THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24254, 23 March 1940, Page 10

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT

To the resignation of the French Government as a preliminary to its reconstruction it do*es not appear necessary to attach any extraordinary significance as an event affecting the country's war effort. There would have been no surprise if the move towards reconstruction had come at an earlier date. The task of a War Cabinet is by no means precisely identical with that of one which functions in time of peace and it is a common experience that a Government, which is charged with the responsibility of mobilising the national strength for a supreme effort, takes steps to secure its Ministerial reinforcement in whatever way may seem to it most desirable, and this as a matter apart from Cabinet reconstruction on a national basis such as took place in France almost immediately after the outbreak of this war. In Great Britain in this war, as in the last, the importance of securing the b'est Ministerial team available in order to meet the circumstances of a great national emergency was promptly recognised. The resignation of Mr Hore-Belisha in January as Secretary of War was part of what Mr Chamberlain described as a " reconstruction" of the Government, though this introduced no other Ministerial changes calculated to attract special attention. When the British War Cabinet was set up a week after the inception of hostilities three new Ministers came upon the scene in the persons of Mr Churchill, Mr Eden, and Lord Hankey. In the case of France the position which has now developed differs certainly in the respect that, contrary to expectation, the Premier, M. Daladier, has himself been moved to relinquish office in present circumstances. An abstention from voting on the part of a large proportion of members of the Chamber of Deputies on a motion bearing on the capacity of the Government to carry the war to a successful conclusion was evidently interpreted by him as an expression of a lack of confidence which he and his colleagues could not reasonably disregard. The party alignments render the working of the French political machine a somewhat intricate and confused business which it is not always quite easy to follow. As head of the War Cabinet of France M. Daladier created outside his own country, largely through his terse and practical utterances, an impression in the light of which his retirement at the present juncture is a matter for regret. As a consequence of his refusal to form a new Ministry, -that task was entrusted by President Lebrun to M. Reynaud, Minister of Finance, and there is reason to believe that the reasons which actuated the resignation of the Council of Ministers over whom M. Daladier presided has not hampered the selection of a Cabinet impressively endowed with ability and energy. It is to be borne in mind, of course, that frequent changes of Government have come to be accepted in France as nothing unusual, and that M. Daladier's latest term of office as Premier was, for a French statesman, relatively quite prolonged. He succeeded M. Blum as Premier in April, 1938, and began, it was observed, " with a marked turn to the Right." He made national defence the basic consideration in every field; he preached national unity, integrity and solidarity, and declared that to survive France must be strong, and that to be strong she must be united. The Communists aside —to whom he showed no quarter,—one of M. Daladier's achievements was to establish in France the unity upon which the strength of her war effort so much depends.

Chimney Fires Three chimney fires have been answered by units of the fire brigade during the past two days, the Roslyn brigade answering a call to one in Walton street at 10.26 p.m. on Thursday. At 12.35 a.m. yesterday the Green Island brigade attended a call of a similar nature, and the third call came at 2.12 p.m. from Maclaggan street and was answered by a machine from the Central Station.

Conscription and Democracy To his mind conscription was one of the most democratic practices a nation could have, said Dr Halliday Sutherland, noted author and lecturer, in an address to the English-Speaking Union in Wellington. It was against the interests of the race not to have conscription; without it, only the best and the bravest went. If England was lacking in statesmanship it might be that the best men had been killed in the Great War.

The McKenzie Gift A Press Association telegram from Wellington states that the following resolution was adopted by the Dominion executive of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association: " That the association records its deep appreciation of the splendid centennial gift of Mr and Mrs J. R. McKenzie, and it is a matter of great gratification to this association that disabled soldiers, sailors, airmen and members of the mercantile marine will be beneficiaries under this generous trust."

Pa Palisades What is believed to be the oldest known Maori pa; palisading, dating from before the European settlement of New Zealand, has been located on the crest of a bush-covered conical hill in the Tihoi district, near Taupo, and taken to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. There is fragmentary evidence showing occupation of the pa in 1820 and it is believed that the Natives abandoned their fortress some time prior to 1830. Cheers for Captain Parry

Specially interesting to Captain W. E. Parry, commander of H.M.S. Achilles, was a film programme he saw at the Plaza Theatre, Auckland. In addition*to news reels of the arrival in England of the Exeter and Ajax, he saw one of Auckland's welcome to his own ship and also had the experience of listening to himself talking from the screen version of the civic reception. Members of the audience recognised Captain Parry, and at the conclusion people gathered at the entrance to give him a cheer as he left.

Conservation of Petrol "We have been asked to reduce goods service licences by 33 1-3 per cent, in order to conserve petrol," said Mr E. J. Phelan, No. 1 Licensing Authority, at a hearing of applications for goods service licences in Hamilton. " Every gallon of petrol saved brings us nearer to a successful conclusion of the war. Anything that we can do to help the Government in this respect will be done, and if any person makes any sacrifice in the conservation of petrol, it will be appreciated." America and the War *

"The thinking men of America are, generally speaking, of the opinion that the United States will be in the war before long, probably before the end of this year," said Mr Paul Cropper, who recently returned to Auckland. " But if you took a referendum at the present time you probably would find that 75 to 80 per cent, of Americans would vote against it," he added. " They are saying now, 'We are not mad at anybody,' but they feel their ideals are very much the same as ours. They are entirely contrary to those of the totalitarian States of Russia and Germany." Service in War

The voluntary registration of all men between the ages of say 18 and 50 who are willing to offer their services when required in the present war and in any capacity has been suggested by a well-known Wellington man of considerable military experience. He states that if a proper response were made to this suggestions it would provide the military authorities with valuable information about the reserves of man power available. The proposal is that the suggested registration should be something apart from ordinary enlistment and should constitute an offer by the men who register to give their services if and when called upon. It would specially cater for those men who are prepared to serve but who are at present prevented by family ties or other commitments from enlisting. Under the suggested scheme they could express their willingness to serve and at the same time indicate the approximate date after which they would be available.

