RANDOM REMARKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 597, 27 August 1913, Page 3

RANDOM REMARKS.

Ey Onlooker

The politics of any country is an absorbing theme to people who do their best to misunderstand the other side of any public question, and the ingenuity displayed in putting the correct shade of colour on the utterances concerning party matters is amazing. In one sense it claims admiration, in another it inspires us with the deepest indignation. Only when we see one of our own pet theories being handled do we realise how little imp stance attaches to the question, and how much to the manner in which it is handled. A grain of comfort is afforded by the reflection that great questions exist for all t me, while parties exist but for the moment. Still, life is fleeting and il is frequently the moment which matters to the individual. It is an amazing thing that in such an essentially practical age tradition is allowed to rulo the methods of government, and politics is allowed to become a game between parties whose aims and objects are as diverse as the proverbial tweed!e-deo ar.d twerdle-dum. However, the chief interest of this district in politics is centred in that important and far-reaching document known to fame as the Public Works Statement. Upon the manner in which the Estimates deal with the requirements of the district the lot of the politician depends. In the years of plenty when the whisper of retrenchment is stilled, and the war scare is unknown the coffers of the Treasury are overflowing, and prodigal grants make glad the heart of the country member. In the years of mousy famine when loans are only raised to repay previously entailed liabilities the Estimates present a le2ti and emaciated appearance, and wail of the constituent becomes af

fearsome sound in the ears of the member. In this year of grace, fortunately, neither extreme is to be feared, and the member will merely have to contend with the disappointed applicant who has asked for too much, or whuse claim li3s been misunderstood by the man behind the gun. Judging by the number of applications which are to "have careful con sideration when the Estimates are being prepared" it is wonderful that so few disappointments occur. After all, the Estimates reflect the business side of politics and it matters little to the cverage electorwhich party frames tha Estimate 3 as long as the requirements of tho district are properly provided for. The public debt of the country has been incurred chiefly in order to carry out public works and the business side of the question is ti see that the public works expenditure is carried out in such a manner that the returns for the outlay will provide at least Interest and finking fund on the amount expended. The average private member is chiefly concrrned with ge'tirg as much as poa ible for is own particular district. The Ministers' chief trouble is to fird enough to gu rourd. When sufficient cash is not available a cheap and handy method of sewing the seeds of present harmony and future discontent is to promise it for future consideration. The present Minister has developed an awkward habit of hinting that the money supply is limited, and that the most urgent works must co'.Tie first.

That the King Country is populated by people of more than ordinary virility is indicated by the numb3r and variety of pastimes indulged in by both sexes. In summer cricket, tennis, ar.d croquet are popular forms of recreation, while for the lame, hair, blind or otherwise incapacitated section of the community the gentle exerei-ie cf bowls provides a useful break in the monotony of existence. In winter the enthusiasm of the multitude finds an outlet in various forms of football, hockey cr golf. The last mentioned is an engrossing game, eminently adapted to confer either restraint or the gift of language on its votaries.according to circumstances. The circumstances which matter consist chiefly of the company in which the victim is playing* Who knows what impassioned" exhortai ions ere kept locked in the breast of the budding golfer for lack of fitting opportunity. One cannot allow the floodgates tu open in the presence of people who might not understand, and a single discordant note would suffice to turn a noble peroration to something altogether undesirable. Thu3 is restraint inculcated. What leads to the language gift may be told in a future instalment. Last week I heard a prominent golfer tersely described as a navvy.

This ia the age of progress, so we are told, and people babble uf_ the necessity of the individual specialising in a certain line in order to lit himself to gallop with the times. There may be something in the contention, but it can safely be asserted that the people who do the moat work in the world do not belong to the specialist bi-igade. Moreover, it is work that matter;) in the world, politicians and agitators to the contrary notwithstanding. Some people might include newspaper men in the list of undesirables: others, again, would

vent their prejudice against lswyers, land agents, and such like. It is, however, judicious to pick your marks even in flippant reference. Politicians can't retaliate for fear of gaining unpopularity; 'agitators don't matter, so let us confine the list ss aforesaid. But I began abou'-. specilists meaning to diverge into a nonspecialist argument, and pressure oil our space will prevent me saying what was originally intended if I wander further. Our worthy Mayor i? a striking example in tho specialist line. He is a specialist, in public work. Nothing daunts him, and the authorities at Wellington have evidently got his strength. His latest appointment is that of coroner, which follows hard upon his elevation to the position of public vaccinator/only the reckless will apply to tho Mayor for vaccination after the latest appointment.