NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1731, 23 April 1913, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The speech of the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce at the annual meeting of,.that body yesterday covered a very wide range of ground in an interesting manner, and also conveyed in concise form come useful information concerning the state of trade and commerce. Without attempting to analyse the facts upon which Mr. Mabin arrives at his conclusions regarding the state of trade gene'rally,- and the immediate outlook, it may be said that his views 'fairly_ represent the position.. The financial stringency, due to a variety of reasons, to which wc have from time to time directed attention, has had a restrictive influence, and has necessitated the exercise of caution on tho part of merchants and traders. Tfierc are now signs of an improvement which, if continued, should have an appreciable effect in stimulating enterprise ill a variety of directions. . There are two matters touched on by Mr. Mabin in his speech which arc specially worth noting. The first is his reference to tliti lowering of the standard of quality of the ncmp now being produced for export.; Me. ; Mabin should be_ able to speak with authority *on this question, and it is to be assumed that lie is fully informed as to'the facts sta.tecl. That being the case, it is very desirable that the warning he has'seen occasion ,to issue should be taken to ■, heart, f The history of the hemp industry in New Zealand has not been such as to warrant producers taking any risks likely to prejudice the product in' the eyes of the outside buyer. The producer may score a temporary advantage by increasing tho quantity of his output at the expense of quality, while the demand is keen, but it is a procedure fraught with danger to the future of the industry, and he may ultimately pay a heavy penalty. The other matter touched on by Mil. Mabin which seems to call for'notice was the position of our industrial manufactures, which, as he points out, do not figure in our exports. Mr. Mabin was good enough to give utterance to a few kindly remarks respecting those who arc striving to build up manufacturing industries in the Dominion, but he made no attempt to discuss tho actual facts of the position. The question is, of .course, a large one, but the chief factor in the situation is unquestionably tho labour problem. Apart, from the question 01 the high cosfof labour: in New Zealand, there is the undoubted fact that the'eonstant industrial disturbances which are taking place have had the effect of discouraging' those possessed of capital from embarking on industrial enterprises largely dependent on labour .for, their success. '

The Wellington Hospital Board did the right thing yesterday when they rejected a proposal that the chairman should receive a honorarium of £200 a year, a motion to that effect being defeated on the chairman's'casting vote. It is true that the Mayor receives ' a honorarium, but this is not regarded so much as payment for services rendered to the city as a grant to cover'the many out-of-pocket expense!! incurred, not only in his official capacity in.connection with the entertainment of distinguished visitors and other civic functions, but also in the way of contributions, of various kinds, chiiritablc and otherwise. This also applies in a lesser degree to tho chairman''of the Harbour Board. It can hardly lie said, however, that the duties of the chairman of the Hospital Board make similar inroads into his private purse. They undoubtedly taKc up much of his time, and require much patience, thought, and sympathy; ami the public has good reason to be thankful for tho. large amount of voluntary work which the chairman and. other members of tho Hospital Board and similar institutions do for it without fee or reward. Still, it should not be forgotten that there is such a thing as public duty, and that the community has a right to a share of the time and ability of its leading citizens in the administration or civic institutions. It is one of the privileges as well as one of the obligations of citizenship to provide this service, and one of the finest features of the public life of Britain has been the ready response always made to any call of the kind. Tho tendency nowadays, 110 doubt, goes in the direction of seeking monetary recompense for service in public positions which in the past have been sought for the honour alone. It is, however, a lowering tendency, indicating a slackening of the sense of duty to one's city or one's country, and a weakening of tho spirit til' personal solf-saerili.ee for tho L'oimuuu good which mcuun bo

much, not only to the individual 1 , hut to the nutilmnl life of a country. If the men fitted for public offices, the duties of which occupy only a small part of their time, Jcclinc to accept them unless they are paid so much an hour or a fixed weekly or yearly salary, it is a very bad sign for the nation. As regards the Hospital' Board in particular, the Dev. \V. A. Evans was certainly on firm ground when he said the proposed payment would he a retrograde step, and he certainly did not overstate the position when he remarked that the district .had within itself sufficient men with large-heartei sympathy for the sick and afflicted willing to render practical service without asking for any emoluments. To such- nrt.'n the work is its own reward, and it is quite certain that the payment of 'a honorarium would not improve the character of the work or add to the honour of the office.

