The pasT Month.

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, 1 June 1905, Page 223

The pasT Month.

By S. £. GREVILLE-SMITH.

rfjlJH^gghfclE topic which engaged MjgML public attention during < l^Sif' le ast wee^ °*' tne mon ' tn <^W<h i us^ en^ ec^ "t° the exclu(^s|O s * on °^ ever y other sub--I^3 great naval battle in the "'?* A'/ straits of Corea. The newspapers, with admir\j[/:"" able caution, have pronounced it to be the greatest sea fight cf modern times. One never knows, to be sure, but it must strike the average historical student that the engagement is the greatest of all times. Lepanto, which broke the power of the Turks, the Nile, which checkmated Napoleon's designs in the East, and Trafalgar, which gave England more than a century's supremacy upon the ocean— a supremacy she yet holds— were, without , beingmore decisive in their ultimate effects, less important in their immediate results. Respecting the ancient galley combats between Persia and Greece, Rome and Carthagena speculation is less easy, and in the Far East itself it is open to the imagination to picture tremendous 'conflicts fought in the rosy dawn of the world between the yellow races, before which Togo's victory would shrink into insignificance.

But, so" far as we know, from facts acceptable by a newspaper editor, the fmnihilation of the Baltic fleet is the largest thing of the Mnd -on record. There is something;;

grimly ironical in the circumstance of this great licet, mobilised at enormous expense, and sent steaming round the world, to meet a fate of the almost exact nature of which nobody who was supposed to know anything admitted tlie faintest doubt.

It was never seriously asked, What will be the result of the meeting of Roshdestvenski with Togo ? 'but always, How long will Roshdestvenski manage to put off the evil day ? For that destruction, absolute and complete, awaited him when he got to the narrow seas of Japan was as certain as the succession of night to day. There is where the pathos of it lay. ]t was not that the civilised world — whose religion is supposed, and not inaccurately, to breed charity—sympathised with the Tsar and the Bureaucracy, whose fate was largely bound up with that of the fleet. Even for the admirals and captains there was not, after the incident of the Dogger Bank, much wasted sentiment. But for the crews, sent in thousands to be drowned and shattered oy mines and torpedoes — those who had no part or lot in the q;uarrel, save to suffer — for these there was many an honest tear. This pitiful consideration has tempered even the righteous exultation of the Japanese.

Concerning the great fight itself, the most remarkable commentary upon the strategy of Togo was ut-

tered by the Russian apologist for Roshdestvenski, who naively explained that the Japanese admiral's movements were quite different from what his adversary expected ! That is the way in which battles are won. The world has made great advances in the polite arts, but except in isolated eases, like that in which the French captain 'begged the British to tire first, courtesy has not been provided for in battle. Nobody knew where Togo was, or what he intended to do precisely, and the Japanese Nelson took care that Roshdestvenski should be the last to come by the knowledge.

It is a far cry from the Straits of (Jorea to the backblocks of New Zealand, though there is not much difference in the matter' of longitude. But now that the Russian fleet is at the 'bottom of the sea, with the exception of that portion lying- in the enemy's harbours, and the voice of Peace is heard speaking with something like distinctness, we may come back to a consideration of our own material affairs. And first of all there is the Land Commission. This remarkable expedient for acquiring the minimum of information at the maximum of cost is hurriedly drawing- the threads of its inquiry together. In the face of much popular derision the Commission managed to preserve a dignified air so long as it remained in the South Island, where the weather was fine, if somewhat, sharp in the early mornings, where the means of transit were of a reasonably modern type, and where the accommodation provided was up-to-date, as we say. But when the members reached tie North and began to experience the rigours of the rain an<d the mud, the case was altered. The persona] comfort of the members may not be a determining factor in the arrangement, indeed, if it were it should have e:one in the direction of rroloneing the inquiry, since the needs of the North may be

properly guaged only in the winter season.

The reason given for the sudden termination of the Commission's labours is the near approach of thesession, but that provides no valid excuse for ''scamping'" the North,, since the date of the reassemblingof Parliament was known with tolerable certainty when the Commission set out on its peregrinations. But after all it does not matter a great deal. For the days spent in the North will weigh just as much in the ultimate result as the weeks devoted to the South— just as much or just as little. The Commission will not matter anyway.

The country is bracing- itself up for the General Election at the end of the year, which is already getting very close to us. During the month swarms of Parliamentary candidates have come out of hiding., and though they hav>e wisely left speechmaking until after the session, or at least until the session has disclosed its character, canvassing is carried on with feverish activity. Yet beyond the question of land tenure, the freehold versus the leasehold, there are really no tangible' political issues before the country. There is a great deal of platitudinous talk about purity of administration and Tammany, but it hardly counts. Tlie personal equation will be' a strong factor in the coming election, though the licensing question will again he a powerful factor.

It is admitted that the licensing legislation of last session satisfied nobody. Neither the Trade nor the No-License Party uot as much as it expected, though it is probable the members of the Trade would be content to let things remain as they are for a few years, simply because they are sick and tired of the worry and uncertainty that results from tinkering; with the law. But the No-License advocates* declare that they carnot stay their hands:

so long as one public house remains in the colony. One would suppose that Parliament has already, in giving them the ma-

(•hinery for destroying the Trade by popular sentiment, done all that they can reasonably ask for. But they will not admit this. To attain this end they want the law so adjusted that the licensed victuallers shall be 'by it made thoroughly odious in the eye of the public. They ask for the imposition of regulations such as no publican can observe ; they want to make him a law-breaker by passing laws that must be broken. It is a poor policy, and must end in defeating itself. For no civilised people, though it may be made to act unjustly for a space, will persist in injustice. Many issues of seemingly minor

importance, such as the compulsory closing of the small shops, will exert an influence on the election, but I think it is perfectly safe to predict that Mr Sieddon will be confirmed in power by a substantial majority of the aggregate votes. It is claimed that the old party lines nave disappeared, and that we are a^l Liberals now, but the Premier i;^ able to point with a significant linger to the fact that the men who are waiting to steal his clothes -p^ke with scorn and contumely ol" "ilie ma terial and the style when ihe garments were in the making. '" They call themselves Liberals," he says in effect, " and yet they voted against the Advances to Settlers' Act and the Old Age Pensions !'' Tt will take a laroe amount of talkins 1 about Tammany to tret around that obstacle.