The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1921.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3524, 27 September 1921, Page 35

The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1921.) THE WEEK.

“Nunquam allud natura, aliud sapientia dixit.** —Juvenal. “Good nature and good sense must ever join.”-* Pope.

Opening of Parliament.

The speech put into the mouth of the (iovernor-Genera! at the

opening of Parliament IS a purely formal performance, and as such. is regarded as merely a part of the usual paraphernalia. No one expects His Excellency to do anything more than utter a few 'polite platitudes, and even a Governor as individualistic as Lord Jellicoo has to bow to the inevitable. It is simple truth, to say that the Speech from the Throne scarcely contained a single sentence that was not already public property ; at the same time it will serve a useful purpose if it does nothing more than remind the legislators of both houses that a great mass of highly important business awaits their consideration and deliberation. Prominent in the programme will be the revision of the tariff, a measure vhidh merchants are beginning to anticipate by heavy clearances of _goods fiom bond. Naturally the tone of the session will be affected by the commercial depression through -which the Dominion is passing; but it should ever be remembered that this depression, although serious enough, and which is already having its effect in the complaints of unemployment, is a small matter in comparison with what the people of the United Kingdom and in many parts of Europe are patiently enduring- The main problem which confronts the members now assembled in Wellington is one of necessary retrenchment, and it will be for them to decide upon the most efficacious method in which the retrenchment may be brought about. This, of course, is a matter in which the Government may be expected to give Parliament a lead, and seeing that the head of the Government lias not yil reached New Zealand, but little indication of the poliov to be pursued can be expo-ted until Mir Massey has taken his place in the House, liven then, in consequence of the Prime Minister’s lengthy absence from the Dominion, some little time must olap-e

before he is able to grip the details essential to a sound grasp of the situation. It may be quite true that the preparations i'or the business of the session are in an advanced state, and .Mr Guthrie is able to point proudly to a long list of Bills ready to be introduced, but the old parliamentary hands know only too well that the real business will not begin until Mr Massey is quite ready to start. Whatever outward form the proceedings may take, the tiist few weeks of the session will be largely a matter of marking time, and unless a large part of the present programme is abandoned it is difficult to see hovv Parliament can avoid continuing well into the New Year. There is the likelihood of two and perhaps three noconfidence amendments to the Address-in-Reply ; Mr Wilford, as Leader of the Opposition, has given notice of motion in that direction, and Mr Holland, on behalf of the Labour Party, has followed his example. What will be the line taken im by Mr .Statham remains to be seen. It may be hoped that whatever else is done or left undone that Parliament will speedily move in the direction of removing those disabilities in the freedom of trade and commerce which, justifiable and necessary in war time, have been continued until they impose a serious handicap upon the general progress and prosperity. To put the matter plainly the Government, having acquired the habit of interfering with trade and imposing restrictions on commerce, seem disinclined to retire from the position. It will be for the members of Parliament, regardless altogether of politics or of party ties, to inform the Government, quietly but firmlv, that it is high time this sort of thing should cease.

The Unemployment Problem.

It is significant of the altered times that

the spectre of unemployment, for so long banished from this favoured Dominion, is once

more raising its unholy head. And while It may be difficult to accurately estimate the exact extent of the trouble, there can be little doubt that a good deal of genuine distress exists in various parts of the Dominion. That this has been accenuated by the financial difficulties in which farmers and landowners generally find themselves by reason of the low prices obtainable for many of the staple products there can be little reason to doubt; there exists also the fear that existing conditions may continue over a period of two or three years. Similar financial difficulties hinder the Government from prosecuting a vigorous public works policy, and the same causes operate in the case of muni( ipin 1 itics and other public bodies. Hie position, therefore, resolves itself into this, that there is an abundance of work to be undertaken which would be of general benefit and for the development of the Dominion, but the straitened state of the money market prevents any of these operations being undertaken. It is understood that the employing class is exercising the greatest forbearance in retaining hands whom the depression of trade would amplv justify thorn in dispensing with and this solclv in order that no precipitate action of theirs should add to the general volume of unemploymentlb may be deduced that there is on the part of the general public a marked spirit of consideration for every real case of unemployment coupled with a desire to help, even at the price of considerable selfsacrifice. In return the public have a right to expect that their offers of help shall be accepted in the spirit tn which -they are given. While it would ho folly to question the right cf every man who is willing to work to be given employment, yet mischief may he done by too rigid insistence upon the payment in every instance of the standard wage. Belief in the case of unemployment can only be regarded as a temporary expedient, and any policy is to be deprecated which might have the effect of transforming unemployment into a permanent menace. Ihe complete interdependence of the community is always more strikingly brought cut in times of distress and depression, ami trie problem c-f unemployment is one which affects every class. It is a good sign, therefore, that in the meetings and conferences which are being held to consider the best means of dealing with the problem there is no evidence of a disposition L> shirk responsibility. It mav be taker, for granted that work will be found for i-h.- greato.-t possible number, that the work provided will be as suitable as circumstances permit, and that the remuneration paid will be conditioned only' bv the money available. If only the unemployed will accept these conditions as inevitable and respond cheerfully to the efforts put forth on their behalf, there should speedily be an all-round improvement in the situation.

The Explosion at Cppau.

In view of the disastrous nature of tl;>

explosion at the works at Oppau controlled by the Badisehe Anilin and Soda

Fabrik, it may well be asked whether Chemistry has a conscience at least it may be affirmed that Nitrogen lias not. The Oppau aniline works was one of tile monuments erected to the memory of that groat German chemist, Professor Adolph vui Baover. of Munich' who bv his experiments in the manufacture of artificial indigo won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Tn the manufacture of this artificial indigo, which has driven the non-artificial product right off the market, vast unaiitilies of ammonia are employed and from the indigo is del ived the aniline which i- at the root of fhe great dye-stuffs industry of Germany. 1 he monopoly enjoyed by Germany in this industry is almost entirely due to the patient research wo,k of her chemists, and also to the fact that they have, per sistentlv pursued the synthetic method of manufacture rather than the analytical method affected h\- the chemists of'lingland. fn fhe manufacture of synthetic ammonia the Germans have no yieer, and further they have discovered a method of deriving nitric acid from ammonia. It is accepted as authentic that but for their I

chemists Germany must have given up the conflict during the first year of the war; it was factories like that at Oppau which were transformed from useful dye-stuff making into destructive munition manufacturing that kept the German army at the front. And while engaged in such deadly work there were no explosions. It was only after peace had been signed and the Oppau factory had gone back to the pursuits of peace that a disaster happened at the magnitude of which the world stands appalled- If wonder is expressed at the tremendous devastation caused fcv the Oppau explosion it mav be well to quote the explanation of a chemist: “An explosive is a substance that is capable of liberating large quantities of gas as a result of very rapid chemical action. The gasses set free bv the explosion of gunpowder occupy about three hundred times the volume of the powder and the heat of the explosion expands these gases many times more. In gunpowder the carbon and oxvgen atoms that unite to form carbonic acid gas and other bodies are in different molecules, and the explosion, while instantaneous in appearance, is,not so rapid as dynamite. These gases take up 12,000 times the volume of nitroglycerine in the dynamite, and by the heat are expanded eight times further. So one cubic inch expands about 9,000 times in an instant. No wonder it shakes tilings up.”