Older Generation Blamed For Younger’s Faults

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31004, 9 March 1966, Page 7

Older Generation Blamed For Younger’s Faults

“Th* Preae" Special Service AUCKLAND, March 8. If there were bad traits in young people today it was because older generations had allowed conditions to develop that encouraged those traits, a Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice Richmond, said in Auckland.

He was addressing the 10th annual conference of Rotary district 292 on the theme: “Can we retain our democratic heritage?” “We know in history that in times of struggle and adversity the people flock to churches, that great leaders arise and that the citizens show qualities of courage and strength,” said Mr Justice Richmond. "We know, too, that in the past the vitality of whole communities haj been corroded away by periods of affluence andjWecurity. “JtcA we know for the first ttaft in the history of this oyritry that the whole of the dßlfenunity, as opposed to some sections only of the people, is faced with the

problem of adjusting itself to conditions of comparative material security.” Without doubt New Zealand, as a nation, needed a set of principles of living which were commonly accepted and truly believed in if a democratic heritage was to be attained and passed on to future generations, he said. Real Strength Mr Justice Richmond said Lord Cobham, the former Governor-General, had said that the real strength of the people lay in “things which are precisely the ones you cannot touch and see; humour, courage, loyalty, steadfastness and, above all, integrity, for integrity of mind is the quality of mind without which all the others are diminished.” The Judge said: “It means the setting of your sights ever higher. It implies the setting of any new ideal or venture against the yardstick of your own principles which we can set side by side with Lord Cobham’s words without feeling ashamed of ourselves. “Let us ask ourselves further whether we are doing our best in our homes and in schools to pass on such principles to our Children.” Mr Justice Richmond said there was a need to watch for trends which might pose a threat to the basic principles of citizenship.

“Likewise, we may ponder on the host of new problems which young people face today if they are to cling to worthwhile principles of living in a country -saddled with the doubtful blessings of over-employment,” he said. All possible support and encouragement should be given to community movements which encouraged and promoted a sense of highprincipled individual responsibilitity, he said. Without such a sense of responsbility the cherished belief of New Zealanders in individual liberty would degenerate into a mere belief in individual licence. Tourist Record.—-A record 603,410 tourists came to Hawaii in 1965—18.6 per cent above the previous record set up in 1964. The tourists pumped some 265 million dollars into the State’s economy making it the second-ranking industry in Hawaii, behind military expenditures. Military expenditures in Hawaii are about 400 million dollars a year.