OTHER PAPERS’ OPINIONS.

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 16212, 29 September 1924, Page 4

OTHER PAPERS’ OPINIONS.

A VINDICATION,

ith seasoned criminals of all classes iopd of reformation must of ne;y be small, but the Ministerial

ment in connection with the BorInstitution in Invercargill, shows the field among the youthful deents is .fruitful of good results, fact that only 7 per cent, of the

youths who pass through the Borstal Institution come back to the courts as offenders against the law is a striking testimony to the wonderful work that has been done at this Institution in recent years. it is no secret that the expansion of the humanitarian methods, and development of the educational side, and the courageous use of the parole system have had to undergo severe criticism at the hands of the sceptics but the results are a complete answer, and they vindicate, with triumphal emphasis the confidence and the skill of the officers of the Department who have been associated with the development of the Borstal Institution.— Southland Times.

COST OF HIGH LIVING. While agitation was proceeding in the direction of reducing both expenditure and taxation, the demand was also being made on behalf of the workers tWt the 1914 standard of purchasing value would be reverted to, and that the payments to Civil Servants and State employees should he based on that standard. We have repeatedly pointed out that it is impossible for any one section of the public, to be placed in the position where twenty shillings expended in 1924 will have ■ the same purchasing value as twenty shillings spent in 1914. . The trouble nowadays is not so much the increased cost of living as the cost of high living. Peo pie were not nearly so extravagant in their* expenditure in 1914 when most things were cheaper than they are today, as they are at the present time; consequently, the workers more particularly have grown more exacting in their demands and are being encouraged in the belief that there is plenty of money in the pockets of the taxpayers which really belongs, and should be paid to them.— Manawatu Evening Standard.

MORE WORK NEEDED. Now that it has commenced sitting on Monday evenings, the House of Representatives presumably will make rather better speed with the work of the session than it has registered to date. Although the of the Estimates is well advanced, little progress has yet been made with other parts of the sessional working programme. Few bills have yet been passed, and several very contentious Bill await consileration. The Electoral, Licensing and Gaming Bills already stand out prominently in this

category, and now it is suggested that the annual Taxing Bill is also likely to

he debated at length. More expeditious working and a rather better working output appear to be indispensable if the House is to deal with the business in sight and complete the session within a reasonable period.—Dominion.

PRACTICAL PREFEREENCE. I Sir Edward Lucas, Agent-General for South Australia, has suggested a practical way of obtaining preference for Dominion over foreign .goods in Great Britain. Through their husbands, lie has appealed to all good British housewives to help in this great Imperial cause. Possibly, on reflection, Sir Edward wouldtnot have given the proposal an imperative touch when he asked husbands to give “definite instructions” to their wives in this matter. But the proposal is a good one, and for this reason: the moK Great Britain cap buy from the dominions the more the dominions can buy from Great Britain. The' British housewife can be a very important agent in the promotion of closer trade between Groat Britain and the dominions, provided that the latter can meet her requirements in price and quality. She can do her part, if she will; it is for the dominions to help her do it. — Evening Post.