The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, August 9th., 1913. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 1131, 9 August 1913, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, August 9th., 1913. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

In the report on the police force, presented to Parliament, the commissioner (Mr John Cullen) states that the police force must be strengthened, and asks that at least 30 more should be enrolled in the coming year. An interesting table sutjoined gives a comparative statement of the proportion of the police to population throughout Australasia and the cost of the service per inhabitant: No. of Cost No. of Inh’nts per Police, to each. Inh’t.

The Sydney Morning Herald takes severely to task the Rev M. J. O’Reilly, president of St. Stanislaus College, lor the following statement recently made by Mr O’Reilley:—“We are going to sell ourselves to the highest bidder. We shall be in the market by-aud-by. I have for a great many years been voting Labour, but that does not mean that I am for the Labour ticket all the time. I will vote another ticket to-morrow if it suits me.’’ We have every confidence (says the Herald) in asserting that the Liberal Party in this State—indeed, any party with self respect—is not out to buy the votes of the Roman Catholics, or any other section of the community, in the manner suggested by Mr O’Reilly. It is legitimate for religious communions to organise politically in order to secure protection for their just rights when these do not clash with those of the general community. But it is in the highest degree undesirable for persons to endeavour to exercise political power in order to bolster up and secure privileges for their own religious body quite regardless of the welfare of the community generally. Mr O’Reilly may ascend the auctioneer’s rostrum, but let him realise at once that the Liberal Party in this State will not only not be the highest bidder at the sale of political freedom, but will not be a bidder at all.”

Archbishop Kelcv, of Sydney, in referring to a recent statement regarding Catholics and politics, said: “You set our house on fire by your educational system ; force

every Catholic to fight for his own —if not behind guns, at least at the ballot-box. Take away these restrictions, and the Catholics federation will be just as nonpolitical as a Temperance Society.” The temperance people in this Dominion, in order to have the three-fifths handicap removed, are seriously contemplating similar tactics to those proposed to be adopted by Catholics on the Educational question.

The following reference was made to amending the Eabour laws in the Financial Statement: —“It is pleasing to note that no industrial troubles of any magnitude have arisen since the miners’ strikes at Waihi and Reefton took place. It is believed that during the past year there has been engendered a more earnest desire amongst the workers of New Zealand, as well as amongst all other classes of the community, to find some method by which industrial disputes may be settled in a manner equitable to the parties concerned. With this object in view, the Government has given caretul consideration to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. It is proposed to effect a number of amendments in the machiuer5 r provisions of the Act, aud to embody these amendments in a consolidating measure to be placed before honourable members for their approval. As the present Act cannot, however, be regarded as complete, inasmuch as it applies to only those disputes that affect registered unions of workers, it is proposed to include in the measure some provisions which it is hoped will enable the parties to all industrial disputes to arrive at a peaceful settlement of their difficulties, and in this way to, so far as possible, prevent strikes and lockouts from taking place.”

New Zealand 846 1303 3 8 Victoria 1736 795 4 10H New S. Wales 2490 713 5 10 Queensland 1053 604 8 8f< S. Australia 512 840 5 5 H W. Australia 490 624 8 aV\ Tasmania ... 231 853 4 4 H