NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 31, 31 October 1932, Page 8

NOTES OF THE DAY

An English clergyman says he regards Armistice Day’as a. dying institution His expression of opinion is purely personal but it would be interesting to know whether his judgment is borne out by recent experience in Great Britain. So far as London - concerned th institution appears to be as alive as ever it wa The om of he Armistice Day remembrance—the two minutes halt in silence is tne heart of the matter —is as simple as it is impressive. Even ex pacifists should welcome this annual recall in the P 11 1? tragedy in a world that was never in more need of remembering. In New Zealand we have Anzac Day and less has been made. of Armistice Day. For two or three years past the experience here been for the observance of Anzac Day to wax rather than wane. The muster of veterans grows longer and the public concourse gi eat . This growth may be hard to explain yet it has to be accepted as a fact. "it should also be accepted as an opportunity to read the lessons of the Great War, “lest we forget.” JU * ▼ * Five per cent, is to be the rate of interest on a new issue of New Zealand Government debentures. The question is whether the Government is not keeping the rate too high, especially as the yield on these new 5 per cents, will not be subject to the special stamp < u y of 10 per cent. In Australia the Commonwealth Government and the bankers are arguing whether to issue a ten-year internal loan at 3 4 or 4 per cent. A few weeks ago in Great Britain £l5O million of s year 2 per cent. Treasury bonds were over-subscribed. In both cases the Governments are taking advantage of the cheaper money market. Has New Zealand no part in the trend toward cheaper money that the Government should still be offering 5 per cent.. The Prime Minister should test the market at a lower rate, in the interest not only of the national finances but also of private borrowers, lhe present policy makes the Government a steady competitor in the local market at a price that must set the'rate higher for all others.

It would be interesting to know who has been asking the question, “Do city libraries pay?” in the financial sense given it by the Chief City Librarian. No definite answer can be given because there is no exact method of measuring the value of libraries. Even if the question were put with less direct reference to monetary standards of value it would be hard if not impossible to return a satisfactory answer. Yet such questions should be put from time to time such questions as: Are public libraries worth while? What educational and cultural effects are they producing? What is their purpose in the community and are they serving it? Has their chief function become that of providing entertainment, and is this what the community intended and what the ratepayers are taxed for? But the questions could be multiplied endlessly and still there could be no exact answers. Nevertheless they should be put, discussed, and some attempt made at an assessment. Such a periodical examination is only fair to the ratepayers and should result in good for the libraries. At present they are accepted too much as a matter of course. Probably few outside the salaried staff take thought for their improvement and development. ♦ * * *

Behind Lord Bledisloe’s observation at the garden party at St. Mary’s Convent on Saturday, “I have never seen depression marked upon the countenarrce of any true Christian,” there lies a great truth. His Excellency was really bearing witness to the miracle and yet the reality of faith —faith that removes mountains and bears up believers over the dark waters. Wordsworth calls faith the amaranthine (or unfading) flower that endures “affliction’s heaviest shower” and does not shrink from “sorrow’s keenest wind.” But quotations and examples could be multiplied, whether from the Bible or literature or history. The core of the matter is, however, that whoever has faith is armoured against “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” as typified in the depression. Others may have their doubts and fears, and go down to despair. But "pure-eyed Faith” goes with “white-handed Hope” and both have an assurance that is denied the agnostic. They know “the way, the truth, and the life,” and all the glorious promise of John xiv. They possess that which shall not be moved—an anchor, a rock, that holds firm in all the tides of material welfare. Were there more faith in the world to-day, crippled mankind could take up tha bed of depression and walk.