The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, August 12, 1911. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1029, 12 August 1911, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, August 12, 1911. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Writing editorially of a young New Zealand Party, the Post says inter alia : “ Reports from Christchurch hint at the development of a Reformed Reform Party, under the style and title of a ‘ Young New Zealand Party.’ It purports to be a sort of 1 Reform Minus Massey ’ Party. The suggestion underlying the narrative is that so long as Mr Massey is the Leader of the Opposition the public will persist in regarding the Opposition as a Conservative Party, whether the published name is Reform, Liberal, Radical, or Ultra-Social-ist Mr Massey will

have to rely on other independent insurgents to aid him in his attack. The signs point to an increase in the number of independents at the end of this year, but it is very probable that the majority of these alleged ' free-lances ’ will rather incline to Progressive Liberalism than to the tenets of the Opposition. We are glad to notice the working of this independent spirit, for which there is much scope. ‘ Young New Zealand, has naturally been conspicuous in the field of sport, but has generally been no great figure in the arena of politics. New Zealand is still run by the non-New Zealand born (we make an exception of Sir John Findlay and a tew others), though the country is old enough now to have some stalwart, well-educated sons assisting to shape the destinies of these islands.”

W E are pleased to know that the Government has refused to allow Kapiti Island to be thrown open as a rambling ground for weekenders and tourists. Mr Buddo, Minister of Internal Affairs, in referring to this matter recently, said he was favourable to allowing the public who were interested in the bird life ot the country to visit Kapiti with less restriction than at present, but he entirely dissented from any proposal to make it a week-end holiday resort, or to provide any accommodation for visitors further than might be necessary for travellers who had made no other provision. “To encourage the public to make it a week-end resort,” he said, “would be entirely to do away with the intention to keep it a sanctuary for bird life, but no harm could come to the bird life if the public who were interested had the opportunity of visiting the place.”

In a political speech at Christchurch this week, Mr Isitt, referring to the Opposition, said; The party which Mr Massey represented in politics was the most self-seeking and the most selfish that he knew of. If they got into power they would introduce retrogressive legislation, and seize upon the common heritage of the people, and pour it into the lap of the few. In regard to the Bible-in-schools question, he said that when he was a young man he was a strong Bible-in-schools advocate. But when he went Home to England he noticed there so much strife, bitterness, and sectarianism in connection with'Bible-in-schools that when he came back to New Zealand he declared that he was a supporter of the free, compulsorv and secular system that they had now. On a want of confidence motion, on lines of general policy, he would vote with the Government and against the Opposition. If the Opposition could prove any case of corruption or maladministration he would vote with that party. He was dissatisfied with the Government because it had not gone far enough in legislation for the good of the many. The Opposition was dissatisfied because the Government had gone too far for them.

The small increase in the New Zealand birth rate has afforded Mr A. Harris, Opposition candidate for Waitemata, an opportunity to make a novel and interesting suggestion for fostering the full-cradle idea. He proposes to give a bonus, not to the mothers of families, but to prospective mothers at the earliest moment possible- His idea is that the State, through the Insurance Department, should give every lemale child in a family of six or over a paid up endowment policy for £ 2O, which would mature when the girl married. With the idea of further increasing the benefit of the scheme, the parents should be able to increase the amount of the policy to ,£SO by the payment ot premiums, computed on the lowest possible scale.

The Hon, J. Anstey, in a speech in the Degislative Council on Wednesday, drew attention to the unsatisfactory manner in which land settlement is taking place. He said twenty-eight of the pastoral runs in the Mackenzie Country were recently disposed of, fourteen by ballot and fourteen by auction. In the ballot there were 167 applicants, and Mr Anstey declares that only 17 were bona fide settlers. Of the successful applicants, four were married women and five were single girls. Only one, a man, Mr Anstey says, was a bona fide settler. He declares that in the case of the runs disposed of by auction, “ eleven were cases of pure aggregation.” One of the successful bidders already held two runs (one in the name of his wife), and his new holding was acquired in the name of his son, a boy at school. For this deplorable state of things Mr Anstey blames the Minister for Lands. All sorts of points are worked at

the laud ballots by applicants in order to get on the land. Some excuse may be found for the bona fide applicant to “point”—and the present system of land settlement lays itself open to “pointing ” —but steps should be taken to deal with the nefarious aggregator and cunning speculator. While the Government has done much to settle people on the land, there is still room for improvement.

“ Anglican ” airs a grievance in yesterday’s Dominion. Referring to the Irish envoys’ acknowledgment to the Minister of Railways in granting free passes over the railways, he says: “When the clergy who came out from England to conduct the late general mission here, a request was made that a concession—not free passes, mark you—on their railway fares whilst travelling through the country should be allowed, but was absolutely refused. Why this differential treatment? Further, it would be interesting to know whether or not they paid income tax on the ,£IO,OOO, which it is stated they scooped, and which is demanded and extracted from over-sea commercial travellers, theatrical companies, etc., before they are allowed to leave the country, or whether differential treatment was extended to them in this matter also.”