NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 746, 19 February 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

' The general idea'that in Germany the working inan is compelled to working longer hours for lower pay than t£e : British 'workman is combated in the 'current; issue of The World's ]Vorh -, Accordingto; Me. T.' Good, who has collected a large amount of interesting information' on the subject, the Geiman working man is really very much better off than-the British .worker.; Fourteen years ago, ,lie contends, the. wages: in , each of the two. countries were practically on all fours; and ha asserts that since then the. rise in the wages of skilled labour has been practically twioe as great in Germany as in, England! .In the .case of unskilled labpur, in iron: apd sfceel works there has been no increase worth mentioning in Britain, while in Germany tho rise has actually been greater than in the case of skilled workers. ; Th'e' net' result is claimed to be that t!ie average wages to-day are actually higher in Germany than in Britain. Figures are quoted to support this contention. I'he United States Labour 'Bureau found that in twelve selected occupations the average increase in wages between .1890; and 1903 was equal to 31.8' per cent. in' Germany, against 11.9 per cent in Britain. Since 1903 there has been an almost constant succession of increases _ in Germany, and but few in Britain. The reason is stated to be that in Germany there has been a . dearth of labour, whereas in England.the lab', our market has been over-stocked. And yet emigration from Germany has been steadily decreasing, whereas there is practically no falling-off in the figures relating, to'thq dcpar ; tuies from the United _ Kinguopo. The following figures, which are the avorages for the periods stated, bear on this point:— . . , Emigrants from Germany. TJ. Kingdom. 1881 _ 220,092 213,002 : 1881-1890 132,242 ■ . 1 255,853 1891-1900 - 52,987 " ' 174,279 : 1901-1907 , 29,602 249,340 Concerning the cost of living, which is, 'of course, an important factor as affecting 'the value, or purchasing power, of wages paid, it is claimed that living in Germany is quito as cheap as in Britain. The British Oonsul-General, in a report on the subject, states that whereas during the past twelve years , wages have increased in Germany by from 37 to 38 per cent., commodity prices have not increased by more than 25 per mint, admits

that German industrial conditions have improved at a greater rate recently than English conditions.

One. matter in connection.; with Loud Kitchener's visit—and a rather important one—deserves soma notice. Ui) till 1903 neither the. value of what is technically known as ."covering fire in assault," nor the importance of an assaulting force "sticking to the salients" of a landscape—that .is, keeping out of . the gullies . and . asoending (for purposes of attack on a range of hills) along the spurs, were at all familiar to New Zealand Volunteers until Colonel Robin introduced them. • . These • are very important; tilings, • viewed from the. point of view;of ; minor, tactics, and it is somewhat disingenuous that, the 2taw Zealand Volunteers should be asked to exhibit their knowledge of • these matters' on

ground with which they are already far too familiar. It is very like children being called on .to "recite a set piece." The Press' Association messages indicate that the Otago Volunteers aro; camped at Abbotsford, and will,_ eventually,: probably defend; a position locally known as Mount Grand. Thiß position iB the key on the land side to Dunedin, just as ..the Johnsonville-Ohariu-Hutt position is to,.Wellington. On both these positions the .Dominion Volunteers have-had special instruct tion; and are becoming proficicnt oil the • teraities mentioned. ; This, ' of course, is not tactical knowledge, but ; merely "parrot learning," derived from the undoubted knowledge of military operations possessed by Colonel Robin.' As Loud Kitchener

is,. perhaps, visiting the Dominion: to ] gauge our' military "aptitude, : it seems a rather tawdry proceeding to impose on him the shadow for the substance, and endeavour to impress/on him . that- our.. Volunteers possess a general knowledge of ground, whereas they: really'understand only: certain pieces of country which have been well drilled into them. The remarks which apply to_ the Abbotsford position. at Dunedin apply with ctpml force to the_ .Johnsonville.' position, ;round which ; (as a. tactical pivot) the Kitchener manoeuvres for the Wellington district are.to be held. Lord Kitchener will be able to form a very , sound opinion, as to the class of material available, but he would probably gain a better idea of the standard of military efficiency, attained had the manoeuvres' taken place over country less familiar to the'forces.

