The Waipawa Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1919. CURRENT TOPICS.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8193, 12 June 1919, Page 2

The Waipawa Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1919. CURRENT TOPICS.

Harbor Question.

Much capital is likely to be made by advocates of the Breakwater Harbor out of the return furnished to the Board meeting on Tuesday showing the relative cost of working ocean liners in the roadstead and at the Breakwater. The figures were astounding. In the case of the War Music, for instance, the total cost of working in the roadstead was £1596 7s 4d, and of this sum lighterage charges absorbed no less than £1458 13s 6d. Had the vessel been worked at the Breakwater the total cost would have been £262 7s lOd. On the face of it, this looks like a very strong argument in favor of the Breakwater, but in reality it is a strong argument in favor of a harbor which will be workable -in all weathers, and the Breakwater will never supply that requirement. Moreover, the facilities at tbe Breakwater for working large vessels are far from adequate, and under present conditions a vessel can be handled in half the time in the roadstead. That, is a serious matter from the point of view of the shipping companies. Again, if the shippingcompanies were to make use of the Breakwater during fine weather, they would, no doubt find that when it was impossible to work inside the lighters would not be available for working in the roadstead, and this would involve very considerable delay. There can be no question that the lighterage charges are exorbitant, and the wonder is that the public have tolerated the system so long. It' would have paid the Board handsomely to have bought up the whole fleet. But that is not the true solution of the problem, nor is the solution to be found in a fair weather harbor like the Breakwater. If Napier is to fill its part as the seaport of the East Coast it must have a harbor which can be depended upon in all weathers.

A Notable Anniversary. Saturday last was the second anniversary of an incident which added a glorious page to the history of the Dominion’s record in the Great War, and gave the name of Messines an imperishable place in the memory of their countrymen. The story of this great exploit of our gallant little army must swell every heart with pride, now and in the years to come, for through the simple splendor of the feat of arms there shines the magnificent qualities that won for the New Zealanders a reputation second to none among all the gallant fighters of the Empire. The cost of this victory was a heavy one to New Zealand, and throughout the land hundreds of homes were plunged into mourning for the brave lads who fell in the assault; and to-day, when the lustre of their sacrifice is revived, every heart must thrill with sympathy for those whose heroes fought their last fight for Liberty on the battle-torn “Ridge,” winning with their life blood the glorious honor to New Zealand of delivering the first Belgian town to he wrested from the ruthless grip of the Hun. The assault was fixed for dawn, and at 3.10 a.m. the “Ridge” was rent asunder with the mighty explosion of nineteen mines, charged with over a million pounds of high explosive, to lay which months had been spent by tile engineering units, of which the New Zealand Tunnelling Corps played a distinguished part. The roar of this huge outburst was heard in London, while the effect on those who witnessed it was almost stupifying. Scarcely had the echoes subsided when the British “di-um fire” opened on the devastated German trenches, and at 3.20 a.m. “zero,” the New Zealanders leapt “over the top” and sweeping across the valley of the Steenebeck, ascended the southern end of the ridge. They had suffered severely front the German gunfire even before the attack was launched, but despite their heavy losses the gallant sons of New Zealand charged through all obstacles, and by 7 a.m. the capture of Messines was completed, and their share was fulfilled in the great battle which gave to Sir Douglas Haig command of the valley beyond and a jumping off place for an offensive east of Ypres.

Wanted—A Policy. Ministers lose no opportunity of letting the general public know what they are doing for the returned soldier in the matter of land settlement, and it is as well that they should sound their own trumpet, for ij; is difficult to find a single noje of satisfaction in general comment. The Auckland Dgtar,” in a trenchant article urging the need for a progressive land policy, says:—“The fact of the matter is that the Cjoyernpien) has no policy, no comprehensive scheme worthy of the unique opportunity that now presents itself for giving birth and impetus to a great ‘back to the land’ movement, It is true that certain legislation has been placed op the Statute Book with the object of giving facilities to soldier settlers, but in the concrete what has been its effect? It has enabled the soldiers to go on the land under three systems—firstly, the selection of Crown lands in the ord-

inary way; secondly, the purchase of small private properties, for which purpose an advance of up to £2500 is empowered; and, thirdly, the purchasa by the Government of large improved estates suitable for subdivision. The net result, according to the admission of the Minister of Lands, ip that up to a comparatively recent date the astoundingly small proportion of 2.7 per cent, of our returned soldiers had gone on the land. And at what cost ? If the whole of the facts were now available, we venture to say that the financial aspect of the Government’s policy would stagger the taxpayer. ’ ’