Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, DEC. 31, 1929 THE CLOSING YEAR

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17146, 31 December 1929, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, DEC. 31, 1929 THE CLOSING YEAR

With the passing of the years one is inclined to take longer perspectives and to measure progress not by the results of twelve months' accomplishment but by events spread over a much greater period. 80 it is possible, with this wider outlook, to judge 1929. now closing, not harshly as a barren year, but as one contributing in fair measure to the general advancement of the nations towards the ideal of universal peace. The revision of the reparations settlement, the withdrawal of the watch on the Whine, the conversations between Mr. Hoover and Mr. MacDonald preparatory to the five power naval conference which is to meet in London next month, have all been events of considerable moment making for a. better understanding amongst the nations, whilst the periodical sessions of the League of Nations, with its many spheres of activity, its close investigations, its conciliatory and judiciary powers, must have contributed very materially to the maintenance of good government and peace. The blots in the record, of 1929 have been the internecine war in China and the sanginuary conflicts between Russians and Chinese in Manchuria, to say nothing of the internal affairs of Russia itself, where barbaric ruthlessness still holds sway. The fa.ct that England has resumed diplomatic relations with a country defiant of the Deity and lost to a sense of human feeling and responsibility, as known by other nations, can hardly be reckoned as an achievement of the passing year, though some may count it so. For England the greatest interest has centred in His Majesty the King's illness and his wonderful restoration to health. The profound anxiety with which the bulletins were looked for, as though the illness were that of a near relative, served to demonstrate, the attachment of British people everywhere to the thr.one. Though progress is necessarily slow Britain is making steady headway in the work of postwar reconstruction. She has well maintained' her position as monetary centre of the world and has escaped serious embarrassment from the financial' crises in other nations. Despite severe and increasing competition in the markets of the world many British industries are developing, and in some a distinct leadership has been established. Shipbuilding is reviving, but the coal mining industry remains in a parlous condition, due to the inability of British collieries under existing conditions to compete with those of foreign competitors, better equipped and more cheaply worked. The Labor Ministry has applied itself diligently to the problem of unemployment, but so far seems to have evolved nothing better than the temporary expedient propounded in New Zealand by Sir Joseph Ward—a lavish expenditure on pubhe works. To many people in Britain there has come a realisation that this vital problem is largely a fiscal one, and that the future development of trade and industry rests very largely upon the distance the nation is prepared to go cither with the extension, of "safeguarding" or ,tho

promotion of reciprocal tariffs throughout the Empire. The principal topics of Imperial interest during the first year of the Labor regime have been Mr. Snbwdcn's fine stand for fair play to Britain at.the reparations conference at The Hague; the Palestinian riots, now happily quelled; the new policy of scuttle in Egypt; the empty gesture that for a moment raised the hopes of Indian Nationalists and left them soured and angry; and the decision fio slow down work at Singapore base—a decision which must cause some dissatisfaction and anxiety to all the Slates of the Empire bordering on the Pacific. In the Commonwealth the most notable events have been the political upheavals, resulting in the defeat of Labor in Queensland, the triumph of Labor in the Federal sphere, and the return of Labor with a very precarious majority in Victoria, and the great coal crisis which for many months has been paralysing industry and swelling the volume of unemployment. Australia is a continent of wonderful resources and despite strikes, droughts, and slumps of frequent recurrence manages to preserve a buoyant existence, and we have no doubt that the present period of depression will soon be overcome. New Zealand has been fortunate in its freedom from industrial troubles and from droughts as Australia knows them. It is. of course, subject to depression of markets, but production is expanding in such a manner over a greater variety of products that whilst prices may fall a greater volume of output will prevent any serious diminution in the earning power of the country as a whole. New Zealand, except for wool market returns, has had a tolerably good year, and the amount of traffic on roads and railways this holiday season, as well as the Christmas shopping, demonstrates the general prosperity. The unemployment problem was acute during the winter, but the Government met the situation promptly by the engagement of all willing to work upon road and railway construction. To the residents of the East Coast the most notable event of the year has been the splendid spurt which has been made by the Public Works Department in its endeavor to fulfil Kir Joseph Ward's promise to complete the Napioi'-Gisborno railway within a few years. For this undertaking the district should ever remain grateful to the Prime Minister, whose state of health, everyone regrets, is causing so .much anxiety. The completion of the first stage of the Gisbornc harbor is another event of local importance, as it is expected to bring about a substantial reduction in the freight charges to and from this port, enabling commerce in Gisbornc to be placed on a more equal basis with that at other main ports. Road development has also made good progress, and after many weary years of waiting it is a tremendous gain to have metalled highways extending in every direction bringing distant settlements into close touch with Gisbome, and to have main thoroughfares completed so that communications may be maintained in all weathers throughout the year. The effect of road improvement upon settlement and production is bound to be very considerable, and we venture to state that there is no part of the Dominion which can show such substantial progress in these matters as stands to the record of this portion of the East Coast for 1029, nor in which the prospects for future development are so great. It remains for us to express the hope that all our readers •may share in the fruits of this development and that the coming year may prove to everyone of them happy and prosperous.