NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18707, 13 May 1924, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

THE ADOPTION OF CHILDREN. ' I j.scussing the ' adoption of children, tho Lancet finds in New Zealand legislation an object lesson for the Mother Country. "Over 40 years ago," it is explained, "New Zealand legislated for the adoption of . children. Unlike the laws of ancient Rome, which mainly studied the provision of heirs for childless parents, the legislation of modern communities on this subject is chiefly concerned with the welfare of the child. New Zealand had realised that foster-parents ' can give the same care and affection to an adopted «on or daughter a3 the natural parents themselves, and that, where this is the case, it may he advisable to give legal security to the relationship between foster parent, and adopted child. Otherwise when a child has been removed from the control of unworthy and disreputable parents and placed with persons who give it proper care and often spend considerable sums upon its education, the original parents can disturb. its well-being and its prospects by reclaiming it from the family in which it may be happily settled. Readers of Mr. ; Kipling's s,tory, 'Friendly Brook,', may consider-his 'picture of the disreputable father blackmailing the family into " which his child has been adopted to be uncomfortably close to the truth. Other countries . have . passed adoption laws similar, to .those of ; New Zealand. Possibly the war stimulated such legislation. (Italy,' at j(ny rate, made special provision in; 1919 for the . adoption of war orphans. - Since that year, ' within. the Empire, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Tasmania have passed acts giving legal recognition to adoption: And now the Mother of Parliaments has before her three bills all dealing -with the adoption of children, and all emphasising the principle that adoption is-not to-be sanctioned unless it is likely to promote the welfare of the child." • ... WHERE INDIANS • ABE WELCOME. British Guiana, .our only colony ,in South'- America, covers an area equal to Great Britain. The total - population of this spacious land does not amount to 300,000 souls, and of this number 125,000 or 42 per cent., are East Indians. For the last 40 years the colony has been, wholly dependent on • immigration: from Tndia for the increase. of its agricultural population, says Sir • Arthur Shipley, chairman of the governing body of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture. It spite of the over-population in his native country and the certainty of finding work in British Guiana, and >in spite of the fact that he is soon, qualified lor a vote in the local. Parliament he enjoys equal rights and privileges with all other British subjects, with tnirastricted individual rights . as' far as religion is concerned—the agitators m India succeeded in bringing about, a cessation of immigration., more than seven' years ago, and since that time there has been a decline in the Indian, population. The East Indian is clamouring to get into Kenya, where is is not wanted, and he declines to enter British Guiana, where ho ie welcome, and where he frequently raises himself to a position of independence and often of affluence. The opinion of some of thoVc qualified to judge is that the only chance - of attracting him back to British Guiana is entirely to . forbid his landing there. More than most of our colonies, British Guiana is cosmopolitan. Besides Indians-, • there has been a considerable influx -of Portuguese. " There is also a considerable colony .of. Chinese, many of whom-take high positions in the commercial and professional worlds. With the increase in the. gold and diamond output,. Jews have begun to appear. The value of the diamond yield now reaches n 1 000.000 a year. The stones are of a very high standard. The gold . mined between 1886 and . 1921 was valued; at over £9,500,000, and there are valuable bauxite deposits in easily accessible sites. PEERS' AS A STATE BULWARK. Lord Birkenhead, in a speech at Manchester recently, said the House of Lords was at a very grave moment in its destiny, and, because of that they were at a grave moment in the constitutional history of their country. Unless and until there was some abandonment of the fundamental position of the only party which in 1 ' relation 'to his own:' was formidable in the State they were face to face with a challenge which for the first time meant a subversion of everything which every experienced and confident English . citizen knew to be indispensable to the very existence of : the nation. The House of Lords still retained some elements of influence and some remote fragments of power. This -Blouse was in a ihost difficult situation, and he was not" prepared to criticise any of the men who had taken a place in the Labour Government, whatever mental reservations they had madf. The fault, was not with, the House of Lords; it was not with the , Labour Government. The fault was with those who did not accept the . proposals which were made for the reform of the House of Lords. He could not give them any particularly confident or hopeful prediction because the situation had; been dealt with in direct violation ■ of the advice which he arid his friends had given to the country. The only note of hope he could sound was that of the sanity arid prudence of the House of Lords; itself. He belioved that in the strange and uncharted seas in which they found themselves they would pursue, as their record through the centuries rendered probable, a prudent and conservative course. The Labour Government must be given their chance, but. not more than their chance. Though moderate speeches were being -made at the centre revolutionary speeches were being made at' the street comers. They had to. fight these people ..and to fight their policy. He believed that, truncated as the powers of the House of Lords might be, those who . belonged to that, ancient assembly would play a; part worthy of their history. . /' -