NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2414, 20 March 1915, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

There have been many worthy efforts made in New Zealand during the past few months which had for their object the granting of some measure of relief to the Belgian people, who have suffered so terribly, and still endure great hardships and distress of mind, as the result of German ruthlessness, and it is gratifying to find that our people are responding so generously to the call to their sympathy. There are those, however, who, though they may not be able to donate large sums of money, have sufficient compassion towards the oppressed and stricken Belgians to be desirous of helping in various ways to augment the funds. These are being given an admirable opportunity of. contributing their mite in a manner which should prove entiroly pleasing by assisting to make a success of the coming tour of the Company, organised in the interests of the Belgians, which commences at the Grand Opera House this_ evening. The tour, it may be mentioned, has the support and sympathy of His Excellency the Goj'ernor and the Government, and that being tho case, the public may rest assured that tho bona fides of tho company as a purely charitable enterprise have been established beyond all question, and that with a proper response from the public, the result of the tour should mean the handing over to the Belgian Fund of a substantial amount. This method of raising funds has a distinct advantage, inasmuch that it does not conflict in any way with efforts in other directions. The public will not only have the knowledge that they are assisting a most worthy cause by attending tho performances, but they are promised admirable entertainment for their money. The Government, no doubt, has many calls upon its purse just now, and is naturally reluctant to relax its hold on any possible source of revenue, _ but it might well consider whether it would not be a graceful thfng in the present instance to make some recognition of the self-sacrificing efforts that are being mado by- the New Zcalanders concerned in this enterprise, by affording the company such ■ facilities as lie within the power of Ministers for economising expenditure during the tour. It may be that this has been already done, but if not, the Minister of Railways, for instance, might grant some concession to tho company while travelling. The members of trie company, of course, would not benefit in any way, but any sum - saved by this means would go to swell tho total, which the promoters of the enterprise naturally aro anxious to make as largo as possible, to be handed over to the Belgian Fund. Tho company's effort promises well, and with that support from the public which it deserves, the result should prove gratifying to all concerned. The City Council, in discussing the Runanga resolution, was well advised in adopting Councillor Hindmarsh's A general resolution against the increase in prices is a comparatively valueless contribution to the discussion. Everyone is agreed as to the end desired: the difficulties arise when one approaches the question of ways and means. A few specific and practical proposals arc worth a ton of generalities. The Canterbury papers to hand yesterday, for instance,. record a resolution by the Sprcvdon Council that the Government should fix a prico for wheat and take over, tho flourmills and bakeries. In this there is something definite to go upon, even though one may not agreo with the idea. Tho Government is alreacly purchasing the meat export of the country oil behalf of the War Office, and Mr. Massey has threatened to establish State bakeries should the price of broad- rise unduly. How far State activity could be extended along these lines without breaking down of its owu weight is another matter. Definite suggestions by the local bodies will at least give the Government a clear indication of the general trend of public opinion. It is no use crying that the times are out of joint unless some practicable way of putting things right can be suggested. There is an old adage Hint tho ,wite JutUw uivcii his judgment but

not his reasons, for reasons can be pulled to pieces. The arbitrators who have fixed the rentals for the city leaseholds have acted on this maxim in the past, and the result is ii collection of awards in which it is impossible to discover any principle or consistency. The other day, Mr. C. B. Moiuson forwarded the City Council a letter giving the grounds of his findings in the recent arbitrations. This evoked a reply from Mb. Skerrett, one of the counsel engaged, and the public gained some insight into tho grounds on which the awards were arrived at. It is to be hoped that this will lead to the establishment of a rule that in future reasons shall lie given for the findings. As Councillor Atkinson pointed out in the discussion in the City Council on Thursday, it -is impossible to secure consistency in the awards unless a series of precedents is built up. Complaint is continually made' in tho council that it is impossible to secure arbitrators who are not biased in favour of the council's tenants. To require reasons for tho decisions would obviously be a healthy corrective to bias on the part of an arbitrator.

At what stage in its negotiations for the purchase of a dairy farm does the Hospital Board intend to take the public into its confidence'/ Discussion on the proposal has been proceeding behind closed doors for some time past, and efforts to have tho matter ventilated in open board have been defeated. A corresppndent this morning alleges that the scheme involves an expenditure of between £8000 and £9000. It is time that some assurance was forthcoming that the board will not commit itself to an outlay of this magnitude without giving the ratepayers and contributory bodies an opportunity of forming an opinion on the merits of'the proposal. Prima /aci's, there is much to commend the principle of a large institution such as the hospital,supplying itself with milk and produce from a property of its own. t .The scheme may be an excellent one, but we do not think the public, in view of the very rapid increases in tho board's expenditure of late years, will be inclined to take it wholly on trust. At the board's meeting in the'middle of February it was stated that a public discussion would prejudice the negotiations in hand. _No one wishes to do this, but it is a-s well that an assurance should be given that the ratepayers will not be asked to foot the bill for a scheme of the merits of which thoy know absolutely nothing. It is only right that any local body desiring to protest should have any opportunity of doing- so before the Hospital district is committed to an additional liability of £8000 or so.

The- protest against the increases in the prices of foodstuffs circulated by the Eunanga Borough Council has produced some interesting discussions. The problem is a big one, and one in which remedies that at first glance give promise of being thoroughly effective end by producing a labyrinth of unexpected results. The withdrawal of millions of men from productive labour, the throwing idle of ships, and blockage of transport on different trade routes, are bound, to upset values throughout the world. We must expect to feel the backwash of this disturbance. At the same time there is no reason why local combinations in control of certain commodities should be permitted to take advantage of the general commotion to squeeze the_ public. We do not see that anything effective ean be done to prevent prices here from moving in sympathy with world prices, but instances of extortion over and above this should be mado the subject of searching inquiry.