The Daily News THURSDAY, MARCH 1. WHY?

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8057, 1 March 1906, Page 2

The Daily News THURSDAY, MARCH 1. WHY?

Sir Joseph Waud, in some valedictory I remarks made to South Australians in Adelaide, said be placed the greatest importance on a proposed meeting of representative colonial politicians, who might discuss mutters of importance nnd expediency affecting the iitatesof the Commonwealth and New Zealand. The insatiable appetite for knowledge is one of the most gratifying signs of the times in colonials. In fact, this is an age of "Why?," Colonial politicians are not content, as a general rule, with allowing matters to regain as they are because they happen to be so in the Old Country, or because their grand fathers' idea of progress was to stay in a narrow groove. "Unity is strength," and " Two heads are better than one," are very trite but still very useful truisms. New Zealand is, par excellence, the country of confer-

ences. * * # # We have more conferences to the month than any country on the face of the earth, and if some of the bodies who attempt to adjust the ebb and flow of the tide, and who call themselves " the people of New Zealand,'' do call up a smile of amusement to the faces of the said people, the meeting of bodies of men of various degrees of mental excellence is a great power for good. The value of conference is admitted by the Universal Postal Conference, to which our Post-master-General is a delegate. It is quite possible, however, that, beyond tlie colonial representatives at that conference, the gieat majority of delegates will know little or nothing of colonial conditions.

Most people who come to the colonies I'lisli through tliem in a fortnight or so, and write learned things about us. The thing that surprises the average new-chum otitic is that the colonies have not grown two thousand years old iu a fortnight. How very superliciul the observations of many alleged eminent* are, may be gauged ly the fact that a South Australian Mayor ■returned to Adelaide to tell the people he had never seen a street phonograph in New Zealand, no poor people, mid all the rest of the dear old fairytiles we love so well and laugh at so heartily. If our near neighbours are so superficial in their observations, what hope have Home statesmen, who know nothing about us except that we belong to the Empire, of forming any just estimate of the aspirations, local or social conditions, of the colonies they include in the sweeping term '• the Empire"?

Is Downing-street there is a Secretary of Stato for the Colonies. He has a wing in the big administrative buildii.gs, and a large staff of men to " govern the colonies," as the stall' itself says. Now if you, an ordinary person, wanted a business run, and secured a manager to run it, would you allow him to undertake the task of managing a business he bad never seen from a distance of several thousand miles? Of course not. It is our humble opinion that the man who " governs the colonies" from Downing-street ought to Inive a momentary glimpse ot the scraps of Empire he gets a large sum for "govern-

Politicians in the Old Country are not " professional " politicians. In the past they have become politicians mainly because it was "the thing to do, don't you know ?" Generally they are rich men ; they receive no pay for their services, and during the re;ess of Parliament it is rather a. bore for them to find something to ke'jp them from dying of " ennui." Also they, being insular, have got into the bad habit of mistaking England for the Empire, and Westminster as the middle and two ends of all British Government. Probably they are as intelligent as colonial politicians. Anyhow, it is to be hoped so, but there are men of high intelligence who are mentally cramped by the pressure of insular environment. The Colonial Premiers went to London to instruct British statesmen in colonial matters and to broaden their own outlook. Would it, not be ipiit.e reasonable for Home politicians to come to this colony, and, indeed, all the other colonies during recess, so that they—like the New Zealand politicians who went to gather information on the Mapourika-might see us as we are, and lind out what we desire to be '(

* * # * So much extraordinary information is sown broadcast in the Old Land with regard to the possessions of the King, that it is something of a scandal that such ignorance should continue. A similar ignorance of Britain itself cannot be charged to the colonial,although this may sound very like " blow." It will l,e a glad day when the British statesman knows that New Zealand has uther products besides footballers, mounted infantrymen, and frozen mutton. And the way for British statesmen, and subsequently British people, to find out these things is through a personal examination of this and other colonies by Home politicians. Sometimes au isolated politician from the Old Laud drifts across the colonial scenery, but the impressions of these pleasureseeking units are not of much value to Downing-street or the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Wiik.v a great London paper rotors to Xow Zealand as u country whore most of the population are the descendants of convicts, and expresses a surprise that, the footballers we .sent Home were not of pronounced criminal tendencies, that they weto not wine-bibber-, and were on the whole

rather a picked lot to bo the product of a penal settlement, it is time for the people of Sew Zealand to arise and drag a few members of the I,ords and Commons across the water, just to demonstrate that •' our possessions, don't you know," are not the class of good 6 set out in the schedule. We want the British peer and the British Commoner to get the colonial I, itch for finding out things. "We ! want them to enijtiire, with all their I might, "Why?" (i

THE PRUNING KNIFE, "As the works ami improvements under ' tie recent loan expenditure are now completed, tlie Council at once consider the ro-organisatiou of tlie ollice aud ongiuccriug stall" of tlie borough, to meet the more normal conditions, and absolute necessity for a rigid economical expenditure for tbe next few years; and in order to the better and fuller consideration of the whole subject, three months' notice as from the 31st March next be given to nli ollicers of the Borough, whose conditions' require notice being given llieni of the termination of their several engagements willi (he Council." The prcgoing noiiic of motion, to be considered at the next .Borough Council meeting, requires no further elaboration to make the rate|)a3'crs realize that it is proposed to apply tlie pruning knife to the staff. In its economical aspect, the proposal, considering the state of the borough finances, is a very wise one, although the same cannot be said of the means adopted to secure the end. No doubt the mover has some scheme of staff re-organisation thought out, and it would have been much better had the motion set out a little more specifically what alteration he considers advisable. We fail to appro-

ciate the necessity or wisdom of giving notice of dismissal to the whole of the staff. From the wording of the motion—which, by the way, is rather ingenious—it would appear as if it is the engineering departmeut that is particularly aimed at. Rumours in circulation, however, claim that there i« much more in the proposal than appears 011 the surface. Be that as it may, we do not anticipate that the Council will sanction any disturbance of the existing satisfactory arrangements in I he administrative department. We believe we arc merely echoing public opinion when we say (hat there exist many good reasons for curtailing the engineering departments. As the motion stales the loau works are now completed, aud conditions in that connection are once more normal. There does not exist, therefore, any reason fur continuing to burden the ratepayer;- with an expensive department, that has outlived its usefulness. Iu a comparatively small town like New Plymouth, if an engineer is now rei[uireil, it should be possible lo secure a man capable of supervising the streets, electrical aud sanitary works. We say this without prejudice against any of the three engineers now employed in these rcspeelivclcirpacilics, as, for aught we know, each of them may possess the necessary qualifications to direct tho whole of the engineering work of the borough. There are other directions in which the borough might considerably reduce the cost of administration, and it is lo be hoped that tlie Mayor, 01 1 some Councillor, will at the next meeting of the Council, table an amendment outlining a definite scheme of retrenchment.