WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7025, 13 January 1910, Page 7

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

There would bo no need whatever for overcrowded classes and iinderstaiioa 'schools were the State to nay first and 'most careful attention to tho real essentials of a primary,education. The moneyvoted last year would then be ample to iiheot all reasonable requirements. But to lone as large amounts arc frittered away in attempting to do two things at •on.ee, namely, to Combine a. tociinicai land secondary training with primary mWruotion, tho . financial shoo must continue to pinch.—“ Marlborough Express. , A is quite absurd to expect children .of eight or nine years of ago to grapple with mathematical puzzles wholly beyond their comprehension; and it is now generally recognised by educational experts that’ our primary system has erred in the past in expecting toe much .mental work from children before their, faculties have sufficiently developed tOj 'enable them to do so with advantage to thcmisclvos. Wo hop© to seo the arith-| '.niotic of tbo. lower standards-both sim■plilied and reduced in quantity.— Dunleclin Star/'

But though elaborate ceremonial ar-| rangements would bo a waste of'time onj jtho part , of the Defence Department,; there seems no harm in its giving tha forces some idea of where, when, and how they will parade, and what sort or. work may reasonably be expected of! them. Officers and raou will have to] make arrangements for leave of absence, from their everyday duties, as well os ■various other arrangements. This caninot alwaya bo done at a few days' notice, and £fro weeks' notice does not seem too much, nor should it be boyond the capacity of the Defence Department to give it.—“Wanganui Chronicle.”

1 We cannot'agree that the second express has been given a fair test at all. ‘Take Rotorua, for instance. What is {known as the season docs not properly [begin till Christmas, after which tho 'railway traffic is heavy and regular. The withdrawal of the second express will mean the deterring interminable wait at jPrnnkton, great inconvenience and Ipsaof time to tourists; a corresponding diminution in tho income of tho Roto-rua-Frankton section, and in tho Tourist Department revenue at Rotorua. It does not do to /run the business of the country in watertight compartments, as it were. —“Rotorua Times.” It is hopeless to expect the farmers to voluntarily co-operate to the extent of forming one. groat New Zealand Meat Company; and unfortunately, commercial generals whose genius lies in the direction-of; acquiring control, of vast interests prefer to act on individualistic rather than on - co-operativo lines. It might oyen be better, for this country's meat trade as a whole if some great “octopus” did seize upon it. if it were a benevolent, aud at all events a Now Zealand octopus. It could not do worse by the country than the clash of interests among tho multitude of small ones, which results in such confusion in the market as is perpetually complained of. —“Timaru Herald.”

The use of tobacco has always been considered a luxury by those who do not indulge in the practice, but it is open to doubt whether even a luxury that affords so much pleasure to the hardworking, classes of New Zealand should be subjected to h such severe penalties. Somewhere in tlio sixties tho first more was made towards increasing the revenue by means of taxing tobacco, until now tho duty has reached 3s 6d per per lb, or more than double its actual value.- It does appear manifestly unfair that smokers should be taxed far in excess of landholders; and one is led to ask, in the event, of the population c«s a whole ceasing to use the weed, where, the Government would raise its required revenue from ?—“Stralford Post”