NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22922, 28 December 1937, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

ANTI-COMMUNIST PACT By signing the anti-Communist Pact Italy, says the Manchester Guardian, is not bound, of course, to fight on the side of Germany or Japan in the event of war, but she is bound to support them in the diplomacy which may lead to war. Moreover, if this pact is not so much an agreement against Communism as an agreement for gain, one must face the fact that it is directed far less against Russia, the home of Communism, than against Britain and France, the source of gain. One may choose whether to describe the opposing groups as Fascist and Communist, aggressive and peaceful, have-nots and haves, but no matter what name is chosen the membership of the groups remains the same. It is useless to deny the inevitability of rival blocs, if in fact they already exist. EDUCATION

Factors influencing education were' discussed by Mr. J. R. Reeve in his presidential address at the annual meeting of the London Head Teachers' Association. "Schools and teachers have always been the ready target of critics," he said, "but rarely do we meet critics who convince us that they see the process and problem of education as a whole, even when they are of the calibre of Mr. H. G. Wells. His recent attack on teachers, for example, was only another instance of understating and oversimplifying the problem of the schools. He gave the impression that all that was necessary for world salvation was to change the informative content of education. If it were as simple as all that our problems could be solved immediately, provided that there was no quarrelling as to what was to be the informative content. Education, as Mr. Wells knows, is a much more complex matter than he implied. Apart from problems of method of the teacher's approach to the child-mentality, education is the resultant of the complex play of home conditions, society, and tradition, as well as of the teacher's work. I know that by the employment of a State steamroller one may attempt to flatten out all influences and then impose a curriculum. But in thus simplifying the educational problem the fundamental condition of true education is destroyed—namely, the freedom of the individual to think critieallj - ."

BRITISH GOOD FAITH In a recent speech Lord Home said it would be futile to disguise the fact that European peace was to-day balancing precariously upon a tight rope which swayed from side to side while the world watcher] with apprehension. In spite of the lessons inculcated by the hardships and the horrors of the last war, they could not hug to their hearts the comforting thesis of the pacifists that no peoples wanted war. Not only did they see to-day war pursued ruthlessly by Japan as a matter of policy, but they listened to the declamations of the dictator of Italy who preached the doctrine that war was a beneficent factor in the progress of civilisation. They no longer lived in days when the dispatch of a few British ships could alter the current of international affairs. Both in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific Britain was obliged to be wary. Britain had to conserve and multiply her strength if she was to preserve her independence, Ipt alone her prestige. "Signs are not wanting," he continued, "that the policy of our Government is beginning to tell. In spite of all the abusive propaganda which has been let loose upon us in the regimented press of the dictator countries, tho belief in our good faith has somehow survived. Deep down in the hearts of the people, both of Germany and of Italy, a desire to be friends with us seems to prevail. Even dictators have to take note of such sentimertts I am, for the first time in many months, hopeful that we are now about to tread a happier path in European relationships."

WORLD TRADE The view that it has become urgently necessary for Great Britain to take the lead in trying to emancipate world trade was expressed by Mr. T. MadsenMygdal, former Prime Minister of Denmark, when he delivered the Richard Cobden lecture in London. The hope that she would do so was cherished, he said, not only in his own country but in many countries all over the world. Mr. Madsen-Mygdal said that the reckless nationalism which prevailed to-day, not least among the great nations, could not be traced solely to economic conditions. But this nationalism involved war preparations that were not only of a military but of an economic character. The main object of many countries was to develop to the greatest possible extent their capacity for self-sufficiency. Distinguished economists had predicted that the maintenance of the present state of affairs would be tantamount to the downfall of our civilisation. But the present state of affairs could hardly be maintained in the long run. Certainly the forces which were interfering with economic development were very powerful, and the obstacles in the way of a resumption of trade and intercourse between the nations might seem insurmountable. Nevertheless it would turn out, as it had always done in the past, whenever the folly of man had diverted development from its true course, that economic life by self-adjustment would show the way out of the existing chaos and bring about the balance which was now lacking. The present system was so incongruous, and so contrary to the economic laws, that sheer selfpreservation would compel the countries in which the system had been carried farthest to abandon it, because no country was strong enough to bear it. Recognition of this was growing in intensity, as it was realised that the policy of isolation and restrictions could not cure the evils it had brought in its train. The revival of international trade now demanded a practical policy; it was a problem which could not be ignored, and which was growing in importance from day to day. The practical steps which Mr. Madsen-Mygdal advocated were a lowering by each individual country of its own trade barriers, the formation of a low-tariff group, and some modification of the most-favoured-nation clause.