CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 273, 10 April 1913, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE OPUNAKE RAILWAY. \ A valued contributor writes on the Opunake\ railway question. He says:— "For twenty long years the party which is now represented by Mr. Massey were condemned by the voice of the people of \ New Zealand to wander in the desert like the children of Israel, for the reason that they were regarded as the advocates and protectors of capitalists ( when those interests clashed with the welfare of the people as a whole. Doubtless the electors of the Dominion considered at last election that the chastening influence of such banishment would have the effect of subdueing their inclinations in this direction. It has been clearly demonstrated that the Rtratford-Kaponga-Manaia route of the | Opunakc railway will most effectively relieve all main roads of heavy traffic, that it will serve more country, and that any junction south of Stratford must inflict on the people of Taranaki delay and inconvenience for all time due to the extra junction. Further, the additional cost of the Stratford-Kaponga route, after allowing for the saving by elimination of the section between To Roti and Kapuni would amount to only £30,000. By far the largest portion of Taranaki is liable for a loan of £300,000 for harbor works .at NW Plymouth, a special Act of Parliament having been passed for this purpose. The area included in the New Plymouth Harbor rating area includes by far the larger proportion of the area to he served by the proposed railway. Thus it is evi"dent that the province of Taranaki in particular, and Parliament, are committed to a definite policy which has declared New Plymouth the port of Tara- ' naki. Any junction south of Stratford would be a departure from this policy, and would tend to divert a portion of the trade which was depended upon to support New Plymouth port when the loan was agreed to by ratepayers of the . whole area and when Parliament passed the Act referred to. If for any reason, such as diversion of trade, the revenue of New Plymouth port should decline, any deficiency of revenue must be made up by rates. The port of Patea is entirely unsuitable to handle much trade with safety and despatch, and for direct shipping of imports is entirely out of the question. It is quite clear that no justification exists for a junction south of Stratford except the protection of capitalistic and vested interests at Patea.

THE PHILIPPINES. President Wilson, according to the cables, has decided to grant independence to the Philippine Islands. The date is to : be fixed later. Meanwhile a Go-vcrnor-Ociieral will be appointed to act with the Commissioners. Tiro Philippine Islands, until 1898, formed a Spanish colony, but after the Americo-Span-isli war they were ceded to the United States as territorial indemnity for the expenses of the war. In 1902 a Civil Governor was appointed, with a legislative body,'consisting of seven commis-. sioners (four Americans and three Filipinos). A Legislative Assembly was elected in 1907. The chief industries are in the hands- of the Europeans and the Chinese, who number 25,000 and 100,000 respectively. Sugar, hemp, copra, cigars and tobacco are exported, and the islands' are also rich in timber. The total area is 115,02(5 square miles. The population in 1911 was estimated at 8,368,427. The capital is Manila, with a population of over 223,000. . The imports in 1911 were valued at £10,000,000and the exports at £8,000,000. j

A BOY WHO SAID "SIR." An Australian writer illustrating the results of universal military training in Australia quotes the following incident that came under his own observation:— While sitting in my office, a messenger came to me and said: "There is a lad here with a parcel for you, sir." I replied: "All right. Send him in," and a very dirty youth took off his hat at the door, and marched up to my desk very briskly, stood at attention, and handed me the parcel, saying: "A parcel for you, sir." The word "Sir" in Australia ! cannot l)e considered to be a term of general use, and it is with a certain amount of difficulty that persona, especially lads, can be induced to make use of it. Tn older countries, of course, it is a common form of civility between all classes, but for some reason which I am unable to explain, it is omitted from the vocabulary of the average Australian :youth, so that when this lad said "sir." t was more than interested, and took, special pains to find out who the boy was, and where he came from. I traced Jiis.locality, to a very poor suburb, where he was employed in a factory, and I also : ascertained that the officer in charge of this district was in such close touch with the boys, and so much respected by them, that he had been successful even with the most difficult material in producing a highly satisfactory result.

THE PANAMA CANAL. A valuable paper dealing with the provable effects of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1915 on the trade of i the world was read by Professor Hut 1 cliinson (University of California) before the Royal Statistical Society recently. He remarked that while the effects of opening the canal would bo profound, their importance could be easily exaggerated. To many of the most important parts of the globe the new canal would merely open an alternative route; to several others it would offer no advantages whatever, and their

trade would cling to the present routes. The specific countries whose trade was being sought were Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, China, Japan, the Philippine Islands, New Zealand and Australia. While these countries were, on ■ the whole, becoming better able to supply their own clothing materials and foodstuffs, they were rapidly increasing their demand for industrial goods, and the competition for the supply of these goods was becoming more concentrated in the United Kingdom, the United Stales of America and Germany, each of which possessed certain disadvantages in the trade. On the whole, during the last l."> years the Cerman and American attack on the market had met with some success. England, although still holding nearly 50 per cent, of the trade, had declined, while the United States and Germany had both increased their share. The fact that the United Stales, in spite of aerious handicaps, had more than held its own in the competition, pointed to an important advance once tho Panama Canal was in full operation; for that

country would unquestionably reap greater benefits in increased accessibility of the markets in question than England, Germany or any other European country. In Australasia. China ftnd ' Japan, the markets which not only were the most valuable to-day but which also possessed the most promising possibilities of development, the canal would offer facilities to America far greater than to Europe. To European traders with these countries it was a matter of relative indifference, as far as distance was concerned, whether the new route Was opened or not, for it would not greatly affect the accessibility to them of these markets. Vessels from English or German ports would actually lose time by choosing the Panama route except to New Zealand.