THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1922. BRITISH POLITICS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18686, 16 October 1922, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1922. BRITISH POLITICS.

Amazing developments in the political situation at Home are hinted at in-a cable message which we publish this morning. It may he accepted as perfectly true that 'there is a good deal of political excitement, accompanied by a large amount of political intriguing, stimulated by the expectation that a general election will even yet be held before the close of the year. It is apparent, however, that there has been no rupture between the official leaders of the Liberal and the Unionist parties in the Coalition. Mr Austen Chamberlain’s speech at Birmingham—the speech of one who is absolutely .loyal to the Prime Minister—mak«s 1 that abundantly clear. No question of principle, he. asserts, divides the Government. Mr Lloyd George has been charged by Lord Gladstone with having over-ridden the Minister of Foreign Affairs and with having dictated the foreign policy of the Government, especially during the recent crisis*. There does not seem to be a shred of evidence to support this charge, which is indeed completely refuted by Mr Chamberlain’s speech. The Government accepted a very grave responsibility, in the measures which it took with the view of checking the aggressive activities of the Kemalist Turks. There was a very distinct danger that the successes of the Turks in their engagements with the Greeks in Asia Minor might have precipitated a war in Europe in which the whole of the Balkan States would have been involved and to which it would have been extremely difficult to set any limits. The British Government was determined, as Mr Chamberlain says, to the extent of its power, to prevent the war in Asia Minor from spreading into Europe. By the demonstration of this determination it has succeeded, if not in achieving its object, at least in averting war, at' the present time and in promoting a conference which may have the effect, although on this point it might be foolish to be very sanguine, of thrusting the risk of a future war far into the background. \By the policy which it adopted, and in which, as Mr Chamberlain reminds the country, it received no help from the Opposition, the Government unquestionably rendered a service of inestimable value to the Empire and to civilisation. Not wituout the most serious apprehension could the possibility be contemplated of the Empire being drawn into a war respecting an issue that was not its concern more than it was the concern of countries which were associated with it in the Great War but which, for one reason or another, were prepared to excuse themselves from cooperating with it on this* occasion. If war had actually occurred, we can hardly doubt that it would have sounded the death-knell of the Coalition Government and have temporarily destroyed the influence of Mr Lloyd George. As in the event of war the Government would hafe had to pay the penalty prescribed by public opinion for committing the country ‘to such a tragedy, it is fairly entitled to claim the credit,. and the full credit, for having succeeded an averting war. Peace is the highest interest of Great Britain, and it is the policy of the Government to seek peace and ensue it whenever it can be honourably gained and maintained. It would be a grave misfortune for Great Britain if at any tirne the party to. which the administration of the affairs of the country was entrusted were influenced only by sectional considerations in the decision by it of questions of the most momentous importance in times of national danger. Mr Chamberlain strongly emphasised this when he. pleaded at Birmingham for support for the defence of the Constitution and for the’' maintenance of the social and economic order which are necessary for the enjoyment of national safety and prosperity. It cannot be reasonably doubted that the - strength of the Labour Party in the next House of Commons will be much greater than it is in the present House which, as will be remembered, was elected on a single, narrow issue. extension of the franchise at Home has placed in the hands of the industrial classes a power , which, if they wielded it as \ united body, would not fail to give the Labour Party in Parliament an influence superior to that exercised by either the Liberals or the Unionists existing as separate and independent political groups. It is only by these parties sinking their differences that the likelihood can be obviated of political power passing into the hands of a Government which, as Mr Chamberlain says, would “not be allowed to lead,” since it would have to “take its ‘ instructions from a caucus.” It is the uninformed, uninstructed, irresponsible caucus that is the danger to the Constitution. Mr Clynes, who resents Mr Chamberlain’s speech as presenting what he describes as a menace to Labour, declares that the Party is as constitutional ns any other political party in Great Britain. It is true that the leaders of the party include men of experience, of ability, and of sound judgment whose acceptance of the duties of office might be viewed without misgivings if it were not for the fact that they would not be entirely free agents. They would be bound to take their orders frbin a caucus possibly dominated, as the caucus 1 has been dominated in Australian States, by men without any of the qualifications of leadership or statesmanship. And this in itself would be unconstitutional. Responsibility is the corollary of power, and it is of the essence of the Constitution that it is to Parliament, and not to any authority outside Parliament, tnat the Government shall he responsible for the manner in which it exercises its power.

