The Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1911. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 970, 23 March 1911, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1911. NOTES AND COMMENT S.

Referring to the coming municipal elections to be held in April next, an exchange says ; “It has long been the habit of candidates in local elections to expect the people to take them on trust. This is all very well, but the people require, in addition to integrity, a guarantee that the candidates are well informed about the important proposals which they seek to inaugurate on the people’s behalf.’’ We agree on this point and prior to last municipal election urged the candidates to publish their platforms —which they did. The policy laid down by the present council has been partially carried out. The majority ot Councillors were agreed upon the following platform : (i) Water and drainage, (2) Municipalising gas works, (3) Krection of municipal hall, (4) Construction and improvement of roads and footpaths. The water and drainage proposals received a good deal of attention and an engineer was employed and brought down alternative schemes. The Council decided to submit the artesian scheme to the ratepayers, but, owing to the half-hearted manner in which the proposal was taken up by the Council, and the activity of opponents, the scheme was rejected. The money for the scheme, it will be remembered, was granted by the Government Advances Department. The council succeeded In carrying the gas works and public hall loans. The streets and footways, which are now under the oversight of the Town Clerk, have received very careful attention. In this connection it would not be out of place to put on record the excellent results made apparent by the council’s policy in appointing Mr Fraser “road overseer and borough engineer.” In view of the foregoing we feel sure the public will agree that the present council has accomplished more than any of its predecessors, and should be allowed to carry its forward policy to completion. There will be at least two vacancies at the council table which will provide an opening for “new blood”—which is always desirable in public life. With these two exceptions, we should like to see the present council re-elected. We are pleased to be able to state that Mayor

Stiles has consented to remain in office for another term, and if we correctly gauge the pulse of public opinion at present, he should have a bloodless victory. “Who steals my purse, steals trash: ’tis something, nothing ; Tis mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands ; But he that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.” No public man is immune from the attacks of slanderers. An evilminded person will besmirch the good name of his fellows by suggestions of evil which he, the slanderer, is tainted with. A rumour has been afloat at the southern end of the Otaki electorate, concerning a wellknown public man and a certain young lady. In order to nail the vile slander down, an inquiry was held at Otaki on Monday evening. The tribunal consisted of three ministers of religion, two solicitors and a civil servant, and theaccusers were publicly invited to be present and, as the Americans say, “make good” their statements. They failed to put in an appearance. Three witnesses for the defence testified, on oath, before the tribunal of inquiry, that the young lady whose name was mixed up in the charges had not been outside of her home on the Sunday night mentioned in the charges; also, a medical practitioner professionally vouched that the young lady was virgo intacta. The finding of the tribunal is published elsewhere in this issue. It is a matter for sincere regret that the author of such criminal slander cannot be dealt with as such an one richly deserves to be.

Thk negotiations of President Taft, for an Arbitration Treaty between the United States and Great Britain, have evoked considerable interest, and in some quarters enthusiasm. Should a really workable treaty be evolved, the event will be a memorable one, for, Irom the time of the war of 1812, many abortive efforts in this direction have been made. At the present moment there is such community of interest between the two great English-speaking nations, that the probability of disruption is far removed, and where their mutual relations are concerned, the establishment of a definite understanding should be within the bounds of practicability. There has to be considered, however, the attitude of other Powers, Interested and aggressive elements with exaggerated notions of their claims to supremacy. These nations will not be overready to credit England and the United States with the nobility of purpose which, it may be taken, has entered into the present negotiations, and the opinion of certain European Powers may be expected to incline to the view that their expansionist policy will be menaced by the contemplated coalition. The German ideal, as a matter of fact, is anything but compatible with a world-wide peace involving subjection to the will of any other Power or combination of Powers. Peace would be acceptable to any one of the recalcitrant nations, were that nation allowed to play the part of the world’s policeman —but to the Pan-German body the prospect of an Anglo-American guardianship would be particularly alarming, and already the Teutonic Press is irritated by such a possibility. It will not be surprising, therefore, if German diplomacy endeavours to place obstacles in the way of the successful issue of President Taft’s overtures. Germany may be helped somewhat by the conflicting interests of America and Japan in the Pacific, although the statesmen in the two countries must be extremely anxious to avoid a breach of the peace which might end unsatisfactorily for both. In order to prevent any interference by Germany, not to mention the necessity of consulting her ally, Great Britain has kept Japan advised of President Taft’s negotiations. Britain is tied to Japan by an alliance that has still a currency of four years, and there are indications that if nothing unforeseen happens japan will negotiate for a renewal as soon as it is time to reconsider the matter. If the interests in the East of either are assailed by a third Power, the contracting parties are bound to act together, it is clear that the relationship of America and Japau will be the deciding factor in the successful conclusion of an arbitration treaty between Great Britain and the United States. It becomes practically contingeut on a peaceful settlement of all matters of dispute arising between the United States and Japan. Anti-Asiatic feeling is, to say the least, pronounced among the American populace, as instances of exclusive policy show, and it can be readily understood that there are some important questions to be settled before the relations between the United States and Japan are favourable to the accomplishment of President "I'alt’s ideal.

The Dominion’s drink bill for 1910, according to the Rev E. Walker’s report, amounted to or 13s i#d per head of population—an increase on the previous year of 2s per head. The figures are calculated at per gallon rates on the quantity which passed through the Customs and excise, and the total would be considerably swelled were it possible to estimate the increased expenditure brought about by the dilution and adulteration of liquor, its sale over the bar at a high rate of profit, and the decrease of the quantity served in relation to the

price paid iu cases of “shouting all round” and the “knocking down” of cheques. “Probably,” says Mr Walker, “five million pounds sterling, and five pounds per head ol population, or ,£25 per household, is less than was really spent on liquor in New Zealand last year.” The total value of liquor as set down for revenue purposes during the last forty-one years was ,£108,138,853. In the absence of figures tor the years prior to 1870, the total to the present lime is estimated, on a conservative basis, at ; but double this amount is considered a moderate estimate of what has been squandered for liquor, having iu mind the varying circumstances that affect its apparent value before it reaches the consumer. In 1885 the drink bill stood at ,£3 16s per head. Kleven years later, and after sundry fluctuations, it reached its lowest point, £2 19s S|d. After that it had a rising tendency, till in 1907 it reached £3 15s rod, which is 2s iu excess of the figures for last year. That it fell to £3 ns old iu 1909 may probably be accounted for in part by the depression existing about that time. The true significance of the liquor traffic as an evil can be understood from a perusal of the police reports, which show that the ratio of inebriates, and of first offenders, to the population has increased quite considerably during the last nine years. In 1901, when the population was 822,779, the number of separate persons charged with drunkenness was 8032; in 1909, with the population at 1,040,442, the number charged was 10,657. In the same period the actual first offenders increased from 4456 to 6042. Over 50,000 recruits in ten years—such is the record of the army ot the intemperate.

A suggestion has been made to ns that the Council should celebrate the opening of the Municipal Hall, when erected, by a citizens’ ball, instead of letting the hall on auspicious occasion for other purposes. The suggestion has much to commend it and we pass it along to our civic fathers for consideration. We may add that the c'tizeu from whom the suggestion came says he is prepared to sub. scribe £i towards the expenses of such a form of opening.