DOMINION’S YOUTH

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 159, 1 April 1938, Page 10

DOMINION’S YOUTH

“Government Facing Responsibilities” CLAIM BY MR. SAVAGE Serious Loss Of One-Way Trade In Brains “We are facing up to our responsibilities toward the youth of the Dominion. The Government fully appreciates the value of education in the life of a young nation and our policy and practice in this field has already been one of liberalisation,” said the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, replying yesterday to a deputation from the New Zealand University Students’ Association which sought the sympathy and support of the Government in promoting and carrying out an inquiry into the relationship between the University and the Public Service. “I know that we can, and will, do much more,” Mr. Savage said. “It is our duty to give all the young people of New Zealand every possible educational advantage. But that is not enough; they must be heirs to a form of society which will give the fullest scope to their training and talents. Let me say again that they must have opportunities of useful employment with adequate salaries. “I have always thought it a most serious matter that our most gifted scholars, scientists, doctors, engineers and journalists trained in our New Zealand Universities should go abroad to positions offering more opportunity for advancement than they can obtain in their own country. Some of them have gained high distinction and all of them have at least shown sufficient merit to hold their own in a field of competitive talent. Lack of Opportunity. “I venture to say that none of them would remain abroad if they could secure the same positions in their native land,” the Prime Minister continued. “I was immensely struck in London.with the young New Zealanders I met. They had good positions and good prospects, yet they conveyed the impression that they had to leave New Zealand because of a lack of opportunity. “I could not help feeling how stupid it was that there were such young men who wanted to work in their own country and that their country needed their work. It cannot be gainsaid that this one-way trade in brains has been a most serious loss to New Zealand. “The men I have in mind did not go away in search of fame and fortune. They went abroad to seek opportunities and better facilities to carry on the jobs for which education and University training in New Zealand has fitted them. “I have been told that the percentage of Rhodes Scholars returning to New Zealand is the smallest for any country in which Rhodes Scholarships are awarded. Just think of it; out of 45 only about one-quarter have come back. It seems to me that such a result is contrary to the real purpose of Cecil Rhodes. “Last year the Government availed itself of the services of a Rhodes Scholar who had made agriculture his study. I think it was the right thing to do. Ideals of Government. “This Government is building a society which will give all our young people an opportunity to live a life which is full in the best sense of the term. The ideals of the Government can be put into effect. We older people may not see the results we have worked to attain, but you will. It will be your world, anl you will be foolish to ignore the opportunity which will soou present itself. I am sure that some,, if not all, of you have the capacity for leadership. It is not the University degree that counts, but the fact that you have had an education which ought to give you a balanced judgment. “It is to be deplored that in recent years tens of thousands of young people lost their opportunity to enter upon a career,” the Prime Minister said. “They were locked out, like beggars at the gate. They were denied their right to opportunity of serving apprenticeships for skilled trades, and of gaining experience for normal business careers—of training and studying for the professions. “It is to remedy this parlous situation as far as is humanly possible, and to prevent its recurrence in the future that this Government is devoting its energies. We are determined to repair some of the damage that was done before we came into office. Democracy Founded on Service. “The Government is concerned with the problem as a w-hole, and it is a problem bristling with difficulties, many of which should never have been allowed to arise. The case you have put before me is only one aspect, but it is a problem vital to the survival of a democratic community. The Government will do its part to assist you toward that end. But I would like to make an appeal to you to render your best service to the community in return. Democracy means more than a mere voting system; the real democracy can be founded only on service.

“I should like to add two further characteristics essential to a good public servant—enthusiasm for his job, and a desire to serve, or, shall I describe it as a ‘social conscience.’ This pounds, shillings and pence civilisation leads us astray ; there are finer ways of living than by chasing profits and amassing wealth.

“Again, I assure you and the young people you represent, that this Government will never fall into the error of slamming the door of opportunity in the bright and eager faces of New Zealand youth,” Mr. Savage concluded.