DOMINION TOPICS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 261, 31 July 1937, Page 1 (Supplement)

DOMINION TOPICS

Over the Air. The Government is considering the question of allowing controversial debates over the air, and the decision will be awaited with interest. It will be necessary, in view of the election .campaign next year, to have the matter definitely settled. The responsibility Will rest on the Government to see to it that all sections of political belief have tile same privileges, and to ensure that there should be a committee, representative of those interests,' entrusted with the arrangements. It is not likely that men with such long experience of public life as Mr. Savage and some of his colleagues can claim will run any risk of being accused of unfair treatment of their opponent's in this respect, but in order to remove the whole thing from party atmosphere the task of allocating time and opportunity for broadcasting a public address should be delegated to a committee. —“Waikato Times.” Maori Councils. The resuscitation of the Maori Council for the Taranaki Maori District is another demonstration of the belief that progress of the Maori race can be developed best from within. The councils have been given wide authority in local government, and while they may suppress Maori customs held, to be injurious, they may adapt and develop tribal laws and customs from which benefit can still be derived. In other words, the councils are asked to bridge the gap between Maori and European laws and rules of conduct. It is obvious that such work should be performed by members of the race that will have to follow the new path to full citizenship.—“Taranaki Daily News.” House Building Programmes. There is a suggestion that the extensive house building programme undertaken by the Government has had the effect of in some measure arresting the revival of private building, which, of course, is only natural, but there is every evidence that the progress which is being made to meet the admitted shortage of housing, is being accelerated to a great extent, although there is a considerable distance to go before the ideal is reached. The survey of housing is now in progress in most centres, a formidable undertaking, and it is expected that shortly some indication will be given regarding this vital matter in connection with the health of the community.—“Timaru Post.” Training Naval Volunteers. It is more important than ever that the merchant navy, as it is rightly called, should be ready for an emergency, and New Zealand ought not to hesitate about performing its share of the responsibility. Through the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, training centres are in being, and all that is needed is the necessary organisation and a little finance to give instruction to the many, formerly officers, who have shore jobs or carry on the coastal shipping service. New knowledge required by those who had a good grounding in defensive duties in the school of war itself is that of co-operation with the air arm, which, particularly in narrow and coastal waters, will have an important part to play. There ought to be no difficulty in initiating this training system.—“ New Zealand Herald.” A Paradox.

In an address at Hastings, the medical adviser to the Plunket Society, Dr. ■ Martin Tweed, drew attention to a striking paradox. Mainly through the educational work of the society it can be said that New Zealand babies are now “the best looked after in the world,” which means that the majority 'begin their lives well. Hut they do not go on as they have begun. Between the ages of three or four years, and 19 or 20 years, Dr. Tweed said, the future mothers and fathers “lose their digestion, their nerves, their health and their teeth.” That is an exaggeration, but a pardonable one; the facts amply support the conclusion that the general health of the population is far below the standard which should be expected in a country in which so much is done for infants and in which the physical, economic and social conditions are so favourable. This condition is not only a reflection on the collective intelligence of the community, but it is expensive, and the expense is growing." —“Auckland Star.”

Mr. Nash’s Activities. Mr. Nash went to England with the purpose of concluding an agreement which would assure New Zealand of expanding markets in the United Kingdom for expanding production. To date, unfortunately, he has been unsuccessful, and it lias been conjectured that he was given to understand in London that he could not hope for the kind of agreement he wanted, and that therefore (and rightly) ho embarked on negotiations with European countries in order to increase the Dominion’s subsidiary markets, both in number and variety. As far as the British market is concerned, it has been reported that the United States requested facilities for the freer entry of her agricultural products, and that her proposals, which necessarily affect the Dominions. are being studied by the Dominion representatives. On these matters, of vital import to the economic future of New Zealand, Mr. Nash will have more detailed knowledge, but the Dominion will expect from Mr. Savage a general survey of the situation. Meanwhile, all people will join in spirit with the citizms of Wellington in cordially welcoming the Prime Minister back to the Dominion. —“Auckland Star.”

Tempting Providence. For the absent-minded or eccentric pedestrian, whose vagaries of conduct probably cause more doubtful rhetoric than bad golf does, there seems to be small hope of salvation. There is the pedestrian who just dawdles, who is nervously hesitant, or who elects to cross willy-nilly. Whichever type he represents, he appears to dare the motorist to do his worst. And not all drivers are as suavely accommodating as the London busman who, finding a pedestrian apparently fascinated by the mid-street perspective of hurrying traffic, stopped his vehicle and softly inquired, “I say, sir, may I ask what are your plans?” A safety campaign, if it is to succeed, must presuppose the intelligent co-operation of all who may cause, or otherwise be involved in, an accident. Only when that truth is appreciated can we expect to hear less of tragedy on the roads.—"Otago Daily LTimes.”

