PRESS OPINIONS.

Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 349, 25 February 1902, Page 4

PRESS OPINIONS.

Federated, the v,'eight of the Australian connection, which is against our ideas, would have efficiently helped the world to bury us in oblivion. Free, we soar into the political limiamcnt, the admiration of ail, and an example even to the Australians. —Aslibui ton Standard. The liev. F. IV. Hitt announces in a Gisborne paper that he is about to commence the prohibition campaign. We counsel Gisborne people to discountenance men of the Hitt stamp : they never under any circumstances accomplish any good work, and only succeed in stirring up strife whore all would otherwise be peace. —Opotiki Herald.

It is affirmed that at the Government “ Vetpassed as a re-mount a horse sixteen years of age, with broken knees, while another noddy had the marks of a sore back. Why are these palpable mistakes made ? We know ol' one case in which a horse locally valued at X'6 was purchased for the Government at XTS. — Carterton Leader. Now we have the chance, we might send away a few lawyers to the front. If they did nothing else they could charge the Goers. Also, we might send a few parsons. They might corral the 15oers, and make them yawn until their jaws were dislocated. We could also spare a few politicians. Billy Earnsbaw, for example, never would be missed.—Dunedin Liberal.

A man who was only sft 4.1 high was passed into the Eighth Contingent on the personal order of Scddon. who said “he’d grown half an inch during the evening!” The Spectator also knows of other cases of men who were rejected because they were over the standard of sft lOin, hut were subsequently taken in on the strength of political influence exerted on and by Seddou. —Christchurch Spectator.

Mr -Pirani has been the sworn foe of anything shady; his aim has been to have everything political fair and above board. Men of his stamp are few in number, and his retirement from the House is a decided national loss.—Egmont Post. Lord llanfurly is like a flying pieman. 110 lias obtained another year of office. This is because ho loves New Zealand.— Dunedin Liberal.

In every respect tho Argentine is milos ahead of New Zealand, and so long as we crawl at our snail-like pace there is little hope of our doing much business abroad. —Waihi Daily Telegraph. Like Mr Scddon, we fancy wo can trace at work the übiquitous hand of tho British capitalist, who, having invested heavily in Argentine securities, has a keen eye to dividends. — l’icton Press.

It appears to us that persons starting business in Now Zealand under the Act (Workmen’s Compensation) arevory much like the girl in the recent test case, only instead of putting their lingers under the guillotine they put their whole business heads there.— flawera Star.

This complaining about the Army meat contracts lays the colonies open to a sneer of the Napoleonic kind, which called us a nation of shopkeepers. Our help to the Motherland should bo given without tho semblance of expectation of reward by way of preference in trade.—Huntorvillo Express.

We wonder how many schools there arc in Now Zealand transforming a proportion of the children attending them iuto tuberculous wrecks, and condemning not a few to an early grave '! It is a ghastly mockery that the Health Department of the Government should be Hooding tho country with leaflets on the prevention of consumption, and that the Education Department of tho same Government should be actively engaged in the manufacture of the disease amongst tho youngest and brightest of our population.—Christchurch Press. If Australasia had some years ago united in the matter of trade, and established in England depots for the storage and distribution of meat, butter, fruit, grain, and other products, tho War Office could never have committed the blunder which is now tho subject of complaint. The six States of Australia and New Zealand should be strong enough to form a combine quite as great as the one which has caused tho acceptance of a contract about which Australians are so much exercised.—Sydney Mail. The experience of New Zealand has been that it simply lost revenue by suppressing “ sweeps,” and that many thousands of pounds were annually sent to Tasmania for gambling purposes. Co

Australia will send its thousands to the new address. —Rangitikoi Advocate.

Mr Scddon has no rnoro right to lecture “ parties ’ in England than Lord Salisbury has to make sarcastic remarks about the feebleness of the Opposition —if there is one—in New Zealand.—London Sunrise.

Let everything be encouraged that draws the New Zealander to the sea, the natural field of his race, the field which tho fact of tho country being an island makes if inevitable that ho must occupy. —Waimato Advcrtisor. Wo consider that it would ho beneficial if no encouragement whatever was given to gambling, hut, at tho same time, if fho State determined to prevent it in one form, why not he consistent, and prevent it being carried on in other ways.— Danuevirke Advocate.

Apparently, Mr George Hutchison is doing as well iiv South Africa, defending Boers as Mr Seddon is doing in New Zealand, sending soldiers to light thorn, so that oven in Africa these two hostile politicians aro opposed.—Westport Nows.

. Since Australia has become a Commonwealth, tho State Premier doesn’t cut much of a iiguro, and it looks as though it would bo better to be a doorkeeper in tho house of Barton than to ho a Minister in a State Parliament.—Sydney Newsletter.

Somehow, we always want to steer clear of the people who claim that they never enjoy themselves except when they aro trying to make others happy.—Atchison Globe.