THE WEEK, THE WORLD AND WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 2993, 17 September 1908, Page 6

THE WEEK, THE WORLD AND WELLINGTON.

(By Frank: Morton.)

Roaring Equinoctials.—Ltfr in •SufiivcuPATrnr. Mb MoLachi.an's .I-I.BA.TiTH.—-Tub LtTTt-E Farce of Hanbard.—•VklVPlHC CoStlilTTiSß.—A Uooic FOK. PolilTl'.lANd. Thev tull me that during the past ; year or tw" l the equinoctial gules have Oeen a m.-mally light in Wellington, liiid not notice that mysell last year; but then I had only been accustomed to the sportiveness of the equinox in other parts of the world—sort ox thing we have in Wellington all the year round, and pretend to enjoy on days when it doesn't rain. Buc this year there is no doubt at al! about the equinoctial gales. For days the winds have howled and blustered. Night after nigh', my house has creaked and rocked like a Deal lugger in cross-sea. There is a spice of the adventurous in mere existence in such weather. A breeze a trifle stronger would playfully pick 0 le up at a street corner and land one disgrumblcd and forlorn in the in- * s-iperable remoteness of Karori. Wnen the time comes for me to travel, I don't want to go to Karori; 1 want to go to some homely place likn Nicaragua or Seringapatam. i once hat! a friend who had spent some year* in Seringapatum. He was the pepperiest man phat ever existed outside the realm of i'uuie. A OH Uts IUOitSL-hi.-.i WOUld UIHKt! him furious, and he would be very much annoyed with a postage-stamp that seemed to stare back 'at him. It comes from something in the atmosphere—of Seringapatam, I mean. I ian stand any utnount of heat; in Madras you can melt sealing-wax by merely exposing it to the sun; but Seringapatam is a sort of overdone a tew. When you stay there long, you suffer from a kind of liquefaction of the spinal-marrow. I don't know the precise medical terminology; but that will do for an indication. Only we were talki/g about the joy of life in Wellington during the period of .equinoctial gales. It's no use talking about it; because no pubJisbablc talk could be half expressive enough to suggest the grim reality. I have it on good authority that the gale on Sunnay night blew a valuable suburban allotment at Roseneath or somewhere round there completely into the sex And I felt that it is a great shame that such stupendous energy should go to waste. 1.-believe that there is sufficient wind-power in Wellington to drive every motor in the Dominion, if some person in authority would but conserve it. It would not be necessary to tap the wind-power of Parliament, which could still be retained for legislative uses. I'm not an expert, but I throw oufc this modest hint. No reflection on Mr Wilford is intended. Speaking of Parliament, I am glad indeed to know that Mr McLachlan (who had a serious illness in Auckland recently) lias made a good recovery. My respect for Mr McLachan ia tinged with ar miration ai:d a trained surprise. He has brains and wits, and what he is doing in Parliament I have neW yet been able to determine. He is one of those men who can make even a remark about the weather interesting. I should dearly like to regale you . with his remarks on the equinoctinl galea, but they haven't been Reported to me yet. There was a curious little farca in Parliament the other night. The House was sitting in Committee, and someone suddenly discovered that there were no Hansard reporters in the Chamber. The. House gasped through a portentous pause. Then it was explained that, as the proceedings of Parliament in Committee were not reported, Mr Speaker had intimated that the reporters need not be in attendance. The House solemnly confessed itself shocked, In future, Hansard men will always be on the floor, sleeping or waking, when anything of any sort is going on. Well, it is very pretty of Parliament to play the game like that. But personally, I think that Mr Speaker was entirely right. If the proceeding's of Committee are not reported, it is flat inhumanity to keep Hansard men on tne floor of the House while the tedious business is in progress. In ci\3e oi ! emergency, they could easily be summoned; hut emergencies don't arise in this Parliament. If Mr Barclay felt moved to recite, or Mr Massey began to turn handsprings, a verbatim note would not ne required. Speaking seriously, a Hansard that contains no report of proceedings in Committee is itself pretty much uf a farce; or is, at any rate, a very incomplete Hansard. On important measures, debates in Committee may n asily be more important than debates on the second reading. Why New Zealanders, whose io'eas are riot generally restricted in such matters, should be content with a misleading half Hansard, when all the Hansards of Australian States are complete, I am at a loss to imagine. The whole matter is one that Parliament might profitably consider. If it were decided that n complete Hansard is desirable, many changes vfould have to be made. First of all, appointments to the Hansard staff would need to be taken out of the hand 3 of Ministers, since so ne of the appointments made by Ministers' in past years have bean silly. Even now, when assistance is required, no man not personally subservient to Ministers, (or, better no man that any Minister may bappen to dislike) has any hope of appointment, whatever his merits. 1 here is more petty patronage in New Zealand than in all Australiafar more than any Australian legislature would ever dream of tolerating. Individual Ministers are not to blyme for that. A vicious svstem hag sprung up, and till that system ia uprooteii, Hansard v/ill continue to b pretty much of a farce. Meantime, as the elections draw On, 1 .vu ild recommend every political!', and every elector, to read Mr Frank Ft x'sbook (just published in AuitralU/) "From the Old Dog"— purporting to be the letters of an exPiime iVJiiustr to his nephew in pdi.ics. i'he?e letters are sane and ahr-;w1. cunningly written much as a ve y .i ■ democrat of experience might v.- (re them over there amid t"-\* n ■■:.'<' ine. The young man is advised a.-, to all Eoite of things and pitfiills—newspapers, manner, the disadvantage? of being too serious, tklfls, e' ,f momv, the duties of a whip, the Australian type, flag flapp-

reiw-yr^ii'tuCTiiiiMiTOitsggr—■""■■■amars.a.q'ai »i ui mm— t ing, food fads, the fiscal ksue, all sorts of matters with which the rising politician is concerned. Mr Fox never strains for an epigram, and seldom seeks cover in T the haze of paradox. He is very virile and very ter?e. There can never be any mis-" takt about what he means. His humour is rather of the fi'dd than of the hothouse, and is none the worse for that. Here, picked out of the book quite at random, are a few of his quotations. When in doubt, shut up. Oh, my boy, shutting up is a great accomplishment, even for politicians. Consider every man as being as decent and honourable as yourself —he usually is—until you have it proved quite palpably that he is otherwise. I have no sympathy at oil wilh the "good man" cry in politics. The good man is not necessarily the good politician; a thorough, train- ■ ing in the Seven Deadly Dull Virtues argues no skill if? economics, nnd none of that strength uf will and mind necessary to drive reform through Parliament. Titles are tr.-Hay just business devices intended to prop up the anachronistic institution of a monarchy by recruiting champions for it among the brurfjeoisie. . So many evils, direct and indirect, arise from the prodigal expenditure of public money that economical administration may be set up as the cardinal virtue of government. Don't ever be misled by any thought of party advantage to condone any outrage on the right of public meeting. It is really more important than all your Parliaments. "Foreign Politics" is a matter we're all born with an intimate knowledge of. I've never yet met a man sober enough to get to a bdr who was so ignorant, forlorn, and hopeless that he couldn't tell you quite authoritatively about Germany's plans and the Balkan situation. Woman isn't "a question." She is Life. Conscience is not innate; it is the sum of our experiences. Procrastination is the saviour of time; so many problems settle themselves if they are only neglected long enough. Enough. The book is one to read thoughtfully. Fox is pre-eminently a thoughtful man. His thoughtful- • ness (for others, as for himself) has lifted him to a secure position in his country's journalism. As editor of the "Lone Hand," he is one of the young men who have arrived. This book will enhance his reputation.