MAIL SUMMARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13278, 10 September 1906, Page 8

MAIL SUMMARY.

OUR LETTER ROME.

THE DEFENCE FORCES.

General Babingtos, Commandant of the Forces, has presented his last report to Parliament on the defence forces of tho colony, his engagement ceasing in October next. The report to characterised by exceeding plainness of speech, and the gallant officer refers to political influence in defence -'Tatters in the following terms: — " I have before referred to the very unsatisfactory state as regards the relationship of the Under-Secretary for Defence's section to the Commandant's section of the Defence Department. A vast amount of extra correspondence and very considerable friction is the inevitable result. . ' . The extreme centralisation and its consequent evils, to which I liavo also frequently referred, stil! continue. If officers are to cany out their duties they must, from the Commandant downwards, be accorded the responsibility and authority pertaining to their appointments. In war this Mould have to be done whether rules and regulations permitted it or not, but the most pernicious results of the present, system would be then only too apparent, and confusion and disaster would be the result.'' General Babington ho'.ds that two defended ports are the most that should be required in New Zealand, and this colony cannot maintain more in an efficient state. It is. waste of money to continue inefficient defences. Though the two forts to be fortified are not named it is generally believed that they are Wellington and Auckland, the former because it is the capital, and the nearest safe port to the coal supply, and the latter because it is the site of the Calliope Dock. "The proposals for the reorganisation of the permanent force, which I referred to in my report of last year, are still under consideration," adds General Babington. "It is hoped some conclusion may shortly be arrived at concerning this important matter. Similarly, my proposals for the reorganisation of the volunteer force have not yet been seriously considered. I believe political reasons are looked upon as a bar to the carrying out of the main portion of the scheme, but I cannot think that the country would raise any serious objection to a more efficient and less expensive force replacing that now existing, and would, I feel confident, welcome the greater efficiency and less expense which the. reorganisation I propose would give it. The difficulty of obtaining suitable officers is increasing, and recruiting, too, is becoming a very much more difficult matter, and the less cordial relations* which apparently now exist between employer and employee, as compared to a few years ago, is a serious menace." In conclusion, the Commandant writes:—"l have endeavoured since my arrival in New Zealand to point out what I consider is required to render the force of the colony an efficient one. ft docs not appear to me that the colony takes the question of defence seriously", or gives due attention to a subject that is so important, and one that may at verv short notice, become of vital interest to her. It will be well for New Zealand if by any means she can be persuaded, before it is too late, to look seriously upon, and also to thoroughly appreciate her defence forces and to listen more attentively than she has yet clone to the advice of those whose duty it is to offer it as to the measures necessary to render such forces really efficient.' THE BUDGET. The Premier (Sir Joseph Ward) has delivered his Budget speech. He stated that the ordinary and territorial revenue for the year amounted to £7,584,359, and compared with the revenue of the previous year showed an increase of £301,489. The estimated revenue was set down at £7,402,600. The increase of the actual revenue against the estimate was therefore £181,759. Receipt.* from railways open for traffic exceeded the previous years returns by £120.651. the Customs by £65,427. the stamps by £41,144, the land and income tax by £40,766, miscellaneous by £25,433. and other smaller items by £19.851. There was a decrease of £11,763 in receipts from cash land sales. The actual revenue from Customs, railways, stamps, and land tax yielded £184,348 more than was anticipated, and some other smaller items £2C63. making a total of £186.411 in excess of the estimate ; but income tax, registration and other fees and miscellaneous had been overestimated to the amount of £4652. The result was a net increase over the estimate of £181.759. Turning to' the expenditure side, permanent charges and annual appropriations totalled £7,122,340, in addition to which £500.000 was paid over to the Public Works Fund. Comparing the expenditure of £7.122,340 with the figures of the previous year (£6,635,902) an increase of expenditure of £486,438 is shown. Under permanent charges there was an increase of £199,135, consisting of £93,475 for interest and sinking fund ; £59,988 for old 'age pensions; under special Acts, £24.547 ; and £21,125 distributed over the Civil list and payments to local bodies, including subsidies and local territorial revenue. 