The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16. THE POLITICAL CRISIS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 186, 16 November 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16. THE POLITICAL CRISIS.

Relatively "an appeal to the country" in Britain is, from a political standpoint, infinitely more important than any similar movement in any country on earth. The result of such an appeal may alter the trend of public thought, directing the internal policy of Britain and of the Empire. The effect of any political crisis "at Home" is not only immediate and local, but general and international. The fact that John Bull is the world's moneylender, -the earth's greatest trader, the guardian of the liberties of nations, and the sheet anchor of international diplomatic relations, is the reason why any political disturbance turns the eyes of the world to Westminster when the people of Britain are asked to decide a given point. When King Edward died the political parties in Britain sheathed their swords in the presence of an Imperial catastrophe that affected all parties, and, with infinite good taste, Unionist and Liberal decided that no mere party squabbles or sectional quarrels should disturb the national grief. Bitterness died down, and the great strife between people and peers, class and mass, labour and privilege, birth and right, were set aside, but not forgotten. King Edward died, apparently the friend of the people and ostensibly the enemy of privilege. A few weeks prior to his death he was roundly accused of bias, that is to say. of being dominated by the Liberal Party. His death, politically, was a gain to Unionism—his advisers being Liberals. Unionism represents class interest, hereditary privilege, and domination by the wealthy. Liberalism is the weapon with which this Democracy is fought. How Mr. Lloyd-George used this weapon by means of his 1909 Budget is old history, and how the new taxes on land values, liquor licenses, and death duties, hit vested interests is historical. Sufficient that the results justified the means; that the increased taxation made some hereditary limpets let go; that there is now a brighter outlook for agriculture in the Old Land; and tliairt poverty is -being fought with a betteqj chance of success than for ten decades. To the hereditary landholder, and the privileged person generally, the Chancellor's Budget was a staggering blow. It was not to be 1 believed that a dominating class should accept its loss of power and loss of wealth without a struggle, and the House of Lords, privileged to undo the work of the people for so long, exercised all the privileges retained by it. Here is an illustration. A patriot of the Lower House in New Zealand insists that the Legislative Council is an unnecessary and expensive luxury. He gains the cordial support of his colleagues because they are not Legislative Councillors. A Bill passes for the abolition of the Upper Chamber, and in due time the Upper Chamber is asked to commit suicide. It refuses to do so. The House of Lords, which is asked to forego the greatest privilege Britain gives, also refuses to commit suicide. And so, as far as one is allowed to judge from observing cabled repoYts the British Government will go to the country on the veto question. The Government will appeal to the people in order to discover whether it is just for the peers to emasculate any measures the people's representatives have evolved for the betterment of Britain. A curious phase of this land of political warfare is shown in the alleged desire of a Liberal Government for the creation of new peers. The cheapening of peers is apparently a very good political dodge, but it is not at all certain that the wholesale creation of new titles would give the Liberal party what it wants —freedom from domination by the. House of Lords. New Liberal peers are not necessarily looking for the extermination of their own privileges or those of the crusted aristocrats whom they annoy by their presence in the House of Lords. It is not at all clear that the bulk of the people of Britain as yet desire that the hereditary peers should be robbed of their ancient privileges, and there is therefore a pronounced chance of great Unionist successes, if not of ultimate political domination. The vagueness and obvious partiality of all cable news on the present important crisis is most unsatisfactory material on which to base opinions or prophecies. It is, for instance, entirely in doubt what Lord Bosebery's scheme of "reform" by the House of Lords consists of. It is reasonable that a revising chamber might be a most valuable institution if it did not exist entirely for the protection of its own -privileges. That any chamber should be permitted to revise or veto the measures of the people's direct representatives because of the accident of birth is 1 apparently a rank absurdity. Millions of British people will see no absurdity in it at all, for the reason that they have hitherto accepted the domination of the territorial peers without question. The creation of Liberal peers might make the House of Lords less popular, for there is no doubt whatever that Britons (including those bevoml the seas) "dearly love a lord," and would rather have the hereditary article than the exalted brewer or the successful publisher. The threatened election will in all probability be the most interesting political struggle of many decades, especially as it will come with the revulsion of feelings after the death of King Edward, and at a time when there is intense bitterness in the ranks of the workers. We believe that the elections will depend not so much on the domination of the Government by the Irish party, the strength of the Unionists or the power of hereditary privilege, but upon the single man of either party, who by his geniusjs_^ajjl^^^^^^^c

elections. The present position calls for the greatest man in Britain to handle it, and the occasion may produce the man.

