HOME NEWS SUMMARY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1680, 11 May 1904, Page 65

HOME NEWS SUMMARY.

(From "The Spectator/ 7 ). „ LONDON, March 12. INDIA AND THE WAR. The Bombay “Times of India,”. which has, we believe a native proprietary, (declares that in the present war the immense bulk of educated native opinion is on the side of the Japanese. * This arises partly, 'says otuir contemporary, from pleasure in the achievements oil an Asiatic Sttate, and partly from the extreme dislike of Russia, winch is marked in native society. The latter statement ih, we believe, correct, both Hindoos-and Mussulmans holding that under a Russian regime their creeds would be oppressed; but it is hardly probable tha>t the great body of natives know anything of the Japanese. The Sikh's do, however, for their regiments fought side by side with the Japanese in the rescue of the Legations, and it was noted at the time that Sikh Subahdars weighed them against Russians, and decided in their favour. It is probable, too, that the Ghoorkas. who are half Mongols by race, anjd have a traditional reverence for Pekin, are well aware that the islanders defeated the Chinese. THE GERMAN ARMY. The debates on the German Army Estimates, which have been going oil all the week in the Reichstag, have-drawn forth at least one remarkable expression of opinion. Herr Bebel, as spokesman of the Social Democrats, declared that whole battalions, especially the engineer battalions, were composed of members of bis party. They were opposed, to war, and desired a defensive organisation ; but if Germany were threatened or invaded, they would ail die in defence of the Fatherland. The Prussian Minister of War, General von Ednem, roughly replied to this that he did not believe the statement, as Social Democrats held war to be immoral; but another member less known than Herr Bebel on the following day repeated it energetically. There can be little doubt that Herr Bebel was right. His party wish to replace the Regular Army biy the Swiss system of defence; but no party in any State will bear to see Hts country conquered. Our own Quakers pay their war-taxes without opposition. It is a pity the Social Democrats made and defend statements so broad as some of them put forward, for they grievously reduce their own chance of attaining their real end, which is to control militarism and make discipline less cruel. They have succeeded in creating an opinion even within the Army against the cruelty which too many officers and sub-office ns, provoked by the stupidity or stubbornness of their men, too often display; hut the Government has just renewed the edict which binds all soldiers, men as well-as officers, if affronted, to “defend their honour” by cutting down their civilian opponents. FRANCE AND MONASTIC ORDERS. M. Combes has taken another stride towards the suppression of monastic Orders in France. He has brought in a Bill suppressing all their Schools, and prohibiting all monks and nuns from teaching, except in private. Substitutes for the schools thus abolished are to be supplied by the State at a cost of £2,400,000, besides £320,000 for an addition to the numbers of male and female teachers. The Bill is strongly resisted by most respectable members of the Republican party, such as M. Ribot, partly on the ground of the expense, which M. Combes is accused of understating, hut chiefly as an infringement of 'the guaranteed liberties of. the people, which it undoubtedly is. The disqualified teachers are citizens as well as monks, and as such entitled, when otherwise qualified, to set up schools. M. Combes, however, declared that clerical teachers “deform the minds of French youth,” and the Chambers appeal’s to agree with him, for on Monday the Bill was declared “urgent” by 310 votes to 262. This is considered fatal to any chance of resistance, and on Tuesday the debate in consequence became languid. THE CONGO FREE STATE. The Belgian people care, or seem to care, nothing about the cruelties now officially described as occurring within the Congo Free State, hut they show symptoms of strong annoyance at their King’s conduct towards his daughters. The King has quarrelled with them, and will nob make them allowances befitting their position and his own vast wealth. They therefore get into debt, and the creditors of one of them—the Princess Louise of Saxe-Coburg—.have brought an action against the King which, though nominally an ncrion fon- the ladies’ share of their mother’s modest fortune, only £20,000, is really intended to elicit a decision that the King is bound by Belgian law, that the daughters must, therefore, inherit half his fortune, and that his very large gifts to the Belgian Gtate must be considered “waste” in the legal sense of property which belongs to the family and not to the individual. The King’s counsel, on the other hand,

