The Timaru Herald MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1934. REDS IN CHINA.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19942, 29 October 1934, Page 8

The Timaru Herald MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1934. REDS IN CHINA.

From Hon};' Kong coiuoa the news that hordes of Communists after causing weeks of apprehension, have begun a desperate onslaught on China’s frontier defences. Refugees are reported to be pouring into Canton; and one brigade of Cantonese troops, sent to subdue the revolutionists, even though it acquitted itself well, is said to have been annihilated. Apart from her depredatory war lords, one of China’s great misfortunes is her proximity to the Russian Soviet; and in addition to the desire of her disciples to spread her doctrines many Russians seem, to think that it is their mission in the world to carry propaganda amongst their neighbours, and near neighbours naturally suffer from a superfluity of propaganda. Notwithsanding the so-called idealism of their doctrine, the results have been particularly unfortunate for China; the Communists have been responsible for much spilling of Chinese blood and what is more, they have created chaos in many wide areas. One authority on the subject, Mr T’ang Leang-Li, who discusses the problem in his book, “Suppressing Communist Banditry in China,” says that at first, Communism had a mystic halo around it. It is a belief, and for some of its followers, it is a religion, blit' the Chinese, brought up in the positivist and pragmatic philosophy of Confucius are not, in his opinion, mystical at all. Thus, it would appear that even though Communism has gained converts amongst the people on the outskirts of China, it will never embrace the bulk of the Chinese people. Generally, the doctrine of Communism regards society as being composed of individuals who are grouped according to their social functions; further, Communism tends to abolish the family grouping of society by relaxing conjugal bonds and leaving the State to care for children. The existing Chinese social system on the other hand, is largely patriarchal, and consequently, the foundation of the system is the family. A Chinese is therefore, because of his upbringing, generally an individualist, and generally, too, one of his greatest aims in life is to further the prestige of his family line, to venerate his ancestors, and to rear his children to justify his ancestral line. Even in a city like Shanghai, which has been largely modernised, Mr Riang-Li states that many of the great Chinese enterprises, such as banks, are either owned or managed by families or groups of families. Participation in business on a joint stock basis, and appeals to prospective shareholders who are not conjugally related for support in starting a business, are, he says, Western ideas which have only recently been introduced into China. Moreover, the individual Chinese is not inclined to follow others by the simple influence of discipline. Subordination to party discipline is of course, one of the main characteristics of Communism. It would therefore appear that the ministrations of the Bolshevik disciplines, apart from the bloodshed they have caused, appear to have missed fire badly in the Orient.

THE CALL OF WAITAKI, Deemed unconquerable by many of the most observant settlers who had seen the great waterway in all its moods, the Waitaki river —a giant even in its most placid moods, but a veritable monster as it roars in flood —has been harnessed to the service of man. On Saturday, in the presence of a representative gathering from the North and South Islands, the Governor-General, assisted by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Works, turned water into an enormous turbine and vari coloured lights which blazed in the electric sign “Waitaki Hydro-electric Power,” signalled to the people of the Dominion the conquest of the mightiest river in the South Island, by the genius of engineers and the labour of an army of workmen. Fortune has manifestly favoured the courage and vision of the engineers of the Public Works Department who chose the site and laid the plans to curb the elemental forces of Nature represented in a surging snow-few river, for not once during the whole of the six years occupied in the constructional work has a real “old man” flood been encountered. The work is an engineering triumph of the first order. Expressing pleasure at the completion of the biggest hydroelectric power undertaking in the Dominion, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, who as a former Minister of Public Works, played no small part in evolving the policy pursued by the country in relation to hydro-electric development, pays a high compliment, to the work of the engineers and the men who did the job. Naturally, Mr Coates is interested because it was while he was Prime Minister the scheme was launched. Although unable to attend the opening function, Mr Coates remarked that the completion of the Waitaki hydro-electric works marked another important point in the progress being made with the development of hydro-electric power in the Dominion. Referring particularly to Waitaki, Mr Contes said: “It is pleasing to see that successive

Governments and successive Ministers have confirmed the policy of development of the Dominion’s wonderful resources in water-power on broad national lines and in conformity with a definite scheme. I think it is generally agreed among those who are conversant with the power supply problem that New Zealand has tackled the problem in the correct way, and that the Government has been well advised by its technical experts in launching and carrying through the various developments that have been completed.

