YOUNG FARMERS' SCHOOL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21985, 21 June 1933, Page 5

YOUNG FARMERS' SCHOOL

COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL COURSE

TWO INTERESTING LECTURES VISIT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL i T-he company of young farmers participating in the educational course now being held in Dunedin spent a busy day yesterday, and had the evening free. In the morning they were addressed by Mr F. B. Adams, who took as his subject “ Our Debt to the Empire,” and this feature was followed later in the morning by an address by Mr W. Downie Stewart, M.P., on “ Citizenship.” In the afternoon a visit was paid to the Medical School, where members of the staff did all in their power to explain and demonstrate in a simple manner the character of the work being carried on there. Dr C. E. Hercus delivered a short address on hydatids, which was supplemented by demonstrations conducted in the bacteriology department by Dr Watt. Dr A. M. Begg also gave some details of the research work with respect to cancer which he has lately been carrying out with fowls and mice. The visit to the school was greatly appreciated by the party, who found much to interest them in the departments to which they were admitted. “ OUR DEBT TO THE EMPIRE.”

In seeking to indicate the debt which a dependent country like New Zealand • owed to the Empire Mr Adams endeavoured to show what that Empire was and from what origins it had sprung. The great significance' of the British Empire, he said, lay in its relationship to other countries and the positiort it held at the present time. It had to be considered from the viewpoint of its gradual evolution through time and its steady rise through the six great eras cof civilisation which were marked by the rise and fall of nations. The speaker quoted the archseological succession as propounded by Sir Flinders Petrie, and said that if the story of the Old Testament and the history of ancient Greece and Rome were considered together there could be found a civilisation that might be called the direct forerunner of that which existed to-day. These old civilisations, and those of India and China, proved also that there was nothing eternal in any civilisation as such. The mutability and mortality of man saw to that, making history a veritable kaleidoscope of changing events and as such an unceasing fascinating study. The Roman Empire, he thought, was the greatest empire the world had ever seen except for our own. It had had no parallel from earliest times up till the present day, and throughout many centuries was regarded by less civilised peoples as a Standard. Yet the invader prevailed and Rome fell before his savage attacks. Since that time empire after empire had arisen in Europe only to see Ita sun set after a comparatively few years. Perhaps the greatest changes in the world had been wrought by new discoveries. When /Europe found the world wide, that there were other great countries still unknown, it was on the brink of a new era, and the discovery and colonisation of America, north and

sooth, the Opening of new shipping and ■ trade routes to other parts of the world fulfilled .the promise of the dawning day. The whole face of the earth was changed, the policies and programmes of nations were altered and expanded, and the day of the new and greater overseas Umpire had arrived. But not every nation that rose .to power and attained wide posses? iions could hold its position against change and decay. , History disclosed a convincing tale of the evanescence of empires, the mortality of kingdoms and the limitations of nations. It all came back to the disturbing absence of permanence in human affairs, Mr Adams went on to stress the fact that he did not mean to infer by this that the British Empire must necessarily pass away in such fashion, notwithstanding that it, too, was subject to that very human law of ebb and flow. To many of its people there had already come that complacency which moved them to regard the Empire as permanent and to conV aider that all v they need do was to sit back and watch the Empire go on from success to success. But it was not as easy as that. The permanence of the Empire depended on the co-operation and effort of every part of it, and unless the constituent parts of that federation of nations were prepared to guard and preserve their heritage it could not last. The speaker then traversed the traditions and ideals upon which the character of the British people was founded, and from that point ■' discussed the essential economic soundness of the Imperial structure, emphasising that with such gc* rous material endowments as it possessed, the Empire must remain so long as the character of its people was preserved. The discovery of coal and iron, the development of their use and manufacture and the building up of the great industrial activity which kept Great Britain alive to-day were mentioned as contributing factors to the Empire’s future. The British Empire was unique in its composition and its development. It had been built up by colonisation as well as conquest, and it differed- from most other empires-in that respect. Rome was the nearest approach to the British Empire in this respect in that the Romans, having conquered a country, superimposed their civilisation and their customs upon it to the extent of lifting it out of itself and setting it on the road to progress, although always under strict control, which allowed small opportunity for the , self-government which characterised the British federation of States. Mr Adams spoke of the first British colony, Newfoundland, the securing of dominion over Canada, the discovery and settlement of Australia and New Zealand, and suggested that the British Empire as it was constituted to-day had a history of only about 200 years. Throughout that time it had been expanded and knit closer together until in modern times the world had the spectacle of the far-flung Empire banded together as one fighting force, with one object and ideal in view. It seemed to him that the conduct of the Great War by the States of the British Empire was the climax and crowning achievement of a great period of empire-building. Legislative independence had been a natural development after the tragic error of policy which lost the Empire the, American States. That mistake had never been repeated. From that day to this treaty after treaty, agreement after agreement, had followed one another

