DOMINION TOPICS

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 258, 29 July 1939, Page 1 (Supplement)

DOMINION TOPICS

Motoring Regulations. A gradual tightening up of traffic regulations in the interests of road safety must be expected for some time to come. The new regulations gazetted yesterday are by no mtons drastic. The compulsory dipping of headlights ought to have been enacted long ago, for the statistics show that, apart from collisions caused by non-dipping, an enormous number of accidents are caused by driving off the road and overturning on the roadway, and dazzling headlights are responsible for many of these accidents. It is worth noting, too, that 36} per cent, of all accidents occur at dusk or Ju the hours of darkness. The other three regulations provide for safety glass in all windscreens, a maximum speed limit of 40 miles an hour for motor-cycles carrying pillion riders, and an increase in the maximum length of multi-axled vehicles from thirty feet to thirty-three feet. The first of these is not a preventive of the accidents, though it may mitigate the injpries due to accidents; and the second has been gazetted at the request of the motorcyclists themselves, who perhaps think it is some alternative to the prohibition of pillion riding, which was enforced for some years in Christchurch. The third is negligible. Most people, indeed, would prefer to see a sharper limit in the width of motor-vehicles.— Christchurch “Star-Sun.” A Humiliating Position. ( In being obliged, in order to meet normal obligations abroad, to seek the good offices of the Home Government,, this Dominion has been placed in a somewhat humiliating position—one that emphasizes the rapidity with which her resources have been dissipated and her credit has been impaired by a policy of financial recklessness. The safeguards which the British Government has taken in making funds available, and the comments by authorities in Great Britain and in the English Press, have left no doubt as to the want of confidence with which the present New Zealand Government’s fiscal policies are regarded abroad. And coincidentally with these intimations from outside our gates that all is not well with the country’s economy, has come a blunt indication from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand of the need for curbing the demands which the Government is making upon the resources of that institution. This is not the first time that the Reserve Bank has been impelled to draw attention to the effect of the Government’s spending policies, and the necessity for limiting public expenditure to revenues — and borrowings—is plainly stated.—“Otago Daily Times.” The Case For Compulsory Training. The Government should realize at this stage that compulsory training is the fairest and quickest way of organizing the country’s defence. Significant figures to support this contention were quoted recently by a correspondent in “The Evening Post.” Universal training was established under the Defence Act 10,1909, and Iby 1930 “New Zealand had a force, for home defence only, of 30,000 soldiers in training and, probably, twice fhat number of trained men in reserve." Today, added the correspondent, “there are, nominally, 9000 volunteers, less than a third of the 1930 army, and the cost to the country is double.” No reasonable person is likely to claim that New Zealand was less democratic during the years of compulsory training than at the present time. And now the need for trained men is Increasingly urgent. It is therefore dismaying to discover that the Prime Minister still insists that the voluntary system has not failed. Facts and figures are against him. — “Southland Times.”

The Refugees.

It is apparent that Australia, in a limited way, is recognizing that she has the responsibility, together with other nations, of helping to solve one of the gravest problems ever facing humanity. New Zealand cannot avoid her responsibility in this, specially as she stands to gain artisans and farm workers of a much-needed type. But courage is needed to break down the prejudice and industrial fears that so quickly find voice in the cry of a “flood of foreigners” and the “competition of lower standards of living.” Carefully selected and placed refugees can contribute much to the prosperity and progress of such Dominions as Australia and New Zealand, which, at the same time, can display their humaneness and enlightenment by their courageous handling of the problem. Cautiously and gradually Australia is beginning to pull her weight and New Zealand also should not lag behind. In the present-day w’orld of shattered geographical isolation and of growing population pressures no under-populated country can hope to keep herself a close preserve.—“Taranaki Herald.” The Reserve Bank Report. Arresting advice to the Government is given by the directors of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in their annual report. The Government is advised not to have further recourse for financial accommodation to the bank, and to limit its expenditure to the revenue it can raise by taxation and amounts it can borrow from the public internally or overseas. . . . Which course will the Government adopt? Will it, in defiance of the Reserve Bank’s advice, continue to call on the bank for credit to carry on with its policy of lavish spending? It cannot extract much more from the taxpayers; otherwise it will dry up that source of revenue. It cannot borrow overseas, and it remains to be seen to what extent it will be accommodated in the internal money market. There are signs that the Government is endeavouring to curtail unproductive expenditure, and the coming Budget will perhaps reflect that intention. There is no reasonable alternative. And to maintain the people’s living standard and prevent unemployment it will be necessary to attack the problem of increasing production with the utmost vigour. Economy in unproductive expenditure and greater effort, nationally and Individually, in the productive fields offer the surest way out of the present difficulties.— “Waikato Times.”

What Is Wrong?