argue that the settlement on the late Queen Was a treaty and not a contract, and is therefore beyond the purview of any Court, and that the King cannot he held to answer in his own. Courts for anything he does with his own money. It is probable that the defence is legally a valid one; but the Princesses’ counsel has been audacious in their attacks, and the general feeling of the better classes in Belgium is that King Leopold, in allowing the affair to come into Court, and in admitting his quarrels with his daughters, has lowered his dignity, and displayed a contempt for public opinion which throws an unpleasant light upon hie character. LYNCH LAW IN AMERICA. The latent hostility between the white and black races in the Southern States seems to grow greater, instead of decreasing, with the gradual education of the negro. |lho whites are savage in repressing negro crime, and the blacks are provoked at once by their cruelty and their contempt. On the night of the 7th inab., for example, the whites of Springfield, Ohio, lynched a negro murderer, and then, irritated by negro denunciations, entered and fired the negro quarter. The blacks were at the same time shot down wholesale. They retaliated by threatening to burn the city, and it became necessary to call out seven regiments of Militia to restore order, which on Wednesday had not been fully restored. The extraordinary feature to Englishmen in a case of this kind is the absence of any necessity for lynching. The negro murderer had been arrested 1 , no jury would acquit him and the Governor could have no> motive for exercising bis right of pardon. The truth seems to he that the killing of a white man by a black is still regarded in the south not only as a crime, brut as an insult to all white men, a state jr feeling which, of oonrse, breed's cavil war. We take it to be certain that -cI ,H premature concession of the vote to the black population, deepened race-hatred bmween the two sections of southern society to a material and dangerous degree. If the blacks had arms, the races could nab continue to live together. CAPE POLITICS. The new Cape Parliament was opened on Friday, March 4th, and the Redistribution Bill was read the first time. It provides for three additional seats in the Legislative Council and twelve in the House of Assembly, a reform which, in addition to redressing electoral grievances, will, it seems certain, raise the Progressive majority beyond any chance of detrition. The new seats in the Assembly will be distributed chiefly among the larger towns, which have long been inadequately represented/ The Premier apparently does nab intend to dissolve after the passing of the Bill, hut to have by-elections under the new law —a wise plan, in our opinion, for it would scarcely be politic to plunge the country into a general election so soon again, when there is so much legislative work to be done. We tnust that the whole electoral law of the Cape will be subjected to revision, and an end put to the ridiculous system, framed in the “fifties,” under which iib is impossible to elect a new ParliamdiJit undeiri six months. THE LORDS AND CHINESE LABOUR The Chinese labour question was again raised in the House of Lordb on Friday week. In the course of the debate Lord Lansdowne frankly admitted that the introduction of the Chinese was a regrettable necessity, that they were not regarded as a desirable element to be introduced permanently into South Africa, and that he would have been glad to see the introduction of labour under conditions of a more generous and liberal nature. Lord Stanley of Alderley (better known as Mr Lyulph Stanley) pointed out that they could! not degrade one kind of labour without degrading all labour, and this policy was not only degrading to a British colony, hut humiliating to the country that sanctioned it. A somewhat similar line was taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who wished to make it clear that his satisfaction with the assurances given by the Government must be taken only in the limited sense of referring to precautions against moral mischief. As to the alleged necessity for Chinese labour, he could not himself arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. Ho could at best accept it as one of the most regrettable neeesysities tli ait had ever arisen in the history of our colonial Government. In this context we are glad 1 to give publicity to the ' admirable memorandum -of hhel Bishop of Mashonialand. The Bishop states that personally he is of the opinion that “if the mines of Johannesburg were given a longer lease, and fair dividend-earning took the place of share-gambling on, forced-up capital values, not only would the industry be spread over a longer term of existent, as an industry, hut the economic, social and moral effect upon the community would be sound and lasting/’ For al<l reasonable permanent returns for investment he believes sufficient native labour could be obtained from the indigenous races. Economically he opposes the importation of