0 The expenditure under the annual appropriations showed a considerable increase, namely, £287,303. The revenue proper, together with other receipts, amounted to £7,650.099. To this amount £761.036 must be added, making a total on receipt side of £8,411.135. The expenditure, including payment of surplus revenue to the Public Works Fund, amounted to £7,622.340. which amount deducted from the £8,411,135 left a balance of £788,795. 'the Premier also announced that for the raising of the million loan for public works purposes offers of assistance were received from prominent brokers and moneyed institutions in Australia. As a result of these offers the Government was able to arrange for the flotation of a 4 per cent. loan of £500,000, at a premium of £1 15s per centum. Upon opening tho tenders it was found that £814,300 had been tendered for by the public. The average price, of the accepted tenders was £101 16s lid per cent., the cost of flotation being £1 15s per centum, leaving a yield of something over par. With regard to the. balance of the million loan, an offer of £500,000 at 4 per cent, at par was accepted, without commission or other charges, currency to July 1, 1916. THE LAND TENURE QUESTION. The land policy of the Government, as expounded by the Minister for Lands (Mr. McNnb) in the debate on the Financial Statement, is rather an attempt to conciliate both freeholders and leaseholders than a strong and intelligent, effort to settle once and for all the tenure conditions under which agricultural land should be held. The freehold party, as a party, is as strongly opposed to the aggregation of great estates and as desirous of breaking up the unduly large estate—in a fair and equitable manner—as are any of the leaseholders. It is proposed that after ten years the individual owning of more than £50,000 worth of land by one person shall not be allowed ; and the proposal that no person shall henceforward be allowed to acquire over 1000 acres of first-class land is entirely in line with the freeholding principle. With one hand Mr. McNab offers the colony a sound Freehold system ; with the other he offers an aggravation of the leaseholding evil. Under the plea, of endowment be purposes to erect a ring fence round every acre of utWEcupied land left in the colony, practically all in the North Island, and to allow no further settlement except by those whose present necessities compel them to accept a shortterm lease. With regard to endowments, the Minister said it was not to be supposed that the. revenue from the Crown lands to be set aside as endowments, 1,500,000 acres. would meet the charges under the three heads, education, old age pensions, and charitable aid. Endowments had been granted to municipalities for municipal purposes, and their value could be seen in all directions. On the whole, he said, the proposals were more clear and more specific, than had been brought clown by any previous Ministry.

NEW ZEALAND ENTERPRISE. New Zealand has entered into competition with (treat Britain, Germany, France, America, and Belgium for the "supply of 20 locomotives, and has secured the work. Messrs. Price Brothers, Thames, have contracted to build them for the Railway Department, and they are to be delivered within three years! The amount of the firm's tender is nearly £80.000, being at the rate of something less than £4000 per engine. RECIPROCITY WITH AUSTRALIA. The object of the late Premier's visit to Australia, viz., to arrange a reciprocal tariff with the Commonwealth and New Zealand, is likely to be rendered abortive. The tariff lias been made public, and from one end of tnc colony to the other lias been received with disfavour. Flourmi'.lers, orchardists, wholesale grocers, and manufacturers generally have risen up against it, and the Premier (Sir Joseph Ward) is inundated with protests against, its ratification. If Australia produced nothing but sugar, currants, and raisins and New Zealand produced nothing but timber and potatoes a very emphatic and profitable commercial treaty between the two countries could ■■:: arranged. As tilings arc, with comparatively few exceptions, our products arc very much the tame in both countries, so that what has been really done is to arrange that our trade on ceilain lines shall lie with fine another rather than with any-. body else, li certainly looks as though Auslra.ia, had somewhat the best of the bargain. PARLIAMENT. Parliament is now in full swing, and ihe. two great questions that have attracted most public attention have been the Government's land policy and the reciprocity tariff between Australia and New Zealand (referred to at some length elsewhere). The Governor's Speech, with which Parliament was opened, was essentially non-committal upon details, but. as far as it went was consistent with genera! anticipations. The Customs tariff revision, which had been anticipated for this session by merchants and manufacturers, is put over until after the Colonial Conference, to be. held next year in London. Meanwhile. Ministerial investigation of the complex tariff problem is promised: and "the whole question of colonial defence" will be similarly dealt with. Various enactments: to remedy '"defects and anomalies in our labour laws;" to create "an annuity system for simplifying local government;' "to encourage