TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 8828, 20 March 1909, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Some Ministers are not at all impressed by the undoubted The Call need for economy and for carefulness in. the _ conEconomy. duct of the Dominion's affairs. It was amply demonstrated at election time that the expenses of running the country were steadily mounting up at a rate disproportionate to the increase in the population or growth in the revenue. In such circumstances it would have been thought that wherever a saving could have been effected in the details of administration it would have been done The Minister for Education does not appear to take this view of the situation. A public school teacher writes to an Auckland paper to say that he has received, "with the compliments of the Minister for Education," a solid wad of his speeches, printed by the Government printer, by order, and enclosed in a franked envelope. The teacher estimates that if Mr Massey wanted to circularise the teachers of Now Zealand in the same way he would incur an expenditure of not less than £200. .The point is a small one perhaps, but is characteristic of the Government s iaea of "carefulness" in administration.

Diking the present week it is expected that the construction of Underground underground conduits for Telephones, telephone cables in the streets of Wellington, commenced fifteen months ago, will be completed. Already about five miles of cables have been put underground, and their absence makes a very appreciable difference in the appearance of the overhead wires. The conduits will complete the work of the overhead cables, which has also thinned out the forest of wires, but the poles will take the trunk cables for the outlying districts, and the connection between the exchange and buildings in the heart of the city will be by the overhead system. With this further improvement of the telephone service in the Empire City it is quite probable that some attention will be given by the authorities to the automatic system by which a subscriber may ring up any number without the assistance of the exchange. "Automatics" have been in use for several years in different paits of the world, Los Angelos in the United States having one for a service of about 17,000 subscribers. The cost of an automatic service does not vary greatly from that of the ordinary installation when it is designed for a service of between 6000 and 15,000 people, bht with the number below 6000 the difference would be in favour of the ordinary system. The ideal is the automatic combined with the central battery, and it is being kept "steadily in view" by those interested in telephone systems, including the Dominion authorities, who are carefully watching the latest types of the telephone.

The resolutions passed by the Collegestreet School Committee last The night, after hearing the eviSchool dence submitted as to the Enquiry, conduct of Standard IV., will be read with interest by the public.-* The statements of scholars and the proceedings last night will confirm th& impression that the public previously held that in one class there was room for improvement in methods. The Committee decided that the Rennie case should not be re-opened and no time was spent upon it. They can, however, be commended upon their strict determination to get at the truth in regard to the other matters, and the severe impartiality of their investigations. This was the proper spirit in which to approach the matter. To take up an attitude of resentment of criticism is apt to prejudice a cause in the eyes of the public. A calm judicial consideration of the evidence is more likely to bring just results. It is especially pleasing to hear the Committee's condemnation of the methods of _ "punishment by ridicule" as being undignified and not conducive to discipline. We believe the authorities on school method are equally opposed to such punishment. With regard to the headmaster's demand that "the newspapers" should be requested to withdraw their statements, we would like Mr Low to point out any editorial reference in this journal which has not been justified by events. As we have pointed out we have made no general charges against the school though the headmaster seems still to hold an impression to the contrary, and in maintaining! that position he is doing us an injustice.