The Daily News. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1912. MR. ALLEN'S MISSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 144, 5 November 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1912. MR. ALLEN'S MISSION.

There was a time when Mr. James Allan, sitting in- the dark shades of Opposition as the recognised financial expert of the party who were out, was regarded as the most gloomy pessimist in Parlia■M»t. He sustained the reputation only too admirably, for, expert as he admit-, tedly is in the analysis of figures and the dissection of ways and means, he so conjured with them as to indicate invariably that the country was rapidly galloping to Mr. Mantilini's "demnition bow-wows." But with an accession to office "a change came o'er his brow," and he is now posing as one of the chcrriest and most optimistic of public financiers, and he anticipates no difficulty whatever in placing the requisite loan of £1,175,000 authorised by the House, during his early visit to London. We do not think that his optimism is misplaced, and it is extremely likely that he will be thoroughly successful in his mission. But right now we should like to point out that Mr. Allen will go Home with one advantage that was denied to his predecessors. He will not leave behind him an Opposition persistently decrying the country's credit for [ party purposes—a practice in which he himself has played a strong part in times not very remote. Instead, he will have the backing of a House which is confident in the stability of the country's credit, and which is only too glad to find the Minister of Finance posing as a reformed character in this respect. There is an old rhyme which records:

"When the devil was ill, the devil a monk would be; When the devil was well, the,devil a •monk was he."

And Mr. Allen, of course, may be accused of suiting his professions to his political prospects. But we are not so much concerned with his immediate personality, nor disposed to carp at his sudden change of attitude, so long as we can believe that his new point of view is the right one. We have never had any appreciation for his past pessimism, but we have every sympathy with his present optimism. "Although it rained but yesterday," we must admit to a liking for his cheerful modern story of "How beautifully blue the sky, the glass is rising very high." In particular, what wo do approve of is that the Cabinet should have decided to send Mr. Allen *to the Old Country fur the purpose of personally superintending the flotation of the new loan, and for getting into immediate touch with the money market in his official capacity. We do not expect him to teach much to financiers at Home, but he can undoubtedly learn much that will be of use to him in Jiis official capacity by association with the magnates of the n-.onpy market. He wi! l . of course., not

"cv.it so much iee : '' it) this comiHM ion us Sir Joseph Ward was wont to do, for he has not the same preliminary equipment as the member for Awarua pos-

sessed when he occupied a similar position. But, referring to the matter quite impersonally, wo have every belief in the wisdom of our public men in high positions keeping in intimate personal touch with the statesmen of the Old World, and the comparatively trifling cost of Mr. Allen's journey Home should be well repaid to the country by virtue of his added experience. Nor will his visit be solely devoted to "putting our finances upon a more secure basis." He will have the opportunity, which his well-known enthusiasm is sure to provoke him to seize, of making himself au fait with the latest developments regarding the Committee of Imperial Defence, and of studying the details regarding the Pacific trade routes. These are matters which are best learnt at first hand, and so far as the principle is concerned we are prepared to advocate the sending Home of any and every Cabinet Minister who can spare the time during, the recess at the country's ex-

pense.