NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 289, 6 September 1928, Page 10

NOTES OF THE DAY

It is a little difficult to follow the arguments of those who support the retention of the present site for the new school building at Newtown. The ground lies below the level of the road, is contiguous to the continuous noise of traffic, and is far below e requirements of modern educational opinion regarding the requisite play area. It may be that the new Winter Show buildings, adjacent to the proposed new school site in John Street, have depreciated tU value of the latter for educational purposes. If that is the cas the Minister of Education in his reply to the deputation on 1 uesday did not appear to think that' it was—the argument against the present site must still stand. * • • - ‘ ♦ The story of the unfortunate immigrant Nolan and the allegation of ‘'hundreds of starving men wandering oyer the roads of . the country” was exposed in its true perspective by the 1 rime Minister in the House of Representatives yesterday. As was to be expected there is another side to the distorted version sent overseas by an otticial of the Labour-Socialist Party, placing conditions in New Zealand in a false light. Nolan, it seems, had his chances of employment, and indeed held one position here for something like two years. He appears to have got into trouble in the law courts and he also was handicapped with a weak heart, which apparently was the cause of his death. Presumably he was an unsuitable immigrant—one who had come to the Dominion of his own volition, not as an assisted immigrant brought here under the auspices of the Government. He actually refused the assistance of the Immigration Department. Why should this unhappy man's failure to make good be used by an official of the Labour Party to cast discredit abroad on.conditions in this Dominion? What queer twist is it that so constantly leads members of the Labour-Socialist group to go out of their way to decry the country they live in?

Proceedings in the House of. Representatives on Tuesday evening resolved largely into an argument on the desirability of maintaining an industry that is unable to offer a living wage to the employee. The Labour-Socialist group said in no uncertain voice that any industry in this parlous state was not worth maintaining and should go under. T his, of course, is a short-sighted view. It would mean that in the case of the English coal mines, lot instance, thousands of men would have to consider their position very seriously. The flax workers have agreed to a cut in wages as a temporary measure in ah effort to put the flax industry on its feet. Ultimately, of course, they hope to get their money back in the inci eased prosperity that their self-denial is expected to bring. In fact this ray of hope that an industry is -about to turn the corner prevents in times of stress wholesale and unnecessary closing-down in scores of industries. In some cases the owners are able to bear the brunt of the losses, in other cases the workers themselves have been asked to bear a share of the burden in the hope that this last effort will result in the industry weathering the storm and reaching better days ahead. In England the railway workers have recently agreed to bear their share of the loss of bad times, and it is becoming more and more common to see a readiness between employer and employee to get together in this respect for their mutual benefit.

If further evidence were needed to show the satisfactory recovery New Zealand, has made since the post-war depression, it could be found in the annual report of the Department of Agriculture. Die 1927-28 agricultural year has been outstanding regards both increased production and enhanced market values. The satisfactory growth in the sheep flocks of the Dominion is particularly striking, immediately after the Great War fears were entertained for the future of the sheep industry, as the flocks of New Zealand had been greatly reduced by the overseas demands for both sheep and lambs. General regret was expressed that the farmers did not retain a sufficient percentage of lambs to build up their flocks. How well the farmers have responded to the suggestion is evidenced in the sheep returns for the year ended March 31, which show that the sheep stocks of the Dominion have increased by one and a third million, and now stand at the highest numerical strength in the history of New Zealand. With high prices ruling for primary produce and considerably increased production, the evidence of the Dominion’s prosperous condition becomes still more pronounced. Present indications suggest that the coming season will also be a particularly prosperous one.