NEWS AND VIEWS

Maoriland Worker, Volume 8, Issue 344, 26 September 1917, Page 1

NEWS AND VIEWS

y\! A New Zealand £iberal paper tells us: "One of the steps that will follow the conclusion of peace will be the provision of a small household for Princess Mary, who is now in the twenties. Up to the present her Royal Highness has seldom been present at any function except in the company of the Queen, so that it has not been necessary for her to have any ladies in attendance. The Queen will herself choose her' daughter's entourage, which will be on a very modest scale —as is that of the Prince of Wales, though the Heir Apparent's household will doubtless be slightly- enlarged after the war." Somehow or other we think that with the conclusion of peace there won't be any royalties. It will be a case of "Get work." i\< V ❖ ❖ A writer, discussing the social evil in the "Otago Daily Times" says: "Ignorance of the truth about our own bodies has brought the chaos we find in the world to-day, so far as immorality is concerned. Surely, it is a simple deduction that right, knowledge given at the right time- by the right person in the right way would bring order out of chaos, both to men and women." Yes, but ignorance of mind has brought about a condition of society that fosters the , social evil. Some lovers of peace in Australia recently ordered 2000 copies of Mrs, Wilson's book, "The Last Weapon,," from the Old Country, but an official embargo has been placed upon the work, and no more copies are available from that quarter.' It remains now for the author's consent to be obtained and publish tho book out here. Someone suggests the Bible itself be placed under ban. Enough to say that in South Africa a number of scriptural passages have recently been suppressed.—"Federal Independent." ' One would think that, considering the noisy protests against the recent A.W.U. award, there was scarcely a bare existence in tho pastoralist and grazing business. However, we note that during the week the following information regarding deceased pastomlists has appeared in the daily press: John Roberts, of Narracoor'te (S.A.) and Apsley (V.), grazier, £!)3,----90G; Lachlan-Robertson, of Barmedman (N.S.W.), grazier, £37,397; Harry George .le Quesne, of Moonbi (N.S.W,), -grazier.; l £30t157;-' George -Ambrose , White, of "Tinana (V.), farmer, £18.----439; Joseph Daniel, of Rose Hill, Muswellbrook (N.S.W.), grazier, JS 21,4241 Arthur Fred Branson, of Bincia (N.S.W.), grazier, £19,657—"Australian Worker." i> * * 5? From the "Appeal to Reason", we learn that the August issue of that excellent American publication, "The Masses," was suppressed. In the July number, the "Appeal" says, Dorothy Fuller had a cartoon indicative of the feeling of many American male citizens. "It shows us a jubilant young patriot just leaving the U.S. Medical Examiner's office. Is he down in the mouth, as 'twere? No, Winifred, his face is wreathed in smiles. This is what he says: 'Thank God, I've got heart disease—the doctor says I may drop dead any minute!'" :;: :'.- -\- v Lord Rhondda is the latest heavenborn Food Controller. A grocery magnate having failed, a coal gambler is to have a turn. The one-time D. A. Thomas, notorious in South Wales, recently told a deputation that saw him about housing that private "enterprise" must be protected, so the food parasites need not trouble at the news of his appointment to succeed Lord Devonport. The time for fooling with the food question has long passed, for we are drifting to famine almost as surely as is the Continent of Europe, but the appointment of D.A. gives no promise of the fooling being ended.— "Huddersfield Worker." Mr. MacKinnon, Australia's chief recruiting agent, recently flung this off his chest for the purpose of increasing the enlistments: "We are living in a fool's paradise. Our newspapers tell us only the news that we desire to hear, and we are kept in ignorance of what is really transpiring on , the other side of the world. Now, the Germans are building submarines or 5000 tons. It Is quite probable that they will challenge the British Navy, and that these vessels will succeed in breaking through the blockade, and sinking all the remaining vessels of the British mercantile marine. The Allies were not winning. The present, hour was the darkest in. the Empire's history. France had had a terrible blow. Russia, too, was practically useloss, and there was the danger that the huge stores of wheat which would have been made available to the Allies had the Australian succeeded in getting through to Constantinople might now

