THE GREEK CRISIS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 70, 23 March 1910, Page 4

THE GREEK CRISIS.

The sudden outbreak of violence in Thessaly may not be in itself a serious! matter, but in the present precarious I state of things in the Balkans it may lead to far-reaching consequences. Apparently the peasants, who have been attacking the troops stationed in Thessaly, have taken up arms in defence of ; what they regard as their rights; and the recent attempt made by the MHitarv League to expropriate some of the small landholders in that district has roused Christians and Moslems alike against the Government. The tenure oil the Turkish peasants was specifically protected when Thessaly -was handed J over to Greece in 18SI; but the Greeks I with their long list of old scores to pay! off against the Turks aTe not inclined to be scrupulous about questions of personal property. But the Mohammedans are not the only section of the people concerned in this rising, and there is no I doubt that this complication, like so many other difficulties, has arisen at this juncture chiefly through the indiscreet' and arbitrary action of the heads of the' Military League- ' There is no reason to disbelieve the assertion of the Military League that! its members are actuated by patriotic! motives. But Dot only has it displayed | a deplorable hick of tact in its dealings I with the King of Greece, and in its at- I tempt to reform the Constitution, but it has also produced a slngularlv bad effect upon the volatile and emotions* 1 people of Greece by encouraging hopf-s ': that tneir nation may achieve once more ! a high and splendid destiny by Pntering j on a career of military afrgrcesion. It is only twelve years since the disgraceful ; collapse of Greece in the Thessalian war I alienated the sympathy of most of the j Powers. But the Greeks in general, and ' the Military League in particular, seem I to "believe that they can successfully ' emulate the achievements of the Young i Turks, who have saved their country ' from ruin by on appeal to the Ann-*-. J However, in epite of the belligerent tone \ assumed by many of the Military League's leaders, there has been a reacj tion at Athens recently in favour of constitutional methods of reform. Acting; on the advice of M. Vemzelos, one of the '' few Cretans who deserves to be called a statesman, the King has derided to con-1 vene a National Assembly, in which tho representatives of the people will discuss ; the domestic aud foreign policy of Greece. It was feared that Cretan mem- , bers -would be included in this Assembly. and that this formal recognition of Crete as a portion of the Greek dominions would have -been accepted by Turkey asa"casus belli." But, happily, wiser counsels have prevailed, and there is no" reason to apprehend danger to the peace of the Bal-. ! kans from the National Assembly. We' can 'be sure that whatever influence the! Powers can exercise over Greece will be ! employed in promoting peaceful relations between Greece and Turkey; for. as the : ! "Daily Telegraph" recently pointed out, a Greco-Turidsh, war, -with- all its limit-:

