The Otago Witness. (WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1917.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3313, 12 September 1917, Page 35

The Otago Witness.

(WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1917.) THE WEEK.

WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN WERCUUX.

"Nunquum allad natura, allud tapientia dixit." —JUYBNAL. "Good nature and good sense must ever join."— Pops. The strike which, having its inception in Sydney, has to a greater or Ths End of lesser degree affected the the Sydney whole of the Australian Strike. Commonwealth, has come to an end, and in the way in which all strikes sooner or later end—by the surrender of the strikers and a general return to work. The virtual isolation in which this Dominion has found itself for the past five or six weeks iu regard to

Australia and to Australian affairs should now cease, since the censorship imposed by the Australian authorities upon cable communication will be lifted, and the accumulation of delayed mails should shortly be delivered. All the details which have reached the Dominion concerning the strike in Australia go to show that it was forced upon a majority of unwilling workers, who had to choose between disloyalty to their unions and disloyalty to the'State: that the strike was entered upon half-heartedly by the bulk of the strikers and in opposition to the general trend of public opinion; and that it was doomed to fail at the outset. There have undoubtedly been times in the past when the strike as a weapon against tyranny and injustice could be legitimately employed. It is a moot question, however, in these days of industrial arbitration, whether all and more that the workers desire cannot be more effectively and permanently secured through legislative channels. At least, however, this may be affirmed : that in' a time of war, when the Empire needs every ounce of resource and strength to achieve victory over a powerful and relentless foe, a strike such as was engineered in Sydney and extended to the other Australian States was inexcusable, mischievous, and distinctly disloyal. If, as has been alleged, the strike-promoters hoped in this way to set afoot a revolutionary movement to the upsetting of the ' existing social order, they must be bitterly disillusioned, since the outstanding moral of the settlement is to reveal the soundness at heart of the Australian nation, and this despite all that has been said and written to the contrary. It was not a strike against capitalistic forces: it was a deliberate and designed attempt on the part of the forces of lawlessness and anarchy to measure strength against the powers of law and order. As such the strike was E foredoomed to failure, inasmuch as public sympathy and support was alienated from the strikers, and there was an abundance of volunteer labour forthcoming to carry on the essential transport and other industries. It is a tribute to the restraint and self-control on both sides that, not- I withstanding the bitterness of feeling engendered by the struggle, so few acts of violence were recordod. One or two deaths, unhappily, occurred; but, con-. sidering the grave issues at stake, the. v

marvel is that there, was not more bloodshed. ■To some extent the credit must bs given to the New South Wales Government for the firm attitude taken up at the very inception of the strike and consistently maintained throughout until the settlement was reached. The unfortunate outcome of all these industrial upheavals is that the people who suffer most are those who are least responsible and least able to bear it—viz., the wives and children of the. strikers. For this and kindrecl reasons the aftermath of a strike is often more dangerous, and certainly more lasting, than the strike itself. While a strike is actually in progress the influences at work show themselves on the surface; after the strike they sink in and go deeper down.

According to a Copenhagen message, a great, sensation has been Sweden, Finland, caused in Germany owing and the War. to the declaration by Dr Michaelis that Germany will shortly be able to publish peace terms. Whether this rumour has any foundation in fact it is impossible to say.More important still is the doubt whether any peace terms proposed by Germany would at the present juncture be acceptable to the Allies. It is quite conceivable, however, that the announcement has been; niade in the hopes of securing a separate peace with Russia. Germany's paramount need, in her hour of extremity, obviously must be men; she may be able to repair her wastages in other directions, but she cannot recover her lost manhood, slain by. the million in this terrible war. It is more than probable that at the root of Germany's fresh inroad upon Russia lies the hope, not only of putting the Russian armies out of the fight and of drawing from that great granary fresh food supplies, but also an endeavour to recruit fre?h flffhting forces from the disaffected nationalities which go to make up the con.elomerp(e of the Russian Empire, and! notably Finland. There is a significance of connection between the demands of the Finnish Senate for the final separation of Finland from Russia and the revelations made through American sources of Sweden's breaches of neutrality. The allegations made -concerning Swedish official complicity with Germany, and the fact that the Foreign Office in Stockholm has for the past three years been regularly transmitting German official messages'in cipher to German agents in all parts of the world, and notably in the Argentine —and this despite a pledge given to Great Britain that such practices should cease—« cannot be lightly passed over. It has been suggested that Germany has allowed! these things now to bo made public with a view of driving Sweden into her arms, thus placing the military forces of that nart of Scandinavia at the disposal of Berlin. There may be the additional hope that a Swedish alliance with Germany might influence Finland also to throw in her lot with the Central Fmnire. Finland, at one time loyal to Russia and the Czai\ can never forget the outrages of the BobrikofF regime: and the refusal of the Russian Provisional Government toaccede tocher demands for independence will be likely to revive memories of the effort then made to Russianise Finland. A large proportion of the two and a-half million inhabitants of Finland of immediate Swedish descent, and the people consequently have no affinity with Russia. "Before Bussia laid a heavy hand on Finland 100 years aoro." writes Mr John Foster Frnser! "Finland had for 400 yearsr been under the dominance n * Sweden. The Finns were little removed from barbarians till the Swedes came along. The Swedes; brought culture and a literature. And though the Finns show intellectual and artistic qualities, the nurturing in*

fluence has been Sweden. To-day Swedish is the language of the towns and educated classes, whilst Finnish is to be heard among the peasants in the backwoods." All this lends colour to the assumption that the real object of the Herman successful offensive at Riga is not so much to threaten Petrograd as to secure the assistance of Finland and of Sweden m her struggle against the Allied nations. The Government, having successfully floated the War Loan, and The Dominion secured a quick passage lor Parliament, the Finance Bill through the Lower House, is evidently desirous of bringing the session of Parliament to a close at as early a date as possible. Already Mr Massey has proposed rhat the House of Representatives shall, from next week, sit on Monday evenings for the despatch of Government business, which is one of the "signs of the beginning of the end. Whether, however, it will be oossible for Parliament to prorogue early in October depends to some extent on the manner in which the burning controversial questions are handled — viz., the promised Licensing Bill for the restriction of the hours for the sale of liquor and the matter of military allowances and pensions. It is rumoured that the Government Licensing Bill will simply propose a restriction of hotel hours to between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. From the point of view of the trade, this will deprive them of the two most profitable hours in the whole 24; and any attempt -to amend the Bill and make the hour of closing 7 or even half-past'7 is certain to meet with the most strenuous opposition on the part of those interested in the liquor traffic. On the other hand, the 'Temperance party are loud in their determination to make 6 o'clock closing the minimum reform; in default of which they insist that the matter be referred to the" people and a vote taken. It is rumoured that this collision of opinion in the country and in Parliament may lead to startling developments;' but, failing the unlikely event of a general election, it is difficult to see what the surprise can be. The virtual certainty that the men of the Second Division will now be called upon, taken together with the .announcement that the first class of that division will be balloted at the end of October and will go into camp three months later, renders the matter of _ increased military allowances and pensions •-one of imperative importance. This is •a question which touches the bulk of the population very nearly, and it is to be hoped that the Government and Parliament may be able to rind a satisfactory solution.