Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 14 December 1911, Page 2521

Current Topics

A Hopeful Sign Some few weeks ago we mentioned in our leading columns that if Parliament does not, in the immediate future, accede to the demand for Bible in schools legislation; there was good authority for saying that the Presbyterian body would take into serious and prac-tical-consideration a proposal for building and equipping its own schools. We find express and open confirmation of this statement in some remarks made during the Bible-in-schools discussion at the recent Presbyterian General Assembly. Unless we are mistaken they were not reported in the daily press, and we take our quota-« tions from a full account of the discussion which appears in a recent issue of the Outlook. The Rev. R. E. Davies, in presenting a report favorable to the adoption of the New South Wales system in New Zealand, hinted at the possibility of the Government refusing to grant the desired referendum, and in connection with such a contingency made the following pointed remarks: ‘ They asked now for powers to get behind the boards and let the people decide whether their children were to receive an adequate religious instruction or not. The plea for secular education rested on a misunderstanding of the very nature of education itself. The fundamental work of education was to develop powers not only of the mind, but also of the heart and will and conscience. The foundations of our Western morality had in effect disappeared from our public schools. He quoted the statement of an authority that there was something fundamentally right in the German system, which included religion as a subject of study from the earliest stages of development.—(Applause.) In the public schools of America the child was being taught to be its own god, and the results were becoming patent. He failed to see how our teachers were going to teach morality except upon the basis of the Christian religion.— Hear, hear.’) If the State had undertaken education as it had done it had undertaken moral education and it was bound to give some coherent system of morals and some basis for moral teaching. They had no hesitation, as the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, in saying that that basis must be the Christian religion. If the State could not do it, then it was high time the Church should face the question and consider whether it should not commence a movement and establish schools of their own.(‘ Hear, hear,’ and applause),—schools permeated with a religious atmosphere from top to bottom.’ * From the applause which followed, it is evident that the speaker carried the general body of the Assembly with him on this last "point. After that, who shall say that if the friends of religious education were to get into touch with one another, it would be impossible to devise a modus ayendi which would constrain the politicians to do all-round justice on this question. The Sacramental Wine Question The following communicationswhich explain themselvesconstitute the final chapter of the sacramental wine controversy. The first, addressed to the editor of the Dunedin Evening Star, appeared in that journal on Wednesday, the night before the elections. ‘ Sir, — Referring to the telegrams published by you last evening as to sacramental wine, I was speaking to Mr. Hammond at the-Dunedin railway station, along'with another gentleman, one - day last week, when someone, whom I afterwards learned came from the New Zealand Tablet, intervened. As a comparative stranger, I listened carefully to all that wa.s said, and I most emphatically confirm the truth of the telegram despatched to Archbishop Redwood by Messrs. Hammond and Nicholls. ‘ Finally, the Tablet representative said that he was satisfied of the truth of Mr. Hammond’s explanation to him.—l am, etc., • -l ‘ H. Edward Austin.’

