Taranaki Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL 6. 1909. GERMAN FINANCE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13928, 6 April 1909, Page 4

Taranaki Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL 6. 1909. GERMAN FINANCE.

A loading- Berlin newspaper, the Kreuz-Zeitung 1 , owing- to the, finain-iiil deadlock, is in favour' of Germany coining* to an ar-> rang-ement with Great Britain on the question of naval shipbuild-' ing-. Only a fortnight ago, it will be remembered, the Finance' Committee of the Reichstag- re-; fused the Government's demand j for twenty millions out of twenty- 1 five millions of proposed newtaxation. A few weeks ag*o it was cabled that the deficit in the Prussian Budget for the current year was estimated at nearly j eight millions sterling, and there have hem other evidences of serious 'financial stringency in the Germany Empire, as for instance, the North German Lloyds Company having" to write off its entire reserve and renewal funds. Not long ago the German Minister of Finance, Heir Sydow, contributed to a Berlin magazine an article on the pressing necessity of reforming the Empire's finances, urging that the question must be solved now, since postponement could only make the solution more difficult. At the end of 1906, he pointed out, there was a deficit of 28,000,000 marks (about £1,368,000) in the national treasury, which had increased to about £3,664,000 at the end of 1908. The funded debt, only 72,000,000 marks (about three and a half millions sterling) thirty years ago, had reached four and a quarter billion marks (about I £207,000,000), and about one billion marks more would have to be borrowed for expenditure to which the country was pledged during the next five years. In addition, there was a floating debt, payable' in short-term trea- ! sury bonds, for which the current ! year's budget demanded a maximum of 475,000,000 marks (over £23,000,000). The condition of the money market in late years, Heir Sydow added, had brought about a constant rise in the rate of interest on Government securities, while at the same time such securities had declined in price. Italy's 3] per cent, bonds stood at 104.5, but « Germany's only at 92.25.. The . country's finances, in fact, had been going from bad to worse during a period of peace, when German commerce and industry had developed quite extraordinarily r when the state of agriculture had been healthy, when the v prosperity of the individual had risen, and when all ranks of the population had attained a higher scale of comfort and prosperity than .they, ever enjoyed before. This individual prosperity has, it is evident, been purchased partly at the expense of the State, for, as Herr Sydow has shown,, the latter has steadily increased its debt, because it hap not taxed the people sufficiently ,to meet its requirements... Les us" compare the national 1 debt of JGrreat Britain. In thirty yearfs )khere has been bq gareat change^ but up to 1899 it was steadily reduced until it stood at £635,040,965, including not only the funded debt, Wfc -'the 'terminable annuities, unfunded- -debt," and other liabilities. ' The Boer, .War caused about be added, making the gross total at March 31, 1903, iife'; J^f ;.,thaii £798,349,190. Since then, 'how^ ever, large reductions have been made, and at the end of March, 1908, the debt was brought down to £759,826,951, no less % ,thaii fourteen millions sterling.Jkejng" redeemed in that year. Great

Britain, then, has not only been paying her way, but lias steadily reduced her debt, while Germany on the other hand has increased hers. In the light of these facts there can be no doubt as to which nation is the better able to stand the strain .of forced naval construction expenditure. If Great Britain chose she could, by the mere suspension of payment of sinking fund on her national debt, find the means to build many Dreadnoughts j . while the trouble in Germany is ta find the money to meet her ordinary expenditure. As already mentioned, the Government r.ecentlv demanded new revenue to the amount of £25,000,000, and th* "Finance Committee of the Reichstag" would only consent to a*fifth of the amount, and now apparently a financial deadlock ha 3 arisen, io meet which a leading I journal suggests 'an agreement I with Gi-PMt Britain to reduce the expenditure on new battleships. Incidentally, it ia worthy of remark that Great Britain has achieved her vastly stronger finaneiiu position under a Free Trade policy, while German finance has reached a deadlock under Protection. The wave of depression which has passed over the world, commencing in the United States, appears, it is true, to have struck British trade with greater force than German, but the figures relating to the former for last year are vastly more reliable than those relating to German trade, for the British values are corrected as well as the quantities of exports and imports, while the German values for 1908 are based on those for 1907, the corection not having yet been made. We know that a large proportion of the decrease in British trade was due to lower values, and when the correct returns are available it will probably be found that German trade actually decreased much more than the at present available records show. . .

Pollard's Juvenile Opera Company will be passengers for Onehunga, en route to Auckland,' by the Takapuna on Thursday evening. Tho Taranaki County Council has accepted an offer from the Taranaki Petroleum Company., Ltd. t . of a quantity of waste petroleum with w v hich to conduct experiments on "the county road in the vicinity of the, company's 1 works at Moturoa. The increased Easter passenger traffic is beginning to make itself evident in New Plymouth. The Rarawa for North last evening carried a fair number of ■ passengers, whilst the booking for the' jsame steamer to-morrow night is <heavy.

