GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 14, 17 June 1913, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

THE MURDERED TURKISH STATESMAX. Malimud Shefket Pasha, the murdered Turkish Minister for War in Hakki Pasha's Cabinet in January, 1011, was, at one time, freely mentioned as a possible successor to his chief. He retained office when the Cabinet fell in September, 1911, on the'outbreak of the war with .Italy, but left in August, 1912, being succeeded by Xazim Pasha, who was assassinated in January last, Shefket again becoming Grand Vizier. Said Pasha was Grand Vizier under the old Hamidian regime, and was tho first to ! hold that office under the new constitutional regime, but the Young Turks doubted his fitness for such a post in the early days of their cause, and brought about his dismissal. He has | been described as an upright and honest man, o£ pain-Islamic tendencies. Kiamil Pasha is Turkey's veteran statesman. He is. nearly S)Q. years of age. As second Grand Vizier during the first,period of the new constitutional regime in 1908, he guided the Empire through troubled waters,, but the Young Turks, believing that he had bveome the dupe of reactionaries, ordered his dismissal in February, I»©9.

LAND ABUSES. In I I

The reeent allegations of land aggregaeven if true, sink into insignificance beside, the abuses that have taken place ,)irider the Settlement Act* .Ijt is a sliAnitefui tEing that the publie money should be used in this way—really to throw open land for speculation rather tkaa for settlement. But it must be remembered that it has all been done under the skelter of legislation passed by Governments who pretended to care only for the landless. These incidents greatly strengthen: the case for the freehold —for a straightforward and reasonable tenure that will not be subject to the misuse that has taken place under the leasehold policy.—Manawatu Standard.

THE VACANT CHAIR. When Mr. T. Wilford, M.P., was Chairman of Committees in the House of Representatives lie filled the position with conspicuous suecess and outstanding ability. He was looked upon as a coming Sneaker. It might suit the power* that be to offer him the position now; it would get out of the road a strong debater and keen critic. But the present party's hold upon office is, in many quarters, looked upon as precarious, and gifts from the Creeks might not be acceptable at the present moment to T.W. Besides, although his constituents on a certain historic occasion give him "a free hand," in the present temper of Labor towards Mr. Massey—and Labor predominates in Mr. Wilford's constituency—it would he wiser for him to still keep his foot on "the soft, soft pedal."—Elthaai Argus.

OUR EXTRAVAGANCE. It is not a question of parsimony, but simply of expending the money available to the best advantage from the point of view of the Dominion as a whole. Mr. Fraser is unduly generous to past Governments when he states, that they were not responsible for the extravagance in this matter to whieli he referred. lie says the people themselves were to blame. But surely it is the business of every Government worthy of the name to see that public money is not wasted in bricks and mortar while 'the people who are carving out homes in the backblocks are unable to get their goods to market for want of roads and bridges.—Dominion. COMING HOME TO ROOST. It is unnecessary to go beyond Mr. Cuddie's report on the dirty state of milking machines as a proof of the filthy habits of a considerable percentage of suppliers, and, it may well be added, as a vindication of the compulsory legislation of Mr. MeNab, as Minister of Agriculture, which was designed to protect the clean and careful farmer against those of dirty or careless habits. Nothing less than compulsory and punitive legislation will ever suffice to wnip this latter class of people into line with their cleanly and methodical neighbors. Mr. McNab's projected legislation would to a certainty have accomplished this. But it was mot by a storm of bucolic yells and curses and both the measure and its author were hounded off the stage. Now, however, it looks as if these curses were coming home to roost with a vengeance. —VVaimate Witness.

COST OF LOAN MONEY. It saves a lot of worry to Ministers to borrow on long terms, but at 4*4 per cent, it does not necessarily save money or even worry to the taxpayers. We shall have to wait till the end of next year to see whether Mr. Myers or Mr. Allen followed the wiser course, and in the meantime we must obtain what comfort we can from the reflection that the cost of this year's loan can go no higher.—Lyttelton Times,

The collection, or, more correctly sneaking, the non-collection, of the dogtax from the natives, formed the subject of a discussion at the Egmont County Council meeting on Friday. It was scandalous, said the chairman, the number of dogs about the various Maori pas on which the tax was not' paid. The Maori Council had power to collect this tax, but had not done so for years. It was elicited in the course of discussion that several natives had volunteered to pay the tax to the county collector provided they could be assured that the Maori Council would not want to collect it again. The Council unanimously decided to forward a remit to the County Councils' Conference, suggesting that dog registration should be taken from the Maori Council and handed to the local bodies, owing to the non-col-lection of the tax and the groat increase of dogs. Indeed, so acute was the position in some cases, the chairman reiterated, that he had been asked to put a clause in all conditions of contracts prohibiting dogs in contractors' camps, as nearly every native owned several dogs, which ran at will all over the neighborhood.