ECHOES of the WEEK

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 92, 12 January 1929, Page 15

ECHOES of the WEEK

PRESS OPINIONS ON [:f' ; NEW ZEALAND TOPICS

The reported failure of the attempt to float a New Zealand company to engage in the Ross Sea whaling industry will be noted with a good deal of interest and curiosity. If there is no further attempt to make New Zealand whalers the successful rivals of the Norwegians, the British, and the Australians, in the Ross Sea, whose waters are almost in sight of New Zealand’s back windows, then the Dominion is too limp and lazy to look after its own interests.—Christchurch “Sun.”

The outstanding fact in the annual statistical report on agricultural and pastoral production is that there has been remarkable expansion in the primary industries of New Zealand. This was indicated by the interim returns; the final statistics for the year emphatically confirm the excellence of the position. There are now 85,716 occupied holdings, an increase during the year of 88. If the latter number seems small, it is notable as evidence that the decline in the three preceding years has been checked. . The real condition of farming is, however, revealed by other statistics, which show that, even if the extension of settlement has been arrested, there has been a progressive intensification in the use of occupied land.—“ New Zealand Herald.”

New Zealand has no reason for looking askance at the infant year 1929; its sire has brought us to a degree of prosperity, and the child is going to bear the Dominion farther down that happy way. ’Our economic troubles are vanishing, and the difficult days that afflicted us have now gone, leaving nothing but the scars of healed wounds. Only national disaster can cheat the country of a succession of prosperous years of which 1928 was a cheery-faced forerunner. It will be a prosperity in which all may share if thrift and wisdom keep check on recklessness. New Zealanders, working together for the common good, should, in future days, have kind thought of the year that bows to-night, and remember it kindly as the begetter of golden days.—Auckland “Sun.”

An examination of the Arapuni allegations conveys the impression that Mr. Holmes’s attack upon the undertaking was due to his having made erroneous deductions from inadequate and misleading information. So much is at stake, however, that it would be imprudent on the part of the Government to accept the assurances of its officials, responsible as they are for the scheme, that the Arapuni dam is a stable and sound piece of work. It may cost the country several thousands of pounds to obtain an independent endorsement of the judgment of the Public Works Department, but the expenditure will be fully justified if it leads to a removal of the sense of fear and uneasiness which the publication of the criticism has caused among the residents of the Waikato district. —“Otago Daily Times.” In some of the minor but very promising branches of production, marked progress was recorded last year, and there is no apparent reason why this season should not see still further growth. Our export trade in pork is assuming larger dimensions, and here, too, efforts are being made to improve the breed of pigs, and so ensure the quality of output that will command attention in overseas markets. There has been cheering evidence lately that New Zealand produce is becoming recognised as the standard of quality in British ■markets, and no effort must be spared to maintain this valuable reputation. The aid of the scientist is being enlisted for the purpose, and with cordial co-operation and support from those actually engaged in the various spheres of production, the year that lies ahead should see further progress made. — “Lyttelton Times.”

One general impression produced by a survey of the play at the tennis championships is that systematic coaching by competent experts would be extremely beneficial to the game throughout the Dominion. Even the more experienced players were constantly guilty of faults that should be corrected or avoided, in stroke production or in the tactics and strategy of the game. But it is among the younger players that coaching would find its most fruitful field. The splendid displays of Malfroy and Angas, and in a lesser degree of Sturt and Stedman, showed that we have fine material ready to hand, and even the competitors in the boys’ and girls’ championships, though some of them illustrated almost every conceivable fault in strokes and in positional play, revealed a natural capacity for the game that should amply justify systematic coaching, even at heavy expense to the- local clubs or the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association. —Auckland “Star.”

There have lately been successful prosecutions of bookmakers, male and female, who operate on a small scale, but we never, or almost never, hear of the prosecution of the magnates in this illegal industry. These men, who turn over £lOO for every £1 turned over by tlie small offenders who are so easy to circumvent, operate in every city in the Dominion, and many of them are as well known as the town clock. That they are left unmolested, or at least escape any attempts that the authorities may make to obtain evidence against them, may be a result of their watchfulness and ingenuity, but it may also be a result of poor technique on the part of those responsible for enforcing the law. Effective regulations may not be possible, but that they are not possible is far from an established fact. When he likes the I’ostmaster-General can shut out anybody who he has reason to suppose is using the post for purposes undesired by the State; the Gazette contains hundreds of names of persons for whom the' I’ost Office will not carJy letters. I't ought to be possible for the telegraph branch to show an equal efficiency in dealing with the bookmakers.—Christchurch

We admit that the examination system is open to improvement. Canon Archdall maintains that the teachers of secondary schools—including, of course, private schools, which are open , to inspection—should be kept in touch with the examiners, that the syllabus for matriculation should be more precisely defined, and that while the matriculation test may still serve as entrance examination for the University, there should also be issued by the schools a “leaving certificate” of a more general character and a higher cultural standard. All these proposals deserve serious attention, and in any case it is a relief to find the examination question discussed with so much rationality and common sense.—“ Auckland Star.”

