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Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue 9417, 16 August 1907, Page 4

The Stra.

THE WEEK.

Delivered every evening Dy 6 o'clock in Hawera Mauaia, Nonnanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Manga* ftoki, Kapongi*, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakebo, Manutahi, Anon, Hurleyville, Patea, and Waveiloy. FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 1907.

Tho strained situation which has been de. vo'eping in Belfast for many weeks pa>>t has burst in ur-govcrrisible fury. If the cable reports speak truly the riot& have been both frenzied and sustained. Net ; only maddened men but enraged women and children fought ferociously in the streets. Apptieutly the soldiery was subjected to a terrible fusillade of bricks, silones and broken bottles, and the balance of evidence s(ie;ns to show that they actei with dommei'diibl© lestraint under e?>tromely trying ccDditicns. Some satisfaction is afforded by the report that- it was the "mob" and not the strikers who weio responsible for the .mtburft. A foiinight ago 500 Belfast dockers and 1000 caries struck for higlvcr wages. Xcn-iuik-nists replaced tho dockers, «nd it wa^s imported at ihe time that owing 10 the unrest and in,ti:nidation the service of troops had been requisitioned. The sorrowful oJd ground need not be traversed, but it is easy to undorstaud the bitterr-ess with wlich the military were regarded, neo?3»ry thougii thedr services nust have been. SimulI tanecusly the police in-subordination ; readied its climax, and 'it steadily increased in sympathy with th» stalkers. Although the unrest and dissatisfaction have spread to other towns there are indications, that the dreadful happenings ol .this week will not be repeated. The police havo lcsumed duty, and dn conjunctiou with the magistrates have guarautieed tha,t peace will bo preserved. As to tho sta vikerSj they aro reported to bo anxious to return to work and for a settlement ox tfooir disputes by arbitration. Tho lojectiion by the Council in Dublin ot the "first instalment of devolution" and Mr Redmond's subsequent denunciation of tho Liberal alliance has ted to a. perplexing state of political affairs in Ireland. It appears from tho malcontents vtfoat the policy of the Irish Nationalists is- pursued without reference to a va&t majority of lliose in whose narr.e tJh© party professes i\> speak, and the result has been some resignations. Mr Dolan, M.P., l:asi de finitely withdrawn from the Parliamentary party and allied himtcltf definitely with Sinn Fein. Sur T. Esmonde did likewise, but he seems to have changed his mind on second thoughts. The idea of tbie Sinn Fein ("Ourselves Alone;") movement it? to shake off aill connection with England, to withdraw the Irish parliamentarians from Westminster, and it oven goes so fat as to urge the Irish people to do Avithcu,l> everything in the shape of the necessaries and luxuries of Oife which comri from English ports But whist Sinn Fedn has many supporters, there are apparently very many more who bo^eve that Parliamentary action for the establishment of Home Rale is not- yet exhausted, and irat the poillitica! batrle nuist still be deewtad at Westminster. The Commdssioiiea? oi Corporations at Washington has prepared ai "scathing report" on "Standard Oil" whose unjustifiable profits increased from 1890 to 1904 by £5.400,000 an«l the dividends averaged 24 per cent. By thlis time we should fancy that John D. Rockefeliler and Las associates are preltty well accustomed to "scathing denunciations." What might seem of more consequence lhaa the. denunciations wh'ch fell from the lips of Judge Landis was a fine of noorly thirty million del. lars (about >:6,OOO,o6o), but tho news of even that stiff penalty was not f permitted to interfere with Mr Rockefellers game of golf. It may be expected, of course, tlhat ■ ways and means will Ive deviraed whereby tho payment of the fine will be- p,ostpan?rt indefinitely , far "Stacdard Oil" is tine most gigantic and nioney-powerhil of all trusts. It is the world's wealthiest company, and has as its head the richest man on earth. At Chicago it was found guilty on 1463 counts, and there are 4foo counts yet remaining to be tried. The maximum pena l . ties on the convictions already secured amount to nearly £12,000,000; tho penal, tka on the counts remaining to be tried reioh a possible amount of fifty-four millions sterling! ■ Several cable messages lately have ind:cated the methods by which these "udjustifiable profits" of the trust have been wrung from the people. When laws did not cover the requirements of the mag nateo legislation was speciaJly manufactured and arrangements were ihemmpon made for advancing the price of tihe-com-modities dealt in to the highest point at

