CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 165, 21 October 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY. To-day is the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. It is also the eleventh anniversary of the departure from Wellington of the' First New Zealand Contingent for Wouth Africa. On tlie_ Harlech Castle troopship, returning to New Zealand, the First N.Z.M.R. Association was formed, and it is the only association of the kind in the Empire that has survived. Each year the survivors of the contingent go from all parts of New Zealand tc Wellington to re-unite. Brigadier-General R. H. Davies, C.8., who was captain commanding one troop, is the chief vice-pre-sident, and Colonel A. Robin, C.8., Chief of the General Staff of New Zealand, who commanded the corps, is president. Other officers of the corps who have achieved distinction are Major Madocks, who is now military secretary to General Sir lan Hamilton, Major Bartlett, D.8.0., Major J. Gethin Hughes, D.5.0., Captain and Adjutant -M, Lindsay (7th Dragoon Guards), and Captain R. Saxon Matthews (formerly of Hawera). The discipline of the corps which was so highly spoken of by Imperial field officers was due to Captain C. P. Rogers (late of the 12th Lancers), who was regimental sergeantmajor, a man of many campaigns and' great ability. The men;:in the ranks of the .corps some distinction, too, and are still keen on soldiering. Captain W. Morrison, commanding the Hawera Mounted Rifles, was a soldier in the First and was chosen for FieldMarshal Roberts' bodyguard. Captain James Mitchell, commanding the Hawera Cadet Mounted Rifles, was also a "First." Captain Haselar, of the Waitara troop, was of the corps, as also was Lieut. Hawkins, his subaltern. Captain Raines, commanding the Waikato Mounted Rifles, was a trooper and Captain Harry Whyte, D.5.0., held the same rank and has recently distinguished himself at the .Staff College in England. Captain Saunders, now commanding a Southland Mounted Corps, was of like rank. There are four sergeants major-instructors in New Zealand who belonged to the (First N.Z.M.R. Captain .Miller, of the Royal Field Artillery, was one of the First troopers, as also was Captain Matson (of the Indian Army), who is now making a world tour buying remounts. Another trooper (Captain A. Batchelor) commands the Manawatu Mounted Rifles; Captain Cameron is in charge of the Marlborough Mounteds and lie has with him two other '•Firsts'—Lieuts. Dick and Freeth. The First N.Z.M.R. Association publishes a periodical newspaper, '"The Bulletin," edited by a journalist who happened to be a trooper in the Contingent. It's influence is so far-reaching that it publishes original news from its .nembers from Britain, Australia, India, Egypt, China, South Africa and Canada. It is only under very special circumstances that outsiders are permitted to subscribe to the funds of the Association, and the honor of such subscription is only conferred after careful consideration by the headquarters committee.

HITTING THE MONOPOLIES. Much twaddle is talked and written through Australasia about the nefarious methods of foreign trusts. The trusts we know best are the ones that give us our oil supply and some agricultural implements. These trusts help New Zealand and Australia wonderfully, because neither country has a hope just yet of selling either oil or machines at so cheap a price. The Commonwealth Government is about to smite monopoly with a heavy hand. It will smash the sugar monopoly and many others. The only point worth considering is. will the people benefit? Is Australia .aching for sugar at less than 2%d a pound and does it matter? The brewers have the greatest internal monopoly in Australasia, and this is the only one of the group that the people have full power to deal with. In New Zealand combines are not only common but univeisal. Trades unionism is combination. Aeai ly every trade has its association. 1 rices are arranged in each trade and as a general thing the prices of commodities in those southern lands (where we are out to slay the trust) are higher than in the home of trusts—America; at any rate in many things. We don't seem to be very consistent about this matter. The quixotic Commonwealth Government will smite the larger concerns, which do not really greatly increase the price of commodities to the public, and will not hit the innumerable combinations which contrive to bleed the public. We have threatened in New Zealand to hit foreign combinations on the -head. To do so would inevitably raise the price of the goods these foreigners sell us. In essence the public is not concerned with the wav make their profits as lone as the things they sell are good and cheap. Theoretically New Zealand is a protectionist country, because some New Zealand manufacturers desire to <rot a better price for the goods than the foreigner asks. In reality, New Zcalaiulers, apart from the small manufacturers, would welcome free-trade with open arms and no one would quarrel with the monopolist who sold lum a foreign shovel for Is ')d supposing the local article of equal utility was 3s Cd. The whole thing is a matter of price— not sentiment.