WELLINGTON ECHOES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 350, 30 March 1910, Page 7

WELLINGTON ECHOES.

March 20th, 1010. The time-table of tiie northern railway system is 110 longer the "ghost unlaid" of the political <world. I refer to the table known as "new." We have almost forgotten the oid table. Tile only thing that we remember about it is that it was once the object of unanimous denunciation by deputations, i remember, too, that the Minister of 'Railways was caught napping. lie thought that all this unanimity of city and baekblock, of farmer and squire, mechanic and farm laborer, dancing over the graves of their political opinions, must be a sign of truth. At all events he must have considered that if he gave everyone what he wanted everyone would be satisfied. "The service might go to the devil." I can imagine him ruminating, but anyhow it would be safe to risk it. . * * * * Well, he "risked it," and the service did go to the devil, and, what is more, everyone who had got what he wanted said it was the Minister's fault. Once more everyone resolved himself into de-

putations, all dancing again on the graves., of their political opinions, all eager for the Minister's blood or a new tariff. Such is government by deputation! Mr! Millar probably thinks now as lie wanders over the salt sea foam, to Australia hound, that we might with advantage have less of it. His officers seem to have rescued him rather smartly from his dilemma. They simply went .back to the old table, with a few variations, to save face. Everyone, we are told, is satisfied in Xapier, and New' Plymouth, Wanganni and WoodviHe. Mastertor. and Palmerston. Taihape and Taumarunui —T doubt it. hut it sounds well. Anyhow, one sees at a glance that the men of thesp nlapes have got a sure day's corrtmunication with Auckland, and that they have time to answer letters before the sun cops down, on their wrath or their wants. For the rest they must he the best judges. The

moral is that railway tariffs are "kittle cattle to shoe."

* * * * j The announcement from Mastevton < that a syndicate under the Land Fin- 1 anee Act of last year is preparing to acquire an estate in the neighborhood under its provisions, reminds us that this appears to he only the second case under the .Act. So far the public does not seem to have "caught on." There' was a good deal of respect for the measure last rear in the Legislature. But the hard-headed man (irrespective of nartv considerations altogether) said freejf t-h°+ '"lie impracticable conditions would nullify the verv good intensions of the T h"y made several attempts in both .Houses to set the Act made 'Hint thev considered practically more favorable for men who mean settlement. hut thev d'd not succeed. Thev | will snv no-w that the npiblic seems to j he of their n-ay of tlvnkine-. Tt is no«;sible. the' 1 . that we ma l ' all feel iust ; - ■ fied in p.xnectino- an amending- measure i for making nraeticabl" a well-mean'- ittenW. to <rct the cotHement of the land i I hurried on by the right people. | | * * * * Another measure (Hospital and Charitable Aid) of last session is 011 its trial. The principal objection is that the ratepayers will not try it. They certainly did not take the trouble to rol up for the ballots. . Mr. Fowlds has. of course, taken an earlv opportunity of 'discussing this aspect of affairs. Tie jpould not have expected to faint, for the Aet is his chilL What he said i« very true. It was practically that, ratepayers are ratepayers all the world over, never concerned much unti] they are roused, and then look out! If the new •boards, the Minister gave the world to understand, do not get their great inj terests out of the old mess the ratepayers are =m'e to be down on them like a thousand of bricks. Besides, thev have (the fpw who did vo.te) nut in I very good hoards everywhere, and these may do everything expected of them by the Minister and even more. Let us •wait with hope!

Mr. Massey was in town during tile .week, looking the picture of health, considerably more stout than during' the session, but more robust or healthy than he was then it would ibe impossible for anyone to be. He is the same now. His friends, who are of all shades, for personally there is no more popular man, when they accost him, see things in his eye which according to its wont calmly surveys them. One man reads fierce indignation at the diatribes of the Opposition young lions plainly telling him his party is disorganised, boneless, pulpy, acephalous, .policyless. That man thinks Mr. Massey is preparing for a diet of young lions. Another sees in his eye a readiness to spring on the Government party disorganised by varieties of ■discordant happenings the Knyvett : crusade in the north almost headed by i Mr. Poole, read to throw, hand grenades into the Government ranks; the Lease-1 hold Land League of the South headed by the Hon. Mr. Paul. who convened a meeting which assembled in some force, and retired into some cave of AduHa-m , to breathe fire and live, on statistics till j such time as the public is ready to ac-! cept them as prophets; the railway nial-1 contents and the Dreadnought destrov- ! ers. Another sees just nothing in that 1 calm eye but a strong desire to'lie let alone. But he has so .far avoided the interviewer, and in the present state of the political world it is on the cards that he is perfectly right. I

