The Otago Witness. (WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1918.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3331, 16 January 1918, Page 35

The Otago Witness.

(WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1918.) THE WEEK.

WITH WHICH IS INOOBPOIUTED TMB SODTHJHN UKUOUBX.

"Wunquna allud natura, allud gaplentla dixit.** "0-ood nature and good tens* must over Join."-* for*.

The forced cessation of active operations on the various fronts which The World the setting in of winter Set Free. inevitably compels , makea fresh opportunities for discussing the delicate and difficult problems —social, political, racial, and economic—which the war has brought into such prominence, and which already, before there is any immediate prospect of the cessation of hostilities, clamour so loudly for solution. Mr -Lloyd George's deliverance on the situation, to which wo made reference last week, has been followed by President Wilson's address bofore the American Congress; and in botli these eloquent utterances, as well as hi the views expressed by the Russian Revolutionary leader Trotsky, there is the emphatic declaration, and the no less emphatic implication, that, 'first and foremost, the war is a war for world-wide and universal freedom. In what guiso this freedom will eventually come, what shape it will ultimately assume, and to what extent it will prevail, are mattery which are still in the lap of the gods, and upon which it would be the heightb of folly to dogmatise and the veriest presumption to venture to prophesy. Th« antipodes of freedom is to be seen in th« German Imperial idea, buttressed bf Prussian militarism and the supporters of the programme of which Mr Lloyd George is the foremost exponent, hold that the best and, indeed, the .only way to the world's freedom is by combatting militarism by militarism, by confronting Germany with h.er own weapons, and beating her at her own game. Sir Douglas Haig's review of the operations on the Western front during 1917 serves to show, however, that in military as in other matters which have to be arranged beforehand, the best-laid plans of mice and men aft gang aglee. The anticipations formed' by the conference of the military heads of the Allies, which met in November 1916, to lay plans for a combined Allied offensive on all the fronts during 1917, were far from being realised. From a variety of reasons, which have never been fully disclosed, the French forces were unable to carry out successfully their part in the Allied programme, and as a consequence the British t?Qcps were compelled to take over additional lines from the French, and were correspondingly hampered in their contemplated advance. Following this, first disappointment came the Russian debacle, bringing with it. the frustration of Italy's gallant endeavour. And, to add to and emphasise all the, other disappointment's, there was the fact that the weather, all through, fought on the side of the enemy. The weather is an uncertain factor which science has ehown itself altogether unable to control, and yet in modern warfare it is the factor which plays a most important part in determining defeat or victory. When every allowance has been made for the adverse influence of ihe weather, and when due consideration has been given to the undoubted advantages won by the enemy through treachery and intrigue, yet, 'reading between the lines of Sir Douglas Haig's despatch, there remains the uneasy conviction that from the purely military standpoint the Germans have outgeneralled the Allies. And so long as Mis condition continues the hope of a world set free by military methods alone exceedingly remote.

President Wilson is in harmony with Mr Lloyd George to this exDifferences of tent, that he realises the Definition. necessity of America rais-

ing an army of sufficient strength and- dimensions to enable the Allies to beat Germany, at her. own game, if! in the last analysis this extreme .measure should prove necessary. In unison with this belief America is making the most thorough and complete preparations for a long war. Already the United States has an army of 110,856 officers and 1,428,650 men in training and transportation in Great Britain, France, and America, with arms and clothing sufficient to equip the entire 1918 forces. The section of the American troops now in France is reported as ready for active service, and It is reasonably asserted by those in authority that "no army of a similar size in the world's history was ever raised and equipped so quickly." It is significant, however, that, amid all this huge preparation, President Wilsott does not place all the emphasis upon military might alone; and therein he occupies the midway position between the extremes represented on the one side bj Mr Lloyd George and the British Imperialists and 1 oft the other by Trotsky and the Bolshevik revolutionaries. Presir dent Wilson betrays a svmpathy with the Russian Bolsheviks which is not fully shared by Mr Lloyd George, and to thai degree he is in a position to act as intermediary between Great Britain and Russia,* and to harmonise their respective ideas of freedom. President Wilson and Trotsky are alike in this, that they are appealing to the great world . democracy to be true to itself, and in making such an appeal they are confident of an ultimate and enthusiastic response far-reach-ing in its influence and wide-spreading in its effect. President Wilson touched an important point when, referring'to the Brest-Litovsk negotiations, he hazarded the opinion that the terms of settlement first, suggested, and which carried the judgment of the Russian proletariat, probably originated with the more liberal statesmen of Germany and Austria,

whilst the concrete terms of actual settlement, which threaten to imperil the entire peace propaganda, came from Germany's military leaders, "who had no thought but to keep what they had got." While admitting the whole incident to be "full of significance and at the same time full of perplexity." President Wilson put the thing in a" nutshell when he inquired, "With whom are the Russian representatives dealing? For whom are the representatives of the Central Empires speaking? Are they speaking for the majorities Df their respective Parliaments or the minority parties?" And until clear Uiswers to these important questions emerge out of the mists with which they ire at present clouded, the negotiations lor peace cannot be expected to make ieadway. Moanwhile, two incidents are reported which, taken together, illustrate it one and the same time the strength pf the Russian and the weakness of the British position. 'lt is reported that 25,000 German soldiers are mutinying behind the German front in the Kovno front, and are refusing to be sent to the Western front, which they consider as equivalent to certain death. It is also reported that the conference of the Clyde pommittees of the Engineering and Shipbuilding Federation, in meeting at Glasgow, have requested the British Government to withdraw their now man-power oroposals, failing which they threaten to ''down tools." They also ask the Government to call an international conference to discuss the question of peace. In view of these and other similar influences at work, it would be foolish to attempt to indicate by which thoroughfare the freedom of the world is likely to eome. The first essential :e to have a clear definition of what Freedom really is and what it actually and practically implies.

