CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 251, 13 March 1913, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

FINANCE .MINISTER 13 LONDON. The lion. James Allen's work in London is not by any means done with the raising of the big loan. Lie has to arrange for the renewal, in due course, of short-dated debentures totalling tM-L----000.000. This is not all due tin's year, though next year the sum will lie a very large one. The four and a-half million loan of last year hod a currency of two years, and Mr. Allen is to endeavor to arrange for it to be taken up for a longer term. Defence and educational matters have also to be given attention, but. in spite of all this work. Mr. Allen expects to be in New Zealand before the session opens. THROUGH THE OIICRA. There now exists something like a driving road through Taranaki to Ohura. For some months past workmen have been blasting out a vehicle road through the stupendous chasm of the Taugarakau Gorge, which is the main natural channels of communication between Whangamomona and Ohura counties. A few days ago the first vehicle was reported to have got through, and then 1 is talk of a coach route being established to connect up the two townships o'f Whangamotnoiia and Ohura. The go rye is only about 12 miles long, but it is mostly solid rock. As a scenic route it will become very important in a IVw years, and as a >tock route it will have a very great influence on northern business. Taranaki naturally hopes that the business will flow westwards, but the northern linns already have strong ■connections wjtb the Ohura which it wiii be very hard to break. This is from the Auckland Herald, which, of course, views the position from the Aucklandfis' side. Trade will How to the nearest port, and Ohura's nearest port is not the Wailemnta. ORKEKS' OR!-:AT VICTORY. The tumultuous retreat of the Creeks from Larissa in the disastrous GraeeoTurkisb war has once more been avenged by the faking of .Taniua. The Turkish commander himself, Essad Pasha, \ : >n\ his sword at (lie feet of the Crown l'rince. In Janina Turkey loses another of those historic towns'that have been Turkish for nearly, five .centuries. .Taniua fell to the forces of the Suitan Amurath in 14.'!1. From 1788 (ill 1522 if was the seat of the Albanian briganddespot AM Pasha, whose dominion, only nominally subject to that,of Turkey, extended over Albania. Epinis. part of Thessaly. and the western part of Northern Greece. Tn latter years, after the cession by Turkey of Thessaly to Greece, •lauina's trade declined. In IST.") it. was estimated that the town contained a population of IIi.OOO. about half being Greeks; and it is the seat of a (.'reek archbishop. On the other hand, it is distinctly a town of Albania, and it will be interesting to watch bow- AiistriaLTnngary regards this Litest, vii-iorv of the Greeks. As a factor in breaking

down the war spirit of the Young Turks in {.'onstantinople. the fall of .'lanina should also weigh heavily. Xo wonder Constantinople is depressed. X!'). 13 SLEEPER. Superstition still Nourishes in Xew Zealand alongside all the benefits of education, free from primary school to university (says a correspondent of the Auckland Star). This fact the Railway Department has just realised in a most definite way, the popular objection to the. number 111 having caused so much dillieulty in miming sleeping cars on !he Xorth island .Main Trunk expresses that official notice had to he taken of it. Passengers have so often refused to take berth Xo. 13 in the sleepers that the matter caused no end of worry to those who have to arrange the berthing list. Consequently all the Xo. 13's were replaced by neat indicators with the innocuous inscription 12A. Put even this did not completely dispose of the bughear, for passengers sometimes found out that 12A on the berth corresponded to Xo. 13 on the official list, and more trouble ensued. It meant the destruction of some stationery, but the Department thought it worth while to issue new berth lists so as to dispose of all vestige of the unlucky number. XO-LTCEXSE PARTY'S POLICY. ' A no-license police speech was delivered in Xew Plymouth last night b,- Mr. Ti. I). Hertford". cn-M.P. for Du'nedin West. A survey of his address, which is reported at length in another columi, discloses the fact that the party's tactics are to undergo a considerable change. The party realised, it was pointed out, that- all its ell'orts must be along the lines of removing the three-fifths, majority or substantially reducing it. It would have to withdraw its resources from a direct attack of the Trade and focus it on Parliament, with the object of removing the handicap. The people had, lie said, -been sufficiently educated on the question of Temperance, so much so that it was time to drop speech-mak-ing, emotionalism and demonstrations, and go in for political action. It was for the supporters of the movement to constitute themselves a political force. The partv intended to keep out of direct politics, but was going to make the support of the No-License Party worth more than that of the Trade to members of Parliament. The party had decided to ask all its supporters to sign a pledge declining to vote for anv member of Parliament, unless he undertook to do his utmost to remove or substantially reduce the present handicap. A number of the pledges were signed in the room. THE FINEST IX AUSTRALASIA! This was the description by the members of the Umpire Trade Commission of Pukekura Park, which they visited yesterday afternoon. In fact, one member went as far as to sav that he had seen nothing to equal its beauty in any part of the world.