PRESS OPINIONS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11122, 9 November 1907, Page 4

PRESS OPINIONS.

We are not altogether astonished tliat dairy farmens, educationists, Child and others in the Taranaki proLabor, vincial district are warmly resenting the. imputation. that a system of child slavery is in existence thore in connection with the dairying industry. It vfould have been surprising, indeed, if they had -adimitted that the imputation was well founded. But -yve are afraid tliat their denials will not lead to the removal. of. the impression wluch has gained ground tlirou-ghout the dominion that the employment of child labor on the dairy, farms of the district involves conditions tliat are decidedly harmful to the children engaged.— Otago Daily Times.

We are to have a repetition of one of the . t # . most: serious evils of our The Waning legislative systemy 'an Session. eyiH froin which, the dor y minion continually suffers. After months are fdittered away in idle and- superfluous discussion -upon topi.cs in which nobody is particularly interested the most important business of a session is crowded, into as many weeks, with the inevitable result.f-Newi Zealand Herald. V This practice of forcing through a multifarious assortment" of ' comparatively superfluous Billsi right at the end of the Parliamentary year is rapidly beobmihg a serious danger to the State.— Auckland Star, k y ■ y ."-;-'

There are features of the Bill which will, no doubt, excite the strong Gaming resentment of interested perBill. but the general " tenor of the measure is such as should be acceptable to the Vcommiuinity. On the -whole, we recognise the Bill as a straight-forward, attempt to grapple with a great ;.eyil; and. we. hope that the Government ' wiU make the opportuihity , even though the, session may be drawing to a closey to have its main provisions enacted this year.— -Otago Daily Times.

The civilisation of the Maori was in some ways' a finer civilisation TheHopepf than .pur Own, and! it bethe Maori. longed to the Maori: He : -j had grown into itydevelpped towards it' durihg ; a thousand years of evolution. He can adopt alien .modes, but how can he cliahge the • fibre of his nature? The more he is at one with ns, the greater his conformity with our codes and; ideals^, the,' greater must be the strain upon his inherited eiapacities. How* can he'bear the strain "until his race' has,fPllowed. the slow evolutionary path which ■for better or worse |ha&!led;,us to the (present attainment ?— Evening Post.

The Goveftin^ent are doing ' , a great work y j }'."■■. in planting forest trees, Forest ... and so making what proConseryation. vision the_y can for the future; ybirt it is stated, that insufficient care is taken of the plan-* tations, and that many trees will, fail to reach full development.. Apart from the economic aspect, therp are strong climatic and scenic reasons why the matter of forest cpheervation -should be put' qn the best possible footing, and it is to be hoped the will see the necessity; of doing so.— Manawatu Standard.

We have arrived at the< stage in the pro- ' gress of Parliament wnen Tlie^Rush every member realises; that for Uonio. it is about tinieftb be leaV--1 ■ ing for home, ahd work tliat Avas dallied over at the beginning of tive session is now being rushed along at a speed that must leave the impression that much of the legislation wiU require tP be straighteped out by lawyers, magistrates, and judges. The thing, however, is good for trade. — North Otago Times.

Even though Lieutenant Shackleton fails ._.bf complete success in the • Antarctic • • gallaiit 'attempt ' that ! >has Exploratiph; all y pur New Zealand sympathy, he can hardly fail to increase the world's knowledge of that . strange , continent which -lies below, our soutliern horizon/ whereon great volcanoes flare like Titanic torches in the Antarctic night, and of which the climate was once mdd enough to support forms of life long since exterminated.-^-Auck-land -Herald. V

In France the price of bread is fegulat- : yed Automatically by law, The Cost according to the price of of Living, wheat, and what France ,* has done New Zealand may be able 7 to do, but neither Fronde nor any other country can determine the amount of wheat available. This is depeii-; dent first upon the quantity "sotoh; and, second, upon factors over vvliiah mankind has little or no control: All France does is to see that the bread consumer is not unduly exploited. We do not think the bread consumer in New Zealand is being plundered f Or the advantage of anybody. The present price of the 41b loaf has been forced upon the bakers, and we have yet to be advised of ' : any .reliable evidence of deliberate 'collusion to advarioe the cost unduly. . Governments and Parliaments can do little; as the Political Labor League must soon discover. .There is no legislative road to cheap living, save through the lessening , or^abandonment of Customs duties on foodstuffs, , the levying of as little taxation as possible, and economical government.— Dunedin Star.