The Daily News. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1912. OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 195, 15 February 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1912. OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

It is as difficult to. tell what is going to happen to-day and subsequently in the House of Representatives as to lay definitely under which thimble the pea resides. The amount of phophecy that has been wasted on the subject during, the last few weeks is appalling.. The Government is shorthanded on account of the absence of two members, and the position of the alleged independents and members who do not know yet to whom they belong embarrasses the situation. It is at least possible that a new element in the House will carefully keep its allegiance secret until it sees which way the political cat is going to jump, for there are to be portfolios for somebody, and it will not do for any sturdy democrat to give his hand away until he is quite sure whether Sir Joseph Ward or Mr. Massey is to serve them out. The present probability is that Mr. )fc»sey's backing will enable him to carry a vote of no confidence in the present Government by a trifling majority, and that he will be able to give the country a cabinet. If this happens, Mr. Massey's troubles will begin, and he must be extremely careful in order to avoid political quicksands and the constant deaths and births of new governments. We incline to the belief, without at all affecting the role of prophet, that there is unlikely to be any political stability In New Zealand for some time. The present team is a hard one to drive, whoever holds the reins, and the independent element—it is quite impossible in party politics that real independence can exist —may accept service under the general who has the most favors to bestow. It has been speculated that there are five votes in the balance, and it is charitable to presume that these five members, uninitiated as they are, are awaiting the rising of the curtain in order to an idea ae to the worthiness of the party leaders. It is also suggested that the Speech from the Throne will outline a Radical programme, the suggestion being that Sir Joseph Ward has prepared a speech for the Governor to deliver

that will capture the Labor vote, comfort the mortar less independents, and keep the old chariot moving as it has m'oved for twenty odd years.', The suggestion is probably . without foundation. At the moment the Governor is the umpire between-twt) parties and the people. He is perhaps the keenest politician is New Zealand, and emphatically the best trained. is in the position that he knows no .better than the man in the street who fs going to be Premier. It is a unifjjuft position, and to-day's and to-morrow's proceedings will be invested with the greatest interest.

AWAKE, NEW PLYMOUTH! It is gratifying to note that the New Plymouth Borough Council have decided to attend to several matters urged upon them in these' columns, although why it should lj|p, necessary for newspapers to assist borough' councils to' think is difficult to determine. The borough engineer, because of the complaints voiced by this paper, waS -jnstructed to examine the water Su|(piy, i: and did so thoroughly. The complaints were that the water sometimes and they"iiad'the excellent effect of setting the Council to disprove the allegation. It is satisfactory to know after thorough (examination and analysis that nothing more dangerous than iron rust ,has been found. The vegetable taste noticeable at times is 'said to be unavoidable.- Those citizens who' foresee that New Plymouth must become one of the .great centres of populatipn in' New Zealand will be glad- to know that after' repeated appeals in these columns the Council has decided to place upon the estimates a sum for ■ the numbering of the dwellings in the borough area. When this very necessary matter has been attended to, visitors to the town will find visiting much easier, and the appearand'6l modernity in consonance with other towns will make citizens feel that they do not belong to the silurian period. It has been pointed out on many occasions that activity, has been shown ill some small matters of inspection and that citizens have been subject to most irritating and humiliating espionage, while matters of greater importance have been quite neglected. It is good to njote, therefore, that there is a disposition towards a more effective inspection of the surroundings of dwellings. Any inspection that is made merely, as the result of complaints is not effective inspection. 'No system is effective thatdoes not include periodical visits to every person's property, wJiether it is supposed to be clean or otherwise. Iniborinection with this rilatter the borough must sooner or later collect and destroy household refuse as part of its duty and not only at the invitation of citizens. The recently-passed by-law of the. Wellington Citfv Council in respect to ,the rigorous conduct of butchers' shops, if passed here, would be of advantage to the people. Another matter that is to be seen to, because of ventilation through the, press, is the completion of the entrance to Marsland Hill. The famous, Powderham street culvert is carrying much vehicle and passenger traffic. The sidewalk -is not safe for the latter. At one end there is a large hole, which is a distinct menace to the pedestri&ii. The fence, is sagging woefully and will, if it is ndt seen to, probably collapse in places in the near future. It is, of course, for the Council to decide whether this. matter worth their attention, or ; jwhether it is necessary for a citizen •to ;Jj£ea|c a limb in order to call attention to the state' of the fence and footpath. ■ ' -— *

' QtS THE FUTURE. Somebody told local, citizens that No. 5 bore was exuding 36,'baf nil?, of oil per day. H«! got the same reply in seTeral places, "lt> last!''' There is no living ,persoj(iv«rho can say so with perfect justice pr,. reason, and pockets that peter out in .a short period are almost unknown oil world, especially when the supply (is forced to the surface by natural gas>,. If with the old-fashioned means nowjbeing used to win oil, powerful flows '"can be tapped 4t shallow depths, ; :£he/. evidence goes to show that with powerful modern means enormous .bodies, pf iflil mast be tapped. |lt is a littjle upfpXtijnate that so many people do what the future has in store for' Tairanaki or that they do not believe'.that. Nature is already pumping very largo quantities of the precious substance t after comparatively trifling human man he must be told that such and such' a, definite operation will produce sucli and, such a definite result, mea'Sovereigns. Here, then, is v a ' definite statement, provable to the most pessimistic. An owner of a section like that on which No. 5 bore is situated, ftt the present rate, of llqw will receive £7 16s per week in royalties, if the royalty is calculated on the basis of a low price for the ail—4d per gallon. The possibilities are that such a bore may give a greater flow., than at present, when the known lower'seams are tapped, and that the price of oil . may be higher, in which case his five per cent, royalty would be even a' more precious possession than it now is. In order to get some idea of the possibilities of oil production along the known oil belt, between Moturoa and the east country, you have to put the owner of eyery section on which oil may be found'und worked in the place of the man who bwns the land on which this latest successful bore is sunk. That is only the landowner's point of view. The multiplication of bores means corresponding multiplication of money to all classes in the oil-bearing region—and outaid# it. It is geologically provable that where a bore is sunk on an oil belt and oil is obtained that other bores sunk on the same belt may be equally productive. There is almost no limit to the number of bores that may be sunk, and of course no possible calculation can be made as to the wealth to be derived from the earth. The exceeding importance of the wonderful strike in No. 5 is, we are afraid, riot fully appreciated. It is the most important oil news ever given to the Taraniki people, and it simply means that to proeeed with vigor is to multiply the success. The future of Taranaki is in the hands of those who, inspired by the success at Moturoa, keep on Binking bores. The present moment is not one for pessimism, and the results Recently obtained should fill people with splendid hope and courage,