The Otago Witness, WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1912.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 51

The Otago Witness, WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1912.) THE WEEK.

" Nunquam aliu<i natura, aliud 6apicritla dixit."— Juvemal. " Good nature and good Bense must aver join."— POPB.

Scarcely had Sir Joseph V* 1 with considerable en: ,is declared his intention of remaining in New Zealand and continuing to take his share in directing the fortunes of the Dominion than the announcement is made of his appointment on the Imperial Trade Commission. Certainly Sir Joseph Ward has since stated that the appointment will in no way interfere with his position as a member of Parliament and that it is not his intention in consequence of the appointment to retire from public life in New Zealand, and there is no reason to question the sincerity of the statement. But circumstances have been known to be strong enough to overthrow determinations, and we shall not be surprised if the service which Sir Joseph Ward will be able to render whilst on this Imperial Commission proves the prelude to a. permanent appointment in the larger life of the Empire. One consideration which prompts this conjecture is the impracticability of a man who has occupied the foremost position in New Zealand politics resting ■content with the comparatively insignificant role of the private member. Meanwhile there is reason for congratulation in New Zealand being represented on the Trade Commission by a man of the experience and ability of Sir Joseph Ward. This Commission is one of the outcomes of the Imperial Conference, and its order of reference is a large one. In the words of the resolution proposed by Sir Wilfrid Laurier and unanimously adopted, the Commission is appointed " with a view of investigating and reporting upon the natural resources of each part of the Empire represented at this Conference, the development attained and attainable, and the facilities for the production, manufacture, and distribution ; the trade of each part with the others and with the outside world, the food and raw material requirements of each, and the sources thereof available ; to what extent if any the trade between the different parts has been affected by existing legislation in each, either beneficially or otherwise." Tho mere fact that a number of leading men representing the commercial interests of all parts of the Empire should in turn visit Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Newfoundland, and the United Kingdom with these slated objects in view cannot but swve to promote and advance the interests of trade not only within the Empire but also beyond its borders. The personnel of tho Commission is such as to inspire respect and excito the liveliest anticipations • regarding tho value of its deliberations, Moreover, it is impossible to conceive that Sir Joseph Ward, after undertaking the extended journey which the labours of the Commission will necessitate when he will be in close contact with minds of the calibre of the other representatives, will

The Imperial Trade Co mm ssion.

be content to return to the parochialism of Dominion politics. We therefore repeat our conviction that for Sir Joseph Ward this Imperial appointment will be but the gateway to a wider sphere, in which he may usefully and profitably emplov his time and talents.

\ It is good news that the National Conference of miners, called for Saturday last to recommend the * resumption of work in the United Kingdom, decided by 440 votes to 125 in favour of such resumption, each vote representing 1000 members of the Miners* Federation. The conference became necessary because the result of the ballot was inconclusive, the voting showing a majority against the resumption of work, but not a two-thirds majority. It was argued that since a two-thirds'majority was requisite before the strike commenced, the same majority was ne-eded to declare the strike off. There was, however, no rule t-o cover this decision, and since a difference of opinion prevailed, the conference was called, and with the happiest results. This week, therefore, should see the bulk of the miners of the United Kingdom once more at work, and the terrible distress which has prevailed in many districts should now gradually be relieved, although it must necessarily take time before economic and industrial conditions become once more normal. The direct national Joss caused by the strike is enormous, the decrease in railway receipts alone amounting to two and a-half millions of money; and the indirect losses are incalculable. But even this would be a small thing if the outlook promised a permanent settlement. On the contrary, despite the forced cessation of the strike, neither party to the dispute is contented. Certainly Parliament has by law- established the principle of the minimum wage, but the most important point, (he determination of the amount of that minimum wage, has yet to be settled. And it is exactly around this point that controversy fixes itself. It was for this that the Miners Federation contended and against which the mine-owners contended—viz., the inclusion of a fixed wage schedule in the bill itself. The schedules for which the minors stipulated in certain cases fixed the minimum wage above the average present earnings in particular districts, and against this the mine-owners strongly protested. There is force in the arguments employed on both sides; the miners declare that a. man should be able to earn ns much as will keep himself and Ins family in decency and comfort, and

The End of the Sti ike.

that this must be the basis of the 'minimum wage; tho mine-owners on their part declare that if wages are fixed above a certain standard, it will be better for them to doge down tho mines. Thus the practical issue resolves itself into an intricate problem in economics, a problem the solution of which presents the gravest difficulties. Moreover, there is the larger question to face; since Parliament has decreed that the coalmiriers are entitled to a minimum wage, the day cannot long be postponed when a similar principle must be applied to all other industries in the United Kingdom. And such application involves an industrial revolution. Viewed in this light, it will at once appear that tho appointment of the Imperial Trade Commission represents a statesmanlike endeavour to arrive at the solution of a pressing problem. For the question of wages involve* ouestion of markets as well as the all icstions of production and distributi Kveryone will agree that every man or woman who works is entitled to adequate remuneration for their work. And everyone will also agree that the capitalist is" also entitled to an adequate return for the employment of his capital. But neither wages nor interest on capital can be adequate unless arrangements are made for the proper distribution of the products of labour among the remunerative markets of the world. And it i« this last important matter into which the Imperial Trade Commission has to inquire and report.