Building Sites. The difficulty of obtaining suitable freehold sites, a necessity under the financial proposals of the Government’s housing plan, might be overcome by offsetting the price of the site against rent due from the farmer for the State-erected dwelling, and in the case of holdings leased from the Crown there should be still less difficulty in obtaining suitable sites for cottages. Except in the hinterlands there are few farms likely to engage married employees which do not possess reasonable reading and transport facilities. In a great number of such holdings the supply of electricity has added greatly, and at small expense, to the comfort of rural domestic life. Given the offer of reasonable housing, continuity of employment and a fair wage, there should be considerably less instability in the matter of farm labour than is the case at the present time.—"Taranaki Daily Herald.” Bread and Butter. Butter, as well as bread, will cost the New Zealand consumers considerably more, if the demands of some dairymen are conceded by the Government, when fixing the guaranteed prices for exported produce during the coming season. Southland farmers, for example, are asking for a minimum of 1/6 a lb. Perhaps, they, are asking for more than they expect to get, in order to leave room. for “concessions,” but it is mistaken tactics for dairymen to appear to be greedy. The cost of living has risen considerably, and the upward trend is continuing. The Government’s industrial legislation makes such increase unavoidable, but there are limits to what the urban consumers will passively accept.—Greymouth “Evening Star.” The Mau Again. It is rather difficult to accept the assurance of the Acting-Administrator of Western Samoa that the recent incidents in the group have no political significance. The interference with Europeans is attributed to “excessive zeal” on the part of the natives in connection with some local ceremonial, but it is hardly likely that zeal would find this form of expression if some of the natives were not in a ihood to defy the Government. Former troubles In the group started with isolated incidents of the same kind, which were treated as minor police matters. The danger, of course, is that tolerance toward the natives as part of the policy of sympathetic treatment may once

more be regarded as a sign of weakness. The Mau is lifting its head once more, according to all accounts, so that the possibility of trouble is always present.—Christchurch “Star-Sun.” Leaders in the Making. No nation can rise higher than it lifts, its children, but since much depends on their aptitude there is a special duty to lift highest those that are most capable, irrespective of the homes from which they come. Even a democracy needs a corps d’elite—a leading phalanx of intellect and character—to serve its advance. On the other hand, the raising of the average is at least equally served by unflagging attention to the educational needs and possibilities of the less-gifted majority. This is, in practice, an inescapable corollary of the first task, if the outloo'k for a democracy be considered. Leaders without an alert following can achieve little. Their special education only sets them uselessly aloof. Given an intelligent rank and file, they can make the most, socially, of their special talents. —“New Zealand Herald.” The Hawking of Food. The city council may count on the support of the citizens in its proposal to prohibit the hawking of fresh meat in the city. The travelling butcher’s shop is not a desirable thing, for the meat is greatly exposed to contamination by flies and by dust blown up from the street. Entirely new standards of hygiene are a commonplace to-day. In many places bread has to be delivered in wrappers. Even sugar cubes on the tables in hotels have their individual wrappers. The reformers have found an excellent ally in the cellophane wrapper for the protection of all foods from contamination. Wrappers of this or other material should be used to the very fullest extent, especially for foods that are easily contaminated. Certainly no perishable food should be sold openly from the cart-tail in the street, and those who have encouraged such trade on the ground of convenience ought to know that it carries with it very grave dangers.—“ Christchurch

Star-Sun.” The Fanners’ Union. It has been said many times that the wealth of the country comes primarily through the farmers; but in an agricultural country we are all in the farming business together; the primary products industries depend on transport and the multitudinous services of the city almost as much as on the man who farms the land. The business of politics is partly to see that one section of this farming community is not favoured at the expense of the others, and that the various functions of society interlock in such a way that the collective prosperity is fairly distributed. These matters are not arranged by chance. Balance is attained only when every group is fully organised. And the function of a group like the Farmers’ Union depends on something more than a live executive - at Dominion headquarters. It depends on a large and active membership, spread across every part of the country where land is ploughed and sheep and cattle put out to graze.—“ Southland Times.”

Questions for Mr. Savage. Mr. Savage’s return is not an occasion for further platitudes—-these the people know by heart—but it does demand a clear and concise exposition of exactly where New Zealand stands in relation t>o the rest of the Empire, particularly, the Mother Country upon whose goodwill our economic existence depends. Transcending all else, perhaps, is the question of defence. It is no secret that the Dominion delegates were given much valuable information regarding the international situation and that an appeal was made for a common policy of defence. To what extent, if any, has this Dominion been committed, and what were Mr. Savage’s own reactions to the information that was disclosed? The Prime Minister has himself closely allied with defence the question of immigration, and this was another subject to which attention was paid in London.—" Poverty Bay Herald.”