The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, December 19, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1338, 19 December 1914, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, December 19, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Thk declaration of the notes of the bank of New Zealand, National Bank of New Zealand, Union Bank, Band of Australasia, and Commercial Bank of Australasia, as legal tender, has been extended by Gazette . Extraordinary, from Bth January, 1915, t 0 7th April, 1915. The effect of this is to conserve the gold in the banks’ coffers, and to make the notes as good as money. It does not follow that there Is less gold in the banks than would meet the notes now in circulation if they were presented tor payment at one time. The figures for the quarter ended 31st December are not, of course, available, but those for the last quarter, when bank notes were legal tender as now, show that the bullion and coin to meet the notes, even had they been presented and gold could have been demanded in exchange for them over the counter, amounted to ,£5,823,576, or nearly six millions, while the notes out amounted to 22,012,569, so that there was nearly three times the gold in hand that the notes represented. The note circulation for the corresponding period of i 9 13 waS ,£1,608,960, whereas the coin and bullion in the banks to meet them then amounted to ,£5,234,422.

It is impossible to say what will take place until the actual and definite result of the polls are known. There are to be three Magisterial re counts, and the Northern Maori affair to be settled. According to the Wellington Post, some currency is given in political circles to the suggestion of the possibility of a friendly understanding between the parlies, but it is too early at the present moment to discuss it seriously. Similarly, it has been suggested that if Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward both fail to obtain a working majority, Mr Arthur Myers may, by common consent, be summoned to form a ministry, and save the country from another general election, the prospect of which is almost universally abhorred. Supporters of the elective executive principle are not slow to point out that now is the time and opportunity, when the parties are equal, to put into force their pet nostrum, but it should be pointed out that this would mean altering fhe Constitution by special legislation, and bow is that to be passed ? The position is frankly not realised

by either side, and there is no doubt that it a fair and reasonable and practical way out of the impasse could be suggested in a manner that would appeal to all parlies, it would be seized with no little pleasure.

Thk state of political parties remains as previously stated, Government 40, and combined Opposition 40. Some doubt has been cast upon the loyalty to the Government of Mr Tau Henare, the newly-elected member for the Northern Maori district. At present be is filling the role of a political sphinx. There is some talk of a petition to have Tau’s election upset on the grounds that at several polling places there were no European returning officers, and that at one place the booth was not even opened. Pressure is being brought to bear upon Mr Tau Henare to declare which party he supports. Accord ing to a contemporary, Mr Tau Henare has the traditional shrewdness of his race. The politicians have apparently given him cause to feel that the pakeha Parliament is at bis mercy, and his wish is evidently to enjoy his sense of power. He is indeed the “big chief,” and it is his pleasure to keep the politicians on tenterhooks. Europeans have endeavoured to appoint a definite Government, and they have created something like a deadlock. Is Tau Henare to have the distinction of providing the key and saying to either Mr Massey or Sir Joseph Ward, “This way to the Treasury Benches” ? Is the kind of democracy for the next three years to be determined by Tau Henare? Is it to be “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” by the Ward Party (and its allies) or the Massey Party, per favour of Mr Henare ? A report published by the Auckland Star stated that Henare’s pleasing appearance and physique were the basis of his nomination, but the allegation has not yet been proved true. Is the country to be under the Premiership of Sir Joseph Ward or Mr Massey because Tau Henare happens to be handsome ? Meanwhile many a pakeha is willing to kow-tow to Henare.