THE WEEK, THE WORLD AND WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9184, 5 September 1908, Page 7

THE WEEK, THE WORLD AND WELLINGTON.

(By Frank Morton.)

'Tm>3E Visiting Americans.—A Meek Reflection. —Points in Passing. The American Fleet is having a royal reception in Victoria as 1 write. I'm glad of that, because the Americans are good fellows whom I love. Also, the Britisher looks on the visiting ships with meek satisfaction. The meek shall inherit the iarth, as heretofore. We love our American ■brother, and do not wish to fight with him. If we did, any sixteenth British battleships could cheerfully 'blow these sixteen Americans out of the water. . This is not boasting; it i 3 a mere statement of fact. The Americans who choose to be candid friends of their own nation admits it. As battleships, in this year of grace 1908, these sixteen visitors 4 are a mighty defective lor,. We love American brother, and don't wait to fight with him. But by Jingo if we do ! A gentleman writes in the "New Zealand Herald," under th„- heading of "On the Verge of Spring," and this is some of the stuff he gives us. "The time may ;ome when Auckland will be a many-millioned city, eating J(,up the butter of the Waikato and the Country, the fruit of the Northern Peninsula, the beef of a thou;nnd hills, importing wheat by the ■ten thousand tons from overseas." It doesn't seem to me that it is Spring that writer is on the verge of; but never mird. 'lhe thing I want to point out is that there is nothing unusual in the lunacy that goads a man to look forward with satisfaction to the time when this country will import wheat by tens of thousands of tons. We are apparently becoming ivsigned to the idea that in time we shall not be able to feed ourselves. If you will take the trouble to consider the position of New Zealand on .the map, you may even yet realise that that is a quite abominable resignation. If one is to believe the police-magistrates and a Bishop or two, there are many heathens in New Zealand. Meantime, down here in Wellington, the Rev Tudor Jones and the Rev. Isaac Jolly are tearing each other's throat in the "Dominion," each in defence of his own special doctrine of the Atonement. It might be pointed out again how these Christians love one another, but according to Mr Jolly, Mr Jones is not a Christian at all; bo we must e'en leave it. at that. A policeman in Palmerston h;s been mulcted in damages for manhauling an inoffensive citizen. Wei!, what on earth are the police for? A medical quack in Christchurch has been sentenced to six months' imprisonment. Such a sign of activity in Christchurch is really very cheering. One can only hope that when the medical quacks are used up, a start will be made on the others. Christchurch is su full of quacks of all sorts that half the population regards them all aa hnonest prutitioners. If you would know the true delight of life when you visit Wellington, po out to Island bay on a dusty Sunday. You shall find crowded trams •and snarling conductors. Out at the ..Bay, the sun will scorch and the \vinds wither you. You will bring back variegated recollections. Island Bay is the watering place we Wellingtonians are really fond of; but we don't attempt to make it comfortable, because that would lead to something we dimly but devoutly ciread as the Continental Sunday. Parliament had something to say about the Continental Sunday the other evening, when Mr Baurne attempted to have restaurants exempted from the Sunday-closing laws. He failed. Certain places for refeshments are allowed to trade on Sundays in defiance of law; and the Government prefers to have the law broken rather than to consent to a reasonable amendment of the law. If the law was enforced, the nosition wculd plainly ha intolerable in a city like Wellington where a number of people rely on restaurants for their food. A narrow Sabbatarianism is utteily out of date, in any case. It is extremely unlikely now that ■anything will be done this session to amerd the Law of Libel as it affects mewipapers. Ministers promised; but 'l ime ilie?. Meantime, and until such time as Parliament th 11 btstir' itself, the newspapers suffer prievous ( disabilities. Publication in gcod j faith should be the' one tett, ai re--1 gards all reports of pul lie rr eetings; and in other matters tur law might easily be brought into line with the law of England, which is reasonably stringent. Uf Parliament generally there is - little to be added that is new. The session proceeds drowsily. Members are certainly not in working foj-m. j It appears to be impossible that the session can terminate in mid-Octo-ber, unless important Bills are dropped and important work is scamped. There is always a tendency to drop Bills and scamp work on the eve of an election; and in the present circumstances the tendency is especially deplorable. We shall see.