CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 179, 28 January 1914, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

1/)IJD DKX.MAX'S RKTJRKMKNT. Hie announcement oE tlio reiirehip.nt of the f i o v. > i-i)or-f! on oral of Australia, tlio I!l. Hon. Lord Denman, will causi! oon.sidi-ralili- surprise throughout the ( oniuionweaUh, but (he reason must bo taken as ample justification for his decision. There is no question that at ( tlle pH'SOllf lillie. ill fate of til peril'liar position of tlu> political parties liolli iu Hi.' various States am! in the l/edc-ral 1 loii.se, (lie absence of'tlic Go-vernor-fieneral prove exceedingly inconvenient. anil. possibly, envb.irass'"r-'. 111 11 state of his 'Vf^ic-y's beallii apparently renders hi-: .'.H-nice from the Commonwealth a novs'-iity, and vatlier than c.iuso any possiWo 1 rouble through a prolonged alivnec, Lord Deiiiniui has deemed it the w s:m' conr-e to resign liis ollioe. Although I lie li.i-, only held Ihe appointment shicn | lull. there is mi question that lie is hild in the highest esteem by Auslvi-

liana, and tliero will be a general feeling of regret at the loss of his services, more especially on account of tho cause. It will be remembered that Lord Denman took part in tho Mouth African war as ' captain commanding the ,'l.jth Squadron 1 of Imperial Yeomanry. Although only forty years of age, ho. has acquired a reputation for considerable tact, and | clear-sightedness in national affairs, and ) it is not at all improbable thai bis ser- j vices to the Crown will at some future ] time be again requisitioned.

UNEARNED INCREMENT. A striking illustration of the growth of unearned increment is afforded in tile case of the Duke of Bedford's Covent Garden Estate, which covers about; nine acres in the heart of London, and is tho site of a large number of import-.V ant buildings. When first given to the Rtissclb by Edward VI., Covent Garden had an annual value of £(i 6s Bd. Today the site values involved are set .down at several millions, while what is known as Covent Garden, whereon the ''fruit market stands, is alone worth about £25,000 a year. That it is possible for so huge a fortune to be built up from the industry of the community without anything being 1 given in exchange, will, .says the Nation, certainly furnish matter for thought regarding the present system in England of rating land in urban districts. The Times suggested that the sale and purchase of thin estate may possibly awaken in the breast «f the Chancellor of the Exchequer some -fresh schemo for the taxation of ground values and unearned increments.

ARGENTINA'S TRADE. A little pamphlet which is being distributed by Mr. H. H. Rayward, the Vice-Consul in Wellington for Argentina, contains a number of figures showing tbo immense strides the South American Republic has made in trade and commerce during the last few years, and one table detailing the "new capital" issued in the United Kingdom in 1912 gives somo idea of tho enormous demands made upon tho Mother Country for money ta assist in development enterprises all over the world. The United Kingdom letnined £45,.'130,000, Canada took £4f1,!>83,000, Australasia ;£ 13,462,000, India and Cevlon £3,708,000, South Africa £3,802,000, other Bri■tisli possessions £4,626,000, the United States £23,634,000, Argentina £20,110,000, Brazil £ K,353,000, and Russia £lO,400,000, while smaller customers brought the total up to the huge total of £2lO/850,000. Argentina, according to this pamphlet, already dwarfs all the other South American republics into inj significance so far as productiveness and development are concerned, and has 1 abundant faith in its future.

DUTCH SETTLERS FOR VICTORIA. The arrangements for inducing suit-

able Bottlers to go to Victoria from

Holland have been practically complet- ■ ed. it having been arranged with Mr. A. J. Yandenbrenk, the newly-appointed agent of the Netherlands Government, that about 2000 acres of irrigable land will bo set apart on the Stanhope Estate, at Rush-worth, for selection by suitable Dutch land-scekers. Mr. Vandenbrenk, who has had considerable Australian experience, has undertaken to obtain from 40 to 50 settlers in eighteen months to take up the holdings 5 provided. These will be men with families, a minimum if ,C3OO working capita], and farming experience. ITe will leave Melbourne for Antwerp at the end of the month, and on arrival will open an immigration office in that city. The Government has undertaken to find similar areas for selection for other J)utch

land-seekers, provided that Mr. Vanden-

brenk's initial effort leads to success, ■and lias instructed him to send out as many farm workers of a desirable kind as he is able to secure. Mr. Vandenbrenk's -main object, ihowever, will be to get, land-seekers with capital.

MAORIS FOR THE NAVY. According to United Empire, one of the last acts.of the late. Sir Frederick .Young was to "address a letter to Mr. Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand, urging tho incorporation of the Maoris in the ranks of the British Navy, a policy which he characterised as 'the dearest wish of his heart.'" The point does not appear to have been raised locally, but there should be no question at till of the right of Maori youths to 'become members of any naval force that New Zealand may create. The Maoris are descendants of navigators _ whose wonderful voyages over the Pacific give them rank with the greatest seamen of history. During the Whaling period of -New Zealand's development many hundreds of natives proved their courage and skill at sea, and it would be a shameful injustice, not to be tolerated bv any true New Zealauder, to deny a Maori volunteer tho privilege of serving on board a Dominion warship. Sir Frederick, who was shipping manager for tho Canterbury Association in the days of Canterbury'pioneers, was ever a good friend of the Maori people.

THE BISHOP OF WAIAPU. An all-round man in Canon Sedgwick has been nominated to the bishopric of Waiapn, left vacant <by the promotion of Bishop Averill to Auckland. The bishop-elect, who wag vicar of St. Luke's Church, Chrtstchurch, for nine years till lie wa& appointed last year as Diocesan Missioner and Secretary to the Cluirch Mission, has had experience in England, as a naval chaplain—ho received tho Suakim medal and the Khedive bronze star—lll Becliuanaland and Cafie Oolonv, and in several charges 111 Nortli Canterbury. A man of intense spirituality, consumed by devotional zeal, lie was an athlete, in his youth, showed an amazing practicability in building a rare church and openinir it free of debt where ' 110 one thought the feat coull be performed, would walk long miles at midnight, after a hard day, to spend five minutes with a humble sick ■parishioner who might be expecting mm. and ia said by men not specially religions to bo the finest companion on a 1 fishing jaunt. All this in spite of customary weak health. which it is to be "hoped is better now. No Church and 'no diocese can have too many of such