Mr. Nash is in desperate need of a balance of funds in London, but in spite of the apparent prosperity of the Dominion he can see the financial position steadily deteriorating.- This state of affairs must cause him to realise that something is wrong with the economy of New Zealand. That something is not difficult to discover. The Dominion’s “prosperity” is not founded wholly on the production of real wealth but rather upon the lavish bxp<mditure of “■borrowed” money. If production were increasing proportionately there would not be the same uneasiness arising from the evidence on every hand of reckless spending. # On the contrary, production is actually declining With expenditure going up and production down, there can be only one result, and the sooner the Government addresses itself seriously to the problem the better will it be for all concerned. And not the State alone —the same spirit of recklessness is apparent among men and women who have never before had so much money to spend. If they wish to continue to spend they roust be equally willing to produce more by their own efforts. —“Waikato Times.” Industrial Discipline. There will be general approval of the attitude taken by the Minister of Labour regarding trades unions and employers’ organizations wbo defy awards of the Arbitration Court and indulge in strikes or lock-outs to settle industrial disputes. . . Trade* unions, he states, cannot have if both ways. The number of occasions in which strikes and other forms of “direct action” have been applied is proof of the need for disciplinary powers. Apart from the unfairness of the attitude of the unions that indulge in strikes —which meads practically that awards of the cour' are enforceable on employers only—l bore is the serious dislocation of industry and loss of wages to be considered. While loss of wages may be a matter for the individual worker to some exterd, there is its wider aspect in regard f o the spending power of the Dominion. More important still is the necessity for avoiding any diminution in industrial output seeing that New Zealand, for good or ill, has embarked upon s policy of greater self-sufficiency in manufactured commodities. As a matter of fact the stricter discipline is likely to be appreciated by the more reasonable labour unions as well as by employers’ organizations. — “Taranaki Daily News." The Pledge to the Farmers. Criticism of the guaranteed price is neither party politics alone nor mere greediness. It is a call to the Government to keep irs pledges, and the Prime Minister’s suggestion that the guaranteed system might b? abandoned was clever political strategy. But if support of the guarantee enables Mr. Savage to evade temporarily some very pertinent questions they still require an answer. And unless the answer is satisfactory the future of a major industry is fraught with' grave peril. The farmer was assured by the Government that "Labour had a plan” whereby primary production could be shielded from the effects of market variations. Not only was a State guarantee to stabilize returns to the farmer, but Labour’s plan would ensure the farmer a standard of living and remuneration equivalent to that received by other workeTs showing similar industry and investment of capital as must be applied to successful farming. There is certainly a strong body of farmer opinion, that this undertaking has not been honoured and that in the new economic structure the Government is endeavouring to erect the importance of the primary industries is being overlooked and the farmer is receiving less than his share when measured by the earnings of other industrialists who work short hours for high pay.—“Taranaki Daily News.”

New Zealand Speech.

Children today are. influenced to 8 much greater degree than seems to be generally’ realized by talking pictures and radio programmes; and in no way are they more influenced than in their speech. The result is the cultivation of a diction, even a kind of dialect, which is related to no other form of English speech. Hence we have achieved a distinctive New Zealand accent that is in greater or less degree harsh and unpleasant to the ear. There could be no objection to a New Zealand accent if it were musical and beautiful, as speech can be. The full, round vowels of the Maori language codld be a musical and refining influence on the diction of New Zealanders, but. unfortunately, too few come in regular contact with it. Teachers could and should be able to inspire in their children a love of musical and beautiful sounds, for which the speaking vole* can be an important influence. But 1* In their own speech they are eareles.and slovenly—and it is lamentably true that many of them are—the influence upon the speech of the children is correspondingly bad. Children, the most conservative of human beings, speak the language of their erivironment.—“The Press,” Christchurch. New Zealand Air Pilots. New Zealand is to take a big step forward toward the provision of her own war potential as a result of the recommendations of the recent British air mission to *he Dominion. Full agreement- has been reached for the production of training aircraft In the Dominion and for the expansion of the facilities for training pilots. . . It is now obvious that Britain is looking to Australia for a supply of warplanes to Empire countries in the Indian and Pacific Ocean zones. And one of the chief tasks of the recent Pacific Defence Conference at Wellington was to make a comprehensive survey of the whole industrial fabric of the two Dominions with a view to the speedy conversion of it to a war basis New Zealand has an important part to play in this, .and ’ although her industrial limitations may prevent more than the building of training planes she can push ahead with her plans to train flying personnel. New Zealand pilots have a high reputation in the Royal Air Force, and with the rapidly growing strength of the Australian aircraft industry and its output of modern planes across the Tasman, the Dominion will feel, that a gap in her defence system is fast being filled.—"Taranaki Harald."