NOTES AND COMMENTS

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 21 June 1924, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

The Tekapo Boom: Surprisingly large and iniluentia. support is marshalling behind the organisers who were entrusted by the public meeting held recently, with the iormution ot a league designed to arouse public opinion in lavour or investigating and developing the Xelsapo scheme. Such a leaguo need not apologise for its existence. I here is yet, wo are bound to confess, conbiderublo apathy to be overcome in connection with hydro-electric development. The promoters of the new league, however, are full oi enthusiasm an big tilings may be expected lrom t e organisation, once its activities aie set in motion. It is not proposed to emulate the Power Board by being hopeful that some way or other, something will turn up. There are no Micawbcrs among the advocates of Tekapo. Tho organisation, already bavin" been assured oi substantial financial backing, is likely to jump into public favour from tho very outset. A membership campaign is to be organised and the league’s finances assured. Ouite the most interesting plank in t| ie league's platform is the proposal to help the Power .Board help itself in connection with the financing of the investigation at the Lake. Another splendid idea is tho suggestion that potential consumers of cheap hydroelectric energy, should he sounded as to the prospects of establishing new industries in ' this district if an adequate reliable supply of cheap hydro-electric energy were available. In other words, the now league suggests working along progressive business lines. Wo predict that the

league will be an instantaneous sucees-

and every resident of both town and country- who stands for the progress of South Canterbury should accord the new league every possible support. •/: Transfer of Teachers: The vigorous protest voiced by tin. Temuka District lngii feciiooi Committee against the aii-too-frcqueui. changes in the teaching stair, is endorsed by education boards and school committees throughout , the Dominion. Tor several years, the administrative authorities associated with education have urged the Minister to face this problem and extend the statutory period a teacher must hold a responsible position before becoming eligible for another appointment. It is encouraging to note, however, that the regulations gazetted in January vided for the amended scale of staffs and salaries of assistant teachers ir primary schools. “The main object oi ihe new scale,” the Minister explained, “is to cure the admitted serious shortcomings in the present scales which have been the subject of much complaint from boards and committees. Under previous regulations, assistant teachers were divided into seven grades, in order to obtain promotion from grade to grade, a teacher had in general to transfer from one school u, another. This resulted in such frequent changes of staffs that the efficient working of schools was seriously prejudiced. For instance, in one school, there were no fewer than live changes of teacher for Standard 111 in a single year.” The new regulation, of course, laid no obligation upon tin. teacher to remain more than a year, only an amendment of the Act could accomplish that most desirable reform. It is encouraging to notice, however,

.hat, in a letter addressed to the Otago Education Board this week, the Minister of Education intimated that in order to limit the detrimental effect that frequent changes have upon the instruction in schools, it had been suggested that a teacher should be required to remain at least two years in a position before becoming eligible for transfer to another school. The Minister asked the board to consider the question and .forward its opinion in order that an amending Bill might, it necessary, be introduced this session. Tbe proposal met with general approval, save that the chairman very properly urged' that it would be a hardship t° ask girl teachers in isolated country districts to remain there two years. Twelve months is quite long enough so far as they were concerned. For tho decent-sized school, the proposal to make the term two years is a step in the right direction.

Wild Beast of Fascism: Signor Mussouni lias nurtured a wild beast which he .is now unable to restrain. “Perish all factions, even our own,” the Fascist watchword says, “that our country may be great, respected and strong.” The creator of Fascism is proud of tho success of his party in the recent so-cailed appeal to the people, but at what price? If it is true that the elections were free and that the overwhelming victory of the polls really means the freely expressed will of the people, why all this violent talk of the necessity to muzzle the press by passing a law forbidding them to discuss the elections? Certainly some of the Fascist instructions to their agents for the conduct of the elections are amazing reading:— it is of the utmost importance from the very siart to obtain complete mastery of tiie polling stations, and arrange for Keeping away the scrutnusers on whom we cannot rely and the representatives of the opposition lists. \ve have reason to believe that tho magistrates presiding at the polling-stations are lor the most part faitlilul and to be relied on; you can freely arrange with them tlio manner and method necessary to adopt for tho voting. In tho case of thoso few presidents of polling-stations who may oppose us it is left to the tact and energy of the political secretaries and of tho representatives of our list- to prcvenL them from ruining our plebiscital vote. It is undesirable to use the actual polling-booths. Open voting prevents our adversaries from voting against us. Where the presidents, from hostility or too great zeal in their office, insist on the use of the pollingbooths, arrange that uncertain voters or suspects are traced bv a control sign. Such a control sign can be arranged by giving each elector one, two, or three preferential votes which the elector will vote for, writing on the paper the name and corresponding number. For this reason and in order to use it as an identification mark we invite all Fascist! to abstain from preference votes. . How successful these original electioneering methods were may be gauged by the fact that in liis own native town, Ameiidoia, instead of an enormous majority as at the last election got 2i votes —less, as the Tascisi papers say cxultingly, than the number of voters in his own family. Unquestionably the Italian people desire that all factions should perish,, and in striving to attain this goal Signor Mussolini certainly has the wholehearted support of the entire nation. But at the very time he was making his speech his followers throughout Italy were busy sacking and burning Catholic clubs and beating Opposition voters within an inch of their lives without the authorities making any successful effort to prevent it. The recent disclosures have opened the eyes of the world to what Fascism leally means.