NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1664, 3 February 1913, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

We publish to-day a summary of the report of the Medical Conference (convened at the instance of the Hon. 11. H. Uiiodes, as Minister for Public Health), which sat in Wellington in October last to inquire into the prevalence of tubcrcular disease in New Zealand, and to consider questions relating to the adoption of a uniform system, which would have regard to the search for early cases; the proper treatment of eases amenable to treatment: the removal from •their homes to suitable institutions of,these persons suffering from consumption who are unable to take tho precautions necessary to prevent the spread of the disease; the education of the public: and the after-care of persons .who have been under treatment for oonsumption. As Avill be seen from the recommendations of the conference, there is nothing really new in the findings. The advice tendered has been urged in season and out of season by medical opinion all over New Zealand for some years past, and, to a limited oxtent, ,-h'aa been followed in a hesitating kind of way. Unfortunately, opinion has not yet been quickened to a realisation of tho fact—iterated and reiterated over and over again—tha,t the insidious'pestilence of tuberculosis is-as malignant in its nature and as sweeping in,its devastation if uncontrolled, as certain more terrifying diseases from which an entire city would ilee panicstricken, Administrative action by local bodies charged with the regulation of the public health has been spasmodic at best, for there has been no concerted action by these bodies as a whole, no uniformity of purpose. As we previously stated when the conference opened, the treatment of tuberculosis actually resolves itself into a question of applied eugenics. The individual's powers of resistance to the disease— prevention and the detection of early eases, must be the first article of any. intelligent system of controlmust be fortified by a healthy system of living, for they .are • mainly , the errors of our civilisation that have assisted in the spread of tuberculosis. Above and beyond, all things, however, is the creation of an educated public opinion which will support and stimulate official effort.

' The Hon. James Allen, as a cablo message .informs «s to-day, has had some interesting things to say in an interview in London upon the, defence problem of this country. His reiteration of his conviction that tho Mother Country should be freed,'by means of joint action, by .Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, from the task 'of guarding the Pacific, in-, dicates that it is upon the. basis that such joint action is possible that ho will discuss the whole question with the.Admiralty. We by .no means think that "local navies for ' local purposes aro useless," but a little group; of purely local navies would obviously be of an insignificant utility as compared with a joint Pacific navy under one control. Difficult as will be the adjustment of the interests and'responsibilities of tho dominions engaged in such a naval partnership, the problem is not insurmountable. So far as New Zealand is concerned, almost any, arrangement will be an improvement upon- the present system of a cash subsidy, and the vision of an 'Imperial Pacific navy is-one ;to stir the imagination of all the dominions. In the course of the interview Mr. AlLen said that New Zealand hoped to place ah expeditionary. force of 8000 mdn at the disposal of the Mother Country, for Bcrvicc in any part of tlio Empire. This very strikirig suggestion will perhaps arouse alarm and excitement' amongst those who are opposed to national defence, but if in the fulness of time the Government can find 8000 men ready to go abroad to fight for the Empire, nobody will have any business, to do ; anything but scnd : their good wishes with the foroc, There can be very little doubt that Buch a force, when it is heeded, can be raised without difficulty. Should the other dominions make a similar provision 'on the same scalc, the overseas Empire could furnish an expeditionary force of 100,000 men. Thatj'we should say,' is an ideal worth striving for.

The friend 3 of political reform have some reason to be pleased at the enthusiastic receptions given in Hokitika and Kumara to the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher. Westland has'for a good many years been rather out of tho main current of political thought, but Binoe tho last general election tho people of that province have been thinking, and they appear to" have awakened from their delusion that tho old party was a, good party and an immortal one. while he was very mild.in his allusions to tho members of the' late Ministry, Mil. Fisher made very : cffcctivo speeches, and we expect that they will go far towards hastening the conversion of Westland to a friendship for tho Reform party and its programme. In the course of his admirable survey of the Government's policy, which is above all things honest and democratic, tho Minister took occasion to rofer to this foolish slanders of the anti-Beform politicians and press. Many of these people and some of their newspapers repeatedly declared that the Reform Government would reintroduce "3a. 6d. a day" and soup kitchens; some of them even alleged that the old age pensions . were in : danger. The authors of these absurd inventions knew, of oourse, hoto untrue they wero; but they hoped that somebody might believe them. The people of Westland hardly ' needed Mr. Fisher's exposure of tho baseless charges against the Government, but they will doubtless draw their own conclusions as to the character of the anti-Reform movement which depends so largely on sheer mendacity. •Nobody can doubt that the antiReformers must make up their minds that Westland lias ceased to bo- one of their strongholds.