The Star. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1915. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11504, 28 September 1915, Page 4

The Star. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1915. EDITORIAL NOTES.

The violent fighting on tho western . front is increasing in intensity, and) promises to be the most important offensive movement in this theatre since l the Battle of the Marne. Tho attack, aa the German communique states, has been long prepared, and is being delivered with an impetuosity that presages substantial gains, if nob the withdrawal j o£ the German line to a shorter front. Unofficial reports from Rotterdam, and ... Amsterdam hint at a German retreat, hut it would be unwise to place much reliance on. rumours from this quarter. Perhaps the most satisfactory piece of news is from the German communique itaelf. The enemy admit reverses and! L heavy losses, and though these rei verses are belittled it is easy to read! the lines that tho Germans ■pave suffered heavily. ■Sjjt How long the new Allied) offensive' pwill continue wo are not permitted to f-fcnow, but judging by the magnitude of the operations in progress the French and British have some big objective in view. Apart, however, from l tierritoriai gains, the attack will have the effect of convincing the Balkart peoples, especially the Bulgarians, that the initiative is still in the hands of .the Alliea in the west, and will' give tho lie to the rumours that they were no moTe than able to hold their owrt ground. The Russians, also, appear to fee hitting back to some so that, however pressing the need, the Ger-' mans cannot afford to withdraw troops from the east as long as the Russian Armies remain intact. The time, indeed, is an opportune one for an Allied offensive. France and Britain have been feverishly accumulating munitions for month*, new armies have reinforced their lines, and the spirit of the two countries is favourable to a great combined' atack. Again, if the Allies want to strike before winter, they must do so now, as in another month the ground will bo too heavy for military operations. The troops have spent a year in pnu-t ieally the same trenches, and it wouid have an enervating effect on discipline for them to remain another winter in. the same positions. On the other hand, tho contraction of the German lino •would' slacken tho morale of the enemy's troops and make their chances of victory appear more remote than jever. Despite the time and attention demanded by war legislation and finance the House finds opportunities to consider other' matters of great, if Jess pressing, importance. Among the measures introduced yesterday was a Bill amending the Prisons Act in one or two important particulars. It has long been recognised that the prison system found in most civilised countries has little or no value from the reformative viewpoint. The late Mr George Lauronsion used to quoto figures to show that once a man entered a prison the chances were that he would return. Goal seemed to set its seal upon those who entered, and sooner or later it claimed thorn again. A few years back the Dominion &et itself to improve its prison system, and in this connection the name of Sir John Findlay will long be remembered. An effort was made to throw off a system which, as many social workers isaid..appeared to manufacture criminals. Tho appointment of tin- Prisons ■ Boards, it j,s now freely admitted, was a step in the right direction. The powers vested in the Board gav to a section of the prisoners, at any rate, a . jrajj of hope triiclj, in itself is u great

thing in the lifo of anyone. The existence of such a board throw upon the prisoner a certain responsibility. Freedom might be his provided ho proved himsolf worthy, and such a pos. sibility was a new in the prison system of the Dominion. The Amendment Bill proposes to enlarge tho functions of the board, and in future, on the request of tho Minister ol' Justice, it will make inquiry "as to whether there arc sufficient grounds for granting the releaso on probation of any person (not an habitual criminal) undergoing sentence of more than twelve months." This, it will bo seen, extends to another section of the prisoners the hope of earning their freedom, and it cannot bo doubted that it is a stop in the right direction.

Another proposal: embodied in tha Bill is that persons sentenced to le&sJ than seven days' imprisonment may hei detained in a police station. With the very limited accommodation at most; police; stations it is dilicult to ■see how 1 the proposal can he given effect, to, but tho inteiit : 'Mi is excellent, By keeping young odenders away from the gaols it' must do sonic good, and. it may lead to the establishment of something in the nature of a half-way house, where an oilender may be given an opportunity to we thing? in the right light a-nd at any rate forced to realise where a career of crime will land him. In Wellington recently a police officer stressed the need for some institution half-way between the gaol and tho hospital, and it might be possible to maka the one institution cover the two ideas. It is a strange thing that tho Dominion, so well known for its advanced legislation, has contributed very little that is original to the solution of social! problems. With nothing in the nature) of a criminal class, as- found in the big cities of the Old World, to deal with, it should 1 be possible for New Zealand to devise a system, of dealing with offenders calculated not to ensure their return to prison life, but to make possible and probable their return to lawabiding citizenship. By degrees the system is being re-moulded, and the* latest proposals give cause for hope.

The attitude of the City Council last night jn refusing to sanction the observance of Trafalgar Day appears a little incongruous. Xo one, least of all the Navy League, is desirous of offending our gallant Ally in the slightest degree, and wo think the Mayor was unduly labouring the point when he eaid that '' Trafalgar was fought between the French and the British, and a.s both Powers were now loyal allies, it was a delicate question whether we should observe the day or not." Trafalgar did not represent a victory over France, but a victory over despotism and aggression as dangerous as Prussian militarism.

It gives us no offence to hear the France of to-day likened to the Franca of Joan' of Arc, a»d we find no faults with the Americans for celebrating Independence Day on July 4. In all three cases the triumphs celebrated were victories over tyranny and oppression, and the world was the gainer in freedom. This year was tho centenary of Waterloo, but when the whole British Press celebrated the fall of Napoleonism our French friends were not offended. The City Councid is surely going out of its way to raise objections to a harmless demonstration, and one that is not in the least calculated to offend French sentiment.

Tli© Board' of Governors of Canterbury College are to be congratulated on tli-eir proposals for the Tree tuition of children whose fathers or brothers have been killed or disabled' in battle. No wiser provision could bo made for the young dependents of the disabled than the promise of a good secondary education when the child is old enough to receive it. When a man enlists he is giving everything, perhaps life itself, to the State, and it is the first duty of the State to provide for those who were dependent upon him. But there are other ways of looking after a soldier's dependents than paying them in coin, and the Canterbury College Board of Governors has put forward 1 an eminently practical proposal, which ive hope will be followed by other institutions.