THE MAYOR'S LOAN PROPOSALS. At the Borough Council meeting on Monday night the Mayor brought down his scheme to borrow £3OOO by"way of overdraft for street formation and metalling in some of the by-streets of the borough, and, after some trenchant criticism, the proposal was referred to the V\ orks Committee for further consideration. In his advocacy of the proposal, his Worship expressed the opinion that it was in the interests of the ratepayers to have the work done at once, even though it meant increasing the indebtedness of the borough by another £3OOO, representing an annual interest payment of £l5O, which he regarded as a trifling sum when spread over the borough. He believed the additional rate revenue would more than compensate the Council for the expenditure, and he went on to say that it was the absence of metal in such streets as were proposed to be formed and metalled that was driving people from the town to the suburbs. "Borrowing by way of overdraft does not appeal to us. It is expensive and unsatisfactory. If the work is imperative —and we think it is not—it would be much better to go straight to the ratepayers for authority to raise the money* by way of loan. Apart from these and other objections to the proposal, the loading of the overdraft at the present time might seriously embarrass the Council. The limit of the overdraft is at present fixed at £IO,OOO. The Finance Committee reported on Monday night that the overdraft stood at £4831. Supposing that 1 it were decided to raise the money as suggested and the £3OOO were added, this would make the overdraft £7831. Supposing, again, that the Council exceeded its es-

timated expenditure by £2OO0 —.a not unlikely contingency, judging by the present trend of .things —there would be no margin of safety left. We do not doubt that the work is necessary. We dare say that if all the necessary work were to be put in hand forthwith the cost would be more like £IO,OOO than £3OOO. But the point arises, is it wise to go further into debt on account of unproductive work? Is it not safer and better in every way to go slowly and spend on these works just what can be spared from time to time? We think it is. Tne Mayor instanced the amount of new work which the Council had been enabled to do out of ordinary revenue m the past two and a-half years, totalling £3625. The figures reveal a healthy condition of things indeed; and one would naturally suppose that if these works could be done in two and a-half years there would be little difficulty in completing the work proposed not out of overdraft but out of surplus revenue. But if the position is examined a little it will at once be seen that this natural deduction would be quite astray, and the reason for obtaining the money in some other way becomes apparent. At J;he beginning of the period mentioned by fthe Mayor there was lying to the credit jfff the District Fund Account (exclusive of loan balances) a credit balance of £2282. Two> years after, viz., the Ist April, 1910, this had been absorbed, and instead there was a debit balance of £l6B. During these tw<s years the borough used the sum of £ 1567, representing the electric lighting funds. Thus we have a total of £4017. It was stated at the Council meeting that the overdraft at the end of the present year would be over £IOOO. Supposing that it stands at aiiOOO more than on the Ist April, 1910, making £ll6B (our impression i.s that it will be nearer £2OOO than £1168), we reach a total of £5017. In three years, therefore, the borough will have gone back to the extent of £5017, or at the rate of £1672 a year, or £33 a week. In other words, if the money had not been forthcoming from the sources that it has, the ratepayers would have had to pay not a 3s Id in the £ rate, but a 3s B<l in the £ rate. But, it will be said, we have not taken into consideration the special works done out of ordinary revenue. The list mentioned by the Mayor gives a total of £3625. A further sum could properly be included, viz., £4BO spent on the abattoirs, giving | a total of £4125. Funds were none too flush in the years 1907 and 1908. on account of the £6OOO having to be tem-1 porarily found out of ordinary revenue; for the electric lighting and waterworks pending the passing of the validating Act, but notwithstanding, £750 was spent on special work in the former year and £722 in the latter. Apart from this, the revenue has grown considerably. In the year ending 31st March, 1908, the revenue (excluding the separate accounts) was £14,238; whilst last year it had grown to £17,276. The expenditure in 1908 was £13,101. Last year it was £l/,658. If the borough had received adequate value for the heavy increase in the cost of administering it's affairs, the position would not be particularly serious, but we cannot feel that it has. We doubt if any unbiassed and competent observer would affirm that the streets, for instance, are in a better condition than they were, say, three or four years ago. The cause? The system, or want of system, that exists. Until it is changed, the affairs of the borough will, we are afraid, continue to drift and the huge waste we have alluded to go on. The town has a heavy debt, but°three parts of it is reproductive, and the borough's soundness cannot be disputed, still, the strongest borough in the Dominion cannot go on drifting to the extent that we are without imperilling its position. It is time we cried a halt°and put our a flairs on a sounder footing. As pi'ing up the overdraft in the way proposed, we do not think the councillors will be a. party to it,, but, on the contrary, will give the proposal the quietus it deserves.

GROWING CANADA. In four months there lnve entered into Canada 155.548 people, and as Canada is as large as Europe the Dominion can absorb them readily, and to her own great and lasting advantage. Despite the fact that Canada is a "Frozen Hell" and Australia and New Zealand are respectively "The Working Man's Paradise, and "God's Own Country," the gain in population in either country is absurdly small. The gain in New Zealand each year is remarkably small, and the majority of the gain is made up not by births but by arrivals. Thus there was during the same period dealt with in the Ottawa cablegram an increase by arrivals in New Zealand ot 7,149. There departed 6,965 persons, so that the gain was trilling. Apart front the fact that the Canadian Government concentrates on attracting people, New Zealand and Australia are both more desirable lands than Canada. Canada, however, is but a few days' voyage from the great centres of population, and shipping companies vie with each other m transplanting people at the lowest possible price. Of course, a large number of immigrants do not remain in Canada, but the Canadian Department oi Immigration asserts that the increase in population during the past five years from overseas has been at the rate of 500,000 a. year. Canada is fast becoming a powerful commercial rival of the United States, and it is notable that a fair proportion of its citizens tire re* cruited from the States. The rush for Canada may be madness, or it may be sanity, but

.. land will be the greatest friend either country has. There can be no violent increase in population in either Australia or New Zealand until all the governments concerned concentrate on the adequate settling of the land in preference to holding political dispositions for the retention of their bi'.lets.