What the Papers Say

Observer, Volume XXVII, Issue 34, 11 May 1907, Page 3

What the Papers Say

THE Acting - Premier says the Government have done well by

the back- block settler, to which statement the rejoinder may be made that if the condition of the roads in the North Island is what Mr HallJones terms " well," in what sort of state would the roads be that could be denominated bad? — Oaraaru Times.

It is no uncommon thing for tenants in New Zealand to pay fifteen per cent, of the capital value of the houses they liv« in. The rent disability to the working man in New Zealand represents the greatest cross. — New Plymouth News

If the Colonial Conference in London does nothing else thnn clear away the cobwebs that persistently hang to the minds of Britons about the colonies, and induce not a trickle or immigration, but a broad river of it, it will do great work. — Foxton Herald

Mr McNab's idea of centralising in large ports is good, but it is doubtful if it will ever be carried out to the extent he suggests — namely, loading a ship entirely at one port. The matter is one for the most careful consideration, because if there is any way of cheapening the cost of marketing our produce, it must be availed of. — Palmerston Standard.

Ministers have been in the habit of speaking strongly in favour of volunteers who give their time and energy to fit themselves to defend their country, but there is no money so grudgingly voted as that for the support of our volunteers. — Hamilton Argus.

The much-vaunted land laws fail in two most important respects — they admit as much speculation and consequent inflation of values beyond the normal level as before, and they preclude to a large extent the moneyless man, however good a settler he may be, from ' getting on the land. — Palmerston Standard.

It should be the duty of the Government and its officers to carry a knowledge of the simple facts of the right rearing of children into every home, and the St. Helen's Hospitals should become the centres of this muchneeded educational work. — Christchurch Times.

It is not only essential to the future progress and well being of the country that the North Island Trunk Railway should be completed, but also, in the interests of other lines now under construction, theway should be cleared as early as possible to hasten point to poinfc completion. — Nelson Mail.

We do not think we are taking foolish risks when we predict that the day is not far distant when cable rates between Australasia and Britain will be down to sixpence a word — and when the traffic will pay at that rate. — Napier Telegraph.

It is clear that the affairs of the Exhibition require investigation just as much as those of its late Inspector of Awards, and the Government must not shrink from either of these duties. The Minister of Justice speaks of the gain which has resulted from the educational point of view. Such considerations are perfectly valid in their proper place, but they are not to be admitted as affording any palliation for the gross muddling and extravagance which are being freely alleged by competent persons against the management. — Wellington Post.

A navy of our very own will be beyond the compass of our desires or resources for years to come, and to own two or three ships as a squadron of the proposed Commonwealth navy while in its experimental stage would be a hundredfold less to our liking than the present arrangement. — Wellington Post.

There was a time when authorities •like Professor Huxley laid down the law that hnman means could not check the enormous growth of fish — in other words, that overfishing was impossible. That time has gone. The conservation of our fisheries will in time to come constitute an important branch of the public service. — Napier Herald.

In this colony the number of persona who lose-their lives by drowning forma a terrible record. A great deal could be done to prevent this lamentable sacrifice of life if swimming were taught more systematically in such schools as are situated within reasonable distance of the seashore or large rivers. — Tauranga Times.

From end to end of the colony there is a demand for a land policy that will prevent the continued piling up of big estate* and place more of the lands of the colony in the hands of those who are desirous of using and occupying them as homes for themselves and children. — Dargaville Bell.

Parliament weakened the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act when it commenced to tinker with the principles which Mr Reeves laid down so clearly in the original law. If the Conciliation Boards had been kept alive and invested with reasonably extensive powers they might have rendered invaluable service in the present crisis. — Christchurch Times.

A properly constructed Upper House should be a check on both hasty and bad legislation, and that it can never effectively be so long as its members are appointed by the Government of the day. Then let us break away from the old bad conditions of the Old Country, and have an elective Upper House. — Hokianga Times.

For some reason not made apparent, the negotiations between the Government and the Spreckles Company with respect to the Frisco mail were characterised by what appeared to be a certain Jack of patience and forbearance, and we cannot tell to what extent feeling entered into the proceedings. — Palm erst on Standard.

There is not much use in drawing attention to the defective state of school children's teeth unless some means are taken to remedy the evil. It is therefore all the more desirable that dental wards should be attached to the general hospitals, so that parents unable to afiord the expense of taking their children«to a dentist might be able to have them attended to in the hospital. — Christchurch

It requires no great faculty of penetration to see that when teaching be comes, as it is rapidly becoming, the most poorly paid of all professions, it will be a matter of extreme difficulty to induce suitable men and women to engage in it. — Hamilton Times.

Apart from the fact that their exercises of to-day may find practical expression in some future national emergency, the training of mind and body which the boys receive should be sufficient to induce a universal encouragement of the cadet movement. — Hawera Star.

On a larger scale, the Colonial office in its dealings with the colonies is very much like a New Zealand Government Department in its dealings with the people. The Colonial office regards New Zealand in the same light as the Advances to Settlers office regards William Brown or George Smith or any other individual. New Zealand is merely " work " to the Colonial office, just as William Brown is merely work to the Advances to Settlers office.— New Plymouth News. . :