DAILY NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8156, 2 November 1904, Page 2

DAILY NOTES.

The latest news concernGRA.VER ing the Anglo-Russian sitiinews. ation is decidedly grave. The pledge given by Russia that that portion of the Baltic fleet concerned in the North Sea outrage shall remain at Vigo pending investigation has been broken. The whole fleet t -we learn to-day, has sailed from Vigo. Simultane- ] ously* it is announced that the officers of j the British Channel Squadron on leave have | •been hurriedly recalled 1 to tbeiv ships. Apparently it is to the A FKrEiTDLT good offices of France that mediator. Russia owes the fact that she is not now being punished for the sin 3 of the Baltic fleet. According to the Paris correspondent of the "Tunas," the French Government acted as mediator, with the result that instead of coming to blows the djsputants have consented to refer their differences to arbitration. The correspondent in question is not so deep in the confidences of European statesmen as his famous predecessor, the late M. de Blowitz, used to be, but, there is no reason to doubt his statement. Of late years Franoe has consistently pursued j a policy of peace. Moreover, as the ally of- Russia, and the avowed friend of Britain, it was against her interests that the two should resort to arms. Hence her interference, which,, as has been truly remarked, " has earned the gratitude of the world," although, judged by to-day's cables, this gratitade may be short-lited. As the of PubA lie Works truly remarks disawointino Mr L. M. Hancock, in his bzpokt. rep*ort on - the electrical generating powers of the New Zealand rivers and lakes, "does not go into details to the extent that some members might desire." Nor in this respeci do we think the report will satisfy less august persons outside Parliament. Mr Hancock spent about three raontha-~to be precise, exactly eighty -two days— in' the colony. He was afforded ample opportuni. ties of inspecting the different prospective sources of electrical power. He toofc an unconscionable length of time to submit has reportr-with, whaj> TCsulfi His report is crammed with generalitiee which are not even information, and with a great deal of superfluous rubbish about the -colony's scenery and. climate. We will not go '%: jEar as to deefcre that it is worthless., iven generalities 'have a value if they emanate •fctwn "wcognised . experts.. Bub we are

satisfied that, in the absence of details, without which no report of this kind is complete, the colony has not received full value for the fee which it has paid its recent visitor. The Premier's answer to the the deputation of Canterconstjmptive bury members which waited SCotjkgk. on (him on Monday contained a great deal of sound com-mon-senae. In one respect it was literally true. The State is merely playing at treating consumption. It has, it is true, established a sanatorium at Cambridge and invited Hospital Boards to erect special accommodation at the various hospitals throughout the country ; but that is all. To again quote Mr Seddon, it has touched! only the fringe of the question. Not only is consumption spreading among the New Zealanders themselves, but it is also being imported into the colony ait an alarming rate. It is useless for the Government, to tinker with the problem. It must tackte it in a really comprehensive manner: It must extend the operations of the Health, Department, and it should not hesitate to give ample assistance to such private institutions as Nurse Maude's Home. The new train and 6teamer . the new services were inaugurated services, yesterday without tho semblance of a flourish of trumpets. The expresses kept to their schedule times without apparent difficulty, and, generally speaking, the change seems to have been received very quietly. It is early yet to pass judgment on the new services; they have not been in operation sufficiently long to justify a verdict. But we may say, without hesitation, that in, one respect they are not an improvement on the old. Under the old system the mails arriving at the Bluff on the morning of one day would have "been sorted in Christchurch on the evening of the next. Und«r the new arrangements, apparently, the process of sorting is to be delayed until the morning o£ the" third day. This delay is inexplicable, although it is quite in. keeping with the Department's leisurely methods of distributing the mails which come by way of the Bluff.