NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16499, 27 March 1917, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

■; ■ ,■ '. ' •- FIXED WHEAT PRICES. While wheat-growing is, being urged in I Now Zealand it is 'instructive to read Mr. .i Lloyd .George's reasons - for fixing ehIcouraging wheat prices':in. : the United : Kingdom for a period of six years. After • pointing out in the House of i Commons j ; lie; possibility:;off food J shortage, he said that "the greatest obstacle to ; taking im- | mediate action t- to meet this exigency ■■ iB j the timidity of the | farmer when •it comes to cutting up his pasture. He had been caught i twice , with j too \ much : ; arable, land, and j caught very badly, in 1880 and •in 1890. These years had ,-given the British farmer a fright. The, plough—and : it: is no use . arguing . with them, you must I give him confidence—the plough is oir r I hope. You must ; cure (the: farmer of his ' plough fright, otherwise you- will not get crops. , What > does he say? The . farmer thinks vin rotations. -He lis not.: thinking merely, of what will happen next year j when he ' is cutting up his pasture. He has got to think of -; the years ahead; otherwise .he in the; loser. It is no use promising him. big ; prices for next year and then dropping him badly for the next few years.-, r He, ' has .got before his eyes a picture' of .:accumulated crops ; across fho seas ready ,to be; dumped down in this country the moment;.the. war is ; over. Every farmer we have appealed to has always talked that sense and we must get' over' 1 that, otherwise he ■ will not; cut up his pasture lands." < .-

A : SCHEME THAT \\ MISCARRIED.. '"-An'. article' published ,by:;the ; French newspaper Lo - Matin; in April, 1914, is of interest as showing : the trend of German naval ' thought with regard to the future of Australia and; New Zealand. The correspondent pf-Xo' Matin in Basle, Switzerland relates:that! in April 1914, Admiral Browsing, . of the German Navy,' lectured at Basle under the auspices of the German Navy League.!'; He pictured the next war and assumed confidently .that Italy and Japan would ■ be allied with Germany. " Italy's task," ho said, " will bo twofold —her fleet will neutralise the power of the French fleet. For ;. this purpose it is of ample strength, even without the help of Austria. As to her army, from Tripoli it; will march on Egypt. Along the coast are magnificent ..-paved roads, constructed by the Romans.; Italy-will despatch ' 120,000 men, who will find no difficulty, in wiping out the 13,000 English quartered in Egypt. The desert, the climate, the ; Arabs, the British fleet, were ;as nothing ■in the eyes of the warlike admiral. . As to Japan, he revealed to his ■: audience that, -in. spite of her seeming alliance with, Britain, she was strongly averse' to British policy. 'There is no doubt 'that in case of : war the, Japanese: fleet would bear ■ an ''■:': expeditionary force into the South Pacific to take possession of Australia and New Zealand. Will Germany's aims be confined to a merely successful war? '• No,' continued Admiral Brewsing. ''The 80,000,000 souls: we shall shortly, number need colonies—a vast colonial empire. We shall not repeat the scandalous Agadir fiasco, ; that shameful business wherein ,we had to renounce our designs on Morocco before an English threat.We must: increase,' nay double,: our •; navy,in order to conquer and defend the 'oversea possessions of which we have need. We should consider no sacrifice too heavy for that. " On for God and our country ?' as old Blucher said .100 years ■ ago,'" • ; ' I