TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 126, 24 November 1923, Page 15

TOPICS OF THE DAY

(By "M.H.C.")

Two special points of interest were 'brought forwaiti at the Victoria League i' Conference the other day,' when the dis- > cussion arose concerning the desirability J;oi entering into some. special way of 'helping migrants when they arrive in ' tin's country. One was the , attention * which is given to them through the ] ' luunigraliun Department. ' The officials "'meet them, iind every possible informa-

' tion and assistance is given to the new ,-arrivals. In hearing about what was ; dune, it did not seem tliat there "wais a j, loop-holy for the ordinary citizen ahy-;.-whero in tht plan. Then followed "the /terms of nomination, arid.it looked, as .it the sole responsibility of the migrant frosted upon the nominator.. His employment, housing, and keep, if employment ) were not forthcoming at once, op proved unsuitable, seemed to be the responsibil-, .'ity of the individual, who had signed >. the nomination papers. It -was mention.cd that Government would come to .the rescue if absolutely necessary. One .or two storie3 were told; about indi-. Nidual cases where there was not, a great desire to work immediately, and there .were also a number of tales that were , not told. A fact seems to be that a number of those who arrive are most interested and happy at first, -while the glamour of newness, is on them, but ; there is plenty of work in after-care and ; kindness for those who are able to undertake it; . and the conclusion of the . matter was that committees should be formed to give such assistance.

In a very interesting treatise on education Lord Avebury points, .out the : steady decrease in England of crime ;s;nce the Education Act was passed in 1870, which provided easier and better education for the masses of the people. There are specially a decrease in juvenile crima. There was also a de-

crease in the number of paupers, in ■1..1870 the number per thousand being ■ 47, and when he was writing it had dropped to 22. He points out the enormous saving in expense to the country, • and mentions that no less than eight of the convict prisons had been closed, and applied to other purposes. , Another p: oof of Lord Avebury's contention that education is of immense value in pre- ; .venting crime, is the fact that out of ; 157,000 persons committed to prison, there were only 5000 who could read and write well, and only 250 who were what _ could be called educated persons. He v expresses a doubt, however, as to whether we have devised the best system ot education, and says : "Reading and ■ writing, arithmetic and grammar, do ; not .constitute education any more thjn " as knife, fork, and spoon constitute a dinner, and expresses the opinion that •we hsive to learn, and much to unlearn ..about education. He considers that the. profession of teaching is "most laborious, exhausting, arid responsible.' . .: r<, give .instruction-in grammar;;is fair;r. -ly easy,- but-to help the young soul, =add - energy, inspire hope, and blow the coals •I into a useful flame Kto redeem-, defeat' jig. by new thought, by "firm "action,- that is •;. not easy, that" is" the work of divine peop.e. A brief quotation from Locks .shows that he thought that study came ■first; then meditation; and finally dis.conrse- with- -; a 'the' subjects" read and considered. The first was the collection- of rough materials; the second the fitting- together and raising the structure; and lastly, the walking round and criticising of the whole erection. -Lnia seems an admirable summary and easy to follow. .

In making.a plea for adequate recreation for children and young people a writer very sensibly differentiates between mere amusement and re6reation. Ihe one may be obtained by going to some indoor place, theatrical or otherwise, or by.playing cards perhaps; but it is not "real recreation. Take the word,.re-creation: It must mean the remaking of the body, which has deteriorated m stuffiness, cramped position, or surroundings,, and monotony of work To get this re-making, fresh air is first of all necessary; -and the recreations . enould include such games as tennis, hockey, football; swimming, and sports of all kinds. The note struck in particular was the necessity for playing grounds ' for the adult and the child. So many : things seem to come in the way of the provision of these, and it is a sign of ; the times that there is such an outcry for „ them. In the days when this city, or any other city, was planned in the early • part of, the nineteenth century, how ■ little was thought of the necessity for playgrounds is evidenced by the lack' of provision everywhere. The reason may have been that there was ample unoccupied ground everywhere, and the children of- the cities found plenty of room to "spread themselves" happily on the surrounding hills and beaches, close to town; therefore, blame need not be meted out for want, of vision. But what a great pity, and the • only thing to be done is to remedy the matter as soon as possible" before the cities spread any further. The beautifying of such places is a matter of importance too, and it is to be hoped that this aspect is not going to be lost eight of in the general hurry of life.

A recent writer, -who has produced a most earnest book, the argument of which is largely that the great increase of the degenerate, and the unfit is going to be the gradual cause of the destruction of civilisation, cays : "Unfit individuals as well as unjust social conditions jiust be eliminated. No reform of laws or institutions or economic systems will bring that better world unless it pro(lucas better men and women too." There is no doubt that there is a world ■novement towards efforts in the direction of improving the race, and making the best, instead of the worst of people. But it is handicapped considerably by the ignorance of a great number of the reasons of the efforts, and sometimes this ignorance.is "in high places." A great deal more could be done if there was more general understanding and help, and the movements in the education of the children and young people ranks highly in tha, common-sense estimate which ifl spreading abroad in a iatisfactory mttnnei..,,, Just occasionally thore oomes > aurpme, as when recently an educated person was found who was assured that-it'.was quite surikiar.t for the young ones to be interested and educated in matters within their own Empire,, and could nci so© t'nu reason for them to st-idy ti;« people ami problems oi other -xiuntnes and races. ' It would seem a« if the last war^was a proof of t'rnt i'uet that the understand-' l:>g of the difficulties and possibilities of other nations • was a'necessary factor for securing the J<>:igeu-for peare of ths WO.-M. Stil!, it .'a a comfort that one .-.'Hi aJw-ays :'!ive and iearn."