TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1929, Page 10

TOPICS OF THE DAY

Sir Joseph Ward has every reason to congratulate himself and, as Minister for finance, to be congratulated. He no sooner resumes his office, after a long period out of-politics, than Lombard street turns its radiant smile upon him. He went there to borrow £7,----000,000 and got it; and he also required conversion of £12,000,000 of maturing debt, and the market responds with a subscription of eleven and three-quar-ter millions. True, .the indications in the great money markets of the world are towards lower rates for loans, and the terms offered by the Dominion, considering its good standing in London, wore not unattractive to the big investors who favour British loans. But trams offered by some other applicants far accommodation were also attractive, and yet they uict with a rather tepid reception. Sir Joseph should have no difficulty in speedily disposing of the quarter of a million unapplied for at the opening of the subscription, and lie should presently be in thu posi'lion of announcing that the full £12,----000,000 had been taken up, without expense of underwriting. Considering that in June next the British Government itself has £2,000,000,000 of 5 per cent, falling due, New Zealand can be said to have done remarkably well over its latest loan and conversion operation in London,- as well, indeed, as it did there with the last loan and conversion of the former Government. Complimentary to New Zealand as these operations undoubtedly are, they are not to bo taken as justifying similar applications before the end of the current year. Besides there are domestic loans falling due in 1929 for which provision will have to bo made, as Sir Joseph is, of course, fully aware, and the London market will naturally be interested to see how they are disposed of before considering further loans.

Everything pro-war seems to havebecome old, so the mellowing influence of ago may be assumed to have toned clown the rebellion of tho suffragettes in pro-war London. Their windowsmashing crusade seems to be almost as old as Peter Lalor and Ned Kelly, and to be therefore viewable with equal detachment by tho present generation. But in principle tho suffragettes outdid Peter Lalor and any other insurgent who merely countered force with force. Not content with erecting stockades or barricades along the law's line of march, the suffragettes attacked the property —more particularly the windows —of any convenient third party who may have imagined himself to bo non-combatant, but who suddenly found that ho was being used as a hostage to ransom some voting Bill that was entangled in the morasses of a House of Commons Committee. Barely has society been so audaciously blackmailed by physical attacks upon portions of its anatomy that might have been regarded, in any genuine football match, as out of bounds. By deliberately not playing to the rules, by sacrificing all principle to quo imperious objective (in itself unobjectionable), the ladies created a precedent that would bo socially and nationally disruptive ifuniversally applied. They achieved by an Indirect Action that in some respects makes Direct Action look silly. Then cam© the war, and suffragettes' eminent war service, and healing time and circumstances, so that to-day a Conservative Prime Minister unveils a statue to the Indirect Aetionist leader. In this gesture Jics some philosophy. Perish tho thought that there should lurk in it any politics.

The- light over less pny for coal-get-ting pauses, while tho Australian parties study the opening rounds of the bout over moro hours for timber-work-ing. More hours and less pay are both phases of deflation, and probably the coal industry in New South Wales has even more need of deflation than the timber industry, but tho approach, to tlio timber battle has been rendered easier through its being an Arbitration Court industry, ■ which Newcastle coal is not. Mr. Bavin, New South Wales Premier., having gone to the coal

conference with proposals for about four shillings a ton off selling price and one shilling off hewing rate, and Jiaving mot with a refusal by miners, stops to take- stock of tho position. But Judge Lukin's defied timber award is in a different category altogether. It carries with it the power of the Court, moral as well as legal, and it provides a battle-ground which tho employers can hardly decline. All the advantages of legal right, time, and circumstance appear to bo with them. But, win or lose, tho scars of this battle are going to remain in tho timber and coal industries, "and in others. The Arbitration Court in Australia has not kept the peace. It has merely provided a legal method of declaring war. Will there ever be peace?

Concerning the National Industrial Council projected by the Melchett peace-ii)-industry drive an interesting discussion has arisen. People are familiar with tlio national organisation of industry in two hostile camps —employer and employee—but many still shy at it when the idea is to fuse the two factions into one. Employers have their national machinery, and so have employees, with all the potentialities for damage that such factional organisations possess, but a- joint National Industrial Council awakens visions of a Parliament of Industry, ana there- are some employers, also somo employees, who shrink from seeing the parties attempting to do together what they already do separately and unchecked. To .the British Engineers' Association (employers), the N.I.C. is objectionable because labour organisations are not undilutedly economic and are more or less tinged with party politics. But it is too late to bleach political partyism out of either side. If politicalism is a bar to joint action, then the parties are prevented from trying about the only ' device that might, if successful, take the wind out of the sails of the party organiser. Sido by side with the engineer employers' decision is the plea, of railway employers for salesmanship on thu part of their employees. If employees can bo salesmen in sparetime, regardless of political colour, why should sucli colour invalidate service in the N.I.C? Subordination of Parliament is another matter, and one that might be guarded against.