.TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 77, 1 April 1914, Page 6

.TOPICS OF THE DAY

The friendly visit of the American Trade Commissioners to New Zealand New Zealand can proand duce nothing put good. United States. In the addresses deliver* ed by these gentlemen at the Chamber of Commerce yesterday many kindly, not to say flattering, words were said about this country, its people, scenery, dairy stock, and other things. Of more direct concern to the producers in this country are the possibilities ahead, and the treatment their goods will receive when they arrive in the States. Primarily for the protection and conservation of the health of their people the United Slates have rather stringent rules governing the admission of foodstuffs from overseas. This is all right and proper, 1 but we in New Zealand are not yet quite satisfied that these regulations do not gain some of their impetus from interested trade combinations, which very naturally view with concern the influx of, say, eggs, butter, meat, and fruit from foreign countries. The trusts and combines are now reported to be so tame that they are feeding out of the hands of Mr. Woodrow Wilson, so to speak : nevertheless, it is not impossible that through the local health authorities and Customs they can still operate against imports that compete with the lines they handle. Meat men do not forget the rough passage a trial shipment of Wellington mutton and lamb met with after it had arrived at San Francisco. This was before the tariff reduction. Then there was quite iecently an experimental shipment of Nelson peaches in which some pest was found' that is not known to exist in New? Zealand, and the loss of freight and fruit, fell upon shippers. The trans-Pacific freight rates, too, are still a matter of complaint on the part of exporters. Quite properly Dr. Snowdon suggested that business men from this end should investigate prospects of i trade with tho Eastern Stales. Wliether it will pay American importers to ] draw their^ supplies of butter, hemp, and meat from New Zealand via Panama, or from London, as at present, will have to be proved. In any event, tho visit of the Commissioners will do good in directing attention of New Zealand pro ducers to the great potentialities of trade with the United States, including and beyond the ytatc of California, to which New Zealand exporteis for the time being have mainly confuted their attgutiga.

Very stimulating encouragement hns . come to the promoters ot Iriends tho New Zealand Foreot of Nature, and Bird Protection Sooiety from all partb of the country. It does seem, at last, that a healthy body of public opinion is to be created and maintained. By that lack, many a noble crown of verdure has ialien on the ugly altar of ignorance and stupidity^ How the smoke of some of those sncnficial fifes has saddened those who loved their country ! They grieved not alone for the loss of beauty, but because they knew that the indiscriminate havoc would bring a heavy penalty on people innocent of the senseless vandalism Because the fiiends of Nature have been comparatively few and not stiongly organised, the native birds have been slaughtered till some species are either extinct or extremely rare. Soms of the mischief cannot be repaired, but further bungling and blundering can be checked. There is very important work for sane New Zealandcrs in helping to prevent the punishment of this generation and posterity, in perpetuity, by the greed and selfishness of a few, interested only in their own profits, regardless of the cost to the community. The new society, protector of the tree and the singer, is also a protector of the genera) public. It is not a " fad," as a shallow cynic may ejaculate, thoughtlessly; it is a matter of very valuable national work, in which all classes, children and adults, should bo glad to help. The organising secretary, Mr. H. G. Ell, who has won praise throughout«tKe Dominion in the past for his tireless labour on behalf of the native fauna and flora, is more enthusiastic than ever. We are sure that those who know Mr. Ell's record in this respect would be pleased to see him in a position to devote the whole of his working time and energy to this great field, where the scope for sturdy toilers is wide. Speaker Meagher (of Dean case fame) has not yet loomed up Speaker before the world in the Meagher's way that Speaker Willis Ambition, did, but he has succeeded in quick time in knocking out two of the Holman (Labour) Government's Bills (income tax and land super, tax) on technical points. Both Bills will, it is anticipated, be easily cured and restarted, but meanwhile Speaker Meagher, who leads an anti-Holman faction in the Labour caucus, appears as teaching Ministers their business. Though the Ministry has braved public opinion by overlooking the past and giving him the Speakership, Mr, Meagher's vaulting ambition does not end there. It is even said that he aspires to the Premiership. Recently obstruction in the caucus became so menacing that Mr. Holman, according _to unofficial reports, had to forco the issue by threatening to resign. The cause of the dispute was a desire to diet-ate to the Premier as to how he should allot the portfolio of Health, and it was cabled that the sectarian issue played a prominent part. A few days <igo both Mr. Holman and Mr. Meaglier sent sympathetic cablegrams to the Irish Home Rule Party. There is considerable evidence that _ each is manoeuvring for position, and incidentally Mr. Holman's latest anti-Orange speech ha-s placed him in hot water in another quartet. So much so that an apology is talked of.