Ixxii. 



The Review of Reviews. 



October. 191. 



askance. The incre.i.sed price of material aud 

 labour is .1 chief contrihutory cause. The increasiug 

 (lemaud for houses, with the rapid growth of popula- 

 tion, is another. But, after all, the man who most 

 feels the pinch of these phenomenal increases, and 

 who is therefore the most to be pitied, is the salaried 

 man — what would be called in England the middle 

 class — the man who has had no corresponding rise 

 in income, the man whose income is not affected 

 bv WaLfes Boards. 



The 

 Re-Assurance 



Two assin-ances have come from 

 experts during the month which 



of Experts. should go far to allay the fears 

 excited by the critics of the Com- 

 monwealth defence system, whose name is legion. 

 According to cable advices from Vancouver, Admiral 

 Tate has been speaking in pessimistic tanes of Aus- 

 tralia's embryo navy, chiefly from the standpoint of 

 an anticipated difficulty in getting the right .sort 

 of recruits, and enough of them, to man the fleet. 

 .Sir George King-Hall, who. from his practical 

 experience as Admiral on the Australian station, is 

 presumably better qualified to pronounce judgment 

 than Admiral Tate, tells quite another stor\ . In 

 his view, the scheme of the Royal Australian Nav 

 is the only practicable plan b\ which the Common- 

 wealth could take its fair share in the defence of the 

 Empire. " There have been great difficulties to 

 overcome, and much opposition : but, bv dint of 

 hard work, perseverance, and hopeful confidence 

 on the part of those who are engaged in the work, 

 everything is turning out most satisfactorily, and 

 in course of time the Royal Australian Xavv will 

 stand out as a most efficient division oif the Imperial 

 Fleet, of which every man, woman, and child in 

 the C^ommon wealth will be proud." As to the 

 pii.ssibility of obtaining naval recruits. Sir George 

 gives this as his testimony: — "I do not believe 

 that there will be any difficulty in manning the 

 Royal Australian Nav}'- by Australians; there has 

 been none hitherto, and I am assured by those offi- 

 cers who are engaged in the training of these entries 

 that they could not wish for men more amenaljle 

 to discipline or keener in their work, anrl thev are 

 also animated lis nnirh es|)rit-de-corps." 



An assurance against the possibility 



The Second Line ,,f invasion comes from Colonel 



of Defence. ,.o,ter. R.E., Director of Military 



Science at the Sydney Universitv, 

 as the result of careful ob.servations.' "A hostile 

 .irmy. including nearly 20,000 infantrv. 4000 horse, 

 and sixty guns, could not," he says, " invade Austra 

 li. I with prosjject of success, if her forces at present 

 existing were well trained and fully prepared for 

 taking the field." And he further ventures the 

 o|iinion that nr> foreign general staff would run the 



risk of launching an invasion against Australia if 

 it must encounter her existing forces, mobilisei! :it 

 war strength, and adequately commanded and 

 staffed. The weak spot in any defence programme, 

 under existing conditions, it may be judged, from 

 the Colonel's observations, would be slowness in 

 mobilising in case of sudden invasion. For this tlv 

 break of gauge in the raihvays would be mainly 

 responsible. A uniform gauge is imperative. It 

 is a national necessity, and, as .such, the matt<T 

 should be taken up immediately by the Common- 

 wealth Government, as a complement to the exten- 

 sion of the transcontinental line. 



Colonel Ryrie saw fit to move thi- 

 Defaulting adjournment of the House of Rej)- 

 Cadets. resentatives to discuss what he de- 



scribed as the unsatisfactory state 

 of affairs in connection with the compulsory train- 

 ing of cadets. His criticism was of methods rather 

 than of the system. It is natural that the com- 

 pulsory training should, in its initial stages, ha\e 

 many difficulties to contend with. The whoU- 

 scheme is drastic. Parents, as well as bovs; dir 

 not take kindly to the c:>mpulsory idea. Man\ 

 of the cadets, it is also evident, do not. as vet. re- 

 gard their drill in a serious light. In country dis 

 tricts, the grievances are most genuine, and it is 

 not surprising that parents should complain of the 

 conditions imposed. Colonel Ryrie ventilated the 

 grievances of area officers who had to walk mile- 

 to deliver summonses. But what alx)ut the boys 

 who h.ive to tramp miles before and after drill, to 

 arrive home long after boys sliould Ije in lied ? The 

 provision in regard to travelling is certainly not. 

 generous; in many ca.ses it operates harshly upon 

 boy and father alike. But at the worst, the griev- 

 ances can only be reckoned as temporary, and time 

 will supply the remedy. 



Whether the fault lies with tlv- 

 rllVJlIK State or the Commonwealth Govern- 

 Eviction. ment. the Sydney public are rightly 



indignant at the notice which bas 

 been ser\ed upon the Go\ernor-General to \acate 

 bis official residence in Sydney. Mr. Fisher lays 

 the responsibility at the door of the N.S.W. Govern 

 ment. The State Ministers have s<iught t.> bl.ime 

 the Commonwealth Government. The Sydney peo- 

 ple, however, have fastened the responsibility on 

 their own Ministers, and the experience of ' Mr. 

 Beeby, wh;) was howled down when he sought -to 

 explain his Government's position at a meeting in 

 the Sydney Town Hall. sufficientl\ indic.ites tlie 

 temper of the N'.S.W. jniblic on the subject. Such 

 treatment of the King's representative represents 

 the quintessence of .shabbims^. Hy main ii i> in- 

 teriireted as an insult. 



