The Daily News. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5. POLITICS IN THE HOMELAND.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7995, 5 December 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5. POLITICS IN THE HOMELAND.

For s-mii' tiuio I>.ist it has Urn e\ i'en 1 that. British junti'-s were approaching 11 crisis, atl'i the l.i!e4 caMes have conveyed the in!,-iiigence t'l.if the t (lovi'i nnient hail decided to re.-iue, i leaving the Liberal Party to t ,U> ullice ;iikl ;iji)>o:ii to the country eailv ill tlio yeir. I'ive veais a-i tho present Eugli.-di I';,ilii.uioTi!. was elected with a Mirer lil'ths nia jui itv a.the outeoni" of an appeal foe support ill its witr policy. It. hail at it, he id tho most experienced Foreign Mini.- Irr which tin; country possi ssed. as Colonial Secretory, the man who liail . not then v""i 'oi' cr> reason t<i ji or at its "thinking; imperiallv,'' ami the Government v.;,s haclcd hy an apparently perfectly organised ami ni.it.nl party fresh from i!s thinl yirat lie . tory during lil'trrn M ats. \\'| n wonlil at that time have suggested that iti five years this same patty would lie riven ftoin stem to slerr, that snineat le.ust of its policy wonlil cause Ihe colonies to semi graver expression- of disgust than perhaps had ever (ire viously Ijren sent to I)owning Street, that its fotei-r" policy, while in some respects sncci.ssl'ul, v.onhl show a teeotil ol inconsistency dillicull indeed to understand, or appreciate: while its chief ili'tnestic policy I, <1 hern the casting of public education into the aicna of sectarian strife, and the roping" of trades unionism { The ietirenient of its leader, the late L ird Salisbury, was an irreparable loss. but tlie chief cause of tlir disaster to r.he British Conservative I'artv was of coarse the t enia rka hie stop' takei. by Mr Chamberlain (then Colonial Secretary) in recommending, two Years ago. a depirtnie from the frrp trade liscal policy of ihe nation. W H are not concerned ;.t l!ie moment with the arguments fur or against Jlr Cliambetlain's proposals. hot. are considering .simply their clVect upon the political party of whom he is one of the most valued leulers, and as such policy is one fraught with grave nri ment to colonials we make somewhat j lengthy refere: <v thereto. Mr Cham herlain s pro.cc!ioni>t po lev was cunt'-nry to general opiniur. not ili ■ owned by the (I.iv rnment, of which he was a inducer, Ti ue he fell it nivessaiy lo re-ign hi., seat, Imt Mi Ma I four, who M-eeedrl Lord Silis bu:v as Premier. l..st at the same time other r jually proniini'iit members ol hi> ( ahiiu-l, wh'iM'ilrvul ioa to Ihe fio'■ trade policv would nr |«(rmit t.hetn t'l serve under a leidei whose views wei e apparent |y out o sympathy with theirs, ami whose ut, terancCK were, „ay the least. <!.- plorahly cloudy. Mr Mdfour's delini tion of his fiscal p i!i -v i., one of '• it taliiitioii," i.e.. tat in; were to he im

,i-ised if,.. ■■ .■ ii'iiti i,. s whoe taiitls Hi.::!.' it. liiili, nil, f tli . Kn»lisli traders tn ciinpctc within ea! ly manufactured pods. hut i-e|n: dialing profietive duties if imposed I" 1 ' the Mik'' of raising I f:>iuc prices. l>nt;h Mr ('ll.ni;l 'fritiii au'l ili- liillour i-r»:i[i]c.] willi their tnrilt'sf!;oino :i coin! i:il preference idea. LOxacilv hrr.v this is to l.i- -i i-;tli.-v haw never vet st-ited. < Vrtainiv Mi- ' ,-li;i iiihi'i'la ill, ill ;t ;it (Has X'»v, threw nut tlx* lli.il <■( i t.iiii colonics should I),- content tu lII' Ml|l| liers (if ran lii.itCi-i.il 1,, (he 11 • >im 'hi 111. Ic.ivinjr Imt in linn Id supply 111:11111111• (iii i-il jmii-Is. Tin. i,. ■jinnse t/i thi.s Kiii,';.'c-<li-i:i was ,|i, tinetly Imstile, anil since then nei I lit'!- slr ( Ila 11 il ici i. ii n nor Mi MiU'ihiihas offered an\tiling more d'linite than :i dial: ii i-1 li-n-iici-ol Colonial Premiers In- In Id In ili, cuss this and otlies- Imp ai d inn,, linns a ronfei-encc llial will apparriilly not meet. mil il l!l 7. .Mr lid four's " retaliation " police »a» ap parei.tly devised in tin- fill ile lni|ic ol prevent in;< till- i!i-rii|.liiin of his party. liv thoM' of lii- i'nllnwns wll'i iirt' still ln\a! In him. ihi- p->!irv. ;, r l.i tlk- S.viol.uy <i< Sl:i!i- I'm India, is lii-ld to I),- ■ not a mere protectionist policy mixed with wafer,, 1 but soniptilinj.' clear cut whiclrstands i I*y if-e'f, and n-liicli v, ii! exist, lontr alter the protecti-niist, per so lias gone hack to,-the ol(sciirif.y from which recently emcijjigl/'nn-Jjalfo-'i-

