WELLINGTON ECHOES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 363, 14 April 1910, Page 7

WELLINGTON ECHOES.

,' (From our Special Correspondent). April 11th, 1910. The political event of the week is the agitation for the Northern Railway League. The idea has taken on in Auckland., because Auckland is the part of Xe\v Zealand marked, quoted and signed by experience as the special home of logrolling. The parents of this political vice are parochialism ami meanness. It may, therefore, be easily seen •why the idea of the Northern League has not caught on to the same extent anywhere efse. The sole exception is Hastings, where the idea originated, •but then Hastings is young, inexperienced and likely to fall into parochialism. * » • It cannot, of course, be denied that the policy of the Railway League very much quickened the making of the Northern Grand Trunk. It was an occasion special, inasmuch as some support was wanted for the expedient of favoring the project of one district, rather than keeping to the old stereotype of an equal distribution to all, which advances none in particular. Besides, the justification of the League policy on that occasion was more apparent than real. The real -causes of hindrance were .the sadness of the roads and the want of adequate means of grappling with the difficulties of traction. Un the whole, the completion of the Northern Trunk reflects credit on the engineerinn- of the Dominion. There was a- prejudice in the South that the line would never pr.y for the axle-grease, but that 'has been proved false by a very long way. . * * * The chief 'objections to a League are ] that the policy leads to log-rolling, and j thus converts Parliament into a board I of works to be influenced by nothing so i powerfully as by sordid motives, and | hasty conclusions bv outside people. I {The latter sort of mischief has been j lately much in evidence, through the cpi- ! sode of government bv deputation markj ed by the struggle of the railway tanljs. j Another objection is constitutional; it : is that the only condition on which representative government can be success--1 ful is confidence. Confidence must be complete or not at all. If a Government is to be trusted in anything, it must be trusted in the matter of railway policy; if it is not to be trusted in railway policy, it is not to be trusted in anything, and a Government not to be trusted in anything ought not to be endured at ,any price. ' # * #

! That the railways have done well for j the rear which ended on March 31st last is a good piece of news. We would rather have heard this in the Dominion ■where the news belongs than from Sydney, where the Railway Minister took it to make a good impression. Sydney is j the centre of tilie particular railway I management with which our own has been I compared for the worse. In that conni try the profit is declared after payment of interest on the cost of construction, here it is declared only after part h*i? been paid. (Ir.e one side it has | been held that this is a proof of mismanagement: on the other, the theory | is that it only proves that here the deliberate policy is not to allow the lines to return more than a portion of the cost of construction. This conflict is, or ought to be, now over, because the three per cent, limit of profit is now definitely abandoned. We need not agree 'to differ on that point, because the point has disappeared. * * * The question, then, is toned down to this: What is the nett profit on each system after paying the interest? Mr. Millar has not thrown light on that question, for the simple reason that the figures for the year were not worked out at the time of his statement in Sydney. He could only give the revenue accrued during the last financial year, and it is very satisfactory to know that he was able to declare its amount as better by £250,000 than his estimate. This, in spite of the increase of the long-distance fares, and the rigid cutting down of the services (or more likely in consequence of the cutting down of what are thus strikingly proved to have been useless services). The management has boon justified so far by results. It remains to see the expenditure and the nett profit after deducting the interest. The figures have been analysed for twelve of the thirteen four- | weekly periods of the railway year, with the result, that the northern lines have in- that time time returned 3.6 per cent, on the cost of construction, whil* the southern have not returned more than 3.06 per cent. In the twelve four■weekly periods the first has returned a profit' of £IO,OOO over and .above the interest, and in the south has fallen short by £82,000..' We" mar all say. "Bravo, the South!" But that is not the same thing as declaring the case proved for the formation of a railway league to prospect, the north against the south. It is, however, a strong fact in the determination of the amount to be snent next year, on railways throughout i the Dominion. Tt. is .now proved that ' the railways, of the north pay better ', than the railways of the south. Therefore, there is a strolls' case for mal-dmr more new lines in. the north than in the south; or for establishing some equivalent. As the northern members are in a majority, what need for a league to look after the.rail way vote? * . *. * ' The other announcement made by Mr. j Millar in the New South Wales capital I goes far in the direction of my remarks of last week on the present state of the question of compulsory arbitration in the Dominion. It. goes farther, indeed, for it announces the definite abandonment of the compulsory principle. The friends of the old Act are somewhat indignant, insisting that at most the new"system of 1008 has proved nothing more than a restoration of the original proportions assigned to conciliation in ' the arbitrating scheme of Mr. Reeves'. They aver that conciliation was meant to be the backbone of the first Measure, which kept compulsory arbitration in the background, much as a careful, canny nurse keeps the "bogey-man" in the background in a judicious state of nebulosity. Indeed, the speeches of the •advocate of the measure in Parliament seem to say, "Don't be afraid; the Arbitration Court is only a make-believe. The threat of appeal to it will make everyone toe the mark. The Court will never trouble you at all . Conciliation will conciliate because of the existence of the Court. That is all." But, mark you, the Court must be real, because there must be no transparency. Now, everyone knows that the conciliation was'found not to conciliate, for the simple reason that the labor representatives on the Conciliation Board were determined that it should not conciliate, and on account of the use they made of it conciliation was eliminated from the settlement of all disputes, and the Court passed from "bogey-man" to I .startling reality. Labor talked freely | of "King Stork," and protested accord-