fall into the hands of the Germans, to sustain them for many months. Like a drunken man, Russia was reeling back from the blows of the conquering Germans, and, despite Mr. LloydGeorge'e optimism, he was convinced that she could not be depended upon for one moment for any further assistance. He had no desire to- play the part of an alarmist, but he wanted to warn the people of Australia that they had never been in such dire peril as they were to-day. Before the struggle was ended, it would be necessary to call upon every man in Australia between the ages of 18 and 45 to take up arms, and Australia would be lucky if it were' not found necessary to call upon youth 3of 17 years aud veterans over 45 years of age for war service." * # * * This from an Australian Tory paper: "The stores are full of refrigerated meat waiting for an opportunity to be shipped. No butter can be sent abroad. The shipment of fresh fruit to Britain is prohibited. Unless other means for disposing of the product are found by February next, 6,000,000 tons of wheat will be stored in Australia awaiting transport. The one .outlook which is completely cheering is that of wool, which Britain has purchased at a flat rate of laid, a lb., and presumably ships will be lound to take our wool and metals to Britain, as they are absolutely necessary for waging the war, and not to be obtained elsewhere in the world by a shorter route." And this from a Labor paper: "Whilst, the cost of living is very high throughout the continent, wheat is rotting wholesale, and meal, butter, and fruit shipments are ' held up because of the want of ships tip export them. The Federal Govern- ; ment is hopelessly helpless in the matter, for.it cannot move without the consent and 'shove' of the middlemen. ■It is actually recorded of one Federal ♦tlnister that he advised the fruitgrowers to practise sabotage by pruning back their trees, so that less fruit Avould grow and the market would not be overstocked or 'glutted.' " ~ y ( * .*. * * ••'■-, It is a fme thing to be so constitntjjid as to be callous about, other bad luck. This is how the ch%?man of Ihe New Zealand Dairy Association looks at post-war conditiot|F: v"Gerraany, Belgium and Tlollsfcfti ,were faced with a posi-war defc'itjpf 8,000,000 head of cattle; Den;.uffi#Ji##ufstria/,<Serbia ,and Rumania ■ with another 5.000,000. Butter producers would do well to bear these '■■ facts ; in mind; they should continue ito increase production as much as 1 possible, and in doing so they would serve a national interest and self-in-terest alike." We like the candour of the last few words. !** * * [ "Justice," writing in the "Otago ', Daily Times" of September 3, says:— - "I notice that one of our local factory , inspectors has been fined for failing '. to produce his enrolment certificate to r a plain-clothes' constable, who had i neither warrant nor distinction of any , kind to show that he was empowered Ito make such demand. Surely it is i absurd that anyone in plain clothes ■ can challenge citizens at any hour of '■ the day or night and make such a demand. As a factory.inspector, the defendant in this case cannot enter any factory without producing his war- ' rant, and plain-clothes constables ; should be required to carry a proof of 1 their bona fides." ' Two respectable women were re- . cently sent to jail in England—one for three months and the other for one I month—after having been held without trial for some time, on a charge ' of distributing Labor and other litera- '. ture in the vicinity of a military camp. , Major Slinger, in prosecuting, complained that young (! soldiers coming up I lor training were ' influenced. The . literature complained of bore, in one instance, the name of the National Labor Press. It had a scriptural text from St. John and a quotation from ', Ruskin." "Britain can win this war, and win . it handsomely, if the people will it. 1 .... By winning this war we can '■ win Germany's trade. . . . Is it ' not our duty to those who are fighti ing our battles to immediately pre- . pare to capture the above trade, and, at the same time, to so organise our- : selves that Germany will not be able : to compete for an even greater stake . in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and the other neutral countries * of the world? . . . To develop to ; the utmost the trade of the British nation and its colonies by all the means • in our power, by influencing legisla- . tion for a protective, and, if necessary, ! prohibitive tariff on all German and ! Austrian goods."—Manifesto of the National Party League (Sir John Rol- : leston, Sir H. Stanley, Bart., Professor Pettigrew Young and others).