The Star. FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12082, 10 August 1917, Page 4

The Star. FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

YOUTHS AS SOLDIERS. Advices from Wellington foreshadow amendment® to the Military Service Act, but the most significant is that which hints at the possibility of the Government reducing the age of enlistment, which, it is stated, will be fixed at nineteen years instead of twenty as heretofore. The reason given for the suggested change is that a youth who goes into camp at the age of nineteen years will be in the vicinity of twenty ere he reaches the battlefield. But although the point has not been mentioned the real reason lying behind the whole matter is probably the disinclination of tlie Government to deal with a problem with which it has been faced from the inception of the war, but which it has consistently refused to take in hand in a statesmanlike manner, namely, that of making adequate financial provision for the dependents of married men, particularly those of the Second Division, wl,ose turn for service under normal conditions is now close at hand. It has been the experience of past wars, just as it has been in the present one, that it is economically wasteful to rely on immature youths for war purposes—ifc has been abundantly proved in the wars of past centuries that the percentage of deaths among soldiers under twefcty-five years has been much greater than among more mature men, say. from twenty-five to fifty. And tho present war has in no way upset the deductions of the past. It is, of course, lut natural that youths should not fctand the severe test to which the twentieth century soldier is subjected as woll as one who is fully matured, aiu! wc hold that if the Government adopts the course which it is suggested it has in contemplation it will be pursuing a suicidal course. We hope members, at whatever cost, will refuse to follow such a lead. "We fully recognise the necessity of the Dominion carrying out what really amounts to a pledge, to devote its last man and its last shilling to the great cause of civilisation now trembling in the balance, but we maintain that the time has not yet come when the youth of New Zealand should be drawn on. would much prefer to B&t, the aae of recruits raised, and we

believe that in expressing this opinion we are hut reflecting the views of 95 per cent of the people of the country. We have no time for that small hut noisy clique which is preaching a policy or "scuttle," which is contending that we are doing more vhan our share, and which advocates the craven policy of leaving to others the task of safeguarding our hearths and homed. Such people are clearly unfaithful to the most glorious cause for which a nation has ever taken up arms. But, ns we said before, the time has not come to put youthg into the firing line; there are other sources of supply for man power which have not been tapped. "We believe that the House would make a serious mistake if it followed the lead which is suggested by the Government, and we hope it will resolutely oppose such a course. The necessary men must and shall ho obtained, but the time for enlisting immature youths has not yet arrived. Before recourse is had to this source of supply we suggest that the age should be raised, and that any barriers in the way of sending married men to the front should be swept aside by the Government making adequate financial provision for their dependents.

THE RAILWAY COMMISSION. The Minister of Railways does not appear to have attempted any defence of the methods of the Railway Rolling Stock Commission so pungently criticised in the House of Representatives yesterday by Mr Wilford and other members. The farcical character of the Commission was emphasised by a Ohristchurch member, who stated that raihvaymen had told him that the Commission carefuly avoided calling men who could throw real light on the condition of tho rolling-stock. Mr Wilford suggested that tho railway witnesses!, being really on their trial, naturally agreed with every point put by the departmental advocate, and there was no cross-examination to break down the unanimous story. In the absence of any adequate Ministerial vindication of the Department and tho Commission it is tolerably clear that Mr Wilford's description of the Commission as a "white-washing institution" is not overstating the ca.se. Certainly whatever degree of confidence the public may have in the management of the New Zealand railways will not be reinforced by these revelations and by the continued exhibitions of Ministerial incapacity. In truth, Mr Hiley and not Mr Hemes is the real Minister of Railways; the amiable Mr Herries is quite content to let the permanent head run affairs to suit his own notions of what a national railway system should be. The permanent head dominates everything; the occupant of the Ministerial room is a figurehead who would be innocuous were it not that by his lack of interest in the control of his big Department, or his inability to enforce, reforms, he is seriously endangering the enormously important service placed in his care. There are not many departments which would not be the better for a change of administration, and the one which most insistently requires a capable man at its head is Railways.

REPRESENTATION. Mr R. M'Callum, the Liberal member for "Waira.u, is a, thoroughly practical man in every way, and during the six years he has represented the northern constituency in the Lower House he has donn a considerable amount of 11 soful work. His references to the '■'mstion of representation in the '!' !se of Representatives last night u'itg distinctly interesting, and his suggestion thnt the representation of the South Island should not be reduced, and t-hnr the North Island should receive additional representation in proportion to its increase in population, is one which at least deserves the careful consideration of those who control the destinies of the Dominion. In the course of his remarks Mr M'Callum pointed out the unfairness resulting from the continual alteration of electoral boundaries, especially in connection with the liqour question. Although Mr Massey stated that legislation had been placed on the Statute Book with the object of obviating the injustices which have marked previous redistributions, we, fail to see !:ow, unless something more is done, tht will not be repetitions of the injustices which have marked the mangling of electorates in the uncommon occurrence in the past for " dry " areas to be placed in " wet " electorates, and vice versa, and thus the whims of the Boundary Commissioners have- abrogated the deliberate lwjsh.es of the people as expressed at; the ballot box. At one time, before the North Island became as attractive from the settlers' point of view as it is to-day, the South Island had a great preponderance of representation, but now for more than twenty years the drift northwards has been so heavy that following every census the South has been deprived of some of its representation, and it is anticipated that the result of the coming redistribution will be tp deprive this island of two, if not j three, members, Auckland being the principal gainer. We have some sympathy with the proposal put forward by Mr M'Calhim that the representation of the South Island should remain as at present, and that the North should at every redistribution of seats receive additional members in proportion to its population. This would mean that Parliament would be under the necessity of arriving at a decision as to how many people a member should represent, and that the membership of the House should be adjusted according to the population. That, of course, would mean additional members, but that would not impose any crashing burden on the people, and would ensure that the constituencies should not be unworkable, as some of them are at present. Thirty yeat'3 ago, when the population was 57.5.172, the House contained 95 members. To-day, with a population of 1,158,813, we have only 80. Before the next dissolution takes place, we hope the whole matter will receive careful consideration, and that some means will bp devised to prevent the representation of the South being reduced year after year, as is now the custom. We feel that the representation of tlte South Island is now quite small enough and while w 6 do not begrudge additional members to i the North, we think that any addiI tional members should not be obtained at the expense of the Scfcith.