MOVING TOWARDS PEACE.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14525, 29 November 1912, Page 6

MOVING TOWARDS PEACE.

It looks as if the Bulgarians -want peaco, and are whittling down their terms to mako them acceptable to the Turks. It is the practice in negotiations of tho kind for the victors to ask for more than they know they will got; just aa it ia a common thing for owners of property to begin by quoting a higher price than they are willing ultimately , to accept. Tho Japanese, in their negotiations with Russia, set out by demanding, among other things, a huge indemnity, cession of the island of Sakhalien, surrender of the interned Russian warships, and limitation of Russian naval power in the East. In the end tho Japanese representatives withdrew all these demands, save the one relating to Sakhalien, and that was cut down to possession of half the island. The Japanese delegates mus£ have known when they entered tho conference that Russia could not possibly accede to all their terms. Similarly Bulgaria, in presenting the Allies' terms, must have known that Turkey could not accept such humiliation as these involved. "We are now told that the withdrawal of the Turks from the lines of Tchataldoha may not bo pressed by Bulgaria, and that the garrison of Adrianople may be allowed to walk out with tho honours of war. Apparently the entry into Constantinople, has been abandon*

cd. The outlook to-day seems to be aistinctly hopeful, so far as immediate

peace is concerned, but, of course, there is still the attitude of the Powers towards the peace terms to bo considered. Tho most startling statement this morning J3 that Turkey wishes to join the Balkan League. Tho reports to this effect aro unconfirmed, and it is hard to imagine an explanation for such, and in the meantime it is hardly worth while to speculate upon such an anexpected proposition.

Thero is a point m tho ovidenco of tho investigator on behalf of tho British Amazon Company, as reported this morning, that should bo taken particular note of in the Old Country. Ho described somo of the highly respectable company's managers as "murderers, bandits and pirates" who were "criminally culpab'e," but while ho would not say that the culpability of tho British directors, who received the profits of tho outrages, was "criminal," ho did say that they should havn known tho condition of affairs. Now these directors aro prominent men who would ihnvo been Horrified if it wero suggested that they were capable of any brutality, yet they nave been n-aintaining men who wore brutes, and no doubt passing congratulatory resolutions on tho efficiency of their managers on the Amazon, and the manner in which these gentlemen were watching tho interests of the shareholders "ia keeping up tho rubber supply."

It is an old story, one that the slavery abolitionists of a generation ago were wont to drive homo very bitterly, that tho worst practices aro sometimes passively if not actively condoned by tho best men, who fail to realise the responsibilities of their positions. Now tho peoplo aro only beginning to realise that the acceptanco of the directorship of a company should involve something moro than the acceptance of the resultant guineas and the utterance of platitudes at annual meetings. Thero have, of course, been examples where distinguished men, whose names wero used as hait, discovered too lato o the true inwardness of their position. Earl Dufferin was a caso in point, and ho beggared himself in the effort to right things when he discovered how ho had been used to dupe others. "TPighting liob" Evans, tho American Admiral who was "first in the hearts of his people," found that his ignorance of business affairs had been presumed on by company promoters, who used him as a ttalking-horse. That is one side. i The other side is the attitude of such men as the British Amazon directors who, while regarding themselves as models of propriety and high citizenship, were bo ignorant of the concern they controlled that it was left to outsiders to show that they were conducting a highly-profitablo hell, wherein dividends wore made on tortures that even tho imagination of a Banto could not lima.

There- are many ways of making a living, and the cables tell us this morning of a curious one. A gentleman named Farmer, with certain oqually astute colleagues, posing as the "AngloAmoriaan Authors' Association," has boen turning over the neat profit of a million dollars annually in supplying "raro" books to American millionaires. Tho books aro said to 'have been "worthless," but through the business aptitude of Mr Farmer, they brought "fabulous" prices. It is lather a curious thing thafc American millionaires, who aro usually regarded as amongst the most astute of men, have been, perhaps, more often victimised by the dealers in 'bogus books, bogus manuscripts, bogus antiquities, and bogus "Old Masters," thaa any other gxven class.

"Bill 'ad 'ard luck," says the nights watchman in ono of Mr Jacobs's stories. U, E married a widow, but she died, £md 'o 'ad to go to work again." A good deal has been said and written of recent years about tho need for a more drastic law to make tho deserting husband realise his responsibilities, but the Bill typo, the man who loafs at Lome on his wife's earnings or on charity, has not received the attention ho deserves. Some hard things were said of him at a recent Conference of charitable bodies Ijn Melbourne. It was stated to be fairly common for a man to work two ' days in a week in order to earn enough to pay the rent, and loaf tho rest of the time, food and clothing for the ! establishment coming from a benevolent ' society. A deputation from the Conference asked the Chief Secretary to devise some moans by which these loafers could bo brought to book, such as bringing them under the vagrancy laws. Mr Murray, while sympathetic towards the deputation, thought this suggested remedy would be considered too much of an infringement of the liberty of tho subject. The liberty of the eubject, however, should not include liberty to live on a wife's earnings or on charity when thero is nothing to prevent a man from working, and it is probablo that in time public indignation will compel the State to see that the able-bodied loafer is brought to account.

Wo are glad to sec that tho Wellington Press is not allowing tho public to forget the -waste of money involved in running trains to Te Aro. People about the Te Aro station recently induced tho Minister for Railways to run the Wairarapa trains to that station, and the "New Zealand Times" reports that on Monday morning there were two passengers in the train—one a season ticket-holdor. It also states that the Harbour Board is to bo asked to hand over ten acres of its foreshore for a goods depot at To Aro. The Harbour Board, says tho "Times," will be quite justified in asking the Minister for reports from his responsible officers on the traffic of the line, and we agreo with this paper's prediction that if these reports are published tho Te Aro Ilaiiway League will die quickly. There is a loss of £100 a week on this running of empty trains along the waterfront, and we hope that in spite of his declared attitude on the question, Mr Horries, before long, -will stop traffic on the line.

Tho Pahiatca Honorary Territorials , Association is to be congratulated on its communication to the English Press refuting the statements mado in certain journals by anti-militarLsts concorning the working of our defence scheme. The exposure of this campaign of misrepresentation should have been made by tlio High Commissioner's

OfEce, but whilo a reply from this official source would have attracted more attention than the letter from Palnatua it could not have put tho truth moro clearly or forcibly. Tho Pahiatua Association has marshalled the facts admirably, and set them out in a way that must carry conviction, to every unprejudiced person. This vigorous and patriotic defence of the honour of New Zealand deserves the widest possiblo circulation, and tho papers in question at any rato will have no excuse if after this they give their support to hysterical attacks on our system of defence.

The contest for tho Davis Cup has opened in sensational fashion by the defeat of both the Australian singles representatives, urookes has come to bo regarded by Australasian tennis players as invincible, so it wili be a shock to them to learn that ho has been defeated by a man of whom most of them had scarcely heard beforo ho was chosen for the tour. But the accounts of Parke's play in tho Victorian championships shew that the possibility of his defeating Brookes had occurred to pooplo in Melbourne. Parko is not only a very fine player, but he has better powers of er durance than Brookes has, even when the latter is in his best form, and tho account of tho match shows that condition told. The risitors' prospects aro now rosy. Even if they lose tho doubles and Dixon's match with Brcokes, which does not soem so probable as it did, Parke should defeat Heath, which would give them three matches to two.