. The . cable messages referring to tho'::British' political .crisis ; ;are ■ the mpst: important, that we have received for somo days; Yesterday it appeared as if the Nationalists had come to ail' agreement with the Government, and would ■ consent to priority, being given to the Budget. For" the reasons which we have given in earlier articles,, such an; agreement would be .a very! extraordinary thing, since jit would im-: ply that the Nationalists had learned nothing'from their bitter, experience of reliance on the Liberal party in tho i last, twenty years. Frantic efforts have been made by the Gbvernment, however, and aie.i: still being made, to- produce- a •'-'praicsti^ble with;: party leaders rushing", to "each 1 other's-.-offices. The .basis of the Nationalist agreement, if one ' has actually been arrived fat, appears from Mil. T. P.- O'Connor's statement to .be an assurance by the Gov-: crnment that - the . Budget v ; will, be: passed without reference_ to the Peers. -To re-submit the Bill- to the; ■Lords, the Nationalists , say, would be to admit a power that must be. denied. The Labour party, .which' has so far taken no active part in the game, has; now issued a manifesto of a character most disturbing r to ! the : Government.. .'Like,; the, .Nation-, alists, the, Labour party _ will riot countenance any recognition by. tho Commons of the Lords' authority. l . If it means anything, the manifesto means . that the Labour ; ,party will 1 be! willing to turn: the Government out of office unless the Lords' vote is dealt with before any business is sent, on to the Peers. The Government, therefore, will not be able to pass tho Budget and at the same time retain' the . support of the Nationalist and; Labour groups unless it can obtain from the King an as-' surance that he ' will ' sign the Bill, on the advice of the Commons alone: It is difficult to believe that his Majesty, who in -this matter must exercise his ■ own -.'-"discretion,- will consent to set such a violent precedent. Jt is worth: noting, by. the way, that the merits of the Budget are no longer advanced by anybody, aSj'ari .argument for its - adoption. It cannot succeed excepting by, good luck—an interesting commentary upon - the vehemence with'' : which. it was claimed to be the Budget thai England thirsted for.

It is perhaps not surprising that Lord Kitchenee should nave thought it necessary to proffer a word of warning .to the Commonwealth on the_ danger attached to permitting political influences to bo brought into play in "connection with the defence. forces. ' iWe aro ; all .familiar with the'evils of the political "pull", in ; the matter 'of: public ments;' we know, the, waste and .misspending of public money : that goes on under political control • of the. Public Works Fund. We have even heard of "political influence" of .an undesirable kind . in' connection with the defenceforoesfo.f'..this 'country. :At the present:time,; with a. com-; paratively; small, permanent, force, there is not very; much opportunity for the bestowal of political favours in --connection therewith ; but there is nevertheless a distinct danger in that respect, and that danger will necessarily: be increased as the forces grow larger. No one, we venture to think, will question ' for a moment the imperative necessity for keeping the defences forces, of the country free from the slightest suspicion of ■political patronage. ' ' Merit, and merit alone, must count in the matter of : appointments', and promotions, if that standard of' efhciency amongst ithe officers that is necessary to place 'our' defences on a proper footing is to. be attained. Of course this is all quite obvious to the average citizen. It is not quite so plain, however, to a certain type of party politician, and it is just as' . well, therefore,, that the point should bo emphasised. • • .'..

While some sympathy will be felt with the residents oflsland Bay, who fear that the orection of a Prison Gate Home there will discount the value of their properties and prove objectionable in other respects, few indeed will fail to condemn the offensive attitude adopted towards the Salvation Army by some of those who attended the conference on the subject on Wednesday last. Tho references made to the Army and its social work by one member of -tho--conference at least.vera so

offensive that it would not havo been at all surprising had Colonel Knight and Brigadier Bray shown 1 their resentment by leaving the conference. The- occasion was not one for attacks and recriminations. The Salvation' Army is perfectly ontitled to do what it\ has planned, and the only question to be considered at the conference was whether any suggestion or . offer could be .made which would enablo the Army representatives to_ change itheir plans and meet the' wishes of those Island Bay residents wl)o object to the erection of the Home in their ■ neighbourhood. The , matter resolves itself very largely into: a question of ways and means. .The Salvation Army authorities appear willing to do all that is reasonably possible to avoid friction,- but . they cannot be.expected : to make all' the 'sacrifice*'''. The way to compromise appears to be open, but it - is not likely to be reached by attacking the work of the' Salvation Army, whose social undertakings should win' the admiration of all classes of the community. ■' v ,-.