As it would have been too late to make the necessary correction, in the columns of next day's Evening Star, the following letter was addressed to the editor of the Otago Daily Times, and appeared in its issue of Thursday morning: ‘Sir, — am very unwilling to be drawn into the maelstrom of prohibition and anti-prohibition controversy, but the published statement of one H. Edward Austin leaves me no option. In seeking an interview with the Rev. B. S. Hammond I had one object, and only one object. It was to ascertain whether, at a meeting at Ashburton on November 18, he did or did not make certain remarks to the effect that, as the doctors were abandoning the use of alcohol for medicinal purposes, and the Churches were dropping the use of fermented wine for sacramental purposes, after national prohibition had been in force for about ten years the present exemptions under these two heads would be non-existent. ‘ Mr. Hammond, who was at this interview perfectly straightforward, admitted that ‘ he did say something like that," and that the report which had been supplied to me though incorrect on one other point, was, as regards these two matters, “ approximately correct." He was frank enough to add that, in view of the lines on which education was advancing, he did not see how anybody could say anything else. In all the disclaimers and assurances as to the intention of the party which have been published, it is noteworthy that Mr. Hammond has never once specifically denied having uttered the specific words attributed .to him. Your readers may have their own opinion as to the significance to be attached to the Ashburton utterance; but they may rest assured that every syllable which appeared in the New Zealand Tablet was carefully weighed, and that every jot and tittle of the Tablet account of the interview was absolutely and scrupulously correct. I am, etc., Editor N.Z. Tablet.’ December 6. : * We have only to add that we have received, both from priests and laity, many letters expressing approval and appreciation of the Tablet’s action in drawing attention to a really serious danger. The Elections By the time these lines are read by most of our readers the thirty second ballots which remain to be taken will be completed and in the meantime—the full figures are known would be futile to make any detailed comment on the results. On the first ballots the state of parties appears to be:Ministerial, 21; Opposition, 24; Independent, 2; so that already the Opposition have made a very substantial advance on their previous strength. The election so far has served to emphasise the stupendous blunder which the Government made in introducing their second ballot legislation. They suffered by it at last election; and in the present election, if there had been no second ballot, they would now have had a good working majority for out of the 30 electorates in which second ballots are to be taken, Ministerialists or Independent Liberals hold the leading position in no less than 21, and Opposition candidates in only 9. On paper, and on all recognised principles of reasoning, the Government ought still to secure a sufficient proportion of the second ballots to.give them a majority in the House; but so far in New Zealand, reason—or, at least, consistency—has played a very inconspicuous part in second ballots, and the friends of the disappointed candidates can be depended upon to do almost anything but that which they might fairly be expected to do.

So far we have seen no reference to the historic ‘ block vote,’ which so often figures in the columns of the press about election time, but which, unfortunately, never materialises anywhere else. The nearest approach which we have noticed to an allusion to this interesting but elusive entity, is the following brilliant and broadminded paragraph which appeared in a southern

contemporary: —‘ The Roman Catholic vote goes largely to the Ward Government, for. the reason that the Prime Minister is an adherent and strong supporter of that Church., Tapanui district being largely Presbyterian does not see eye to eye .with the Government party, and is anxious for a change of Administration.’ The italics are-ours. The suggestion that the Presbyterians of Tapanui oppose the Ward Government- because the Premier differs from them in religion, is a particularly stupid libel on the Presbyterians; and we can well believe the correspondent who writes to tell us that the local members of that body strongly resent the odious insinuation. The best answer to the statement was given the day after it appeared by Tapanui itself, when the town gave a very handsome vote, indeed, to the Government candidate in the election. ~ , , . —— - $ The Licensing Poll On election night the interest in the political contests—at least so tar as Dunedin is concerned—quite overshadowed by anxiety as to the No-license and Prohibition results. We use the word ‘anxiety advisedly, for no milder term can describe the feeling prevailing in each of the contending camps. The figures for Chalmers. electorate-which now includes the Taieri, and which was confidently expected to go ‘dry’ on this occasionwere awaited with feverish impatience; and the results for Dunedin Citywhich so,- recently as a month ago gave every indication of steering straight .towards No-license also the subject of more than ordinary interest. So far as No-license is concerned as our readers are - by this time aware —the position throughout the Dominion is absolutely unchanged. Not a single new district has carried No-license; and, on the other hand, in the nine electorates in which No-license already obtained, the effort to bring about restoration of licenses has been unsuccessful. In three of these Ashburton, Ohinemuri, and Masterton —there was a majority in favor of restoration, but the votes fell short of the required three-fifths. Taking the Dominion as a whole, the feature of the Local Option poll has been the marked increase of the vote in favor of Continuance. , * In the poll on the Dominion issue there is a strong majority for National Prohibition, but a majority which nevertheless falls substantially short of the required three-fifths. At the time of writing(there are still a few returns to come)—the figures are; —for National Prohibition, 255,262; against it, 203,201. The vote for National Prohibition is, in round numbers, over 20,000 short of the number required to carry that proposal. There is a fairly strong feeling amongst a large section of electors that a third alternative —that of State Control— to be submitted to the country. In any electorate in which this issue was carried the existing licensees would be bought out at valuation, and would then be installed as managers of the establishment on a salary from the State. Any political party which would have the courage to make this proposal a plank in its platform, would be assured of a very considerable measure of support. Elections Then and Now The elections last week we v e notable for their orderliness. Except for the carriages and motor cars busily plying the streets, there was practically no outward sign that a great political contest was in progress, and that other still more fateful issues were being decided for another three years. It is the great achievement of the secret ballot method of voting'that it has gradually abolished the intimidation y the disorder, and the corruption to which the f open ’ system was so liable. There are those who miss the tornadoes of ‘ fun’ that whirled around the old open-voting single polling station for borough or county, with its hustings, its stormy oratory, the bantering of candidates, and the rough-and-tumble physical- contests between the two parties; and even so gentle a soul as the late Dean ;Hole felt himself constrained to lament, with regard to the elections, that the mirth of the land is gone.’ To a fighting nation like ours,’ he says, the election fifty year? ago was a crisis which evoked all the strate-