trader ns a menus of (Mewling free trade" The net, result. of (lie policy put loith by Mr RilfolU 1 or by M r ('iiiiinliciliiiu has been that, in every by-election held since it. was introduced, cither the seat lias been captured liv the l'adirals. or the f<a mer Conservative majority lias been considerably leducod: while in the colonies, in spile of Mr Seddou's IVel'er ciitial Trade Bill of two years ago. in the absence of definite proposals IVom the Imperial Government, little or nointeiest is taken in the proposed colonial preferential trade relation*. Of the colonial policy o!' the iialfonr Government, little can lie said. Colonials have neither forgiven nor leu-gotten the creation of Chinese seifdom ill South Africa, while only a week or two ago a cable iuess»ge staled that a" peremptory" oider had been sent, from the colonial ollice to a .sclfgovorningcolony requesting the repeal of legislation which if stringent in its application as re gards <he Asiatic in its midst, was at any lute considerably more chari Uible towards him than is the Imperial Governmq|lit itself, through its South AfiicKii representatives. This in itself clearly shows that the .sympathy of the liilfonr Government with colonial ideas and aspirations is eonsiduiablv less than it seemed live years ago. The general foreign policy of the Home Government is indirectly of considerable import to colonials. There is a genera) feeling in Australasia that the " peremptory despatch already alluded to is one of the effects of England's new treaty with Japan, and recent cables show that the bettu" relations established between France and I'rit in are raising questions of control of island territories in the Pacific which wid require carefnl watching on the p.rtof Australasian state-men. if their interests are not lo be sacrificed to the actions of an Imperial Government, which may have (as seems to he the case to day) lost the support of the conntiy. The "consistent foieign policy " of his Government has been a repeated hoist of the British Prime Minister, yet, during the pust few ysars almost every possible policy has been alternately put forward' and withdrawn. Friendly ad \ a net's have been made almost ill rotition to Germany and I'ranee, and each country has in turn been held to have b.'en enemy and friend ; we have been told tiie fear of Ku.-sia is a bogey, and again that such is the beginning of Indian military understanding; that lii gland's isolation is her splendid liei itage among the nations followed ly the treaty with Japan. Of the domestic policy of . Ihe Ihili.Ji Government- it is sea nely necessary lo say much, as its results ;do not affect the colonies verv inai tcriallv. lis educational policy, however, i> jc< 1 les.-on as to what may be done by a reactionary Government -elecled on a spee'li • is:-ue —it it. is given a Jong enough spell of authority. Leaving aside el: religions argument or sentiment in .connection with .lie English ''-duca lion Act. it, cai.iait, l,e <;<-t.icd that its |K,:i-.-y of supporting sectarian schools with public money without the coreliiivo public control j» to tear uji t!ie vciy tap root of demo cr.itic rule. lu this colony there hare been attempts to introduce something of the kin I, and every line demo;rat .i.u.-T. wish that- the same fa'e which has OWI tak,.» I lie hiltuiir (i(iv*'innunt may also U' thai. -j- ;iiiv Nt;w Zealand (invmiiiß'iit \vlii,-ii. in tin? si]iii!ii'.sl derive. , a110w... {lie pi«'<riit svst.rni of n.ilioiiiii ''ilu<';il ioil to lII' SUj'|tl;U;lL'(l i>v OIK' having ]\\ \t> liiiiu 11i» 1 u.-tU v.\' injr *•>:- }it*i irjirc of M|ii;ili! Hii*'. or ' till' I t;f jiublic money without entire public control.