winch consanpticn vas possible. a rcpoit presented to President Roosevelt ."n May last the Gon<miss:oner of Corporations said : "The history and present operation?, of the Standard Oil Company's interests show throughout tha past five )«.ars a substantial monopolisation of the pel t oleum industry of the country, the deliberate destruction of curr-petition, and the consequent control of that industry by less than a doyen men, who have reapad enexmous results therefrom. The Standard Oi£ Company's commercial efficiency, vhile of the greatest, has been consistently directed, not at reducing prices to + iie public, an^l thus maintaining its predominant pesition . ihrough superior service, but rather at « crippling existing rivals and preventing the rise of othors by vexatious and opprcs. sive attacks upon them, and seeming for itself Ihe most unfair and wicV-reacbim^ discrimination in transport facilities and rates, both as regards railroads and pipe linos whiie standing in the way, ,as far a.* possible, of such facilities for all efc>mpeti tors." An instance cropped up in Auckland last week, when tenders for the supply of benzine for an oil launch were invited, which showed how clomplete th e monopoly and organisation of tho Standard Oil Company ar© The transport facilities over the great railways which are enjoyed by Standard Oil give the company enormous advantages over their rivals, and the differential rates charged (by means of .secret rebates) have proved crushing. For instance, in April last, in the State of Indiana, Standard Oil was 1 convicted of receiving secret rebates from the ChicagoAlton Railroad Co. which, rendered the company liable to fines aggregating 30,000,000 dollars. It was this railroad company that Judge Landis • Jast week recommended should be again prosecuted. Naturally these attacks, on the corporations have had a disastrous effect on the stock market, and Wall street is experiencing panic prices. The unfortunate result of this will be that hundreds of in nocent stock-holders will be made to suffer because of the crimes of those who were scooping in. millions of dollars through wrongdoing. The Transvaal Assembly has passed the Completion of Chinese Contracts Bill, and wit<h it General Botha's following has redeemed its election pledges. John Chinaman, as a Transvaal miner^ is apparently doomed. Naturally the magnates resent an intrusion upon tlieir pre-sumed-rights of contract, but we are sure the vast majority of those whose countrymen* shed blood in the Transvaal will applaud a policy which will prevent the virtual handing over a portion, of the country to Chinese, For in essence that is what their employment means. Speaking in the Assembly on the Chinese question General Botha said the last Chinaman must go; there would be aio peace until then. The Ministry would remove the canker by its roots, and restore the Transvaal to health. But for the agitation in Great Britain and the Transvaal defeating the mineowners, there would not be a single white miner on the WilwateTsrand to-day, but 200,000 Chinamen. The Government would afford the mines every facility ifco get natives, but the mines must take their own measures to find substitutes for the Chinese. The Government would safeguard! and assist the industry in every way, but would never assist one class to dominate another. The Premier ascribed the strike amd other evils to the .presence of the Chinese, and declared that "the depression, for which the Government were blamed, was created by ifcheir predecessors. A -cable message states that both Sit W. Lauirier (Premier] and Lord Strathcona (High Commissioner for the Dominion of Canada) are confident of the ultimate success of the AM Red route. These ane typical representatives of enthusiastic Canadian statesmen. Lord Strathcona, it will be remembered, recently stated his willingness to contribute £500,000 towards a company working the AH Red route. Earl Giiey, Governor-General of Canada, is also an All Red eaithusiast. In a recent address he said that the principal reason for his trip to England was his desine to support Sir Wilfrid Laurier's 'andeavors to impress upon tihe Imperial Government the importance of establishing a fast TransAtlantic service between Canada and England. This would make Canada not onily the natural, but also the accepted, mo.il aaid passenger route between Great Britain, the Orient, Australia, and New Zealand. His Excellency congratulated Canada upon the fact that "through the action of the recent Imperial Conference the time was not far distant when Canada would re#p a great advantage from her geographical position by the establishment of a service of British mails which would avoid travelling over two sides: of a triangle via New York. In the colonies matters have been uneventfully proceeding. Parliament has not yet tackled the Land Bill, but there has been less electricity in the air since fhe -trrisectAon of last year's nieasu/re. In North Otago tha problem of the moment is to produce Tain, and arrangements foT xain-makiing experiments are being put into shape. This emphasises tho unusually dry season which has been experienced dowm South. In this province the busy season is fast approaching, and in a few weeks dairy farmers wiU have but little time for aught else than milk production. Throughout the district the cattle have wintered very well, and another profitable season is promised.

The. gold production of the world from 1904 to 1906 was a trifle over 737 millions sterling. Roughly speaking, the annual gold production now is four times as large as it was in the middle eighties. Samuel Godfrey. 101 year* old, of Wells, , Minnesota, observed his annual custom ; of swimming a mile. At the finish of this fine performance he was carried shoulder high round the town. ;