Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY, JUNE 29th 1918 THE WEEK

Hokitika Guardian, 29 June 1918, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY, JUNE 29th 1918 THE WEEK

Events in Europe are again shaping to--1 wards a pence movement. Yon Kuhl- | maun s speech will have a great influence on the peart* proposals. His admission 'that, it is impossible to end the war by military means, though it has inflamed the Prussian mind, must have a market effect on the people ns a whole. The statement will assist further to dissillnsionise the populace of the Central powers ns to their coveted military supremacy, nnd this idea permeating the nation in the present mood of the people owing to their sufferings by privations, will have a marked effect on the immediate future. If the same ideas got into the enemy ranks, following the reverse in Italy, eonse*-|uence.s of a far-ronehing character will spread through the enemy forces and tend to alter very guioklv the whole complexion of the war. If •the democracy awake to a sense of the real position, the time will have arrived when President Wilson will pe prepared to negotiate peace. It is at the present moment too. when the move-

ment for establishing a League of Nations is taking shape. If the greater and lesser countries, still remaining neutral join the movement in a spirit of earnestness, it will he a. further indication to the eneniy nations that remaining outside the pale they will incur a degree of ostracism which will leave' them worse stranded than ever, after the war. The pressure from all these sources suggest the great possibilities that may arise at any stage now to bring about a peace settlement. A continental correspondent gives out :he news that already a third party is moving, following the speeches of Mr Balfour and von Kuhlmann, in paving the way to peace negotiations. The press criticism emohasises the face that the doctrine of force is losing ground in .Germany, which is the first indication that belief in the mailed fist is shaken. The candour of von Kulilmann on various points of the outlook for Germany was remarkable, and suggest the sincerity of his expressions of opinions. His statement prognosticating a long war not only alarms Gie people already grioviously suffering in the Central countries, but makes it plain despite their recent military advances, victory cannot he won by them by force of arms; The postponement of the end of the war later than next year can not ly a pleaant outlook for the blockaded nations. To cr° <>** warring for nil Dial lime, ainl then feel that there can he no military decision creates not; only alarm for their own condition, hut will awaken a sense of more dire possibilities to arise. Time is against them and time lighting on »tho side of tlio Allies will more and more detract from the seeming advantage of the position they now hold, liven the German press is making a more, tolerant and less aggressive view of the war situation and posibilities, a further fact that the time for peace negotiations is ripening very promisingly in the enemy countries; Judged by the present trend of thought supplied over the cables, .important developments of a far-reaching character might arise at any moment, now.

I'vhai'pv Ireland is still a. country distraught bv reason of its own divisions and schisms. Tiie debate in the Commons this week shows that the Government is still anxious to do the right thing for Ireland, if Ireland in turn will do the right thing for the Empire. The Government nevertheless lacks the strength to give effect to its own will, and the discomfiture which has ensued pmst die attributed in a great degree .to tlio palpable weakness of the administration. The spirit of rebellion, so rampant in Ireland is so well organised now, as under Ordinary circumstances, to give but little hope for the future. But the circumstances are not ordinary, and justifying special measures, precedents are likely to go by the board, and in one last try, it might be possible yet to adjust matters and give Ireland internal peace. Air Asquith is suggestion to refer the matter to the Dominion premiers is not a new one. General Smuts proposed such a means previously. It !h a promising suggestion, but then' is no certainty of success. The waging elements in Ireland are so diverse in thought that it would be impossible to please all parties—if any. It would be futile to refer the subject to , the tribunal proposed unless such decision as is arrived at, is to he accepted as final—whatever it might 1.0. That is the only way to security. Behind the decision .'of course, must he the whole force and power of the United Kingdom to impose law and order on the country. Unless this degree of certainty is possible the premiers would he Spending their time in viin. and their work would go for nought.

Tiik news this week of the actual lighting has been confined chiefly to the Italian theatre. The Austrians received a set-hack, their offensive being squashed. The victory does not appear to have been as decisive as it promised at one stage. The. Italians were not as mobile as was hoped, and were not able to pursue or to seriously harrnss the retreating foe except with artillery. On the other hand the Italian front might not have been as strong as was expected by the average reader of the cables, and the command with a full knowledge of the resources was'content to drive the enemy- across a natural defensive harrier such as the river Piave, and hold the foe at bay. The Allies, it now appeal's notorious; are fighting a waiting game. They are gathering their strength for the final offensive when augmented by the millions of Americans. tlie initiative will rest with the Allies, and by force of men and arms it will lie possible to ensure finality. The fact that the enemy is allowing the summer to pass hv without renewing the offensive and their attempts to reach the Channel ports and Paris suggest that there must he a material reason for the pause. It may be that the cause of the delay is due to internal military difficulties. Whatever the reason, the respite is of great value to the Allies who are able to organise their reserves and supplies where considered most desirable. The tranquility now living experienced, may be broken at any time. The renewal is overdue, a fact which makes the delay tiie more remarkable and so satisfactory.