Asiatics, as introducing unfair competition between them and the whites and natives of the country. The new and restrictive legislation can only be administered, at need, by force, and the precedent of Natal shows that in spite of the most stringent regulations, the coolie will ret urn to compete, not only with natives, but with the white man, at his ordinary trade as an agriculturist. .The wisdom and statesmanship oi the Bishop’s views are in strong contrast to those exhibited by the Government. BRITISH ARMY ESTIMATES. On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the Army Estimates were before the House of Commons. Unfortunately, we cannot deal here with the immense mass of details discussed, but we may say generally that we believe. Mr Amold-Forster to be a Minister who has the true interests of the army at heart, and. we welcome the passage in his speech in which he referred io the unsatisfactory condition of the Auxiliary Forces. The Yeomanry, indeed, is all tliaf could bo desired, and in a few weeks it will reach its full establishment. But the condition of the Militia is profoundly unsatisfactory. Its real strength is little more than 75 per cent, of its nominal strength, anu there has been a serious falling off in the recruiting. “The fall in the Militia is due to causes which are preventable, and which are obvious.” We agree. There is not the slightest reason why the Militia should not b 8 made a most valuable force. Only it must —and th« same remark applies to the volunteers — be given an organisation which is appropriate to its nature. MR BRODRICK OFFENDED. During the week it has been, very generality believed that the Cabinet has been passing through a condition of cryptic crisis owing to the refusal of Mr Brodrick to endure without protest the slight he considers to have been placed upon him by the publication of the report of the committee on military reorganisation. We do not, of course, know anything for certain, as to these rumours; but it would not be unnatural if Mr Brodrick should feel anuoyed, for little or no attempt seems to have been made to spare his feelings ill the way in which the report was given, to the public. A greater display of tactlessness and blundering than was shown in the handling of the whole of this matter it would he difficult to imagine. But though we may sympathise with Mi* Brodrick for the manner in which he was thrown over, we are as convinced as ever of the soundness of the report and of the need of carrying out its proposals to the full. W T e feel certain,- that if {the Cabinet, with theiiri habit of yielding to immediate pressure, no matter what the future consequences, were to throw over the' report, they would encounter the strongest disapproval in the country at large. The nation is determined that it shall not be deprived of a reform ,of the Army because the Prime Minister has inflicted a quite unnecessary amount of injuiy on the feelings of one of his colleagues. Siuch injuries must be satisfied in some other way than by jeopardising a great national interest. THE FISCAL ISSUE. On Wednesday took place the most important fiscal debate of the session on Mr Pirie’s motion calling attention to the conflicting statements of Ministers on the fiscal issue, and - expressing condemnation of preference and protection. In order to keep the Freetrade Unionists with the Government on this issue, Mr Wharton had, with the assent of the Front Bench, put down an amendment approving the declarations of Ministers that their policy of fiscal reform does not include either a general system of protection, or preference based on taxation of foojd. When, however, the Chamberlainites realised the nature of this, amendment, they held an informal meeting, at which a hundred and twelve Members were present, and sent an ultimatum to the Government requiring its withdrawal. I)he Government we]re, therefore, at last face to face with the need of deciding which section of the party, the Protectionists oir the Anti-Protection-fe+,9, should control their action. No suitable weaving of words would enable fcheny to evade the issue. They had l to yield to one section or the other. Accordingly- they yielded to the Chamberlainite ultimatum. After that Mr Balfour’s elaborate speech is of comparatively little interest. When we know who drives and what he is driving to it matted's very little wliat placards adorn the cart. We must, however, quote textually Mr Balfour’s description of his present policy. “The policy I recommend is to enable the Government to deal as far .as retaliation can deal with hostile tariffs, and as far as fiscal arrangements can deal with the evil of ‘dumping/ I do not think that public opinion is prepared to accept any proposal for the taxation of food, or for fiscal union with the colonies, so far as that depends on the .taxation of food.” Mir Pirie’s motion was negatived by 46 votes.

LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL. The London County Council elections were held on Saturday .last, and resulted in the maintenance, practically, intact, of the Progressive majority. There were 233 candidates * for the 118 seats, and the electorate numbered 730,796, of whom about 40 per cent, registered their votes. The result was that whereas the outgoing Council consisted of 84 Progressives, 31 Conservatives and Unionists, 2 Independent Progressives, and 1 Independent Conservative and Unionist, the new Council consists of S 3 Progressives, 34 Conservative and Unionist members, and 1 Independent. As the majority of the candidates pledged themselves to a fair administration of the Education Act, there need be no fear as to the effects of the election on religious education in London.