through the years, all designed for the one purpose, the building up of a great commonwealth of nations. It was in respect to many of these agreements and concessions that the reasons for New Zealand’s debt to the Empire lay. Trade and prosperity came through them and could be maintained and developed by a continual conscientious regard, not alone for their own material good, but for that of the Empire as a whole and the Mother Country in particular. Then there was the question of defence. The defence of the Empire still rested largely with Great Britain, but it was in such capable hands that he thought the concern which was frequently expressed at the comparatively small amount of money spent in New Zealand was unjustified. It was certainly New Zealand’s duty to assist in this respect. Mr Adams stressed the fact that there must be give and take between the dominions and the Old Country. The dominions must remember that they owed their very being to the federation of which Great Britain was the centre. The Imperial inheritance was *a great possession and a great responsibility; and common sense, common interests and British courage should be able to keep it intact if only the various parts of the whole would realise their debt to the rest of the commonwealth. As a part of the Empire, New Zealand was secure; apart, it was at the mercy of the nations. As a unit of Empire there was a _ bright future before the Dominion; outside the Empire there could be only utter darkness.

Mr Adams invited questions from his audience, and was kept very busy for some time answering the varied and numerous queries addressed to him. Mr T. Allison (Hawea Flat) returned thanks on behalf of the audience.

“CITIZENSHIP.” Introducing Mr Downie Stewart, the chairman (Mr A. C. Cameron) said every citizen in Dunedin took the keenest interest in Mr Stewart’s career. They were proud of the fact that Mr Stewart was a Dunedinite. He had a mind enriched from contact with men who had done things all over the world. He had ably represented this country at more than one important conference overseas, and they greatly appreciated the fact that he had spared the time to come along to speak that morning.— (Applause. ) Mr Stewart said the first duty of a citizen was to earn his livelihood, fight his own battles, earn his own bread, and not be a burden on society. At the present time this was proving a tremendous difficulty. The tragedy of today was that millions were unable to get a job or earn their own livelihood. That was the whole problem that was behind the great World Economic Conferences. The discussion behind quotas, tariffs, trade restrictions, was how people could earn their own livelihood and be self-respecting, independent citizens. Some people thought that the machine had got out of gear temporarily, and by retracing their steps and remedying the blunders they had committed, since the Great War they would recover. When they considered the vast implications of international trade and' commerce they would realise that if\anything went wrong it affected the whole world, and it required the whole world to put it right, and to get co-operation between nations was extremely difficult. The marvel to him was that the machine did not more oftqn get out of, gear. Some believed that the machine had broken down, and that they must find some new order of society. People got disturbed at the slow recovery the world was making. He thought it was still possible to restore the machine which, notwithstanding its difficulties and flaws, had for ; over 100 years or more provided millions of people with a livelihood and greatly raised the standard of living and society. They hoped that the conference in London would clear the atmosphere to bring about a common action to restore prices, abolish unemployment, and bring back the world they knew. , . ... “Now, a new duty has arisen.” said Mr Stewart; “ that is of. Helping those who have lost their jobs. I think farmers can say they have maintained a very high ideal of citizenship. From all parts of the country it comes to me that farmers are helping each other to an extent which is remarkable and without self-interest. The problem has become so vast that private citizens cannot cope with it, so it has been taken over by the Government, arid Vast taxation has had to be imposed. But that dotes not absolve .the ordinary, citizen from helping his neighbour all he. can. Again and again I hear of. poor people helping other poor people. From there the duties of a citizen widen out. The more a citizen realises and widens his interest, the more interesting, satisfactory, and fuller life he will lead. He must interest himself in the affairs of his district in every way —in local institutions, school committee, farmers’ union, church. Organisation is not so easy as in towns, but distances to he travelled are short as compared with distances in Canada and Australia. The standard of citizenship set by’ farmers is remarkably good in New Zealand. In some, districts there is considerable apathy, and no interest in local institutions, but interest in these things made the atmosphere of a district better.” It was, said Mr Stewart, the obvious duty of a citizen to take an interest in the problems that affected the people either in country or city, and to try to form correct ideas of the policy and ideals of the country so that .there, may be a well-infprmed public opiniori. They must have real,, active interest in public questions, meet members of the district, and discuss them and exercise rights. It was a public duty to vote. The ninn/Inv/I inforoal' ITI NIflW

