CURRENT TOPICS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 253, 18 July 1908, Page 10

CURRENT TOPICS.

! The American Fleet? " . The nows which reaches Great Britain by mail and cable from the Commonwealth suggests that tho ono subject at present occupying Australian attention is tho approaching visit of the American Fleet (says the London "Daily -Mail")'." Since the withdrawal. ' of the British battleship fleet from the China Station, which has left the-British Empiro without a< single battleship, east of Suez, i. Australia has folt itself opon to iiava| attack. - It sees in the fleet of the United States a force .capable of giving piotection. It would be well, however, for to' understand' the truo causes frhich led jtboAdmiraltv to recall the British battlosliip.?. The rapid development', of, the Continental , • navies confronted , Britain with ; these alteir, natives. Sho might greatly increaso her Navy,- and thus-.bo; strong' at home, : while, . ctill maintaining- powerful; squsidrons tant wators. That , courso .would havo been . wisest'and safest in the long run, though its cost, would have been great.';. Or sho might obtain allies, cconomisa ,;m paral cpnstiuction, and withdraw :her : .which, with a reduced Navy, she would no looger • bo abjo to spare, second courso v.as > -■ taken, rightly.'of .'wroiigly, arid we may.,say. ■ -frankly, that its results have not been grati- . : fving''to .national pride, Thefailure .yl: _.. tlio British Kayy; to^;put:,-iti'^-;prompt-' ap- ' • pearauco .after, ino' oarthfluaKb'^ " ' is now to'. be ; i followed - hy.thp -assoniulage- ' boforc Australian : crowds', of/a'.-far-.f-moro : ; ■ "poworful 'fleet• under' a. 'foreign* -flag 'tuan Britain lias - ever Vdiisplayed iii Pacific waters, .The blamedhov/ovei^'fo)-.this -stato. of .affairs, does' not';-rest' entirely with' tho ' people, of ?•••' the Uhito'd Kingdom-'.Thoy vide some £32,000,000 for t)ierNavy;;v;The- : -cost of/aii ; 'efficient and powerful Australian Squadron.^would ',be at,.lea'st^two, millions, and prpbably^''considerably ,^.inore." r '. the; total cDiitributioii. : of lAustralia.iioftho . : . . is..oniyvi^o;ofio ) -::jyhilo^W^ l ■ v., : larid'iß' an"'''additioha.l ?£40J000.-It-' is'im--'possible for tho-.Britioh Navy/to-,be-strong' : at; all. as.;',the idealist'":would .-.wish to see it, unless it receivos greater pecuniary ;; 1 oupport.from, tlio. States;'of*, ; the';"Empirej-... .•! ' Arbltratirn Truths. - 1 * . ~:.' Thero - has' -just- been: sigiiecl; in" Wasliirigton /a- general arbitration treaty;.between tlie ": United States and Japan. .The, treaty,;wliipb .''will : '."ooiitiuue'' iri force ."for'. five.'; pro-; vides- that all disputes 'of a, ; legal.'nature 6v. ■' in regard ; .to 'tho'-iiitorprotatibii of: treaties,' -; shall oe settled by, arbitrStion," but: (jpostionc of honour, ir.iloperidence,. arid vital intbrosts are A rosorycd ; fpr the ''arbitrament/ of '.' war. "It', is . similar :.tp, -those ' already - negotiated. ' ; by our -Stato Department ■'with ■ England, : .: 'Franco'., Norwaj',; - Spain,'. Portugal/., and Swit;. zerland, but it is much more, important bocause •it should put a stop to all tins. infamous talk of war. between .Japan and. Amonca, which has been so insidiously and mys-, tenously prevalent:.of late,", says _the New,, York- . Independent.". .-- Wo believe.: this treaty, therefore, marks'one of the' greatestBteps. forward.iri 1 that ; moYoment,riow;fast'.be-. ; . cDming; irr'esistible ) ';for; substitutiiig. l,aw' for; war.- It : is .perhapa ;'fittiug here.'to Vsay'.; that in Secretary. Root the -United' a" ;'; constructive poacp' statesiniui of 'the•very- first.; rajij£...,:VAs goeS'; '6n:i if 13 ' becoming" j " clearer , "arid .clearer'; that he 'wasVthe ''power behind i our' delegation : at, The Hague, :" the" power : which them to load all th? r delegations, in progressive measures at' that memorable Conference. Doubtless his ob- , Bervations during his South "American tfuji:, ; : two/iyears ago -were the' inspiration of ,thp' Porter [Propositiori, perhaps tho most; notable triumph 'at sThe'lHague, ' whose "pas'sage'.'rer . suited in practically making the Monroo Doc-; trino a canon of .international' law.;:, Beyond, questjon he alone deserves the': credit of con- , ceiying tho idea of strengthening the present Hague Court by making. it a permanent and' compact tribunal, founded ; ori'the model of -the ..United. States .Supreme;: Court; and ": although' 1 that J stupendous idea will not ,Is." ; fully; realised Until the nations ddyiso a prac-'. ( -itical for. the selectipn of the, judges, \ Mr;-Root has in the meantime actually got. , . the fiyo' Central/Amerioan states': to : _orcato; •: ; such a court; fori themselves,''.which is , , farthest stop yet, taken in constructive international' jurisprudence. And now ho is; negotiating : obligatory'; arbitration /treaties,. -. with ' all tho nations,: so : that at tho next '"■ Conference the:;world will doubtless bo cdu-; cated up' toithpvsigning of.:a' general''obli-' gatpry, arbitration .troaty. ;, The; Nobel Com-' ■■■"■ mitteo could loot farther than Secretary Root, and- faro much Jworsa "iii ■: soiecting-ithb.- re-<, cipient for ' their next - prize:;-;* "Wb ;-would. - not, however, overstate the import-anco of. : ■ thi? ;.trcaty' with ' ';' As ;]ong;'.,as - 'honour' and 'vital' interests' are' excepted' from' arbitration it wiiralways bo easy to find a ' pretest for gojiig tq war, fpr hohpur. and-vital : interest cover.as groat ia : multitude, of sins as of virtues. Tho time,; we fear;,-has -not yet como when it will bo to'refer all; . ' disputes to arbitration, for' 1 a; nation- might lay olaim to another's territory: or'indep'elid : ; . ence; : and this no spirited - people would - 01' should submit to .the'arbitrament' 'of - an out-' eider." ■'; - ■■■■ ;.yEgyptian Questjon,:; ' ■ . ■■■?, , ■ In publishing', au • article by r - Mohamed Faird'Bey, ; Leader of the Egyptian-Nationa-list ;party, tho--''Manchester Uuardi.m'' .clo dares that "110 one can read it without ber- - ~ V'.' ing'.convinced. •'that wo have', onco moro'.'an Egyptian- 1 question. on., our hands. 'Itis . not; tho old Egyptian-' question,,. whioh. was • one - : of high inteniatipnal politics,; but- a. question 'of domestic, reform in- Ifeypt. ,AVe;are. still j i eo far a3 ;wq. know, irithout.'a : domestic reform policy in Egypt ; , tho .. only : .changesi that' have' yet been publicly proposed by. Engr; .' lish'officials were thoao of Lord Cromer 111 . his last report but one, and these woro.de-. signed, by diminishing foreign;:influence .in, Egypt, to 'strengthen ,oui v owii'; ::That,..,at- ■ any rate, was tho - view; which mado them' , unpopular in Egypt. aii'd they were over . intended to coneiliato 'Egyptiiiii.iiatiqiiaLseiir:timent th'eyi completely- tailed in their, intention. "We shall havo trouble sooner or laterunless something, more to'thoipurpose'takos, 1 thoir place—this may bo taken as tho cardi-' nal fact in the new Egyptian, question.!! C.P.O. Saves £45,000. Tho British Postmaster-General says that under the:, Act in 1904 acknowledgment of. post office savings was abolished in- the -caso of deposits under £1, as-.H -was found to-be uhnecessary, and. the;result of tho abolition, was a saving, of £30,000 to tho Exchequer, in'clerical, work,; printing; and other ' -tions... It was now proposed' to. abolish knowledgmont of . deposits ,up to £5, which . would result iii.;an estimated saving of £15,000. ~As 'a .matter of fact,: the smaller depositors. did not pay, any regard to the acknowledgment, vory seldom: keeping, it as an evidence of . their deposits. They would - mucli -rather not have' it in many cases, be-, caused coming by post on official blue paper, it was an indication to thoir friends and ■ neighbours that they had a deposit, which, they did not, dosiro should bo . pubhclv known. .. ~' ... ... . RavoWlng Doors. , ' A serious blow has been struck at tho revolving door trado l'n'Pans, says tho - Mail.-'; M. Lepino, Profect of Police, has .issued 'an. order prohibiting tho uso of such. doors in cafes, restaurants, hotels, public ofiiccs, and all kinds of establisbments capablo of containing moro than a hundred persons at a time. The"-revolving door, which ; has become general iii Paris during the past three or' four years, is considered dangerous in case of a lire panic". -The thousands of, such' dOors now. in . use must be removed. The order has caused .indignation', among the largo number of hotel and restaurant proprietors who have been to the expense'of installing •them. Roceiitl.v at, tlie. busy 'hour of the day. tho revolving door, at a 'restaurant' on one .of tho. boulevards stuck for half au hour, and nobqdv was.able to enter or leave.. At . another.. pitaulisl.iiH.eiit .the. door got jammed V/'a 'rash of 'people on an-alarm of fire. ...