The natural abhorrence of the "Labour tickct" candidate for anyone of his own class who refuses to accept the caucus brand nry perhaps explain a little indiscretion on the part of one of the "tickct" candidates for the City Council on Monday evening. According to the published report of a meeting of "LabourHicket" candidates at Northland, Mu. E. J. Carey, one of the most enlightened of their number, "warned" his hearers against "independent" candidates, who, ho informed those present, were generally rail-sitters. This is, of course, quite what one would expect. But in his excess of feeling, _Mh. Carey took his audience still further into his confidence. He informed them that the whole of the ticket had signed written pledges to support Labour principles. This is most interesting, and the public having learned so much will, we suspect, be anxious to know still more. How have these gentlemen whose names appear on the "Labour ticket" signed away their liberty of action 1 It would be 'most enlightening to know the exact terms of the pledges given, and who holds them. Did Mr. M'Lap,en sign the pledge binding him to "Labour principles," and did Mit ; Tregear and Mr. Hindmarsh sign? The public know well enough the nature of the pledge usuallj' exacted by the Labour caucus. "Labour principles" are what the Labour caucus dictates, and tho form of pledge most favoured amounts to nothing less than the placing of the candidates' resignation in the hands of the caucus or committee, to be ussd in the event of him attempting to break away from those principled He is thus shorn of his independence of judgment and action, and bcoomes the puppet of tliosc who pull the strings. 'Was this the form of pledge signed in this instance? Mr. Carey, or someone else on the "ticket," should really inform the public as to whether this "pledge" which the "tickct" are said to have signed is similar to the pledge exacted from Labour candidates at the general elections, or if it differs therefrom, in what particular.

To the people of Britain the lesson of the Balkan War, according to Field-Marshal Lokd Roberts, should be as cmphatic as the lesson of the Russo-Japanese War—perhaps more so. Writing in the current number of the English Review, the distinguished soldier and statesman puts the ease with a clearness and

force that is startlingly convincing. Taking first the Russo-Japanese campaign, he points out that owing to the distance away,'and the difficulty of securing first-hand information, the ordinary British reader of the war news learned little from that campaign. But, lie continues,

Thoughtful soldiers, on tho other hand, both in this country and on the Continent, had arrived at some very clear conclusions. They- realised that the Japanese successes wero tho result of years of patient training, and that so long as tlio Japanese could rely upon an army thoroughly trained and adequately led • they had nothing to fear from the haohnznrd organisation that the Russians could oppose ,to tbem. But when at the : height of their successes tho Japanese made peace it astonished tho world and amazed tho Russians themselves. There was, how:cvcr, good reason for this volte faco of tho victorious Japaneso: they realised that the Kussian officers had begun to profit by the experiences; of, tho war, and they realised that a fresh

flood from their enormous resources was about to pour in, while they knew only, too well tlmt tho winning of the scries of Pyrrhic battles culminating in tho victory of Mukden had exhausted the supply of their own competent regimental ofiicers and trained men, and that, tlip.v would havo to opposo Russia's next effort with partially-trained troops, led by officers hastily promoted from the ranks. This necessity was opposed to their

iliilosophy of war. They therefore made

peace. ,' And the Iftsson of the Balkan War— tho necessity for trained troops in modern, warfare—is to Lord Roberts but a repetition of the teachings of the Russo-Japanese War. The Turks, for reasons which he sett out in sonic detail, at the outbreak, of the war

had an insufficient supply of firstclass reservists, either to complete the establishments of the first line units, or to mobilise according to tho book the divisions which should

have been drawn from reserves. In consequence the Ottoman General Staff had to go out into the by-ways and hedge-rows to find the necessary hie.n. These comprised callow youths who had never yet handled a rifle, and old men whoso last experience of war dated from the days of Osii.AN Pasha. And with a few days' drill to qualify them, these were sent, to the front,, there tp shrivel up under.the bitter strain of the campaign until their nerve gave out, and they fled like driven sheep, leaving the trained regulars to bear the brunt of the. fighting alone. Thus after ten

days of fighting, Turkish Generals who bad been commanding divisions found their units bad dwindled to

mere skeletons. This is the story which Lonu Eoiikkts tolls us competent observers have brought to England. They traced the delta fie primarily to the employment of parti-ally-trained and untrained troops in battle. To my mind, adds Lord lioberts, it would seem that (lie le>*on of this Thracian campaign, iin which the military reputation of the Ottoman Umpire came tumbling down liko a castle built of cards, was almost providentially sent to warn this country of the folly of its existing military policy. ... hi law, tliorefore. of this uiitravcrsablr "videnco from the Balkans, it is lanlaiiui!;'' ti racial suicide to leave matters a* i'u;,- 're. Tho death of Mr. Henry (Miarleo Poller, well known -in was shown at tho inquest to have been caused liy an act of politeness. To make way for two ladies on tho pavement in Aort.li Street, II r. I'oltor stepped olt the kerb. He was knocked down and killed by a motor-Dimiiims. AVilliesses agreed that the driver could not possibly have stopped tho vehicle ill time to avoid Mr. Potter, and the jury exonerated the driver. The niu'ht was cold, loud was 'his bark, For he'd been sleeping in the park; A friendly policeman heard liiin yell. And made him "comfy" in the cell. Next morn More I lie- beak ho .stood; His Worship thought lie looked demure, j So lold liiin lo Ir'Coiio. u.ud eel W'uuds' Ureal i'ciipcrwiiit Cure. 10* J