ECHOES of the WEEK

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 85, 4 January 1930, Page 17

ECHOES of the WEEK

PRESS OPINIONS ON :: NEW. ZEALAND TOPICS

In 15 years our butter exports have risen by 500 per cent.; recent figures in truth show phenomenal progress. Cheese exports increased in the same period by 300 per cent. In two years the sheep flocks of the Dominion increased by three and a quarter millions. The lambing figures, reported from,, Wellington at,the week-end, are 1,100,000 greater than the previous record, or an increase of 10 per cent, on those of last year. Only comparatively recently has New Zealand realised the full value of fertilisers as an element in pastoral production. Yet every day more and more tracts of our land are being brought into cultivation —quietly, but upon sound methods of settlement—each new section adding to the swelling volume of output Increased production as it is being undertaken throughout this country to-day should provide inspiration for the farmer. The future, far from being gloomy, is heavy with the hope of better times. —Auckland “Sun.”

It is difficult to comment on the Samoan incident at this distance from the scene, and with the very scanty information available. It seems, however, that the Administration still suffers from some deficiency that is very like a lack of clear thinking. Right from the beginning the policy in Samoa has been a kind of mixture of autocracy and freedom. No doubt this is the wisest policy for an island Administration, but students of politics know that it is the most delicate and the most difficult combination ,to administer and the most likely to produce friction, particularly when the people governed are like the Samoans, very lazy and very proud. It is to be hoped that the administration of Samoa is not going to settle down into a permanent condition of mutual suspicion between the governors and the governed, punctuated at intervals with little displays of violence. —Christchurch “Star.”

The power-launch, the speed-boat and the Tittle open craft with an outbohrd motor have certain obvious advantages over the yacht sailed never so skilfully ; and probably a greater competitor still is the motor-car, with its rapidity and comfort of travel far afield when holidays come. Perhaps we do not love yachting less, but ,we love launching and motoring more. Whatever the reason, it would be a thousand pities if the fine sport of sailing, especially sailing beyond harbour limits, a. sport wholesome and invigorating in every respect, were to languish among British folk in an island home. The regular holding of these ocean races is therefore to be encouraged as well as commended. This year’s competitors, no matter how they ranked when the numbers went up, have at least the satisfaction of knowing that they have done something to keep a splendid pastime alive.—“ New Zealand Herald.” '

Even if there are no further developments in Samoa, it is clear that the situation has been'gravely complicated on both sides, and that the future for a Iqng time will remain uncertain. It will be a great relief if it turns out, when the full story is told, that the folly of the Mau in defying authority was not matched by folly on the part of the police in choosing this’time rather than some other to effect arrests, if is unpleasant to think that there may have been stupidity on both sides, but the accounts which we print today do not make it as clear as most people would like it to be. that the police showed all the tact and forbearance that the situation called for. One thing, however, is certain, and it will be in everyone’s mind: the real responsibility for what has happened rests with those people who have played, for personal or political ends, on the minds of the Samoans from places outside Samoa.—Christchurch “Press.”

Four months ago the Prime Minister made his memorable promise that within five weeks the unemployment problem in the Dominion would have disappeared. Unemployment was going, going,” and then, a little belated, came the Minister of Labour’s triumphant and stentorian “Gone 1” Yet, strange to say, the unemployed have been, and are still, with us.| And the Railways Department added to the volume of the workless on Christmas Eve by extending to between two and three hundred of its casual employees an indefinite holiday. The explanation is that the Department has already run through the additional funds made available to it in October under the scheme for unemployment relief. It is a rather, inglorious confession Which is made by the Minister of Railways, casting, as it does, a hard and pitiless light upon the Government’s undertaking to find work for everybody in need of it, and able to perform it—an undertaking which, of course, never was or could be fulfilled, in spite of Mr. Veitch’s claims to the contrary.—“Otago Daily Times.”

The mechanism of the “talkie” is not quite perfect and equipments cannot yet be said to be standardised, but the defects are trivial, actually as well as comparatively. And of course a rapid improvement is to be looked for in the quality of the plays produced. The fact that actors and actresses standing high in the legitimate theatre are already being attracted to the new form of entertainment is an indication of development on right lines; and simultaneously a marked improvement iu the quality of the music gives promise of even better things. But the development of the “talkie” will have to be slower than that of the silent picture, because whereas the same picture can bo reproduced in a score of countries, each country demands its own language. There are perhaps thirty thousand kinema theatres i. the world that could not make use of Englishspeaking pictures, and the new industry cannot ignore them. Still, we have seen only the beginning of the "talkie.” and it is difficult to set bounds to what, it may accomplish—Christchurch "Times.”

