Topics of the Day.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 452, 13 January 1914, Page 5

Topics of the Day.

(By Bystander).

The Dominion entered on the New Year with bright prospects. The sfcrike, now happily closed, having been fought to the bitter end, his de-red the labour atmosphere, and with the new legislation enacted m the closing day 3of the record session, a period of industrial peace be looked tor. Prices of products— t-ha basis of wages— remain good, and employment ia plentiful. There is, however, one regrettable exception to this, and that is the fall m the price of hemp, which has caused some of tbe flaxmills to close down. Perhaps it is a happy augury that this year is the centenarary of the time that s*vw light breaking through th« great shadow that cast a gloom over ouc ancestors for nineteen years, and yave up a greater part of the rest of Europe to the horrors of actvaljinvision. A century ago saw the clouds closing round • Napoleon Bonaparte. Early m the year Wellington emerged from the passes of the Pyrenees and reached French territory after six years ot one of the most marvellous campaigns on record. With a force that was never more than 40,000 man he had successfully oppposfd. and finally vanquished", a quarfcar of a million. What aa array of victorious battles and sieges is recalled ! Talavena, Busaoo Fue ites d'Onore, ISalamanco, Vittoria jti-dajos, Ciudad Hod rigo, San Sebastian. An army of Austrians, Prussians, and Russians, greatly superior m numbers to the French, having defeated Napoleon at Leipsic, there was nothing left for the Corsican tyrant but to abdicate and he was sent on his parole d'honneur to lead the life of a private gentleman m the pleasant island of Elba. Of course he did not remain long th&re, but b. 6 never had any chance of ultimate success after 1814. Ib is gratito our national pride that we had the honour and prestige of defeating him at Waterloo, but if that had not happened there would have been another battle of Leipsic, for the whole of Europe; was preparing to crush him. As soon as Napoleon was sent to Elba tha Government of the United States that had declared war against Britain two years before, possibly at the instigation of Napoleon, who had sold Louisiana to them m 1803, hastened to make peace, and terms were agreed to by the Treaty of Ghent towards the close of the yeir, and Britain was at length at peace. There is very little doubt that the Bight Honourable W. F. Massey, P. 0", has greatly improved his position by tbe way he dealt with the strike. The firmness and decision of character he displayed both m this matter and also m dealing with obstruction m Parliament, have won him golden opinions amongst people who wsre anything but enthusiastic- aboutjthe Reform Ministry bef >r3. Many things maj happen m twelve months, but there seems every indication that if he went to the country now his party would be returned with an increased majority. The rathor absurd regulation that is m force m the Commonwealth that all political articles appearing m the Press during an election must ba signed by the writer, xas considered a great achievement by the Labour. Party, but curiously enough it is the first to " fall m." Recently the Australian Workar was fined £3 each on four charges of publishing unsignad articles. This is a case of being "hoist with their own petard," as the law was directed against the " tory papers." The New Year made a rather uuauepicious commencement m this district vith the drag accident on the Merrivale road. It is, however, a most happy and fortunate circumstance that the result was not infinitely worse, for the drag must have overturned with terrific force, and it is little short of a miracle that no one was killed* In a case of this kind a shock is often sustained that is far more serious m its effects than any contusion. This is the second accident that has occurred^on this road from the failure of the brake, and many others, some with fatal results, have happened m other parts of the Dominion. It seems about time that an effort wa3 made to devise some appliance that would act as a second brake m the event of the first failing to act. The lives of all the occupants of a heavily laden coach coming down one of the steep hills that are common all oyer the country, are entirely dependant m a single piece of iron that may break or fail to work at any time. Regret was expressed m this column about a year ago that Mr G. P. Keddell had never visited the old country, as I believed that he was " as supreme as a hurdler as Arnst was m his day as a Soulier." This opinion ia- amply ; borne out by his brilliant victories while m a poor state of health, over the American, Templeton. Mr Ked- • dell has triumphed wherever he has | competed. He is Australasian champj ion, and I hope, to see him yet first m 1 the Empire. Mr R. Keddell, lam i glad to observe, lias gained renown m : another field than athletics, having [ passed his law examination with fly- > ing colours.