EDITORIAL NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10058, 28 January 1909, Page 1

EDITORIAL NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Thi: Government, it is announced with. authority, intends to thi-: goveenjiext's institute a public msti'.okk — quiry into the manA commission". agement of uie Addington Workshops and the cost of the work done there.' It is a pity if the Railway Department is unable to afford the Government this information. If those who have the management of the Addington State manufacturing establishment are not acquainted with its°character then nobody else is. A Commission appointed to inquire into this question would be compelled to rely for its information on the evidence adduced by official departmental heads of the railway service and by conductors of priyate engineering works. All such information could be gleaned by the Government without the circumstance and cost of a Royal Commission, which may not be any the more satisfactory than the majority of such investigating tribunals have been. This railway situation is being mishandled. It could hardly have been with the consent of the Minister for Railways, or the Government, that a private detective was sent into the Addington Workshops to catch the workers unawares, if possible, and formulate an impeachment against them of robbing the country by wasting the time which they were paid to spendin working to the best- of their ability. If there are no experts in the employ of the department who were able to discover, without a domiciliary visit, whether the Addington hands were doing their duty or not then there ought to be. The system of espionage is obnoxious—it degrades both the spy and those whom he seeks to entrap, perhaps without any warrant whatever. It is, therefore, better avoided, where more manly expedients are available. as, indeed they are. If the heads of the Workshops' departments could not be trusted to assess the amount of work done in the Addington Workshops and the amount that ought to be done, there would be no necessity for a Royal Commission to discover what should be done with them. But they are the most competent men procurable, so we are credibly informed, and are, moreover, remunerated for their services to such a degree as to ensure their loyalty to their employers. These men have been called upon to answer the indictment which has been so incomprehensibly framed upon the eavesdropping of a mysterious personage. This is neither dignified nor reasonable, and it is most certainly particularly disagreeable. Disloyalty is enuendered by distrust which implies a contemptible abuse of confidence. On the one hand there are a number of men whom the country pays to watch its interests and who have no reason to neglect their duty, whilst, on the other, there is an individual who may be afflicted with abnormality of judgment. Whatever may be the truth about the Addington Workshops, it is not fair that its workers should have been prejudged by a judgment which may be totally unjustifiable. It would appear that Major Daniels, w r ho stated in the course of Germany IN" the an interview at \~anl'ACiKic. couver, that Germany

has established a strong naval base at Simpsonhafen, has been misunderstood by the reporter. 'lwo years ago the port, which is in Nen" Britain, all island of German New Guinea, renamed by the Germans New Pomerania, merely claimed distinction as the first calling place of the Cliiuo-Japan-bound Xord-deutscher-Lloyd steamers, and looked as little like a fortified base as Kakanui. The writer, who stayed there for a day, was deeply impressed by the utter absence of anv serious intention away from the loading wharf where a couple of hundred kanakas were engaged for 12 hours in doing work which » dozen of our own wharf lumpers would have accomplished in a third of the time. Simpsonhafen 'is one of the scores of solitary outpost,marking the growth of German influence in the 'Pacific, but there was nothing in the shape of naval preparations there two years ago. What- Major Daniels has taken for " quite formidable" defences will ho the Governor's residence at llerbertshohe, the former capital, where some small attempt is made to prepare for a raid of the savage natives from the interior, which is a by no means unlikely occurrence. There is a splendid harbor at Simpsonhafen, and in all probability it would in future lx- used as a. base of German naval operations in the event of war in the Pacific • but when the writer visited, the place there were only two antiquated cannon on the settlement, and not above a dozen white men. most of whom were engaged either in the rubber or copra trade. However, Major Daniels is dealing with a very tangible, truth when lie refers to Germany's growing power iu the Pacific. In -everv part of the hast:, from Vladivostok to Tonga, wherever trade offers German merchants are to be found exploiting the country, and making a success where others fa.il. 'l he Kaiser's Ministers have made no secret of Germany's intentions- in regard to the Pacific, and "there is ample evidence along the ocean's highway to satisfy the world that these intentions are in the way of realisation.

