The Minister and the Soldiers' Club.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16520, 12 May 1919, Page 6

The Minister and the Soldiers' Club.

The proceedings at the interview on Saturday between the Minister of Internal Affairs and the deputation which urged him to approve of the sum of £3000 being given by tho Lady Liverpool Committee to the Soldiers' Club Building Fund, closed with a promise by Mr Russell that he would consult his colleagues as to whether legislation should be introduced in the coming session to validate such a grant. In the circumstances we are not disposed to blame the Minister for the attitude he has adopted on thi9 question. For reasons which he is entitled to hold, even though they may not commend themselves to everybody, Mr Russell does not wholly aj prove of the principle of soldiers combining to form themselves into organisations distinct and separate from the general 'public. It would have been much easier for him to set aside his feelings in the matter and to accede to the deputation's wishes than to refuse them, and such a course would no doubt have won for him a certain amount of the popularity which every politician prizes.' But he took his stand, as we think he was justified in doing, on the opinion of the Soli-citor-Genera], that such a method of expenditure of moneys belonging to the Lady Liverpool Fund would be unjustifiable and illegal. How far this opinion would stand in law is a matter which it is hardly within our province to decido. The interpretation of the words "war fund" in the preamble to the War Funds Act of 1915, by which all war funds were brought under Government control, defines the particular purposes of the funds so as to afford no loophole for money being applied from any such fund for the purpose to which the Lady Liverpool Committee wish to apply their proposed grant of £3000, namely, the building fund of the Soldiers' Club. But Section 18 of the same Act, dealing with the expenditure of war funds, states inter alia that "no moneys shall '' be payable out of a war fund ex- " cept . . . (c) For any other purpose "that may be approved by the Minis"ter, either generally or in respect of "any particular fund." That seems to give Mr Russell liberty to approve of the Lady Liverpool Committee's funds being used, as regards their £3000 grant, in the way they desire. But the Minister is not inclined to go behind the expressed opinion of the Government's legal adviser; indeed, he regards himself as bound to act in accordance with it. There, for the present, tho matter ends. But we imagine that when Parliament meets the Returned Soldiers' Association will have little difficulty in securing the passage of legislation validating the grant, especially as, by the absence of any protest, the subscribers to the Lady Liverpool Fund may be presumed j to apiprove of it.

A deputation from tho Waterside Workers' Union waited upon Sir James Allon and his colleagues on Saturday to demand the rgpeal of the War Regu-

lations. It is just as well that the public should be reminded in this way both of the existence of the regulations and the necessity for their removal as soon as the conditions which they were framed to meet has passed away. long time will"now elapse until the war is officially, as well as actually, at an end, and those who are bursting with activities which it would be an offence to exercise while the regulations stand might very well restrain themselves until the regulations are withdrawn. But we hope that the Government will not require a reminder, when the time comcs, of their duty of cancelling all the regulations which restrict free speech and make seditious crimes of actions which ordinarily are not breaches of the law.

The Japanese will not strongly touch the sympathies of the Western races if they adopt the tone of the foolish politician whose reference to Mr Hughes is printed to-day. "If we had s'ded with Germany," this politician said, "Mr Hughes, instead of insulting Japan, wouid now be studying the moon from a German internment camp." With Mr Hughes we have no present concern, but it is worthy of nolo that some Japanese politicians can speak of a Jijpaneso-German alliance as something that was possible. Xo politician would speak of such a possibility if it w r *re revolting to him. That- Japan did not join Germany is surely no more valid ground of appeal to the West than the fact that the Japanese aro not cannibals. There is, happily, no evidence that any responsible Japanese has thotight of such a ground of appeal for the consideration of special Japanese interests. It is more agreeable, and probably much safer, to "believe only that Japan has its "wild mon" like every other country.

In view of tho alarm, amounting, in the enses of many individuals, to panic, caused by the influenza epidemic of last spring, and also bearing in mind that such panic may bo regarded as a predisposing cause of infoction, it is unfortunato that the Mayor should have publicly expressed his belief that tho epidemic was more than influenza, and that it was really pneumonic plague. That was, of course,, a belief that was held by a number of persons outside tho medical profession, who had no more solid ground for their opinions than was furnished by their fears and ignorance, and the too common tendency to make the worst of anything. Even if the epidemic had been the plague, it is difficult to see what good purpose would be served by saying so.

On the other hand, there is amplo scientific evidence that neither here, nor anywhere else where the epidemic was experienced, did investigation reveal the presence of the plagne bacillus. Actual experience in fighting the plague itself was not necessary to determine that point, but it may tend to reassure nervous people to have the testimony of Dr. White, the Government Sanitary Commissioner in India, who may be presumed to know something about plague. In his recent report to the Government of India, on the epidemic, by which six million persons lost their lives, Dr'. White said: "There is not the least evidence that the disease was other than influenza; i,t was in no sense a new disease. It was not an unusual manifestation of plague, the two diseases are completely separate and distinct." The mortality from influenza was no doubt severe enough to lend some support to the illinformed theory that it was due to plague, but no doctor who had had plague experience would be misled by that circumstance.

-The "Gazette" of last Thursday contains some particulars of the revenue and expenditure of the railways for the year ended March 31st last. The gross revenue, is given as £4,998,632, and the expenditure £3,308,574. The net revenue is thus £1,690,058j which is less than the net revenue of either of the two preceding years. The totals for the last three years are:—

Revenue. Expenditure. Balance, jg £ 1916-17 4,800,810 2,926,864 1,873,946 1917-18 4,637,700 3,042,907 1,644,793 1918-19 4,998,632 3,308,574 1,690,058 The net return in 1917-18 was calculated by the Department to amount to 4.60 per cent on "capital invested." Tho increase in the net revenue in 1918-19, though small, was probably great enough to pay 4.60 per cent., and perhaps a. little more, on the increased capital investments. Therefore it is to be presumed that the net return on capital is rather better than 4.60 per cent, for tho year. With the expenditure rising, the public can hardly look for a return of fares and freights to normal unless the general management of the system is improved.