NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Patea Mail, Volume XLV, 18 August 1922, Page 3

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

A very graceful compliment was (paid the Chairman of the Wanganui Education iWrd on Wednesday last when the members unanimously him to the chair. During his term of office Mr Collins has won members over to him by his unfailing courtesy and tact and the fair treatment he has meted out to all. The honour conferred on him therefore has been well and faithfully earned and his' reappointment is a credit to the members who have shown their appreciation of his sterling worth.

In view of the tangled situation of Europe it might well be asked ‘ ‘ who won the war?” The Allies have tax. ed their people until the strain has become unbearable and all hope of the tension being relieved by the payment of indemnities by Germany seems to have been abondoned, in fact what Germany has paid and is offering is but a drop in' the bucket when distributed among the Allies. Franco with * her devastated areas' to remind her of the iniquity of the Hun very naturally wishes to make Germany pay, if it takes every shilling that the Huns possess, but Mr Lloyd George, who should know what he is talking about, considers that if pressure is brought to boar on Germany, she will become , cither bankrupt or Bolshevik which would moan no reparations at all. Wo in this out.of-tlie-way corner of the world have, such meagre accounts of what is happening cabled out to us that we cannot form a true estimate of the position. All we can say from what wo know is that it is morc an| more abundantly clear that the Allic s should have gone straight through to Berlin and occupied Germany, until, full restitution had been made. As it is though she lost the war Germany appears to be in a more prosperous condition than any of the Allies.

I saw Mr Jonah yesterday and he was congratulating himself that ho was rot on the' Main Trunk express who.i it was derailed i|ear Drury, “for," no said, “they would certainly have blamed me for it." It now appears that the accident «wds caused by some thoughless individual who was unloading cattle in the dark allowing them to be unloaded in such a way that they got on to the* railway lino when the express was due. The wonder is that there was not an awful catastrophe to record. It was another of those cases of lack of thought and lack of com mm sense that, apparently cannot be guarded against.

A motion in favour of teaching the Bible in schools during ordinary school hours was turned down with a thud at the last meeting of thc<Educatiou Board members holding that as the system of education was free, secular and compulsory religious instruction should be given outside of school hours. One ■member stressed the point that the true test of national character comes at a time when the nation is engaged in mortal combat with a powerful foe. Tho late war showed that New Zealand bays had not lost all notions of honour or manliness, in fact when they were tried out side by side with the manhood of every other country in the world they were second to none. Why then should it be made to appear that they arc so badly in need of religious instruction In school hours. The matter is really one that should bo dealt with by tho State, and not by Education Boards or school committees.

Next Tuesday there is t be a final community sing on behalf of the Pearson Memorial prior rto the Minstrel Entertainment. It has been suggested that the commuuiay singing bo continued every Wednesday evening for the relief of 'Unemployment in the district, fit is pointed out that one successful community slug a week would keep a good man in constant work. could be employed on the back streets putting thehi*in order for metalling later on. Per could start with Oxford Street and alter finishing. there could commence work on Lincoln Street and then tackle Richmond Street. In this way a threefold object would be achieved without any expense to the Borough. Ii) the first place the town would be greatly improved; secondly, the unemployed would be relieved: and thirdly v people would 'obtain healthy recreation at the “sing" and at the same time be doing a good turn ito their town and the unemployed. A meeting to consider .the matter is being held on Monday when wc hope to see a good attendance and a strong committee formed to carry on the sing, ing on behalf of the unemployed and of <tho town itself.