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Hokitika Guardian, 21 September 1917, Page 2

There was'one discordant note struck in the House the other evening when Ministers were announcing the loss of the l’ort Kembla. Surely the Minister of Munitions was speaking personally, and not a:s a Cabinet Minister and a repre.'ciitativo of tlie loyal people of the Dominion, when he remarked; “f would like to mention that as Minister in charge of supplies, when the agent applied to me for coal my answer was that it : was impossible to let him have it owing to the complicated state of affairs in Australia!” If this were not Mr. Myers' personal views, then it , was the considered judgment of the Naj tional Government, and if so that body j of men lias fallen, many degrees in our estimation. “'Hie complicated state of ’ affairs in Australia are as much a conj dition of war as tho raging conflict j in Europe, Asia and Africa, and if we • are not as a: country going to stand | loyally by our neighbours, who are bravely struggling to master the Lords of Misrule in Australia.- then we are j not trying whole beartedly to win the | War. Neither are we helping the i r 'Motherland in her hour of stress and need. The Port Kembla was carrying a precious cargo of foodstuffs, as .well as Red Gross supplies. She was coming to New Zealand for coal to make the voyage and deliver tlie food and supplies in the war region. I Incidentally slie was obliging the ' people of tho Dominion by carrying |a - mail because the Lords of Misrule in 'Australia by their disloyalty bad blocked regular steam intercourse between the Commonwealth and New Zealand. Surely it is a poor recognition of this country’iß duties to fail, no matter what cost, to succour England and assist Australia to maintain law and order in the way that constitutional authority wishes.

We wonder what the feolings in New Zealand would lie if tlie position were reversed. There would bn the deepest resentment felt we are sure, if the tables were turned, and under a similar sot of circumstances, the Minister of Munitions for the Commonwealth acted as the Minister here proposed to do. It seems to us to be a very serious lapse in the duty one country owes to another in these troublous times for a Minister to take up the position as Mr -Myers did. If the Port Kembla had reached Wellington safely, and it then became known that the New Zealand Government refused to coal tho steamer because of the reign of terror in Australia, the people would soon show their resentment. Such refusal would mean that the reign of terror had extended in fact to New Zealand, and the National Cabinet of this country were simply as putty in tho hands of the I.W.W. agitators across the water. More, tho weakness here displayed would encourage those predisposed' to hold up tactics to exercise their own sweet will in New Zealand, and so the reign of terror would become a general affair to tho country’s shame and loss. On a previous occasion sonio ‘of the members of the National Cabinet displayed deplorable weakness in dealing with the enefnies of law and order, but we wore in hopes that front the expression of opinion on that occasion, to get her with tho fact that tho Prime Minister is back at his post that the re gard for the maintenance of civil rights and constitutional authority would be in safer hands. This expectation has not been justified by Air. Myers’ unexpected declaration, but wo hope thero will be such protest made as will make it clear what tho pooplo wish in the earnest, desire to win the war.