The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1916.

Evening Star, Issue 16045, 23 February 1916, Page 4

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1916.

i _; _ Tiiere are, doubtless, people in New Zealand, as there are multiThe Monetary tades in the Mother Cost. Land, who take no thought of • how this mighty war, which seemingly they regard as a something apart and remote from themselves, is being paid for or whence the money comes. And, in a measure, there is some sort of defence for those people in New Zealand who from the cradle to the grave take neither ! thought nor interest in anything that does I not immtdiaely concern their own indivi- ! dual wants. The Government of this Dominion have done nothing to enlighten these ■ selfish ones, or to britiq; home to them the | reality of the situation in the one way j that they, can understand—viz., through j their pockets. To those whom we have in j mind, and whom it is not essential further j to particularise, this cruel and devastating war, which has swept like a blast from a fiery furnace over what were once tlio fairest lands of Euiope, leaving nothing but death and horror and ruin in its wake, has been a source of unexpected material profit. There are many hundreds in New Zealand who have made money out of the war; and there are, possibly, even more who believe that when the war is over the world will return to its pre-war state, and that everything will continue much the same as ever it wa«. Wo content ourselves at this juncture with the statement that there is a sharp awakening in store for these credulous ones. The world will not and can never be the same, for as the nations have sown—even when and where the sowing was compulsory—so must they reap. And the rcapings from this war will include, among much eke, a permanent financial liability of which the poorest as well as the richest must bear his share. There will be no getting away from this stern fact any more than we can hope to cull back to life the tens of thousands who have died gloriously in their early prime, or to close our eyes to the numberless human wrecks that the wild ambition of one man will have thrown up on the streets of every hamlet, village, town, and city throughout the Empire. But. we repeat, there has been no serious attempt by the Dominion Government to make these facts plain or to bring their significance home to those whom they concern. Producers have been permitted to make and to keep their unprecedentedly high profits, .although such profits are notearned, but purely a result of the slaughter and destruction that have been long rampant in the Old World ; and far from compelling the people of New Zealand to deny themselves, or affording them an opportunity to show their gratitude to the Mother Laud, the Government have encouraged these false ideas that, possess many by failing to make the Dominion provide the money for the east of raishio-, transporting, aud maintaining its own Expeditionary Forces. We have previously made reference to this most regrettable inconsistency, but in | view of Mr Asquitlvs statement in the House of Commons it will bear repeating. Speaking in Wellington on January 14 last the Minister of Finance (Sir Joseph Ward) is reported to have said:

So far as the war loan expenditure for New /'--'aland is concerned, I am glad to be able to say that this is definitely fixed until the end of December, 1916. Provision has been made for the amount of £8.340,000. spread over monthly payments, for this purpose. The whole amount comes from London, through the British Government. This should be regarded as highly satisfactory by all those who realise the position of a country with a limited population. To the honor of the great majority of the people of Xew Zealand, it may be asserted with confidence that, far from regardinn this position of affairs as "highly satisfactory," there was and remains a distinct feeling of humiliation that the Government of the Dominion are not ashamed to admit that they, have been and propose to continue drawing or borrowing from the Mother Land, at a t ; mo when every penny piece counts, the whole of the cost of the wax expenditure for the current year. Mr Asquith asked the House of Commons lor -a vote of £430,000,000—300 millions of which are for next year's (that is, after March nest) war expenditure—which will make the total amount of the war votes to date £2,082,000,000. The average mind has no clear conception of what such figures as these mean. Figures, under ordinary conditions, convey bat little to the mass of individuals, or at most signify something that is frequently more readily grasped if it is stated in more picturesque terms. It is sufficient to say that never at any period of British history has any Minister had to ask for such well-nigh fabulous sums; and, we may add, never yet has there been a nation that could bear the strain thus put upon it as England has and will continue to do. Even so selfcontained and reserved a Chancellor of the Exchequer as Mr M'Kenna has felt compelled to depart from the frigidity of official statement and to speak glowingly ot the marvellous condition of British credit, and to declare with pride that "after 18 months of war wo are still the "only country in the world possessing "gold for every note." It would be to misunderstand both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer were we to construe cheir statements in|o anything more and other than what they state. 'I he imperative need for individual economy and ceaseless watchfulness remains. Britain has the financial strength to bear the burden of t'hio tremendous war, but she has nothing to waste or to spare. She will need every penny piece she can raise and wcul'. l welcome, but not beg, all the help that may come from her daughter States overseas. Canada and Australia hav3 responded to that silent appeal with a spontaneous generosity worthy of the call and the hour. Theirs is the honor, when they read the Prime Minister's statement, wherein he says "The loans to our "A!l ; es at.d the Dominions are now " £168,000,000," of being able to say : "We "are free i,f aodmg to the anxieties of " tho Mother Land in this relation." But ■Xew Dominion that relatively has prospered most by this war, in which her own frrirtenco is threatened—is studiously .silent. Her part is to cojitinua to borrow money from England for her war expenditure, and to regard it as "highly satisfactory" that she is able to do so. This opart, there is in the deliverances of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will cause a thrill of satisfaction in thehearts of all anxious ones, whether our own or among our Allies, • and a corresponding depressior in the ranks of the enemy, whose miscalculations in the realms of finance are ev;r. more manifest than in _tho3e o£the Eaval and military.

