NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1566, 9 October 1912, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Probably it will be a long time before the Australasian public realises how little there is in the loose alarmist talk of an urgent and terrible "yellbw peril." Few sensible people would care to say that a Japanese invasion will never be a possibility— for never is a long time; but most of the writers and speakers on the subject at this end of the world ignore altogether the great internal difficulties of Japan and the fact that the Japanese people want as little to fight us or anybody else as New Zealand desires to fight them. The Yokohama correspondent of the London It con ami-si, has some interesting things to say to 'those who regard the Japanese with admiring fear as paragons of so-called patriotism, eager to give their lives for _ the country, and intent on a national policy of aggression and conquest." With regard to the fiction, for example, Mint, in Japan conscription is looked upon as a duty-, and entered upon with pleasure, lie mentions that in WOS, out of a Iota! of MT.OOt) young men subject to conscription, 12,000 were insubordinate, i.e., enrlenvnuwl to iivoid wi'ving. Mi.irh Jauane&a emigration is due to a die-

like of military service. "Those unable to go to America or elsewhere abroad are apt to develop, as they approach the age of conscription, n sudden weakness of health or an addiction to spectacles, and in some cases resort to dangerous drugs, 01 even self-mutilation. The more ignorant have recourse to prayers at temples. There arc certain shrines which have a reputation for securing exemption. Just before the drawing for conscripts, these shrines art thronged with devotees, and the priests make a good thing of it." It has also b?en discovered thai many youths become teachers in elementary schools in order to do the six-weeks' training which exempts teachers from conscription, and, after performing their drills, resign their poorly-paid posts. In time, nc doubt, Australasian people will realise that the Japanese are not, as they are so often comically represented, armed monomaniacs panting with a desire to swoop down on Australia and New Zealand. So many conflicting rumours come to us through the cables concerning the position of the British Government on Home Ilule that the wisest thing for a colonial to do is to "wait and see." A fact that must not }>e overlooked is the influence which its by-election reverses must on the Government. After the East Carmarthen election (on August 23), which ended in the Liberals retaining the seat by a greatly reduced majority, the Times published an interesting analysis of the by-elections sincc the last general election. There have been 39 by-elections, and the Unionist party contested 38 of them. In seven cases the seat contested was a Unionist seat, and in each case the seat was retained by the party.- In 31 cases the vacating or deceased member was a Liberal, and in seven of these contests the Unionist candidate won, while in nearly every case (there were only threo exceptions) the Liberal majority slumped heavily. The thirty-ninth case was Hanley, where the Liberals gained a Labour seat, and even there the result was strikingly critical of the Government, for while the total poll showed an increase of 1333, the Unionist vote showed an increase of "'1335, the Liberal-Labour combination showing a decrease of two. The best index, however, to the current of opinion among the electorates is, as the Times pointed out, the change in voting strength. In the 2S straight-out contests the Unionists recorded a total net gain of 19,619 votes, and a further net gain over the Liberals of 12,568 votes in the three-cornered contests. "In one election after another, whether any change of representation has occurred or not, the Liberal majority has fallen heavily and with significant persistency." Mr. Asquitk's tactics cannot but be affected by this steady testimony to his loss of the nation's confidence. The Government; must have felt well pleased with the easy manner in which it got its Legislative Council Amendment: Bill through its second rcacling stage last evening. The Opposition really cut a sorry figure in their attempts to provoke the Ministerialists into talking about a measure dealing with a subject which had been already thoroughly well debated.' There was in fact nothing in the Bill calling for coininent after the lengthy debate on Friday everi'ing last and it would have been sheer waste of time to have gone over the ground again. If 'members of; the Opposition arc as anxious as- they profess to be to see the session end before November they will need to settle _ down to business in earnest. Certainly they did not themselves talk over-much on the Legislative Council Amendment Bill last evening, and that is to their credit; but they 'did their utmost to force the followers of the Government to keep the debate going. And _ to what end 2 What was to be gained by it '! Nothing but the needless spinningout of the duration of the session.