NOW AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17764, 25 April 1921, Page 4

NOW AND COMMENTS.

DOMINION'S WAR EFFORT.

Preliminary arrangements were made in New Zealand on July 30, 1914, for the preparation of a voluntary expeditionary force for service in Europe or elsewhere, and the official offer of military assistance wa3 accepted by the Imperial Government on August 12. There were actually despatched from the Dominion during the period of hostilities a total of 100.444, comprising 3085 officers, 96,809 other ranks, and 550 nurses. There wore 9924 troops in training at the arroistico, making a total provided for foreign service of 110,368, or more than 10 per cent, of the Dominion's total population in 1914. In addition, 3370 men are known to have loft Now Zealand after the outbreak of war to join British and Auskalian services, while 3333 were employed on homo service at tho armistice The total number called up for foreign or home service in New Zealand was 124,211, of whom 91,941 were volunteers and 32,270 recruited under tho Military Service Act, while at the date of the armistico there were 6732 under orders to proceed to camp when required. Tho casualties in the Expeditionary Forces were unfortunately vory high. Up to November 12, 1918, 16,302 officers and men had died on active service, while a later return up to Juno. 1920, shows tho total number of deaths as follows:—Killed in action, 10,245; died of wounds, 3958; died, othor causes, 2351; died in New Zealand before discharge, 227; total, 16,781. Tho war expenditure up to March 31, 1920, amounted to £76,953,076.

CORRELATION OF SCIENCE. Lecturing before tho Royal Botanic Society recently, Professor A. W. Bickerton, formerly of Christchurch, said pre-gent-day science, as one of its results, had produced tho specialist, tho man who concerned himself only with tho particular branch of research at which he worked and took little interest in anything beyond it. He deplored the lack of any machinery for correlating the valuable results which every day were, being obtained, How great a loss this might bo to tho world was shown in tho case of Mendel, whose discoveries in connection with plant breeding were left unnoticed for 50 years. Another instance was that of Sir Chandra Bose, who had to wait 12 years before his important discoyeries on plant sensation were- recognised by scientists. In meteorology, astrouomy, geology, and physics, similar instances of neglect were to be found. He proposed that, as botany stood in tho middle of the sciences, with interests in all of them, tho Royal Botanic Society, occupying as it did a middle position among societies and not tied to any particular course, was tho most suitnble body to deal with the subject of scientific correlation.

RESTORATION OF FRANCE. Recent legislation in France provides machinery for the restoration of the devastated areas. The municipal council of the city of Soissons has decided to take advantage of tho new law to issue a loan of 150,000,G00 francs. Many other French towns in the devastated area, including Rheims, will probably adopt a similar method of securing money to reconstruct their ruined areas. The Minister for Finance, M. Loucheur, proposes a loan of 800,000,000 francs for the purpose of providing funds to replace ruined French mines in working order. Three other Joans are projected in connection with metallurgical, sugar' producing and brewing industries. Later will come a Jarge loan to be applied to textile industries in the North of France. These loans' will be issued principally on the French market, but a certain proportion of them will be offered abroad. < M. Loucheur considers that French savings alone are capable of absorbing a 10,000,000,000 francs loan "in connection with the devastated areas, this being understood as inbluding both loans for industrial purposes and for the reconstruction nf towns. The first loan, so far as towns' are concerned, will probably be one for Rheims, where everything is still at a standstill for want of the necessary money, with the high price of materials and shortage of labour as secondary contributory causes.

ANOTHER BRITISH CABLE. Long-standing grievances associated with the cable service between Great Britain ! and the West Indies are af, last in sight of removal. The Imperial Government has pronounced in favour of the provision of an ail-British route. The decision was conveyed in a despatch to the Governors of the West Indian Colonies by Viscount Milner before, leaving office as Secretary of State for the Colonies. An all-British route will be achieved by the .laying of a new cable to connect Bermuda with Barbados, Trinidad and British Guiana, or at least one of these three colonies with Bermuda. It is proposed that the line shall be laid as soon as possible, and tho Government is taking steps to ascertain whether a British company can be formed to lay thiß line, and, if so, upon what terras, It is proposed also that the new company shall maintain 1 communication with the Windward and Leeward Islands. The case of the Bahamas and British Honduras has not been overlooked, but it is considered that improvement of the .cable services between those colonies and Jamaica can bo carried out by the colonial governments without serious difficulty. In his despatch to the West Indian Govornbrs, Lord Milner declares that tho state of communications with the West Indies has recently been intolerable. The colonies as a whole are. served by the West India and Panama Telegraph Company, which, linked with tho United. States, traverses a long and circuitous route, over much foreign territory. For many years past breakages have been very frequent. The cable between British Guiaifa and Trinidad has in fact been interrupted sinci May, 1919. THE TER MEULEN SCHEME. Some time ago, the Economic Conference of the League of Nations formally approved of what is known as the Ter Meulen scheme for financing exports to the necessitous countries of Europe. One of the great difficulties has been to find an organiser of outstanding ability and calculated to inspire international confidence, because tho matter does not simply concern Great Britain, but a largo part of the Continent of' Europe. Recently the Economic and Finance Commission, in accordance with the powers received by them from the Council of tho League of Nations, has taken tho necessary measures for putting into execution the decisions reached at Geneva concerning tho schemo for international credits. A sub-committee, consisting of Mons. Avenol, Sir Henry StrakoscFi, and Mons. Ter Meulen, will carry out provisionally tho duties_ entrusted to the International Commission proposed under this scheme. Sir Drummond Fraser, joint managing director of the Manchester, Liverpool and District Bank, and president of the Manchester Bankers' Institute, has accepted the post of organiser provided for under the decisions reached at Geneva. Sir Drummond Eraser's activities have extended beyond tho Lancashire area by reason of tho fact that during the war he did much first to originate and later to promote the success of tho short term borrowing by tho Government. His appointment as organiser of tho Ter Muclcn scheme, it is considered, constitutes one of the best guarantees that tho schonip will cortainly not lack tho power of a strong pushful hand. Not only so, hut confidence will bo increased because Sir Drummond Eraser's long hanking training and his soundness on all financial matters make it certain that the Ter Meulen plan will be carried out with the minimum, amount of injurious inflation of credit