The Daily News. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8. OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 209, 8 October 1909, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8. OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

The liiil of fare provided fur consider:! ■ ', lion diiriii}; lli,. session ui' I'lirliiuiu'iil > which opened yesterday leaves lilllc ti ' be ilosiri'd in tlie way uf sull'icicncy, however indigestible portions of it may [ prove to be. 'The review of events dm- < ing the recess merely chmnielcs lli.it with which almost everyone is already fully cimversunt, anil need call fur little criticism. The fact that there has lie.- i ; a falling-oil' in Customs' revenue need ueeasion no apprehension; on the euntrary, it serves to show that the import trade of the dominion has, in view of the late iinaneial stringency been cur. ducted with a maximum of caution—a commercial trait that it is hoped has communicated itself to the rest of the community. That the mercantile people promptly recognised the necessity fvr less lavish importing lias been, with the increase in volume and value of our ;x----ported products', the reason fur tic speedy readjustment of the dominion's trading debit 'balance, and is a glowing tribute to the country's magnificent ecuperative powers. I'nder the ciicu ,i----stanees, even had the fall in Customs duties been great enough to embarrass the Minister of Finance, there wonhl have been no en use fur regret. That the drop will soon be recovered, di'spiu* the large remissions is' certain, hut it is to U- Imped that the lesson which fie domiiiii-M has recently shown has ben taki n to heart, will be of a permanent and not merely a, temporary character. Anion,: l '.in- legislation foreshadow.? 1 for the session in the Governor's speec i prominence, was 'naturally given to I'.ia epoch-marking Defence Conference. That Parliament will endorse the Premier's naval defence policy and will endorse the resolutions of the Conference so funs they all'ect New Kcaiiind, leaves roo :i for no doubt, if the almost unanimous feeling of the people of the dominion has been correctly gauged by their, representatives. There is a consensus uf opinion that .Sir Joseph Ward's insistence that New Zealand should decline to join with Australia in building and maintaining a local navy is m ii« i-:-y best interest of the dominion, equally | as was the late Mr. Scddon's stand ' against this country joining the Federa- | lion of Australia. The whole qnestim I of defence will occupy n very prniin- ' nent place in Parliament's deliberations during the .session, and Ihe Government's new Defence Mill dealing with s the internal defence uf the dominion will lie awaited not without eagerness. Tic Prime Minister had previously indicated j - the Government's intentions with regard to facilitating local bodies in readily securing cheap money, and the iiecess'arv legislation to extend the fun.--tiuns uf the Advances to Settlers IK partment as a big financial institution is not likely to be opposed. It is woriliv of note «t this juncture that the Government was able dining the year o satisfy the abnormal demands made n its colt'crs. It is, all the more p : cn.-'in« in view of the prominence that w-i----given in some quarters lo the aliened breakdown of the system. Important also are the Government's proposals with regard to improving the mail services and although the iuiprrveine .t that is necessary will probably involve the duiuinion in a much greater anuu-'l outlay by way uf subsidy, the urgency uf combating the dominion's comparative isolation justifies the purchase of quicker transport'. If for a reasoiiauie hkiiu-:*-ment the Government is able to indue* Australian mail boats to make New Kcnlnnd their destination, a very great advance will have been made, and in conjunction with the acceleration of the A'nncouvcr and San Francisco servicer the. dominion's passenger and mail svvices would be much more esteemed. After many years a definite step forward is promised by the Government with respect to Native lands'and Native affairs generally, and an end should shortly lie put to the hopelessly involv d tangle that has to be unravelled before . Native land transactions can lie completed. The determination of the Government to place Native lands on the same fooling as Europeans' with regard to taxation represents a great forwarl step, and one that will do more to accelerate the settlement uf the Maoris' lands and the transformation of the Maori into a cultivator of bin' soil than all the ephemera! teaching of the theoretical reformers. Regarding the general land settlement policy of the Gover.iinent, the Special Settlement Finance Hill—under the provisions of which the State will assist groups of settlers t.> purchase the freehold of suitable areasis to be reintroduced, and additional legislation is promised to more ed'ectiv*ly prevent land aggregation—an undos'rable condition of things that is reported to lie s'till taking place, particular.)* with regard to Native lands in th : s Island. The National Annuities Rill, which has been before the country fothe past two years, is, with the proposed legislation to ensure a pure milk supply, among the most important of the social legislative proposals. Prison reform, Harbor; Hospital and Charitable Ail, and Shipping and Seam -a'- .' c' Amendments', ami a multitude of minor anien-1-ing Rills, many of which have lieen un-der-public review for some time, give promise of providing a ses-!..*, of ha *d I work, if not of party lighting.

ON FIRST AND FOUKTH PrfGFS Commercial. District News. Shipping News. Farm and Dairy. Opening of Parliament. Waitara Borough Conneil. '"Love, Courtahip and Marriage."