CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 182, 31 January 1914, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

land Gambling, Thu Nhpier Telegraph, in its discussion of the fact that "240 persons recently went into a ballot for 1585 acres of land in the Hawke's Hay district, divided into fourteen sections, throws a flashlight on a sinister feature of the incident. Our contemporary asks; —llow far does .this, taking place in a district where 128 persons between tliem possess no less than 1,7-18,008 acres, and .vhere the sum total of all the holdings -3,211,080 acres—is in tho hands of >nly _ 4048 persons, represent true and • egitimale land hunger? And then the paper goes on to say; We propose lo dissociate ourselves from any suspicion of party bias in considering .the facts, by candidly admitting our belief that the noticeable rush for tickets in the 'sweep" does not entirely stand for a desire for land for strictly settlement purposes. Most of .thesn rallies are so arranged that tho winner in any one of them may count upon a substantial "bonus" if he wishes to take it from some really anxious would-be settle)'. Hut this, while partly explaining tho rushes which take placo at these ballots, also emphasises the vicious nature of this method of dealing with land, proving as it does that before t'nc true settler can got land ho has to pay toll to some lucky person whose marble has turned up at the ballot, and who in seven cases out of ten "takes hid ticket" in the hope of making a rise, liut, making allowance for the conditions—which would quickly be altered and would givo us tho true demand for land for productive purposes if ihu leases were submitted to auction—there is a very keen demand for land. Those who will take the trouble to it-hint; out wliat this unsatisfied demand, on the one hand, and how on the other it brings into flaming contrast the conditions under which a handful of people hold almost the. entire province, must conclude that tlio sooner this question is tackled thoroughly the better it will be for tho country.

GETTIN'I! liliADi*. Writes Frank Morton in the Aivfrland Herald:—The man of true or distinguished ability cannot <lo much Vifore l\o is forty, because all his earlier years are needed for the getting ready; hud the man who gut* ready properly is younger at fortv-live than that queer, ivague shape you call the man in the street is at five-and-twenty. Truly, to realise life, honestly to exult in it, one must be a philosopher; and no man is * philosopher until lie is forty. If lift is not a philosopher by then, 00.l help and pity him!—for lie must go a-weary and alone down a long and stony road. Thus it is that in a true and sustaining philosophy lies all the perfect sweetness of a radiant- middle ! age. To meet every accident and incident equably, looking upon it from the standpoint, of a fair and wide experience: to Bmilo with tolerance and comradeliness upon the host of young fellows that shriek and wave their Hags as they toil towards one through the swamps of disillusionment: to discover with steady faith the purpose in the | apparently purposeless, and to hope in- . domitably when all seems hopeless to the very young: to find constant satis- ! faction and enjoyment in the facts of I .life itself, its lessons, adventures and | compensations, ami so to delight in life 1 as the end «of life or chief object of | living—all this is to know what it is to be glad <ind interested, and this is a joy that comes when youth's undisciplined heats have died down to a comfortable glow.

PERIL OF SYNDICALISM. The national peril of Syndicalism does not seem ,to be perceived by some unionists, who allow themselves to be persuaded that "direct action" is a shirt cut to peace and plenty. Discussing 'The Future Relation of Capitol and Labor," Mr. John B. C. Kershaw remarks in the December issue of the Fortnightly Review: "The organisation of Labor into trades societies and unions is not in itself a bad thing, as those, who have studied the past history of trades unionism in this country are bound to admit; and it is only became the recent policy of tho unions has been dictated by the irresponsible and Socialistic demagogues of the party that trades unionism/ has been condemned by the more sober and level-headed portion of the community. When the present wave of dissatisfaction and unrest which 13 passing over the industrial world has spent its force, we may hope, that the authority of the older and more trustworthy leaders of trades unions will be restored and that wiser counsels and action will prevail." Other reviewers in Britain, America, Australia and Xew Zealand have established a solid case against the raw, red "generals'' of the strike wars. Mr. Kershaw says: 'U one examines closely the position and influence of the modern Labor leader, ■one will see how futile it is to expect help or assistance from this quarter under the present conditions of trades ,union policy and organisation, and no change in this attitude can be expected until it is to the leaders' interest and personal profit to promote peace rather than strife between masters and men."