DISHONESTY RIFE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 58, 23 March 1943, Page 4

DISHONESTY RIFE

BISHOP , S REMARKS SUPPORTED The Wellington Dominion, ia its editorial columns, says:— "The Bishop of Waikato, the Rt. Rev. C. A. Chcrrington, 'appalled at the steady growth of stealing, pilfering and dishonesty in this country,' has spoken out about the prevalence of this evil in a strongly-worded comment, in his diocesan magazine. He has no more than given fresh emphasis to the frequent, comments that have come, from the magisterial bench from time to time in recent. years on the same subject. "The point about this epidemic of thieving is that it is only the cases that come before the courts that come under prominent public notice. A very large amount of thieving that the losers of property are unable to sheet home, or do not consider it worth while to have investigated by the police, must be going on, to judge; by prevalent comment. As an index of community moral standards this state of affairs is disturbing enough to prompt earnest thinking as to the cause and its remedy. It. is not enough to deplore an unsatisfactory trend. What is needed -is positive action to ensure that greater emphasis will be given in the schools by religious teaching, to the principles of the moral code and of community ethics. "It is in the schools that the. foundation of character, and especially a right attitude toward the sanctity of other people's j)roperty, can be well and truly laid. The younger generation of to-day are the parents of the future, and' if the virtues of sound character are well-instilled now they will be the better equipped for the responsibility of training their own children in the way tlicv should go."