The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 1925. A BETTER ENGLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 184, 6 August 1925, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 1925. A BETTER ENGLAND.

For the mum that Jaekt attietanee, For the wrong that need* rteietmnee. For th* future in the dietanot, And the good that tee can da.

It is a pleasure to turn from the gloomy news that comes so frequently from England in these days to the figures that tho Home Secretary put before the International Prison Congress. Figures are notoriously tricky things, and one should never approach them without saying to oneself the old gibe— or its equivalent—that there are three kinds of liars—liars, adjectived liars, and statistics. Here, however, though they must .not be taken as proving that England is fast becoming a land of saints, statistics do show a striking improvement. The Home Secretary's comparison between 10,000 persons undergoing penal servitude ia 1875 and 1600 to-day, and the decline in the number of prisons, must be judged in the light of the fact that the system has been profoundly changed by the use of probation, 'but the figures remain impressive. They may be strengthened by some more recent ones. The total number of persons tried for indictable offences in England and Walee was lower by five thousand in 1922 than in 1913. The number proceeded against for less serious offences was 524,000 in 1922, against 680,000 in 1913. Cases of drunkenness declined from 204,000 to 80,000. There ia no reason to suppose that the police are more lenient or less efficient than they were. On the contrary, scientific invention is steadily adding to police

efficiency.

Studying these and other statistics, an Englishman may reflect that there is much to be set against the many social and economic evils of his country. The English are more law-abiding people than they were. They are also healthier. Tho year 1823, judged by its rate of mortality, was the healthiest year ever known. This was due partly to good luck, but also to the unceasing work of the doctor and the eanitary engineer. There ia good reason to believe that the physique of the nation, the poverty of which was emphasised in startling fashion by war examination, is improving. Indeed, the idea that the present generation is below the standard of old times is scouted by an . eminent authority. Discussing the state of the nation recently, the "Economist" noted •the gloomy views of some critics, and remarked that unless a nation, like an individual, considered its ailments with a proper sense of proportion, there was a danger of it becoming a chronic valetudinarian. "As a nation we suffer far less : from the undermining influence of drunkenness than a generation ago; in spite of the great progress that has still to be made, we are a much more healthy nation; we are better housed; the nation at war showed a remarkable capacity to 'endure hardship - with cheerfulness, and discovered great reserves of ter, courage, and inventiveness." It is no sign of degeneracy, in the "Economist's" opinion, that there is a wide demand for shorter hours and more leisure. The .Home Secretary attributes the decrease in crime to better education, improvement in standards of sobriety and condition*, of living, ani the use of alternatives'-to, detention. All of these factors continue to operate. Educational facilities are being extended. Earnest endeavours are being made to better the housing of the masses.. It is significant that coal mining has accumu-" rated out of its. own proceeds a large fund for betterment of living conditions. Reform is in the air,of the time, and all classes are being infected.