The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, February 25, 1915. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1366, 25 February 1915, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, February 25, 1915. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Canon garland, who arrived in | Sydney recently Irom New Zea- j land, told a reporter that several I features of New Zealand life had impressed him. One was the magnificent system of sanitation that obtained in every city, town, and hamlet, [The Canon didn’t visit Foxton !] In this respect the 1 Dominion was far ahead of! Australia. What had, however, impressed him more than anything else was the splendid work that had been done, mainly by Dr. Truby King, in reducing the infant mortality rate. The result attained had been most striking, and it bad been achieved solely by an educational campaign that was worthy of imitation in Australia. The prospects of New Zealand joining in with Australia in an Australian Navy were discussed by Canon Garland. He said that the New Zealand Minister for Defence, Mr Allen, was one of the best statesmen in Australasia, and he was strongly in favour of some arrangement with the Commonwealth in regard to naval defence, but necessarily not one that would subordinate New Zealand ships to the Australian Government. There was, however, a large section which did not like the idea of a joint navy, and would prefer to continue the system of subsidising the Imperial Navy. He believed the objection was mere political than practical.

The Wellington Post draws attention to a point in connection with the feeding of the Belgians which is worthy of consideration by the Government. Onr contemporary, which, by the way, emphasises the need for relief, says : ‘‘As German hunger has become an admitted asset of the Allies' campaign, the supplying of food to Belgians, if it were misappropriated by needy Germans, would have two obvious defects: (i.) it would help the enemy, and (c) it would not help the starving Belgians intended to be benefited. In that case the Allies would be blunting their sword without improving the position of the sufferers ; would be sacrificing, in fact, a substance for a shadow. For the sufferings of the Belgians the whole and sole responsibility rests upon the ‘kultured’ race that, without provocation, invaded their innocent country. Their salvation depends, indeed, upon the expulsion ot the invader; but human appetite cannot wait upon tactical considerations, and the position of the Belgians is desperate. It would greatly clarify the situation if the British Government could give a lead by declaring whether or net the supply of food ou a big scale to the Belgians can be carried ou without diversion to enemy purposes. 1 '

A writer in the Round Table is most painstaking lu his demonstration of the miracles wrought by credit in maintaining the world’s commerce. The following extracts give the writer’s summary If we estimate roughly that 14,000,000 men are under arms, that one man can produce £IOO of wealth iu a year, we have at once a direct loss of £1,400,000, apart altogether from any indirect loss due to the dislocation of t,rade and finance and the enormous number of men thrown out of A’ork indirectly by the war. There is only one way by which the wealth of the world will be quickly replaced after the war, and that is by work. It will be absolutely necessary that the productive capacity of the individual should increase very much compared to his capacity during the last ten years, during which it has undoubtedly been ou the decline. The country whose workers show the greatest capacity for productiveness will be the country which will most rapidly recuperate. Even now all countries, especially new countries, will have to change their mode of living. Take Canada as an example. Canada’s annual balance of trade is probably about £60,000,000 against her , £3°>‘ 000,000 being the excess 0 ier trade imports over her trade exports, and the remaining £30,000,000 representing er annual payment on money borrowed. She has balanced her account hitherto by borrowing very large sums of money. Wow she will be unable to do that any

longer. Nor will she at present, i at any rate, obtain the immigrants j on which she is counting to enable j her to pay her interest. She ; cannot redeem the balance due by j the export ot gold. The burden , would be too great in any case, ) and, moreover, she has suspended ; specie payments. A part of the | balance due may be covered by the ; higher value of her exports, such as wheat. The remainder she can only meet either by increasing her exports or by reducing her imports. The latter she has already begun to do. Obviously therefore Canada and other new countries in the same position must readjust themselves to the new conditions.

Until the effects of the war have passed, and capita! is again abundant, their progress cannot but be slower than of late years. Germany ridiculed the idea of being starved out. That was at I the end of last year. The German Imperial Chancellor has since changed bis tune. He is now whining and viciously denouncing Britain’s “murderous” design to starve seventy million Germans. How about the starving Belgians whose country these Huns have devastated. Anyhow, what’s wrong in giving Germany a little of their own medicine. Do •these creatures of “Kaltur” forget the siege ot Paris in 1870, when Bismarck and Moltke drew their steel cordon round Paris and starved the people, representing all nationalities, into submission. German} should be the last to whine about the murderous method of waging war through famine !