NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15554, 11 March 1914, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

TOO MUCH EDUCATION.

The gospel of work, which has so often been prescribed for the Maori, is prescribed also for the Fijian by Mr. Frank Spence, who has resided in Fiji for upwards of 40 years, and is the administrator of the Province of Navua. Mr. Spence proceeds, however, to make some remarks which, to New Zealanders, will read very curiously, in view of the rapidity with which the Maori race has absorbed civilisation and education, and the excellent results following therefrom. Mr. Spence thinks it a mistake to educate the Fijian highly. "The education of the native, or at all events, anything beyond a mere ridimentary education, is folly," he says. "Some of our young native chiefs have wanted to marry white girls, but that has always been prevented. The young Fijian, as soon as he learns English, begins to put on ' swank,' and gets utterly spoilt. They all want to be clerks. Surely no one will dispute that it would be infinitely better if they had ambitions to become planters. I believe in preserving the old native customs, as far as possible. I am against the European style of housing for natives, for example. Their own thatched houses are far better for them. The less clothes they wear, too, the better. In fact, the closer they stick to their old ways the better they thrive." Mr. Spence says one has to be very careful that he does not rush changes en a people, however abhorrent particular native customs might be- A sudden transition in ideas left the native quite confused, and considerable damage might be done in their physical development. The progress of the Fijian could best be reached by industrial education, but if the best results were to be attained, they must make haste slowly. To try to Europeanise in a generation or two natives who were in the stone age when the whites had first come among them was a mistake. The official control of the natives ought only to be entrusted to those who thoroughly understood them, and who could view matters from their standpoint. One must be in sympathy with them. It was no use using the sledge-hammer, and crushing all the old customs and beliefs. He believed in

encouraging them to retain their customs, provided that they were not harmful customs.

A STATE BAKERY. A State bakery has been established by the New South Wales Government at Stanmore, a suburb of Sydney, the reason given being that master bakers were not in reality competing for Government contracts. The Minister for Justice (Mr. Hall), in opening the bakery, said that recent tenders were 28 per cent, higher than for the previous year, although flour was cheaper and wages in the trade no higher. The Government, therefore, decided to bake its own bread. During that night, he added, the bakery would turn out 5000 loaves. By putting in other ovens, if they chose, they could turn out 30,000 loaves per day. It was thought there would be a difficulty in securing flour, but the Government had secured a year's supply at £8 10s per ton. The Government bread, despite the fact that several contracts had unfortunately been let, would be supplied cheaper than any of the offers by tender. If they did not succeed in supplying bread this year at Id per lb, certainly they would next year, when all the State institutions would avail themselves of State bread. If they could turn out bread for 2d per ioaf, 3Jd was too much for the master bakers to be charging the public." It was not his business to teach the master bakers theirs, but he believed they would be well advised to see it they could not effect, economies, and produce bread cheaper and sell 'it at a price approaching nearer to that at which the State factory would supply its own.institutions. If they did not they would always provide a great temptation lor the State bakery to open depots and sell to the puoiic at a lower price.

IMMIGRATION INTO AMERICA.

| Some students of American immigration have ielt (says the Outlook) that, owing j to the growing strength of . conserving in I dustnal forces, the total of 1,334,166 for tne calendar year of 1907, and of 1,285,349 tor the fiscal year of 1906-7 were records which would not be broken. The figures lor steamship travel, however, ipdicate a new record for the calendar year of 1913, despite the fact that laws affecting economic conditions in the United States in a marked way had been in process of adoption throughout the past nine months, i'he immigration since July 1 was particularly notable- For the four months for which data have been made public the inward movement was at the rate of approximately 1,631,000 for the fiscal year. The rate was maintained up to the middle of December, when the passenger figures indicated that the crest of the wave had passed and the tide was ebbing. That the flow should continue at such a rate in the face of the slackened industrial activity was one of the interesting phases of the year's movement. The chief increases were among the Slavs, the peasants from southern Italy, and the Hebrews. In examining the causes of this phenomenal inward movement the discouraging economic conditions reported in certain European countries must be taken into account. This may have a bearing upon the fact that the outward movement late in December was not above the average, despite conditions in the United States. It has been asserted also that the possibility of the setting up of a literacy test in the near future has been a stimulating influence. This remains to be proved, however.

LINKING UP GREECE. It is announced that a, French company has received the contract for a railway to connect the Greek railways with the rest ol Europe. The Greek Government has for a long time been endeavouring to forge this link of connection, and successive Greek Postmasters-General have, declared that once the railway connection is brought about a bid will be made for the nighly-reraunerative Australian and Indian mail contracts. Time-table calculations would be rather premature at this stage; still it would appear that if the Pireaus is to become connected by a really good railway service with the Continental capitals, the cumbersome and time-wasting scheme of mail-carrying via Brindisi, Naples, or Taranto, will become a relic of the past. Coming at a time when the whole question of •'speeding-up" the mails is so much in the air, the new project is sure to arouse general comment. That Greece is badly served in the matter of railways is almost common knowledge, though it is now possible to anticipate the day when Athens will be joined to the other capitals of Europe by those bands of steel which constitute so effective a tie in cosmopolitan civilisation. The gauge commonly used is the metre (34ft), though the important Pireaus-Larissa Railway, only completed" two years ago, and projected 'for the purpose of linking Greece with the European railway system, and the Athens-Pireaus electric railway, are of the standard 4ft Biin gauge. It will possibly be found that the European connection will be made via Salonika.