NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 67, 13 December 1920, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY

A matter which deserves the attention of the Chamber of Commerce at' its meeting to-day is the proposed co-operative stevedoring association, by -which the

shipping companies and the Watersida Workers' Federation will secure for themselves a practical monopoly in cargo handling. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce is urging that a Government inquiry should be held to ascertain whe,ilher this arrangement is likely to be pre-

judicial to the public interest. It is time that Wellington bestirred itaelf in. this vitally important matter. The shipping companies, in consequenco of their powerful combinations, can pass addi-

tional working costs on to the public with case. Their line of least resistance is to accede after protest to the demands of the waterside workers, and 1 then duly present tho bill for-an increasingly expensive and inefficient service to the public in tho shape of higher freights and fares. There is every reason for * searching examination of the new mutual arrangement for cargo-handling. Delays at this end are greatly reduoing

the service that a given' tonnage of overseas shipping can render in the Cwelvo months in transporting goods ami immigrants from Britain and taking our produce to its markets. We pay more and more and get less, and less for our money. Th'o new arrangement is something more than another straw to be added to the crushing load already on the' camel's back. • • • • Parliamentary procedure is apt to be tedious at the best of times, but a Parliament whore all the members speak different languages and each speech has to be translated and re-translated a score of times before it can be understood by all must bo like a scene from the infernal' regions. This is the plight of tho League of Nations Assembly, and naturally there is a keen desiro to find a way out. In medieval days Latin was an international tongue for Europe, but to-day those who meet in Parliaments have small Latin and less Greek. French is traditionally the official language of diplomacy, but neither it nor any other existing tonguu is known to all the members of tho Assembly. The difficulty may, of courcc, be overcome for good in 'a very short time comparatively if tho nations of the world con only be brought to do the simple and obvious thing, and select ono language which each nation shall teaoh in its primary schools in addition to its own. In a single generation the whole world could in this way bo given a common tongue, and tho difficulties of international commerce, travel, and communication greatly reduced. Tho iproblem is to find a

language which all -will accept. International jealousy rules out those of nil' tQio first-class Powers. Italian has been suggested as being easy of pronunciation, with a vast stock of words from roots common to all Europe, and as opening the door to a noblo literature. Senator Millcn, of Australia, proposes that Esperanto should be adopted. If Where are objections to choosing any real language, a freak one is better than nothing, and of the freak languages Esperanto is the best. • ' • • • Like Topsy, Wellington as a city "just growed." Beginning originally as a narrow strip of beach a few yards wide, some hills and a bog, it is now. approaching tho 100.000 mark in population. Fifty years hence—if not strangled in the meantime by extremist Weary Willies too tired to work—it will probably be a vastly different place from that which we of this generation know. Throughout its history the city has suffered because its City Fathers have nearly always failed to realise that after today comes to-morrow. Tho limit of ambition has been as a rule barely to meet the requirements of tho dav. Needs that might have been anticipated with, a little foresight are ignored' until they can bo ignored no longer. We reclaim land and make Victoria Street, and to save acquiring a few yards leave it a dead «nd. Tho widenin? of Willis Street was postponed as long as possible, and nobody has the courage to talk now of doing anything with Manners Street. Mr. Luke, in Saturday's Dominium, suggested lines that might be taken by the new through arteries that the city will soon require. We may not all agree with Mr. Luke's exact ideas, but he is right in looking ahead. New highways will have to be built. The vital point to bear in mind is that wo shall bo able to create them at infinitely less cost if we now decide on the routes, and make arrangements with tho owners of the land that will prevent the erection of expensive new buildings which the community will have to acquire in a little whilo and pull down to clear a roadway —or else abandon its scheme because of the cost of its own neglect. ■ • • * Martial law is so rarely applied in British communities that one has to turn to the text-books to discover just .what its proclamation in the South of Ireland will mean. "Martial law" is not strictly law at all. It means the suspension of ordinary law, rendered necessary by war or rebellion, and the exercise of the will of the military commander. It is declared, by proclamation by the Executive, that ordinary law is insufficient to deal with the situation, and exceptional nu ans of arrest and punishment are provided for dealing' with persons who resist the Government or aid the enemv. A passage in the Petition of Bight is included in the preamble of each Imperial Army Act stating that "no man shall be foro-jndged or subjected in lime of poaco to any kind of punishment by marHal law." This does not mean that martial law nan he proclaimed only in time of war, for there are well-established precedents for it in civil commotions and rebellions. When it is enforced, the procedure of military law is- followed as far as practicable, and a military court is held on the lines of a court-martial. The prisoner is presold, the evidence of prosecution and prisoner ig taken on oath, the proceedings aro recorded, and all sentences must bo confirmed in accordance with the Army Act. In Great Britain ordinary law was for a time partially suspended on three occasions since the Revolution—l7ls, 17-15, and 1780. In Ireland martial-law prevailed from 1708 to 1801, and in 1803. The procb^.

motion, has always been based on the grounds of necessity, and where any local body of representative character hns existed it seoms that its assent has first been asked for and given. v It is satisfactory to learn that the Minister of Education has decided to provide the new To Aro School with an assembly room. Without such a daily mcoting place- for the whole school its life as a corporate whole has to be carried ou under a heavy handicap. Wanganui is a progressive education district, and the valuable result's that can be obtained hy bringing tho whole school tdgelher each day are fully recognised thnrc. It is impossible to have a sliong esprit de corps in schoals whore the scholars are brought together only in their separate class-rooms, and the children of such schools can hardly be expected to develop a strong community spirit—an asset that counts for a good'deal in after lifo under democratic irftitntioits.