DAILY NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7922, 29 January 1904, Page 2

DAILY NOTES.

One person, at least, is OPTiansir. fully satisfied' with- the city's drainage system. This rs- the chairman of the Drainage Board. In cdnvers*atio*n with a reporter, he condemned the recent criticisms of the Board* as rubbish, and. expressed! the conviction that tlie drainage system was as perfect as .science could make it, that the critics did not know what they were talking about, and thnt the sewers were thoroughly flushed;, andthe flushing was ample and quite adequate. We have a sneaking regard for an optimist as a worth v individual who is put into the worid to .say pleasant things, and who says them. . But optimism can be overdone^ especially in regard to large-public services of the class ito which the drainage system belongs. , The most peaceful omen A peaceful that news from the Far East omen; ha^ brought since the dispute I between Russia and Japan developed into a crisis, came yesterday inthe B shape of an announcement that Lloyd's in- . surance rates on Far Eastern cargoes had! fallen to 25 guineas per cent. Last week the rates rose to 60 per cent, which wse high enough to spell immediate hostilities. It is possible that the rapid decline which .has followed the rise may be traced* to other causes, but the intelligent critic will be inclined to attribute it to only one-r-the brighter outlook. The ways of Russian diplomacy are proverbially dfevious, and it is well not to place too much reliance on Russia's professions of peace. At the same time, many indications point to a peaceful settlement of the dispute, and not the least among tbem is the fall in the insurance rates. Lloyd's is a veritable international looking-glass. If war is averted, to what the cause, cause shall the world owe its , ■ escape frotoni at blopdy struggle Which threatens its peace? Will it be , to the admirable strength of purpose and j self-restraint shown by Japan, the Czar's ( I Jla^wn dislike to war, or a disinclination- oa

the part of Russia to fight for what she probably believes ehe can achieve by passive methods? Perhaps it will be to none of these reasons. It has been said that the making of war lies not in the hands of the Government of a country, or even in the hands of the most despotic of rulers, but with the great financiers. If this be true, dt is not difficult to believe that the Rothschilds and other great money-lending firm s have stepped in and forbidden the disputants to fight, and ifc is credible, if such a mandate has been issued, that it has been obeyed. War is such an expensive pleasure nowadays that the nation which does not* possess ample funds has to think twice beiore ifc embarks in it. And, neither Japan nor Russia is independent enough of borrowed money to deliberately scout the money-lender. , The thirty-eighfc Aus- ! A tralians in Johannesburg seddonian - who recently advised. Mr message. Deakin to mind his own business, and not interfere in the. Rand labour question, probably re-' present the opinions of a very minute minority of their fellow countrymen. While they were engaged concocting their impudent telegram, another section of Australians in the Transvaal — presumably a large one — was awaiting a message of encouragement for which they had besought Mr Seddon a few days previously. Mr Seddon has sent a reply, and his message will be found in another part of this issue. It is characteristic of the sender. It expresses an earnest hope that the movement to introduce Asiatic labour will not succeed, declares tdiat its success would cause heartburnings and a feeling of widespread disappointment, and concludes by asserting that the Chinese would make bad miners and very undesirable colonists. These are the objections to the proposal in a nutshell.