CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 180, 29 January 1914, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

lIO.MKLAND STItIKKS. The Homeland is having its turn „f industrial unrest in common with other countries. Towards the end of hist December several thousand men employed cm the Leeds tramwav-. gas ail( ( electric works, and in the street services, struck against the rcfu.-ul of the City Council (o concede a demand lor an ailround rise of wages. ].„,. several (lavs the streets were in tidal darkness, aiul only a Sew trains were, with great diflilulty. kepi at work. This has been followed by a. strike of ihe building Hades in London, in which the coalmen have joined. To (lie hardships Usuillv inherent to midwinter lias now been added the loi-rible experience of a stoppage in Ihe supple of coal. What this means to the large ho-pital-' and other similar institutions can well be imagined, while (o the poor it is nothingshort of a dire calamity, as retailers are charging lil'tv and sixty shillings a lon for coal, at a time when thirteen la- | gives of frost are being regis-,, red. in | Ihe building trade it »> expected (hat lall.tliKl would be locked out. and Ihe distress will he heart-rending'. It is sincerely to be hoped thai rllorts at mediation will succeed. In the co.il strike the amount at slake is an extia penny, while in the builders' dispute the employers insist on the rule as to nonunionists being Ih-t guaranteed before they will consider proposals for settleinenl. II really scene- „] Mlr ,\ that such I lilies si Id result ;,, widespread misery and siill'ering.

11..M.5. M.W ZF.AI.AND. On .arrival Home, after a trip round Hie world, .hiring which (upu.in llalsav mid tl Ilicers of 11.M.5. s.av Zealand had 1..-i-ii entertained at over fill) ban line's. a riehi roial welcome «... accorded to lie.in by the Hon. T. Maekeii':.' and a disiiu;:iii-licd company, whicb ivteoided Prince l.onis and Prince fieof'j'e •■' ll.vi-übev-. Mr.. Ihl.cY. Lord and 1 •'■'.■. Pli":l-,d. the Kail awl I .nnlcss of id:-ev.v !.„.,! :.!,r-cv. Vis, .oleics, liar- ■■■'■■ ... ..! ; -.a... Va-i,.- of Cjfy

•Companies, and well-known military and naval men, as well as a large number of -New Zealanders. Mr. -Mackenzie, in tin: course of his remarks, touched on the action of the New Zealand (iuvernmeut regarding the oll'er of the Dreadnought as a .supplement to the. Imperial Navy, and added that he "could not help thinking that if Mr. Borden had taken the line of action which was adopted by the. New Zealand < Government, it. would have met with the same universal response of the people which the Xew Zealand < Government received in connection with its gift." He concluded by remarking that so long as England hail ■i first Lord who showed the interest, ! energy and capacity of Mr. Winston i.'hitrchill, supported hy the advice and experience of so trusted and capable a First Sea Lord as Prince l.ouis of liattenherg, with oHioers of the type of Captain llalsey, and such men as those who served under him, there need he no fear that our naval defences would not b. l ciptal to the responsibility of our I far-reaching Empire.

SPANISH INVENTOR'S CLAIM. The Correspondencia de Espana, of Madrid, publishes an interview with an inventor named Julian Jose Iglcsias, who claims to have, discovered a means of obtaining electrical energy from the atmosphere in any quantity, and using it for lighting and power purposes. He also declares lie has discovered' a means of firing explosives at anv distance up to thirty miles, and states"that he uttered this last year to the Spanish Minister of Marine. Senor Iglesias maintains that his discoveries will remove the need for central generating stations. Apparently they will remove a great deal more if all the inventor claims for them can he substatnialod; but it all depends on the "if."

FARM LABORERS' WACES. Tim proposal of the Imperial Covernment to lix a lniuimuni wage for farm laborers, who are still paid as little as IDs a week in some, of the counties, has drawn protests from many quarters. '•Why should any body of self-respect-ing citizens he thus reduced to (lie position ot Suite proteges'" aslcs one country vicar. "The farm laborers simply want, in common with all the rest, lo find themselves free; free lo ascertain hy equal opportunity of experience, each for himself, what his particular minimum wage, as between himself and his fair and equal share in the common aggregate of natural opportunity, actually is; so that he can always quote it. as man with man, when it comes to bargaining with any enterpriser in the agricultural or any other industry, who wishes to gain his assistance. A minimum wage there is, of course, for everyone. But it is fixed by N'aturc." This .is not cheering news for the farm workers who find their wage totally inadeauate. They will be disposed to hope that Mi'. Lloyd Ceorge will be able to apply a little pressure to "XaturV on this occasion.

AN EMPIRE-BUILDER. Lord Sydenham, who is fittingly described as •' one of the master-builders of Crcater Britain," is the subject of an article in Ihe December number, of "United Empire." Perhaps Lord -Sydenham, who died in 18-11 while serving as Coventor of Canada, did not give his name to the southern ward nf Christehurch, but it a curious coincidence that ■he was one of the men from whom John Robert Oodloy drew inspiration. Mr. (Sodley travelled through Canada in I.S-I'2, and noticed everywhere evidence of the good practical work done .hv the late Governor in the colonv. "Whatever may be the opinion entertained of Lord Sydenham's policy." be wrote, "all parties agree in acknowledging his great administrative talents and the energy with which be applied (hem; the improvement, of the provinces received an impulse during his government which could hardlv have been conceived to he possible."