The Guardian (And Evening star,with which is in-Corporate the west coast Times.) SATURDAY, JULY 14th. 1923 THE WEEK

Hokitika Guardian, 14 July 1923, Page 2

The Guardian (And Evening star,with which is inCorporate the west coast Times.) SATURDAY, JULY 14th. 1923 THE WEEK

Thebe is a good deal of concern on the 1 part of those engaged in. heavy motor 1 traffic at the prohibitive regulations f being enforced by the Government ( over the jjtnin South road. Both the t limit of loading and the rate of fees *

or yearly license, are on very restrictive lines. In view of the fact that the South is without railway connection thero should ho more elasticity in the regulations. All over the Dominion motor traffic is becoming the vogue, and especially is tnis so for the backblocks, whence the railways are fed. Below the present railhead at Ross there is a long range of country producing primary products and the development of that large area naturally depends oil its output being realised upon economically. The Government is building bridges and making other improvements to the roads, including the extension of vehicle roads, which could bo justified only bv the probable development of the district. If on the other hand, the same Government, if not the same Department, at the moment of road and bridge improvements, places restrictive rules and fees on heavy traffic it is at once manifest that development on expansive lilies will Ik? checked severely. This is exactly what is going to happen if there is to he no “let up” in regard to the conditions now being enforced. Motor traction will not be possible under the regulations, and that prohibition enforced will tend to delay development.

Being without railway communication, the South district has a strong claim for redress. It is a productive district where pastoral pursuits will flourish under reasonable encouragement, and the value of the products will be a welcome addition to :the national wealth, the sum of which indicates the general prosperity of the country. There is the fact, also, that the southern district is largely a Crown estate, and to improve the roads and permit heavier traffic, under reasonable terms is to add to the material wealth of the State. Not only is there a large area of Crown lands in occupation for settlement purspnscs, hut there is, also, a vast area of State forest of enormous value, as it is possible to get the commodity to market. The opening up and loading of the territory is therefore of very great importance, and to restrict traffic unduly at this stage is to check enterprise. In fact- to enforce the regulations in their present prohibitive form is to put progress hack, and instead of motor traction for hauling Heavy goods, it will he necessary to revert to horse teams which means extra delay and expense in marketing, and holding the district up by the primi; five means of transport which alone will bo available. In this, as in other matters, the people arc slow to realise what the menace of the restrictive regulations means, out with actual prohibition enforced tney will soon recognise the injury being done to southern settlements.

Pahmamknt is continuing on its dreary routine. After having disposed of the delude on the Address-in-Reply the Budget was brought down last, week, ami oil Wednesday evening the financial debate was opened by Mr Wilford, who said ho'proposed to discuss some of the proposals contained in the Financial Statement, and also mention some ol the changes essential to good government- in this country, which wore absent from tlie Budget. In 1912 the Reform l’arty started their policy of “window dressing,” and lie proposed to show how great were the differences between the promises and the performances of that, aprty. He thought the fact that- not. one Minister controlled ally one Department for any length of time contributed to this result, liven m this Budget thero weic contradictions in figures and statements, due probably to some want of permanence of Ministers. The Prime Minister, whose accession to power might he described as a “political accident,” had ridiculed his (Mr Wilford’s) suggestion that there must he reduction ill company taxation, but now in his Budget, Ik> declared that n reduction in company taxation must take place. Mr .Massey had stated at- Oamani that amongst interest-earning assets which could he set. against the national debi were the railways, but as the railways last .year earned only £2.1(1 per cent instead of 3:1 per cent., the statement made by the Crime Minister was otic scarcely worthy of a Minister in his position.

Continuing, Mr W i 1 lord said the Reform Party stood for the present banking system, and that constituted a fundamental difference between that party and the Liberal-Labour Party, led by himself. The hank rate of interest was oppressive and bad times all over the world were being taken advantage of by banking rings. Reform papers were claiming that the Reform Party must remain in office because there were some sixty millions of loans tailing duo during the next six years, but why were the papers not frank and tell the people that about half that sum.was due to the post office alone, renewal of which was only a matter of arrangement between the Minister of Finance and the Postmaster-General? So that claim that the wizard of finance must remain at the head of affairs was only a political cry raised to mystify the people. Other public departments had also lent money to the State, one of which was the Public Trust. The Prime Minister was in charge of that Department. Ho also was Minister of Finance, and the speaker wondered if Mr Massey would have much trouble in persuading the head of the Public Trust Offue to renew the loan to the Minister of Finance. Dealing with the proposed reduction of taxation, lie declared that Customs duties were too high. As Minister of Finance. the Prime Minister had indulged in a policy of borrowing and spending. Anything ho could mortgage he mortgaged, and the speaker wondered how long this career of borrowing and sjiending was going on. He wanted to know why the Government had put nothing in the Budget which would offer some relief. In connection with the currency and exchange questions, we sent out of the Dominion some sixteen million rounds worth of dairy produce nmr-

ally, and when the costs and charges made on that amount were considered it was time the Government did something to relievo farmers of those charges.

