DOMINION TOPICS

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 187, 4 May 1940, Page 15

DOMINION TOPICS

Tax Comparisons The taxation per head in Britain will amount to £27/8/5. A family of four will therefore be liable on the average to pay £lO9/13/8 in taxes this year, or over £2 a week. Severe as the impost is, it is being accepted cheerfully to pay for the war. And severe as it is, it still falls short of the weight of taxation imposed last August by the New Zealand Government —in peacetime. The yield from taxation under last year’s Budget was estimated at £-11,574,000, equal to £27/13/4 from every man, woman and child in the Dominion. Thus New Zealand’s peacetime Budget was more onerous than that just produced for .Britain at war. Mr. Nash subsequently brought down additional tax proposals to help finance war expenses, the new imposts being estimated to produce £2,400,000. Thus the total taxation last year would amount to £43,974,000, or £29/6/8 per head. New Zealand taxation last year, therefore, ran ahead of the rate fixed in Britain for this year, considered on the bald figures, although the British taxpayer pays in sterling. Expressed in New Zealand currency, his taxes amount to £34/5/6 per head. —“New Zealand Herald.”

Wool and Its Competitors. In May of last year Mr. A. F. Barker, an ex-professor of textiles at the University of Leeds, stated that wool fibre would never be matched by any artificial fibre. “The synthetic chemist is up against an impossibility,” he declared. “I have no hestitation in stating that I can convince any scientist of this fact by a few moments in the laboratory. Having witnessed everything that has happened with reference to the introduction of these fibres, I can say that none, whether varied in diameter, or length, or both, will ever be produced with the qualities and particular efficiencies of wool.” Views such as these are shared by many other experts, and it would seem that the wool trade has every chance of returning to normal after the war if those associated with it will give serious thought to the matter of making the finished article available to the public at a reasonable price. It is too early to forecast what economic conditions will be like after the European conflagration dies down. ’One thing which seems fairly certain, however, is that the world will see some important adjustments in commerce and industry. Wool, if handled wisely, should survive as the main source of material for human apparel.—‘Dunedin “Evening Star.” Marking Examination Papers.

The matriculation examination is not really satisfactory as it is at present conducted, and yet it is difficult to suggest any improvement short of a change of system. The examiners have to put through thousands of scripts rapidly in order that the results may be announced before the opening of the school year, and under the conditions existing faulty marking is bound to occur. The examiners have to employ assistants and however conscientious they may be themselves it is not always possible to guarantee the conscientiousness and efficiency of the subordinates. But it is one thing to state the position and another to find a remedy for the troubles. Possibly the solution might be found in the appointment of script markers in the four centres, at least in those subjects in which hundreds of candidates present themselves for examination. Of course the whole problem has been discussed from time to time and the Senate’s view seems to be that the present system, with all its weaknesses, is the most satisfactory. But the public will not be content if the Senate fails to follow up the report of its executive committee by ordering another comprehensive survey. — “Christchurch Star-Sun.”

Living Standards in Wartime. What is not yet understood in New Zealand, and it may be some time before it is, is that the varied repercussions of the war will certainly cause a fall in living standards. It is unreasonable to suppose that the standards which have been enjoyed in this country during the past few years can be maintained while a mammoth war is in progress. Already the people of Great Britain have been told that the most they can hope for is a living standard sufficient to assure life in good health. In New Zealand we shall probably be placed rather better than that, but the people of this country have no right to an exceptionally privileged position while the destiny of the whole Empire is 'being decided at sea, on the battlefields and in the air. Unpleasant as it may be, there seems to be no alternative but to accept the inevitable. Tinkerings by the Arbitration Court will not preserve the boom standard of life to which the people of New Zealand have grown accustomed. —“Timaru Herald.”

Apples for Britain. Notification from the British Government that shipping space has been made available for the export of apples from New Zealand has, not surprisingly in the circumstances, found the industry unprepared to take full advantage of the export season. Large quantities of apples have already been disposed of on the Dominion market at prices unusually favourable to consumers, and it will not now be possible to export anything like the quantity formerly exported when provision has been made for the local market for the remainder of the year. The export demand is certain to cause ..an upheaval in the apple market in New Zealand. In order to recover losses'through selling at cheaper rates an effort will no doubt be made to export every available case. Advances in prices seem almost certain. Unusual methods have been adopted of disposing of surplus apples, and the country has been given an indication of what the position would be in New Zealand if the British markets for other products were suddenly cut off. The resumption of exports will be a welcome relief to the Government as well as to orchardists. —“Waikato Times.” Are We Bulling Our Weight?

In three centres of the Dominion, there were witnessed parades of the Second Echelon, which is expected at some future date to join the First in Egypt. With mingled pride and sadness the watching crowds saw the successors, including many direct descendants, of the men who won fame at Anzae. They saw in these men units of the new armies in whose hands the Anzae traditions are in safe keeping. They saw troops marching by, and they thought, perhaps subconsciously, “This is what war means; it means young men ‘joining up’ and being trained and then going away.” But war, modern war, means a great deal more than this. It means, or ought to mean, a nation in arms, even though only a minority bears arms and meets the enemy in battle. In a country remote from 'bat tiefields it is difficult to appreciate this. For the great majority who do not “go away” life goes on with little change. It is possible to say that now, nearly eight months aftei the war began. If it is possible to say it at tin- end of the year, the truth of it will be a reproach to the Government and every able-bodied man and woman in the Dominion. —Auckland “Star.”

