SECOND EDITION Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1894. THE HON. MR CARROLL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4893, 4 December 1894, Page 2

SECOND EDITION Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1894. THE HON. MR CARROLL.

It is not our habit to speak in terms of unqualified i.ppvovnl of any " Minister of the Crown," or rutliiT ns they themselves would prefer to put it, of any "Minister of llie People," but wu feel almost inclined to plunge into expressions of undiluted admiration of the Hon Mr Carroll since we have rend his Fab intuit speech in the columns of our excellent contemporary, the llcnihl. A want of ballast has, in our opinion, accounted for much of the oscillation which has been noticed in the State vessel, but this ballast we think the Hon Mr Carroll might supply. In the speech to which wc have referral he is reported as follows: "Last session was remarkable for the amount of legislation got through ; in his opinion too much. Thefuturo lie thought, should be devoted almost solely to administration," Now, there is a surprising amount of common sense in this remark, and really we do notsec very much difference of opinion between Mr Carroll's views and that of the leading- Opposition members, "Wo have at last a Daniel come to judgment, who puts his linger on the weak spot in the Cabinet policy and then indicates the remedy, In three lines ho gives us more real statesmanship than we have got from his colleagues in the past three years. The Hon Mr Carroll 'is perhaps more an attachment to, than ut component part of, the Scddon Ministry. His duty is to look after Native matters, attend banquets, and make nico speeches. In Cabinet meetings he is probably not regarded as a leading authority, and his opinion, outside Maori questions, would not bogreatly valued. It might however, be a good thing, if he were a more influential membor of the Ministry, for ho evidently possesses great common sense, a faculty in which the administration as a whole is somewhat deficient, If Mr Sedclon would only take a holiday in Samoa leaving Mr Carroll in charge as his loema kmm there would be quite a revival of prosperity in New Zeulaud. What the Colony needs is political rest and Mr Carroll appears to be the only Liberal politician who recognises this great and significant fact, .Sick Zeahuidia sadly needs rest, for die Liberal doctors with tho best intentions in the world have physicked her.almost to death with labour boluses, co-operative purges, and sudorific taxes. Her diet has been changed, she Ims been coddled, petted, and fussed with, but her only chance to improve' is to leave off legislative physic for a time and let 'nature have a chance. Hygienic administration is now the only remedy,

which lie desired-to borrow a -hundred. He is now paying eightpoi* cent, and expected to get a loan from tho Government at five per' cent. In our opinion there is not the slightest prospect of a struggling settler of this kind getting an advance under tho Act. We pointed out to him that the margin of his security was small, and from a busiuess point of viow, the department could not give it a preference when much more desirable securities were certain to be under offer. He replied that the Act was intended to assist most struggling settlers, but it is evident 1 that almost all the settlers in the Colony come under this heading. Every man who wants to borrow money is defado" a struggling settler." His own idea, however, was that a preference would be given to weak securities, and we fear a good many settlers share in this opinion. They do not seem to see that the Government have put the administration of the Act into the hands of a good business man, and that in the interests of the colony, and for the success of their measure they aro bound to do this. No good business man in New Zealand or in any other part of tup world will give apreference.to a weak security over a strong one. Jtcii with weak securities must be content to pay.eight per cent., it is only strong securities that will be placed at five.