The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 14, 1918. A LEAD FROM THE BENCH.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 May 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 14, 1918. A LEAD FROM THE BENCH.

In his charge to the grand jury yesterday the Chief Justice delivered one of those little homilies for which he is noted, and which tend to awaken the public from their smug complacency. The basis of his observations was, of course, the wasteful indulgence in strong drink, Sir Robert quoting figures to show that more money than ever was being spent in this direction, notwithstanding this was a time of war when sacrifices were being demanded, but only given by one section of the community—namely, the young men who were fighting our battles. This, he considered, was quite wrong, and a reflection on the intelligence and patriotism of the people, who should now, of all times, be prepared to make a real sacrifice, and do their share towards winning the war and preparing for the bad days that will inevitably follow war. It must be confessed that there is a good deal of justification for Sir Robert's strictures. On every side there is evidence of an all too great indulgence in habits that are wasteful and extravagant, and a desire to provide for the present more than for the future, and a disposition to ignore a

manifest duty cast on all to do their best to help to win the war. All cannot go and fight, hut all can do something to assist the cause. That this obligation is not generally recognised is, perhaps, the fault not so much of tiie people themselves as of the leaders, who have failed to rise to the occasion and direct them as to what is expected of them in such a time of stress and upheaval. It is probably because of this that the bulk of the public have not really grasped the fact that we are engaged with a powerful enemy in a life-and-death struggle, and that the fate of the world will be decided by the fighting now going on in Europe. Thanks to the Imperial Government paying record prices for all our produce, the war has not been brought home in a material sense to the majority of the public, and it must be agreed that the only ones who are making an appreciable sacrifice are those who have fought, and are fighting, the enemy. But self-abnegation in a time of great, prosperity is not a common attribute. The only way to bring about a change in the desired direction is by legislative enactment, compelling people to curb their extravagance and take a bigger share in winning the war. There was one point in his Honor's statement that was not quite so convincing. That was his reference to the bad times which, he assured us, follow every war. It is true that after the Crimean War there was a period of stringency and distress, but it has to be remembered that the world to-day is vastly different from then. The means and machinery for the production or creation of wealth, for instance, cannot be compared with the primitive methods of those days. After the American civil war was there any stagnation? Not at all. The lessons learned in the war were applied to the development of the immense latent resources of the country until it became one of the most prosperous, if not the most prosperous, in the world. Or take the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. Was France depressed after what was a disastrous war for her, territorially, financially and in every other way? After paying what Bismarck felt would be a crushing indemnity of £200,000,000, France began to develop her industries in a manner that surprised the world, and particularly Germany, who, history shows, would have attacked France again, because of her wonderful economic recovery, but for the intervention of Britain and Russia. Immediately after the conclusion of peace her exports increased, there was work for everyone, wa»es were fully maintained, and in a few years France was more prosperous than ever. The bank rate is a good barometer, and while we find that in 1875 the bank rate in Paris was 3 per cent., in Berlin it varied from 4 to 0 per cent., and Germany had had the advantage ef the indemnity she exacted from France. Then take the aftermath of the RussoJapanese war. It cannot be argued that Russia suffered socially or economically. The reverse was the case. It provided an opportunity for her best men to put the Russian house in order. Though the taxation was always very heavy—on the average, the people paid 30 per cent, of their nett income in taxation in one form or another—it was only after the war with Japan that the Russian Budget showed a surplus. There was a period of stagnation following the South African war, but that could not be attributed to the cost of the war, or any dislocation caused by the war, but to the American banking crisis, and the nervousness displayed by many of the banking institutions at the minatory tone of the Kaiser's telegrams to Kruger and the subsequent acceleration in the arming of Germany. It may be, of course, that bad times will follow the present war, but on this point the great economists and financiers do not agree. On the contrary, the great weight of opinion is inclined to the view that, if the nation is wisely led, there will be no industrial depression, but a great improvement. The war, after all, cannot be all loss. In England the great mass of people, who were obliged to live from hand to mouth, are being released from their economic chains. The war has shown the value of efficiency, and efforts are already being directed to effect this by providing, first of all, better housing, greater educational facilities, and scientific organisation of industries, rural and industrial. England has, under the strong and relentless pressure of war, been obliged to shed the shackling conservatism of centuries, and adopt measures which a few years ago would have been regarded as revolutionary and suicidal. For that reason there is hope for her renaissance after the war. As for New Zealand, this is the most favored of all countries. There must be a shortage of foodstuffs for many years, and as the seasons are opposite there will always be a ready and remunerative market for our produce. Our future, therefore, is assured. All the same, the people of the country would be the better for exercising more thrift and curbing the desire for pleasure and self-indulgence that unfortunately clouds the duty owing at the present moment to those who are upholding the nation and humanity against the most powerful assaults to which they have ever been subjected.