CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 194, 25 November 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE KING AND INDIA. No one ever forgets the occasion on which he saw it truly great man, whether the mail was great in personal qualities, or because he held a supreme office. These are days of personal contact, less secret, less mysterious than formerly, anil it is better so. It is the history of all at'.iievement that those who wish to courier go to the seat ol the trouble, and do not wait for the trouble to come to them. India is troubled, not widely or incurably revolutionary. hut sectioaally troubled. There is a more or less querulous cry of a "nationalism" among a section of a people who have never possessed reai nationalism, ancl it behoves the people who undertake the inconceivably great task of governing India to iind the best means of dissolving an unrest that may grow. There were those who considered the elaborate '"Durbar," which signalised the coronation of King Edward, as a sheer waste of many millions of pounds, but in reality it was the most profound example in the history of British Government of the allegiance of a people to the British Throne, for although King Edward was not present, the rulers, officials, princes and potentates, representing more than half the total population of the vast Empire, gave unforced and unqualified allegiance to the Crown. The immeasurably important reforms that have taken place in India during the reigns of Queen Victoria and King Edward have altered the outlook of tens of millions of people. The delicate task of overcoming racial prejudices, worn deep into the hearts of the people through countless generations, has been tackled. Millions of lives have been saved from disease and starvation, education has flourished, justice lias been done, and because of these things the bulk of the teeming myriads of people in India are feal to the Throne. And because it is understood that how wonderful an influence a nominal ruler may have by coming in personal contact with the people, the Emperor and Empress ol India will in 1.012 visit India, One may call it diplomacy, statecraft, or what one will, but the effect of such a visit may have the most important bearing on the future of the Indian Empire. It cannot be forgotten that the visit of the present King and Queen to New Zealand marked an era that was infinitely useful Imperially by reason of the sentiment attaching to it. A popular demonstration at any time and for any purpose is wholly good. There is danger in unemotion and sullenness. If people <*an be induced to "let themselves go" in joyful exuberance, the occasion does everyone service. It is perhaps more important that the King and Queen should go to India than that they should go anywhere else, for the bulk of the King's subjects are in that vast land, and the result in concord and harmony will repay the Empire.

HUMAN ADVERTISEMENTS. All colonial governments are proud ot the athletic .achievements of their young men, and entertainment of athletes by the State is not an uncommon feature of colonial life. If the precedent established by Victoria in regard to its great swimmer, Beaurepaire, is to be followed, the various Governments will find it necessary to place a large sum on the estimates for the reward of athletes and others each year. The Victorian Cabinet will give Beaurepaire £250 because he has been a good advertisement to Victoria. In what way the splendid feats of a swimmer are to benefit tlie Garden State cannot be foreseen. Will young men from all over the world flock to Victoria because Beaurepaire ckn swim? Will Beaurepaire's successes fill up the empty spaces in Victoria, increase the revenue, pay off a part of the national debt, or decrease the hordes of politicians? If Beaurepaire is worth £250 as an advertisement, how much is a Rhodes scholar worth? If Victoria looks upon great athletes as good advertisements, cannot the various States and New Zealand send cheques to colonial artists, engineers, authors, geologists, mining managers, sculptors, doctors, soldiers, sailors, and others who are "advertising" New South Wales, Queensland, New Zealand, or any other Dominion or State? What is the New Zealand Government doing about 11. Arnst's cheque, and where is the thousand pounds that each All Black is so obviously entitled to for advertising New Zealand? About fifty thousand Australian and New Zealand soldiers who advertised their State in South Africa are eagerly waiting for tlieii £250, and a number of tennis players and cricketers are in the debt of the Dominion and States. George Gray, the Australian boy-billiardist, seems to have a pretty fair claim on the Treasury oi his State; Collins, the Cambridge cricketer (of Wellington), should certainly be handed out at least £SOO, and we believe we are correct in saying that the New Zealand doctor who attended the Queen of Spain at an interesting perioa is as yet unrewarded by this 'country. India contains quite a large crowd oi distinguished New Zealanders who are waiting for grants for work done as advertisers, and some modest Dominionites have joined the peerage, and will probably advertise this country in the '"marble halls" of the Old Country. Surely we should vote them a trifle. If the Governmenthas time during the fag end of the session to borrow a couple oi millions to form a fund for the payment of persons who advertise this country, may we hope that they will not overlook the opportunity. Surely New Zealand is not to be beaten in a small business matter like this by Victoria.