The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1917. "THE DOMINION AUNT SALLY."

Taihape Daily Times, 20 November 1917, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1917. "THE DOMINION AUNT SALLY."

(With which Is incorporated The Taihapo Post and Waimarino Npws).

The conduct and .cost' of the New Zealand Defence Department has been the Aunt Sally for almost every newspaper in the Dominion* Some have been more persistent and have proved better shots than others, but all have given, the old effigy a rather bad time. 'Members of Parliament seem to have held many competitions, seeing which could knock the pipe out of the old lady’s mouth the greatest number of times, and in doing so they have occasionally disfigured her countenance to such an extent that she has had to be taken in for repairs. At the close of the session the old girl was so dilapidated that nothing less than a Parliamentary Commission was set up to hold an enquiry as to whether she could be rehabilitated at all, or whether it would be necessary to re-es-tablish her in a much abbreviated form Those who have been in charge of the guy are in a terrible state of funk over the Commission that is going to enquire into what they have done with the takings, and the chiefs are “sacking” the underlings wholesale. Many of the captains, majors, and colonels who have honestly done their best to keep the old penny-a-shy business brisk have been “fired;” and employers of youths arc no longer to be annoyed and inconvenienced by being deprived of the little labour the recruiting sergeant has left available; there are to be no more compulsory parades and all but central military districts have been dropped. In fact there will, it appears, only be a very much abridged ,|)cfcnce Department for the Commission to enquire into. Whether those that have been sent adrift will be called to give evidence so that the Commission may ascertain just where all the money has been swamped is not stated, and it is not likely the dismissed officers will come forward and offer evidence- without adequate payment for such services. During a lifetime many Parliamentary Commissions are set up, but it is indeed difficult to call one to mind that did not furnish its quota in proving that Governments and Ministers arc all, like Popes of Rome, quite infallibl, and utterly incapable- of doing any wrong, or even of making an ordinary human error. There are exceptions to most rules but never to the

findings of Parliamentary Commissions who enquire into the actions of those who must consent to their appointment and do actually appoint them. The world is supposed to learn by experi ence bat parliaments seem to be another exception to established ideas for they go on setting up these Commissions year after year jwith the same old monotonous result. If a commission, rather bolder than others of its kind, dares to recommend something opposed to the views of the government that appoints it, there is trouble ahead; it is practically told it docs not know what it is talking about, and its report is worried as by baited bears, and it is hustled into oblivion, anywhere out of the public reach and gaze. If there is any Member of Parliament, or lay politician, who haply thinks ]the /Defence Department Commission will prove an exception to the commission finding rule, he is doomed to be disappointed. A telegram from Wellington yesterday, informs us that it is understood that (the Defence Commission »tp enquire into the expenditure of the Defence Department will consist of three members, two of which arc named as likely to be selected. These two, Mr Peter Barr, of Dunedin, and Mr. A. S. Biss, of Wellington, are above suspicion in their profession, but when they come to mix accountancy with politics we arc far from sure of what the re-action will produce. They are both firm supporters of a political faction, and were it not-for their admirable loyalty in that respect, we should think there was a • likelihood that an exception to the commission finding rule might eventuate. Mr. Barr, Mr. Biss, and Mr. Barton arc the three men we know of in this country that wo ourselves would select from, but whichever of the two already selected we felt disposed to drop we certainly should not leave out Mr Barton. However, seeing that Mr. Barton is also a solicitor he would admirably furnish the judicial mind required as well as very strongly reinforce the audit side; and we strongly recommend him to the Government for consideration Avhen final selections are being made. We are of opinion that Mr. Barton is the man above all others that should have the chairmanship of "the Commission. We are- notsupposing that Sir James Allen will subordinate his views and objects to ours,, but we give him our opinion for what it is worth, and we feel confident time he might do worse than adopt it. The only consolation we can offer our readers is that which the Negro parson gave to his congregation, “Blessed-is he that expecteth nothing for- he shall not be disappointed when he gets 1 its.” - ■