which all the Powers are anxious to steer dear, in the interests not only of the Xear East but of all Europe, The following is Mr. D. C. Bates' -weather report and forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. this day: "Moderate to strong south-easterly winds; weather probably cool and changeable; glass rise slowly." The "Star" will not be published on Good Friday. Advertisers should make their arrangements accordingly. To-day is the 65th anniversary of the arrival in Auckland of the 58th Regiment-— men, under Major Matson in H.M. frigate North Star. Those were stirring times, when the City of Auckland consisted of a few straggling buildings, and the inhabitants lived in hourly terror of attack by the famous chief, Hone Heke. The local authorities asked Major Matson to land his troops that night, though the frigate only dropped anchor at 11 p.m., ami he promised to do so if anything serious occurred. Fortunately, the night passed quietly, ami at dayligmht on March 23rd the troops were landed and quartered J temporarily by a hotelkeeper in Short-land-street. The troops were almost immediately set to work strengthening the defences of Point Britotnart. Subsej quentiy they went to the Bay of IsI lands, and were engaged in three serious ■ j engagements with the Maoris at OkaiI hau, where they lost 42 men at Ohaeai wai, where 127 were slaughtered in 5$ j minutes, and at Ruapekapeka, where j 37 fell. Of the 200 men who arrived j with the sSth Regiment, and served j right through the war, the only surviv- | ing member is Mr. Jesse Sage."late ser- j geant. who. though just on S7 years of age, is still fairly active and" full of reminiscences of the famous engage- ' ments in which he took part. " ° ' At a meeting- of the Auckland branch of the H-A.CB.S., held last night, it was resolved: "It is desirable that a fittingmemorial to onr dearly-beloved and deeply-lamented Bishop, the Right Rev. Dr. Lenihan, be erected; what shape such memorial should be to be left for further consideration. Yesterday a petition in bankruptcy was filed by Harry Morgan, farmer, of Otaika, near Whangarei. Mr. T. H. I Steadznan ie solicitor for the debtor, and I the first meeting of creditors will be j held at his office at Whaagarei on Tuesj day, April 5, at 10 a.m. Why is it that trout grow to such great size hi New Zealand and Tasmania as compared nriLh England, Scotland, Norway, etc, asks the "Sydney Daily Telegraph." The capture of a trout from five to ten pounds weight in the Old Country ■ i is paragraphed in a dozen newspapers, j-and seems to be quite an event in the j fishing world, while in New Zealand, for I instance, it is no extraordinary achievement to land a. -20M> fish or heavier. It I has 'been suggested that in European j waters, where the lakes, etc, are frozen j over, the food supply is reduced to a I minimum in winter, which retards the ! growth of the fish. This theory seems ! quite feasible, continues our contempor- ! ary, and the views of anglers of cold country experience would be very in- ! teresting. The subject of acquiring a new suite of offices -was reintroduced at the Auckland Education Board meeting to-day. The Executive Committee recommended that the offer received from the Y.ILC-A. tic declined, and this the Board endorsed. The Chairman stated that the Bank of New Zealand had offered the Board accommodation in premises in Swansonstreet, bat he fa-TOuxed acquiring a secI tion and building. Two or three suitj able sites had been offered, brat he had i deferred taking any action until he had I had an opportunity of conferring with the Minister in regard to finances. He ■would be. in Wellington shortly on his ■return from a visit to Dunedin, and , would then wait on the Minister. In I isis opinion, it was a. very foolish proceeding to pay a rental of nearly £10 a week for unsuitable offices, w4en they could acquire a site and build convenient premises, thus having a property- alwav* increasing in value. Mr Edgecamibe agreed that the chairman's suggestion I was the wisest course to foUow. At the Orari Gorge sale last week a I wagonette which conveyed passengers I for some years between Lrttleton and [Suniner was sold for 30/. The "Lyttel- ' ton Times" says that in the rifts" ' the Ross family journeyed in it from . Christchurch to Four Peaks. In 1564 it was used to bring the late Mr. C. G. Tripp and Mrs. Tripp and family from I ChxistchuFch to the Orari Gorge Station. i'Mr. C. H. Tripp, solicitor, of Tiznara, ,! distinctly remembers this "drive," whiefc ! took four days, and no one was sorry 'i when the end of the journey was reached. ; J Latterly the old wagonette has been ! I used in shifting rams from one paddock * to another. At a meeting of the committee appointed at Itotorua for the purpose of ! erecting a Seddon memorial clock, the ! tender of a Wellington firm to construct I and erect a eioek to strike the hours I on a Tcwt bell, was accepted, and it I was resolved to call for competitive dei sign* from architects for a wooden tower, , 50ft high, on a concrete base, af a cost ! not exceeding £275. It is suggested that j the tower and clock shall be placed at ! the intersection of Hinemoa and Fen- | ton streets*-, between the Grand Hotel ! and the Bank of New Zealand. j It will be remembered that certain ■ hotelkccpers at Geraldlne, who lost their i licenses as a result of the last local opI tion poll, appealed at the Supreme Conrt J for a mandate to compel the Ashbarton \ Licensing Committee to hear and conisider their application for licenses, which i the committee had declined to do, on , the ground of having no jurisdiction. The I higher Court dismissed the appeal, but I permission was granted to make a furj tlier apnea! to the Privy Council. It appears, however (so the ''Ashburton Guardian" was informed by v. member of the Ashburton Xo-license Council, now in Dunediu). that the time for lodging security lapsed in January last, and" no I secTiritT having been lodgrd, the leave granted hy the Appeal Court to appeal I to the Privy Council lapses. If further I steps are contemplated by the lieen.*ees or their representatives special leave i will require to be made .and granted. i Spea-kins at Ka-rangnbake recently, Air ; Parry, president oi The Waihi Miners' 'Union, questioned the efficiency of the i Mining Act, alleging that the Act was ! I the product of those ignorant i>! condi- ! I tions of the mining industry. He advo- ■ cated thai some system should .be intro- ' | ducc-d, whereby the Act could be referred for amendment to a 'body of practical '■ men. lie also held that in eases where ■ men were assigned to dangerous tasks . in mines, the onus of responsibility for ~ safeguarding life should fall equally on j the iBAEsg-er as on the men themselves, : and not as at present entirely on the -1 mcTj. i J A young man nsmed William Bell, of . ; Normanby. who was employed at the IWaitara Freezing Works, was,.knocked I 1 down in the -race i>y slieen— on Monday, ; I and died in i&e -"*H^t a fr-qTrTiFrS3Trij'*hl

The troubles that have gathered round the inauguration of the free class books scheme do not seem to have been completely cleared away. Protest is now being made against the Board's intimation that the books cannot be taken home by the pupils. Such a protest was read at to-day's meeting of the Auckland Education Board from the Thames Committee. The chairman (Mr. Parr) said it was abundantly clear from the Department's regulations that the books could not be allowed to be taken home by the children. The grant was sufficient to provide only one reader, and that must be kept in the schools, otherwise it would be subjected to damaging treatment, and there would be no funds to replace it. He adhered to the opinion that tie free grant business was a farce, and was not wanted. Parents, he believed, would prefer to buy the books themselves. 'The whole thing is in such a muddle," Mr. Parr added, "that the Minister should remodel the basis of the grant." A resolution was passed regretting that the conditions of the grant would not allow the books to be taken from school, as the set supplied must last more than ons year."

Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M., sitting in the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon, had something to say about what he considered would effect an improvement' in our judicial system, and relieve magistrates from the heavy and vexatious responsibility of determining, unaided, perplexing questions of fact. No doubt, he said the jurisdiction of the lower courts would be extended as time went on, ane? the magistrates would be given the power given to judges in District Courts, of summoning a jury of four to hear and try questions of fact. If the parties wished it, or the court wished it, he thought there should -be some method by which a settlement of questions of fact could be so arrived at. He had ' always thought that poorer should be given to magistrates to call in the aid [of sworn assessors, or a jury of four, ! and that such an addition to magistrates' powers would make for the improvei ment o£ oar judicial system. He remarked, also, that while the Act of 1593 granted "ordinary" jurisdiction to all magistrates, and provided for "extended" jurisdiction to be given to some magistrates, and also for '""special" jurisdiction to be given co some magistrates by proclamation, no appointment of a magistrate as entitled to exercise "special" ■ jurisdiction had ever been gazetted, and this in spire of the fact that members I of the legal profession had on various occasions asked that it should be given. : Personally, he thought it would be de-1 sirahle to litigants, -who might' have causes heard more promptly, and it would , save the Supreme Court the trouble of deciding petty cases. The "special" jurisdiction referred to gives magistrates power to hear and determine partnership cases where the amount involved is not more than £200, actions to recover damages for false imprisonment, illegal arrest, or for breach of promise of marriage. It also gives power to decide suits to recover specific bequests, and. to grant injunctions in certain cases. A drunken orgie, held at the dwelling of Alexander Reid, in Customs-street, on last Sunday morning. led to the imposition of one or two fairly stiff fines yesterday morning at the Police Court. Alexander Reid was fined £10 for supplying Martha Johnston, whom he knew to be a prohibited person, with, intoxicating liquor. The woman was fined in -the nominal penalty of 10/, Charles Reid,, who was found by the police in company with Martha Johnston, 4 lev Reid and Joseph Williams, engaged in a carouse on the day in question, were also dealt with. Charles. Reid admitted that hi.knew Martha Johnston was a prohibited person. He was fined 20/. Williams denied that he had any such knowledge, ] and he was convicted and discharged.

The decision of the Minister of Edu-' cation, recently announced, to discontinue payment of the spcciaj capitation grant of 3d per head to school committees, was touched upon at the Auckland j Education Board to-day. The Chairman ; (Air C J. Parr) said the grant to the school committees in t-hfe province last i year totalled £II3S 10/, and largely helped the committees in curving out their work. Now, without any warn- j ing, the Minister had withdrawn the grant, and his decision had aroused a storm of •protest. It would thus 'be ineumbenx on school committees to make their financial arrangements in accord-. ance with the reduced revenue. They! all deplored the Ministers- action in cutting off the grant On the motion of, •ilr {iaxl&nd, a. motion was carried expressing regret at the discontinuance of •the grant, as it prejudiced the commit- j tees" finances. The "Otago Daily Times" says that an incident 01 a somewhat amusing nrvalthough containing at first the elements of a disasteroccurred last Friday morning at the excavation work being done in the Octagon at Dunedin. A loaded dray drawn "by two horses had just been pulled out of the pit and brought to a stand on the footpath. Insufficient space had been placed between if and the edge, and when the horse backed slightly the dray and the horse turned a somersault 'backwards.' The leader was dragged in after tha falling dray, but, strange to say. beyond the shaking necessarily sustained, neithe! of the horses was hurt, nor did the dray suffer any harm. Deep-sea fishermen at T'tmaru are catching large numbers of gropc-r at the present time, and nearly every day about thirty barrels full of groper are sent to C'hrisichurch. One day last week the whole fleet of oil-launches secured the record catch for the port, totalling no fewer than 700 —'•Lyttelton Daily Times." Easter visitors to Eotorua can have plenty of accommodation at the conveni- ' ent and well-appointed Hotel Metropole. Telegrams promptly attended to.— (Ad.) j Dissolution of partnership. Boys' raincoats from 7/6, youths. 14/6, men's 29/6: men's tweed overcoat-?. 25/; walking and riding canvas and rubber coats, from 24/6; men's oilskins, from 10/6. — Riishbrook and Bridgman. Sale now on. — (Ad.) Ladies' tweed jacket*, good quality, marked 38/6. now clearing at 7/1 great; bargain: craronrtte cloaks, from 16/6; silks macs., 25 per cent reduction; all j fur goods greatly reduced.—Rushbrook and Bridgman"s. Sale new on.— (Ad.) i Men's tweed trousers, from 3/6: caps 9d; underflannels. 2/6; tennis shirts. 1/11. 2/3: special value in Cardigan J jackets and working shirts. Rushbrook and Bridgman ? s cash sale. (Ad.) Dissolution of partnership. New fancy black dress goods. 2/11, nsual price 4/6; double width dress tweeds, from Sid: 1 all-wool dress goods, light shade, 1/ yard. marked 1/11 fall-wool navy serge.'lHd and 1/6 yard.—Rnshbrook and Bridg- ' man's sale.—(Ad.) ° Visitors to the city will be well repaid by visiting Rnshbrook and BridgmanV. Big sale now on. Dissolution, of partnership. All diapery^aacL<ijtlurMr^rEaHv