the application of scientific methods to productive processes in order that our fanners may successfully meet the increasing competition of other countries;" "to enable additional assistance to be given for the development of the mining industry;" "for the improvement of the system of audit in the accounts of Government Departments and public bodies;"' "to provide for the extension of roads and telephones to outpost settlements;" to provide endowments for old ago pensions, education, hospitals, and charitable aid'; to provide Civil Service superannuation : with other measures of a similar character, are suggested. LABOUR DEPARTMENT. The report of the Labour Department states that labour has had to record a prosperous and remunerative year. "While we have absorbed thousands of newcomers, our own people have, speaking generally, had no reason to grumble through being displaced. Employment for workers has not only been obtainable, but continuous and stable. It i." the stability and constant employment which has benefited the worker, for the rise in wages, which is very slight (and in many trades imperceptible), has been swallowed up and entirely lost in the increased rents and cost of commodities." : CRIME STATISTICS. The report of the Inspector of Prisons states that at the close of the financial year there were 744 males and 66 females in the prison*. The greatest increase had been in Auckland, .and the; greatest decrease in Lyttejtoii. "It is difficult," 'says the report, "to Conjecture the cause of the increase of crime in Auckland, but it may. ho partly accounted' for by the fact that it is the first port of call for the boats from 'Frisco. New South Wales, and the Islands. An undesirable class of immigrants is apparently being dumped down in the colony." There were three deaths and one execution during the year. The criminal statistics show an aggregate decrease of 817 on the figures for 1904. The decrease is principally accounted for by the reduction in the number of persons dealt with for drunkenness. The decrease in drunkenness is attributable to the amendment of the Licensing Act passed in 1904, and the discontinuance of licensed to railway refreshment rooms. The total decreases in arrests for drunkenness in the four cities, with their suburbs, were: Auckland, 111; Wellington. 375; Chmtchurch, 350; Du.edin. j.65^ THE PACIFIC CABLE. • The business over the Pacific cable continues to increase. The New Zealand figures for the past three years are: Ordinary telegrams. 1903, messages 72,595; 1904,"74,804: 1905. 78,765. Eastern Extension Cable Company: 1905, messages 16,351; ISO 4, 12.395; 1905. 12,013. There has been a marked increase in the press messages. Over 5.500,000 telegraph messages were forwarded, and about, the same number received, including transmissions en route. The number of telegrams dealt with at all stations was almost 20,000,000. FOOTBALL. The Auckland Rugby representatives, who won the Ranfurly shield in 1902, have held it. in the season just concluded against all comers. The match played with Wellington on Saturday last was witnessed by 15,000 people. The shield, as was said, was won by Auckland in 1902, lost to Wellington in 1904 ; won by Auckland in 1905, find held in 1906. The team goes on tour in 1907. so that the shield will remain here until 1908. POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT. The report of the Post and Telegraph Department for the year 1905-6 shows an increase of earnings of £51,572, and am increase of expenditure of only £18,805. The revenue has never been so buoyant as during the past year The increase in the amount standing to the. credit of the, Post Office Savings Bank depositors far exceeds that of any previous year. The deposits (£6,625,744) exceeded' the withdrawals (£5,984,185) by £641,559. To this there has been added £259,081 as interest, making a total increase of £900.640, and bringing the whole amount of savings up to £8.662,023, an amount which equals £9 16s 4d per head of the population. A YEAR'S MARRIAGES. Of the marriages in the year 1905, 24.24 per cent, were solemnised by ministers of the Church of England; 26.43 per cent, by Presbyterians; 16.76 per cent, by Methodists: 10.22 per cent, by Roman Catholics; 6.75 per cent, by ministers of other denominations; and 15.60 per cent, by registrars. The marriages for 1905 amounted to 7200, an increase on the number for the previous year of 217. The marriage rate rose from 3.26 per 1000 persons living in 1904, to 8.28 in 1905, the rate for the latter year being the highest obtained since 1875. The improvement shown during the last 10 years sets New Zealand in a good position relatively to the Australian States. THE BIRTH RATE. ' , The number of births registered in the colony during 1905 was 23,682, or 27.22 iii every 1000* persons living. The rate is the highest reached since the year 1894, the number of births being 916 in excess of those for the year 1904, an increase of 4.02 per cent. From 1882 until the year 1899 there was a regular fall in the birthrate. OLD AGE PENSIONS. The number of ■ old age pensions payments shows a considerable increase, having risen from 138,964 to 141,018, representing £195,471 and £254,361, respectively.