Subversive Propaganda. New Brighton, where the question has just been discussed by the Mayor and councillors, is not the only area where the distribution of anti-war leaflets and pamphlets calls for the prompt attention of the proper authorities. It need not be supposed that the police are unaware that this propaganda is being circulated; it need not even be supposed that they are excessively tolerant. The probability is that questionable documents are noticed, read, and passed to some central authority for an opinion and for instructions, which may take days or weeks to return. If this conjecture is near the mark, it may be suggested that it is necessary to speed up the process of control. The regulations are clear and comprehensive; it has been emphasised by the Government that subversive propaganda is to be put down. But obviously the regulations can be no more effective than the process which brings them into force; and if that is slow and uncertain, propaganda will run ahead of them and do its work while the law waits. It should be possible for every piece of questionable literature to be read almost as soon as it appears, by some competent authority at hand, and for instructions to issue at once if action is held to be necessary—" The Press,” Christchurch.

Trans-Tasman Conumuiities. It would be pleasant to be able to describe the inaugural flight of the trans-Tasman air service, which takes place tomorrow, as the climax of a rapid and efficient organization. The preparations should prove to have been efficient; but they have been anything but rapid. Indeed, the process has been so leisurely, and interrupted so often for reasons that were seldom explained satisfactorily, that few persons can have retained the enthusiasm with which the project was first welcomed. Now that the service has been established it is to be hoped that efforts will be made to co-ordinate the overseas and Inland air mails. The Postmaster-General said last week that this would be done “whenever a saving in delivery time could be effect- • ed,” but he added, rather ominously, that the system would make use of “the curtailed air services now in operation.” Memories of past delays and the awareness of present difficulties make it hard to give the new service an unqualified welcome. But there is at least cause for satisfaction in the thought that New Zealand has become the Pacific terminus of the Empire air network. Even if part of the value of the service must remain merely potential until the-return of more settled times, the essential advance has been made, and the framework exists for r future expansion.—“ Southland Times.' Flood-stricken Settlers.

The latest announcement by the Min-, ister of Labour in regard to relief for farmers in North Taranaki whose holdings were damaged by the floods in February is satisfactory so far as it goes. Mr. Webb states that where State assistance in the provision of labour for the restoration of fences and resowing of eroded areas is required it will be made available on easier terms than those which apply to the ordinary 4b scheme for the improvement of holdings and the increase of production thereby. Mr. Webb detailed the means by which State assistance should be sought for labour, grass seed and fencing material, and he has promised. to investigate a suggestion made by Mr. W. J. Polson, M.P., that vacant public works accommodation be made available for workers engaged in the restoration of flooded areas. In all plans for State assistance there must be a certain amount of regulation, the difficulty being to make a scheme intended for general application flexible enough to me'et individual needs. Much depends upon the manner in which relief plans are administered, but judging from the Minister’s reply to Mr. Poison’s inquiries he is prepared to deal sympathetically with those who are suffering from a catastrophe that was quite beyond human control. —‘‘Taranaki Daily News.”

Our War Effort Criticised. Can it be said of New Zealand, as of the Mother Country, that great sacrifices have been made —“sacrifices of the method of life of the great bulk of the population?” The plain fact is that life in New Zealand goes on very much the same as before for most people, and the public generally is quite content to allow the Mother Country to fight the war on its behalf. It is estimated that the war this year will cost Great Britain £2,000,000,000, and the only public complaint is that money is not being spent fast enough. On a comparative basis New Zealand’s war bill for the. current year would be about £75,000,000, but the highest estimate that has so far been given is £30,000,000, or <

40 per cent, of its rightful quota. And New Zealand has the temerity to boast of being the wealthiest country in the world! But that is not the end of the sorry story, for of the £30,000,000 which is the outside figure which the Dominion will spend this year it has to depend on the Mother Country to provide about, two-thirds; instead of contributing its quota of £75,000,000 it is going to content itself with finding, at the most, a paltry £lo,ooo.ooo.—“Gisborne Herald.”

The Coal Shortage. The Minister of Mines has declared that one of the first repercussions of a shortage of coal supplies in New Zealand would be a restriction of the railway service. Production of coal in 1939, according to figures supplied by the Minister last week, was 2,342,639 tons—the highest output since 1940. In 1939 the Railways Department used 484.423 tons, representing an increase of 11,190 tons compared with the previous year and of slightly more than 51,000 tons compared with consumption in 1937. In the face of such a steadily rising demand for coal for railways purposes there is a clear cause for concern lest a falling output should be reflected in loss of transport capacity by the railways, which are State-owned and thus directly affect, in their earn ing power, the pockets of the taxpayers. Whatever may be the causes of friction between miners and mineowners, all the evidence suggests the I the men have been prone in the past to make more than ready use of the strike weapon as a means of forcing the concession of conditions to which they consider they are entitled. Last year there were no fewer than 29 disputes in the coal-mining industry, ami these caused the loss of 21,739 working days and an approximate loss of £25.596 in wages. What the loss in output was it is impossible to estimate, but it is plain enough that these irritating stoppages of work continue to be an important factor in keeping coal production below a safe maximum — “Otago Daily Times,”