Are trains, libraries and electric car.' luxuries? The Prime Minister seemed to reward them as such. At all events he said the Lend in? Board drew the line at luxuries when they distributed £612,000 among the local bodies the other day. Xo one. of course, cares to so into the distinction so minutely, for the simple reason that there is no denvinc that the roads anil bridcres oucht to ibe first, more especially in the back country. Tt was a pretty fair.demand the local bodies made —a collective ban l of one million and a-hnlf. But as thev only <rot "£(112.000 out. it is p'-ident that the Board h?d to be verv judWous and ve.rv prim. The <rrowlin<" of the ■pointed who must w 0 elsewhere for their money and nay m'or» thnn 3'/, per cent, for it is. is is hardly necessary to say, in proportion.

There -are, it is well known, archvan<rels anion? us. Of audi is the Harbor Boar<l of Wellington. But what becomes of the archanfrel when his wine? are burnt off bv some sudden blaze of fire? Tt is a spectacle which this Board is giving us just now. This was once the" best of all possible boards: it established the mo=t convenient of ports, its management was the cheapest, the most efficient and the most popular, as u-ell us quite unrivalled. Of late years it began to launch out, and men said

it would be a crime to hold its hands, Was it not preparing to cupe with Lilt enormous development of trade proceed- ' ing by leans and bounds'.' its public lift i was lived in a halo, its business was ' j done under the bushel of the committee 1 system. Uut misfortunes arose upon its path of "lory. One of its wharves fell into the water, the cranes 011 another failed to justify the expenditure lavished upon them, the eeiiH-ut for its ■ dock refused to set. There was tribulation. On the heels of these annoyances the revenue and the expenditure refused to balance. The archangel emulated the ' poficy of Mr. Micawbor. doing nothing in the expectation that something would turn up. On the contrary, everything went down. Last week the climax came —it took the shape of an increase of £17.000 in the charges. Then we saw the archangel going about with the stumps of his burnt wings encased in the cottonwool of platitude and plastered with the oil of Micawberi«m. Of | course the wings will grow again. We • all expect that. We also expect a rigid economy nnd a businesslike pruning of its ambitious programme of works. The indications are that -we are not to be disappointed. We likewise ex.peet less hiding in committee and more business details in place of the brilliant generalities of the past. The indications are that here again there will be no disappointment. So mote it be! * * *

The .full accounts of the ceremony in ■iSt. Paul's have reached here, and they do not find a dissentient voice. Men of all shades of opinion, so far as I can ascertain, feel proud that the eminent ?er-, vices rendered by the late Mr. Seddon to. the Empire during his Premiership have been recognised bv the erection of a memorial to him in the historic temple where honor is done to so many of the illustrious dead. The speech of the Duke of Argyll was worthy of the occasion and of the merits of the men with whose services and character it dealt so sympathetically. Nevertheless, most of us are not inclined to forget, that there were in our history great men before Agamemnon. ; These, too, helped to build the Em- , pire. for they brought this Dominion to

the strength =o' well used hv Mr. Serfdom and tlipv wave its peonle the hish snirit to 'which Mr. 'Seddon so successfully appealed. Among the names o.f these that of Atkinson stands perhaps the 'highest, for its owner was great in war as well as in •peace. One of the noblest of the pioneers, hp been me one of. the greatest of nur st*te«men. and snetit himself "randly in the of his eountrv. Had if been his wvl fortune to reach the wider fWd of Empire he, too. would have borne himself in n manner that would have increased our pride in his t-ileri+=. his virtues nnd bi« hi"*'! character, Of lrrr>. too. it hp said that those who npr>o=ed him the most entertained for Ivm th» 'lisrllost respect and the der>pst affection.