The Rangitikei Advocate. FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1907. SECOND EDITORIAL NOTES EDITORIAL NOTES

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8803, 3 May 1907, Page 2

The Rangitikei Advocate. FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1907. SECOND EDITORIAL NOTES EDITORIAL NOTES

THE Colonial Conference has entered noon the discussion of the question of'preferential tariffs, and the Conservative party at Home are anxiously seeking to make political capital out of the proposals put forward by colonial Premiers. Some time before the Conference took place the Duke of Devonshire, in addressing a meeting of Unionist freetraders, made the following remarks, which not inaptly describe the present situation: — 1 ‘ Tariff reformers would be almost more than human if they were to refrain altogether from making use of the Colonial Conference for the purpose of promoting their own views; but it would be an unfortunate tiring and a bad precedent if a successful attempt were made to enlist delegates from the colonies who were in England in an official and responsible position in any of their political conflicts. He had every confidence that those gentlemen were perfectly able to take care of themselves, and that their conduct during the Conference and their visit to this country would be as correct and as constitutional as it had admittedly been on other occasions.” As usual we have been -provided with a full account of Mr Deakin’s speech at the Conference. He made tiro 'usual remark that Australia asked for no concession she was not prepared to reciprocate. As we well know, Mr Deakin’s policy in Australia is one of. protection, and lie desires to exclude British as well as foreign goods from the colonies.

His eo-callert preference for Britain merely means the securing of tv greater measure of protection for Australian industries by raising the tariff on foreign goods while main taming the same high duties as at present against British imports. If Mr De'akin were willing to follow the ■ example of Canada and give Britain ! concessions in duties he might speak Uwith some more show of reason, but he is protectionist for Australia first and preferentialisfc second. A considerable part of his speech was an appeal ad misericordiam on the ground that Germany and other countries would uot admit Australian products, and that England was therefore her only market, and there she had to compete against other nations on equal toms. His pathetic statement that it was absolutely necessary for Australia to find fresh markets owing to increasing population and larger cultivated area was an amusing contrast to the boasts made ou other occasions of the established and increasing prosperity of that country. Mr Deakin further urged that a policy of retaliation agaiust foreign nations by Britain was sure to bring them to their knees. It is easy to sec the advantages which would accrue to Ausstralia if Britain should partially close her markets to imports from foreign countries, but exactly how Britain is to gain by a policy of retaliation which would endanger her whole foreign trade it is hard to sec. We do uot think that Britain will consent to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for Australia. There might be sentimental reasons to induce her to sacrifice her interests to assist the colonies, which, however, do not require assistance ; but Mr Doakin expressly stated that his proposals wore mere business propositions, and as business propositions they are worthless from the point of view of Britain.

THE defeat of the so-called Progressive party in the recent election for the Loudou County Council will bo fresh in the minds of all those who take any interest in the affairs of Britain. The Progressives had plunged into enormous expenditure for Municipal trading of various kinds, and had the intention of still further increasing the County debt in order to take in hand now undertakings. The increase in rates which was a necessary outcome of the Progressives’ policy had home heavily on ail the ratepayers, and they were at last roused from their lethargy and returned at the late election a large majority of members pledged to economy and retrenchment. One of the first steps of the new Council was to propose that the accounts of the trading undertakings of the Council should ho submitted to an audit on commercial lines, as the audit forms provided by the Board of Trade were not prepared in view of trading, and did not provide the necessary information. It would have been thought that the Progressives who have always made a boast of the financial success of the business undertakings of the Council, would Uiave welcomed the closest system of .audit in the full confidence that their methods would he vindicated, but they opposed the suggested audit' by every tactical device, and ultiumatoly walked out without voting when the question was put to the vote. One Labour member described the proposal as an insult to the Council. The ratepayers of London sttrely have a righ t to know how their money is being spout, and will not bo slow to mark the extraordinary attitude taken up by some of their representatives. The incident has its lessons for Now Zealand as well as for Loudou. ft shows that the Socialist party care nothing for economy so long as their own political and social ends can he attained, and it suggests the necessity of publishing the accounts of Municipal and Government undertakings in a clear form which any business man can understand. It.would indeed be well if the accounts for such Municipal undertakings as gas, water, and tramways had to bo presented on -a uniform system in every town. It would then be easy not only to judge the financial condition of the undertakings of any particular Borough, but also to compare the accounts, item by item, with those of other towns, and thus provide a salutory check on extravagance in any department of expenditure'.