FRIDAY, MAY 5, 1893. THE WEEK.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XX, Issue 2419, 5 May 1893, Page 2

FRIDAY, MAY 5, 1893. THE WEEK.

The German Army Bill, on which so much depends not only in respect of the future of Fatherland, but the peace of Europe, is after all likely to paes. A compromise is the basis of a settlement. This was inevitable. The Government was not strong enougK to carry all it desired ; the opponents of the Ministry dared not kill the bill, and the honor of both parties- is savefl by the discovery of a modus vivendi. The essential fact is that the military strength, of the empire is to be increased. In view of the armament o£ adjoining nations, this was neceßsary, no doubt, but necessity is a stern master, and the necessity which calls for, more sacrifices on the part of the nation to keep pace with the other nations on the expenj sive path which has " ruin " writ j large on the goal is cruel indeed. j The position in Germany is very I critical, and the prolonged opposition to this Army Bill has been merely an expression of the popular discontent with the social and industrial conditions.

A London correspondent recentH wrote :—": — " The voices of Germany'!? agricultural population — forming a very large population of the whole — are beginning to grow both loud and vehement the subject of their peculiar struggle for existence, and they are almost, maddened by the prospect of a new commercial treaty with Russia more favorable than at present to the importation of Russian grain and other kindred, products. The bimetallist craze, too, is spreading rapidly among the same class of people ; but hero, as in so many other fields pf international practice, England rules the roost; and the invincible answer of Government to its parliamentary questioners is : ' Oh, yes, all very well ; but until England moves m the matter we cannot and dare not stir.' The Russo-German negotiators are still biggie-haggling over the terms of the proposed new commercial treaty, and some considerable time must elapse before it can be concluded, if at all. And in the meantime the Emperor tells deputations whom he receives that agrarian and currency reforms are all very well in their way, and form the object of his most anxious solicitude ; but that the primary question after all is the increase of the army, without which there could be no peace and prosperity of any kind. For can the husbandman afford to use his ploughshare before he has girt himself about with a sharp and efficient sword to hold thieveß and marauders at bay ? l Ach! meine Herren, it is not a question of ploughshare or sword, but of ploughshare and sword. Are you not sensible enough to peiceive that?'" [A late cable seems' to indicate the rejection of the bill by the Reichstag, which would involve an appeal to the country.] \[ It is worthy of note that May Day this year has passed off: more quietly than for several years. Lately it has been the custom to celebrate the advent of the first month of spring with a grand holiday, which has been made the opportunity for a demonstration, and sometimes a rather wild one, of the rights or rather the wrongs of labour, but this year, so far as the cables have informed us, seems to have been an exception. It is to be feared, though, that rulers and statesmen may not lay the flattering unction to their souls that labpur difficulties are fewer or discontent less acute. There is sufficient evidence to the contrary in the cables of each daily paper. The appointment of a successor to M. Waddington at the French Embassy in London is not an event of much importance to colonists, unless it should have marked political results. An indiscreet or touchy Ambassador has before to-day deluged a nation with blood, and therefore the personality of the officer is of general interest. Of the new man we know little ; the late Minister occupied the peculiar position of a Frenchman representing Frenchmen, but who bad been educated in England (graduated at Cambridge and rowed in the 'Vnrsity eight of his year), and in many respects was more English than French. His principal difficulty was to prove bis patriotism,and he sometimes talkec 1 and acted in a manner which a purely French Ambassador would not have thought it necessary to act for the purpose of negativing presumptions of English leanings. But, with all his English learning, be was not able to cope with Lord Rosebery in diplomatic fence. For example, take that encounter on the Egyptian question a few months ago The correspondent of an Australian paper summarised it thus at the time : — " A very highhanded proceeding that of yours at Cairo," saysM. Waddington, "against which mv Government must protest." " High-handed ? How so, then ? " asks his Lordship with bland, cherubic surprise. "We only entered a protest against the action of the Khedive, as we had a right to do ! And do you call that masterful ? If so, what t am I to think of your Excellency's own conduct — which is also in the nature of a protest ?" j

Akd writing of Egypt brings to mind the declaration of Mr Gladstone this week, which settles once and for all the question of what the Liberal party will do Sir Charles Dilke tried to force the hand of the Government, and has so far succeeded that the Premier, wfro a few months ago

encouraged the Dilkes and the Harcourts and other " scuttlers," was forced to make 3 declaration, which means in fact theft the prospect o£ evacuation is indefinite, and that the events of the past few months, which include Ms own accession to office,' have made the prospect more remote than it was previously.

