THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF NATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 224, 20 March 1912, Page 4

THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF NATIONS.

Mr. Angell went on to say that "the. interdependence of nations was first argued seriously in the modern world by Hume in 1752; he was followed by Adam Smith, in a work of far wider reach, thirty years later. As late as the last quarter of the nineteenth century there was not a single nation in th'e world outside Britain illustrating, in'the daily needs of vast'masses of its population, this sort of vital dependence upon its neighbors, in the way, for instance, that Lancashire is upon American cotton, or in the way upon which mililons of our people are upon foreign food. Consequently, until well into the nineteenth century, despite the 'intellectual labors' of the physiocrats, the old idea that it was a nation's interest to kill the industry of other nations was still predominant. But by the third or fourth decade of the nineteenth century a real division of labor had set in; steam was now playing a.large role in our industry., and when our cheap coal placed us in an advantageous condition to make ready use of that force, and our geographical position (corresponding, in a world which included America, precisely to the posK lion which the Venetian Republics held when the world was mainly the Mediterranean) the. development of our in•iustriep, foreign,trade began to render cheap food essential to oar population. A few bad harvests, 'the rain that rained away the Corn Laws,' showed our dependence upon foreign food. And that dependence created ti revolution in fiscal policy. . A change of ideas which all the splendid arguments of the physiocrats had been unable to effect in a hundred years the absolute demonstration of our need for foreign food did in five. And this change synchronised roughly with a change in our national relationship of exploitation by the Mother Country towards the colonies: the complete acceptance of the idea of selfgovernment for our overseas possessions. A moment's reflection, indeed, convinces one that this conception of the relationship of the mother community to great daughter communities is the direct logical outcome of that change in the idea of the relationship of' nations which the physiocrats have taught, and which events had made understandable." At this point Mr. Norman Angell drew a, most striking historic parallel proving his contentions. - He showed that "Bismarck was nearer to being able to apply the methods of Attila nearly 1500 years removed from him than we are to being able to apply the methods of Bismarck, from whom only twenty years separate us." This is why there was no war between Germany and France in 1911. This parallel is so striking and so important and illustrates so graphically the working of the new nerves in human society that we propose to refer to it later. It is an historic milestone in human advance. "Now," continued Mr. Angell, "I want you to recall for a moment the propositions with which I started this paper: namely, that the relations of States are rapidly modifying in obedience to quickly changing conditions—the greater division of labor set up by quicker communications, that this intensified division of labor sets up a condition of necessary interdependence between those who share the labor, that this condition of interdependence in its turn involves a necessary subsidence of the factor of physical force as between them; that this subsidence of physical force not only weakens necessarily the role of political control, but the very complexity of the division of labor tends to set up co-operation in groups which cut right athwart political frontiers, so that the political no longer limits or coincides with the economic; and that finally, partly as the cumulative effect of all these factors, and partly as the direct effect of devices born of the necessity of co-ordinating such factors, you get what I may term telegraphic financial reaction —a condition of sensibility by which the organism as a whole becomes quickly conscious of any damage to a part; that the whole may ! be summarised in the statement that military force is more and more failing in its effect, and must finally become—l think it has already kecomc—economically futile."

GREATER NEW PLYMOUTH. There was nothing half-hearted about the decision of the ratepayers of the suburbs of Vogeltown, Frankleigh Park and Wcstown respecting the proposal to amalgamate their districts with the borough. One hundred and thirty-five votes to twenty-nine was as emphatic as a vote could be, and we congratulate the ratepayers on the display of such good sense and judgment, and feel sure they will not have cause to regret their decision. Whilst their interests must be advanced by the change, the town itself will also benefit, for it will be given a. greater status among the towns of the Dominion and be helped with the tram scheme. The only stumbling block to the consummation of the latter is now St. Aubyn town district, the ratepayers of which will be called upon next week to decide if their interests, too, will be,better served by joining the borough. The advantages to the other suburbs that have come in apply with even greater force to the St. Aubyn district, which is really part and parcel of the town, and from which it should never have been separated. We have no fear about the result of this pbll, and would not be surprised if "it were even more emphatic than that taken yesterday. Ratepayers are quite conscious of the fact •that unless they amalgamate with the rest of the town the proposal to instal trams cannot be proceeded with. This consideration alone will, no doubt, determine their vote at the poll. It has been suggested that amalgamation will bring with it increased rates. This we emphatically contradict. The boot is on the other foot, if we may use the term. If they don't amalgamate they will be faced wilh an increase in rates. If they do, a substantial decrease will follow. We have taken a few properties haphazard from the valuation books for the purpose of comparison with what they would have to bear if in the borough, supposing, of course, the rateß remain the same as •at present. In the case of No, 1 the present rates are £'2l 17s Cd; the borough rates would be £ll 7s fid. No. 2, £ls €s 4d and £7 Is Gd respectively; No. 3, £lO 10s and £5 8s 4d; No. 4, £7.10s 10y g d and £3 Ss. In the four cases the rates are double what they would be were the district part of the borough. No further argu-ment-is required to convince ratepayers what is the right course to pursue when the question comes before them for decision.