THE COLONIST. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1918. SUMMARY NOTES.

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14893, 16 October 1918, Page 4

THE COLONIST. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1918. SUMMARY NOTES.

The Dominion and the War.

The dramatic turn of events on the West front, in Palestine, and in the Balkans, followed by Germany's confession of failure and plea for an armistice, have profoundly stirred the people of the Dominion, who are keenly expectant of great developments bringing near the realisation of the ideal for which they in common with the other communities of the Empire and of the Allies have sacrificed so much and so freely. The capitulation of Bulgaria was made the occasion of i almost the only organised jubilation in which the Dominion has indulged since the beginning of the conflict. The news, following closely upon Sir Edmund iAllenby's decisi%-e victories in Palestine, raised a high pitch of public enthusiasm, which found the customary methods of expression. Services- of thanksgiving were held generally, and the Church Steps was the scene of a very large gathering in the evening, when an impressive service was held. The City Council held a special meeting during the day and adopted an appropriate resolution. The Dominion's various war efforts are proceeding without interruption. The reinforcement drafts taken into camp have reached lso. 47, which mobilised this month. The Nelson quota were given the customary public send-off prior to their departure for Trentham.

Meeting of Parliament. The' Prime Minister.,-Mr. Massey, and his colleague, Sir Joseph Ward, arrived in the Dominion on Saturday on ( their return from England. Parliament is to assemble towards the end of this month, and the session is likely to continue r.ntil Christmas at least. There is the usual difference of opinion concerning the probable course of events', Ministers expressing the opinion that the session Avill present no features out of th© ordinaryj On that point, however, some private members and others hold a different view, and the. prospects are that th& disgruntled elements will ' feel sufficiently liberated by the new I aspect the war has assumed from the restraint they have placed upon themselves hitherto, to make matters lively all round. The demand for a general election in the near future is certain to be strongly in evidence. A national petition is to be presented to Parliament praying that a referendum be taken on the Efficiency Board's proposal to bring national prohibition of the liquor traffic into operation as a war measure, on the basis of compensation, and another petition also asks for a referendum with State ownership as an alternative issue. These proposals are likely to.be productive of interesting discussions, and other subjects of contention which have been;kept alive | during the recess, are likely to cause j sharp differences of opinion. ■' j

By-Elections. The National Government has been forcibly arid unpleasantly reminded dur-

ing the month of the fact that its errors of commission and omission have earned it the ill-will of large sections of the people. Its official candidates were de-' feated in the by.-elections for Wellington Central and Taranaki, making with the Grey by-election three Government defeats' almost in as many mouths. In each case the strength of the Labour group in the House- has been increased. Six candidates aspired to the seat of tho late Mr Fletcher for Wellington Central, and the nominee of the Federation of Labour, Mr Peter Fraser, a Labour-Socialist of the mos t extreme type, headed the poll by an overwhelming majority. He received 2668 votes , the next candidate on the list. Mr M J. Mack, secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants- standing as a moderate Labour man, getting fjtn?o Gove ™*ent candidate* Mr W. T.-midreth, was third, with 784 votes, and Mr. Harry Atmore, Nelson's former member, occupied the fourth position, having attracted 185 votes. It is to be noted that little more than fifty per cent, of the electors on the roll exercised their privilege The Taranaki by-election, a week later, resulted in a greater surprise,, the seat being regarded as one of the safest for the Government, whose candidate was Mr J. B. Connett, a well-known farmer and local government representative. He was opposed by Mr Sydney Smith, a railway employee, who headed the poll with a majority of 160.

Purchase of the Wharves.

At a poll taken on September 24th the ratepayers sanctioned the proposal of the Harbour Board to raise a loan of £103,000 to effect the purchase of the wharves and foreshore from the Railway Department. The voting was not as heavy as might have been expected, only 1499 valid votes being cast. The proposal was carried by an absolute majority of more than two to one, and there was a margin of 85 votes over the. requisite three-fifths majority. The result is a healthy indication of the confidence of the people in the future of the district, and is. the more encouraging because it has been displayed at a time which, by reason of war conditions, is not one that would be selected for the assumption of new and heavy financial responsibilities. The matter was one, however, in which no choice of time was allowed, and had the opportunity been neglected it was very unlikely to have recurred, at any rate on similarly favourable terms, and the ratepayers acted very wisely in seizing it while they had the chance. The decision means much to the future of the district, completing as it does local control of the harbour facilities1. The Harbour Board had made anticipatory arrangements for the raising of the loan from the Treasury, the money being available on favourable terms, so that the way is now clear for the completion of the transaction.

"Our Day."

Nelson, as usual, is entering heartily into the "Our Day" special appeal on behalf of the Red Cross, and it is hoped this year to considerably improve upon last j'ear's response, which enabled £1500 to be forwarded to the headquarters of the Red Cross organisation in London. The ' outstanding ■ feature of this year's effort is a "flag drive," a method of raising money for patriotic purposes which has proved very effective elsewhere in the Dominion and in Australia.

A Troopship Tragedy.

The most lamentable misfortune which has overtaken any New Zealand troops at sea occurred during the voyage of the Fortieth Reinforcements, an epidemic of sickness carrying off 68 of the men before they reached England, while a further six died after beJ ing landed, and many others were seriously ill. The epidemic seems to have swept through the whole of the convoy, only one ship escaping without many deaths/ It has been alleged that the ship in which so many New Zealanders were struck down was overcrowded, and was otherwise unsuitable for the conveyance of troops on a long voyage. These statements will doubtless be searchingly investigated. The tragic affair caused a most painful sensation in the Dominion, and public opinion will not be satisfied until it is doubly assured that if any preventible causes contributed to the terrible mortality there will be no possibility of their recurrence.