The Defence Minister (Hon. Jas. Allen) will address the City Council at a-quartcr to 8 to-night on the relationship of local authorities to the recruiting scheme. The Minister will deal generally with the Government attitude towards recruiting in New Zealand. This will be a good opportunity for representatives of iocal bodies to hear the position explained. A Christchureh resident wrote to the Recruiting Board at Wellington upon the point of issuing badges to men over military ago who do not look it. He received a reply stating that tho board had considered the question, and had decided in tho meantime to take no 'action in the matter. The board, however, would be prepared to give further consideration to the question if in future it was shown that there were a sufficient number of cases to warrant a distinctive badge being adopted. 'Our Own" wires from Christchureh: Two prominent officials of the Citizens' Defence Corps returned yesterday from a visit to Wellington. Their object w;is primarily to ventilate several grievances on the part of returned soldiers and others, and ascertain the workings of the Base Records Pay Office and the .Soldiers' Information Department. They came back with certain misapprehensions removed, and paying a warm tribute to the efficient manner in which these departments were working. Whilst, in the capital they visited the War League Recruiting Office, where they found on© innovation which could be- introduced with advantage in other places—viz., the presence of a doctor and dentist all day at the office to examine recruits as soon as they register for service.

The Auckland Technical College is holding _ a week's display of work done by pupils. On the boys' -side it embraces plumbing, metal and woodwork, and commercial work, while on the girls' side laundry work, millinery, and dressmaking features are displayed. It is to be a good educational exhibit. A sad affair is reported from Mount Albert, Auckland. A young lady resident sickened two days prior to her Avedding day, aud died of infantile paralysis about the hour arranged for the ceremony. Several persons in the City are being prosecuted for waste of water through hoses and defective taps and cisterns. The cases will come before the City Police Court in the course of a few davs'

Shipmasters visiting this port complain that at night time they have no means, when approaching the Heads, of ascertaining the position of the big sandbank which lies across the harbor entrance. Remedial measures are under consideration by the Harbor Board. It seems that if a light were situated at Hayward Point, on the opposite side of the harbor entrance to Taiaroa lighthouse, the difficulty would bo solved. Such a light would furnish a factor for cross bearings on board ship. It could also be so arranged that a method of " cut off " at certain angles would serve to show the location of the sandbank by means rendering the Hayward Point light invisible when a vessel'was dangerously near the bank. This would be specially valuable to vessels rounding up to get the leading lights into alignment in order to enter the" harbor at night time. To-day Captain Thomson (harbor master) and Captain M'Dougall (senior pilot) paid a special visit of inspection to Havward Point, where it is proposed to place the new guiding light.