The week which is now closing will ever be a memorable one in the history of Australian finance. The five days holiday declared by one Government, and the Act passed by another colony in which the Lower House sat till *7 a.m. to get the measure through, and then waited expectant for the other House to give its assent, are quite sufficient evidence of the situation. The Hawke's Bay Herald, in an article on Australian banking, remarks that there is a general impression that all the Australasian banks work too much on deposits to be safe against sudden panic. The published returns, however, do not bear this out, and, referring to the general figures, the Herald says the aggregate capital of all the banks last year was £5 1,548,000, the total advances were .£142, 107,000, the liabilities were £117,548,000, and assets £169,059,000 In the different colonies, however, the distribution is very unequal, and this is the more noticeable if we take the returns for the last ten years. In 1883 the advances in Victoria were £26,994,000, while the bank capital was only £5,826,000, the liabilities thus reaching £25,536,000, or over four times the capital. Since then the advances have swelled largely; but proportionately the banks' capital has increased faster. The maximum was leached in 1891, when the advances totalled .£55,689,000, but the capital employed had risen to .£23,802,000, leaving the liabilities at £41,157,000, or' less than double the capital. While the advances little more than doubled the capital increased fourfold. In New South Wales the advances grew from £27,087,000 in 1883 to £44,136,000 last year, but the capital employed rose from £$ f 253,000 to £14,370,000, so here again the capital increased in greater proportion than the advances. It was the same in Queensland, when advances increased from ,£8,353,000 to £17,444,000, and the capital employed rOBe from £2,996,000 to £9,201,000. In Western Australia in 1883 the advances were £775,000, and the capital employed £339,000, to rise to £2,206,000 and £1,329,000 last year. So far as experts can judge by the figures published by the banks, there is nothing in the position of those which have recently had to suspend to really justify alarm. The Sydney Morning Herald, writing before this last crop of difficulties arose, summed up the position thus :— " True, the strongest bank in Australia might fail i£*a ridiculous scare were created among its depositors. But that would not prove its insolvency. Depositors have good reason to rest content with the securities representing their money. If they rushed any bank, forced it into liquidation, and then found that they only obtained 10s in the £ of their deposits, no disproof would be given of our atatement. Every merchant knows that he will get about £25 per ton, for his stock of good sugar, if he holds it for a legitimate, market; while he is equally aware that if he, and everybody else, wrows all bis stock of sugar on the market on one day he would probably get £20, and make a considerable ' loss, perhaps ruining him and some of - his creditors. So, also, if the strong- ! est bank is forced by its depositors to i close and realise all its securities, it ; and they will suffer ; while, left in' t the ordinary way to give an interest i return of 4 or 5 per cent, to the i depositor and a few shillings per 1 cent, to the banker, and that is the i utmost that is made by him, deposits are worth 20a in the £ ; but in these i times no one would guarantee what , securities are worth if depositors ; pursue such a reckless course " — • unfortunately a great many appear to 1 have followed the 'reckless course,' 1 referred to — '' as some of them seem disposed to follow." ' It seems we were in error in assum ing that the appointment of Mr ; William Wilson to the Patea Harbor : Board was due to a misunderstanding. ; The gentleman recommended from ' l Hawera subdivision was deliberately passed over, and an outsider ap- • pointed. The rumor is that Mr John ; Hand ley was first offered the seat, : but declined, and Mr William Wilson 1 was next offered it, and accepted. It is rather a strange procedure. Not, 1 as wo have wished to make clear that, ■ there is any objection to Mr William Wilson personally, but when a gentleman resident in the subdivision, 1 and who has been placed in positions 1 of trust and filled them Batisfaotorilv, 1 was willing to represent his ueigL 1 bors, it is odd that ho should be 1 passed over in favor of anothor who can only very generally reproeont the 1 district.

These seems to be an imprecision among people who Btudy politics that whatever may hnvo been the intention when it was rouolvod that Mr Sod don be appointed Premior, it in unlikely that ho will take kindly to the notion of bein» a " warming pan " for houio one eke. It iH all vory woll to talk of talsing tho judgment oi ! tho party when Parliament moots, but Mr. Seddon is Premier, and ho is forceful enough— and in air Goorge (|roy'B opinion iB constitutionally bound to ao so-— to retain tho position against all comers until in Parlfeinent assembled an adverse majority makes its appearance. A large factor in Ministers' favour is the weakness of their opponents. The lamented death of Mr Ballanco baa left the Government party without a man in the House capable of completely filling his place; but the other side also will be searched in vain for one. Bir J. Hall, of course, is quite able to lead, but age is telling on him, and his retiroment at the conclusion of the present Parliament has been irrevocably decided on and definitely announced.

We publish with a good deal of pleasure, a cable message which relates to the starting of pork-oaring factories in the colony by an English Company. No doubt thi&ip tbj&'outcome of the of B^ vYgslit,v Ygs lit, in reference to^ whose mission we published an article several months ago. It will be seen that it is intended to make Waitara the site of one of the factories, so that < farmers in this district will directly participate in the advantages of the trade.