The Star. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) FRIDAY, JANUARY IS, 1893. THB WEEK.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XX, Issue 2325, 13 January 1893, Page 2

The Star. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) FRIDAY, JANUARY IS, 1893.

THB WEEK.

The " signs of the times " are not very favorable to the Gladstone Government. We have on several occasions referred to the peculiar difficulties in the way just now of Mr. Gladstone, created by the fact mainly that his party is composed of several sections, each with its own distinct purpose and not necessarily in sympathy to any great extent with one another. Each will want its own turn served first, and none will be disposed to assist in giving the others what they want in trust and confidence that the future will satisfy all. We now hear of the Welsh members, or some of them, demanding disestablishment in Wales as the first desideratum ; the Labor party are organising to have the reform of their grievances made the first work ; and it is unnecessary to say that the great force of the Irish party cannot be put off with promisee of Home Eule in the distant future. Meantime the bye-elections are going against the Government. Friendly papers, like the Beview of Beviews, were pointing out before the mail left t-Jinfc tfre bye-elections showed an

ebb of the Liberal tide, and there has been no flow since. The victory of a Conservative at Liverpool by a large majority this week shows that there is still ebb. Meantime tbe Government are very quiet. One of the Ministers — we think it was Lord Kimberley — at the Lord Mayor's banquet, on 9th November, spoke of tbe inadvisability of the Government showing the eggs over which they were brooding, and the reticence has been continued. At no time within the last few years do we remember such a dearth of great political speeches as has been noticeable lately, though there has seldom been a time at which there were greater problems pressing for solution. But within a few weeks from now the Imperial Parliament will have assembled, and then no doubt things will be lively.

lir France, the Panama scandal, so far as its political aspect is concerned, has turned out very much as we suggested a few weeks ago it would likely do. After all the terrible charges against certain members of the chambers, and the excitement and fuss that occurred in consequence, it now turns out that theie is insufficient evidence to prosecute any of the members who were alleged, to have been heavily bribed. The prosecutions are merely to be against certain officers of the Canal Company, and as there is little to be urged against them now tbat was not known months ago, we should not be surprised if the whole thing ended in smoke. The fact must have been recognised long ago that though the people who have lost their money are naturally very angry, the commotion i really is significant of party feeling and a desire in certain quarters to upset the republic. The probabilities of a change seem rather remote, and we believe that the republic, weak as recent ministries have been, will triumph over present difficulties just as it squashed Boulangism. Whether the people of France are ready for a change there are no means of knowing, but if the " hour " has come the man has not. The French are susceptible at all times, as history shows, to military brilliancy or a great name ; but the enemies of the republic have neither to put forward.

England appears to have two little difficulties in hand which may very easily develope into something serious. In Morocco, where tnere prevails an absolute autocracy tempered by cowardice, a British subject has been murdered, and the Government demands reparation. The Sultan at first promises it, then dilly-dallies, and when an ultimatum is sent that is followed by an arrest. The matter would be simple enough were it not that the French have taken a hand in Morocco affairs, and probably would prefer not to be embarrassed by British interferences.

In Afghanistan too there appears to be trouble, and past history of troubles there is such sad history that the announcement is calculated to cause uneasiness. !For a considerable time past the Indian G-overn-ment has been anxious to have a settlement of certain matters in that usually unsettled country, and a mission by Lord Eoberts was arranged. Such missions in the paat have led to deplorable results. The object, no doubt, is to get some sort of security that the Ameer shall not show too much favor to Eussia. His territory, as McCarthy says in " History of Our Own Times," has been called the land of transition between Eastern and Western Asia. There is a proverb which declares that no man can be master of Hindostan without first becoming Lord of Cabul. The neutrality at anyrate of Afghanistan is of great importance to the Indian Government. The special purpose of the proposed mission we do not quite clearly understand, but it is clear that the Ameer put off Lord Eoberrs on one excuse and another, and it is now stated that the Afghans have aßßUmed an aggressive attitude. That is better than following the course adopted on previous occasions of welcoming the British envoy and then murdering him, but still it is not satisfactory to the Indian Govern-

ment, and hence the trouble. The position seems to be that Afghanistan can only remain an independent kingdom by the support of the British, and that if the Ameer breaks with them his land is likely to become a mere khanate of Bussia, which, though inconvenient to England, would be no advantage to the Ameer.

