May, 1912. 



history of the Month. 



Ixvii. 



[.V.Z. Graphic. 

 THE HON. J. MAOKEXZIE. 

 The New Premier of New Zealand. 



to berome natur«?-lo\vrs, to enJure long walks and 

 l)odily ta6i;;ue, to l)erfmie efficient in .some elemen- 

 tary forms I'f snrveving so a.s to K-i-c^me |)ro;i<-)ent 

 in lanii-marking, much practical and useful good 

 would h)e done. It would pro\oke thought and ob- 

 servation and promote muscular growth, as marching 

 and counter-marching in the streets under the light of 

 the lamps cannot do. It would, moreover, do awav 

 with the dangers that l>eset the present systt-m in the 

 way of immoral contamination. The present system 

 is obnoxious and objectionable. 



The I't-deral Go\ernni<-nt is having' 



Sinie .1 b.id time over the building of its 



Enltrpristg. „ .ir.Uiips. The Kit/n.y d.»ks 



muddled those it put together. 



Now llif p.irt> tor others are read\ , but ncbndv 



can tell when tin- work will U* crim|)U-te(i. Mr. 



Fi.sher trietl to ge< Mr. MK'iowan the oth<T <I.n to 



guarnnte*' to g<-t the work done in a certain time, 



Init the New .Soulh VV.des Premier was too .isitute 



for thai, anfl all Mr. Fi.sher could get was a )>ro- 



mise that the work would be pushed on as (piicklv 



.ns |K)ssible, which may mean anything or nothing. 



Life drifts along very comfortably in the Fil/ro\ 



flovernment dix-ks. It really se.-ms as though there 



were some germ at work in fiovcrnmcnt industries, 



th.it prcM-nts push. And things are not likely to 

 get any hK?tter, so that in the immediate future the 

 FeiJeral Government may have to call in the aid 

 of the hated manufacturer, " the natural foe of 

 the working man." Gov<Tnments act not wisely 

 when they destroy private enterprise. A few vears 

 ago the Victorian Government caused the closing 

 of a huge foundry in IJallarat by deciding to 

 do all its engine building and repairing at the 

 Newport Government workshops. To-dav the de- 

 mand for rolliing .st(x-k is so heavv that the work- 

 shops cannot nearly cope with the demand, and 

 engine.s ha\e had to he imported. The work could 

 not be undertaken in Ballarat, for the machinerv 

 is dismantled and the place shut u\). Invited ten- 

 ders only c.illed forth two replie.s — <_>nly one from 

 <^)uwnsl.ind and one from .South Australia. Healthy 

 <-.'.mi)etitioti among private firms would have pre- 

 vented this impasse. Po.s.siibly the pendulum will 

 reach its limit with these difficulties and begin to 

 swing back. But it is a co.-nplete answer to those 

 wiio (-.instantly cackh- ami clamour for .Sta»e-OAvned 

 <'nt;T])rists of every de.scripticHi. 



Immigration 



and the Federa 



Labour Party. 



The Federal Go\ernment continues 

 to set its face determinedly against 

 anything that will increase immi- 

 gration. The State Governments 

 some time ago unitedly asked the Giivernnient to 

 undert.ike the business of getting ^5,000 immigrants 

 ye.irly to Au.str.dia, the States to .irrange as to dis- 

 tribution. The Government has re<-eived an official 

 refusal. The reason giiven is <)f the flim.saest dest^rip- 

 tion. It is that the Federal Government does not 

 tliink th.it divided control lietweeii Commonwealin 

 ,ind States is desir.ible. The f<illv of such a re-ason 

 is m.initest, when it is borne in mind th.it the .States, 

 in asking the Commonwealth to take charge of jm- 

 migration, did it for the very purpo.se of eliminating 

 the divided control which exists at present. They 

 recognised that the rommonwealth. and not indi- 

 vidual States, should aihertise for and advise 

 intenfling immigrants, and otTered to hand the con- 

 trol our to the I'"e(l<-r.il (lovernnifiit. The fact is 

 that the Fisher (]<«ernmeiit will not take the thing 

 on, on the ground that it will remedy the very evHl 

 that Government professes to abhor. The reply is 

 only ,1 shuffle. The Feder.il Government, ol)e\ing 

 thi' tug of the rein given by I.alour leagues, is 

 against immigr.aition, and is (l*-ti-rmined tt> put every 

 barrier it cm in the way of .idding to our [xipulation 

 fr<«n outside. Londoners tell of the folly of divi- 

 sion of work by the .States, .md urge that the Gom- 

 monwealth should take rontrol of this department. 

 But. in the f.ice of the G<T\crnnient's refusal, it 

 looks .IS though chaos is likely to rdgn till the 

 Fedwal Party is returneil to |K)wer. 



