THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1907. FOR AND AGAINST.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8406, 22 April 1907, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1907. FOR AND AGAINST.

The question of connecting England and France by means of a tunnel under the British Channel has, as no doubt our readers are well aware, given rise to a mass of articles and correspondence in the English Pres?. The following summary of views, compiled by the London Standard, will give the busy man some idea of the different arguments urged both for and against the proposal. Advantages—Quicker Continental transit for passengers and perishable goods; no sea passage or seasickness ; no transhipment or breakage of bulk; development of business and creation of London as a distributing centre; increased number of tourists and increased intercourse; strengthening the link of friendship with France; possible alliance with Fi-ance; reduction of freight charges owing to time s-ived; improved telephone service; express letter delivery between Paris and London; probable cheaper telegrams; boat passage 50 minutes, train journey 30 minutes; Paris brought as near as Newcastle for daily "business visits. Disadvantages of a land frontier; affords an*alternative route of invasion; loss of sea power in defence; seizure of tunnel affords a line of communication to a sea-borne raid without chance of molestation from the Navy; probable reduction of merchant marine tonnage; necessity for the formation of a tunnel defence force; liability of mines for destruction failing; it is the surprise that succeeds; impossibiliy of fathoming the ingenuity of the human element in war; material incentive to the study of raids; possibility of alien treachery at the

English end; higher freight charges; increased competition from the Continent; the difficulty of getting money for a work which would have to be destroyed at a national crisis. The argument that it is impossible to fathom the ingenuity of the human element in war was, we believe we are correct in stating, first ad- j j vanced by Lord Charles Beresford. and is one to which he attaches an enormous arnoun t of importance. RECIPROCAL TARIFFS. In view of the fact that the present Conference of Colonial Premiers in London will before dispersing discuss \ very thoroughly the proposal in regard to a system of reciprocal tariffs between the Motherland and her colonies it is, perhaps, of some in- ! terest to quote a brief passage I from Mr A. H. Maude's pamphlet: | "Chamberlain appeals unto Caesar" --which pamphlet the Hon. Alfred Deakin has declared is the aptest, clearest and most convincing exposition of some of the fallacies of free imports that he has seen in Australia. Mr Maude remarks:—"The almost universal igno2'ance, even among otherwise well-informed men, as to the real merits of the subject we are considering is so great, and they have 'taken for granted' so much without investigation, that I believe !if you were to ask ten persons i selected at random, 'What was the I foundation and cause of Great Brit-

j ain's supremacy in manufactures, I commerce, shipping and the position |in the world which she holds?' that at least eight out of the ten would answer, 'Oh, Freetrade, of course,' and this even though some of them were in favour of the change proposed by Mr Chamberlain. The curious thing about this remarkable delusion is that it is not only not the fact, but that the truth is exactly the reverse. The real indisputable, historic fact is that the manufactures, trade, mercantile marine, and predominance of Great Britain were founded, grew up and flourished under the most rigorous and stringent protective policy the world has ever seen."

TO-NIGHT'S MEETINGS. It is an old saying that "it never rains but it pours," and the observation seems to be as true in regard to Municipal addresses as it is in relation to the weather. We are going to have all our Municipal addresses on one night—helter-skelter, pellmell, one after the other. Mayoral candidates and Borough Councillors, and would-be Councillors, are all going to address the burgesses of Masterton to-night. At one time and another we have urged that candidates for Municipal honours should make a point of addressing the burgesses, but we scarcely anticipated the tornado (or is it "a storm in a tea-cup?") that will eventuate tonight. The man, or woman, who wants information on Municipal affairs (and we hope they are many in number) had better " stroll this evening along Queen Street North, and pay a visit to the Foresters' Hall, or to the Exchange Buildings, or possibly to both places, if he is really thirsty for information, and if he does not learn what he wants to know then we are afraid that it will be quite beyond the power of anyone to help him in his quest for Municipal knowledge. Mr J. M. Coradine, as notified, elsewhere, will speak in the Foresters' Hall, and Mr E. McEwen in the Exchange Buildings. It is, unfortunate, that both candidates for the Mayoralty should have selected the same night in which to address the electors. Mr Coradine cannot be blamed for what looks very like a muddle, as he was the first in the field to announce the date of his meeting.