NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1886, 22 October 1913, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

i The present generation owes a | deep debt of gratitude to those brave men wiio risked their lives iu the early days of the Dominion, not only . in promoting .settlement, but in fighting against hostile Natives to 1 maintain law and order. For ninny ; years now the Maori and the pakeiia have lived together in peace and li friendship, and a generation has * arisen which cannot, adequately realisc the constant perils and anxieties ij which the pioneer colonists cxperi- j enced,. The annual cosforenco of g

) the Royal New Zealand Association 3 of His' Majesty's Veterans, which t was held in Wellington yesterday, i is an impressive reminder that life ) and property were not always as safe fc in New Zealand ns they are to-day. r Many of the old colonists had to f share with the regular soldiers the : duty of protecting their homes from 3 the rebellious Maoris, and they did - their work with a skill and courage ) which won the highest praise of the - civil and military authorities, Everyone is glad that justice has at ) last been done to tha veterans as regards their pensions. This matter ) is referred to in the association's an- - nual report, which states that "the ; present Government hns kept its 3 promise and passed the Military Pent sions Act, 1913, granting ft pension l to all Maori War veterans who possess medals, arid this has given gen- J , eral satisfaction." This is not_a matl ter of charity, but simple justice. - The veterans have fully earned all - that they are receiving froin this t source, for, in addition to their ac--5 tual military service, they have set - an example of practical patriotism . which should be an inspiration to - the younger people who arc now i called upon to prepare themselves to 3 defend their country should the need 3 arise. Any man may well bo proud - of being one of His Majesty's Vctcri ans, for they are honoured by nil - good citizens. 1 Austria's imperative demand for a the withdrawal of Servian troops • from Albania, backed up by emphatic E representations from Germany, gave > rise to a rather critical situation, : and for a time the outlook was exj trcmcly grave; but the tension has • now been relieved by Servia's notifi- > cation to the Powers that she will i comply with Austria's wishes. It has . been stated that the proposed . Albanian principality will probably ! become _ an Austrian protectorate, i and this suggestion goes far to ac- . count for Austria's strong objection ! to Servia's military operations in s that country. Quite a number of j difficult and delicate questions have i still to be decided before the Balkan i nations can be expected to settle ; down to_ the new order of things. ; The nationalities, territorial areas, • and populations of the newly demarcated States are given by a Russian : statistician resident in Bukarest as . follows:-— ! Area in sq. kil. Population. Kmnnnia 13!),71.1 ... 7,500,000 ; Bulgaria 118,000 ... 5,500,0150 Greece 111,000 ... 4,750,000 1 Servin 88,000 ... 1,500,000 European Turkey El,ooo .„ 2,250,000 i Albania 28,000 ... 850,000 Montenegro 10,000 ~. 150,000 These statistics are based, as regards European Turkey and Ru.lPtaria, on the Enos-Midia frontier line fixed b f v the Treaty of London, j and they will require to bo rectified if Adriannple and the reconquered portion of Thradan territory even- . tually remain in Turkey's possession.