THE WEEK, THE WORLD, AND WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9062, 10 April 1908, Page 6

THE WEEK, THE WORLD, AND WELLINGTON.

(By Frank Morton.)

THE MAYORAL MATTER. WELLINGTON, April 9. Mr J. G. W. Aitken, M.P., is to run against Mr T. W. Hislop for the mayoralty of the Capital this year. The news is ten days old, but this is the first opportunity I've had of letting you know. The two men are profoundly dissimilar in essentials. Mr Hislop trusts almost overmuch in his shrewd wit and his strong hand; Mr Aitken confides especially in Providence. There is a characteristic dash of acerbity in Mr Hislop; Mr. Aitken is amiable without dissimulation. Mr Hislop leaps to a conclusion; Mr Aitken climbs to it, with some assistance, and does not always ,get th?re. Mr Hislop is a positive democrat; Mr Aitken is only democratic in his subdued or decorative intentions. Mr Hislop, as a rule, is not .particular whether he gives offence or not; Mr Aitken is fastidiously anxious to offend nobody. In the circumstances, there should be no difficulty of choice between these two. The question to be decided, however, is, which man is best suited to this mayoralty. Here we come at once upon a cloud of strange confusions.

If aii intelligent autocrat were ■needed, 1 should vote tor Mr Hislop without hesitation. Mr Aitken would never make a satisfactory autocrat; he is too flaccid and plethoric. But an autocrat is not needed. Where so much depends, in the ultimate resort, upon the professional staff, the intervention of an autocrat is even likely to be dangerous, if not upon occasion disastrous. With Mr Aitken as mayor, the professional staff of the Corporation would probably have a freer hand than it is likely to get under Mr Hislop. Thus we should be better able, with Mr Aitken as Mayor, to decide as to the merits of the professional staff. At present, one is dubious. If. for instance, the professional staff is solely responsible for certain grave matters of mismanagement in connection with the tramways, there is urgent reason for some reconstruction of the professional staff. And so with somt other matters. The position, then, is at least curious. I am no lover of merely amiable, flaccid, or plethoric gentlemen. But I travel much in Wellington trams, and otherwise I see many matters that need mending. I see no % reason why the trams should not be-as well managed as the trams Of Duncdin or of Brisbane are. And I have to remember that Mr Hislop is now, and has for some time been, Mayor of the city. What is one to do?

Meantime, it is good to note that exceptional energy is being introduced into this fight by at least one candidate. Mr Hislop, with sense to recognise that the contest will probably go against him, is refreshing in his use of epithets. Mr Aitken, on the other hand, is exceedingly placid and suave. When he wants to get in a nasty dig, he work through a deputy. Chief of the deputies, apparently, is Mr Fisher,

M.P. Mr Fisher is the enfant terrible of some party or other. I can never discover exactly what or which. He is an exceedingly smart and shallow young man, exceedingly glib. In a photographer's showcase in Willis Street, you may see Mr Fisher / posed as tribune, conscious of his country's gratitude. It is really very pathetic, and very inspiring; for he will be a model young man at all costs, this Mr Fisher. Whether Mr Fisher's attacks, which are directed rather recklessly at Mr Hislop's private honour, are doing Mr Aitken's cause any good, is matter for question. Mr Fisher, indeed, is for ever making loud noises that are perfectly unconvincing. He is the sort of patriot whose championship makes the very truth seem incredible and foreign. Every charge Mr Fisher had made, Mr Hislop has rather contemptuously rebutted. Had Mr Fisher, more moderately, charged Mr Hislop with indiscretion, h ; ,s criticism might not have been without effect. Personally, I believe that the municipal government of Wellington is not good. To start with, the municipal employees, as a class, are becoming famous for incivility; and any Mayor of the right sort would soon put an end to that sort of thing. The city traffic is very badly, managed. Indeed, many matters might be alleged. But my point is that the municipal government of the Capital ought to set an example of municipal government to the Dominion. Glasgow leads in Scotland, and in some matters leads the world. The London County Council has done positively wonderful work during recent years. The great cities of Australia have made excellent provision for the public convenience and safety. But in New Zealand it ia otherwise. Dunedin

and Christchurch are better governed towns than Wellington is. The sort of mayor Wellington needs is a mayor that will justify Wellington as the metropolis of the country.

THE CREEPING CHINESE. Wellington is impulsive and capricious. It has spasmodic enthusiasm, but no staying power. There was, for instance, strong feeling in the city a few months ago with regard to the Chinese difficulty. The Chinese in Wellington have virtually established monopolies in two industries. They control the retail fruit and vegetable trade, and they do the great bulk of the laundry work. Well, some months ago, a number of people distributed literature and made speeches to prove that monopoly by Chinese was a menace. There was a cry for white representation in the cornered trades. There was much advertising of a projected steam-laundry to be conducted solely by white labour. Then the impulse expended itself, the advertisements ceased, and we lapsed to our customary condition of inert indifference. Now, without going into the vexed territory that lies about all con?ideration of the colourline, I point out that the Chinese in Wellington to-day aro stronger than ever in their chosen monopolies and that the influx of Chinese continues and- increases. During the year ended March, 137 Chinese paid polltax, as against 91 the previous year. Of these 137, some were women; so

that the potential increase on the influx cannot be estimated. The indication is significant. It means that, if Chinese immigration is to continue, the Chinese are going to form a strong factor in this commonwealth. It means that, as population grows, an ever-increasing number of debased white women will come into touch with the Chines*, and so there will be an increasing admixture of yellow with our white. It means, in shurt, the gradual infusion of a new and alien element in our blood. I am not arguing this matter on any ground of policy or principle: I'm simply stating facts. It is for New Zealanders to argue policy and principle, as they pay their Chinese laundry-men and buy their Chinese fruit. I don't talk about Chinese vices; because talk of that sort, coming from a white man, always seems to me to be hypocrisy carried to the full length of the absurd. I have lived among great Chinese populations for years at a time, and I honour the Chinese extremely—in their place. They are a great people, and they will yet be a greater. Once they make good their foothold, they can compete with us on equal terms, and win. It is a fool's mistake to underestimate your adversary. In the matter of trade and industry, the Chinese can do anything they put their hands to, and do it almost incomparably well. For years, I fwore clothes made by Chinese, and I never wore clothes that wore better, fitted better, or looked better. For years I had a Chinese cook, and I was never better fed. For years I had many Chinese friends, and I never knew friends more staunch. This Chinese nation, with its vast population, its infinite patience, its cool untiring brain, i!s incalculable persistency, will yet become a great and terrible power on earth; that is, if the nations of the white people do not keep on their guard and take care. It is for New Zealanders to determine whether a strong outpost of this nation shall be permitted to settle and make secure its position in this country.