SCIENCE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 1 December 1927, Page 6

SCIENCE

AS APPLIED TO GOVERNMENT

ADBIftSS BV ;bs. XIU.VARO

AT ROTARY CLUB LUNCHEON'

; .- Dr. Tillyai’d of the Cawthron Inslitiite was the cfiief speaker at the Rotary. Club,'yesterday, and he gave a most ( interesting address' on modern g6veninifent ( from the scientific standpoint showing lip what he considered the weaknesses of. the ptesent system arid remedies. . it typical, illustration of, the ripjjqsitibh th(it t-hfe application of science to everyday matters, frequently, met, Dr. Tiilyard recounted the story bf the atti- « tude adopted by some of the old Boers in, South Africa when British rule ina very inuch needed Government veterinary seivfce to eliminate tlie tembU bf animal life that- weht oil in the tJnibn. Under this system, wHieH still operates, fai’mero are, permitted to .send , forward blood smears frofn ariiiriaM suspbbted of infection for tests in the Government laboratories. No-charge is made for the test unless ; tiothing ih found to be wrong. If in- .> ffeStibii is fotiridthb test and subsequent tjehtmeht- are provided free of charge. One bidAfebei' was particularly adverse •i ti» , thb “newt, fangied” method and thought he.wbuld take “a vise” out of the Government iby sending along a sjrieai :bf liis own blood. The Government dejJfiTtmerit. replied that the blood wasihot th v e blood of a sheep and it was • hbt ? inb yblbqd of an, ox, blit it was - n - - apparehj%: from an old male .gorilla- suf- •' feHiig from senile decay. The reply "finally rbbdmmended'that the ‘‘gorilla’’ Be dettriyed) and a postscript was attached stating that no charge would - be. iMde for the advice. >, i-A' y It i.wag: iriipqttant-.that scientific' men V v!'.:Ahhuld-‘ not ■ kebp themselves to' them- , kblyes as they had done in the past, , but ihit they should come but of their ; seclusion and apply their .knowledge ahd ’ ' scientific principles to other , phase? of life., r ; • the .matter .with our pre- ; sent gdVerriment and:is there a remedy say, by scientific government?” The speaker would, attempt to hint at an answer to these cjuestioiis in his' pre"sent'remarks. TWO MAIN UNITS . TheAtwo; iriajn pnits./iii government A’-; -r.yiefe the, citizen : arid,the representative py the d|izeri fo sit in. Parjiahient v Tiu; ; ,<;itjzen, w.as really basic /, for iie.it was who deiertniried the type,of Government that ppt. ihtb go,wer arid also the kind - ; vbf - were, the members of . that upyerhmerit l( wopld be . generally •< '*?'pariiutted therefca-e,,that if citizens. were. 11,-.. ignorant-'.of the. best ideals of "ment’ then they could not give effect • to them,, when exercising, their powers -A rr at; voting time. Jt shohld be demanded ~ that: those proved ideals and basic facts of science be promulgated as part of the natiqrill,.education. A better kind of education was needed under which children would not be 'crammed like geese, hui - wbrild be ■ tatight sd thbt their originality was developed and so' that ."th'eyi.pqquu’ed the habit. of scientific Ahiriking;. That was the first , great ideal .science -must' foster. • ;• ./ 7 it might npt .be generally realised the ipoSt, important .branch, of : sci«uce a? applied 'to _ government was biology.,pi.science of life, . arid, it )«^ i .ppr«prj9 thrit Governments should have as a basis of their policy a profound knowledgq of this great The first .essential was that the'electors should have in their minds ithefgreat truth of, evolutioni The orafer beliefs'' were retarding the world, ' which'would go ..ahead much; faster if evolution wete generally accepted. Un- . fcrturiate]y v there had /always. Been, since Darwin first enunciated his theory, a somewhat., bitter struggle., between sdience, arid religion. Religious leaders should study , the questions brought forward by scientists and in the same way scientists should r -malfß' - themselves with the religious standpoint. AAi-Secorialyj, l . we should have to learn another gteat biological truth, viz., that ;; - good and evil do not exist in Nature, - hut' drily -in the ' mind of man. -, Tlie tiger that kills and eats, a man-does not' commit a murder, but is sinless in liis- killing. : The parasite that bores iritd the body of its host and eats out its ■ vitals, does, not commit a murder in doing, but is also sinless. Nature is just one vast striving, with .actions arid reaction, everywhere; it, is only when these things are reflected in the mind of irian that the comparisons indicated by good and evil appear. This enables ois at bjice to. cbniprcliend why evil should .exist. Just as there cannot be' a hammer without an anvil, or a - shot without a recoil, so there must be bviirdf there cdrild not be any good. ' • . mati should.no longer be looked upon as a fallen arigel. but as an ariimal rising until, is the speaker firmly believed, he would become an angel indeed. . t ~) (a . ■V In. dealing with' members of Parliameri't,* .the representatives of the people, ' it: must ,he that .every country gcfr-lhe form of government it deserved. P.eople should riot .“run down” in embers of Parliament because it was the people themselves, who had chosen those reprbseritatiyes. At the same time m.embets ,of Parliament,, too,, must realise , that the basic principles of science must be used to obtain good government.