The vocational guidance pamphlet issued by the Education Department makes an admirable effort to show the avenues of employment in all spheres of work in the Dominion, and the section dealing with prospects of employment and advancement in the different trades is just the information that a large number of parents need most. The statistics presented will prove of undoubted value, and will certainly be helpful in determining the occupation to be followed by many of our young people. The onus of choice is too often laid upon the boy himself, making him the judge not only of his own capacities, but also of the conditions of the particular occupation or profession with which he must necessarily be imperfectly acquainted. The pamphlet, however, carries the permissible inference that here is a splendid scope for the co-operation of teachers and parents, not only with each other, but also with the various professional and busines sorganisations in the community. The information supplied by the Department on the choice of a career will be welcomed by parents, and may be looked upon as an important contribution to vocational guidance.—“Lyttelton Times.”

Two statements made by the new, Minister of Health, in reply to his first official deputation, in Auckland, will cause disappointment at least, . while among those keenly interested .in the subject under discussion, the impression will be even more disturbing. The deputation appealed to the Minister for more accommodation at the St. Helens Hospital, describing it as already inadequate, and remarking that the number of applications for admission is. steadily increasing. An extraordinary answer was returned to these representations. The deputation was told that the Health Department holds that these hospitals were established for the training of nurses in midwifery, and that the provision of additional accommodation is a responsibility of hospital boards. Even more surprising is the Minister’s apparent acceptance of the dictum that the maternal mortality, rate in New Zealand compares very favourably with those of other countries. The actual fact, which, incidentally, was clearly demonstrated in the Department’s last annual report, is that the New Zealand rate compares very unfavourably with those of at least nine other countries, five of which have records of less than three deaths to every thousand births, while the New, Zealand ratio averages nearly five.— “New Zealand Herald.” ,

For a very short time after the settlement of the Dominion (until ISub) adherents of the Church of England were a little more than half of the total population, but although that is still the largest church numerically, its adherents are now only 41.2 per cent, of the population, with Presbyterians numbering 24.6 per cent., Roman Catholics 12.9 per cent, and Methodists 9.0 per cent. There is indeed only one case in which the adherents of one religious body are a majority of a whole district, and that is the case of Southland, where Presbyterians number a little more than half of the total population. And the most striking fact after this one of the absence of a majority faith is what the Report calls the relevancy, between religious faith and industrial distribution. Although Anglicans show “no very definite departure from normal trends,” Presbyterians show a noticeable high and Roman Catholics a noticeably low ratio m primary pursuits, Methodists a rather high ratio in manufacturing, and Baptists a tendency to turn to commercial life and the professions. Finally, it is shown that if there is an employing, as opposed to a wage-earning, faith, it is that of the Confucians,_ with the Hebrews coming next, while Seventh Day Adventists and members of Uie Salvation Army come last. —Christchurch “Press.”

The question is whether the subject of the examination fetish is to be preserved merely as an annual topic for speech-day addresses, or whetheg after so many years of profitless discussion, an active effort will be made to institute a better system. It is not a responsibility of the university; its council may decide whether the matriculation standard is sufficient for entrance to the university. The provision of an adequate leaving certificate examination, with its consequent reactions upon the organisation of the secondary course, is essentially a matter for the secondary school authorities. There is need for leadership, and if teachers of the eminence in the profession of Mr. Mahon and Canon Archdall would co-operate in a precise exposition of their views and marshal the support of other teachers in sympathy with tliem, their influence would force the issue to a practical conclusion, to the great benefit of both the secondary schools and the youth of New Zealand. —“New; Zealand Herald.” In retrospect, the year 1928 had its great days and its disappointments, as exemplified by the few events it is possible to single out in a brief review. Nothing that has happened justifies pessimism. Everything points to NewZealand proceeding steadily in the path of tranquillity and prosperity iu 1929 and beyond.—“ New Zealand Heialdji ’ , s " . f T ‘I