The Daily News TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31. EXIT 1907.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 306, 31 December 1907, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31. EXIT 1907.

In a tew short iiouia the your IUU7 will be numbered witli the p.tst. In many respects il lias been a year ot memorable events. For New Zealand mij twelve mouths lias marked uut only ji continuance oi that prosperity )«r whieli we .should be must gnitciwl, but there has been an increase in that prosperity whereby the people ha\e received much material benelit. .Especially has this been the case with the agricultural, pastoral, and dairying' communities. Ihe high prices of grain, wool, butj ter, and other products uf these industries have brought many thousands of pounds to the producers, while the in-

creased exports and imports have greatly added to the volume of trade. Taraliaki h is had it fair share of this welcome return tor the year's labors, and the progress of the district has been of a mo»"t satisfactory nature. The outlook is still bright wilh promise for the future, and we have tlie greatest pleasure in congratulating our readers on tiie pruspeets for tlie coming year. We hid ho[icd that the year 111117 would not have passed away before the petroleum and ironsand industries had entered on a successful career, but though these additional sources of wealth arc not yet commercially developed, their day is at hand. Petroleum appears to lie coy, but perseverance will gain the day. As to the iron industry, it only awaits the necessary machinery for establishing the works. There is now. we are cominccd, no question of the required capital be« ing forthcoming, and it may safely be anticipited that among the records of tlie coming year will he found lh.it of the starting of iron works in Taranaki

and I'arapara. The growth of New Plymouth and its suburbs during the last twelve months testifies to the progress and prosperity of the district. A new and commodious

post and tolograph ollice itli its central tower and town clock emphasises the advance that the town has made. The erection of large wholesale warehouses and such buildings as those of Messrs K. Griffiths and Co., L. D. Nathan and Co.. Maeky, Logan, Caldwell and Co., and others, plainly shows the confidence of the commercial world in the future prosperity of the town. In the suburbs the same progress* is observable. Fitzroy bus become a town district, and is now supplied with gas and water. Yogeltown is now lighted by electricity, and in all directions great improvements are visible. The new j Technical School has been doing excellent work, and should year by year become a more . valued asset of the dis-j triet. NorTnust we omit to mention the excellent provision that has been made for recreative purposes both at the Recreation Grounds and Western Park. Little by little the stigma, which was cast on the town—that of being 50 years behind the times —is being removed. The young blood is showing creditable energy—mure power to it still! It is sad but inevitable that the number of our pioneer settlers is rapidly growing less —more rapidiy each year. The death roll for 1007 is a heavy one as regards veterans of four score years or thereabout. Prominent amongst the younger settlers who have passed away are men such as the late .Messrs J. C. George and E. M. Smith, both of whom have left their mark on the district. To the remnant of old settlers remaining the improvements that mark the progress of the district must be very gratifying. This was particularly evident at the recent ceremony of the opening ot the Waiwakaiho bridge. The greatest benefit the town has received this year is undoubtedly the deviation of the railway and the avoidance of all level crossings. It marks a parting of the *W«iys —the old and the new, and may well be regarded as an immense boon, tardy but none the less welcome * on that account. Another change that has taken place during the year is one that calk up mixed feelings. We refer to the district now being represented in Parliament by a member of the Opposition, Mr Okey, who has" - certainly* worked hard, is an illustration of an anomaly in our electoral system, n that h<? represents a minority of voters. As the Government has intimated its intention of introducing an absolute majority Rill, such a. position should not again be possible. The Parliamentary tvork of the year} has little to commend it to the thinking portion of the community. The nuufifietl Land Act and the Gaming Act are not generally accepted as linnl. Whether the attempt to deal with the vexed question of native lands will prove beneficial or not remains to be seen. Amongst other measures passed last session particularly affecting Taranaki was the Waitara Harbor District Act, which creates a separate rating district for harbor purposes and precludes any contribution coining from that quarter towards further borrowing for completing the New Plymouth harbor. That this would bo against the l>est interest** of the district were the movement j to spread would be undeniable. H j.s satifactory to know that the iStrtitford-Kawakawa railway is progressing fiurdy, if slowly. Ry this time next year there is a possibility of through trains running over the Main Trunk line. When this happens tile Wellingtou-Xew Plymouth section may be altered, but every effort should be made to prevent any disarrangement of the' excellent and very convenient steamer' service. Until' the Stratford

branch of the Main Trunk- line is completed (the sooner tlic better) there is little likelihood of any passengers by rail to Auckland from northwards of 'AYanganui. It is to be hoped that the reeord of works for 1008 will include a line of rails to Opunake, thereby serving and helping to greater prosper, ity a large district, containing some of the best land in the North Islahd, In reviewing the events of Ihe expiring; year (hose all'ecting the native- deserve prominent notice. Looking round in our own district it is somewhat re- ! markable that the 'two great native Jeaders. hoth of whom claimed a liuta»roui following, should have "passed away within a few months of on,, another. I!y the dcallfof Toliu and To I\\ hiti tin- last link with the conservatism ,of till' past has been broken. It, h i'J be hoped (hat the influence of (lie educated Maoris will now be a. factor for good, and that the sterling faculties which lie dormant in the natives will be cultivated to the lasting good of th ( , ' race. The eft'orf.s now being made to induce them to work the land should result in success, and we trust that the coming year will be productive of much benefit to our Maori brothers and sister*. The o|ieuing up and cultivation of the vast area of native land now iinpro 'iielive of auefit hut noxious weeds "would be salvation for the owners and a blessing to the Dominion. To Maori J and pakeha alike we heartily wish A HAPPY AND PKOSPEttOI'S 1 NEW YEAR. ,1

