CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 38, 25 May 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

POST MORTEM GENEROSITY. Few men can amass millions of pounds without robbing thousands of people. Philanthropy alter robbery for forty or fifty years cannot atone for the desolation a millionaire has wrought during ■his life of grab. If Carnegie sowed the earth thick with libraries he could not make it right with the men who were killed at Pittsburg or the chaos wrought in the families oi his workers. \Ye published yesterday a cablegram setting out that a millionaire landowner had bequeathed ten million dollars to the Princetown University. It is sincerely hoped that the Princetown University will use this vast sium in teaching the rising generation that it is a sin to acquire enough land to become a millionaire. . There is no sin that equals in magnitude the avid greed of the man who deliberately plans throughout a long life the gradual possession of territory. The man who keeps adding to !his store of land, desiring only to quit it at a profit, intentionally injures the [community. He is the prime mover in retrogression; he can order the people to starve, he can smite a mighty blow at the human race through its food supply, and he can, in the estimation of a section of the public, become a saint by post-mortem deeds of charity, such as the one quoted. No man alive has any personal use for ten million dollars, and it is therefore no credit to him to pass it over to any institution when he is dead. The enriching of a university is not necessarily a benefit to the community. The graduates of Princetown need not become disciples of national fairness, or the enemies of jpopular starvation. No man and no institution achieves the best results without striving for them. The majority of institutions tliiit are heavily endowed do not affect the work done by the fighting institutions. Individual controllers of enormous sums of money are 'the greatest menace to the people. No bequests can alter this. The average millionaire during his liretrme robs ten thousand people, and after his death repays five hundred, most of whom had no need for his charity. To-mor-row, if John Smith, swagman, were to ■steal a loaf of ibread in New Plymouth, he would be sent to gaol. To-morrow, if Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller were to "finance" enough money into their accounts to buy a million loaves of bread, and were to hand a fraction to charity, innocent folk would call them blessed. It's a queer ■world. GOVERNORS AS ADVERTISERS. Mr. Okey, M.P., at the farewell ceremony to the retiring Governor, Lord Plunket, expressed the hope that Wiat gentleman would advertise New Zealand when he got back to the heart of the Empire. Although it is unlikely tttas his Excellency will carry a sandwichhoard, or ibeeome specially clamant about New Zealand butter, it is, of course, possible that his influence may be used to i our advantage. A Governor is less of a local bagman than an all-round Imperialist, ami the knowledge he naturally acquires by residence in one of the King's colonies is not expected to result in a direct increase in exports, or a larger sum on the credit side of the ledger. We had an excellent example of the use to which a Governor's knowledge could be .put,- in the expert work done hy Lord Ranfurtly, when he very reluctantly left New Zealand and returned to the Old Country. He has constantly kept in touch not only with all public matters in TSTew Zealand, hut has been able to act with skill and address on our behalf, ■when advice on Dominion questions, -■as required in London. It will be remembered that before he .became Governor of New Zealand, Lord Ranfurly had actual personal experience of colonisation in Victoria, when he was a successful fruit-grower. Previous Governors, notably Lord Onslow, made a specialty of colonial knowledge. Indeed, in the case of the majority of New Zealand Governors, their residence and experience has ■been of assistance .to us. Lord Plunket, who admits having spent a happy time in this country, returns to Britain with a better knowledge of New Zealand than any one of his predecessors, mainly because he has been with us during a time of progress, and 'had .peculiar facilities for seeing everything worth seeing. A comical little story recurs in relation co Lord Onslow's colonial experience. He .s notably interested in everything pertaining to the land, and on one occasion he delivered quite a stirring oration on poultry farming .before a gathering of English farmers. "But," he said, "you people do not know everything there is to know. The British public like a nice rich' brown egg. Soak your white eggs in coffee —the New Zealand poultry farmer does!"

A PROFITABLE DEPARTMENT. The report submitted by the chairman or the Electric Lighting Department of the Borough Council to its meeting last -eveninl?, and published elsewhere in this issue, forms interesting reading. It shows that this branch of the municipality's enterprise is proving a big success and earning a substantial dividend for the borough, a dividend which must continue to grow as time goes on and more current is used. The receipts were £401!), or £RBI better than the previous year's, while the cost of working was £2541, leaving a net profit of. £1477, or taking into consideration the profits on the sales account, £1537. It must, of course, lie borne in mind that these figures include no allowance for depreciation or. plant, but even with a fair percentage on the capital outlay allowed for this purpose, the woifcs are a good paying concern. The electric lighting debt stands at £ - 25,<i42. This includes the sum of £750 in hand, which mav be used for future extensions. The increase of connections durinw the year was 108. equal to about 25 per cent. Had it not been for the introduction of j metallic filament lamps, the consumption of current would no doubt have been I much greater. This type of lamp lias popularised the electric light to a considerable extent, and in estimating the receipts from the department at £SOOO, or practically £IOOO more than last year, the Council are not over-sanguine. The extension of the works, to cope with the extra demand, is a matter of urgency, and the chairman of the commit-

tee reported that ]ie had a means of financing the scheme without going to the people for a loan or increasing the annual interest bill. The Council, however, considering that this affected mat ters of finance, held that the Finance Committee should be first consulted, and 'Mr. Browne was consequently unaide Ulay before the meeting particulars of the scheme that was going to produce these wonderful results. When they are available, we will probahly return to the subject. Tn the meantime we must congratulate Mr. Browne, the indefatigable chairman of the Electric Light Committee, sind the Counicl generally, on the satisfactory results achieved during the past year, and hope that the cominc vear will Jie even better than anticipated.