CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVIII, Issue 288, 14 May 1915, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

Till'' STATE OF PAKTIKS. The Wellington Times is suggesting that the Governor has failed in his duty ill not calling Parliament together to determine whether or not the Ministry is able to command a majority and so retain possession of the Treasury benches. As a matter of fact, Lord l.i\ erpool has been guided by the needs of the hour in not anticipating a political crisis at the present juncture, lie has done what the vast majority of the people of the country would have him di>, and it is a pity that the point has been raised at all in the columns of the press. If the general election of December last had taken place at a normal period, when the nation was at peace, an early meeting of Parliament would have been inevitable. The (foveinment had forty pledged supporters in a House of eighty members, wilh another possible supporter in (lie person of a Maori member whose public utterance has been studiedly non-committal. All the constitutional arguments advanced by the Keformers when they were demanding an early session after the election of 11> 11 would have applied with increased force. But the circumstances of the election of 1!IM were not normal. Many people would have liked the election postponed, and, failing that, th" public wanted as large a measure of political peace as possible. The provisional returns, subject to the results of several election petitions, showed that ihc Ministry, while not assured of a majority, had an advantage over the Onposition, and it was apparent that the legal proceedings connected with the petitions could not be completed much before the usual time for the meeting of Parliament. Under these conditions the Ministers were taking the reasonable and coiniuonscnsc course in not, advising the Governor to .summon Parliament bcicre the usual date, and while Lord Liverpool himself 111 ight li;i vo t'ouud constitutional precedent for insisting that ins .Minis! 'i's should prove (heir light to administer the a Mail's id' the Dominion, any action he might have taken in Ihat direction would have threatened the country with political turmoil at a lime when the actual state of ;a-\ies was still in doubt. Parliament will meet iu the normal way at the end of nest, month and no doubt the /ate of Ministry will lie determined then by a trial of party strength. An attack U[,on the (lovernor iu the meantime semis peculiarly unnecessary aml ungracious.

I BAY OF ISLANDS SKAT. The Prime Minister has boon asked several times during tlm Inst fe\r days what is the effect of tin; Court's decision regarding tins Bay of Islands election upon (lie state of parties, and his answers naturally have been non-committal. The man who is interested in the subject can figure out the position for himself, and it is obvious that Mr. Massey can have nothing of a decisive character to say until he knows whether or not the by-election next month will result in the return of a supporter of the (Jovernnient. Mr. Massey claims that the (Joveinment party contains forty members at the present time, this number including tins doubtful Maori member, M". Tan Jfenare. The Opposition, Liberal and Labor, numbers thirty-nine, and there is one seat to be allotted. That is the position and the politicians on either side are waiting with very anxious interest for the verdict of the Bay of Islands electors. One gathers that, as lar as surface appearances go, chances favor the (iovoriiment's caiio:date, but it is early yet to record a d' l finite opinion. The Opposition candidate has not been named, and some facte, rs in the contest are uncertain. The Labor party is likely to poll more heavily than it ever did before in the northern electorate, and its votes will all go to the Liberal, whoever he may be. Sir Joseph Ward is going north, presumably to assist in the selection of the Opposition representative. Jt is reported that the Ministry will be strongly represented in the liay of Islands before the day of the election, and it is certain that an immense amount of hard campaigning will be undertaken by v both parties.

A KAISKIi STORY. Most stories of recent date about the Kaiser are on the grim and sinister side, lint a reminiscence which comes from London is in lighter vein. The tale goes that the Imperial William, having been invited to perform some function at Hamburg, directed the Court ollicial whom lie instructed to notify his willingness to add that he was always pleased to visit Hamburg, as he had such pleasant recollections of the island in the Alstcr where lie had 'played as a little boy. ''This passage," writes the chronicler, "put the local authorities in a state of embarrassment, for it, happens that the. Alstcr is an unbroken expanse of water. One Republican-minded senator actually suggested that his Majesty should be told that his memory had p'ayed him false, but it was generally felt that any such hint would lead to a prosecution. In the end, the Senate decided that as the Emperor had said there was an island, an island there must be, and as no island existed, it was necessary to make one. So a large raft was moored in the Alstcr, covered with soil and planted with grass and shrubs. The great day came; the Kmperor arrived, and drove along the famous promenade beside the burgomaster, who at the right moment pointed out 'the island on which your Majesty used to play.' 'ITow it all comes backto me!' murmured the Enrperor." The story is so characteristic of the Kaiser and his people that it reallv does not matter much whether it is 'fact or fiction.