profession is singularly inarticulate. Wo have heard of no profession of which so much is expected and which seems to expect so little for itself. There has unquestionably been a tendency to ex-.-. ploit in public institutions the services of women who adopt the nurses' calling. It would be futile to ask the reason why. One of the consequences is that women are becoming more alive to the fact that there are other occupations that offer not less attractive prospects. The hospitals are said to be having some difficulty in securing pu adequate number of recruits of the right calibre for their staffs. That may bo calculated to jog the respective authorities into a realisation of the extent to which they have to rely upon their nursing staffs, and to ask seriously if adequate compensation, either in .training or emolument, is accorded the nurse for all her' cheerful drudgery in the service of the community. It is satisfactory to note that the Otago Hospital * Board is" urging the Government to bring down a superannuation scheme for nurses as early as possible. The claim of the hospital nurse to recognition on the score of public service is too manifest.to need elaboration. An inquiry along the lines suggested by Dr Falconer would be in keeping with enlightened modern views of what is due to the nursing profession in its own as well as in the public interest. If investigation should result in a recognition of the desirability of permitting the requirements of an ade»quate training course to encroach a little more upon the ever obtrusive demands in the shape of hard routine work—much of it quite unprofitable from the educational standpoint—something would be. gained. There is room for greater consideration, for hew recruits to the profession in regard to the nature of the duties that are required of them. Dr Falconer has made various suggestions for an improvement in the provision in nursing education. Perhaps the layman can scarcely be' expected to appreciate either . the advantages or the difficulties attending the institution, for example, of a university school of nursing and health. But we have no doubt that this, with the other kindred points raised, will well repay consideration in the proper quarter. Proposals that would offer nurses appointments . at least of a higher training and a better status must particularly commend themselves. Only the few, perhaps, might wish to take advantage of such oppdrtunities, but through the effort of the few the training of the many would benefit. - In the August number of* The Modern Hospital appears the report of a committee on nursing education appointed some time ago by the Rockefeller Foundation. There has been more care . than hurry in its compilation, and it covers the entire field occupied by the nurse with a view to determining the tasks that need to be performed, the qualifications necessary for the execution of them, and the minimum educational standards of each type of nursing service for which there appears to.be a vital social need. It would be foolish to suggest that no serviceable guidance for New Zealand, institutions is to be gained from the results of an inquiry bearing upon conditions in the United States. It is not possible, however, to traverse here all that is embodied in a comprehensive survey of, the field.' It- suffices to say that it is recognised in the report that there is room for a grade distinction among nurses, differentiating as subsidiary the groups consisting of those trained to the point of efficiency for the routine care of patients suffer- - ing from mild or chronic diseases or in convalescence; that a reduction of the time devoted to the training of the rank and file of nurses needed to carry on the hospital services is deemed desirable, ."with an intensification of the educational context of the course which will raise rather than lower the actual educational achievement"; and that all nurses who expect to become nursing superintendents and supervisors should possesg the fundamental education of the nurse supplemented by a graduate course in the special problems of public health. The committee closes its report with'*, the recommendation that the development of nursing, service adequate for the care of the sick and for the conduct of the modern public campaign demands as an absolute prerequisite'the securing of funds for the endowment of nursing education of all types, and urges that it is of primary importance that a reasonably generous endowment should be provided for university schools of nursing. One of ' tho most interesting of the committee's tabulated conclusions reads: That, while training schools for nurses have made remarkable progress, and while tho bent schools of today in. many respects reach a high level of educational attainment, the average hospital training school is not organised on such a basis as to conform to the standards accepted in other educational fields; that the instruction in such schools is frequently casual and Uncorrected; that 1 the educational needs and the health and strength of students are frequently sacrificed to practical hospital exigencies; that existing educational facilities are on the whole in the majority of schools inadequate for tho preparation of the high grade_ of nurses required for the care of serious illness and for service in the fields of publio health nursing and nursing education; aaid that one of the chief reasons for the lack of sufficient recruits of a high type to meet such needs lies precisely in "the fact that the average hospital training school does not offer a sufficiently attractive avenue of entrance to this field. Those who are in a position to judge will know to what extjent, if any, this passage reflects the conditions obtaining in this country.