TOPICS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5665, 12 August 1905, Page 16

TOPICS OF THE WEEK.

(From tho ‘'Now Zralaml Mail.”) THE YOI'XG NEW ZEALAND PARTY Tho inf ol iho WiiiiiK N*’ -v land Party haro nar.iwl for 8,1 l limn v laf. io ropmiit.ion. ' Aftm Ul« complete refijiatjon by tin; Pro 1 - mior of Uio i,rurnped -up cliarp. tins country cannot I-0.-sibly afc.-pt B-ithont m-xirvaliuii, in future, any

Btau-Ineni.s tbat may oinanaU) trom Mr -iMslKtr, Air Bodfonl, or Mi Taylor. It liao long boon ailmitUxJ tlial Mr Taylor u peiuonal aminiin towards the Brourror baa ontwoip.lnxi whau.vor inodlcnm A dt.crot.ion Tt« baa boon at tauu*. able

to dtspiay, and it L-» a puy tor no young and promising a polttician rm .Mr Fislior that ho „honld have b.«u so ill-a/Jvr.soiJ \iy ins cMmaguvs n«>t to makh Urn amende honourable vvhou the opportunity ivaj oilVicd iu mm in Urn Huum* la.si Lho public nesting in only emphasis'd the general opinion oi tho coiim-ry. There aro cluubtiotvs a low ivho>o preoonc<uvtd nouoiib have induced, thorn on all ocotsmns to condomn tho present Adnuai*traUon, who will Htill support Mossrw Taylor and F mhor in tiioir allegauon.s, and bo roody to dooiaro that it they aro not right m the Particular instances to which reference a»s biM-'ii made, yet in a general way tho charges of “corruption” could bo uubstantutted if only they could procure tli<o dooamoiitary evidence. lhn» us, howervor, moro subtoi fuge. Charges navo boon made, and documentary evidenoo lulh boon produced to show their utterly unfounded churaoUir; and now th«*tO lirho make tiio charges, and tho>o who are supporting them, are appealing tor un inquiry into the charges made, when already tho fuilwt relutatiou has boon given to thowo charges by the production of tho very vouchers on which Mcc-ftrs Taylor and F usher relied to substantiate their accusation.". And th<**>o documents biooulotitably declare that tho ciuol charges by which they attempted to traduce tiio family of the Premier, his Admi lustration, himself, and hts colleagues, wore as groundless its they wore base. Under the circumstances, by appealing for an inquiry, Taylor and Fisher aro only emphasising bow confidence tho public must now via no upon statements emanating from j ltn .so-called Voung New Zealand Party, ioncsty of purpose ought to have mthorn to make ample apology.

GJUTTCISM A-ND A .REPLY. Then, is perhaps no parliamentarian ad ter nhlo CO review t.h« position of film onnf.ry ;ns rcveided by the prices oroflmo, than Mr VV. C. Buchanan, r.ho member for the Wairaiapa. In the smirso of his speocli on Ifao Financial MUUoinnnl. lie took occasion to deal villi l,he prices of nroduco with a view :t proving las case with reespect to the rise of wool in ibifo and its continued li'di pr t- u-. . - M-i.ig Uie reason for tho present pr' ; - - - tiio country. In a limited speech it is scarcely 'possible for a gentleman of oven Mr Buchanan's know ledge, to express Ml that could bo expre»ied on this snb- )«'<•[ it was, of coui-se, Mx Buohanan’s .bl-'CL to show that the prosperity of ; ho colony was due entirely to the ra*e n iho prices of v our export commodities, ■uc.U prosperity being, from has point . ! vi-'W, nob in any measure attributable > r’io ’policy or administration of the -pmuiont. “In 1895," said Mr Bo- •'- .ia “wool went up and so did pnoos

n produce, wlilift freights were ‘imvtl. This was really,” he oonolud- ;!. • tin.' cause of the present prospe--JI v |,F the colony.' 1 Now in l«9u there '.vii;; tb tevival in the pnoe of wool, but i i was towards the end of that year, aid did not actually benefit the wool producers of this country until lijyC

