NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13470, 24 April 1907, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

FRANCE AND RUSSIA

M. Jcdkt, writing in I/Eclair of the political outlook in various countries, nay* of Russia:—"lf the Ministers of Nicholas 11. di) not discover some mean* ot inspiring confidence in the hope of an emancipated Russia. of actinic directly without the necessity of submitting to tin- sway of Parliamentary law, and thus of turning to their own advantage the need for change which animates all classes of society, it is impossible to believe in the duration of the Const it ution&k regime along with the present Duma. Vie* knee will break out afresh, and the second dissolutiona remedy which becomes ex. hausted by repetition—is likely to lead only to a third rebuff. Everything depend* upon the decision and initiative of the Emperor. Nothing is lost, if lie displays firsightedness and brings about one of those vast movements of opinion "Inch transform the public mind." After commenting upon the remarkable situation in Uerniany, M. Judet goes on to remark that- "it is curious to learn that the King of England will hav« as Prime Minister in the Transvaal General Hot ha. the energetic opponent of Robert* and Kitchener. This is one proof mor«> that timely yielding and brute force are each in its turn the favourite weapons of British Imperialism ; like Rome in former days, it crushes the irreconcilables, and comes to terms with those who submit. THE HARVEST OF THE SKA. Problems connected with the harvest of the sea, fiavs the Lancet, must necessarily attract the attention of all those interested in the world's food supply. Hinder once said that the productivity of the sea was so great that man's influence on its wealth was scarcely worthy of regard by comparison, and yet, the experience of the past 25 years lias shown, at any rate for certain seas, and notably the North Sea, that man's influence is not by any means without serious effect. In the North Sea there has been an enormous development of trawl fishing, and there are statistics which distinctly indicate that the plaice, the haddock, the sole, and the turbot have diminished. not only in regard to total catch, but in regard to size also. Concerning the sole and the turbot in particular, an analysis has revealed an unmistakable de. crease as regards the total quantities caught in the North Sea, while, the quantities of the large fishes have continually decreased, and the quantities taken of the small have not. sufficiently increased so as to maintain the total quantities at the same uniform level. There are, of course, a number of circumstances besides overfishing which probably contribute to this result; there are (he peculiar habits of the fishes themselves to be taken into account, there may be changed physical conditions or stresses of weather which have led the fishes to change their habitat, or it may be that the vast catches of undersized fishes are reducing the piscatorial productiveness of the sea. Whatever the mil reason may be, the fact that the harvest of certain fishes is year by year getting less bountiful is a serious outlook, especially for this country (England), and presents a problem which, bearing in mind the great importance of this auxiliary food-supply to the community, it is our duty to try to solve. It. is interesting to recall also that a fish famine not many years ago seriously diminished the supply of cod-liver oil. •