The Addington investigation has been necessitated by - the the management espionage which was on its trial. instigated by the' official head of the Railway Department. The publicity given to the* report of the anonymous private detective makes au investigation imperative. But, if the report had not, by some extraordinary means, got into the papers, the department would probaoly have held a purely official inquiry concerning the allegations. The stigma having been made public, the Addington Workshop hands rightlv insisted that they should be atf'orded an opportunity of publicly clearing their characters. A message which appeared in our yesterday's issue shewed that the Minister for Railways (the Hon. J. A. Millar) intends to accede to the demand made by those accused. If we may accept his view of the tribunal lie is setting up, it will be perfect, and creates a feeling of regret that such a body is not always available for the settlement- of all such industrial difficulties. It is to consist of three gentlemen, two of them experts in the matters to be considered. "'The Board of Inquiry," says Mr Millar, "must not only be judicial, but must have a practical knowledge to go thoroughly into the matter and report upon any remedy which may be necessary." There will be no counsel, "'but any, witnesses may give evidence," and the order of reference will be as wide as pos-. siHle. It is practically a departmental inquiry, with independent outsiders on the Board. There are to be no specified charges, but a general inquiry will be made into the system which has been adopted with a view to any improvements." Under the circumstances, these ideas are admirable, but the circumstances ought not- to have arisen. The department ought- to be the best judges of whether or not the men at Addington have been honestly earning their pay, and should be able to decide what- is the best svstem on which to conduct the works. The official and mechanical heads of such an important department ought to be the highest authorities in the land on the subject of the management of the various branches of the service. And yet there is something wanting, or they would not have set up a secret investigation to enlighten them. It will probably be found that, at Addington, as elsewhere, there i are imperfections amongst the men as well as in the management, bjit, surely, they could have been discovered and rectified.

without so much fuss and expense and reporting to methods which are not so open as one could wish. There may be workers at Addington who are so careful not to do too much that they barely earn their })ay. There is only one effective and just way oi dealing wit., employees who are guilty of such an offence. lint it will, we believe, be discovered that the ruling spirit at Addington is one of honest industry, and that the gravest faults are attributable to the management.

Loxg ago we exposed the folly of the system adopted in an: atFKOii the tempt to teach school ridiculous— children to sing. The effect is uucouth noise, not musical sounds, and is a present nuisance with less than a prospective valiue. Boys emit noises as raucous as the croaking" of frogs. As Mr -Mai 11 and. Gard'ner said, at the Musicians' Conference, "children are taught to yell, not U> sing." That is only too true. With open throttles and gawky demeanor the boys more particularly are reminiscent of the frog- accompaniment to a. fog- aboard ship. Now, vocal music is only desirable because it is pleasant, and, though the i'aet may appear strange, vocal practice is only physically beneficial when it is pursued' on right- lines. There is only one way to teach school! children to sing- and that is the right way, which is known to but few school teachers. The existing system is as cruel to an unmusical teacher as it is to the mist-aught child, and is worse than useless to everybody. These being our sentiments, it will be realised that we agree with the Musicians' Conference's recommendation that suitable candidates should be properly trained. In the days of denominational education in Victoria, the public schools were taught by singing, as well as drawing, chemical, geological, and botanical professors. And yet, though we pay nearly a million a year for primary education in New Zealand, our children are denied even proper vocal tuition and are condemned to waste their time, and, perhaps, talent, iu learning to make noises which are not pleasant, and may even be a horror.

The suggestion that a Conscrvatorium of

Music should be estabto the sublime, lished within the Do-

minion is meeting with strong opposition from the teachers of music, who fear that it would interfere wiih their means of livelihood. In a world where everybody does the best he can for himself, though he may on occasions shew some small regard for his fellows, it is hardly likely that- consideration for music teachers would prevent the establishment of a local means of turning out i'uUtiedged professors of music. But there are many things more necessary than a Conservatorium of Music in this country it would be better to devote the money it would cost to the proper training of teachers, so that school children would enjoy the advantages of teaching that would be of some utility. At best, such an institution could not be largely patronised for the impartation of musical knowledge. because the majority of students would require to travel hundreds c£ miles to avail themselves of its advantages and to pay the cost of their own maintenance as well as fees. It is clear that we cannot yet afford such a luxury. But there is some sense in the suggestion made by the Conference of Musicians that a- national orchestra should be established after the character of that- which performed at the Christchurch Kxhibition. Such a source of enjoyment as this would be available to all, for there would be periodical performances in all the centres. It would also be educative: and, what i? more, its cost would be so small that the money would not be missed. We advocated this idea prior to the disbandment of the Kxhibition orchestra, but the Government was then in trouble and the lime was not, therefore, opportune for its consideration. We have confidence, howfver, that the agitation for a national orchestra will bear fruit some of these days, and then we shall be able to look forward to legitimate enjoyment, wiiiJ'. even if it eosj sixpence or a shilling would be well worth the money.