The Star. MONDAY, JULY 23. 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12066, 23 July 1917, Page 4

The Star. MONDAY, JULY 23. 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

SUBURBAN TRAINS. Like those of Bret Harte's Chinaman, the ways of the New Zealand Railway Department are peculiar, and some of its actions recently have savoured strongly of what is known as " puro oussedness." We are in full sympathy with every effort that can possibly bo made to augment tho manpower at tho front; we are convinced that there should be no limit set to New Zealand's part in the great Avar, despite the beraoanings of the "coldfooted brigade" which finds a few supporters even in the House of Representatives. But wo doubt very much whether 'this desire on the part of tho Railway Department is the only cause for the deletion of a few suburban trains which, are absolutely necessary in the cause of efficiency. We have on several previous occasions dealt with the deletion of essential trains on the Ghristchnirch-Lyttelton line, and havo pointed out that the refusal of the Department to run certain trains has had the result of detaining vessels uiineccs-

jearily long in port, and that if the (Department persisted in tho course. (which it had laid down th P , province would suffer greatly, inasmuch as shipowners would divert their boats from JLyttelton to other ports where the Isame difficulties would not be placed in the way of rapid dispatch. Already shipowners have expressed the opinion that with shipping at a premium, and with freights offering on all sides, they cannot afford to allow their ▼easels to lie at tho Lyttelton tfrharf to suit the convenience of the Railway Department, which, by putting on a couple of trains daily, would enable workmen to deal •with cargo with much more dispatch than is at present tho case. As is well known, the German submarines have taken a heavy toll of Allied shipping.. ;and later we are likely to feel tho effects of the sinkings much more acutely than we have done up to the present. Every hour that a boat is detained unnecessarily in harbour is a direct loss not only to this country, "but to the Allies collectively, and we main'taili that the cfuick, dispatch of vessels is in a measure just as serviceable to the' Allies as is the augmentation of the forces in the field.

, • Almost innumerable representations hare been made to Ministers on the subject of restoring a couple of essential trains on this line. Deputations • galore have waited on tho Government, land irrefutable arguments have been ' "brought forward in support of tho re- ' iteration of absolutely necessary trains. ' feb Ministers have been anything bat •; responsive, and apparently the only lumber of the. Government who thortb.a importance of the

question is the Hon G. W. Russell, who has spared no pains to impress upon his colleagues the necessity in the public interests of restoring the trains. Mr Russell has spoken very strongly on the question, and tho province is under an obligation to him for his spirited championing of the people's cause-. However, judging by a telegram received from Wellington on Saturday, it: wo\ild appear that the question of restoring thf deleted trains on the Christ-church-Lyttelton line has been considered by the Government in connection with similar requests from other parts of the Dominion, and a decision has been arrived at that the trains cannot be restored unless a Bill .is put through the House exempting tho Railway Department from tho operations of the Military Service, Act! In the first place, the demand for tho restoration of a couple of trains on tho Lyttelton line should havo been considered on its merits. Lyttelton is in quite a different position from any other principal port of the Dominion, and its demands should, as a matter of common sense, have been considered quite apart from, say, a request from Auckland, and this notwithstanding the fact that Mr C. J. Parr, C.M.G., threatened some time ago that Auckland would have something to say if the Government made any concessions to Canterbury. The restoration of the trains on the Lyttelton line would not require tho additional services of more than half a dozen men; the trains could be run by - men not eligible for active service, of which there are hundreds looking for work. The services of superannuated railway men, many of whom are entirely capable of doing the work efficiently, could be utilised, and we are quite satisfied that the restoration of the trains need not take a .single oligiblo man from the firing line. AVe frankly confess that we are 'unable to follow the reasoning of 1 ho Ministry in this matter, and the only conclusion we can arrive at is that the majority of the members of tho present. Administration are not favourably disposed towards this province. 'Ft is clearly the duty of the members for Canterbury to combine to compel the Government to restore the trains. Canterbury is asking for nothing to which she is not entitled: she is asking for bare justice. Ft is well to remember that the Department placed no barriers in the way of running a special train from Auckland to Pukekohe on the occasion of the recent reception at tho latter place to the Right Hon W. F. Massoy. That train was not necessary in the interests of national efficiency; the restoration of the two deleted trains on the Lyttelton line are necessary jn order to economise fhipping space. "We want a "square deal,'' and we hopo our parliamentary representatives will see that we get it.