At the S.M. Court, Patea, on Monday; Mr Turnbull, S.M., heard a case in' which Elizabeth Hodge sued the Bank of New Zealand for £56 12s lOd, the amount of a forged cheque which the bank had paid. After hearing plaintiff's case the, bank agreed to [judgment being entered up with costs. I At a meeting of the Jersey Breeders* Association, held at Palnierston on Saturday last, it was agreed to offer the Taranaki Agricultural Society the champion medals for bull and cow for 1909. Sixteen new members were elected, including Messrs Freeth (Urenui), Jeffries (Rahotu). Phillips (Elthara), Marx (Mangatoki), Noonan (Manaia), Mellor (Kaponga), and Candy (Manaia). Judgment was given by default in the following cases at the Magistrate's Court this morning: — Commissioner of Crown L^jids v. E. O. Meredith, claim £4 13s 6d, costs £1 10s 6d; Inglewood [Oil and Prospecting Company v. J.. A. iSmyth, claim £2 13s 3d, costs 10s; J. IA. "Oldfield v. F. Whitehead, claim :£1 6s, costs 13s; Mark Johnson v. Thos. Harlen, claim £4 9s. lid, costs 10s; H. We*/on v. C. Brown Parker, claim £7 14s 6d> costs £1 3s 6d; Frankley Road Board v. Gilbert T. Perrott, claim £1 0s lld, v costs ss ; C. Greenway v. J. W. Wilson, claim 19s 2d,. costs 6s; A. Maroy v. Wiriam Hodgson, claim £3 11s, costs 10s.

At the meeting of ratepayers at Carrington Road last night some discussion took place .with regard to ,the advisability of some scheme being formulated for fire prevention. It transpired .that a number of ratepayers had paid for placing fire-plugs at various points on the mam road, or the understanding that they w6md eventually be paid for by the Road Board. Mr Carter pointed out that unfortunately there was no .record of this on the books of the Road, Board, and therefore he thought the fireplugs had. now become, the property of the new riding of the county. Had those gentlemen interested -brought the, matter befpre the Board.when.it existed, then he was sure it would have been settled. Still, he thought jty could be arranged in connection with the establishment of a system of fir© prevention.

An unfamiliar call was answered by the firemen of the Little Bourke Street , station in Melbourne recently. They were summoned •to the warehouse of Messrs Ullathorne, Hartridge and Co., Lonsdale Street. Reaching the scene in hot haste to answer the fire alarm, they found no f ire;, burt - much alarm . A young woman employed by the firm had become so • engrossed." ip her work that closing time Jajad' passed,,r and the doors had been' bolted, leaving her in a lonely prison.,. -Failing to, appreciate all at once the advantages or a quiet week-end, and, unable ; tp attract, attention through .the barred windows of the ground .fjoqr,,. she went.up to the second v storey, opened a, Window, and delivered her Jfrs^ public, address. When stio had succeeded; in ijiakjng her wants v tnow,n^ the. brigade ' y^ r r^BJ«jj** The firemen re.are*d 'UP'" a Jatraer7" t w means of 'which -the^girl was released from mjtfdicial imprisonment for forty hours "without the option."

Very few ladies responded to theinvitation to meet and consider the uomestic servant question at Palmerston North recently.

xVuckland does not intend to be outdone by Wellington in any respect. The Empire City has a Zoo — of sorts— and now the New Zealand Herald is advocating that one should be established in Cornwall Park.

The New Zealand Times of Saturday last contained portraits of two members of the Defence Council. Under that of Colonel Davies was the name oi Colonel Robin, while the former's name was placed under a portrait of Colonel Collins.

Wool prospects are bright. The iccent London sales closed at an advance of from 5 to 10 per cent, and even rao'e in some crossbreds, while the statistical position is strong, the carry-over bein^ only 12,500 bales instead of 78,000 after the corresponding sales last year.

It is reported from Panama that Colonel Goethals has promised President Taft that ships shall be passing through the Panama Canal on January 1, 1915. the President says he believes Col; onel Goethals is over-cautiouSj and that at the present rate of progress the wori> will be practical!}- complete by the end of 1911. ""*