Th»i fact is that tho value of wool oxm 18IM was only a quarter o\ ; ;1 „,di,on sterling short of j wh‘T<-a>> the va.uo of tho <ixporied j in ] 6'J-} the vear u> which Mr BucJianoji ; tltiL W tvi particular allusion, was only : J (vide Now Zealand Year Book).’ In proof of what wo contend,: -.VO find th.it tiio value uf wool export'd from tb*> country for tho year amounted in value to XM.&iI.OOO, so that our prfxiuo-rs did not obtain until that yi»ar tho accruing Irom the rise v/hich U/ok place towards the end ot f»t ii.-* put tho ca.se in another way 'Hie amounts of wool exj>ort<yi fn.m New Zealand in. IbfFl, in and in 181)6. were one hundred and fwentyeighi. one hundred and tw'eniy-iune, anti one hundred and million pounds weight respectively, anti whoixta-. tho value of the export in 161 M was £4 627,000, it was in l&Jo wliat wo: have stau-d, and in ibl*J it was £J.:i91.000, ->o that for tho same quail-, tity of wool oxpoided in IB9G we did not ; r<-c»*.ive hv as Urge a sum, and up to IbOO although wo were exporting larger quantities of wool the return j not exceed the return of 181 M, which was the year apparently, according to Mr. Buchanan, when the end of a de- ; pressed peruxi arnvtd. M hde every one ia ready to admit that the hign prices of produce in rcoom years have : frvn the means of siimuluting and mam-j uunmg a lengthened period of prosperity. yet the vigorous piosocution ot land sottlomont and of public works has greatly assisted our producers in maintaining tho country’s prosperity. A VERY VEXED QUESTION. Discussion of tiio vexed question ot or no-license is interminable. A special commissioner Ls stmt to report upon the condition of Ashburton, and, to put his finding briefly, he discovers that Adi burton under no-hcenso has not unproved cither morally oi ceimneici ally That is to say, the morals ot tno pooplo liavo not boon elevated under no-Uoeuse, and the trade of ulie community, if it shows any improvement at all, is duo more to tho general pr°" spority of the country than to noiiocnse. Yet it would appear as if some hold that Ashburton has not suffered commercially though the carrying no- License, while others aro ready to a - firm tho opposite. It altogether depend what opinion one holds on the liquor question, na Far ns Ashburton is concerned whether the views of the special commiki«n«r will bo accepted or those of Uio prohibitionist, who declares mm a prejudiced reporter. There are, however aspects of Ashburton favourable to no-liconso, just as there are aspects of the condition ot the electorate unfavourable to prohibition. On one point and one only, are the commissioner and. the prohibitionists agreed, namely, on the enormity of the sly grog-selling business; and the plain, practical man says that notwithstanding tho evils ot intemperance, a doaen publichouses are preferable to one sly grog-shop with all its filth amd degradation. But whjltho commissioner affirms the debasing influence of the sly grog-shop, the prohibitionist doclanos that its existence i* not due to no-license, but to the laxity of the police. Every one will be ready to admit the degrading effects of sly grog-selling, but not every one will agree that tho police are at fault for its existence. Every attempt to root out sly grog-selling in nolicense districts has had a demoral ising influence upon the police, and ainco Commissioner Tunbridge animadverted against practising deception m order to discover sly grog-sellers, the head of tho Department has hesitated to the further degradation of the force at the behests of the prohibitionist party. If prohibitionists will °° n " tin ue to protest against the proposed enactment “that no-license shall mean no-liquor” they must accept a measure of blame for the institution of the elygrog business as the result of no-license