gies and energies of an offensive and defensive war. While potent landlords, clever, lawyers, active agents, fluent speakers, and humorous satirists were coaxing and intimidating, the Blues met the Beds by torchlight, and lost no time in tearing each other’s, flags into ribbons and in punching each other’s heads. . The big drum of the Tories was first perforated by the trombone of the Radicals, and subsequently smashed by their ophicleide (large trumpet) and the drummer, after belaboring his enemies with the two sticks, retired a sadder and a lighter man. The mothers, wives, and daughters of the intelligent electors were occupied at midnight and in the early morning, like the armorers on the eve of Agincourt, with busy hammers, or rather with diachylon, closing up wounds and applying sponges and poultices, and bandages and slabs of raw beef, to the swollen faces of their warriors, who appeared next morning wearing on their countenances a combination of the colors of either party, purple and red, and manifesting a strong reluctance to renew the battle without pecuniary and alcoholic inducements.’ But people with little taste for the gladiatorial side of life will welcome the, peace and order and decorum which the ballot has thrown around this exercise of a grave citizen right and duty, " ■ ' * The purchase and sale of votes which was so prevalent under the old-time system had occasionally its humorous side; and this is hit off by .Dean Hole with his usual light and happy touch. ‘As to bribery,’ he says in Then and Now, ‘ there was neither secrecy nor sense of shame; the electors knew the market value of their votes, and where they could obtain it. Some.times, when the contest was very severe, a few astute economists would abstain from voting until a few minutes from the close of the poll when they could name their price as masters of the situation. I remember an occasion when, under these circumstances, a coterie of a dozen of these free and independent electors, having been paid an extravagant sum for their votes, were assembled waiting for their conveyance to the poll. A carriage and four arrived, the horses and postillions being profusely decorated with the, colors of their party. There was ample time for the brief journey, but the horses seemed to be under excitement, and at the crack of the whip they broke from a trot to a canter, and from a canter to a hand gallop, and instead of taking the turn which led to the polling booth, went past full speed, the coachman replying to the remonstrances of the voters, Can’t hold ’em; keep still, a? you value your lives; they will stop at Highmore Hill.” But Highmore Hill was three miles away, and they did not stop till they had reached the top opposite the Red Lion Hotel; and then the electors, having been paid their noney before they started, and knowing it was too late-to record their votes, refreshed themselves until the shades of evening fell, and they could escape on their return the derision of their opponents, by whom they had been so successfully duped. The coachman received a ten-pound note, which he well deserved, for he literally won the election in a canter.’