NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16833, 25 April 1918, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

A LESSON FROM RUSSIA. Only a few years ago the name, of Mr. S. Gompers, the American Labour Leader, was anathema to Capital, and the groat body of employers. At the beginning of the war he was looked upon as a pacificist of the most pronounced type, to whom the war meant nothing and was a matter oi no concern, a Radical, and a man of extreme views. All this is changed, because tho war has made changes inevitable, and Mr. Gompem has como to bo looked to by Capital as a man of Conservative inBtincts, whose voice and eiamplo have kept Labour true. I n a recent speech Mr. Gompers admitted that once he was an ultra pacificist, but now, he said, ho was " a rod-blooded fighting man," and American workers were fighting men. He then showed how tho Bolsheviks havo indirectly influenced American Labour by saying : " The Bolsheviks have not given the people land or bread or pwice, and, in stead of finding the great people of Russia standing erect and fighting for their homes and their lives, we find them praying for mercy. This Radical gai V has done that, and to it must be laid the; charge of tho undoing of Russia. And , they are showing their heads here. If the: trailed Radicals cf America could have' their way you would find the people „f i|„, i United States in the same position as the people of Russia are in now." For that' reason, he proceeded. American Labour' would not attend a peace conference with ', the representatives of Lalwur of enemy countries, because it was useless. If C, ej - ' , man Labour wanted to talk peace terms it must Irst smash the German autorrarx. and the only message American Labour had to send to German Labour was ■• U,- ' aro lighting now. and utiles.- \..u >ma.«h ' the Kaiser and his autocracy we will j smash them for you." , _

ELECTIONS IN SPAIN ; A general election in Spain ha* reciiiu-d i ' in a victory for :he part) of the Monarchy and of order. hi the present critical .on- • dition of affairs in Spam the election* have Broiled unprecedented inn-red throughout the country. With the forma- i tion o' the present Coalition Government, ' which was brought about by the weakness' ' of successivo Liberal and Conservative • J Administrations, all the old party land- ' marks becamo obliterated. Tho struggle . was between the Republicans, the Social- i ists, and the Revolutionaries on the one hand, and the Monarchists and the chain- ' pions of social order on the other. The ' Conservatives, who include the oid aristo- ( cracy, issued manifestoes calling on the | electors to defend tho Monarchy and tho , :

interests of the country against the designs of tho cxtromists, and the electors respondee] to the appeal. Tho reduction in tin; number of Republican representatives , in the Chamber has been considerable, while the defeat of the Revolutionaries, ■ save for a few exceptional cases, has been complete. In Madrid, which for many years has been one of the strongholds of 1 the more advanced sections of the electorj ate, five Monarchists, two Socialists, and ! a Republican have been returned. In I Catalonia the Radicals, Revolutionaries, ; ami Republicans have been defeated by . the Regionalists. Renor Lerroux, the Radical leader, was defeated in Barcelona i and elsewhere.. i ! THE JAPANESE NAVY. Notwithstanding the scarcity of steel Japan is to expend nearly £15,000,000 on her navy during 1918, of which over i £5,400.000 is ordinary expenditure, and some £9,500,000 extraordinary outlay. This is regarded as quite an abnormal propor- : tion of the £72,200,000 which forms the ! national Budget for 1918, especially as '■ some £9,500.000 more is to be devoted to I the army. The entire appropriation for | which the navy is asking at the present j session of the Imperial Diet, however, is ' £30,054,800, to be spread over a period of fix years, producing two new battlenuisers, three cruisers of medium type, 11 largo destroyers, 16 medium destroyers, 48 ; submarines, and six special service boats, The amount to be spent purely on naval expansion is thus about £3,800,000 more ; than last year. The ultimate aim of the I Japanese Naval Department is avowedly I towards the 8-8 system; that is, eight j battleships and eight battle-cruisers to a ' squadron, and to have in time at least three such squadrons. Up to the present, ! however, the national finance has permitted a realisation of no more tnan an 8-4 system : but the programme put forward for this year alters the plan to eight battleships and six battle-cruisers by 1923. The request for an 8-8 system is to be postponed until 1921. Though it is uncertain what portion of the new programme is to he undertaken first, there is every reason to believe that the Government will at once begin with the construction of the two new battle-cruisers, as negotiations are now going on with certain dockyards in this connection. Of the total appropriation of £30,054,800 asked for, the allotments for the six years for. naval construction are as follows:-1918, £2,544,851:. 1919, £4,771./66; 1920, £5,412,381; 1921, £6.819.635; 1922, £7,122,673; li>23, £3.083,535.