The Otago Witness. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1919.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3419, 26 September 1919, Page 40

The Otago Witness.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1919.) THE WEEK.

WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THB SOUTHERN MERCURY.

"Nunnuam allud natura, allud sapientia dixit." —Juvenal. "Good nature and good genso must ever j;in."— S?OFB.

The bringing down of the Budget reflects the fast approaching end of the present Parliament; beyond this it has little significance. Sir James Allen’s statement held no sensation and contained no surprises ; under the circumstances, and considering the fact that what he presented was in the main the work of other hands, nothing new or drastic in the way of financial proposals was to be anticipated. ' There is a certain sense of satisfaction in the knowledge that the proceeds of the taxation imposed for war pusposes has been more than sufficient to meet the expenditure of the year, and that a balance of £3,678,773 remains on the right side of the National ledger. At the same time, it is estimated that the expenditure during the current year, exclusive, of course, of the votes on the Supplementary Estimates, will show an increase of more than three millions and three-quarters over the preceding twelve months. The confirmed habit, indulged in to a greater or lesser extent by all Finance Ministers, of overestimating the expenditure and underestimating the revenue, renders all surpluses more or less fictitious. The paradox appears that while there is more money in Now Zealand to-day than ever before in the history of the Dominion, Sir James Allen insists, and rightly, that there never was a time when the necessity for national thrift was greater than at present. The moral of the Budget, which appears to require an educational campaign to enforce it, is that money is not wealth, and that the present plentifulness of money is in reality a serious menace to the welfare of the community. m London paper publishes an apposite axi/icle, “On Putting Other People’s Houses in Order,” anent the rise in the price of coal in the Homeland, and some of the comments on the situation have a distinct relation to affairs within the

The Budget.

Dominion. After insisting that the problem is psychological rather than economic, the writer of the article proceeds : "And it is a problem not confined to the mining world. The miners are not working their hardest, and all attempts to prove that they are doing so are digingenious. But none of the -workers are at present working their hardest. The energy of the nation has been sapped and weakened by five years of the Avar. The flower of the nation is dead or disabled. Of the remainder much finds a difficultv in settling down after the chaos and venture ; with nerves strained and tired and often physical disability as a result of a twisting of brain and muscle to unaccustomed use. . . . Most of the

nation is far busier spending wealth than in making it. The private soldier returning from war to mine and factory sees

little of that equality of fortune which was promised on the battlefield, where he was told that common effort against a common danger was going to unite all classes in a new bond of brotherhood. Labour discontent as reflected among the highly paid miners of to-day is a product less of poverty than of the apparent wealth of the new England." The same psychological problem confronts the people of New Zealand, and the Finance Minister of the new Government, whoever he may chance to be, will be forced to take into consideration the outstanding fact that it is not to be solved by mere statistics, however carefully set forth or solemnly paraded. The abundance of money has impressed the popular mind with the idea 'that money represents wealth, and people are busily engaged, not onlv in spending money, but in wasting wealth. To preach thrift without defining wherein thrift consists is to beat the air, no matter how good are Sir James Allen's intentions and how excellent his advice.

It is from this standpoint and in this aspect that the whole matter of the Soldiers’ Gratuities merits consideration and discussion. It is all the more to be regretted that during the discussion in Parliament there would appear to be a disposition, although on all sides expressly disclaimed, to make party capital out of a matter which ought to be decided purely from a National standpoint. There exists a just and generous public opinion that nothing is too much to do for the brave men who have sacrificed and bled and, in so many hundreds of cases, died, in defence of the Empire and for the principle of freedom, and that the more liberal the treatment accorded to them in every respect, the more adequately the debt due to them will be discharged. Proportionately to population this Dominion sent more men to the front and suffered greater losses than almost any other part of the Empire, and the wastage of war may best be made up by striving to alleviate the lot of all who have taken part in the fight. At the same time the efforts of any Government in this desirable direction must necessarily be conditioned by the necessities of finance; it would be bad policy and worse economics to lay a heavier burden upon the backs of the entire community in the shape-of taxation than they are able to bear, even with the laudable object in view of bettering the lot of the soldier. The strongest argument in favour of the Government’s scheme for a flat rate of Is 6d per day for the term of service overseas is that with but few exceptions the returned men themselves have expressed their entire satisfaction with the proposal; moreover the democratic principle embodied therein more than overcomes the objections of a few of the interested officer class. It is not surprising, therefore, that Sir Joseph Ward’s amendment to refer the gratuity scheme back to the Government for further consideration, with a view presumably of considering his suggestion to raise the rate to 2s per day, should have been defeated by a considerable majority, thereby enabling Mr Massey to score a political triumph over his erstwhile coadjutor. The factor which undoubtedlv contributed materially to the result of that vote was the production by Sir James Allen of an official memorandum showing that the National Government, of which Sir Joseph Ward formed a part, had previously agreed to the rate of Is per day, and that the Reform Government’s scheme was in advance of that proposed by the National Cabinet. The amendment moved by the Labour Party only secured the support of the “immaculate five,” as Mr Hine during the debate aptly enough dubbed the third party in Parliament under Mr Holland’s leadership, a group which the Labour Party are already putting forth strenuous efforts to increase as the result of the general election. It is a matter for general congratulation that the Govern, ment’s Gratuity Scheme has been approved and that the" threat of making it the occasion for a dissolution and an appeal to the country has melted into thin air. Any purely political device for capturing the returned soldiers’ vote is greatly to be deprecated; the men who have fought are rapidly being absorbed into the civil population, and "from the political point of view it is well that the process is proceeding rapidly. Whatever be the outcome of "the general election, the outstanding idea should be to send men to Parliament who will legislate in the interests of the community as a whole and not for the benefit of any particular section. Which is reason why efforts to consolidate a returned soldiers’ vote, a Pro testant vote, a Roman Catholic vote, or even a Labour vote should be discouraged. The old party lines are visibly breaking down, and there does not seem to be any valid reason why new ones should not be built up.