ing'.y. Result: a congested Court and universal discontent. c # * The session of 100S began with a hopeless prospect. Every one hated the Court, except those who condemned .its authority; the definition of the strike proper had made confusion worse eonfounded; strikes had obtained alarming frequency; it was a most acute crisis, and most people thought the arbitration system dead as a door-nail. The change, however, that was determined on, had the benefit of a good appear- j ance. It abolished the Conciliation Board and gave conciliation a new life in a different form; confining the machinery to each case, handing over the business oF conciliation to the panics interested, making expert meet expert, under such fair auspices, it was hoped, that the inevitable percentage of stupidity and ill-will would be reduced to a minimum. The result has been cessation of congestion to such an extent that the Judge of the Arbitration Court can'spend much of his time in the Supreme Court, as seventy-eight per cent, of the cases are kept out of his Court. On the whole, Mr. Millar seems right to say that nothing conciliates like conciliation. But the friends of the old Act remind him that the compulsory principle is behind all the time. * * * It really comes to this between both sides, that we are all doing the best we ran under the circumstances with a system of mutual accommodation, far more rational than the original scheme, which undoubtedly fizzled out, after dazzling many capable visitors to these shorts out of their wits. There is still the ;over-riding necessity for "give and take" on both sides of all disputes, and there must be reason always. For example, if Labor insists ever again on such an outburst as that which some two years lago nearly convulsed Canterbury into industrial chaos, there ■would be an end of all hope of successful arbitration; otherwise conciliation. Full prevention of such disturbances will take time, probably, for experience is required before legislation can be framed. But going on as we-have begun, and in the spirit of common sense, we have lately imported into the business, it will not'be surprising if we manage to make conciliation conciliate always, or nearly always. The great point gained during the years that have elapsed since the carrying of the first measure is that both .sides now discuss in Parliament the methods of improvement, agreeing to differ about the merits of political claimants of kudos. * * » The announcement of the new Governor lias not set the harbor on fire. A gentlemanly, quiet, middle-aged baronet, who has more names than services in his record, and has done good work in the field as in Parliament, such a one is likely to do well. Asa recent convert to the Liberal side, by reason of the—to him—eccentricities of Conservative friends, he naturally has to be honored, and it is moreover convenient for hiin to be out of the way for a time. Therefore, the splendid exile of •'God's Own Country" seems just the thing for o-him, and for the Government that appointed him. Some vague authority once said of him that he would, if he lived long enough, make his mark on the front benches in 'the Commons. If he is to that ever, the term of Governorship he is about to serve will teach 'him something he requires. A Conservative who has become Liberal because of his free-trade procilivities is not likely to,be ever, a Libera] strong enough for uncompromising tactics, until he acquires some knowledge of the practical work of the main points of the Liberal programme, which are agreed to by both sides of the House in the Bominion. Such a man, if he is' clever —and 'this man is said to be very intelligent—is likely to take back to the Old World s*ome good eye-openers in the matter of experience of what may be done by business capacity, untrammelled by thought of political separation of ideas. Even should the inevitable reaction come one day and put the Masseyite party into power, the lesson.to one of this calibre will be the same. * » * In one respect the new Governor is the antithesis of the old. Lord Plunket has a family big enough to entitle his lady to speak with authority to the mothers of the Dominion. Sir John 'Diekson-Poynder has none. One of the wags remarked, on hearing of the circumstances, that the Colonial Office must have advertised for "a married couple without encumbrance"; to which somebody said, ''You are thinking of the New South Wales controversy." To which reply in turn came that in the mind of the Colonial Office probably the two countries are identical. i

Talking of Lord Plunket, one can only say that if the new Governor is to be like the old, then he will grow in popularity to the last day of his term. That is being proved by Lord Plunket who is goino; round the country just now, and by those terse, happy speeches of his, reaping a harvest of applause and goodwill not often attained by Governors. The flag flying half-mast from the tower of Parliament House has reminded the public during the week of the death of the Hon. F. Trask, of Nelson. There is general sympathy, for Mr. Trask was a kindly, genial soul, straightforward and frank, who did his duty without ostentation, and was much liked for his many good qualities and unfailing thoughtfulness. ' * • • There is but one subject of interest. Tt is not the races; it is not the approaching meeting of the no-license interest. Neither is it the looming Municipal Conference. It is Powelka. Many thing's have happened round about this notorious person, as the papers have chronicled. But the worst thing that las yet occurred is that some "faddy creature" has begun to raise the question of the man's sanity with a decided statement to the effect that he is insane. Instinct bis already revealed to this faddist that Powelka may stand in shadow of the sallows for the mnrtler of Constable MacGuire and his faddiness impels him to set up. beforehand. *.he nlea of extenuation. In the ease t>f serious crimes two things are noticeable—one is the ease with which the faddist pronounces a criminal insane. 3nd the other is the difficulty of those who know nothing- about the subject, the experts, to decide as to his sanity. # * # The Committee of National Defence has met: has accented the principle once more of compulsory service; has ordered the Government to abide by Lord Kitchener's report without any "shinanakins" and has answered for the patriotism of the Dominion, as ready to pile up behind this policy. Tf 'the meetings of this important body were equal in magnitude to the greatness of its cause, the future would be without care to the earnest military student. But as the committee has never managed io get together more than a hundred persons at a time in a public hall, one can only hone that there are other factors favorable to the adoption of the Kitchener report in its entirety.