Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit MONDAY, MAY 31, 1909. AN INDISPENSABLE REFORM.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7809, 31 May 1909, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit MONDAY, MAY 31, 1909. AN INDISPENSABLE REFORM.

If Socrates, who taught men to think and observe up to an illuminating consciousness of truth and into a continual sympathy with it, and to train and restrain themselves to the practice of virtue—if Socrates who did that, solely for the sake of Ideal Goodness and its benefits to mankind, was adjudged deserving of death for corrupting the youth of Athens, what sentence should be passed on those men and associations of men who, solely for the sake of money, manufacture and sell by the million and billion an article which devitalises the bodies and demoralises the minds of the youth not only of one small town but of thousands ot cities and hundreds of nations? The cruelty and criminality of the colossal selrnshliess thus exihibited defies description; but so many are involved m the guilt, of the thing that it seems to be almost impossible to punish the evildoers as they deserve to be, or even to bring them to an adequate sense of their evildoing; but until means are found to prevent them from continuing m this, is it reasonable to hope for any substantial gain to society through the medium of restraints or inhibitions on those who yield to the temptations placed m their way by the manufacturers of pernicious products? All this appears to be applicable without exaggeration to the manufacture of cigarettes and to their use or misuse by boys and youths. The late Sir Moroll Mackenzie says m one of his medical essays that, "like tippling, the effect of cigarette-smoking is cumulative, and the slight but constant absorption of tobacco juice and. smoke makes the practice far more noxious m the long run than any other form of smoking. The old jest about the slowness of the poison may seem applicable here, but though the process may be slow, there can be little doubt that it is sure. Even if it does not kill the body, it too often kills, or greatly impairs, the victim's working efficiency and usefulness m life." In recognition of the truth m this grave and important statement, many countries have taken' steps to check the evils attendant upon smoking by the young. Japan has a law which forbids persons under twenty years of age to smoke. Norway prohibits the sale of tobacco to youths under sixteen years of age, and provides for the prosecution of anyone who gives or offers to give cigarettes to a boy or girl. In Iceland the law permits any man or woman who finds a boy or girl smoking to give the offender a sound ! spanking, and to confiscate the pipe, I cigarette, or tobacco found m his or | her possession. In Abyssinia there has been a law since 1642 making the use of tobacco a crime.. Austria prohibits boys attending lower classes m all schools from smoking; Germany and Russia have also restrictive rules; Italy does not allow smoking m schools; Portugal has made smoking a punishable offence on board trainingships and m colleges for military cadets of tender age, and prohibited it m primary schools; while m France the legislation is along American lines, sixteen being the age limit. Within the British Empire the following countries have taken definite action to suppress this nuisance and curse: Canada (seven out of ten provinces), Cape Colony, New Zealand (m a measure that is "practically a dead-letter), the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Tasmania, Newfoundland, Burmuda, New South Wales, and South Australia; while drastic measures are proposed to be taken to check the evil m Victoria. In most of these countries the age limit has been fixed at sixteen; but m two it is eighteen, and m the others varies from thirteen to fifteen. Of all theso laws, that of Iceland is really the most sensible and businesslike," and is akin to a method which we have repeatedly proposed for adoption m New Zealand; namely, that, for the purpose of putting down juvenile smoking, every adult man and woman should be authorised by law to act as a constable.. But though, probably, no inhibition is altogether uselos 3, it is extremely doubtful whether any inhibition on consumers can be made comprehensively effective under existing social and legal conditions, unless its enforcement is accompanied by the consistent enforcement of corresponding legislation against the manufacture and importation of the pernicious product. This seems to be indispensable to the effective treatment of what is known as the cigarette evil, i -. ,

At Saturday's meeting Hints of the Farmers' Union for Mr F. Framptqn reFakm ferred to a paragraph which had appeared m the Ashburion Guardian relating to pickling wheat m Milestone to prevent smut. Mr W. Moses said he had used, and always with success, half-a-pound of Milestone to four bushels of wheat. He had no faith m patent mixtures, and had found nothing to equal bluestone. He believed that the weatherhad a great deal to do with smut, and last year he had not found a ball of smut' m the whole of his wheat crop, while his crops previously had sometimes been much affected. Mr Frampton said that he had had a somewhat peculiar experience himself. He had , purchased a quantity of seed wheat, which he sowed without treating it I with bluestone. The crop which he obtained was clean and free from smut, and some of the seed was prosolved and sown the following year m three separate paddocks, after having been wel]' treated with Milestone. Contrary to iiis expectations, the wheat m each pad?f>ck was affected with smut, and he wis at loss to understand why. Ho thought the smut might have been due to the wain from which the seed •was obtainel not having boen immersed m a Milestone solution before it -was Sown,