NOTE AND COMMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 284, 5 December 1904, Page 2

NOTE AND COMMENT.

The increased rang* of rifles, machine Mom?™ toat. guns ' and fi «'d TACIICS art n" ery hM gOniACIICS. erally brought chin™ i„ <t » abo " t a com Pleto change m the functions of the respective weapons, and our failures in the earner stages of the Boer wa"? tTnn e t dUe . t< ? l faaW «ty orlmhspSSl ton to assimilate the new tactics to meet the new conditions. Ja„an in her steady advances in Manchuria is, however, acting more in accordance with the modern stafe of 'aflairs. In this matter there is perhaps, a tendency to generalise more or less from isolated cases, but one cannot ignore the teaching of so many experienced European authorities, axiomatically expressed recenty by a Swiss expert :-"Artillery must support the attack of the infantry Jby its fire, but must inever advance in the open under the enemy s fire. The days of the artillery duel pure and simple are over. Should the enemy's guns be discovered, then the long-approved principle of concentrated firing- may still be successful ; but the enemy will Hot be easily disposed to unmask his guns, except an obvious advantage is to be gained. Just as the Jioer infantry succeeded in minimising their losses by seeking cover at all times, so artillery in the future must seek cover ; and it. will be the duty of each contending force to destroy not the cover so much but ratter the defenders l>ehind the 'cover. It is immaterial what the nature of the cover may be. "Any kind of work is good if it serves to render moredifficult the epemy's observation," as the Gorman regulation puts it. A Belgian expert has said that the two adversaries will try to hide themselves as much as possible ; but it will be necessary for an assailant to end by showing himself if he wants to advance, a,nd for the defender to let his emplacement at least be seen if ho wants to repel the attack. Quoting again from the German regulations :—"lt is always desirable to protect oneself against the enemy's firing by throwing up works as soon as there is time, even In an offensive action." In no campaign lias this been so fullj- established as in the recent operations in Manchuria. Every night the Japanese advanced their cover to suit

the ground gained in tiro preceding day's lighting. Again, instead of having an independent duel preparatory to infantry operations, tlie view is that the preparation by the artillery must take place during the actual advance of the infantry. By this means each combatant force will unmask his guns to deter the advance of the opposing infantry. The one branch becomes the support [of the other, and hard rapid firing is 'an essential to success. The infantry will naturallj seek cover, advancing by rushes from one shelter to another, and during these rushes through the danger zone the field'guns must lie active.

The sugur-g'rowers in Queensland are already beginning HEAR SUGAR, to agitate for the

renewal of t 111« conditions under which they are at present producing—the Act expiring at the end of 1906. It is not to bo supposed that Parliament will, at that date, ruthlessly cut off all assistance, but, remarks the Australalasian, at the suine time it is well that the people should know what they are paying and are likely to pay for the production of sugar in Australia by white labour. The consumption of sugar in Australia amounts to about 180,000 tons annually. When it Is all produced in Australia by white labour the revenue will benefit to the extent of only £1 per ton, or a total of £IBO,OOO. The revenue derived from sugar in 1902-03—'before the new laws began to operate—was £784,000. There is, therefore, a clear loss of revenue foreshadowed to the enormous extent of £600,000 annually. This will come about as follows :—The duty on imported sugar is £6 per ton. The excise on Australian sugar is £3 per ton'. Hut on all this sugar grown by white labour a bonus of £2 per ton is granted, so that only £1 per ton is left to the revenue from Australian white-grown sugar. Up to the present tho loss of revenue amounts to £102,000 a year, but at the end of 1906, when tho law requires that black labour shall cease to be used, the loss must bje as stated—£6oo,ooo per th« request of the planter be granted, and the present conditions be renewed. Not a fraction of this revenue comes back to the consumer in the shape of reduced price. The Commonwealth might, on the other hand, import all its sugar, obtain £6 per ton import duty on it, and the public buy sugar at exactly the same price as to-day. A return just furnished to the Commonwealth Treasurer shows that up to the present the bonus of £2 per ton paid for the production of sugar by white labour has had scarcely any effect in expelling black labodr. It is nearly all paid to producers in temperate districts, where white labour was formerly employed. It constitutes a present of £2 per ton paid to them for carrying on production as they carried it on before. Almost twice the quantity of sugar is anticipated this year in the nortoern district of Queensland from black labour that was produced in the year 1902.