.SHIPPING REGULATIONS. The los* of several Auckland trading vessels during heavy easterly weather has resulted in inquiries being held, and as a sequel the Minister for Marine has prepared regulations! dealing with deck cargoes of scows and similar vessels, and with overloading. The Minister stated that there had been so many disasters to small vessels that the question of.their build, seaworthiness, and the trades which they should be permitted to engage in. will be considered, and it will be necessary to reopen the river limits question. BRITISH IMMIGRANTS. Considerable indignation has. been expressed at the way in which large numbers of English immigrants have been shipped out from England to. New Zealand to work on the Main Trunk railway. Many of them came from London, and were utterly unfamiliar with country life. Moreover, they arrived here penniless, and had to be helped financially before they could start work. More immigrants are arriving by almost' every direct steamer. Many of them have been placed in situations by the Labour Department, but- some doleful talcs ate told by disappointed people: not but that the colony offers greater opportunities for men willing to work tha.ii the Old Country; but the whole system of immigration requires a complete overhauling and radical improvement. THE STATE FORESTS. The State Forests report shows that the forests in the Auckland district cover 254.824 acres. Out of this about 22,000 acres have been burnt off. 7650 acres grassed to enable the land to be used for grazing purposes, while 1618 acres have been replanted. About J26.C00 acres of the forest contain timber suitable for milling purpo-en, and over 151000. superficial feel have been sold on royally to supply (he increasing demand for timber in the North. About 134,(.09.000 supcrlkra! feet remain available for this purpose, and will he sufficient to meet the demands for some years to come. Although large quantities of timber hare been so disposed of yet it is estimated that no less than 160.000 acres are still in their natural state. PERSONAL. Mr. H. C. Tcwsley. for so many years a prominent citizen of Auckland, lias" 'eft to take charge at the Wellington house of Messrs. Sargood, Son, and Ewen. Mr. Tcwsley, besides being entertained by friends, was requested to attend a meeting of citizens convened by the Mayor (Mr. A. M. Myers) in order that regret at his departure might be officially expressed. The Mayor said Mr. Tewsley was an able man. a man of the strictest integrity, and had made his influence felt for good in connection with (he high positions he has held in the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, the Auckland Railways League, the Navy League, in Freemasonry, and the Veterans' Home, and had in many other ways worked hard in ' promoting the. welfare of the citizens in particular and the colony gcuerallv. A NATIONAL LEAGUE. The National League of New Zealand has been formed in Auckland, and has been most warmly taken up. and strong financial sympathy has been shown in the work. The objects of the league include the adoption of universal defensive training, either ashore or afloat, of all boys until the age of 21; the State licensing of all men engaged in maritime and waterside industries ; preference in all State employment to be shown to British citizens; assisted immigration to be. confined to British stock; sufficient rifles and ammunition to be kept in the country. The manifesto of the league states that:—"Now Zealand is not safe at the present time if by unforeseen circumstances the protection afforded to us by the Imperial Navy should temporarily fail us. Those who are most loyal to the 'first time of defence' will be the first to understand the urgency of having 'the 'second line' in order."