Zealand was very high as was shown j by the heavy percentage of the people : who vote at each election. Although by law ione man had one vote only, yet if he was. a man who studied questions and formed sound judgment on them, he had far, more votes because he in- ; fluenced many others. It rested on him how many votes he had. If a man was 1 - respected, was willing to give a lead, his power and influence was far 4 greater than was popularly supposed, j It was also a matter of duty to study | the rights and responsibilities of the j nation.- . When in England he learned | that important men would like to see n j more active interest by citizens in Im- j perial and foreign affairs. They would j like to see Imperial problems studied and understood more in order that the j strength of Imperial feeling could be j ganged. But, there was a still wider view of the matter. They must always remember that they were citizens of the world. Gf course, world politics was a j difficult and complicated study, but it i was important that an endeavour should be made to secure a working idea of : European problems and happenings. The study of other people and. other nations frequently served to provide a better understanding of one’s own people and country. New Zealand should- never forget the part it had played in world history through the participation of its expeditionary forces overseas, and he was old fashioned enough to believe that if the occasion arose again there would still be men, impelled by fove of country, to 4' answer the call of Empire. ■

Another thing they should all under- : stand was self-government in all its meanings. It was necessary that the people should have a say in the matter of the men who were to make their laws and govern their country. But self-gov-ernment did not comprise a flinging away of all restraints and limitations; it , should represent a judicious blending of; liberty and obedience. In this respect there were tendencies and sentiments gaining ground in Europe to which Britain could never subscribe. They were not in keeping with the ideals to which Britain held fast and he thought they were to some extent the outcome of a misunderstanding of the Cull meaning of , self-government. The pitfalls which beset } Governments to-day were many. On the

one hand there was despotism, on the other anarchy, and it was difficult to say yet what was going to happen in certain parts of the world. In New Zealand, fortunately, it was possible by the nature and size of the country to steer a middle course, but all nations were not so happily endowed. Nevertheless in spite of the Dominion’s happy position in this respect the future depended on the extent to which the people would interest themselves in both local and national government and do all they could for the future of their land.

Mr Alan Heron (Five Forks) moved a hearty vote of thanks to the speaker, and said he was spre that after what they had heard all those present would have a better idea of the duties and rej sponsibilities of citizenship, i AT THE MEDICAL SCHOOL. The party was conducted through the Medical School by various departmental officers and enjoyed simple demonstrations in both the bacteriological and physiological departments. In the former, Dr Watt spoke briefly on the methods used for the control of bacteria of various kinds, demonstrating different ways of isolating the widely varying types of baccilli and the numerous forms they assume. He explained the methods of j staining, culture and inoculation, and I gave his audience a very close insight into the widespread character of the work undertaken by his department In the physiological department apparatus of various kinds was explained -and demonstrated and an interesting few minutes were spent in the pathological museum, after which some time was spent in the anatomy museum. Dr Begg devoted a short time to the visitors in the cancer research department, and indicated the steady progress that is being made in the control of that deadly The lecture by Dr Hercus on hydatids was followed with the closest interest. The speaker briefly outlined the means by which the bacteria was developed, and explained how it was spread about, first through the medium of dogs, who communicated the infection to sheep, and later to the human being, who was susceptible to infection from either the sheep or the dog. It was all done so simply and yet the simplest precautions were neglected. He was amazed and astounded at the lack of inieies', displayed in this disease by farmers. One of the most common factors in ite spread was the habit of farmers of giving dogs the intestines of sheep, regardless of whether they ; carried hydatid cysts or not. The trouble was not so prevalent in city dogs because they did not receive the same food as stock dogs in the country. One of the first things the farmer could do to control the disease- was to see that his dogs did not <ret infected food, and in this regard he would say that for practical purposes every sheep killed could be regarded as infected with hydatids. If the intestines of the sheep were fed to the dogs they should first be boiled. Some time ago a cure for hydatids ,in dogs was made available to farmers, but very little interest was taken in the offer and it was probable that that accounted for the fact that it was very difficult to secure supplies now. It was known ns arecolein hydrobromide and it had been made up for use on the farm by a large chemical manufacturing company in Dunedin, where supplies could still be obtained. j A lot of interest was displayed in the subject by the young men, and the speaker answered a number of questions. Dr Hercus then exhibited a moving picture dealing with malaria which covered important 'aspects of the work of Sir , Ronald Ross in India, work which Dr Hercus , described as one of the greatest achievements in the history of tropical medicine. As a scourge malaria was incomparably worse than hydatids and although it did not concern New Zealand closely, he thought it would be of interest as showing the manner in which such great problems were being attacked by the world of science. He explained that many soldiers when they returned from the war brought back malaria germs with them in their blood, but in the absence of tbe malaria mosquito these germs lacked the agency neces- : sary to complete life cycle which caused infection, so that the disease was foreign to this country. TO-DAY’S PROGRAMME.

At 9.30 this; morning Mr Colin Gilray will address the party on “ Our Literary Heritage,” and he will be followed at 41.30 by Mr J. Renfrew White, who will speak on “Health.” In the afternoon s a visit will be paid to the Museum, where the speakers will be Professor W. Benham and Mr H. D. Skinner. In the evening the party will be the guests of the Farmers’ Union at a picture entertainment, and they will later be entertained at supper by the Dunedin branch of the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union. ■