A mores of the timber question, a Sydney correspondent notes that the Forest r.v Department of New South "Wales is busy seeking a- suitable timber from which butler boxes may be manufactured. Hitherto. New Zealand white pine has been largely usol for this purpose, just as it is used in the Dominion, hut the Government has now been advised that, in view of the possible depletion of the white pine forests, the export of the timber from New Zealand truly be prohibited. Most of the Australian woods are noted for their strong flavours, and, of course, the wood of a but-ter-box must carry no taint. So a prejudice has grown against Australian woods in this respect—a prejudice that the Minister for Forestry savs is now justified. He says the shortage of white pine is not fin unmixed evil. Already the butter trade has exploded the objections raised to tiie u=e of Richmond river hoop pine for making butter-boxes. It was said that the resinous smell of the hoop pine would taint- the butter, nnd for a long time this prejudice was effective. ' Experiments have shown, however; that the obiection was without any foundation : the biggest butter factory in Australia. that at Byron Bay, was using hoop nine with excellent results. Tim .Minister said also that it was intended to experiment- with other of the despised native timbers. Brushwood was considered quite suitable the roily objection being its dark colour. The fashionable butter box is white. Mountain ash, from which fruit cases are largely made g is to- be tried. What Australia is doing j in looking for something to fill the place !

cf white- pine, might well be copied by this’Dominion where the white pine is already thinning ont. The action taken in Australia is suggestive of the advice offered by the Sydney Bulletin when commenting on the suggestion that if New Zealand prohibited the export of white pine to Australia, the States of the latter should resort to reprisals by prohibit ing the export of hardwood to the Dominion. The advice of the Bulletin was to look for a substitute, for in any ease the supply of white pine would soon he absorbed.

It was mentioned this week that the "Times of London” was being printed on newspaper made from sawdust. This opens u]) a vista for the future of this Dominion with its vast forests stretching far and wide, and particularly along tin 1 West Coast of the South Island. On this paper supply question a correspondent writing recently from New South Wales remarks:—“Although Australia uses enormous quantities of paper, particularly for the production of newspapers, only a few of the commoner kinds of brown-paper and cardboard are made in the Commonwealth. All the rest comes from abroad—mostly America, 'fhe. Government has tried in every way to stimulate the manufacture of paper in Australia, but the difficulty is the finding of a suitable material from which to produce pulp which lias hitherto proved an utisunnountable objection. With the cost* of foreign paper four and five times what it was before the war, the Australian consumers have been forced again to ntlaek the problem of manufacture. and this time there appears a reasonable prospect of ..something being done. It all depends on the result of a shipment of twelve- tons of eucalyptus logs which have been sent to a Canadian paper mill, from which certain classes of paper are to be made. If the experiment is satisfactory, the paper-making industry may be quickly started on a large scale. The experiment is in the hands of a committee of experts set up hv the New South Wales Government. They apparently decided that if papermaking was to lie undertaken with any hope of success in this country, the übiquitous gum-tree must ho utilised. There are many scores of different varieties of eucalypti, and there are inealeu lnbly enormous quantities of it .scattered over the Commonwealth. Close and careful experiment by the experts decided them in favour of one particular variety, a waste timber quite useless for any present-day commercial purposes—valueless .even as fencing posts—which possesses a fibre of sufficient length and texture. . Near the upper waters of tlio Murray, well within the snow region, this particular variety bonds undisputed sway over tens of thousands of acres. It is a quick and vigorous grower, and when out down, it will shoot up from the old stumps, and it grows quickly from seeds. The big newspaper proprietaries are watching the experiment with keen interest—and naturally, seeing that newspaper has gone up from £l2 to £SO per ton. Tn New Zealand there is much forest land suitable for paper making, hut hitherto capital has not faced the proposition. If there wero proper enterprise shown this country might well he providing all the newspaper required for local consumption.