GENERAL NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14341, 13 January 1911, Page 5

GENERAL NEWS.

THE WAR CLOUD AND THE MEAT TRADE. Speaking at the mutual meeting of the. Curisicliurcli Meat Company, oi clouds ou the .horizon oi the u\>zeu Bleat industry,' Professor AlacuuUan Brown uieut.oned as ouo of them, the "war cloud."' "We have (ha sa.d.) an Empire that dependi upon its lug" roads on tho seas. It it does. "'J 1 maintain control of tiuue h'gli roads it is -as gocd as disinoinb. reel and dead. We who read tho history of tho pi-.t, and know- recent h.stury/ al ."' :irc ,;l " mihar with the auibit.ous of war parties in Europe, can sjc indicatioiis that the command of these water h:gh roads is about to bo challenged, pos.ib.v taking the shape of tho s-iiure of Holland. It is perfectly true that none of the peoples desire such a struggle. It is abhorrent to both r-ides, out unfortunately the matter is cot in their hands. It is in the hands of those who, establi-Jied in autocratic countries, control the Army and Navy, and those who havo studied with care the era of Napoleon know how successful wars led him and his party and his nation to the dream of a creation of a universal Empire. It was of course, nothing but a dream and a mirage. Now with this before us, not an imaginary scare, we w"ho lire at the end of one of onr high roads of Empire and depend for our "living upon the safety of these water-ways, will be in a perilous position unless we are prepared. Our indu c try will bo dislocated, and it is a duty for our directors to build up an insurance reserve, a defence fund, nnd any other funds for such a contingency, If they do not they will be acting unwisely " for ■ob, unwisely for the company, and unwisely for the country." IMPROVED CENSUS RETURNS. Sir W. J. Steward, M.P., has writ- ' ten to the Minister of Internal Affairs recommending that in taking tho census in .April tho enumeration should distinguish tho population" of _ each "town," as well as the population cf each borough. In other words that a. borough and its suburbs should be treated as a population unit. Sir "William instances Waimate, where fully one-third (perhaps more) of tho "townspeople" lire outside -the borough. This amendment of the system would be of importance in connection, with the raising of loans and otherwise. He made this suggestion before the last census was taken, but too lato. The chief of the Department however, approved of the proposal and took a n. te of it, with a view to its being carried out. this year. The Hon. Mr Bnddo, in reply to the Member for "Waitalri, savs he will refer the suggestion to the" Department for consideration. A seconcf suggestion, that land valuation returns should be similarly dealt with, he did not think necessary, ar.d in any case it has nothing to do wish census returns.