TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8221, 27 August 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

It is is estimated that about £BOO,OOO worth of automobiles have boen imported into the United States during the fiscal year ecded June 30th, and that more than £(300,000 worth have been exported during the same time. The manufacture of automobiles in America within the fiscal year has amounted to more than £5,100,000. The industrial effeot in the United States of the increased use of automobiles is indicated by the figures of the census of 1905, which shows that the number of wage-earners in the automobile manufacturing establishments of the country increased from 2,242 in 1900 to 10,239 in 1905; that thrt wages increased from £265,000 to £1,234,000; and the salaries of officers, clerks, etc., from £58,950 to £210,100. It is an extraordinary thing, says the Pastoralist's Review, that there should be so muoh talk about unemployed in the Australian towns —the Premier of Victoria is distributing doles of money—whilst there exists an obvious opening to learn so profitable on employment as shearing, now that most of the shearing is doneijby machinery, at whiuh a new hand can pick up a decent wage in'a lew days, and a large one In a

few weeks. Hand-shearing had some pretensions to be termed skilled labour, but no one can say that of machine shearing. It would not be true to say that there is a dearth of shearers this season, sinje all sheds are being filled without difficulty, but with the expansion of the industry there is always plenty of room for Jearnera. A fair shearer, after paying all exproses, should be able to come home after three months' shearing with a cheque for £4O in bis pocket. There are sheds where men average over £7 a week, whioh shows what is possible to able-bodied and expert men. But the ordinary class of light labourer, scch as the unemployed, could do uncommonly well at shearing, and it might give him a taste for country life. We commend this suggestion to the new Labour Bureaus which the Governments are opening in several States. At present they don't seem to be able to think of any more original way of dealing with the unemployed than doling out relief money and relief employment at the standard wage in the cities, when there is always labour to be found in the oountry. yiai The circumstance that among the new peers there is not a single member of the House of Commons is much commented upon (writes Mr Luey in the Sydney Morning Herald). The inference generally adopted is that Ministers desire to avoid the risk of by-eleotions, even in oases where the majority at the general election was substantial. An old Whip, whose long personal knowledge of these affairs gives him authority to speak, privily suggests another reason. In eight cases out of ten, he says, peerages are bought in the same frank business-like manner in which King James invented and went to market with baronetioies. The price current at the outside was ,£I,OOO net. Peerages, cf course, coat more. I hear of one of recent creation for which £BO,OOO was paid, £30,0C0, so scandal avers, going to a lady having intimate relations at Court. When a man ha° paid at this or lesser rate he ia naturally dibposed to close the account. That, according to the old Whip, .has more to do with postponement of ; certain peerages than tear of losing seats. At present these gentlemen, grateful for favours to oome, are always ready to contribute to the party war-chests, whereas firmly seated in the House of Lords, their interests in the political fortunes of their party would naturally fade. Hence it is the polioy of all Premiers to be chary of creating peerages when first returning to power, giving them with both hands in the last days of their reign.

The most remarkable faot in the progress of the British Navy is the enormous increase in the forces in commission, or immediately available on the outbreak of war, whioh are now concentrated in European waters. This is made clear in •Brassey's Naval Annual.' With very few exceptions, all our moat elective battleships and cruisers are ia commission in the Channel, Atlantio, or Mediterranean Fleets, or in the Reserve. Never before British Navy been in such condition of immediate preparedness for war as at the present time. The navy is, in fact, being maintained in peace time on a war footing. The present position in regard to first-class battleships is as follows: Built. Building. Ttl. Great Britain 45 6 51 Germany .. .. 18 6 24 United States .. 15 -10 25 France .. .. 11 6 17 Japan .. .. 10 2 12 Russia .. •. 4 4 / 8 Italy .. .. 4 4 8 The' vessels to be laid down in 1905-6 were; Great Britain 4; Germany, 2; United States, 2; Franoe, 6. In completed first-class battleships (nearly all of which are in commission) Great Britain is at present much superior to a combination of the German and United States navies, or to any three European navies combined.