NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 149, 12 March 1923, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

Returned soldiers who have not vet received their war medals arc inclined at times to blame the military authorities, or the Government. or anyone but themselves for tho delay. In most cases it will be found that the men themselves are to blame. The Records Department has been endeavouring to complete tho issue of medals, but many returned men have failed to send their addresses, while others have moved elsewhere after notifying tho Department, A special effort is now being made to ensure that? no one hah been overlooked, and returned men who have riot received their medals would do well to send in their notices. This applies also to the next-of-kin of decensed soldiers who are entitled to medals or memorials.

Complaints have reached us of lack of consideration shown by one or two of the men driving drays at the Rimutaka road works now in progress. As a rule the workmen appear to snow a reasonable regard for passing traffic. The road as is generally known is at most parts narrow, and though it has been greatly infproved of late there are still many places where vehicles pass‘with difficulty and some where it is impossible to pass at all. It is especially dangerous so far as passing vehicles are concerned at points on tho Wairarapa side, where the outer edge overlooks a deep precipitous valley. At one of these points on Saturday a heavily-laden! motorcar is reported to have had a very narrow escape of going over the side, to the almost certain death of some of the passengers, owing to the carelessness or churlishness of a drayman who neglected to allow sufficient room for the car to pass. Ample warning o’f the approach of the car is said to have been given,, but the driver of the dray ignored these. A similar instance of this soit of thing occurred a few days previously. Those in authority at these road works might issue a word of warning to tho drivers of drays. Most of the men there observe the> rules of the road, but some do not, and tho result may be a serious accident.

Some of the more irreverent of our younger cricketers may bo excused a chuckle over this morning’s news from Melbourne. Their somewhat censorious critic, tho captain of tho late visiting team of English cricketers, must have spent a lively afternoon on the Melbourne cricket ground, assuming he was there, to see his men play. Mr. MacLaren, of course, is too old a cricketer not to be able to take the bad with the good in the fine old game, and possibly his criticism was meant for the good of cricket here; but what a day of leatherhunting 'his men had! The Victorians have made four centuries already in one innings, and one of them nearly a double century, against a team which has had practically a season’s steady touring play together. It is a great performance on the part of the Victorians, more especially as on the same wicket they disposed of tho whole of tho Englishmen for a total o'f 70 runs. Mil. MacLaren's team apparently was at some disadvantage through playing on a very fast wicket, but the feebleness of their initial effort appears to have been due to a surprising disregard of the risks of accepting the bowlers’ invitation to hit at balls sent down on the off-theory. The experience of the earlier batsmen seems to have been wasted on those who followed.

There has been much indignation in the United States at the statement that Great Britain only borrowed from America to lend to tho other Allies, and that this roundabout way of doing, things was adopted because the American Government insisted on Britain backing the bills of the other nations. It is a fact that Britain in the latter part of the war, after America entered it, lent considerably more abroad than she borrowed in the United States, and Lord Balfour, in the speech which we publish this morning, makes it clear that this very point was discussed between the two Governments, and that “tho United States refused .to lend, except to Britain." Although the. State Department in Washington has to comment on Lord Balfour's statement, and merely expresses a perhaps not unnatural regret at the revival of the controversy, it is to he noticed that it docs not deny Lord Balfour’s accuracy. The United States was perfectly justified 7 in looking after its own interests and lending money only on first-class security. It was remote from the seat of the jivar, its people were divided in feeling, and its vital interests were not so immediately affected by the issue. Lord Balfour's very explicit statement will do good if it chocks the tendency in the United States to assume that American action in international affairs is on a superior plane of disinterestedness to that of the rest of the world.