ECHOES OF THE WEEK

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 119, 13 February 1926, Page 15

ECHOES OF THE WEEK

PRESS OPINIONS ON :: NEW ZEALAND TOPICS

There has been recorded the first conviction of persons failing to register on the Parliamentary electoral roll. Two persons, husband and wife, have been prosecuted, the Magistrate adding to the conviction the penalty of paying costs. The case is an indication that the law is not to become a dead letter, but there is something to be said for those whose neglect to register has exposed them to prosecution. The whole question of the legislation’s value is reopened by this first prosecution, ft inav prove to be, in spite of its aim to impress citizens with a sense of national duty, a very unwieldy and even vexatious' law. It is no less on its trial than were the persons who have been convicted under it, and the wisdom of keeping it on the Statute Book is at least open to argument.—“New Zealand Herald.”

It is a little disturbing to have the Minister in charge of the Dominion’s publicity saying, in reply to a complaint from visitors about steamer accommodation, that “those New Zealanders who travelled by steamer forty or fifty years ago would have been verv glad to sleep in the alleyways of the magnificent steamers that we have to-day.” Mr. Anderson's subsequent remarks showed that the sentence we have quoted would, by itself, be very unjust to him; that he is not only doing his best to attract visitors, but that he is as eager as a'nyouc can be that they will be properly accommodated. The point is, however, that Mr. Anderson is not just a casual talker, but Minister of Publicity, and that his very unfortunate remark was made at a dinner gi\ en by the directors , of an International Exhibition to which the whole wot Id has been invited. Until the Government realises that publicity is not merely spending money but spending it in the right places and in the right wav, the people who come to spend monev here in return will be about one in ten of the number who would come if we tempted them more judiciously. —Christchurch “Press.”

Sir Maui Pomare is one of the besttempered men in politics to-day, but he has been moved to protest against the remarks of a northern paper. The piotest is no violent philippic, but it embodies a dignified rebuke, which will gain for the Maori knight a large measure of sympathy. The Auckland paper which gave offence to the Minister recently expressed satisfaction that the portfolio of Health had been transfeired to “a representative of a white constituency.” This tactless and quite unnecessary remark shows that our northern contemporary overlooks and depreciates the attitude of New Zealand towards the Native race. The average New Zealander took pride in the fact that a Maori member of Parliament should hold so responsible a position as Minister of Health; it was evidence, if evidence were needed, that all the talk of the equality of the two races —of which the outside world has heard so much—was not mere cant, and that there was nothing to prevent . a Maori from occupying a position of distinction in the State.—Christchurch “Sun.”

The more it is examined, the worse appears the refusal of the Government to grant a transfer of license from the Wellington Meat Export Company to 'Thomas Borthwick and Sons. The appearance of the decision is not improved by the Minister’s silence. All that he has said is that a transfer is refused on the ground' of public policy. The public is entitled to know why the Minister considers a transfer would be against its interests. The protest that the company has made is telling. Shareholders are deprived of then right to realise their assets. The company tried to sell to New Zealand interests and failed. It is now debarred from selling to a British concern. The banks are faced with this decision in a time of depression in the meat industry, just the time when the companies may be in greatest need of help. The Minister, in fact, has jeopardised the credit of all the meat companies in New Zealand, and greatly increased the difficulty of raising fresh capital for the industry/ —Auckland "Star.”

Some of the papers read and speeches made at the Mining Conference make plain the existence of the idea that it may be one of the functions of the Government to undertake the work of prospecting for minerals, or at least to subsidise and assist prospecting, far more than it has soMar done. In 19'24 a' sum of £15,111 was expended in Government subsidies. In addition to this nine parties hired the Government prospecting drills. This cannot be called energetic promotion of systematic testing. One gathers that those wishing to use this machine have to endure long delays, and arc content to put up with this rather than find the necessary capital to enable them to strike out independently and energetically. One ot the Government’s mining inspectors, Mr. Downey, declared that prospecting had almost entirely ceased, and'that some remedial action was called for. The reason is that the cream has been skimmed off the dish. The more easily accessible surface deposits have been worked out, and if there remain at depth other deposits the location of these and their working when discovered is a matter requiring more capital than investors seem inclined to furnish.—Dunedin “Star.”

The circumstances attending the death of a lad aged sixteen, an assistant linesman, who recently fell from a pile at Outran! and fractured his skull after contact with a live electric wire, call for a word of comment. The coroner’s summing-up and verdict fairly represent the primary facts of the unfortunate incident. It seems to have been clearly shown that no personal blame was attachable (o anyone connected with the operations that were in progress at the time. This exculpation may be definitely conceded without losing sight of some pertinent considerations. Prevision and precaution are urgently necessary in view of the incessant progress of electrical enterprise. The day is not far distant when New Zealand will be girdled and intersected by a network of electric wires, many of them charged with fatal peril for ignorant or careless people. These extensions, unpausing though imperceptible, creep upon us unawares and find us unprepared. A campaign of instruction in regard to the dangers, present and prospective, of electrical contact would not be superfluous or prema-ture.—-“Otago Daily Times.

