NOTES.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume V, Issue 631, 9 July 1891, Page 2

NOTES.

The Te Aroha election takes place to-day. A few weeks ago it was thought, owing to the statements persistently circulated from the Conservative side, that the result of the election would be very important, as the vote might be a deciding one in the event of a party division in the House. The state of parties is now known beyond doubt to be so favorable to the Government that they cannot be defeated this session unless they make some grave blunder, of which there happily appears to be no sign. Therefore the election at Te Aroha loses much of the significance that was recently attached to it. The indications are that the Government are nearly sore of a victory.

The return of the Grenadier Guards to England is no insignificant item in the history of our country. It must still be fresh in the memory that the Guards were ordered off to Bermuda about twelve months ago, the distasteful service given them being by way of punishment for insubordination in the barracks. Tomorrow they make a start again for “ Home, Sweet Home.” Those who love their country will hope that the lesson will prove a beneficial one, not to the men alone, but to that species of military cad dressed in brief authority, whose superciliousness and disregard for the men have done much to goad them on to insubordination. Men who enlist in their country’s service are now something better than mere slaves, and little ebullitions like that for which the Guards were sentenced to a dreaded service, show that there is something that needs inquiring into.

The visit of the Emperor and Empress of Germany to England will be a time of great jubilation among that great body of people who dearly love a show. While the poor are crying out for food, there will this week be thousands and thousands of witnesses of the squandering of money to make a great show of magnificence, because of the visit of the royal guests from Germany. The rascally Shah of Persia was entertained but a short time ago with a pomp that will hardly be surpassed this week, and if it was reasonable to bestow so much attention upon that cruel wretch, what can be said against the entertaining of the enlightened Emperor and Empress of Germany? Only what can be said about any other great national waste, but this is quite sufficient to make it objectionable to many minds.

We never could see wherein lay the goodness of a man who miserably spent his lifetime in amassing wealth, without thought of those around him, and upon his death devoted the gold to the service of charities. It might prove that he died better than he lived, because he showed some wisdom in diverting to good objects that wealth which he could not take with him. A Mr Clapham, an ex-colonial, has bequeathed £300,000 to charities in Great Britain, Tasmania, and Victoria, but he stipulates that Romanists are not to participate in it. How can a man die with such a curse on his lips ? Had he devoted the money specially to religious sects it would have been a mere matter of opinion, but for a dying man to deny Romanists participation in charity funds makes us wonder what kind of a man he was when alive.

The Herald thus prettily estimates the strength of parties in Wellington : Ministerial 24, Labor 12, Opposition 27, and Independent 9. Why not tell the lie straight out?—say that a party that is in a minority of exactly its own number in the House is ruling the country. Our contemporary should remember the advice in the play, of telling a lie well when you do tell it. Let us make a shot at analysing the strength of Opposition, on our contemporary’s principles. Begin with 27— Temperance 4, Tipplers 4, Freetraders 4, Protectionists 4, Talkers 4, Dummies 4, Freelances 2, leaving one oyer; that is the Opposition, Mr Bryce himself!

The bungling over explosives, and the consequent shattering of human bodies, have become matters of such dreadfully frequent occurrence as to lose much of the interest arising from their singularity. But it is fortunately a new thing to hear of fearful explosions like that on H.M.S. Cordelia, when a gun declared to be in good order burst without giving the least clue to account for the dreadful affair. The only grim consolation so far is that the usual farcical enquiry will be gone through, and when it is all over things will probably be about as far advanced as if a commencement had never been made. Someone richly deserves hanging by the neck until he is dead, but the difficulty is to point out the neck on which the ugly noose shonld be placed.

Yesterday’s chapter in the history of the N.Z. Native Land Settlement Company was a formality that once again brought into striking prominence a project with a most melancholy history. Added to the many hostile forces the. Company had to encounter, in those who were opposed to it on principle and those who ranged themselves on the same side from motives of self-interest, there was a path to be hewed through the tortuous maze of the native land laws, or alleged laws. The record is a sad one, and its dismal impressions will not be effaced for many a long day. What we now hope is that the land will quickly be brought into profitable occupation, and that the district will soon be relieved of the curse of so much waste of productive powers.

IN our last issue we made a reference to the attitude taken up by the Archbishop of Canterbury in regard to the education proposals in England. It has since been explained to us by a gentleman who has bad considerable experience of the school

system in England that what the Archbishop would mean would be in no way an antagonism to education as education, but that he was afraid that the new proposals would lead to the voluntary schools languishing, and thus the school boards would get full control. As it would be optional with them whether they made religious teaching a part of the duties, it is explained how the present proposals might affect the Church’s hold. As far as the Archbishop’s own views are concerned, there is no doubt that he has always been a warm advocate for the enlightenment of the people.