WHAT THE PAPERS SAY

Observer, Volume XL, Issue 10, 8 November 1919, Page 4

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY

CONCERN for her own safety and honour, for the colossal burdens imposed by the war upon the country which lias hitherto borne practically the whole icost of the naval defence of the Empire, and for her own honourable obligations as a member of the League of Nations, has. made New Zealand readier than ever before to undertake naval responsibilities adequate to her status and her needs.—Wellington "Post."

When Sir Joseph Ward and hit; colleagues broke away from the National Government on the eve of the meeting of Parliament they threw a heavy burden on Mr. Massey and his fellow-Ministers, as in addition to the ordinary work of the .session the remaining members of the Ministry had at a moment's notice to take over the control of Departments which during almost the whole of the war period had been in charge of Liberal Ministers. Sir Joseph's action was so well timed as to make it very difficult for the Government to carry through the work of the session, and left Ministers little opportunity for the consideration of afterwar problems. The Government, however, in spite of the difficulties placed in its way, has made considerable progress with the.tasks it has in hand. That better progress would have been possible and the> interests of the country, immigration included, would have been better served byunited effort on the part of the two political leaders is clear.—Waihi "Telegraph." • ♦ • There is a very general opinion throughout New Zealand that militarism should not be encouraged in our primary schools. The cadet system, well enough in its way, should be commenced when the lad has entered upon his business or industrial career. He is then better able to appreciate the value of discipline, musketry, and physical exercise. The duty of the State, so far as the primary schools are concerned, is, as a Dunedin contemporary suggests, "to make our children physically fit, mentally alert, and morally strong, as well as to give them a true ideal of what is meant by social service and good citizenship." — Masterton "Age." * * * All conditions have changed in the past five years, and they will not go back. Contractors now do not care to tender; they would rather build on commission and let the owners buy the materials and pay the wages. It seems very evident' that we shall be compelled to accept the position as it is and make the best of it. The standard of everything, including building cost, has altered, and if everyone decides to wait for houses until prices come down before venturing to start building, there must soon be a resort to tents or a return to the old days of two-roomed whares. — Carterton "News." * * * The purely mechanical view is well illustrated by the true story of the French Lieutenant in charge of a firing party which shot some Communists in 1871. In several instances their skulls were shattered and the brain substance thrust out on the ground. Just prior to the removal of the bodies this Lieutenant, walking off the ground with a friend, with his cane disturbed the brain substance, remarking, "This is what th« wretches thought with." Here we

have, brutally expressed, the exact anthithesis of the "soul" theory. Exponents of the latter have always relied to a great extent upon the recorded instances of brains lacerated without apparent impairment of the sufferer's capacity to feel and reason and will, and most certainly without any less of the sense of personal identity, or even of memory except in some cases for a brief interval, including the period immediately before the injury was sustained. — Napier ' 'Telegraph."

The so-called Labour Party will also be among the starters, but Mr. Holland's following is not likely to be augmented at present, as the public is more anxious for peaceful development than for experiments which promise little advantage to anyone but the agitator.—New Plymouth "Herald."

Where is the immigration policy of the Government? What is being done to supply the urgent demands for labour throughout the Dominion? The roads, the railways, the coal mines, the hydro-electric schemes are all held up on account of the shortage of workers. The Imperial authorities are desperately anxious to transfer service men to the Dominions, with a view to developing the overseas resources. Rut local politicians, fearful of losing the votes of a few irreconcilables, are afraid to construct a definite policy of immigration. They are sheltering themselves behind the soldier and the repntriation officer. Meanwhile, thousands of useful men are being diverted to other Dominions, while our public works programme is \itterly neglected. The time for action has come, and if the Government refuses to do its duty it will deserve the censure of every progressive and patriotic citizen in the Dominion. — Masterton "Ago." • » « Wages are high, but it would seem that the greater the increase in pay the less is the service rendered, and this is bound to continue until it is adjusted by the law of supply ami d> mand.—New Plymouth "News." • * * The Government knew two things perfectly well when it submitted a bill to the Legislative Council providing for the appointment of women to that chamber in the intervening period before the Act comes into operation. The first was that it had no intention whatever of appointing any women to the Legislative Council <>ither now or at any later period. The second was that the Government was well aware that a number of the members of the Council believe firmly in an elective as against a nominated chamber, and are consequently opposed to the appointment of either men or women.—Wellington "Times." • • • A cartoon which recently appeared in an English paper drives home a lesson which applies even here in this far end of the Empire. The picture depicts capital and labour involved in a heated argument while a foreign manufacturer is tempting the public to buy his cheap goods. The inference is plain, that if capital and labour insist on constantly increasing the price of commodities, tl'e pulJi.j in self defence will buy rot from patriotic motives, but from the motive of self preservation—in the cheapest markets. —Cambridge ' 'Independent." '* ♦ ♦ The great need of the present is efficiency. Theoretically the railways are run in the best interests of the people, but this has come to be regarded as a fiction. The first consideration in the management of our railways should therefore be, not to sacrifice efficiency in order to show a profit, but to make them thoroughly adequate to the ever-increasing demands of trade —and there is no time to lose in the operation.—New Plymouth "News."