WORKERS AND PENSIONERS. Everyone who has suffered from thft failure of ihe Administration to give relief from the unbearably high cosb of living will be iiulir.cd to echo the opinion expressed by ]Mr Howard at the Trades and Labour Council meeting on Saturday ni</ht that there is little hope of relief so long a.s the present people are in power. Another speaker prob-

.ibly hit upon the truth when ho put' forth the theory that the Government understood the position, but was prepared to serve tho interests of the wealthier classes.. The Administration is not likely to admit as much, but on no other hypothesis can we explain the persistent reluctance of tho present Cabinet to grapple seriously with a position that is arousing the bitterest feeling throughout the Dominion. Possibly the only way really to bring homo to Ministers the actualities of life would he to place them in tho position of artisans and labourers, and other humble wage-earners, and compel them to support their families on L2 or £3 a week. That, unfortunately, is impossible, but it is apparently the only way in which the rulers of tho Dominion could be taught tho need for fixing the prices of commodities and for making some endcavCur to provide tho people with tho necessaries of life at a moderate cost.

The working community is burdened beyond endurance by tho free hand given to the traffickers in food and other necessaries, but more distressing Ktill is the condition of those who are past work and who have, nothing but the meagre old age pension upon which to sustain life. The Trades and Labour meeting, we are glad to see, kept the old people in view and carried a resolution urging the Government to raise tho pensions immediately to me?t the increased cost of living. The Mayor of Christchurch also is making vigorous efforts in this direction, and there is reason ta hope that Parliament will compel tho Cabinet to fulfil the. longdelayed measure of j'astice to the helpless old people who are stricken bo hard hy the increase in the price of the commonest necessaries. Tho, pension was miserably inadequate even under prewar conditions; now it is utterly impossible for its recipients who have no other resources to make both ends nearly meet. They must either seek private assistance or starve. So rich a country, with so many wealthy producers and traffickers growing moro wealthy still out of war profits, can surely afford to make the lives of its old people endurable, not as a matter of charity, but as a measure of justice* and right.

HEATHCOTE'S DISABILITIES. Three weeks ago we published an article in these columns drawing pointed attention to the fact that although electric light has now been in general use in the Heathcote district for more than eighteen month.l, the (Railway Department is still content to "light" the railway station with kerosene lamps of low candle-power. The result of this is that tho station is always in a state of semi-darknes3, and, considering the heavy passenger traffic at that station —it 19 estimated at quite sixty thousand per annum—it is indeed marvellous that there are so fewaccidents. The immunity from fatalities must 'ho attributed largely to the cal'o exercised hy the staff, which spares no pains to ensure the safety of tho travelling public. On many occasions the attention of the departmental chiefs has been drawn to the inefficient lighting, and petitions have been for-

warded to headquarters urging that the current, which is available not more than fifteen yards away, should be utilised, but tho Department has remained deaf, end the petitioners havehad to be content with the stereotyped leply that the matter is "under consideration." Now, it should 1)0 borne in mind that the Christcluirdi-Lyfctel-ton line is one of tho best paying sections of railway in the Dominion, and it is futile for the Department to argue, as it probably would, that there would be no justification for the expense which would be involved. We hold that for many years, indeed ever sine© the Canterbury railways passed under the control of the General Government, this province has had a distinct grievance, against tho powers that be in connection with the excessive rates charged on this line, which has been systematically used as a milch cow to support the political and nonpaying lines outside Canterbury, and it is strange indeed that the members for the province, have not before now banded themselves together to compel the Government of the day to do something in the nature of even-handed justice to Canterbury- That the railway station should continue to be lighted by the "American light,"' which might have been quite up-to-date fifty years ago, is certiinly not creditable, to tho Administration.

