NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 1760, 27 May 1913, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The great majority of New Zcalanders will warmly approve the. vigorous patriotism expressed by the Premier of South Australia (Mr. Peake) in his speech at the Colonial Institute's dinner on Empire Day. Ho declared that in times of stress Australia would not want t'o ask if England was right, but would help with substance and men, and inquire into the rights of the Quarrel afterwards. There is a true ring in these sentiments, and plain common-peuso p.a jvell. for if. tho.

Mother Country is forced to fight tho other members of the family cannot bo mcro onlookers. All mu»t stand or fall_ together. Tho foe, whoever it might he, would regard the Empire as ono, and no part of it would bo Kccuro from attack, if opportunity presented itself. The policy advocated by Mn. I'kakk is qui to justifiable from the point of view of self-interest as on patriotic grounds.

A very important change is Boon to be introduced into tho electoral system of the United States in the form of an amendment of the Constitution, providing for the direct election of Senators by the people. This proposal has already been ratified by a sufficient number of_ States (o mako it practically certain that it will bccomc law. In order to securo an amendment of tho Constitution the proposed change must first be carried by a two-thirds majority in each Houso of Congress, and must then receive the ratification of throe-fourths of the States. According to the present method each Stato Legislature clcets two members of tho United States Senate, and they hold office for six years. Senator Borah, in giving reasons for the amendment, stated that "Wherever it is feasible every barrier and intervening influence between the people and their representatives should bo removed." It is also contended that the old method has been conducive to logrolling and worse evils. This will be tho seventeenth amendment of the United States Constitution in 125 years.

After having conquered tho Turks the Balkan Allies are now turning their guns on one another. The Greeks and Bulgarians have already had a pitched battle, and the relations between Servia and Bulgaria are very strained. Servia refuses to submit the matters in dispute to arbitration, on the ground that Bulgaria did not carry out her undertaking in regard to military aid, whereas Servia claims that she did more than she undertook to perform. It appears that before tho war certain treaties were entered into by Bulga.ria with Servia and Grcece. The treaty with Servia is quite definite, but it was agreed that if any dispute arose as to its meaning the Tsar should act as arbitrator. Tho agreement with Greece had to bo fixed up hurriedly, owing to ,tho war breaking out sooner than was expected, and it included no reference to arbitration. It was agreed, however, that the proportion of the conquered territory that each was to receive was to be in accordance with tho efforts and sacrifices made as indicated by the number of troops sent to the front, the killed and wounded, and the financial outlay, ilt is to be hoped that the Powers will bo able to bring about a final settlement between these bellicose States as soon as possible. There is always a risk of the trouble spreading.

The statement made by the Minister for llailways concerning the forking of the railways of the Dominion for the past financial year throws an interesting light on the situation. Mr. Heriues quite properly draws attention to the slight decrease in the net earnings of the North Island lines, and is equally entitled to express his satisfaction at the improvement, however modest, in the returns from the South Island section. In making his comparisons, however, he unduly stresses the points and more particularly the falling-'of£ in the profits of the North Island Main Trunk line. The fact that the North Island line earned £4 17s. scl. per cent on its cost of construction as against £4 19s. 7d. the previous year may be regrettable from the financial point of view, but the further ,fact should not be lost sight of, that, despite this falling-off, and despite the increased earnings of the South Island Main Trunk line, the North Island section still Bhows to overwhelming adva-ntage. The plain facts of the situation are that whereas the North Island line earns £4 17s. sd. per cent, on cost of construction, the South Island earns only £3 Bs. lOd: In other words, taking the average interest chargo on the capital expended on each section at £3 15s. per cent., the North Island not only pays its way, but leaves available £l 2s. sd. per cent, to swell the revenue of the country, while the South Island- fails to earn enough to pay its way to the extent of 6s. 2d. per cent., and is a drain on the revenue of the country. We agree with Mr. Heriues that the second express on the North Island lino is not warranted in the winter months, but we cannot follow his reasoning when he wishes to curtail non-paying services in the north and retain non-paying services in the south, which appear on the face of things to be still less defensible.