The floods in the Mississippi Valley are causing groat destruction of property and much loes of lite. According to the cables, tho flooded area extends over a district 10 miles wide and 50 miles long, and tho situation is more acute than ever. To understand the extent of the disaster which has overtaken the unfortunate settlers in the flooded district, it is necessary to understand the river. And for a proper understanding of the river, no better book can be recommended than Mark Twain's " Life on the Mississippi.'' It will be remembered that who undergoing his apprenticeship as pilot on ;» Mississippi River steamboat tho celebrated American humourist received th« inspiration for his famous literary pseudonym. The chapter containing t!ia reference entitled " A Pilot's Needs " ia well worth reading, as is also another chapter, " From Cairo to Hickman.'' the hitter the Kentucky town just now exi periencing the full force of the floods. But the opening chapter on "The River and its History" as an interest all its own, and it makes capital reading as *v commentary on .tho cables from New York :—" The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplac* river, but on the contrary is in ail ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri, its main branch, it is the longest river in the world, four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it it also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of it journey it t;sea up one thousand three hundred miles tf» cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-: five. It discharges three times as much water as tho St. Lawrence, 25 times as much as the Rhino, and 358 times al much as the Thames. >»o other river haf so vast a drainage basin • it draws itf water supply from 28 States and Terr'*

Tlio Floods in the Mississippi Vnllejr.

tories from Delaware on the Atlantic seaboard, and from all the country between that and Idaho on the Pacific slope —a spread of 45 degrees of longitude. The Mississippi receives and carries to the Gulf water from 54 subordinate rivers that are navigable by steamboats and from some hundreds that are navigable by fiats and keels. The area of its drainage i f as great as that of the combined areas of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italv, and Turkey ; and almost all this wide region is fertile—the Mississippi Valley is exceptionally so. It is a remarkable river in this that instead of widening toward its mouth it grows narrower—grows narrower and deeper. From the junction of the Ohio to a point half way down to the sea the width averages a mile in high water; thence to the sea the width steadily diminishes until at the 'Passes' above the mouth it is but little over half a mile. At the junction of the Ohio the Mississippi's depth is 87ft; the depth increases gradually, reaching 129 ft just above the mouth. The difference in rise and fall is also remarkable—not in the upper but in the lower river. . . . The Mississippi is remarkable in still another way—its disposition to make prodigious jumps by cutting through narrow nocks of land and thus straightening and shortening itself. More than once it has shortened itself thirty miles by a single jump. . ... The Mississippi does not alter its locality by cuts-off alone; it is always changing its habitat bodily—is always moving bodily sidewise. . . . Nearly the whole of' that one thousand three" hundred miles of old Mississippi River which La Salle floated down in his canoes two hundred years ago is good, solid, dry ground now. The river lie« to the right of it in places and to the left of it in other places." Dealing with such a river, it is no wonder that all the genius of American engineering has proved unable to erect protective works invulnerable against its vagaries.

Next Sunday. April 14, will see the Centenary of the birth of Good Governor Grey, an event which is certain of due celebration not only in this Dominion but also in South Australia and in South Africa, It may be well to Tecall the eulogy pronounced upon Sir George Grey by Mr W. P- Reeves in "The Long White Cloud": —"No man has played' so many parts in so many theatres with so much success. Not merely was he the saviour and organiser of New Zealand, South Australia, and South Africa, not merely was he an explorer of the deserts of New Holland, and a successful campaigner in Now Zealand bush warfare, but he found time by way of recreation to be an ethnologist. a literary pioneer, and an ardent book collector who twice was generous enough to found libraries with the books which bad been the solace and happiness of his working life. A mere episode of this life was the fanning of the spark of Imperialism into flame in England thirty years ago. . . . Grey had the kniglitly virtues—courage, courtesy, and self-command. His early possession of official power in remote, difficult, thinly peopled outposts gave him self-reliance as well as dignity. Naturally fond of devious ways and unexpected moves, he learned t-o keep his own counsel and to mask his intentions : he never even seemed frank. Though wilful and miarrelsome. he kept guard over his tongue, but pen in hand became an evasive, obstinate controversialist with a coldly used power of exasperation. He learned t-o work apart, and -practiced it so long that he became unable to co-operate on equal terms with any fellow labourer. He would lead or would go alone. Moreover, so far as persons went, his antipathies were stronger than his affections, and led him to play with principals and allies. Those who considered themselves his natural friends were never astonished to find him operating against their flank to the delight of the common enemy. Fastidiously indifferent to money, he was greedy of credit: could be generous to inferiors but not to rivals : could be grateful to God but hardlv to man. When he landed in New Zealand he was a pleasant-looking, blue-eyed, energetic young officer, with a square jaw. a firm but mobile mouth, and a queer trick of half (dosing one eve when he looked at you. For all his activity he suffered from a spear wound received from an Australian black-fellow. He. was married to a young but handsome wife, and though this was not his first Governorship, was but thirty-three. The colonists around him were quite shrewd enough to see that this was no ordinary official, and that ben«>.th the silken snrcoat of courtesy and the platearmour of self-confidence lay concealed » curious and interesting man. The less narrow of them detected that something more, was here than a strong administrator, and that they had among them an original man of action, with something of the aloofness and mystery that belong to 'a mind for ever voyaging through strange seas of thought alone. None imagined that his connection with the islands would not terminate for half a century and that the good and evil of bis work therein would be such as must lw> directly felt—to use his pet phrase—by unborn millions in distant days."

" (JOO«J Governor Griy."