CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 55, 14 June 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. At the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce on Friday evening, the retiring president claimed that the Chamber had throughout the twenty-one years of its existence used such influence as it possessed for whatever seemed to be for the good of the community, and so had fully justified its existence. The Council has certainly done some useful work in the past, and its members have been actuated iby the best -of motives, i.e., the welfare of the community as a whole; but if the Council's performances in the immediate future are to be measured by what it has done in the past, well, it will have no particular reason for taking unction unto itself. What a virile Chamber of Commerce can do for a place, we have but to turn to some of the other centres, where the chambers truly represent every commercial interest, act as the mouthpieces of commerce, and as such are .potent factors that make their influence felt and have to be seriously reckoned with. The trouble with our local Chamber is that it is not representative or practical enough. The Tradesmen's Association is an active and representative body, but its scope is very circumscribed. What we would like to see is an amalgamation of the two bodies. In a community such as ours there is scarcely room for two associations with aims practically identical in character. If the tradesmen could ibe persuaded to join forces we would have all the elements of a live, representative, and potent Chamber of Commerce. And the necessity for such an organisation was never more apparent than at present. We have arrived at an important, if not epoch-marking, stage in our development, iboth in respect to town and province, when unity, vigilance, guidance, and action on the part of our citizens is more than ever required, if we are to make that progress which we should and obtain that consideration from the hands of the Government that is our due. PLEA FOR OLD SOLDIERS. If Avar came to New Zealand to-morrow the old soldiers, of whom there are so many in the Dominion, would not be content" to sit at home and twirl theiv thumbs. The authorities would very likely be glad to have their expert serviecs, even if the men were over the age limit. And now that New Zealand has determined to possess a national army it might also determine to cast its eye down the long ranks of the genuine old warriors and ask the question whether age has quite killed their usefulness and ardor. In the organisation of the new defence forces, it will be very necessary to make a large number of permanent appointments, and we suggest that the claims of old soldiers should not be overlooked. The point is that the old soldier, who is physically fit, is likely to more efficiently undertake duties under the military administration than a civiMi. Tii the training camp, in the office, at staff headquarters and elsewhere, positrons must be created. It is obvious that civilians undertaking military duties ■will have to be trained in the detail of the work, while the appointment of men who have served in the Army would minimise the trouble and expense. In the matter of supplies and equipment, transport, and in the depots the help of the experienced soldier would he of tingreatest assistance, and age should be no bar if the soldier is fit and well. For some unaccountable and generally very stupid reason, many .people regard old soldiers as useless in any other line of life than the military one. Even in England there used to be a disposition to let the old soldier die in a worknmve. Happily, however, there has been a great change, and organisations exist which carefully look after discharged soldiers, and obtain employment for them of a civil or semi-military nature. The corps of commissionaires are a feature of English life, and the men are a credit to the" old profession and the new. They are disciplned, reliable, tactful and trainI ed, and they do not fear discharge while living. The old soldier in New Zealand is generally of the finest type the Army produces, his presence in this country showing that he has enterprise, resolution and optimism. It is rough on him, if, when there are billets in the New Zealand service to be given away, his claims are not considered before those of the civilian. And we hope that the Department will specially call for applications from men who have fought for the Empire in the past. ; THRIFT. Lord Rosebery is probably not thrifty himself, but recently he sounded a warning note, alleging that thrift was decaying in Britain owing to grinding taxation, total disregard of economy in the administration of public affairs, private .luxury and a passion for pleasure. It is inconceivable that a peer who has nothing whatever to do with the daily life of the people of Britain might be an authority. He is competent to speak of the wastefulness of the rich and their extravagance, while thousands of their fellow creatures starve and of the class desire to extract, new sensations from life. Thrift in the rich is bad for the poor, because extravagance in the wealthy means employment for the wealthy. The trouble is that tile ];oor always desire to ape the wealthy, and, therefore, it seems reasonable that imitation has more to do with Britain's alleged general lack of thrift than grinding taxation. It is difficult to see how grinding taxation conduces to the spending of what is left over after the State has taken toll, or how disregard of economy in public affairs induces similar disregard in private affairs. The ten shillincfs-a-week laborer at Home manages to rear a large family and to live somehow on this pittance, but it cannot be shown that the ten-shillinss-a-week laborer because he has thrift has "the root of independence and self-respect" re-, ferred to by Lord Roseberv. We read the other day that laborers on the King's estates were paid ten or twelve shillings a. week. One wonders whether their pas- !

_ ■ - v*C t sion for pleasure and private luxury was sapping the life-blood of the country. Perhaps there are no people in the world quite so thriftless «s the present generation of people in Australasia, but it will only be so until trouble comes. The old ! settlers had to fight and so were necessarily thrifty, self-dependent and stromr. They did not "put everything on their backs," because they could not afford it. They earned money so that the present generation might wear good clothes and forget the true essentials of national prosperity and permanence. The occasion for thrift brings it. Appearance* are deceitful. One cannot say nowadivs whether one passes a duchess or a serving maid, and the serving maid is angrv if one accuses her of thriftlessness "Dowdiness" is one of the worst sins in ■I colonial society, and it does not matter | so much what one is as what one lonkI like. To live like a millionaire for ten minutes is very fine sport, but it igivex .people like Lord Ro'ebery a right i> I make rude remarks, for it will be ad- ' mitted at once that he could have ninilc [them with more justice in New Zeahnvi than in Scotland.