The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6,1909. THE COMING SESSION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2625, 6 October 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6,1909. THE COMING SESSION.

The Parliament of New Zealand opens at Wellington to-morrow afternoon and it is fitting therefore, that the community should once more direct its attention towards the Parliamentary Buildings. It is difficult to induce the average person to pay much heed to the endless verbosity of the chamber that is sometimes irreverently described as the '‘talking shop.” So much of it is so empty, so meaningless; there is so little grain in the mass of chaff that it is idle to revile those who prefer to' be interested in the really interesting things of life. Indeed it is not too much to say that in quarters the other extreme from the apathetic condition is reached, and there are many whose enthusiasm for matters political causes them to entertain a quite exaggerated estimate of the part played by politics in the life of the community. On Thursday seventy representatives of the people will commence the work for which they were elected nearly twelve months ago. That they have not made a start long ere this is due t-o the fact that one of their number desired to attend the Naval Conference in London and also desired that Parliament should not sit in his absence. The action of the Premier in this matter was autocratic and unfair to the people of New Zealand and he cannot blame them if they fail to show an absorbing interest in the doings of a body whose work can be so lightly set aside. Yet, despite what has been said, as great fault would attach to under-estimating as to over-estimating the value of the task that is achieved by our legislators in Wellington. They cannot make or entirely mar the prosperity of the country, for this is dependent, not upon its laws, but upon the natural conditions of soil and climate and the energy and character of tho people. What they can do, however, is to keep the machinery of State well oiled so that it will run easily and smoothly, and on the other hand they can by various legislative misdemeanours so clog the wheels that even with the strongest motive power progress is difficult and slow. How true this is can readily be judged by anyone who reflects upon the conditions existent in New Zealand during the winter that has just passed. The depression which was evident throughout the Dominion and which found its worst manifestation in the unemployed problem was produced by world-wide causes that could in no way have been controlled bv any Government. The Ballancc-Seddon-Ward administration could not be fairly blamed for the Wall Street crisis, the great poverty of tho English masses, nor the consequent drop in the price of wool. On the other hand the policy of that Government in encouraging the speculation in and over-valua-tion of lands, the extravagance of its administration of the civil service, and more important still, its miserable failure at land settlement, all tended to cripple the fighting powers of the community with the result that the weight of the blow was much greater than it need have been. Just now the financial outlook is brighter than it has been for some time, thanks to an extraordinarily good season —for it is at times consoling to remember that the climate is one thing the legislators cannot interfere with—but it is timely to reflect on the lesson of the past and note the attitude of Parliament in relation thereto. In this connection it should be noted that the welfare of the Dominion is very largely dependent upon the . number of people who can be placed upon the land in the capacity of producers. The saying may seem familiar —it has indeed become a platitude with political orators —yet even that fact does not destroy its essential truth. Therefore we note with pleasure that the question of the disposition of Native Lands is amongst the matters that are to come up for consideration. during the session that is about to commence. Of these lands there are some 7,000,000 acres, the larger proportion of which is at the present time unutilised. Fo r twenty years or more we have had first one budget and then, another of Native Land Laws and we have had many scores of speeches from the Alinister of Native Lands, but of settlement there has been precious little. Now we have the promise of the Hon. Mr Carroll that a real step forward is to be taken and it is to he hoped that our legislators will show sufficient interest in the matter to see that the step is forward and not backward. The suggestion may, on the surface, seem unkind, but it becomes the inevitable thought when one calls to mind the record or

the Native Minister or this subject

Whatever may have been the intention of past Parliaments the net result of their labors has been to retard settlement, and we can only assume that Mr Carroll, at "any rate, was cognisant of the underlying factors in a problem that was not understood by the rank and file of his party. The settlement of the Native Land Question would give such an impetus to production in this country that the Dominion would at once enter upon a new and the most profitable stage in its history. And the only solution that is worth the name is one whereby the lands that are at present witkeld from rate or lease shall be available for the use of any European or Maori settler who has the ability to farm them properly and economically. There are other matters to come up during the next few weeks that merit more than passing attention.

The Premier will ask Parliament to confirm New Zealand’s share in the naval agreement, come to at the Imperial Defence Conference. We hope it will do so, for the arrangement is one that is eminently statesmanlike, and is in keeping with the needs and aspirations of this country. There is, however, one aspect of the defence question concerning which Sir Joseph Ward has been strangely silent; namely, as to compulsory universal training. Before visiting England the Premier was avowedly hostile to the only sound method by which a country can attempt to provide against foreign invasion, and it will be interesting to note whether his views have been changed as the result of his presence at the great Conference. If they have not we shall look to Mr. Massey to give the House an opportunity to show just where the members stand on this important question. The Leader of the Opposition is as sound as a bell on the project of military training, and to carry a vote against the Government under this head would constitute a triumph the country would not grudge him. If only these two great issues of land settlement and national dclence were effectively dealt with, the coming session would prove to have been well worth the money spent on it, but, unfortunately, it is too much to hope that this much will be achieved. following the approved methods of the past, numerous other measures will be introduced, and will be dealt with in a more or less perfunctory fashion, finally being placed in the fulness of their crudity on an already over-loaded Statute Book, to become the sport of lawyers and the dismay of a bewildered public. Scores of other Bills will be brought forward, taken a certain stage in the early part of the session, and then dropped like so many hot bricks, as Christmas looms near. The new members are shocked and grieved, but the old hands wink the other eye, and the Premier smiles a knowing smile as the annual slaughter of innocents forms a climax to the legislative farce. However, despite the weaknesses of our representative institutions, and despite the outrageous loquacity of members, something of good is usually achieved every session, and we can only hope that the Parliament of 1909 will finish up with a record somewhat ahead of that set up by its predecessors.