NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1969, 28 January 1914, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The views which Me. Arthur Myeiis recently expressed in the course of a speech in London regarding the naval policy of the Kcw Zealand Government' have been father ettibavrassing for tha members pi the Opposition. The cablegram containing a summary of liis remarks which was published'in the New Zealand papers some time ago gave rise to a good deal of comment, and some people nvctc inclined to believe; that the full text would show that his support of the Government's proposals was mucii move qualified than the cablegram indicated. This idea is certainly not borne out by a statement, by Mit. Myfens which appears in the London Daily Mail, and which we reprint in another column of this issue. A perusal of this statement makes it perfectly plain that Ma. Myeiis's approval of the new departure in our naval policy is whole-hearted , and rjnite emphatic. Ho declares that it is "not a stop backward, but a step forward, in Imperial development"—an opinion winch is diametrically opposed to that expressed by Sir Josepji Ward and, iother.,.Oppositioni.sts during, the rncont session 01 Parliament. Mr. Myers adopts almost..exactly the same line of reasoning as Mb. Aixen when he states that the new policy "means no slackening in loyalty, and no desire to escape our share of the burdens of Empire. On the contrary, we are placing greater burdens on ] our own shoulders. In the place of contenting ourselves with the easier and cheaper plan of sending a contribution to the British Admiralty, we are making ourselves responsible, for our own snips." It must bo extremely disconcerting to the AntiReforitters to find their attacks on the Government's proposals in such an important matter as naval defence so effectively answered by one of their, own side, v who occupied the responsible position of Minister of i Defence in the Mackenzie Cabinet.

It is announced that the United Labour Party has chosen Bin'. .1). M'IjAREn to be its candidate for the Mayoralty at the election which takes place in April next, and that the Social Doraocnits also intend to run a candidate if the support of 1800 I members is assured. A content between representatives of these two sections would not be without nitcrj estiag features, but tko main body of citizens has also to bo considered, and they can be relied upon to mako their wishes known in a very emphatic manner before the polling day arrives. The election last year. proved unmistakably that tho great majority of the people of Wellington arc determined not to permit the Mayoral chair or ttio City Council to be captured by an aggressive minority <A Labour-Socialists, and subsequent events have served to strengthen this determination very considerably. The Mayor ought not to bo the mouthpiece of any particular section or clique, but should represent the citizens as a whole, and it is also essential that the. affairs of the city should bfi managed on sound business lines, and with due regard to the best interests of the whole population. The effort of tho LaliourSocialists last April to swamp the Council with their .nominees shows that these principles, though obvious enough to most 'people, must tec kept constantly in the foreground. It is too early yet to discuss the coming elections at any length, but it is fust as well that the citizens should be reminded that tho time is drawing near, and that it is only by alertness and vigilance that they can make certain that the government of the City is placed in the hancis of those best fitted to administer its affairs.

In view. of the present state of unrest in certain part-s_ of India, considerable importance is being attached to the enthusiastic reception which lias been given to the troops participating in the manoeuvres in Eastern Bengal. The Standard declares that "everything points to the complete .success of tho concentration of the troops as a political move." The reference.in the cablegrams io the "Bengali agilntol's" indicates that the choice of Eastern Bengal as the scene of the manoeuvres has some connection with the efforts which nvc bring made. to crush the terrorists in (hat part! of tho country. For some time past the diicuits have been causing a lot of trouble, and a good deal of com-! menf; has been fused by tho failure! of tiir- authorities to suppress this form of lawlessness. Sir Hekry Prinsbp, formerly a Judge .o-i the High Court at Calcutta, in n> recent article in the Xinctccn-th Viithir;/, explains that the criminal activities of the dacoits "n re familiarly oalkd political dacoities. because they are committed in defiances of th*' fr«*ers-

meat'by men who arc connected with , organisations Jor the promotion ol ; sedition." , Ir. is renlly gang robbery, generally cumniittcd by armed bandn of .young men, who swoop down sad-1 deitly on a sleeping family in a | small. village, and with torcnes, : shouts, and the noise of firearms ! terrify the whole neighbourhood. Before trie alarm has subsided they seize all the valuables they can and : disappear, , The Government has dealt too leniently with those found guilty of these offences in the past, but the seriousness of the position is now more fiuiy realised, and severer measures arc being adopted. There seems to be considerable difference of opinion as to how far the spirit of sedition and unrest extends in India. The Commissioner of Police contends that a criminal conspiracy exists among the better classes, but the Press does not accept this view of the situation. There is, however, a growing feeling in England, and among the British residents in India, that'a certain lawless element in the Indian population regards-leniency as a sign of weakness, and that the Government must take more effective steps to deal with tho_ various forms of political crime which have become prevalent in recent years.

Some arresting faets bearing upon the proposal to establish a Leper Institute in London have lately been made public by the experts' who arc interesting themselves an the matter. It is not suggested, however, thai there is any special cause for alarm. The idea underlying- the movement seems rather to be thai) a systematic attack upon this dreadful, disease may reduce it to very small proportions. When the subject was discussed recently before the . Royal Society of Medicine (London), Dβ, Bayok said that there had never been a time when the outlook had been as hopeful as at present, Various Dominions had rules and regulations as regards lepers, but in India, Nigeria, the Sudan, and other parts the arrangements. were not so far completed. In Basutolanc! twentyfive years ago there were, only about 300 lepers, and the Government had refused to interfere. Mow there were 800, and the cost of dealing with them would be-.about £6.0,000! Iβ South Africa only about half the lepers were segregated, hut in the Philippine Islands the Americana I had reduced the number of lepers by 100 per cent. The quicker something was done the less would bo the. cost. The ideal policy was segregation carried out with the co-operation of fjtc 1 Jcpors. This is the policy that has been adopted in New fceakttet where. happily, very few cases of'leprosy I have appeared, In his detailed references to the disease, Dp.. BaVOX emphasised the fact that infection 1 occurred in only about 2 pet cent, of persons living under the same roof, it was not yet known how contagion occurred; About 2 pev cent, of the cases of leprosy improved of'their own accord, but when oil selected eases it was- possible to get five instances of improvement out of ten cases the conclusion was justified that good was being done. He shoved on the screen several early cases in which the symptoms had disappeared, but said that it would be irresponsible to talk about cures in the case of leprosy until at least fiv* or ten years had elapsed. Dji. Phineas Abbaham, referring to tlie prop.pssd Leper Institute in lioiidonY argued in favour of an institution in, which all diseases of the skin could be treated. Bii. f. M, 'Sa'ndwiih 'expressed a hope- that the day would come when they would get a drug like salvarsan for leprosy. They should do something for the lepers of Great Britain, while they made it clear that they did not Want the lepers of the Continent to conw oven There had once been a lot of it in England, and there might be again. ■ He agreed with segregation, hnt the Government should make it as comfortable as passible*