I without the alternative. Tho solution j | of this problem is not, we fear, in j I License or in no-licenso, but in Staie-con- j ’ tiul, under which every lauzon would t** \ ; inteioted in restraining the evils ol | : intemperance and preventing sly grog- j .selling. By State-con i roi true temper- \ >..aoe would be promoted, and individual ■ Liberty would also bo respected. INTERNATIONAL FIXATIONS. | At present the Kaiser is a disturbing i element m Europe. lie has made tier- i man policy obstructive and swquisitivo. j Ho blocked a settlement of the Moroccan diificulty, and forced France to dismiss M. Dele;!**-**, one of the ablest ' statesmen the Republic has known for generations. TV hat seems to favour the Kaiser’s insolence is the weakness ot Russia and the determination of France to seek fXMtce at almost, any price. With a strong and possibly aggressive I alliance between Riussia «uid i ranee, : Germany wils virtually between two fires. Now that Russia is broken abroad and distracted at home, Gorj many is not slow to discover the weakness of the dual alliance, and tho Kaiser, having appeased Russia, would : bring Franco to his knees and compel her to abrogate the Anglo-French entente. The Kaiser evidently thinks that ' the collapse of Russia is a fitting opportunity to execute his grand scheme for the repartition of Kuropo. IVo generations ago it was said by a noted . ( Russian Unit Russia had nothing to • fear From the rise of Prussia and tho consolidation of the German Empire. The tone of the Russian autocracy has changed. The Ozar himself fears the weakness of tho alliance, as much as ho dreads the KausoPs ambitions. But Germany might soothe tho feelings of Russia by sharing with her . the acquisition of terriiory in Austria and in the Balkans. The difiturbed , state of Austria-Hungary invites interference, and our cablegrams this week • inform us that the state of Turkey ) might induce Great Britain to recon- • sidcr her attitude towards the “Sick • Man of Europe.” Germany would like , France to destroy the Anglo-French rap- • prochomont, and stimulate. an anti- • British feeling in tho Republic; but the i French aro not likely to abandon their [ friendship for tho British at tho bidding : of tho Kaiser. Indeed, it is not likely that tho policy of the Wilhelmstrasso k will bo given effect to, but attempts will • bo made by diplomacy to satisfy Germany’s territorial aggrandisements. L What is certain to check the Kaiseris aspirations is tho renewal of the Anglo-Ja-panoso alliance, and the establishment of an understanding between Britain and France and tho United States. Still • Kaiser William wishes to become tho • dictator of Europe. [ RUSSIA AND JAPAN. 1 Tho negotiations For peace between • Russia and Japan do not appear to be [ moving smoothly towards the satisfactory settlement of a long, unnecessary, J and expensive struggle. The Czar will 1 not evidently realise the serion.snoKS of r the position in which he has plunged his a country and his people. Speaking on ' his behalf, M. De Witte, tlie accredited 8 agent of tho Muscovite in connection f with the negotiations towards ponce, 1 has intimated that nothing like a 3 “shameful peace” will be accepted by a His Majesty the Czar. The Czar will t not agree to any cession ot territory or the payment of an indemnity. The - terms of. the Japanese are spoken of - as being too intolerable to admit of disoussion. The defeats which Russia has - sustained are minimised, and there is Q a general aversion among the autocracy 0 and in the press of Russia to concluding d a peace that would detract from the e prestige or power of Russia in the Far t East. In the opinion of M. - Do Witte the Russian people do not d attach, importance bo a distant colomaJ n war, and he asserts that they would e rise in a body in the event of a dan- - gcrous conflict fchreat-cning their oouno try’s security. Xt is true that the Ja-

paneso would have to advance four times .us far as Uioy hart* done in order to reach Russia proper, and * hey are not likely to trek tlieir armn-s tin* Croat S bena and enter European Kn> sia for the purfH-.se of compelling Ru-vsi.i to agree to their terms. But they tna\ settle the war nevertheless on their own terms. They can occupy Manchuria, they can possess thernfielv«> of Saghalien, they car. rehabilitate Ron Arthur, they can take abwlute conti oi of Korea, and dominate the policy o; China in Fekm, and in that way defy Russia and accompl sh their chiei objects. Moreover, the longer Ru sia puts off the conclusion of :t sat isfaetory peace, the nearer and more certain is a Russian revolution.