Tt is worthy of note that more than a hundred dwellings in the immediate vicinity of the station are lighted by electricity, whilst it is quite common to find cowsheds, and other buildings illuminated by current from Lake Coleridge. The cost of installation would he merely nominal, the annual cost of lighting would be substantially reduced, and the. lives and limbs of the travelling public would be exposed to fewer risks than they are at present. The platform, too, is much too short for a. centre of tho importance of Hoathcoto, and the station buildings are almost prehistoric. Many .stations south of Addington, which do comparatively small passenger traffic, are provided with buildings which ;iro •more than adequate for requirements, but at J-Jentheoto tho case, is different, tho station being inadequate for the heavy traffic. The people of the Valley l-ftvo shown almost the patience of Job in so long submitting to a condition of affairs which would be tolerated by few communities, but by tamely .submitting to the departmental indifference they .-ite not doing full justice to the pretty centre in which they reside, vnd they should certainly bestir themselves, and bring pressure to bear on those in control of the railways to secure improvements. In asking for electric lighting fo/ the sjtatiou and the erection of up-to-date station buildings they tvould be making no inordinate demand; they would be asking for a small measure of justice which has been denied tho locality for all too Tbng. If the claims of the locality ;.re properly represented to tho Department we fe?~: sure that the chiefs am'll scarcely use tho war as an excuse, for not remedying the serious disabilities under which HeaOicofo lias laboured too patiently for many years. Railway stations like that at Heathcote show that :n some respects wo arc very far Behind the times.

PEACE TALK. It is not clear that Sir Edward Carson's reference to peace terms in his speech at Belfast was based upon any definite policy decision on the part of the British Cabinet, and it may he taken, therefor*, that his use, of the pron<nwi "wo" was rhetorical rather than official. His declaration that peace, terms would not be discussed with the Piussian war lords hut with the representatives of the, German nation is in effect a repetition of pievioua pronouncements hy responsible British speakers But his statement of tho preliminary terms upon which negotialicns for peace would be opened, tho withdrawal of the enemy behind the Rhine, is surely an extraordinary utterance, coming as it does from the 1 ev.-e/st member of tho War Cabinet. It is to Mr Lloyd George that the nation properly looks ior an announcement of Britain's policy on the question of peace terms, and. it is not at all ptobable that the Prom ior or Cabinet would select Sir Edward Carson to make the first public pioclamalion of ■-he terms which mus: precede the opening of negotiations for a laying down of arms. But even assuming that the speech was iitth; or nothing mere than an expression of Sir Edward's personal views, the conditions upon which ho would seek peace aro clearly at variance with the previously announced poliey of Britain and her Allies. -the mild invitation to the enemy forces to retire to their own side of tho Rhine is a disappointing watering-down oi general peace conditions insisted upon bv tho Allied nations. The complete de.stnetr'on of the L'russi.m autocracy, the overthrow of the Hohenzollorn dynasty, the complete defeat of the German armies and the destruction or surrender of •.he Gerii'an Navy are conditions indispensable to a secure praeo, and again and again these conditions have been impressed upon ihe wo.-ld by .speakers and writers in Britain. France and other countries in arms against the Teutons,

Sir Eclwft-d Cirson speaks of waiting until the enemy "show condition tor drenching countries with blood," but he. is a:-sinediy deceiving himself and ius audience, it he expects to discover signs of sincere repentance among the war-makers. It is utter vanity and time-wasting to issue invitations to the enemy to do this or to do tint; the one and ouly factor that can possibly make an appeal to the Hun mind is force oi aims, :he Uw of tl:e strong hand. The enemy will not retire behind ti;e Kbinc or anywhere else until they are absolutely compelled to do so by gun and rifle and bayonet. The .steady hammering away at tho German and Austrian forces must go on; ibero h no other way out, however much we may all long for peace. Sir Edward Carson is of all men jn the Ministerial office; the one least qualified to be.orne the mouthpiece cf the Allies with roganl to peace terms, and the world will scarcely be? disposed to accept any definition of these conditions unless it comes from tho liriiish Premier after consultation with the Cabinets of France and other parbnars in the struggle. And Air Lloyd George, it is tolerably certain, is not going to offer the enemy the eKcuse they seek for retiring from the war with their powers for evil still intact*