Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY, AUGUST 7th, 1920. THE WEEL

Hokitika Guardian, 7 August 1920, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY, AUGUST 7th, 1920. THE WEEL

, i Till! collapse of the debate on the Fiuig uncial Statement in a thin House on C Wednesday afternoon is not very creditable to the Assembly and not a good argument in favour of the intention of the. members to increase their pay by oil per emit. Primarily, the responsig hility, rests upon the official Opposition, 1 which may find some excuse- in the nb--1 sence through illness of its leader. 'Hie 9 Labourites were also unfortunate, sce--1 ing that their chairman ivas engaged a on an important deputation. But the g 1 management in both eases appears to | { have been lax. As to the Reformers, | we all know that the duty of a party | which is a substantial majority of the : i House is to say as little as possible. | That is understood to be their roll*. | from the standpoint of party interests | however, much of (lie interest of the j ! public may be sacrificed. We can utidcr- | stand Mr Massey’s relief at unexpected 9 ! ending of tho debate, because be has pro- '] I duced a Budget which cannot very | | well be considered with any care except , '/unfavoifably. We have had several , instances of this in tho comments of the Reform newspapers. None of them that we know of has found anything to praise in the Budget while most of them have found much to censure. Possibly, indeed, most of the Reform members who kept silent were influenced by the awkward position in which they found themselves. If they had spoken, and

spoken with intelligence and candour, they must have displeased their chief and injured llieir party in the eyes of tli public. If they liad tried to praise the Budget, they must havo made themselves too ridiculous. Discretion "as certainly the better part of valour.

Am, tho same, it is a pathetic tiling to see tho House, neglecting to discuss the most important affairs of the country. Air Massey’s contribution to the debate would, no doubt, have been more interesting had he not been taken by surprise, but we might reasonably have expected something better, all the same, from such a practised politician. There is not much worth noticing in the Prime Minister’s remarks. His views on taxation and oil the financial situation generally are evidently only halfformed. He gave no indication that he remembers the pledge to have an “immediate and thorough” overhaul of the whole incidence of taxation to say nothing of the “substantial reduction” which was one of the most allur-

ing of his election promises. He gave avague undertaking to deal firmly with people who are holding land for speculation, but he lias said this sort of thing so often before that we shall believe it when we see it, and not sooner. Mr Massey failed to explain why he ventured upon a new naval policy without consulting and obtaining the consent of the Parliament, but be did say that tbe cruiser Chatham is to “keep our trade routes open” so that we aU may sleep comfortably in our beds alien the next war comes. ’ We are afraid that tile Prime Minister has not quite grasped the meaning of defence any more than he has that of finance, in regard to which his policy, and his Budget, may fie. summed up in three words—borrowing and squandering. Wednesday, last was tho sixth anniversary of Britain’s declaration of war against Germany. In the intervening years a great deal of important history lias been written, dynasties have toppled and the map of Europe has been drasieally altered. It was the custom on this day throughout the war period for communities throughout the British Empire to express in formal resolutions their indexible determination to prosecute the war until a victorious peace was attained. The military victory was won, decisively and completely. The mighty German Empire to-day is no longer a nation in arms, but is dependent upon tho permission of its conquerors for the maintenance ol sufficient troops to ensure internal order in a stormy period ot transition and readjustment. The attempt of the Holienzollerns to achieve world-sovereignty has been absolutely frustrated and a peace lias been concluded, which, whatever its defects, has at least given recog nition to the principle of international arbitration, and set up machinery to ensure that henceforward no nation, however small and weak, shall be subject to the armed tyranny of another. This, of course, is what wo were given to understand the Allies and Associated Bowel's were lighting for. The altruistic and moral aspects were stressed in all war propaganda. National leaders coined such telling phrases as “a war to end war,” and “a war on behalf of liberty.” The cynic may sneer at the recollection, bub that was, in some form or other, the underlying spirit of the British and the American peoples, and it was the democratic and humanitarian aims of these nations which were so steadfastly and inflexibly supported liy British and American communities. It now appears that there is some danger of those aims being lost to sight ■in the welter of difficult problems which peace lias brought in her train. Ameri-

hi has rejected tlie League oi Nations wliicli her President strove so earnestly to build up, and there are indications that America's defection has greatly shaken the faith of other nations in the League and all that it stands for. The evil influence of reactionaries is nt work undoing all that was worth doing at Versailles, and the very principles of political freedom and liberty of thought and speech for which the war was waged are being endangered in many countries by the efforts of misguided politicians to retain in peace the exceptional powers which it was necessary to give them in a. time of war. There is a need for inflexible determination to see that the heavy price in blood and treasure paid for victory shall purchase for the benefit of ourselves and all posterity those things for which the Allied nations fought and suffered. The firm establishment of a League of Nations to safeguard the little nations and to arbitrate oil international quarrels represents the concrete embodiment of the ideals which the Allies inscribed upon their banners. If the League is to be quietly torpedoed all the world has to look forward to is the next war. ft was important that the Allies should win a victory over the Huns. It is still more important to retain the fruits of that victory. The annual report of the Post and Telegraph Department brought down on Wednesday shows revenue to have been £2,106,995 and the expenditure £1,994,161, this making a credit balance of £112,834. The principal items of revenue were: Postages £1,013,025, telegrams £604,221, and the telephone exchanges £449,317. pn the expenditure side, salaries accounted for £1 ,- 051,324, inland mails £144,130, maintenance of telegraph and telephone lilies £162.068, and miscellaneous charges £338,320.. Over 163 million letters post-cards, and postal packets were delivered in the Dominion during the year, an increase, compared with last year, of £2,455,000. The money orders issued were valued at £4,604,059, and those paid at £4,190,355. Postal notes to the value of £655,910 were issued. In the same period on lie savings bank side the excess of deposits over withdrawals was £3,796,070, in addition to which £!,- 178,935 was added for interest. The I balance at credit of depositors at December 31st., 1919, was £38,393,131. : The report of the Tourist and Health < Department states that the revenue for i

the year was the highest in the history of the Department, viz., £42,218. This shows that our scenic resorts arc becoming better known abroad. A considerable advance upon these figures may be looked for next year. The expenditure has increased from £53,656 to £68,858, mainly due to increased cost of supplies and cost of living increases to salaries of officers. 'Hie ex-

cess of expenditure over receipts is as follows: —Te Arolia, £1483; Rotorua £7190; Hanmer Springs, £2779; Te Anau and Mnnapouri steamers, Glade House, and Milford Track, £643; Queenstown, £448. On the other hand the Waitomo Caves show an excess of receipts over expenditure of £2813. The report suggests that with the closing of the spas in foreign countries to British and Allied nations, a fair proportion of their patrons will migrate to Rotorua for treatment. An influx of visitors from America and Australia, is expected. The season at Mount Cook is described as “an exceptionally heavy one,” and there is every indication that this wonderland will become a great asset to New Zealand. The management could not accommodate all the visitous offering and tents had to he supplied for the overflow. Improvements in tracks and bridges have been made.