The new grouping of portfolios does suggest that the cause of New Zealand trade can well be pushed abroad in association with tourist attractions and health resorts. The only doubtful question is whether the work hitherto done inside New Zealand by the Department of Industries and Commerce —some of it very useful work—groups quite so well with tourist activities. The' answer to this question rests to a considerable extent in the way the new and enlarged department is organised. That will have to be watched. Assuming satisfactory arrangements can be made, the amalgamation deserves to be welcomed, especially if the promise of economy is fulfilled. — “New Zealand Herald.” It is unfortunate that the Institute of Pacific Relations has only a small membership in New Zealand; for it is an organisation that is already doing valuable work in the cause of world peace, and ,one that will become increasingly useful as it interests more and more people. The meeting and mingling—■ not the clash —of East and West along the shores of the North Pacific Ocean presents one of the most fascinating fields of international study in the modern world; and it is a direct charge against New Zealanders, of insularity and the narrow-mindedness bred thereof, that the institute should so far have failed to attract any considerable public following in the Dominion. — “Christchurch Sun.” 4 .

The first Dunedin wool sale of the season confirmed with bitter emphasis the reports of depression and stringency in the market which cannot have failed to impress pastoralists all over - the country with the conviction that greatly decreased returns were to be expected this year from the sale of a most important export commodity. The artificial level of values which raised false hopes in Australia and New Zealand in November was as short-lived as the uneconomic demand that created it It was not surprising to find an uneven inquiry, inclining to dullness, for any but the best fleece wools, but even those most closely in touch with the latest market movements were unprepared for the suddenness of the fall in the values that left prices fully twopence below those ruling at the Christchurch sale in November. It was hoped that the encouraging tone of that sale would form a basis for the disposal of the finer wools that make up the bulk of the southern offerings. The top price of 16d. compares significantly, however, with the highest bid of 25Jd. at the corresponding sale last year.—“Otago Daily Times.” It seems to us most regrettable that the University of New Zealand should have declined to invite to the conference on this question the representatives of the non-State secondary schools which are training more than three thousand pupils throughout New Zealand. Are we to assume as an explanation of this discourtesy ’that the University is well aware that most of the headmasters of these schools, like Canon Archdall at- King’s and the Rev. C. F. Pierce at Wanganui College, hold that examinations are the only sound test of efficiency, and that it is nothing less than a dereliction of duty on the part of the University to delegate to outsiders the right or the power to fix the qualification for entry /upon an academic career? —Auckland “Star.” Sea bathing, while one of the most attractive and health-giving of summer pastimes, is also one of the most dangerous if prudence is not exercised; and those who do not take the precautions necessary expose other people to unwarranted danger. The other day a swimmer unacquainted with the dangers of Sumner, had to fight hard for his life, and it was more through luck than anything else that he was able to make,the shore. Had he not been able to take care of himself, someone else would have had to face the perils . of currents and breakers simply because one swimmer, had been negligent. There are mishaps that cannot be foreseen, such as sudden collapses in the water, but most of the trouble can be avoided by the simple method of using common sense. —Christchurch bun. < In Australia, if not so much in New Zealand, the policy of severely restricting the flow of this season’s clip to the market is being adopted, and it is possible that this coincides with woollen manufacturers! alleged determination to allow growers to carry the surplus wool during the quiet season. It appears as though British banks favour the colonial banks bearing a larger share of the burden of financing the marketing of the clip. Other factors than the world’s consumptive demand for wool affect market values. A good deal has been said of the displacement of wool by substitutes. The latest information on that aspect, however, indicates that the world production of rayon, qr artificial silk, only equals 3 per cent, of the textiles used. And it may be added that there is a pronounced depression at present in artificial silk shares: but here, again, this is attributed rather to depression on the Continental Stock Exchange than to any inherent weakness in , the industry itself. The state of the Lancashire'eotton industry is, and for some time past has been, the reverse of encouraging.—Dunedin “Star.” The Samoans are not yet sufficiently acquainted with the benevolent intentions of the Administration to see that the laws that are for the greatest good sometimes seem a little harsh in their operation. The Samoans now have benefits that they never had before. Hospitals and schools have been established, and the health of the people-has been improved; but these are benefits more apparent to the European than the native mind. The Sampans themselves probably feel that they got on well enough without them in the past, ami they are unable to appreciate their present'necessity. If progress is to be made, the essential preliminary is for , the officers of the Administration to convince the Samoans that everything done is being done for their own good. Force can never do this, and much of the trouble has been caused by the faet that more regard has been given to the enforcement of law than to a study of the native mind. —Christchurch "Sun.”