The Star. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1915. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11510, 5 October 1915, Page 4

The Star. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1915. EDITORIAL NOTES.

| When the Waimakariri Harbour m Board' tackles the problem, oi provid3Tjg a permanent entraneo to the river ' '*it should benefit by the experiences of ■ir. similar bodies in other parts of the f Dominion. Many and costly are the efforts which have been made to utilise the rivers for coastal and also for t ' deep-sea shipping, and the degree of j. i. • success attendant Upon these harbour L echomfs has varied considerably. From L all accounts the Wanganui Harbour ! , Board has done magnificent work and E i : . the masters of vessels can, now count Tipon finding deep water on tha bar. e . And i* little further north the Patea gl ; people have inado consistent efforts to u improve the mouth of the Patea River, jj, ;/ byt to-day only small coastal vessels y f can work the port. Then on the West t Coast of this island attempt* have h ' been made, with varying success, to g ... maka good harbours, and at Grey- d i- mouth a port accessible in »U but ti Ivy weather is now found. G ho suggestion made by one member thet Waimakariri Harbour Board t the Government engineer's plans $« old: 'bo adopted tentatively has o lo to commend it. The board t! aid not adopt anything tentatively, ii t cannot endorse the proposals made n. it should obtain further expert 3 ice and placo a definite harbour im- a vement scheme before the rate- p ers. Work of this character, as a '' 5, is costly and it will bo found f 1 t money expended in obtaining the i; advice availablo is money well P nt. The rating area is limited and B ' t is another reasor, why the board £ uld proceed cautiously. At oh© . 0 the Waimakariri was used by stal shipping for landing sheep and bar, and there can bo little doubt . ,t were the bar negotiable in all ithers the river port would still be d. The desire of the board to ex- j d the usefulness of the port is reaaible, but, judging by efforts made swhere, it should "make haste + jrly," as the old maxim has it. Ten- ,j ive proposals should make way for g infinite scheme based on expert ada and such scheme should be biililted to the ratepayers for their doon. n the Railway Statement presented the House last week the General nager, Mr Hiley, deals with the iqy of constructing new lines. At 1 present time, he Kays, the Railway paTtment has no voice in the mat- , and new work is undertaken on i Public Works Engineer's estimate the cost of construction. r llie Rail- ° $r Department enters when, the blic Works Department having fin- e ad tho work of construction, the new g »is ready for traffic. Tins arrange- d nt does not commend itself to the o ueral Manager, and he makes cera proposals in order to improve mat- n 5. " J P!ie Department which will ul- a lately take over and' work tho new r J Iway," Mr Hiley states, " is not conted as to tho route, grades and s jnment, nor are the plans submit- P [ to it before the new lino is com- a need. No estimate is obtained from a ; Railway Department as to the cost li building the additional rolling stock « fuired. No estimate is made of the ® mal cost in the shape of working exises, and no figures are prepared by „ > Railway Department as to the pro- t >le revenue from the proposed finis o :rei'ore no reliable calculation can be a de as to whether the riet revenue .1 represent a profit or a locs." „ The General Manager suggests that \ future, before a liesv line or u ex- v ision is authorised, the Government raid obtain various reports, not only the work of construction, but on * i prospects of the line from the linan,l point of view. He groups his Mig- v •rtions on this point under three J iding, and urges that in future J new railway line shall be authorised til the Government lias first obtained J detailed r<po i horn (1) tho Chief 1; iMliiiliMikiiHfeiiiKiliy

Iho estimated eo&t of construction, (2) the Chief Mechanical Engineer us to rho cost of tho construction of veiling stoek, (3) from the General Manager of Railwaya ass to the working expenses, probably revenue and the total estimated profit or loss on the line. It is apparent that with this information at its disposal the, Government would know exactly what extensions and new lines would yield the best returns, but, of course,' that ia not the only consideration. The Lands Department could probably give a valuable report ou the amount- of new land a proposed line wcnld open up, and such a report might place the revenue estimate in quite another light, the liha «aaily and cheaply constructed might show a good return 'or tne , but if it did nofc facilitate settlement, if it merely provided .facilities for a few big landholders, then it might pay the country better to build a lift© elsewhere, opening up new land, aiding increased production and benefiting tho country in more thin one way. The proposals put forward by Mr Hiley are good, but they are not the last word jn railway policy. Russia's ultimatum to Bulgaria demanding the instant dismissal of German agents in Sofia should quickly bring matters to a head in tho Maikans. Bulgaria's position all aloiig lm beeii difficult to understand, but it now appears that she is tied hand and foot to the Central Powers. She if> in fact being crerced to fight against members of her own race and in league with Turkey, the moat detested enemy of the Slav. It is true that since tho eeeond Balkan War, Bulgaria has harboured animosity against the Greeks and Serbians, but to enter the field against, them now would be td place herself in antagonism to her liberator, liussia. An imaginative correspondent has made Czar Ferdinand liken himself to a blind man with a lighted torch walking between haystacks, but it seems that the King has applied the torch to the wrong haystack. Now that Bulgaria has been definitely won over to the German side, the pjror posed attack on Serbia should bo expedited. Such an attack would bo very useful to the Central Powers just now. Serbia is in no condition to mako a very vigorous risistance, and if Bulgaria co-operates the situation should soon reach a critical stage, tireecfc will certainly enter the fray once Bulgaria joins hands with Germany > but Rumania's position is still doubtful. Her entry into the war together with Greece would more than counter-balance the assistance Bulgaria would be rendering to the Central Powers, but there is a danger that Rumania might be offered jßessarabia as the price of a, neutrality something more than benevolent. The Allied offensive in the West was undertaken partially for the purpose of | impressing Bulgaria, and it will no j doubt bo pro&ecuted with vigour j withhold Austra-Germau pressure on Serbia. For this reason the Allies would warmly welcome an attack in the West, • but the Germans probably realise by this time that they are quite unable to pierce the Franco-British lines- Failing thie, however, the Austro-Germans may make an attempt to force their way through Serbia to the relief of Constantinople. ©too© more, it is the Dardanelles that is the key to the immediate situation, iwid an early Allied victory in that quarter is supremely necessary. There have been unofficial reports to the effect that heavy reinforcements have been sent to Uallipoli, and it may be that Italy h«e been persuaded to send a large force to help iu this work. Possibly another great effort will be made shortly to drive the Turks from their strong positions and bring the campaign aa fat as Gallipoli is concerned to a rapid conclusion. It is interesting to make a comparison between Sir John French's army order of Ootober 3 asnd the review of tho recent operations by Colohel Repington, the military correspondent of '• The Times," written on September 30. In his resume Colonel Repingfcon attaches much importance to the Vimy plateau, with its formidable defences, ''which is still ahead,' 1 and he states further that when the Frenche " have turned the Germans off the Vitoy plateau we will bo able to advance should to shoulder with the French." According to Sir John French's report the 10th French Army has been brilj fiantly successful in securing the the Vimy ridge. Read in conjunction with Colonel Repington's review of the initial stages of the offensive it appears that the Allies have made important adt-anoes within the last f6w days. Sir John French's order reads like a. review of past operations, and so it is, but it contains information of advances that have not been related elsewhere. The capture of the Vimy ridge is in itself a very important piece of news.