Ashburton Guardian MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PRÆVALEBIT. SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 1919. COST OF LIVING.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9634, 14 June 1919, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian MAGNA EST VERITAS ET PRÆVALEBIT. SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 1919. COST OF LIVING.

The pessimist must be encouraged indeed in these days when regularly he reads cablegrams telling him of new troubles abroad. Whether the unrest is due,, as in Afghanistan or Egypt, to racial or political causes,, or, as in enemy lands,' to the, consequences of "shameful defeat, the pessimist can find scope for his natural despondency. .His main inspiration for unhappiness, however, must be in the accounts of unrest in countries that should be rejoicing through victory. Britain is experiencing a very anxious time. Soldiers belonging to regiments such as the Black Watch, with the proudest traditions of discipline as well as gallantry, refuse to obey orders, until alleged grievances are settled; discontent is rampant in the industrial ranks; the Irish situation is increasingly acute, and altogether the Homeland has, at '.present; little apparent claims to the title of- Merrie England. In France, a state of affairs exists; Canada is the scene of great strides; the United States is .now fighting 1 anarchists at home, South Africa is also turbulent, and nearer to us, Australian' trade is disorganised through the seamen's strike. So far, New Zealand has escaped serious trouble, but industrial unrest is contagious, and the Dominion will be fortunate to escape the malady that is almost worldwide, especially as the cause of much of the trouble elsewhere is not absent here, namely, the people's suspicion that "profiteering" is excessive, and that the cost of living is unduly high. A Consumers' Association has been formed in Napier to protect householders' interests, and one of the first resolutions passed was a demand that the Government should take steps to reduce the cost of living. The Government has received too many of such demands to be anxious about the latest, and can lightly refer the question to the Board of Trade, if it still exists. So little is heard nowadays of the Board of Trade, and even less is obvious as the practical result of what action it is taking to protect the people against exploitation, that doubts of its existence are pardonable. Perhaps the Board of Trade, like most other -Government organisations, is not permitted to do what it ought, until Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward return. If this is the case, it ■would bo in the best interests of the Dominion if the Council of Four were cabled to petitioningthem to excuse our Ministers from further attendance^ unless the Peace Treaty simply cannot be arranged without their advice and presence. Mr W. T. Jennings, M.P., said recently:— "Never was a time more pregnant with meaning for the future of the country, a country which should be governed by men who have a love for it, and men who had -experience and goodwill/ No sensible man wishes to see the "Red Feds" or other extremists gain in. popular favour 1, yet it is inevitable that they should, if nearly every purchase breeds resentment among the electors, town and country. Higher prices than in pre-war times are admitted to be more or less unavoidable, but few buyers will' agree that the cost of living should be what it is. If the formation of Consumers' Associations will force the authorities' hands, the sooner Ashburtonand every constituency initiates a branch, the better for them now, and the country's welfare, later.

The world's most crooked river is the Jordan, which wanders nearly 220 miles to cover 60.