TOPICAL READING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8286, 14 November 1906, Page 4

TOPICAL READING.

The Englishman,, if he still exists, who conoeives. of JV ew Zealand as an outlying portion of New South Wales, widil be confirmied in i bis illusion if h>e should chance to come across a oopy of Mir Bertram Stevens's just published book, entitled "An Anthology of Australian , v erse." Mr Steven& explains In bis preface, that "Australian" in this connexion is-meant tu include New Zealand, but we are at a loss to know why he should! use it so, and thus ignore the individuality of a country which contr'butßa Jost onefifth of the verse included in bis volume. A poet,, or even a collector of poetry, may be allowed to have his whims, but surely it is carrying it rather far, for instance, to speak of Domett's great Maori "day-dream," *'KanoM and Amohia,' as his "only poem showing traces of Australian influence."

A Danedia gentleman, who has juat returned from the Bast, says that the deaths by the recent typhoons are variously estimated from 5,000 to 14,000. The damage ashore ran into rnillione of dollars. Japan i& raising an army in China, and it is estimated fcbat sbe has at present more than a million trained soldiers. There is an uneasy feeling abroad that we are oq the eve of a war of extermination of foreigners in • the* East. Undoubtedly the Japs are becoming too cheeky, and tbGre is precious little disinterested Jova for England iu Japan. Tto people of Hong Kong are simply furious at the alliance. The iilngiishmen in Japan are us much foreigners as any other European. The Japs are suffering from swelled head, and In many quarters it is believed they aie looking for trouble. They are much diel'ked, and the Germans speak ot them as robbers, cheats and spies. Ever where outside Japan they have a bad name. The coming into force of the Government's postal reforms, as> the Postmaster-General remarked last August in his Budget speech,, give the people of New Zealand one of the most liberal and up-to-date systems in the world, To show, what these concessions to the letter. writing part of the community amount to, a pound weight of letters sent from Auckland, eay„ to New Plymouth, and whiob" will now cost the sender 4d, is actually charged Is to the Dtpnrtinenfc by the shipping company for carnage. Even under the existing half-ounce rate to Great Britain by wfhich a pound of postage matter oan be sent for 2s 3d, the lo & to the Departmeu'", on stery suob. lb is aoajowha': near 8s 3d, as. frbe cost per lb for transmission io lis sd. Of course, it is the shoEfe distance? deliveries that keep tihe postal hu'suess in a flourishing flaanoial state, but the value of tbese conoes* sions to big commercial and banking: institutions, for instance, is enor* mous, as can be readily estimated.. The question of national defeuoe is agitating Australia much as! its is New Zealand,, for there as her© it is becoming generally recognised that the present position is fraught with the gravest peril. Proposals for the establishment of vulionteer reserve forces and for otherwise strengthening the public safety have been laid before the Federal Premier by, the Australian National Defence League, and have been cordiail7 received. At present the eutire defensive force of the continent is only some 60,000 strong, inoluding rifle clubs and cadets. In a ponulation of 4,000,000, with a coastline of many thousand miles, and with a number of important coastal cities and a large area of oultivated coastal lands, this foroe is utterly inadequate. Not until it is ten times as strong can the Oomino*]wealth consider iaelf in a reasonably defensive state. And if we say this of Australia, what may we not say of New Zealand, with its extraordinry lot of small arms, of which Sir Joseph Ward has had toe intelligence to inform ns? We a'so have nu extensive ooaatUne, numerous coastal cities

settled coastal districts,-, withoat aay adequate means - of- defence' should the Imperial iNaVy bo itemr porarily absent daring the emergencies of a great naval iwan. These' are conditions which mast'alarm every thoughtful Colctaist, .whether' in Australia or New Zealand,, and ought to incite a unanimous determination to insure ourselves-i against possible rlisaater byvtatjiug intelligent precautions.- 1 j