HEALTH CAMPS YOUNG STUDENT’S LAPSE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 4 May 1937, Page 10

HEALTH CAMPS

YOUNG STUDENT’S LAPSE

KING GEORGE V NATIONAL MEMORIAL FUND a iTKAI. si TI’ORTED BY THE HON. ADAM HAMILTON S|K>;ikinu over tin- air last evening t lit Hon. Aibim I iamilloii, Duller of the Nutioinii I’iilty said

To-night I wish to give inv support to j the appeal which has been made hv the , prime Minister, the HI. lion. Mr Savage. | and his predecessor, (he lit. Hon. Mr Forbes, for coni rihntions towards the ■ King (!eor,go Hie Fifth National Memor- ’ ial Fund. The money which is sub- j scribed to Ibis Fund wiil be used for the; establishment of pennant. Children's; Health Camps, and as a former Postmas-ler-tleneral whose Department, has previously appealed for money for the main(enainee of these camps through the sale of health stamps. I have some knowledge of the work the camps have accomplished. For some years they have been an integral part of the national health policy, and if they are. now placed on a pennant basis they will play a vital part in improving the health of many of onr young people. The benefits which the children derive from these camps is trnelv astonishing. Taking one of (lie large camps for ex-ample---I he average weight of 614 children (comprising 272 girls and 342 boys) increased during their month s stay in the camp hv approximately 51b per child. Only three of the 614 children failed to show any increase in weight. In regard to height.—while 237 of the 614 showed no appreciable increase in height, the, remaining 377 improved in this respect by an average of half an inch.

In New Zealand we have succeeded in reducing infant mortality and in prolonging (lie average span of hie, but we want something more than that.. lam sure it is the desire of all that we should also have a high standard of physical fitness. Physical fitness is one of the main factors in health, and health in turn is largely the foundation of happiness and contentment. We want our young people to make the most of their lives, whether they are at work or at play, and if they are to do that, they must get as near as possible to that natural condition in which Hie exercise of the limbs is an enjoyment instead of a fatigue, and in which the vitality of the body sharpens and concentrates the faculties of the mind. Remember we can do far more

good to public bealtli by preventing people from contracting diseases than by providing elaborate and expensive facilities to cure people who have already contracted diseases.

I commend this appeal earnestly to you all 11 is an appeal which must go straight, to the hearts of everyone who is interested in their development, and in their health and happiness. And I say here that country children as well as town children have benefited from these camps. The scope of tlie camps has been national, and when placed on a permanent basis they will be a fitting national memorial to Ilis late Majesty. To carry through the scheme a large sum of money will be required, but wo rely on the admiration and affection which we all eherish for the memory of a beloved King, who reigned not only on the Throne but in our hearts for a quarto! of a century, to make these permanent health camps possible. Onr objective can be accomplished only if the support for the memorial flows from the homes and hearts of all the people. The Government wants this Fund to be a

real offering of the people, and I know that none of us who are associated - n

t bis appeal will be disappointed. We all look forward to the long procession of the years (o come and see someone asking how those camps came into being the answer will be “These Camps were given by the generation which knew

Gcogre the Fifth as a thanksgiving for hi;- life of service in order that his memory might live in the happier lives of their children and their children’s children.’’

THEFT OF MICROSCOPE COURT EXERCISES LENIENCY “AN EXCEPTIONAL CASE” [By Telegraph-Press Association] DUNEDIN, 3rd May. “You have already received far heavier punishment than any this court might be disposed to inflict,” said Mr Justice Kennedy in the Supreme Court, directing th r- discharge of a young man accused of the theft of a microscope belonging to the Otago University three years ago. The theft was committed while accused, who is»now practising as a dentist in the North Island, was a student, and the Crown Prosecutor agreed with the defending counsel that it was unfortunate that a comparatively small* offence should have to go to the Supreme Court merely because it was an old offence. The Crown made no objection to the extension of the utmost leniency. Counsel stated that accused came to Otago University from the north when aged 18, very foolishly wasting the first two years. His father was angry, but with his mother’s help he was able to stay on and applied himself diligently. In December 1933 his mother died, this coinciding with the final examination, which he failed. He found that if he could stay till May the following year he could sit a special examination. He did so, pawning his effects and living a hand to mouth existence. It was during this time that the microscope was pawned. Accused did pass, then obtaining a northern practice with his father’s assistance. When his creditors found that he had commenced a practice they pressed, and meantime he had married and had a child. However he did get clear of debt, but trouble overlook him when the microscope case arose.

His Honour said that the offence was committed in circumstances of extreme pressure. This was an exceptional case in which the C .irt should exercise its power and discharge accused. He ordered the suppression of the name.