiiiifcrs' is kfgcly clue to Use great tixjiaiisioii in tiro tarrying industry cj[ rvr.eiii, years,