Mr Massey did not give a great deal of encouragement to the depuMr Massey tation -which waited upon and Otago him in Dunedin to urge Land Tenures, the setting up of a Royal Commission, to consider the question of land tenures in Otago. It has been established beyond a doubt that the future of the province of Otago must largely depend upon the making of some systematic attempt to restore the lands to their original condition, and especially In view of their great deterioration within the last quarter of a century. - This deterioration arises largely, if not entirely, from the unsatisfactoriness of the tenure, which leads settlers to strive to get all that is possible out of the land without making any attempt to improve their holdings. This deterioration is not only a provincial but a national misfortune, since the time will eventually come when, the rush of North Island settlement having exhausted itself, the tide will turn southward again. Mr Massey's method of dealing with the question may. accurately be described as the favourite one of. political evasion. He asked the deputation to believe that the Lands Committee of the House of Representatives .were as able to deal with the matter as would a Royal Commission; but, as anyone acquainted with Parliamentary oroeedure knows full well, this is simply begging the question. He insinuated, if he did not actually declare, that the increase in the rabbit pest was due to the profitable trade carpied on by trappers and exporters, regardless of the fact that the real remedy lies In the closer settlement of the rabbit-in-fested areas and fencing, giving the settlers a 7>ermaneint interest in the cultivation of the land. It used to be said tlhat Mr Massey, born and bred a farmer, had tho. interests of the farming class of the dominion closely at heart. He seems, however, to be peculiarly blind and deaf to the needs of the would-be settlers of Otago.

Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs: An important meeting of Cabinet will be hold on the return, of the Right Hon. Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward to Wellington, at which the Government will probably come jbo a decision about the representation of New Zealand at the Imperial War Cabinet. Sir James Allen wishes to leave Wellington on the evening of that day, and the matter may bo fixed before ho leaves.

Mr J. D. Ritchie- (chairman of the Land Purchase Board), Mr R. T. Sadd (Otago Commissioner of Crown Lands), and Mr J as. Smith (member of. tho Land Board) left on Monday for Roxburgh to inspect the Teviot Estate. Later in the week Messrs Sadd, Smith, and Inder will continue the classification of a number of Otago runs. The danger attaching to the careless disposal of empty preserve tins was demonstrated in a painful manner at Kaitangata last Wednesday, when a small boy named Rodgers fell upon a tin which was partly concealed in grass. The boy sustained a severe cut on his leg, and was conveyed to the cottage hospital, where nine stitches were necessary to close the wound. A returned soldier, speaking of the deadly work sometimes carried out in the night raids of the German aeroplanes, told how one night »ji aeroplane dropped two bombs —one at each end —on the horse lines, and that, when they had finished shooting, of tho horsos badly or mortally wounded there were 84 horses dead out of a total of 85! Andrew Thaw, who went to the front from Balclutha, was spoken of as a man with iron nerves —or, rather, with no nerves at all, —who paid no heed to shrapnel or anything else, and was as strong physically as throe ordinary men. On one occasion relays of men were detailed to secretly carry flabs of concrete at night up a steep hill to make in emplacement. The work wont on for isveral nights. One slab at a time was plenty for every one of the soldiers, with ihe Exception of Andrew—he carried one incler each arm, and would reach tho emplacement and bo half-way back again betoro tho othors got there. Andrew's father cvas a Hudson's Bay trapper. The bravery <jf tho stretcher-bearers was referred to In fcnthusiastio terms, and tho heavy proportion ikw oefu-ftlties deplored. ''X am fco

drinking man, as you know," said tho soldier, "but I will say that the issues of rum have saved more lives than anything else. We would be standing all night in tho trenches, mud up to tho tops of our thigh gum boots, perished with cold, hardly able to lift our guns. Then we would each get a small tot of rum—it was but a small tot, but it was good rum. It would make the blood flow, put life into us, and make us feel hungry, and then, when the dixies of hot stew came along, we would fall to with the. keenest appetites."

A young woman, who stated that she was connected with a station in the west of New South Wales, somewhere in the Diamantina district, showed in King street, between George and Pitt streets, Sydney, how she could handle horses. Two, which had become startled, had made a dash along tho street. Tho visitor was waiting for a tram, when she noticed tho horses, which were attached to a wagon, make their run. Tho street was crowded, and, realising the situation, she jumped from tho footpath to the road, and with another leap secured the reins. Then, giving a hard tug, she swerved the frightened animals and brought them to a standstill. The act was witnessed by hundreds of people, who, when they realised what the young woman had done, cheered lustily. The driver had left the turnout in charge of someone while he entered a shop. He wag unable, when he saw tho horses moving avv&y, to reach them in time to' prevent them from bolting, but he followed, and was dgTeeably surprised whon thoy were pulled up so quickly, and by a woman, too. He was profuse in his thanks, and remarked, "Well, you muat know something about horses to do what you have done." "Oh, don't you trouble about me," replied the young woman. "Out on the Diamantina we think nothing of stopping a runaway or two almost every minute of tho day, and as for tossing a bullock by a twist of the tail—well, that's just as easy to me a 3 removing a sliprail. But I want to tell you that I broke my gingham, and I suppose you'll oomo through with another?" "Oh, yes, miss, 0 replied tho thankful driver, "you may have two ginghams for the trouble you have saved me."