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Otago Daily Times, Issue 16752, 21 July 1916, Page 4

Xtxessakt as a National Cabinet may be considered to bo in war time there are drawbacks in the anangement fioin the purely domestic standpoint. There is i'a'ily general assent, ho-veier, to the view that thoie drawbicks Pinst be cheerfully endured until such time as peace returns to Lle?s and heal a stiicken -woild. The proposals which were submitted >e=tcrdav on behalf of tho Government in the Legislative Council to postpone :till further tho date at which the eledne principle shall come into operation m the of that Chamber furnish an illustnt'on of the remits of creating a Nation il Cabinet the existence ti wh'ch depends upon tho temporary <=hching of all matters of controversy. The reform of tho Legislative Council was one of the main articles in the policy of the Reform Party, and the lonization which v.is passed in IPI4 providing for the abolition of the nominative sWem m favour of a system of election under a scheme of pioportional representation constituted a fulfilment by that party of its pledges to the eledois. The whole subject of Upper reform was, however, acutely co-ntrovers'al light up to the time of the formation of the National C.il iiiot as betv een the pp.ities repre sented in it, and we brl'eve it is collect, to '•av fiat one of th" t vidition-i upon which a jaitv tuicc was deehuod v is tint Hie intinehution of the olceUve r--\s teni '1 mild be I'ci'ii.c! until .\ttei the wai. At am rate, legrlaliem was passed list -\o'.i' defeiinia; tie <} ite at whith the M'foim rliould bi"*ome operative, and the Hill now before P.uliament pro vides for r> fmthoi pc> tpoiienient AVe sh.iie the tegrett. "vith whi'h 'his proposed len-liilion i' ic'-raide'l. although in the ccumslinoe it inu't pinbahly lv> held to lv rei'oniMj. It !«■"•' at le ist be hoped tint t''e <"!o\viiiiiienL v.ill lie fparing in its reooniiTit ln'at'ons of .ippointuients to the Upper llo:ife. It ni.iy prove imto refrain from making home appointments, but they should bo restricted

to such as are absolutely essential in OTder that tlio strength of tho Council may bo aileqii.itelv maintained until tho rci'oiin inr.Ujiiio becomes operative.

The advocacy by flio Lokal Anzei»or and ntlier (iciiiuiii journals of a Mgorous ioni'Wci) ot ouliui.iiino \\«iifaro hy (Jennany conn iiJej. with inridonts indicating that her piratical pr.u Ljco has already been resumed liy the enomy. In this connection tho I , all Mall (ia/ette lias mado tho p-eitinent suggestion th.it Cheat Biitcii.il .'houhl let (kiiuany cle.uJy inwloistaml that she will h.wo later on lo make good all the losses inlLictetl on our mciCiiii'tilo marine in this unlawful manner. In other words, Bnta-in fhould adopt tlio poliey of loqmriug flup loi .ship from Germany as pait of tho terms ot! peace. Tlio Pall Mall Ga/ettu, whilo averting—wo do not krow quite upon what authority—that during the whole penod of tho war tho Ceiman shipping lines Imho b>>oni building large -addition.:; to their mercantile fleets against tho day when tlio tens shall again bo open, d<*ilare& that it is the deliberate policy of Germany to destroy as many British merchantmen as possible with a view to challenging maritime supremacy the more effectively when the war is over. A .statement by Mr Edgar Crammond in tho National Review strengthens our belief that what the Pall Mall Gazette says is tho actual fact. ''With regard to Germany's policy of destruction of merchant shipping," Mr Crammond. writes, " I am not jbu.ro that tho British people have jet fully realii ed what the German aims really are. Before the outbieak of war Germany possessed use million tons of merchant shipping, say 10 per cent, of tho total shipping of the world. It is her deliberate aim to destroy as much as possible of the total merchant shipping of the world, regardless of nationality, and regardless of human life, so that when pcjte comes her proportion of the total then afloat may be much greater than it was befoio the war. The German merchant floet should be applied first in making good the losses which each maritime Power, helhgorent or neutral, has suffered, through German submaiines and mines."

WirETiii;n Germany is aiming particularly at depleting tho mercantile marine of Great Britain, or, as Mr Crammond suggests, desires as broad a shipping target for her submarine attacks as she can get, peeing immaterial. The point is that, while she cannot do Great Britain or her a-lhes substantial injury on the sea, she ha j caused them the loss of many ships, to say nothing of lives, and that m common justice, as this injury has been inflicted through the adoption of an illegal method of warfare, she should make igood that loss. Otherwise fho would be loft with tome x&'y material consolation lor the fact that hci mei chant fleet has beci of necessity laid up in haibour since the war began. The proposal that at lea t an equivalent in German shipping, if not two tons for one, should be exacted by Gieat Britain and other nations which ha\e suffered loss by piratical submarine attacks certainly liaj a gicat deal to commend it. ]t Germany understood that this would inevitably happen she might think twice before continuing her methods of subm.unio uaifare. The prospect of the attenuation, to a shadow of it=elf, of her own merchant fleet would be as gall and wormwood to her. Ihe situation affords only another illustration of the vast import of the isrues that hang upon sucha\ictory for the Allies as will enable them lo dictate the terms of peace.