TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Waikato Times, Volume 117, Issue 19600, 12 June 1935, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Christ and Communism “ I am not a Communist, nor do I call myself a Socialist, but I am a Christian seeking for a solution of this problem. I am sure — desperately sure —that Christianity must give a lead at this place or abdicate,” Avrites Dr. Stanley Jones, author of “ Christ of the India Road,” in his latest book “ Christ and Communism.” “ I am persuaded that Christianity is headed toAvard a supreme crisis—perhaps a decisive crisis. Events are leading up to a Avorld decision. This generation, or at the most the next, will have to decide betAveen materialistic, atheistic Communism, and the Kingdom of God on Earth. And this in both East and West. “ I am persuaded that the Russian experiment is going to help —and I Avas about to say force —Christianity to rediscover the meaning of the Kingdom of God upon earth. If it does it Avill mean such a mighty revival of the Christian spirit that will transform the earth. Someone has said that: ‘Russia may yet prove itself the matrix of such a rebirth of the Christian spirit as may give a new leadership to the civilised Avorld.’

“ For, mind you, Christianity Avill lit better into a co-operative order than into a competitive one. It is not. at homo in an order Avhcrc the Aveakest go to the Avail and the devil takes the hindmost. In such a society Christianity is gasping for breath. It is not its native air. But its genius Avould floAVcr in a co-operative order, for there love and goodwill and sharing, Avliich arc of the very essence of Christianity, Avould be at home.”

The Deer Menace

It is readily admitted by some avlio Avere directly responsible for the introduction' of deer into New Zealand that it avus a deplorable mistake. They did not take a sufficiently long view, and neither did they consider the possibility of the destruction of our native lnish. The chief desideratum avus sport. It Avas felt that deerstalking on our ranges Avould be an almost irresistible attraction to tourists, and deer of various kinds wore imported and light-heartedly released. They Avere rigorously protected for several years; then licenses to kill were grudgingly issued, and those avlio lmd advocated the introduction prided themselves as public benefactors. The herds grow, and I lien it gradually dawned upon the authorities that they had introduced a pest, that the native forests Avere being rapidly destroyed, with far-reaching effects, the animals infesting them from the lowlands to the highest level of alpine vegetation, where chamois and thar abound. Tim authorities are now even more eager to exterminate the deer than they Avere to import them, and war, ruthless war, has been declared upon the herds.

The decision has aroused resentment in certain circles in the South, and a protest has been raised because the Government has intimated that if “ cannot be a party to encouraging anyone to come to New Zealand for deer stalking.”

Whilst the attitude of the Government can be well understood in that it no longer desires it to ho thought that deer arc being specially conserved for the delectation of tourists from overseas, there is surely no reason why it should not be noised abroad that there are vast herds of deer in the Dominion and that sportsmen from overseas are Aveleomc at all seasons to lake as many heads as they covet. Such an announcer., eut. wnuld urobably expedite the n-moss of cxterminat.io**-