AN UNFORTUNATE APPOINTMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 October 1921, Page 4

AN UNFORTUNATE APPOINTMENT.

Sir John Salmond has been appointed to represent New Zealand, at the Disarmament Conference, his chief qualification being that he is an acknowledged authority on constitutional law. The appointment, it must be acknowledged, is a rather extraordinary one, and how it came to be made will set many people wondering. The Ministers all claim to be very busy, and quite unable to spare the time; yet it may well be that the fate of New Zealand, as well as of other countries in or bordering on the Pacific, will be decided by the decisions arrived at at this conference. The fact is that the importance of this conference of the nations is not sufficiently realised by our Ministers, or they would see that the very best man available was sent. To say that the work to be done here by Ministers is too pressing is pure fudge.' We could easily spare one or two of the Ministers, notwithstanding that Parliament is in session and the times are unusually' difficult. The Government lacks the imagination to see that the conference may achieve more for the peace of the world than all the conferences at Versailles and London put together. It may mean the beginning of a real era of peace; if wise counsels prevail it certainly will usher in a prolonged period of peace, enabling the nations to heal their wounds and put their economic houses in order. The Government cannpt be complimented upon its action in this important matter, and, least of all, upon the appointment it has made. Sir John Salmond may be a very good law draughtsman, and an excellent judge, but his whole training and environment are against him becoming a success in the field of diplomacy and statesmanship. He has not shown that he has a very'wide outlook on life, or understands the problems confronting the world to-day. He has the “official’’ temperament in too great a degree. Of the whole of the Supreme Court bench hardly a worse selection could have been made. In going outside the Ministry how is it that the Government overlooked the claims of the Chlief Justice? Here we have a man who, despite his advancing years, has kept abreast of the times, and possesses a knowledge of international matters greater, perhaps, than any man in the Dominion outside the Prime Minister. In intellectual ability, too, he would worthily represent the Dominion, and be able to contribute to the elucidation of the great problems before the conference.