The revenue returns, which we re-publish from the New Zealand Times relating to the first nine months of the financial year, are exceedingly satisfactory. Practically there is an increase in every department, and especially the Land Tax stands out as having fully justified its authors from the revenue producing point of view. The income tax had yet to be proved, but even if it should fall short no inconvenience to the finance will result. It appears that the Treasurer will have a large surplus, and we trust that Mr. Ballance may be well enough when the House meets to propose methods of disposing of the surplus. Two suggestions at once present themselves : one is to reduce the taxation on articles in common use by the people at large ; the other is to devote the money to public works and the purchase of native ianrl so as to carry on the wo»k of colonisation without recourse to the moneylender. There is a good deal to be said for and against each ot' £he&e rival propositions, and we doubt not that there will be plenty of discussion udon them.

But a full Treasury will not hide quite out of sight anomalies and injustice in the methods by which the money is raised. The incidence of the income tax will, we are convinced, present many inequalities, and the Land Tax is by no means free from them. For example there was brought under our notice a case the other day. Trustees m a certain estates are empowered to give the widow the interest arising from a sum of £3000 which money is neceesanly, under the will, invested in mortgage on land The income i|>

say, £200 a year. If the money were invested in anything but mortgage the income would not be taxed, but being invested in mortgage the capital amount is subjected to land tax, and the widow who haß no right or title in the capital sum and no discretion as to how it shall be invested is compelled to pay a tax which amounts to about 6 per cent «f her income. If the money earned a lower rate of interest, as money is likely to do, the percentage of the taxation would rise sharply. This was one of the bad features of the property tax, but under that tax the injustice was not put especially upon those who had their trust money invested in one particular way.

The annual meeting of the Educational Institute serves to again and again bring under notice the weak points of the education system. This more especially from the teachers' professional point of view, but most of the criticisms of the president this year will meet with approval from many quite outside the profession. We may take an opportunity of reviewing the president's address, but meantime we merely quote from an able article in the New Zealand Times a few words on the teachers' salary question which are much in point. Thus :—": — " The cruelly low salaries paid in some districts are as discreditable to the colony as they are discouraging to the teachers. It would not be difficult to quote hard cases and glaring instances. Take a recent example. A short time ago there was a fresh delimitation of the boundary between the Wanganui and Taranaki districts. The result was tbat a school teacher, hitherto in Wanganui, woke up one fine morning to find himself in Taranaki. His school, Ms pupils, and his work remained the same. •His salary was reduced by about £50. We have heard that the master resented this so mucb that he resigned and betook himself to farming. If this be true no one can be surprised thereat. "Why should there be a difference of 30 per cent, between the salaries of the masters of the schools of the same size in the Nelson and Wellington Education Districts ? The difference, "we may remark, is in favor of Wellington. Why should the position of teachers doing similar work be so much better in Otago than it is in Taranaki and in many parts of Auckland ? Surely, the framers of the Act of 1877 desired to found a national system, not thirteen national systems."

We have seen lately long reports of meetings convened for the purpose of hearing addresses upon the subject of developing, and more profitably, working the dairy industry of this district. It is desirable that these points should be well studied, and any practical suggestiona are well worthy of consideration ; but people must be very careful not to miss t c substance, while grasping at the shadow. The complaint is made that there has not been sufficient individual effort expended in promoting the advancement of the industry, In this the settlers are done an injustice, for they have worked loyally and unitedly to secure that object. Then there are allusions to markets in other placen being as good as those of London. This must be a fallacy. There is no market in the world co stable, or that can absorb so large a quantity as the London market. Nothing, wo observe, is said about the risks connected with trading with such places as Brazil, <fee. — the instability of the Government and the want of confidence in trading, and the possibility of never getting paid for the goods ; but it is within our knowledge that two shipments of Normanby butter were sent to Rio (tinned), and were condemned by the Brazillian authorities because it" contained 1 per cent, of preservative, (which was absolutely necessary to keep it sweet in ao hot a climate) and it was sent back to 3?rance at the shipper's loss. There is a quotation from a price list that tinned Danish butter fetched at the Cape from Is to 2s 3d per lb. Surely a very wide range of price. How much was 3old at Is ? and how much at 2s 3d? The asesrtion that the value of all the butter sent from New Zealand will be much over =8100,000 is probably a reportorial error. One London firm alone, will take dairy produce from the North Island to that amount, and probably the aggregate quantity exported from New Zealand this season will exceed on© million Bounds

in value. No one would wish to throw cold water upon any project that would be likely to promote the interests of the dairying community, for they are fairly entitled to all the benefits that their produce will command, but it will be well to reason the matter well out before commencing the building of such chateaux en espagne.