The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, APRIL 5,1909. A POLITICAL. REVOLUTION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2468, 5 April 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, APRIL 5,1909. A POLITICAL. REVOLUTION.

No more important announcement has been made in the political history of the Dominion than that which was published on Saturday in the report of the speech made by Sir Joseph Waul at the Lower Hutt. The present Premier' is certainly making history at a rapid rate. Less than a fortnight ago he notified the decision of the* Government in regard to the Dreadnought gift, a stroke of policy that defined with the , vividness and distinctness of a lightning flash the attitude of this young country towards file heart of the Brit’sh Empire. Oil Friday night the Prime Minister outlined proposals which are of still greater moment; and undoing so he displayed qualities of courage and statesmanship that have been, conspicuously absent from our political life in the past. Wo have in the past strongly .opposed Sir Joseph Ward on .matters of policy, but we have, never failed to give credit Where it is,duo; and oil the pres-* out'occasion it is gratifying to be able, to compliment the honorable gentleman on his boldness and sagacity lit laying

down .a sound basis for t-lie future conduct of the Dominion finances. In the past the financial policy of New Zealand has been simply one of increasing expenditure and borrowing to make up losses and to develop the country. There is no indication that the late Mr. Seddon, during his long career at tiro head of the Government, ever gave any serious attention to the need for economy. So long as the money market was sufficiently favorable to enable loans to bo raised he raised them, and so kept the pot boiling. The chief plank in liis political programme was to keep in power; and he did so by spending borrowed money freely in public works and in salaries for the thousands of appointments he made to the public service. The present Premier followed in his footsteps; hut the financial depression lias made the continuation of a policy that was always immoral and foolish more dangerous than ever. So Sir Joseph Ward lias been looking closely into the Dominion’s books, and ho has found that what the Opposition party and press have been saying -for years is correct, and that an enormous leakage of public money is taking place. The Premier declares that lie can save £250,000 per- annum without decreasing the efficiency of any of the public services, and that he intends to do so. This is real statesmanship as distinct from the shoddy material ' which often passes muster for it. • It is one thing to come forth with a momentous proposal that , is safe to please everyone; it is quite another to introduce innovations that will most surely prove unpopular. Economy is nearly always distasteful either, in private or public matters. The private individual, while willingly prescribing it for others, rarely practises it himself unless under compulsion ;and public men idle world over find inso much pleasanter to retain popularity *by spending money than to incur resentment by saving it, that they very naturally choose the easier path. In the present instance it is proposed to reduce 37 public departments to 1G ;and the pruning knife is to be liberally applied in order to reduce expenditure to the minimum. Civil servants will he discharged wholesale —it is impossible to say how many, hut the number will probably he close to a thousand—and the little extras in the way of travelling expenses and other perquisites that have tended to -make the Civil Service something approaching an elysium for its more favored members will be abolished. It is safe to say, therefore, that almost the whole of the civil servants will have some feeling of resentment against the Government which has ventured to interfere with their emoluments, and, as the influence they are able to exert directly aud indirectly is very great, the Premier will almost certainly be raising a heap of trouble for himself in this respect. Then,- again, he will have to face the adverse criticism of political opponents who will be glad of this opportunity to endeavor to undermine his position, and who will in the multifarious changes that are included in the big scheme, find abundance of material for adverse criticism. In this respect we should hope to see Mr. Massey maintain his usual lionoiable ground of considering the public welfare before the exigencies of party warfare. It is true that the reform which it is proposed to give effect- to has been advocated by the Opposition for many years; and it is somewhat disconcerting to find the party in power, which lias incessantly claimed that there were no abuses to remedy, taking up the work which under other circumstances might have been more fittingly entrusted to Mr. Massey aud liis followers, but, after all, the main fact is that the work is' to be done; and it is my material who is the agent of the reform. In matters of detail Mr. Massey will find many opportunities to impi ove upon the general scheme that is laid down, hut we should be sorry to find him attempting to embarrass the Government in the general to which effect- is being given. New Zealand has in the past succeeded in earning . a reputation in the outside world for strong characteristics. For years it was the daring and almost revolutionary nature of our social legislation, latterly it has been our staunch support of the Motherland » times ol international .danger; and present indications suggest that we may yet acquire the proud distinction of being a country that insists upon paying its way.