The Gratuities.

So far as may at present be discerned, America, among the family ff the nations, is the only Jreat Power whose decision in regard to the ratification of the treaty appears to be in doubt. According to a Washington message, the first test of party strength in the American Senate took place wheq Senator Lodge moved the postponement of the discussion of the Peace Treaty until Tuesday, to allow for the consideration of 40 amendments eliminating the United States from different commissions, a motion carried by 43 votes to 40. This bears out the comment of a well-informed authority as far back as July last, that “in the Senate it looks as though no two-thirds majoritv could be secured for anything,” and as if the threatened “deadlock” will ultimately be reached. The sorrowful fact remains that the refusal of the American Senate to ratify the Peace Treaty except with considerable reservations may endanger the establishment of the League of Nations. Speaking at Quicreth, in the early days of the Peace, Mr Lloyd George exclaimed: “What the need of this land is to-day is not material but spiritual,

The League of Nations.

and I hail any movement advancing the great spirit of brotherhood. The one need of England and France is the healing and brotherhood of the Cross." And General Smuts echoed the same note when he said:. "A new spirit of generosijf and humanity, born in the hearts of the people in this great hour of common suffering and sorrow, can alone heal the wounds that have been ' inflicted on the body of Christendom." President Wilson claims that 80 per cent, of the American people are in favour of the League, and that if the League is not adopted the purpose of Germany will be served, since America will permanently dissociate herself from the nations with which she co-operated in defeating Germany. Above and beyond all political partisanship, the overwhelming reason why America, by ratifying the Peace Treaty, should aid in the establishment of the League of Nations, is set down in unforgettable verse by Mr Siegfried Sassoon, one of the young soldier poets of Britain, who went through the war, was wounded nigh unto death, and who knows from dreadful experience what war means:

AFTERMATH. (July 19th.) Have you forgotten yet? For the world's events have rumbled on, since. those gagged days, Like traffic checked awhile at the crossing of

city-ways; And the haunted gap in your mind! has filled

with thoughts that 'flow Liko clouds in the lit heavens of life; and you're a man reprieved to go, Taking youa: peaceful share of Tim©, with joy to spare. But the past i'3 just the sauna— and War's a

bloody game. . . . Have you forgotten, yet? Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you'll never forget.

Do you remember the dark months you held the sector at Mametz— The nights, you watched and wired and dug and piled! sandbags on parapets? Do you remember the rats; and the stench Of corpses, rotting in front of the front-line trench— And dawn coming, dirty white, and chill with a hopeless rain? Do you ever stop and ask, "Is it all going to happen again?"

Do you remember that hour of din before the attack— And the anger, the blind compassion that seized and shook you then As you peered at the doomed and haggard faces of your men? Do you remember the stretcher-cases lurching back With dying eyes and lolling heads—those ashen grey Masks of the lads who one© were keen and kind and gay ?

Have you forgotten yet? Look up, and swear by the green of the spring that you'll never forget.

"Grotesque Man.ifestat.ion3" is the epithet applied by the Milan newsItaly and papers to the enterprise Fiume. upon which Signor Galviele

d'Annunzio has embarked in 'the seizure of Fiume as a protest against Italy's deprivation of that important seaport under the Peace Treaty. It will be remembered that this question of Fiume at one time threatened to disrupt the Peace Conference itself, and Signor d'Annunzio's campaign, which is quite in keeping with the temper of his poems, his piays, and his novels, threatens to still further complicate an already complicated situation. The saving grace of this theatrical demonstration is that like all stage performances it involves no shedding of blood, and, encouraged by success, the Italian playwright has enlarged his aspirations. He now declares that Italy must have the port and railways in addition to the city of Fiume, and he has arrogantly asserted that even King Emmanuel would not be allowed past his sentriesexcept as King of Fiume. It would seem that this declaration is aimed at the upsetting of the agreement reached by Britain and France in respect of Fiume, and which, it is said, only awaited President Wilson's acceptance. And while it may be perfectly true. «.« one Italian paper states, that d'Annunzio's coup is merely the fruit of his delirious vanity, it may have some exceedingly unfortunate consequences.