TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 17, 21 January 1927, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY

French ideas of colonisation differ materially from those held by Britain; ami an exceptionally difficult task has been, attempted in the New Hebrides, where an effgrt*'has been made to' run in double harness. The political considerations which led to the condominium cannot be touched upon here. It is sufficient to say that the experiment has proved far from successful. Protest after protest has been lodged with the British Government, and various Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers have endeavoured to devise a solution acceptable to Prance. Hitherto, however, no acceptable proposal for exchange has been made,. Latterly the position has become doubly difficult because the British settlers have been under a serious handicap owing to the British labour regulations. Britain has long looked with disfavour upon indentured labour, because ita demoralising tendency is feared. Except under close supervision, with adequate provision for repatriation, it may lead to the establishment of an alien colony which, will in time supplant the native population. The French have not entertained the same fears, and in consequence we have the British settlers in the New Hebrides trying to carry on with native labour while their French neighbours are free to obtain all the imported labour they desire. If this continues it seems probable that the British settlers in time will be forced to dispose of their interests and the islands will become in fact wholly under French occupation. To deal with this difficulty before it is' too late the British Government has approved the appointment of a joint British-Australian-New' Zealand- Commission. The personnel of that Commission is a strong one. All the members are experienced in island administration. If-it is at all possible to do so they should discover a means of settling the settlement and the political problem. ,

It is typical of politicians to be agreeable in matters which cast upon themselves no responsibility; and as every Australian, lives under two Governments, two Parliaments, and two separate sets of political courtiers, the cordial concurrence of such people with doubtful propositions" is much commoner in Australia than in New Zealand. For instance, the Labour Premier of New South Wales, Mr. Lang, has just .promised to bring under the notice of the Acting-Prime Minister of Australia, Dr. Page, the protecting of New South Wales butter producers against New Zealand butter, which (they cay) can be sold in Australia at a lower price than they have fixed themselves for the Australian consumer. Politically, it may pay Mr. Lang to sponsor this rural demand—if only to rebut the accusation of his seceding Minister, Mr. Loughlin, that he has sacrificed rural interests to Red propaganda—but it is on the Federal and not the Stato Government that the burden falls of repressing sectional demands which, N. they were given tariff expression, migh load to retaliation. The Australian butter producer can see nothing but an occasional importation of New Zealand butter. But the Federal Minister of Customs sees before him a general trade exchange in which, as against New Zealand, Australia maintains a highly favourable bal-

ance.

Reference was made in "The Post" yesterday to the difficulty which the Post and Telegraph Department 'experiences in meeting the demand for new telephone boxes. This demand is a

double one—more telephones for the crowded central part of the city, and more for the residential suburbs. For the former class the demand is undoubtedly backed by good business. Even allowing for the high cost of maintenance, the central \ioxes should return a reasonable revenue to the Department. There are several points in the city where the would-be user has to wait at almost any time of the work-ing-day if he wishes to use the machine. At i these points it would probably pay well to install an extra box. The suburban boxes are not all so well patronised, but they have become indispensable for service in sickness and other emergencies. It may be argued that the Department, having to work on business lines, cannot give too much weight to this consideration. It must count the pennies put into the slot as well as the humanitarian service given. There is, however, a considerable indirect benefit accruing to the Department from the suburban call boxes. Kesidents are encouraged to form the telephone habit; and from using the public callbox to send, calls they proceed rapidly to the point at which they resolve to have a private machine, so that they may receive as well as send.

Lord Hawke's protest against using money to convert an Australian star cricketer into an English professional will have many sympathisers. It is necessary for a country in its cricket infancy, such as New Zealand, to import cricket coaches, But is it necessary for Britain to bay cricketers from Australia (or vice versa), and are' such cricketers bought in a tutorial or in a purely match-winning capacity? The translation, by financial methods, of a" cricket star from the one orbit ■to .the othpr is mainly another gesture in -favour of paid as against unpaid cricket. If Test cricket falls entirely into paid hands, the unpaid game will take a further step backward; and'if, over and above that, the interests of lesser matches with few professionals are subordinated to the interests of greater matches with many professionals, then the cry that,"the day of the amateur is done" will have added force. Lord Hawke 's opposition to the extension of the Test period in England is based on the fact that the English county cricket, in its character and relative importance, has no counterpart in Australia or elsewhere. In. his zeal for the mostly unpaid, as against the mostly paid, he will, as we have said, have many sympathisers.