CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 15

CURRENT TOPICS.

(Otago Daily Times.)

The wreck of the Spirit of the Dawn at Antipodes Island gives rise to an uncomfortable feeling as to what may happen to vessels from time to time in such places. The island is in the track of homeward-bound vessels from New Zealand and Australia, and also of vessels bound from India to South America. This vessel struck a reef of£ the island and went down almost instantly. Thanks to the smartness of her crew, they got the boat clear of the rigging and ultimately reached the shore. In nine cases out of ten a vessel striking the sheer sides of this island would have gone down afc once without leaving a trace of her existence. The Bounty Islands are still wowe because it is still more difficult to laud on them, and still harder to subsist there, as there is neither water nor vegetation on them. Other islands, such as the Auckland and Campbell Islands, are known dangers, and no less than four wrecks are known to have occurred afc M icquarie Island, bufc there the shores offer better facilities for escape. The question naturally arises, Have many wrecks occurred 1 It is impossible to find an answer, and equally imposiible to gaard against; such c ntingencies ; that i 3 to say, no precautions that can be taken by the authorifcic3 here Trill serve to guard against them, Our Government humanely provides depots for food, shel er, and clothing at suitable places, and has the islands regularly visited ; more it cannot do. Ia «his case the depot proved unavailing through no fault of the authorities, but the &earch steamer brought the shipwrecked men to saftty. We believe that since the foundation of the Canterbury settlement some half-dozan ships homewardbound from Lyfctelton have been lost, while none sailing from this port have been missed. Ifc may ba that grain-laden ships run greater dargers than those which carry wool and mixed cargoes ; but it is difficult to avoid the observation tliafc the course of the Canterbury ships is more likely to take them to the-se dangerous islands. The castaways saw several ships pass within sight of the island, though their watc'i was by day only, and on one tide . only of the island. The incident should act; as a coition to mariners to endeavour to give these places — invisible in foggy weather — a wide berth.

Of all the companies tradicgin Australa&i i there is, perhapp, none so strong as DALaExr and Company (Limited). Practically out of 5£- millions used by ifc nearly three are its own money, only 2$ being at the cill of lenders. Nearly two out of these three millions are in the form of irredeemable debenture stock — i.c, it the holder of this stock wants his money he does not call upon the company to pay him off, but simply goes into the market and sells his stock there. Yet this irredeemable stock is among the most highly favoured on the London Stock Exchange. The amount capable of beirg called in by lenders at any one time is insignificant, while the position long held by the company enables ifc to command the pick of Australian business. The acting chairman was able to say afc the meeting : " The amount of customers' balances that they could be called upon to pay did not exceed L 250.000. ... It was nofc the intention of the directors o! this company to go in largely for receiving deposits which had been such a source of danger elsewhere, and of which other institutions were most dismal examples." Such a company afc least ought to be free of all ordinary cares.

The cabled statement received by one of the local companies that there ia no American demand for wool is just what might be expected. So long a 9 the question of a'joli.ihing the duty on wool is before Congress it is evident that manufacturers cannot aff jrd to buy a pound more wool than ifc is absolutely necessary to impor 1 ;. Wool paying 5 1 per Ib duty and then to have the duty abolished means writing that sum off the value, and it is ea3y to see that on anything like a large stock the loss would be enormous. Indeed, this is one oE the mo^fc serious obstacles to the abolition of the wool duty; ifc must cause a sudden drop in tha capital value of all wool and woolhn stock i held in America. Thi«, of c varse, only affect 3 one year's stocks, bub ifc may be sufficient to upset many a weak holder. This is always the first effect of such a measure, and there is no remedy for it. When the duties were taken off French silk goods some of the country manufacturers were ruined. If the abolition of the wool duties takes effect next March stocks will by that time huva become very low, and we bhou'.d not be surprised to hear of smart buying by Ameiicans next Jane. This, however, i 3 pure'y guesswork. Ifc is well known to colonial wool people that there is no knowing when the wool market may rise or fall— nothing is more uncertain. What we have always ventured to predict is that the abolition of the heavy American duties will gradually increase the volume of American nrinufacturc-s and generally the quantity of wool used — in other words, it will take a better place in competition with cotton. Tnis ought to have a valuable effect in steadying the maik^fc.

" One hundred tlious rod miners in Scotland are locked out " is a statement which occupies but a very small space in print, bufc its really app^ling import may b9 best judged by considering that it really means that a population nearly as great as that of this colony is temporarily deprived of its support. The matter does not quite end there, for when such a lock-out is over the real distress does not end. The wages thus lost are never made up, and in many cases the wageearners remain poor for the rest of their lives. This moans that they have no margin for small comforts or to provide against sickness, ico. War, with all its evils, _ brings some items of compensation, but ifc is very difficult to see whence the compensations of industrial war can come. We can form no idea who is to blame for this state of affairs, but i 3 is time that questions involving conseqnences of this kind were treated more broadly. It will be long before the world hears th-3 last of wars and rumours of wars, but with strikes and lock-outs a sensible people ought to find means to deal.

Letters of naturalisation have been issued to Antoni Johnson and Gustai Holmes, seamen, Panedin,