British countries are our best customers. Last year they took 85 pci cent, of all that the country exported, but of our purchases abroad only 73 per cent, were from these countries. The figures show that there is need for an educational campaign designed to promote trade within the Empire. Industrial conditions at Home are such that preference should not be merely a matter of tariff. It is in the power of the consumer to improve the state of British tr<Fde 'by buying British goods. The purchasing power of the people of New Zealand is such that the difference'in price caused by tariff rates does not have the same effect that it docs in other countries, and that makes it all the more necessary for the consumer to make preference for British goods a matter of individual policy.—“Lyttelton Times.”

The conference habit, which has for long been a national characteristic, has this year run to such an excess that it might perhaps be more fitly described as a mania. We have only to look towards Dunedin to realise how great a bold the habit has taken of the Dominion, and to understand that a vast amount of money is expended every, year in conferences that most often serve as convenient pretexts for glorious • holidays to the luckv delegates who arc sent thither. It need not be denied that good work is sometimes accomplished by such conferences, in order to make the positive affirmation that a great amount of good money, and time that ought to be valuable, is spent to little nurposc be-, yond givifig a dignified holiday to the delegates.—“ Southland Daily News.”

There is a danger that an address of the importance of that delivered by Dr. P. Marshall at the opening of the Science Congress may escape the measure of recognition which it deserves. Dr. Marshall is to be congratulated on a masterly deliberation on a subject fraught with the utmost significance to the people of New Zealand. The need for the effective organisation of scientific research in this a threadbare subject with workers in r>l branches of scientific work. During the war, as Dr. Marshall points out, the Government and the people of New Zealand did for a period' realise the imperative necessity of organising scientific research, but with the passing of those days of crisis the subject has ceased seriously to concern the public mind. As Dr. Marshall suggests, the only' ex planation for the neglect of the adequate organisation of research in NewZealand must be that the authorities apparently think that research in this little country is in the nature of a luxury.—Dunedin “Star.”

The latest reading of the Dominion’s financial barometer indicates a sharp change from relatively easy prosperity to a pinch in the loan market. It is true that production values have depreciated and that the balance between what New Zealand sells'and that which it buys, including a great deal that could and ought to be manufactured in this country, is narrow enough to be precarious. But it should not be overlooked that palliatives at least, if not actual remedies, are available for prudent men. A shelter against the approaching storm may be raised without knocking the community into misery or gloom. Harder work all 'round in every industry, more rigorous economy and thrift by local and general government and by the people, and less luxury and extravagant pleasure in the national life would countervail the effect of the lowering clouds and 'possible storms.— Christchurch “Sun.” ,

The address delivered by the Director of the State Forest Service in Dunedin last week emphasised the grievous danger of a timber shortage for this country in the comparatively near future, and it supplied some satisfactory grounds for hope that, if proper precautions are taken in due time, t is disaster at least in its most extreme form mav vet be averted. Because of the wonderful productivity of this country, due chiefly’ to its copious rainfall and favourable climatic conditions, it is a well-established fact that imported timber trees can be grown here in great profusion with complete success and at an astonishing rate of speed. 4t follows that, if we resolved to plant freely enough, we could with certainty lav the foundations of a permanent timber supply drawn from exotic softwoods ami hardwoods, which would meet all our requirements before the dreaded day when the stock of our indigenous timbers runs dangerously low. —Auckland “Star.”

The Chamber of Commerce report on the wheat problem asks for a free market for farmers, with adequate and stable duties. If it is possible to give the farmer security without affecting the pocket of the consumer it is desirable that this should be done, and the Chamber’s belief that it can be done is certainly interesting. But “to encourage production and at the same time give a guarantee of “a cheaper article” is not the immediate problem. The immediate problem is to get more wheat grown in the country, and ultimately enough wheat for the Dominion’s annual needs, and it is merely complicating matters to confuse that problem with the provision of cheaper bread. Bread is not dear now relatively to other daily necessities, and will not be dear relatively to boots and clothes and meat and butter even if, to secure that it is home-grown, the price lias to go up another penny, and the chamber’s advocacy of a free market with adequate protection is a gratifying recognition of that fact, and of the only effective way of dealing with it.--Christchurch "Press.”

The Minister of Mines, addressing delegates to the mining conference in Dunedin last week, expressed his willingness to consider favourably any application, made by or through a local body, for a subsidy for prospecting. The experts at the conference were of the opinion that the old-time prospector had gone, and ’hat the work would have to be approached in some other manner. One delegate suggested the formation of a national prospecting association, with a board of control to include the best mining talent in the Dominion. The matter ’s one of great importance, for those best able to express an opinion are convinced that the mineral resources of the country have not been thoroughly investigated, and that the mining industry will again figure prominently.—“Lyttelton Times.”