Economic Policy The following is an extract forwarded by a correspondent from an overseas publication dealing with Germany's economic policy:—"The oldestablished system of buying in the cheapest market, dealing in 'futures' and avoiding market fluctuations by the regulation of supply and demand has been rendered out of the question by the strict regulation of imports. In its place has been set up a cumbersome machinery of bureaucratic control, employing an enormous number of clerks, not to mention the time of individual business men who have to fill up innumerable forms and make many long journeys. The special daily train from Hamburg to Berlin carrying Hamburg merchants travelling to the office of the Control Board to make personal application for a permit to import is now famous." For " Hamburg " read "Lyttelton" and for "Berlin" read " Wellington " and, the correspondent says, '.he picture is complete.

Easter Marriages Ministers and photographers will be kept busy over Easter, as a large number of weddings will take place during the next few days. Since the war began there has been a general increase in the number of marriages, and this increase will be noticeable over the holidays, when several members of the second echelon w,ho are on leave will be taking the plunge into matrimony. It is difficult to make a comparison in the figures for this year and last, as Easter fell considerably later last year. Up to yesterday afternoon 280 marriage licences had been issued, compared with 192 for the corresponding date last year. Easter fell on April 6 last year, and to that date 269 marriages were registered. It will thus be seen that a considerable increase is recorded for the period ended last night and that the Easter marriages this year will probably constitute a record. Shortage of Cartridge*

There is a distinct shortage of supplies of .22 long rifle cartridges in the New Zealand wholesale hardwear houses at the present time, and stocks are now pretty well exhausted. The chief source of supply is America, but the importation of the cartridges from that quarter is now 100 per cent, restricted, and supplies from England and Australia are also restricted consequent on the factories in these two countries being engaged on war work. About 1,000,000 rounds of .22 long rifle cartridges are expected for the New Zealand market from England at the end of April, but it is stated that these will be quickly taken up by retailers and that there will be another shortage before further supplies come to hand. The manager of one local hardware firm remarked that no doubt the rabbits would be quite pleased with the situation which has arisen.

They Would Do Him! An old soldier, carrying more scars of battle than most, recounted with a chuckle an incident in which he took part one day this week. Two men of the Second Expeditionary Force on leave, who had evidently been celebrating, were walking along the street not without signs of elevation when they were passed by a woman, who assumed a horrified look, and uttered one or two sharp sentences in which the words " disgusting" and " disgraceful " were prominent. A withering look was the only reward the old soldier received when he commented, loudly enough for the woman to hear, " They're good enough to fight for me." " Eyes Right"

Four members of the second echelon attracted more attention than some of their colleagues yesterday afternoon when they rode on horseback through city. It was more than a mere holiday ride, however, for the troopers made n "march past" of it. As they came abreast of a constable on point duty near the Exchange Buildings, they turned their eyes smartly to the right and saluted. The officer took the salute in rather unusual style for such a parade. He merely waved them on briskly. Street Scene

At least one young Dunedinite has grasped the principles of successful advertising. Passersby on a hill street yesterday could not help but notice a large chalk sign on the footpath. " Joan," it informed the world, "is mad." A commendably succinct scrap of information indeed. The sigmvriter evidently did not intend to let his readers fail to appreciate the point, for, with the advantage of surprise on his side, he hammered it home at well spaced intervals for a considerable distance. After a somewhat longer gap between slogans, he apparently sat back and thought his work over. Evidently desiring to leave himself some loop-hole of escape should the mysterious Joan decide to sue him for libel, he had concluded his task by scribbling in large letters the cryptic, but surprisingly informative sentence, " I am mad."

The Railways Department advertises in this issue particulars of altered running of the 8.56 a.m. Dunedin-Oamaru train on Wednesday, and the running of the 8.45 a.m. Dunedin-Christchurch mail train on Thursday. The Railways Department advertises in this issue train arrangements in connection with the Vincent Jockey Club's races at Wingatui on March 30. Owing to the* Early Settlers' annual celebrations, there will be no dance in the Early Settlers' Hall to-night. A special dance, however, has been arranged for Monday night. During Mr Thomas Ritchie's absence in the north with the No. 3 party, inquiries regarding the No. 4 tour should be sent to P.O. Box 691, or to the Government Tourist Bureau. This tour, like its predecessor, will embrace most places of outstanding interest in the North Island and coincides with the closing days of the Centennial Exhibition, Wellington. The party will leave Dunedin on April 26, and, aftc. touring for 21 days, will return to Dunedin on May 16. A. F. Anderson. Dentist, will visit Middlemarch. Waipiata. and Patearoa, Thursday April 11; Ranfurly. Friday. March 29 and April 12; Oturehua. Monday. April 15.—Advt. Coffee for breakfast! Order from your grocer a tin of "Bourbon," the coffee of quality! Instructions in every tin. Prepared by Durie's, coffee specialists. 32 Octagon, Dunedin.—Advt.