THE WEEK. The Otago Witness WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 51

THE WEEK.

The Otago Witness WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY.

" Nunqjam aha-d natura, alind gapientia dixit."— JrrvßfAL. •' Good nature and good *ens« must ever join." — FortThere ha.= be<>n much Ministerial activity during the past week. In ' Minister on London, Sir Joseph Ward the Stamp. has been holding forth before the Imperial Cooperation League, on the subject of Impeiial Defence; whilst at the same time Dr Findiav has been touring the Dominion preparing thf people for the increa.^d taxation which the Defence proposals mv.4 inevitably bring in their train. Not to be outstripped by their colleagues, in the noith thf Hen. Thomas Mackenzie and in t lie >outh tiie Hon. Roderick M'Kenzie have been addressing themselves to the solution of of the problems which perpetually vex tho soul> of the settlers and the farmers. 4nd the burden of the gospel pieached by the several members of the Cabinet is that there is a time coining- when impcfct.-- will be heavier, price> lower, facilities fewer, and living more difficult- than ha^ been the general expel ienee in the happy pa>t. To take the c;i>e of the Premier first. Sir Joseph Ward had the gratification, on behalf of himsfclf and the Dominion he represents, of leceiving a very high compliment at tlie iK'.ncU of Lord Onslow. The «x- ■ Governor of New Zealand, after compl- ; menting the Dominion upon placing Im- • peria] preference in the forefront of her aspirations, expressed the hope that Sir ; .Toeph Ward would continue to give the ' lead to the Empire in matters of Imperial ] Defence, so that a common system might ! be evolved. Thus fortified and stimulated,

! it is little wonder that the Premier should , launch oat upen a sustained panegyric of I Imperialism both in thought and in r action His argument, that, given universatility in Imperial thinking, united action must inevitaoly follow, was a weighty > one. Wisely fc>ir Joseph Ward selected the question of D-efence as the foundation stone upor which all real gnd lasting [ Imperialism must be based. id. . this light, the force of Lord Onslow'n E opening remark becomes clear and pjair. If the Naval Conference can arrive aft' • a common ground of agreement in respect 1 of the great Imperial Defence problems, then the fir.=t milestone on the road fci . Imperial Federation has been perceptibly . passed As th* Premier pointed out, th][ ■ widely conflicting interests of the Mother > • land and the self-governing lands acrcet the seas have to be reconciled and har. ' monised, and this is a work requiring th( t utmost tact in treatment and delicacy it ' , , handling. If the- Naval Conference canj by bringing into line the various" views, , pave the way for practical and unanimous E action, a very great deal will have been 1 accomplished. [ One of the foremost advantages likely ta t . accrue from Imperial Con< The Passing ferenoes of all kinds — • ; Parochialism. Naval Conferences, Pres* ' ■ Conferences, and the like— « is the mutual broadening of horizons oa the part of those taking part in tha ■ deliberations. Just ac the passing of parochialism, with all -its inherent pi'e< ■ ; judioes, is one of the signs -of the times [ j in regard to the relations between tha ■ I Motherland and the Colonies, so in tha case of the Colonies themselves there is j gradually growing a nationalism which. ■, i has in it the promise of greater things. l In all young countries it is inevitable afe the outset that there should be a certain ' degree of self-centred ambition on the part, of th-e email scattered communities which mark the beginnings of a new land. This very self-consciousness begets in it< turn a jealousy and struggle for commercial supremacy which for a time blinds the eyes of the people to the fact thati the liltimate interests are mutual and : identical. Thus there -is Teason to anticipate — citing New Zealand as a concrete case — t-hat the growth' of Imperialism > among ite people will by degrees domuch to bind in closer and more intimate relations the separated centres and communities. To this end the conferences of representative bodies — as, for instance, the Fanners' Union and the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies — are exercising considerable educational influence. A) perusal of the reports of the proceedings of the A. and P. Conference which sati la«t- week in Wellington compels the con-" elusion that the interchange of idea and; opinion must do much to promote thati ' satisfactory settlement on the* land upon* i which so much of t.ba future prosperity '| of the Dominion must depend. As Mr, D. D. M'Farlane, in his capacity as* President-elect of the Conference, wasr quick to remark, "The man who was onj the land now was the man who reauired; education in scientific methods. Expertf I teachers should be sent to instruct them,in their own homes. The distribution of information was the crying need of agriculture in New Zealand to-day, and th* whole success of such a scheme would depend upon having competent instructors." It is not too much to declare that the whole question of successful land settlement in the Dominion rests upofc certain well-defined planks, which tha Government of the day will do well to bear in mind. First and foremost, there should be a removal of all bars to the ultimate acquirement on the part of the settler of the freehold of the land; secondly, there should be a sweeping away, of the antiquated machinery which hindera the speedy settlement of the vast areas of waste lands in the North Island, at present bald by the Natives; an* thirdly, steps must be taken for imparting instruction in up-to-date and scientina methods of farming. For -there v no - getting away from the fact that if tn« policy of closer settlement is to be ren. dered financially remunerative, when a ps'iod of low prices pets in, the n-ethoda of farming at present in vosue will have to be very much improved. And tins can only be accomplished by systematio instruction on the part of experts appointed by the Government for the purpose. The Hon. Thomas Mackenzie, in his capacity of Minifiter ol Byl*« »»»»• Agriculture, ha.% since lus a Modest appointment. sedulously Xiaister. fc e pfc himself in the public eye. Mr Mackenzie is a man who w«U understands the worth and value of the gentle art of advertiseMent., He lias ako great faith in his own political future. He was id constant attendance at the meetings of the Farmers Union, but. addressing tha Agricultural Conference last week, he echoed all his previous utterance with the declaration that he " intended to devote himself with a singlene ? s of purpose to promoting the agricultural interests of the country, and at the end of two years, when the Conference again met. lie hoped that his appointment would be justified. In tne present, state of the political world, two years i, a long time U look ahead *nd the man who expects to be able to weather the approaching atotan and hold fa*t to his ?enf in the Cabinet must be of an unu-ually confiding and trustful nature Mr Mackenzie has no hesitation in making pronouncements— definite and conclusive— upon each and all of the intricate problems which vex the soul« of the agricultural. He has an abundant, flow of language and <s never at a loss for words; -consequently he is able to deliver' addresses lipon any and every topic which comes within •hisr ken. - But liowever well these speeches may sound in the ears of those to - whom they are addressed, when they wme to be examined in cold type bhey are far from being convincing. For instance, Mr Mackenzie addressed the Conference on the subject of the Frozen Meat Trade, but a perusal of the address fails tc