Ox the subject of loan redemption the Liberal Leader quoted the Budget of 1922 and accused the Prime Minister of a breach of faith in not carrying out the promises made in that Budget which breach of faith, he claimed, confirmed his opening statement that Reform Budgets were only “window dressing’ intended to meet the necessities of the moment. Tt was a much debated question as to whether in bad times the country should reduce the national debt or reduce tfixation. He fayoured

the latter view and declared that every million borrowed by the Prime Minister put a further burden on the taxpayers. Wo must set our faces against largo borrowing and a heroic effort must bo made to reduce taxation on companies and through the Customs. Coming to annual appropriations, he declared that tho expenditure on the departments exceeded last year’s expenditure by a million and a half. Yet in face of this the Prime Minister boasted iu his Budget of economy! Why was tins possible? Economy moreover in any case was a matter that would have to be carefully looked into. There were other discrepancies in tho Budget which did not square. So far as soldier settlement was concerned the Government was hiding the true position in the Budget. Why did they not toll the House frankly what the country's losses were in connection with those settlements? While the Prime Minister proposed penny postage he raised telephone charges. What lie gave with one hand lie took away with the other. One pngo of tho Budget told the House that public works expenditure was to lie a million and a half inoro than, last year, yet on the next page the Prime Minister warned people that they must economise. So far as land settlement was concerned the proposal of the Budget was hopeloss. This country could only be got out of its' difficulties by a progressive land policy, which would immediately reduce the unemployed problem. We now were paying £318,583 subsidy to the public servants’ superannuation fund, and that would have to go on but tho time was coining when others 1 1, -silk's public servants would be claiming superannuation, and that position would require careful attention by future Governments.

What is usually known as the Four Power l’aeilic Treaty, was unanimously ratified by tho Chamber of Deputies, reported a Paris cablegram on Thursday. This Treaty was signed at Washington on February titli., 1922. The preamble sets out that “the United States of America, the British Empire, France, and Japan, with a view to tlie preservation of the general peace and the maintenance of their rights in relation to their insular possessions and insular dominions in the regions of the Pacific Ocean, have determined to conclude a. treaty to this effect.” Article 1. of the Treaty provides that the high contracting parties agree as between themselves to respect their rights in relation to their insular possessions and insular dominions in the Pacific. If there should develop between any of the parlies a. controversy arising out of any Pacific question and involving t heir rights which is not satisfactorily settled by diplomacy, and “is likely to affect the harmonious accord now happily subsisting between them, they shall invite the other parties to n joint conference, to which the whole subject will ho referred for consideration and adjustment.” Article 11. provides that if the said rights are threatened by the oppressive action of any other Power, the contracting parties shall communicate with one another fully and frankly in order to arrive at all understanding as to the most efficient measures to be taken jointly or separately, to meet the exigencies of the particular situation. Article 111. provides that the treaty shall remain in force “from the time it shall take effect, and after the expiration of that period it shall continue in force subject to the right of any of tlie contracting parties to terminate it upon twelve months’ notice. Article IV provides that the treaty shall l>o ratified “as soon as possible,” and shall take effect upon the deposit of ratifications at Washington, and “thereupon the agreement between Great B:i----tain and Japan (the Anglo-Japanose Alliance), which was concluded at Loudon on July 13th., 1911, shall terminate. ” The treaty was ratified last year hy the United States, the British Umpire and .Japan. Jn the case of the United States a reservation passed by the Senate on March 27th.. 1922. was added as follows : —"The I nited States understand;; that the statement in the preamble, or under the terms of this treaty, these is no commitment to armed force, no alliance, and no obligation to join in any defeme.” Apart front its general significance, the ratification of the tieaty b v Franco, is important in two respects. As. presumably, the deposit ol the French ratification at Washington will take place this month, the treaty will remain in force, in accordance with Article 111., tint i! Jnly-Augusi, 1933; and the Anglo-Japanese Treaty will terminate automatically with the deposit of this, the last ratification. The An-glo-,Japanese Treaty was for a period of ten years, from July 13th., 1911, but it provided that it- snould continue in force until the expiration of one year from the day on which either party should have denounced it.

Tiik present position in Europe is of such a delicate nature 1 that it is causing considerable anxious thought, as to ivhut part tho British Commonwealth can play in averting disaster to tho world. Hitherto the Prime Minister has lieen content to watch events savs the “Hound Table.” “lie refused in 1 aris to co-operate with France in her proposed action in the Ruhr Valley and he stated candidly the belief of the British Government that sueh action was as dangerous as it was certain to he futile. He might well have added that, it was a violation of the Treaty of Versailles. I'p to a point t.horo is clearly a very strong case for patience, even for passivity. It is the British policy to lay stress on points of difference, and so long as there is a chance of working in harmony with France on other problems tho natural inclination ol the British Govet iiment will ho to avoid the complete rupture of /the Entqnte. But. it is clearly onlv up to a point that the Biitish Commonwealth can continue to remain a silent spectator of French action. Already practical difficulties accumulate, and British neutrality is severely strained. Tho Government is naturallt reluctant to renounce its obligations for the fulfilment of the Peace Treaty, to remove its representatives from In-ter-Allied Commissions and its troops from iho Rhine. So this country has continued to ho represented on the Reparations Commission, even though that bodv has become a facile instrument for registering tho decrees of the French Government. This involves some sacrifices, perhaps, of dignity, hut. nothing more serious. In the Rhineland there is much closer contact with reality. The 1 nter-Allied High Commission, with the British High Commissioner dissenting, passes illegal ordinances daily, and a delicate situation mav soon liecome untenable when, as has already happened. French military police are sent into the British occupied area to arrest- and deport Goxman officials for refusing to obey instructions which, in tile eyes of tho British authorities, are ultra vires.