CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 316, 1 June 1911, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

"NUMBER ONE." It is cruel to dissipate the belief that our Imperialism is personal and national unselfishness, and has nothing to do with cash. But now and again acute outsiders call our Imperial "sacrifices" just "business." We are used to the statement from the public platform that the "Navy is our all in all," and hear such truisms glowing wit-h a belief that our sentiment is helping the fleet. The Economist, so the cable tells us, has said that the dominions look upon the Navy with complacency, at the same time seeing that their own inconsiderable contributions are locally spent—which is a very natural and human and unsentimental thing to do. But we shall probably have to look further than ironmongery as a method of attaining that "unity" which flamboyant politicians are so fond of talking about. The sacrifice of borrowed money for advertising purposes may or may not be Imperialism. There'is at least on the part of the dominions to effect a trade unity which is the strongest tie that can bind the. sister nations together and to "tthp Mother nation . . The sentiment so, ftfc. (juently spoken 'it Hois ifot' go'so to

as to make Imperial reciprocity in trade one of the goals to be wbrked for. Tiie suggestion of a 'defensive alliance is oi less importance than a suggestion lor Imperial trade alliance. The warm brotherhood noticed bv our eminent men docs not tend to the lowering of.tariff' walls or open hospitality to traders of our own blood. Britain sticks to freetrade not because of sentiment, and she gives us, the people of her own blood, an open market. We, on the other hand,i while we may agree (wilh a good deal of inexpensive Hag-wagging) that warships bought by other people are "just tiie tiling the doctor ordered," look serious nt the idea of opening our ports to the people who buy most of the warships. The peculiarity of our tariff is that it is designed to inflict hardship on the many in order to help the few. We carefully tax Mr. Bull's goods knowing that we can't do without them, hoping tiiat we ourselves in the dim future may be able to produce such (roods ourselves. We are neither loyal to our own people nor to John Bull. We should most likely be extremely angrv with matter-of-fact Britain if it suddenly resolved to retaliate with our own weapons. When the tariff walls erected through the Empire in order to make the entry of goods manufactured by our kin difficult are swept away, the Imperial sentiment—which everyone carries in one's pocket— I may llourisli even more luxuriantly.

A WILD ACCUSATION. A common practice with propagandists whose criticism is wholly destructive (and paid for) is to utter the wildest accusations against their fellow men. Mr C. IT. Pnole, M.P., thercf re only followed precedent when he m:i !igned the community of Waihi. The particular accusation that tlris moral policeman made was that "before no-liconse it was not safe for a woman to walk a street there." Ylaihi has become much more notorious during the no-license era than before. As a matter of ordinary fact, the men of Waihi are amongst the most intslligent and law-abiding in the Dominion. It is a cosmopolitan community of virilo men and good women, and there never was a time when a decent woman was not safe from the buJk of the men there, 'there are. of course, human beasts in every community, whether the commnnity is under license or no-license. It; will be noticed that the advertising person who is so eager to condemn a community waits until lie is as far as possible from it before launching his attack. A woman lias always been safe in Waihi, but one might have trembled for the safety of Mr. Ponle if he had made his accusation in the mining town. How did these dreadful people, among whom a woman was not safe, come to carry no-license? Even Mr. Poole would possibily admit that a community which voted a three fifths majority against drink was not a hopelessly 'inebriated one. If these advertising public censors delivered their censures to the people they are intended t'o hurt there would be a certain amount of courage about them. Put Mr. Poole goes to the far South before he stirs up the Waihi miners. It is "tip foVthe lip-moralist "to JituT bis charge in the teeth of the people concerned. Unfortunately Waihi miners do not control the political future of their detrae£qr.