TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8262, 16 October 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

The historic island of St. Helena, which used to be an important British oolcny, paying its Governor £IO,OOO a year, is plunged into depression at present, owing to the Government's resolve to withdraw the garrison. A writer in the Monthly Record of the League of the Empire states that, after the withdrawal of the garrison, the peculation, consisting ot about 4,000 200 uf whom are whites, the rest ooloured people and Africans—-will have for their sole defenoeand guard five policemen. "Tbe islard has no trade, no products, and no resouroes in itself. The islanders, who are a quiet, gentle, and loyal people, will be left almost in starvation, their one means of living—viz., catering and working for the military and for the English settles on the island—being gone. They cannot go to South Africa, as they are not allowed to land without £lO in their pockets. What is ti be their future? There is talk of a flax industry being introduced, but that, at best, will be » small affair. There is talk of the Government giving compensation to the owners of cattle, etc., but this will not give protection to the island or its reagents, or allow it to remain a saluting station, or prevent the decay that must come to its roads, guns, telephones, and barracks—all of which were kept up by the military, there will be none left to oarry on their work."

From the day whan tt»o scope of the Land Bill was first explained, says the Christohuroh FreRS, we have not ceabed to urge that a mea sure of so much importance deserved and demaudfd tho fullest consideration alike from Parliament and the country, and that, therafore, no attempt, should be made to rush It through the House this session. Thi« being so, we cannot affect to feel otherwise than gratified that this view of the case has been foroed upon the Premier, who has accordingly announced the abandonment of the Bill for this session. Even some of hia own supporters, it would appear, - urged upon Sir Joseph Ward the inexpediency of going on further with the Bill at present. We have no doubt that had the Governmeat been so ill-advised as to persist in trying to force it on the Statute Book they would have found that they were attempting the impos eible. seeiog that those opposed to tbe Bill would have been justified in using every form of the House to prevent its being made law before it had leoeived the consideration which its importance demanded. The truth is there has been a little too much precipitation displayed by the present Government throughout its handling of the land question.

The visit to Russia of the British deputation which is conveying a memorial to the Duma, is an illadvised step. The elections for the new Duma are approaching, and it is therefore particularly inadvisable that any display of British sympathy with Russia's aspirations for constitutional libeny should prejudice in the slightest degree, as quite possibly it might, the success of the party of reform. The mere fact that the British residents in Russia strongly object to the presentation of the memorial at the present juncture is 1 an indication of tho bad effect that it is feared it niny have, while the throat of the reactionaries to indulge in violent oounterdemcn&trations is quit© sufficient to make the Russian reform party wish their British sympathisers had stayed at home. It is not long since Sir Henry Campbell-Banuerman incurred the oensuro of very many of his fellow countrymen by the indiscreet manner of his welcome at the Inter-Parliamentary Congress to the delegates from the dissolved Duma. There is no reason why Englishmen as individuals should make any seoret of their warm sympathy with the Russian democraoy. But there is every reason why they should avoid any appearance of interference, as an orgauised body, with the political affairs of a friendly nation.

{§|The Victorian Goverraeut Statist has issued a return, showing the number of sheep in that State, classified according to sizes of flook9. r t is the first return of the

kind which haa been prepared ia Victoria, and it ia epeoially interesting, as it disoloaea to what a large extent sheep-farming is carried on in conjunction with agriculture upon small holdings. Out of u total of 16,067 flocks, no fewer than J 1,647 contain Ibbs than 600 sheep each, 2,407 have between 500 and 1,000, and the rest, 2,013, are flooks of various sizes exceeding 1,000. There are 56 flooks of over 20,000 eaoh, containing 1,687,478 sheep, and 38 of these are in the western district, with 1,149,324 sheep between them. This district has by far the largest number of 5heep—4,149,942 in 3,563 flocksWimujera diatrict coming next with 2,061,682 in b,267 flooks. The total number of sheep in the State is 11,455,115. In the Mallee there are 36,065, which is nearly doublo the number held there in 1905.