An aeeident was narrowly averted in Devou-rttrei-t yesterday. A lady and gentleman in trying to ]•{)>* one another .started tli.il familiar dodging backwards and forwards just outside the A.11.0. J>oot Shoj>. Just when a crash seemed evident, both their attentions were drawn to the startling prices for footwear in the ahove firm's window, and instead of rushing into one another (fi.'W rushed into this familiar shop, and eae'h made a cash purchase from the

numeric's bargains offered. But imagine their ""hen the genial manager <jav:> thonf 11 M i*cr cent, discount as a for paying cash. These great offer* are W-' open everyone at tlm A.H.C. Hoofc You know where lo get them now, R0 don't start dodging about—come right jJirc.—Advt. . SIVCKXsrtIL 'MILKING MACSfIVE. I Writing in reference In the ICcniifily-(;iU"K»s" Milking Machine, Mi', -folm Mathieson, <II Tomahawk, Hava: "I liavi! come to the conclusion that tlie money was well invested installing Hie 'L.TC.r,.' T have been using four machines, ami tan honestly say have found no ill effects after the second year's milking on the same cows. I have tried the cows at intervals, and always found the quantity fully more with the maclijne than by hand. Since obtaining the now inflations and mouthpieces nine months ago, have had practically no expense with the upkeep." MacEwans, Ltd., Sole Agents, Egmoat-street, New Plymouth. ....

■ COMMUNISM. It is communism that is licing pursued here; not theology. The desirability of keeping things held sacred from discussion in the public press is at once freely recognised; nevertheless, it must be slated here that the Christ was a socialist and the early Christians, in obedience to His teachings, held all things in coml nion. During the years of His ministry

the Christ wan followed al/out by crowds whom He addressed frequently; but very little of His teachings lias come lo us, and they have passed through the hands of editors and sub-editors. However, the mind unchained liy bigotry can scarcely fail to recognise that the pre-

cepts contained in the Sermon on the Mount could never have been intended for man living ill a state of individualism. lie came to preach the coming ol' the Kingdom of Heaven —the Kingdom of l.ove; on one occasion he announced

that there were before him those that would see that Kingdom liel'jjre they died; to enter that Kingdom ofWleaven a man must divest himself of all his wealth; it was easier for a camel to go through the ere of a needle than for a rich mall to enter tlie Kingdom of Heaven. The world (hat the Christ condemned— denounced—wus not the beautiful globe the work of His leather's hands, but the world of individualism the fundamental conditions of which set

man at enmity with Jilts brut her. Anyway, it is admitted that the early Christians were communists, and, as a matter of fact, they must have established their system in accordance with the teaching's of their Master.

The early Christians prospered exceed- i ingly; their system was an entire suecess. Tlicy built cities of their own; j they had magistrates of their own to I settle such questions uf dispute, for the 1 whole basis of their system was love and self-sacrifice. As they had been commanded they rendered unto Caesar the things that were Caesar's, but they refused to acknowledge any save ( hrist. They could not lie induced to serve in armies; they resnlutely declined to l>ear arms; tliev ceuld not do so, their si stem being love and peace. They were surrounded on all sides by the raging fires of individualism, At a later period, in order to exalt the virtue of faith, it r-uited the leaders of the Church to point lo the early Christians who perishI'd for their faith, anil no doubt they

did. but they certainly were not persecuted for their faitli. The Koman had ■arried his arms into every quarter of the then known world; he had encountered every known form of faith and he tolerated them -ill. Why should the

pagan Roman persecute the Christian ! and tolerate the Jew? It was because '/ their communism the early Christians vere persecuted—and for which th w y tiiU'errd. They tiled glorying in Christ their King; but the charge against them was that they were communists and the fact could not be denied. In the first page of Gibbon's "History of the Decline and Kail of the Jtomau Empire." the story is told of how certain wealthy and powerful people of the Court preyed upon tlie Emperor the desirability of another persecution. The Kmperor was reluctant; at henrt he was against it; like Pilate he could see no harm in the Christian, but the forces of individualism were too strong for him. He consented to the appointment of a Royal Commission—always the refuge of the weak. Of course-the five members were all strong individualists and persecution followed.

Having subsisted for 825 years, the communal system of the early Christians was destroyed by the Kmperor Constantine at the Council of Nice. lie brought astuter methods to bear than the shedding of blood or the burning by tire, and then the persecutions ceased. Three hundred and twenty-five years is not a very long period in which to test the soundness or otherwise of any system: the forces which lead to paralisation and ultimately to decay not having had time to germinate, ..much less operate, but there can be no doubt that while it Hiibsisted the socialism of the early Christians proved a triumphant success. To what, it is now pertinent to ask, was that success due? Of recent years there have been several attempts to establish communistic societies. associations, but all have failed, and simply Iwcau&e the only possible strong uniting bond did not obtain amongst them. Now, we have communists to-day ostentatiously declaring that the organisations arc absolutely free to people of all religions—that as a matter of fact religion does not exist amongst them. What is the spectacle they permit? Every man of them is fighting for his own hand; every man aspires to be a leader; every one of them is seeking his own personal advantage. When the real work*of framing a system is about to begin, difference and quarrelling may be expected to arise, but they are quarrelling and denouncing already. Nowhere.is made manifest the sentiments <if love and self-sacrifice which must constitute the basis of any communistic system. What they design to bring into operation is a perfectly soulless, simple machine, so, simple, indeed. as to ensure diff"ren« » from Uhe very instant it starts to move. Although they call themselves socialists, their object is communism; though their object, be communism, they are each and all of them individualists of the strongest and most pronounced type.