discover one single ray of Hgfrt 6? a, eolitary suggestion by which the present •unsatisfactory position can be improved. It is easy to point out that the low prices now being realised are due to the want of employment of the British workman and to the system of sales now in. vogue. Instead of suggesting a way by which these obstacles to payable prices may be overcome, it is far easier to hint portentously at s time fast approaching when some of the weigh/test questions affecting the Empire wiU have to be dealt with. If Mr Mackenzie is to be a successful Minister he will have to be more practical than he was in discussing the position of the frozen meat trade. Those who follow rural occupations are apt to regard deeds of more importance than words. If the Hon. Thomas be gifted with too much garrulity, the Hon. A Minister or Roderick is inclined to err Plain Speech, in the opposite direction. The Minister for Public Works aas been visiting the Otago Central, and has astonished many of the inhabitants, since at last they have been brought face to face with a Minister who seems to mean what he says. Yet even Mr Roderick M'Kenzie's assumptions of plainness of speech and brevity trill scarcely bear examination. He promptly nipped in the bud the aspirations of the Otago Central Railway League, when approached with the hopeless request for a. further extension of the Kn-e. The Minister's blank refusal to give any encouragement to the ideas was accompanied by the now well-worn argument that settlement must precede the construction of any railway in order that the line may be payable from the start. We will not . "waste breath by staying to inquire how iriany railways would New Zealand possess to-day had this policy always been enun- j ciated and followed out. We shall be I content to accept it as conclusive when the same principle is impartially implied to all parts of the Dominion. For, as a northern contemporary shrewdly asks, how soon does Mr M'Kenzie propose to | stop operations upon a certain line in his ( own electorate — the Westport-Reefton line — which cleaTly comes undei the same condemnation as the Otago Central? It is \rhen Otago is singled out for special treatment in the matter of railways, and told in effect to be thankful that the Catlins railway is to be completed by 1911 that it is time to exclaim. It remains to be seen, therefore, whether the long-suffering settlers in jhe Otago Central will quietly rest under. the treatment meted out to them, content to be deluded by vague promises of irrigation schemes, and thus thwarted and turned from their intention of having the railway taken to its proper objective.