Rangitikei Advocate. FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 1908 EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIII, Issue 9112, 3 April 1908, Page 4

Rangitikei Advocate. FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 1908 EDITORIAL NOTES.

WE wonder when the workers and consumers generally will realise that the labour legislation and the restrictive tariff are inflicting on them serious injury by making it more costly to live and reducing the purchasing power of the money they earn. Nominally the wages now paid in most of the industries are much higher than they were a few years ago, but the cost of living has advanced at a greater rate. At the Arbitration Court at Wanganui the other day a witness nnder crossexamination had to admit that meat, potatoes, bread, boots and shoes, are considerably dearer than they were five years ago, and he might have enumerated a long list of articles the price of which has advanced. The process is also still going on merrily, and perhaps some day soon the people will begin to inquire whether it is worth while to make this country one of the dearest in which to live, instead of it being, as it should be, one of the cheapest in the world.-:; In this connection we may remark that it is the fashion for labour agitators and socialists to rail at the landlords and accuse them of extorting high rentals. But with a State Department everlastingly increasing .the valuation of property so that higher rates and taxes have to be paid by its owners, with timber and cost of .[[building rapidly advancing, and with increased cost of living—for even landlords have to spend money to maintain existence —the increase in rentals is but a natural result. As bearing offthis subject we notice that from yesterday the price of timber was advanced in Wellington 2s per 100 feet on ali heart timber, in Wairarapa Is per 100 feet all round, and in Wanganui district 2s per 100 feet on all heart timbers and Is per 100 feet on ordinary building timber. Interviewed by a newspaper reporter the Secretary of the Wairarapa Sawmillers’ Association, gives the following reasons for the rise and it will be observed that the iu» crease in wages bulks large. Of course it is beyond question that even with the increase in wages the sawmill hands do not greatly benefit, .because the supplies they require have been made dearer by the artifical increase of wages and shorter hours in the factories which enjoy what is called “protection.” The Secretary’s reasons are:—“The sawmillers are generally handicapped by:the cost of production, which grows greater year by year. Then they have just suffered [terrible losses through fire, owing to the fact that mills have been destroyed that could not be insured. In this way the millers have undoubtedly lost thousands of pounds. Lastly, there is Judge Sim’s recent arbitration award, which is most unsatisfactory to employers. However, it is in vogue for three years, and employers will have to stand the racket ope way or another. The only way seems to be to raise the price of timber. No doubt this means that there will be a cry on the part of some agitators that the Government should take off the present prohibitive import tariff on timber, but if this were done the mills would be forced to close down altogether, and when you consider that, of £60,000 a year paid out by this Association, two-thirds of it goes in wages, you will understand that the Government will think twice before it takes such an extreme measure.' ’ Lika the others affected, the sawmillers also “pass it on,” but it should not be difficult to understand that this does not encourage enterprise or the investment of capital in building.

MR BIRRELL’S Irish University Bill has been well received and has secured the approval of every party in the House of Commons. So far all is well, but until the verdict of the Irish Roman Catholic Bishops on the proposal has been made public, it is too early to offer? any opinion as to the success of the scheme. At present the Roman Catholics are not permitted by their Bishops to become members of Trinity College, Dublin, the old established university, and therefore they are to a large extent deprived of the privilege of a university educatiou in their own country. The suggestion that the constitution of Trinity College should be amended so as to remove the objec-

tions of the Bishops, 'met with the' keenest opposition from Trinity graduates and professors alike, and did not in any way meet the desires of the Roman Catholic authorities. Mr- Birrell has therefore held his hap 4 as far as Trinity College is concerned, and proposes to establish a new University at Dublin, with three affiliated colleges at Dublin, Cork and Galway, and a University at Belfast with one college only. At none of the colleges will there be any religious tests and this may be a difficulty in the way of the acceptance of the scheme by the Bishops, but the day for grants of public money to denominational places of education has gone by, and we hope that the Bishops will recognise the position and give their valuable support to the Government in its earnest attempt to satisfy the needs of education in Ireland.

THE report that Denniston Coal Miners’ Association had on Tuesday passed a resolution condemning the Arbitration Court, did not appear to have any great interest to the country at large-butthe explanatory telegram sent the next day from Westport threw an entirely new light on the position. The resolution we were informed meant that the Union proposed to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Court. The Union can undoubtedly cancel its registration, but it seems extremely unlikely that this would have the effect of removing the men from the jurisdiction of the Act. * The custom when a dispute is before the Court is to attach every employer who can conceivably be brought undei- the award, to he made, and thus men whether unionists or non-uniopists have to be paid the Wages fixed by the award and employers have to obey all the conditions set out. It seems unlikely that one coal mine would he permitted to remain outside the award made for others in the district. Still it would puzzle anyone to say what is possible or not possible nnder the Act, and the experiments which are Plow being tried at Blackball and elsewhere may throw entirely new light on its true interpretation.

WE trust that Mr Massey will continue to- criticise the Ministry as forcibly as he appears to have done in his Whangarei speech, and he might be even more vigorous with advantage. His references to the Socialism of the Ministry were well put, and his denunciation of continuous borrowing will be approved by all who have a stake in the country and who know that every fresh loan means an additional mortgage on their property—more rates and heavier taxes. We are glad to see that Mr Massey strongly condemns the Ministerial policy of compromise. May we suggest that as he rightly holds that compromise is bad, he will lay down the principles, which in his opinion, should guide the Opposition, and will then adhere to them at all hazards. In the past the policy of compromise has been adopted by others than Ministers, and principles have sometimes been “modified” with object of catching votes. In this connection we regret to observe that Mr Massey expressed himself in favour of universal old age pensions. Unless such pensions are provided for by means of contributions from the people themselves, or by some special form of taxation which will reach ali, they cannot he [provided for in an equitable manner. But, unfortunately, it is unauestionable that the politician who advocates old age pensions is likely to secure the votes not only of the pensioners themselves, hut of those whose natural duty it is to support them.

IN one of his poems Kipling declared that ‘ ‘ Paget, M. P., was a liar, and a fluent liar therewith,” and Paget seems to have represented a type which is .becoming rather common. It L is not unusual to find politicians making statements which some people know are wildly untruthful, but which others may believe are true. When the politician gets away from his own country he seems to feel still more free to romance. At present the Premier of one of the Australian States, who is visiting the Old Country,, has been making some statements calculated to mislead his hearers. Among other things he has told them that the women’s vote in Australia has purified politics, and that no man of shady reputation can hope for return to Parliament. We do not doubt that ultimately 'the influence of women will purify politics. but the majority as yet take too little interest in genuine politics. But if uo man of shady reputation can hope to get into Parliament, why did our Legislature recently provide practically .that no candidate’s character shall be criticised when he is asking the electors to return him?