One of the witnesses who gave evidence before the Timber Commission at Dunedin said that the same work 3b not performed by the men in the builiing trade. as used to be the case. Askud how he accounted for this, he replied that there are too many restrictions, too much inspection, too much nonsense. ' • ! The Inspector of Factories informed i a Christchurch reporter, in reply to ay^ question, that a number of slaughtermen have not availed themselves of the. opportunity offered' them to pay 1 the,, fines inflicted on them two years ago for striking, in instalments. In these circumstances it was probable that an order for the attachment of their wages would be applied for*shortly. A return presented to the Christchurch Tramway' Board yesterday showed that the surplus on the year's operations, after providing for sinking fund^ depreciation and renewals, was £6744, or, deducting the deficiency on the Riccarton Jine, £5763. The Board decided to electrify the lines at present op^ crated by steam, and to submit to the ratepayers proposals for the extension of the existing lines, involving an expenditure of £65,000." / At the Addington Workshops inquiry Mr T. Rohayne, General Manager of the, Government Railways, stated that some years ago a statement got into the English newspapers that the New Zealand Government was offering £3000 for an efficient spark arrester. Soon .after the statement Appeared the Government were flooded with designs of a crude and impossible nature. After the.* numerous inventories had- been re-, plied to, the flood of designs subsided. "Much interest is being taken in the fate of the six Masterton hotels, following the closing of licensed houses on June 30. Over £100,000 ' worth of property is involved, arid The Dominion says that it is stated on very good authority that overtures have been made for the purchase of two of the hotels by banking co-operations, which havfe' branch businesses in Masterton. According to the statements made by commercial travelß|rs; "there iwill be a " good business in Masterton for at leas]; one- first-class temperance hotel! * T£ Roera Tareha was before the Magistrate's Court at Napier yesjerday on remand, charged with assaulting Joh^i Bibby so as to cause him actual bodily harm at Napier .Park during the recent race meeting. Bibby is a, wbol classer, who at. one time was tra-> veiling with a buckjumping show. Mr M'Carthy, 5.M.., found that Bibby had been looking for trouble, had thrust himself into the Maori's company, had refused to go away when asked, and was not satisfied until a fight ensued. The information was dismissed. A charge against Tareha of committing a breach of the peace was withdrawn,, and that against Bibby adjourned.

A peewit case was heard by Mr. Dyer, S.M., at Auckland on Friday, when a hotelkeeper was charged with supplying liquor to three men who weie already intoxicated. The prosecution called tße men, who deposed that thfej were drunk, x One of them said, that they had geven or eight pints of Deereach between 12.15 p.m. and 3.45 p.m., while another said he had three shandies and four beers. They were subsequently arrested as the result of a ro*;. The police and other witnesses gave evidence an dthe Magistrate stopped the denoe and the Magistrate stopped tiie ground that of all the witnesses* onty the men themselves said they : wer© drunk, and the impression left on Ins mind was that they pleaded drunkenness as, anß&fcuse for their blackguard ly conduct...; .- . . A man walked into the casualty room at the Sydney Hospital last week, nut. his hand to his side, groaned, and announced that he had three bullets ;n him (says- the Daily Telegraph). An attendant reached out his hand to steady the wounded man, and then started back, just in time* to avoid a vigorous punch aimed for his -head. Evidently the man was in too great pain to be touched except by the hands of experts. So the doctor came over, I and to him the stricken man explained his trouble. "One bullet is in my kidneys," he said. The surgeon looked grave, and put out his hand towards the spot. He had the same experience as the attendant, for the patient was fractious and would not pc touched. Two other vital spots were indicated as the resting places of the second and, third bullets, but by that time the nature of the case was appreciated, and without further humouring a quick but thorough examination was made, which disclosed the fact that the patient was perfectly sound. He was, accordingly sent about his business, though still complaining of bullet wounds.

I A' rather peculiar case was brought under the notice of the Canterbury Land Board last week. A lady waited on the Board with the request that it should insist on -the holder of a leas© transferring his interest to her, aa he had originally agreed to do. jhe stated that the man held leases of two sections in the Studholnwy Village bettlement, and had transferred one to her husband, with a promise that the second would be transferred. -tier husband (says the Christchurch Press) had paid £100 deposit, and had been in occupation of one of the sections for a year, but he was unable to get any satisfaction,, from. the original lessee m regard tp the second section. The papers connected /with the case were produced, and the Commissioner pointed out that the original lessee had been distinctly refused permission to transfer either of the sections. If .the applicant's husband was in possession, in pursuance of an arrangement made with the lessee, the latter had committed an illegal act, and should be called upon to show why_his lease should not be forfeited. The Board agreed to obtain a report on the matter.

A private telegram received at Napier from Wellington states that tne Government have decided to acquire the Tangoio estate for closer settlei ment. The members of the Timber Commission who are not Parliamentary representatives receive £2 2s a day a»Sfcmembers of Parliament £1 a day^ bojj^» payments including hotel expenses. Foreman Huse, reporting to • the County Council yesterday suggested that numbers be placed on the front of motor cars, also that six miles an hour was fast enough for them to travel around dangerous bends. The New Plymouth Homing Pigeon Club held a novel interval , rdce from Wanganui last week. The birds taking part in the race had to be nominated by members at the commencement of the season. The birds were liberated by Mr C. Ryland, of Wanganui, ninetaking part. The weather being "thick" slow time was recorded. ; TbJ6 result was : V. H. Beals' Jean, 2 hours 58min, velocity 826 yds Oft lin; 1 W. Boulton's Professional, 2' hours 59$min, velocity 817—0—4, 2; B. Bayly's'Amateur, 3 hours, Omin 15sec, velocity, 807—0—6, 3; H. Moverley's No. 154, 3 hours 9min, velocity 773—1 — 2 Js 4.