The development of the biggest hydro-electric scheme in the Dominion, almost, within a stone’s throw of Tirnaru, may be regarded as an epoch-making event in the progress of South Canterbury. The great undertaking has been devised to balance the Stateowned hydro-electric system that has sent its energy-carrying linos into the remotest corner of three important provinces. As far as South Canterbury is concerned it may be said that the harnessing of the Waitaki, which offers opportunity for considerable further development at comparatively little additional cost, removes for many years, all fears that the hydro-electric needs of the South Island will not be met. For some years, electric power authorities have felt that the demand for electrical energy had been out-growing possible supplies. The interruption of the full services from Lake Coleridge some time ago, because of the diminishing water supply in dry weather, may be said to have substantially lessened confidence in industrial development, because of the uncertainty of power supplies. The harnessing of Waitaki sets all such fears at rest; indeed, it is doubtful if the full capacity of the station will be needed for some years:

“With this new work just completed, we appear for the moment to have a surplus of power available,” says Mr Coates. "I well remember the experience of the past, however, and the clamour of the people of Canterbury for the Government to lift them out of the position of being continually faced with the prospect of having to restrict their power demand because we might possibly be short of power to supply their needs. “With this in view, I feel sure that the capacity at Waitaki will soon be utilised. There is also no doubt that Waitaki, having always a surplus of water in the summer-time, when the ordinary city and domestic power load is not a miximum, is in a particularly favourable position to cater for special manufacturing industries which might require large blocks of power at specially favourable rates." The Minister’s observations are at once a challenge and a promise, which South Canterbury would do well to note, since the harnessing of the mighty river to bear the burdens of man offers to South Canterbury an inspiration to march forward confidently into a new era of development in town and country.

STATE CONTROL OE FARMING. Although it is generally recognised that the dairy industry in New Zealand is in a parlous plight, due principally to low prices in the principal markets open to Dominion produce, the existing conditions do not justify tlie Government rushing through remedial measures without mature deliberation. It is interesting therefore to note that the outline of the proposed legislative palliatives have created something like a sensation in financial and commercial, and, indeed, in political circles as well. The consensus of opinion suggests that as drafted the clauses of the Bill concerned with the establishment and empowering of the Council of Production and Trade are as controversial as the purely dairying clauses are acceptable. For example there is this: For the purpose of giving effect to the recommendations of the [Dairy Industry] Commission . . . and generally for the purpose of securing the effective conduct of any of the industries in respect of which the Executive Commission of Agriculture has for the time being any statutory or other functions and otherwise for the purpose of giving effect to this Act, the GovernorGeneral may from time to time, by Order-in-Council, make all such regulations as he may consider necessary for the economic welfare of New Zealand. The “industries in respect of which . . . the commission . . . has any functions” will be at tlie onset all those embraced by tlie phrase “any of the primary products of New Zealand.” That would seem wide enough for anything but there is power to confer “other functions” either under this Bill “or otherwise howsoever.” The critics say it will be utterly impossible to set a limit to the economic dictatorship, which, should the Bill pass, this or any subsequent Government could lawfully establish under its sanction. First, the commission is to be endowed with over-riding powers over any or all of the affairs of any or all of the produce boards immediately those have been transferred to it by Order-in-Council. Then other industries and other interests may be brought within its scope by Order-in-Council. Then “for the purpose of securing the effective conduct” of, it may be, the whole production and commerce of the country, more Orders-in-Council may be made. It is not surprising in view of the drastic nature of the new legislation that the Government’s proposals have been received with a barrage of criticism coming from end to end of the Dominion.