The largest mat in tho world Ims just been made in the factory of tho Sviiev Institute for tho Blind. It is' 45ft in diameter. Two tons of coir were used in its construction. The ' mat has been made to the order of Wirth Bros., circus proprietors, and will fill the arena of their new hippodrome. Tt was made entirely by blind workers, and shows excellent craftsmanship (says the Sydney ' Sun '). The same workers have turned out many masterpieces of mat-work, and 'several articles were recently purchased by the Museum in Xew York. Some of their best work is tho red ensign of the mercantile, marine worked right through the mat in all colors. These mats were made for the Huddart-Parker steamships. Mr Paulin advised at 2 p.m. :—S.W. winds, changing to N.E., and fine. A breach of promise action in which £I,OOO damages were claimed was before Mr Justice Dcimiston at Christ-church mi Monday. The parties belonged to Ainberley, the plaintiff being Miss Irene F. lies, and the defendant Ernest Stackhouse, the son of a well-to-do farmer. The action was partly heard, after which a settlement was arrived at. It is understood that the plaintiff accepted £325 in full settlement of the claim. Wellington citizens -held a meeting in order to discuss the closing of all clubhand hotel bars at 6 p.m. during the currencv of tho war. This step, it is stated, has been taken in the interests of the large bodies of troops coming into the city on leave. Further details will bo presented at a meeting next Friday, and the whole scheme will be put before the public as soon as possible.

Regarding tho Otago Educational Institute's circular re salaries of enlisting teachers, Mr Lane (secretary of the North Canterbury Education Board) says the position in Canterbury is much the same as in other oistricts." Tho department's salaries to teachers enlisting ceased when their military pay commenced. There was no instance, however, of a Canterbury teacher's salary being stopped during the Christmas and New Year holidays, even though military pay had commenced during that period. When the first lot of teachers from the Canterbury district enlisted in August, 1914, they were paid by the department until the end of the month. The department then issued instructions that enlisting teachers' .salaries were to cease as soon as their military pay commenced. This has been the. procedure since tho order was made. At a meeting of tho committee of the Anzac Slodiers' Club it was decided that steps should be taken to suitably commemorate the first anniversary of the landing of our troops at Gallipoli on 25th April last year. The Kaitangata- correspondent of the 1 Balclutha Free Press' writes: The thick fogs along the coast about a fortnight ago caused some of the wheat crops to smut ycTy badly, and the vield from some of them will" be only fit'for fowl feed. Mr It. Lochhend's wheat near Coal Point is so badly blackened as to be hardly worth cutting. There arc 40 acres of it, and before the fog played havoc it was one of tho best crops seen in the district for years. The smut has also made its appearance in patches on Inch-Clutha. . The hairdressers held their picnic to-dav at Portobello. No rubbing. Laundry Help has arrived. £lO guarantee; 300.3 with every Is packase. Hunter and Et'heridge.—[Advt.] Tho second annual evening excursion down ihs harbor, which has been arranged by the Oiago Hotel, Restaurant, and Boarding-house Employees' Union, is fixed for to-morrow evening.. Members of the Anzac Club will be guests. Try "The Thinker's Favorite" Writing Tablets, price Is Bead both sides of cover, then thereon.—[Advt.] Housewives can say good-bye to washboard drudgery when "Noßubbiug" Laundry Help arrives. Hunter and Etheridge.—[Advt,] Speight's ale and stout aro acknowledged by the Dominion public to be the best°on the market.—[Advt.] The veteran praises Watson's No. 10 whisky. It appeals to him as purest, most mellow.—[Advt.] On Monday evening next, at Oddfellows' Hail, Stuart stre.et, Dunedin. Starr-Bowkett Society will dispose of £I,OOO by sale. A few shares in No. 3 group still" available. Full particulars from the secretaiy 12 Octagon. War intercession service S. Matthew's Church, to-night, 7.45 All invited. Books provided.—[Advt.] A mistake occurred in our report yesterday of a case in which a v.-omai'i was charged in the Police Coul-d -with havin" attempted to commit suicide. Speaking of the accused's mother, the sub-inspector "was made to say that her house was raided. It was house on which the raid wa,s made. New season's photographio goods: Excellent stock now arriving. Cameras from 6s. Send your order early to H. J. Gill, 11 and 13.Frederick street, Dunedin. 'Phone 1.1 W -[Advt.]