ELIMINATION OF WASTE

Oiie tif these basic principles that should be applied to government was that when.'it was realised a job had to be,done then the men most fitted for it ' should, be chosen regardless of cost in salary , or otherwise. The’speaker referred to the corruption apparent in the ; 1 ; lodal gdveriiment of Sydney and in the government of New South Wales ..-as , y ,„ of the chaos ' that resulted -'when the wrong element was put into "■'-'ppwer. . Another principle to be aimed at was the elimination of waste. There ■\yas not only the waste of too many highly paid officers taking part in the but also in putting into Pafliament men who either through ignorance or malice did riot manage the - .-affairs of. the country properly. '”’*'T'7"The j idaals forming the basis of politilife iri New Zealand, were generally tljpse. pf mid-Yictoa'iari’times in the beG ;• ter serine of the word, and generally / ~~ speaking the members of; Parliament ;< wefe r imbued with a directness and ’ hOnristy of, purpoise. Above all there * had nevjjr been the least suspicion that -iw .-aHy iriember of the New Zealand Parliament, was open to Bribery. • In Ausftalia, on .'the other hand, some df ihe worst elements in the country had g6i into pdwer, arid if something .Iwa's riot done to remedy the conditions

(iiqt had prevailed there dming recent years tlie country would land into a terrible liioss. It iviis to combat (his evil that tlie Council of Industrial and Scientific Research had been set up. Dr. Tiilyard referred to some of the problems —control of prickly pear, blowfly, etc.—that were before him in Australia ag an indication of the necessity for tlie cooperation of pcichiislfi.jn the feoprem|iient a. (criuhliy. Science once being appealed to by the (Govenimenta of the world could not refuse, for scientists realised what they could do to help. In staling that there was nothing wrong with the British constitution, the speaker emphasised that scientists would never advocate revolution. They believed in progress by'evolution and not by revolution". The Brilish constitution was to-day the best basis of democracy in the world. Dr. Tiilyard said it might- surprise some „of those present to find him as a. scientist upholding the present position arid gtiitils of the Royal Family. He did not, think there was one of his hearers who would support the replacement of the Royal family by kri itutoriralic president similar to the United States, a despotic dictator like Mussolini or , a Government similar to tlie Russian Soviet. Di' Tillvnrd, referring to tlie ‘House of Loi-ds in the British Parliament, said that in his opinion it.was utterly unscientific thkt- hereditary honours should exist. That an idiot or unworthy son of such and such a peer should sit in the House of Lords by right of birth was to the speaker the absolute negation of scientific principle. As regards the House of Commons arid the corresponding House of Representatives in New Zealand their weakest spot- was the unwort bin ess of some of the represenla: fives sitting in them., Wo must demand ■ a higher appreciation of citizenship for the individual, a higher ideal in education to fit him for such.citizenship, arid above all, a determinatioft on the part of tho-se elected to he our rulers to seek alw'ays the 1 co-operation of the-best brains that' science can supply in the enormous task of guiding these young countries through the difficult years, that lie ahe?d..„ .. .. -