NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1886, 21 October 1913, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The appointment of Sir Joshua Williams, the senior member of the New Zealand Supreme Court Bench in" point of years of service, as a member of the Privy Council, must bo- regarded not only as a worthy recognition of distinguished service, but as a notable step in the direction of bringing the highest Court of Justice in the Empire into moreintimate touch with the Overseas Dominions. It would be difficult to conceive a more fitting choice for the office on tho Judicial Committee of the Privy Council than that of Sir Joshua Williams, who is-so well equipped hy training, experience, and temperament, to assist in maintaining the high traditions which attach to that body. While Sir Joshua Williams is to bo congratulated on the honour done him, New Zealand equally is to be congratulated on the fact that the honour has fallen to one so well qualified to worthily uphold it.

The address on Imperial defence delivered at the New Zealand Club's luncheon yesterday by Me. L. S. Ahery, M.P., of Great Britain, was a.s timely as it was interesting. Mr. Ameky dealt with a question 011 which ho is entitled to speak with authority, and among his hearers were the Minister of Defenco (Mr. • Ai.len), the Minister of Internal Affairs (Me. H. D. Bell), and the Leader of the Opposition (Sir Joseph Ward). It is, of course, very difficult to say anything entirely new on the defence question, but Mr. Amery handled his subject in a fresh and striking manner, and gave his audicnce a clear grasp of some of the most urgent problems with which the Empire is at present faced. ,Tlio address was of special interest to a New Zealand audience at the present time, in view of the fact that we are about to make a new departure in our policy of naval defence. One of the most valuable parts of Mr. Amery's speech was his strong insistence on the. paramount need for strategic unity, whatever policy the Oversea Dominions may eveutually adopt. There can be no "go-as-you-please" in the matter of naval training or control. Any local navy, as Ms.'Ameky pointed out, must always bo ready to unite with the rest of the British Fleet, not only for action in case of a declaration of war, but for all that practice on the Irish seas which leads up to preparedness and efficiency in the event of war. Unity of tradition and spirit throughout the service is also essential. "There must bo one scrvice and one spirit; oven if the, fleet is divided into separate naval units," The iwal strength

of the Empire should be based on the resources of each part of the Empire, and the burden of defencemust not lie thrown upon men and ships from ono corner only. Mn. Amery stated these points very impressively, and if. is impossible to ovcr-emphasisa them. They arc fundamental principles, and, no scheme of Imperial defence can be regarded as satisfactory which does not place them in the forefront. All tho units of which, the fleet may be composed must fit into one and another, so as to bo able to work together as an organic whole. No policy will be acceptable to New Zealand which does not l-ecogniso the paramount necessity for strategic unity so forcibly advocated by Mr. Amery.

American journals havo been publishing extracts from the correspondence of the late W. J. Gaynor, the famous Mayor of New York. Mn. Gaynor evidently was possessed of a nice sense of humour, as well as a deep knowledge of men and things, and sorao of his letters in reply to correspondents seeking his advico make excellent reading. There is ono extract quoted which we would commend to some of our Anti-Reform friends, and more especially to some of their journals. It is as follows:

It might bo a good thing for you lo stop putting out i'also statements, even though you cannot get your campaign speakers to do the likii. ... I never knew a dividend to be got out of false statements yet. 1 suppose, very naturally, that the other statements of fact in your published statement aro equally false. Suppose you pray every morning for a while for God to direct you to tell tho truth, and gee what fruits it will bear.

It is pleasing to note from a southern contemporary that some of the Opposition journals appear to bo learning the lesson laid down by Mr. GAYNoa. The Ohristchurch JPrcss, in its issue of Friday last, remarked: "Perhaps we are- mistaken, but there appears to have been a little •slackening of the Opposition's energy in making unfounded insinuan unpleasant kind against tho Ministry. That their inventive aro worn out we do not believe; ibis more reasonable to supposo that the truth is dawning upon them that their slanders havo ceased to injure the Government."

The question of whether farmers can by _ combination dictate prices for their farm products has been raised in a practical manner by the National Farmers' Union Convention of _th<J United States. The organisation, which has a hugo membership, claims to enroll amongst . its numbers two million cottongrowers, and more than a million producers of grain. At a recent convention it fixed the price at which cotton was to be sold this year at _15 cents, as against the present price of 12 cents. According to the Outlook, previous attempts to fix prices lacked a majority vote, but this year there seems to havo been no opposition, and the leaders of the movement are said to be jubilant over tho prospects of nailing the cotton growers in a hard and fast agreement. The prices at which other products are to be sold were v also fixed by the convention, 'and the result naturally is being awaited with the keenest interest, as inviting tremendous possibilities of economic ehanges. The principle upon which the organisation bases its action is to secure for the farmer an assured reasonable return for the capital he has invested and the labour he puts into his land. The prices fixed aro based on the value of the land, and cost of production, the allowance on the cost of the land being six per cent. The failure in carrying out such schemes in the past hasi been largely due to the breaking of pledges by individual farmers, who saw opportunities of bettering the prices fixed, or who were forced to sell at a less figure, owing to the money being urgently needed. Tho Outlook regards the real significance ' of the new effort to lie in the fact that tho. farmer is beginning to apply the cost system to. his work. Manufacturers and distributers, it points- out, long ago learned that only by accounting for every element of cost, including interest on the investment and cost of upkeep, could they hope to' make a profit. Tho farmer, on the other hand, has not always kept books; ho has guessed at his expense account, and his prosperity has come in spite of his_ unsystematic methods. A recent wries of inquiries conducted in Iowa ; showed that in the opinion of well-informed bankers the farmers of that State have been making' less than four, per cent, on their investment. Plainly, .the farmer needs some sort of organisation to ensure him a better return than this for his industry and his service to the State.