The Daily News TUESDAY, JULY 2. CURRENT COMMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 2 July 1907, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY, JULY 2. CURRENT COMMENTS.

At his ucU-oinu homo m-otin- in \Y ;1lingloii on tlic cccniii;,' previous to the openinjj hi I'arliuincm, Sir .loseph W.ird li.ld the public tli.it the (lovoriior's '-;,-.'i-li woiilj contain one i'.em tlint ui.nlii be a source of immense salisfaeSinnlo the people of tin' colony. I'iililii: ilHi'lVM W;IS 111-UilSCll. Till' NpLH'l'll wis >c .rclu-d. i In' ln'ivs of innik'iix'..' importance, is iliai Sir Jn-.-ph Ward has obtained the couseiit of tlit- Home (lovcuiiu'in to move ;i motion in tiif Mouse of Kcprcscntativcs that N.-w Zealand bi' no longer called a colony, htu ''flic J)ouiiniuii of New Zo.iliiuil'" This, ii is liolilly as-crti'd, 'will place New 7..-.\-l;iinl in a hiiili T position in (he ov.-s of the world." It is doiibtlcs,, presuiiicil llial ;h<- word ••colony" is not dhjnilied em.ui;h for this |Birl, of toi' Umpire. Toli'iv" is to cnllivntc: "violins' is ii pi'i'-on who cultivates: and ;■. -colony" is a place having a band of cultivators who, although removed from the paroui stale, arc still subject to it. A "IJoininiou" is exactly tin- same thing as regards the •'snhjcciiun" ci the people to the parent Hate, but it is , .- , '" I 'Ory rciurus IllVlleil. jf> a pifptyo . clu 1(K jn uriwrr ' . . ._ ..,

"colonists-" It is ;i nice distinction, ami of as great importance. wv should f say, as tin- tlneatciicil dignity the Premier desires to inlliet on'tlie Mayors ol' our chief.cities—that of being permitted to start oil' their title with "Lord.. In the meantime, none of these things brings down the price of land or food, and no one cares two straws whether New Zealand is a "Dominion" or a "colony" as long as the liaiiill's do not come in, and the prosperity keeps up.

Tin' vagueness of the threat that the liiri/f will lit' revised during the session reminds us of the vagueness of similni' threats made during the past few years. The turiir at |iresent is tile wierdest thing outside ii hook of advanced algebraic calculations, and represents llie adeptness with which the State picks the pockets of llie people. A year or two ago assertions were made that the way of the colonist was to be made smoother than a billiard table liy the reduction of taxation. It is supposed that the reductions then made (or which were threatened) referred to tobacco and cheap calico. This was tin. "five breakfast table" so much political capital was ma.de of. It even did not lwve the ell'ect of reducing i iie prices of eit her unessential commodity. The Covernmeiit makes a concession to the people by making a reduction in postage, but as the ordinary person does not desire lo send four-ounce letters for a pennv. What ell'cci Mich a concession lias on the breakfast table is hard to understand. The cost of living can be inalcriailv reduced other than and besides through the Customs. A simple plan would lie to further reduce railwav freight; kill the trusts that Walton to a more or less extent ,„, the people; cheapen (be land a- well as to limit the area. The increased cost of living qucstion is a very serious one. and is getting more acute every week, and evcrvthiiiL' that can be done to Wring down the price of the necessaries of life should be done without delay.

The directors ~f (1„. Taranaki Petroleum Company, the parent company of the dill'crcnt oil companies at work in the province, arc to We commended for departing from the secretive policy (inieganl to giving information lo the public respecjing the op-ratioiis at (We bores) they have followed since the arrival of the company', Canadian expert. Since the hitter's arrival, no news of what is being done on the held has been vouchsafe,! to t;,. I'r.-., the mouthpiece of the public; and. a, a result, not a little apprehension has Ween occasioned and felt. Secrecy breeds suspicion, and suspicion distrust and once lei the feeling of distrust gain ground amongst the investing public about any speculative concern -gold mine, dredge claim, or oil well -and it is a bad look-out for the future of the same concern, as public conlidencc once alfcetcd or shattered is very diHiciill lo icfiore. no mailer what the nature of any new circumstances arising. Publicity, judiciously excrcis 'd. -hoiild hurl no public or prhate undertaking; as a matter of fact, i! should be welcomed and not pivveiiled. And in the present stale of the oil development in this part of the countrv. it is high.y desirable that any method savouring of suspicion or giving rise lo suspicion -hoiild hi' avoided. We can well all'ord !» be perfectly frank and open over the whole thing.' It is a duly we owe to those people from all paris of the colony who ha\e invested money in the industry, and a duty we. in truth, owe lo ourselves. So long as we ail in this manner, so long niay-wr expect lo retain the confidence of the public, local and outside. The action of the directors of the company mentioned in reverting to their former policy of furnishing weekly reports of their operations to (he I'ubli- and generally taking the public into their conlidencc is therefore a wise and commendable one, and we hope they will not We influenced Wv any expert (bey might engage to fall back upon the other methods.