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Otago Daily Times, Issue 17687, 26 July 1919, Page 8

Tiih in mule presented by the Mayor at this week's meeting of the City Council with reference to the peoco celebrations was timely and appropriate. His Worship must have appreciated the opportunity of congratulating the citizens on the part they played during the celebrations. The conspicuous succcss attending the various ceremonies arranged for the memorable occasion must have exceeded general anticipations. The public had every reason to bo well satisfied and to be proud of the local effort, and these, we believo, have been its sentiments. That the favourable weather greatly contributed to the success of the celebrations was, of course, very apparent. It gave the public magnificent opportunities, of which it made tho best possible ute, of witnessing the displays and of attending the ceremonies. Ihe great crowds which thronged the streets did so and saw all there was to bo seen under most happy auspices. But the Mayor rightly emphasises the excellence of tho response made by the citizens to the requirements of the hour. Ihey entered into the spirit of the occasion with results that were highly gratify- _ There was an agreeable absence of the jarring note both in the attitude of the public and in all that was attempted for its entertainment. The practical stops taken by the citizens to supply, according to opportunity, their quota to tho combined effect, in the way of display, were as liberal as they were effective in their results. They illustrated what can be achieved by judicious and harmonious cooperation. Upon the Peace Celebrations an onerous task. Had the public ha-d reason to bs disappointed with tho display the committee could hardly have escaped criticism. Fortunately the public was not disappointed. It was "splendidly catered' for, and the illumination of the streets and buildings—after all, the great feature from a spectacular stand-Pomt-wu, well worthy of tho occasion. The local peace celebrations will remain j a very happy and impressive memorv of j a great event. Seldom have we had a ! bettor occasion for congratulations all round, ,

In the bestowal of peerages, accompanied in each case by a substantial monetary grant, upon Sir Douglas Haig and Sir. David Beatty precedent has been followed m 'the sense that it has been customary for centuries past to mark, in such a way, the nation's sense of gratitude to the leaders of the army and navy who have successfully conducted operations against hostile forces. The rank in the peerage which has been conferred on victorious generals and admirals has not always been the same. The conqueror of Napoleon received a dukedom. He had previously had a viscounty and then a marquisate oonferred upon him. But his was an exceptional case. An earldom lias generally been the highest rank in the peerage has been bestowed upon victorious fighting leaders. And it was sufficiently obvious that an earldom would be the rank to which Sir Douglas Haig and Sir David Beatty would be elevated, for their immediate predecessors in their respective commands, Sir John Erench and Sir John Jelhcoe, had already received viscounties. The monetary rewards which are to be given to Sir Douglas Haig and Sir David Beatty represent the special mark of favour that is reserved by the nation for those leaders who happen to be in command at the time when the victorious conclusion of a war is reached. Unfortunately an effect of the bestowal of these gifts is to suggest a certain reflection, which may be wholly undeserved, on the commanders of the forces who had not the fortune to retain their commands until the end. The great war has yielded hereditary distinctions to only the smallest extent to the men who have rendered priceless service in the fighting forces. Earl Haig and Viscount French, among the soldiers, and Earl Beatty and Viscount Jellicoe, among the sailors, have been the only recipients of hereditary titles, which have, on the other hand, been lavishly distributed among civilians, whose services, however valuable they may have been, cannot really be measured with those of the fighting men. The Peace Honours list, which is now overdue, will offer an opportunity for a liberal recognition of the memorable activities of the country's leaders on active service.

It is said that a more hopeful feeling prevails regarding the prospects of a settlement of the seamen's strike in Australia. Possibly this is due to a somewhat cryptic Ministerial utterance which made reference to " certain developments," but offered no clue to their nature. In the meantime the seamen presumably adhere to their decision not to resume until the release of Thomas Walsh, their general secretary, now undergoing imprisonment for an inflammatory speech, in which he openlv advocated Soviet government, and ur"ed the seamen to do all in their power to plunge Melbourne into darkness and make it unsafe for people to venture abroad after seven in the evening. Such was the use which this Mr Walslj, despite ample warning, made of his liberty: So enamoured of the strike does ho appear to be that it is no surprise to hear that he is now conducting one—a hunger strike —in prison on his own account. It is. after all, next aJtogether unfitting that a man should _ go hungry who has done so much to bring 1 hunger upon others. A little darkness might, also be appropriate for a man whose attempt to create chaos by throwing a great city into darkness has been deliberate and most persistent. In a violent speech delivered by him in Melbourne, on July 13, after declaring that the seamen were going to secure a settlement outside the Arbitration Court he said: *

If that settlement is not forthcoming, something else will bo forthcoming. It is for the powers that bo and those who direct tho shipping industry to say whether they want us to resume or want something: else. If they want something else are they prepared for it? What did thev think was going to happen in a com-mu-nitv dyinrrof starvation? We arc goinsto throw this citv into darkness. " The Argus said it would l he disastrous if the light supply vras cut off. As a working class representative, and as a person who understands his position in class 9oeietv. I say is my dutv to my union to do evervthing I can to brine about that disaster. Tt is nrr dutv. it is tb<- duty o r every member of the Seamen's Union, and it is _ the duty of every member of tho working classes to throw this citv into darkness as quicklv as possible; We are prepared for anv eventnalitv. and we are not, going- in until our claims are met. Can we wonder that dislovaltv and a desire to snbrtitute pets of violence and bloodshed for constitutional crovernment axe said to be at the root of the strike'