The Star. SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1929. THE “STAR’S” INSURANCE OFFER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18805, 6 July 1929, Page 4

The Star. SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1929. THE “STAR’S” INSURANCE OFFER.

y | 'HE “ STAR ” hopes to interest its readers to-day in its new offer of free insurance, which is available to every regular subscriber. It is a very liberal offer, and it is the first offer of newsjjaper insurance that gives cover for motoring accidents. It is hacked by a very powerful insurance organisation—one of the most powerful in the world. The service that the “ Star ” is rendering to its readers follows the lead of the great newspapers in England and America. It has proved of immense popularity in the Old Country, and the “ Daily Mail ” and the “Daily Express,” which led the way in this form of service, have undoubtedly rendered a very real benefit to thousands of persons. Everyone knows that the proportion of the population insured against accident, even in a wealthy country like New Zealand, is ridiculously small. The “ Star’s ” free insurance offer, which includes both husband and wife on one registration, is designed to give protection to families that do not realise the importance of insuring against accident. The cover is offered in the simplest possible way, requiring only that the individual should be a regular registered reader of the “ Star ” and should be between the ages of 17 and 70. We commend the details of this offer, which will be found on another page, to the earnest consideration of every reader.

FLOODS AND EARTHQUAKES. THE FLOODS at Seddonville should make the people of New Zealand realise that the troubles of the West Coast are not over. Although earthquakes have virtually ceased, it is only now that it is possible to lake stock of the damage, and it is to be feared that personal losses will be heavier than the earlier estimates suggested. Even with the restoration of communications, which is, of course, a Government matter, the settlers and others will be in the unenviable position of making a fresh start without the zeal that goes with younger years, and with the natural enough fear that their humble pioneering efforts may be again undone at some future date. There is no reason at this stage why the generosity of the public should dry up. Careful calculations show that there is certainly not enough money in hand to relieve the people of the earthquake and flood areas, and the appeal for further funds is deserving of the most generous response.

CONCRETE CITY ROADS. WHEN WILL THE CITY wake up to the necessity for a concrete road to its northern boundary? Day after day one hears complaints from motorists coming into the city over concrete and bituminous surfaces in North Canterbury that their troubles commence at the city boundary; and that they have to cover a mile or two of shockingly paved and patched roadway until they are almost into the heart of the city. It seems to us that outside local bodies are putting the City Council to shame in this urgent matter of good roads. On every hand one hears complaints about the dangers and inconveniences of ill-paved city and suburban streets. Beckenham residents have been asking for new roads, with much reason, and if we ventured to select two important arteries in other directions that require concreting we would mention Wilson’s Road, which is narrow and carries a lot of traffic, and Opawa Road, both of which are in a shocking state of disrepair. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the City Council that patching is the most expensive form of road maintenance imaginable. Concrete roads should be laid as speedily as possible, if necessary under contract, through all the main traffic routes of the city, and particularly at the northern and southern outlets.

SIMPLIFYING THE LAW. AT THE BEGINNING of another session of Parliament one is strongly reminded that the consolidation of the New Zealand Statutes should be taken in hand at a very early date. It is twenty-one years since the last consolidation took place, and the legislative mill in that time has turned out twenty-six bulky volumes of statutes, a great many of which are amendments to earlier Acts. The need for consolidation becomes all the greater when one considers the slipshod and unthorough way in which amendments to Acts are drafted in New Zealand. Even hardened parliamentarians have protested year after year against the baffling and meaningless form in which amendments of clauses are brought down. Time after time one comes across clauses which merely say that section so and so of the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting certain words 01adding certain other words, which on the face of them have not the slightest meaning until they are carefully entered on the margin of the principal Act. In the rush of Parliamentary sittings the Members themselves have no first-hand opportunity in the time at their disposal to check the meanings of these amendments, and for the greater part they rely on the word of the Minister in charge of the Bill. The only way to overcome all of the objections to this slipshod method of draughtsmanship would be to reprint every Bill as amended, but the cost of that admittedly would be too great. It should be possible, however, to reprint each clause in full, and if that is not to be done there should at least be more frequent revisions of the statutes, and a complete consolidation at much more frequent intervals than twenty-one years.