Progress of the War.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16145, 25 February 1918, Page 6

Progress of the War.

The German invasion of North Russia provides subject matter for the greater portion of the war news to-day, and tho various messages give a fairly comprehensive review of the appalling chaos which has resulted from the failure cf the so-called diplomacy of Trotzkv, Lenin, and the anarchical mob in wlioso hands the destiny of Russia has latterly been. The actual invasion calls for little comment, as no resistance has been, or is likely to be, encountered, in spite of the appeal of Ensign Krylenko for detachments to carry on guerrilla warfare against the invaders. Along tho whole front the enemy is advancing steadily, and the occupation of Petrograd appears to be only a matter of time. The plight of the Russian Baltic Fleet—icebound and deserted by its crews—places it at the mercy of the invaders, and at the same time practically converts the Baltic Sea into a German lake. Tho

occupation of Revnl is imminent, if the report is tnio that tho Russians evacuated it in panic, and from there the encmv can march along the southern shore of the Gulf, reach Kronstadt and Petrograd. thus robbing the Russians of all their naval bases. The capture of Reval will also bring the enemy into touch with Finland i.y means of a ferry service across the mouth of the Gulf, linking up with Abo and Helsingfors. the chief ports of Finland. From Finland the enemy can come down upon Petrograd from the north and also cut the communications between the capital city and its northern ports, Kola and Archangel. The most important item of news from the other fronts to-day is the capture of Jericho by General Allenby's forces. From a strategic point of view this is of far greater importance than the capture of Jerusalem, as it frees the British right flank, giving General Allenby plenty of room to manoeuvre, and at the same time ensures a strong barrier against any possible counter-attack against Jerusalem from the east or the north. London is the medium through which comes a report that a great artillery battle has begun on the entire French front. No official confirmation of the report is to hand, and the French communique merely records "fairly " lively reciprocal artillery action on "the whole front." On the British front only the customary minor activities are reported. It will bo remembered that; a week or two ago we suggested that the Post-master-Goner al should ask the High Commissioner to state definitely what gifts in the way of foodstuffs sent from New Zealand to people at Home would bo delivered by tho British post office authorities, and what would bo confiscated. The suggestion was brought under tho notico of Sir Joseph Ward on his latest visit to Christchurch, and he said, in cffect, that it was a good idea, and that ho would have it put into execution. So far, however, nothing more has been hoard of the matter, and Christchurch people who arc anxious to do what they can to supplement the somewhat scanty rations of friends at Home arc somewhat in a quandary as to what they may send. Tho information should bo easily obtainable in London, and if it is not furnished soon, the High Commissioner. might be reminded that -\ve are still waiting for it. In view of the shortage of mercantile shipping, which is, of course, responsible for the shortage of food at Homo, it is of interest to note that a scheme for utilising all available shipping space for the transport of food was recently submitted by the Ministry of Food to a conference of sixty leading shipping firms in London, and was unanimously approved. Tho scheme, it was explained, was to make the fullest use of every ship coming into British ports. All spare store-room, and any other accommodation which may bo available, including passenger state-rooms, that may be empty, are to have food stored in them. All the food thus brought to the Old Country in this way is to be pooled, the pool to be controlled on co-opera-tive lines, by a committeo of shipowners at each of the large ports, and the supplies will be dealt with at cost price. —e — It may happen, in course of time, that some of the present absurd regulations against the import of, say, sugar in the United Kingdom, may be relaxed, or even abolished. In that event we shall hear of no more incidents like the throwing overßoard of a thousand pounds of sugar brought home as presents for their families by tho crew of an armed transport which some months ago reached a British port. Each man's lot would probably not have amounted to more than a few pounds weight. But they were told they could not land it, and in their indignation, as thoy were not going back with the ship, each and everyone of them promptly tossed his parcel over the side. The regulation forbidding the importation of sugar into Great Britain without a license is presumably intended to enablo the Government to control the price, but, surely, the same end could be attainoil by permitting its •unrestricted importation, and forbidding its sale at more than a fixed price. The discomfort causod by the short supply of sugar is out of all proportion, so some doctors at Home have been saying, to the value of sugar as an essential food. Many of us, certainlj many adults following sedentary occupations, take too much of it. In manj ■ cases it lias much to do with promoting tho conditions that causo rheumatism and allied afflictions. Aftci all, our forefathers got along fairlj well without it. It is not much more than three hundred years ago since it was a rare delicacy, as witness the incident described in "Westward Ho," when Admiral John Hawkins, waitinc at Plymouth with tho othor sea-dogs of his time for the Spanish Armada brings old Martin Cockrem, "the firsi Englishman, perhaps, who ever set foot on tho soil of the new world," "a little paper of Muscovado sugar, tlion as great a delicacy as any French bonbons would be now." As a matter oi fact, if sugar were now as rare a luxury as it was then, none of us would he groatly tho worse. It is because we have been cultivating a sweet tooth for generations that we have acquired an exaggerated opinion of the value of sugar as a food. We use it because we like it, and to justify a childish tasto argue that it is good for us, whereas in numbers of casos it is nothing of tho sort. Legislation is a thing -which cannot be valued in terms of money, for its results cannot be measured in those terms. But the cost *of legislating is a thing of which one may say either that it is reasonablo or that it is excessive. In Australia a good many people complaint, not only that the machinery of legislation is too costly, but also that the actual legislative output is not worth the expenditure. The president of the Victorian Employers' Federation recently gave some figures bearing on this matter, which appear to afford some justification for the complaint. With a population m five millions Australia supports seven Parliaments with 60S members. The pay and allowances to these members amount altogether to about £ISO,GOO, or £270 per member. For this sum,

■ the Federal member had to sit on only j 51 ivs in 1917. which works out at ' • a sitting Dunns that Urns ? -h!; 1 Federal Parliament passed only 25, " aU In the State Parliament, the; j - president of the Federation said, thoj. 3 Kills ' that became Acts snowed litt.e , M-n of constructive statesniansmp ex- ; 11 cope an Act dealing with the sale ol fniit and another dealing with !<m- ' maid* Public opinion, ii well oigan--5 S should he able, lie thought, to I 1 insist on reform. We are not san- j . s rr U i n e that Parliaments anywhere will r ever become at once cheap and efiii cient. At present they are neithei cheap uor efficient anv where.