The Dominion. THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1914. THE SENSE OF PROPORTION IN POLITICS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2124, 16 April 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1914. THE SENSE OF PROPORTION IN POLITICS

A hot protest was recently made by Mr. John Ga&swohthv, the wellknown novelist and dramatist, in a letter to the London Times, against the futility _. of Parliamentary methods. While questions of the most vital importance to the nation are neglected an enormous amount of time- i«_ wasted by the everlasting reiteration of arguments regarding things that do matter, and almost endless talk, about things that do not matter. '■'Parliament," says Mr, Galsworthy, "works without sense of proportion or souse ut' humour. Over ami over iijjiii"! it turns things already talked into their graves; over anil over arrant lUieiis to ihn same partisan bickerings to argumente which everybody knows by heart, to rolling periods which advance notliitnj but those who utter them. Aad nil the time the fires of live misery that could, most ot them, so easily be put out, are raging and the reek thereof Is going up." ■M.R. Galsworthy has undoubtedly placed his finger on one of the weak ipots of modern Parliamentary, ioititutions. in all parts of the civilised world. Ministero attc! Members are

always' to gi\'e:'hiorc*considerutiqii';;tu| political Uctics's.tlianS.toA'thC/pcrmariehtV-inter-,' tendency''is to 'measure .theUmportiince- of a' ques--■tion :;by';';thei'mimbery6f;f:Votus;Sit ;is' likely .-to^infliiencc?-,find '-'not;;., by Sits ■ probable effect', 'thepeople., /Sohk problems of rthe'greatest urgency 11 from ■■"the,, point of view of the real'men and'women for whose good -government': Parliaments'- have eorao.into-existencc are remorselessly j pushed aside, Awhile.-:' the '■■'-" so-called j representatives:of,the pcoplc.indulge in mock battles-over.: unreal issues in j order to'keep'^themselves before the public eye-like,, actors'on the stage. These methods'"'undoubtedly touch the imagination : -of".a considerable, section of the public, who enter into the game so eagerly that it is, only' when' they stop arid think that they are able.'to form a into idea o.t rcla-; t-ivo values in political affairs. This absence of a proper sense of proportion, is often seen .in methods of administration as well as in legislation. Ministers are. too apt to pay more ..attention to spectacular performances that will.'increase the voting power . behind . their party than to the things that are merely useful and necessary _ for the wellbeing of the community. Quo of these useful and necessary reforms— a matter of fundamental importance -—is that effective steps should bo taken for the care ami training of the weak-minded, and it must therefore be a source of satisfaction to everyone who cares for the progress of the race to know that the Minister of Education ((ho Hon. James AtLBN.) takes a real practical interest in this' matter. Ho is not content with expressions of sympathy and fair promises, but is actually doing things. This is proved by the- telegram published in yesterday's Dominion announcing that new buildings for the training of mental defectives are to be erected, at Oiekaike, where girls and boys will be _ trained under careful supervision. _ This announcement may not strike the popular imagination, and it is not likely to capturemany extra votes for the Reform party: but ifc is nevertheless a step towards the solution of a problem which vitally affects the well-being of the nation. The Minister of Education has devoted a good deal of attention to this subject, and he no doubt recognises that the provision of better training for these unfortunate people in their young days is' only, the commencement of 'the campaign against racial degeneracy. It is, of course, right and proper that everything possible should be done to make them useful members of the community, and to fit them, as well as circumstances will permit, for the battle of life; but it is of supreme importance that the mentally unfit should be placed under constant supervision and control, and that an effective cheek should be placed on their multiplication. Parliament must proceed very cautiously in matters of this kind, but there are some things which it can do and ought to do, and to make adequate provision for the- car<s of the weak-minded is one of them.

Great Britain is ahead of us as regards legislation of this character. Tha Mental Deficiency Act of last year was an important step forward, and in February Inst- a- complementary measure was introduced entitled the Elementary Education (Defectiveand Epileptic Children) Bill. The object of this Bill is to place upon the. local education authorities tie obligation of providing for the education -of all mentally-deficient children whfi sr« capable -of profiting by instruction. The urgent need for tnese two Measures is shotyn by the fact that the Medical Department of the English Foard of Education estimates that there are about- 86,000 weak-minded children in the country, of wiioJn_about 12,000 are incapable of profiting by instruction. Those latter will come under the control of the special authority set tip by the Mental Deficiency Act which came into operation, at the beginning of the present- month. Of the other 24,000, about half are at pre sen I; attending special schools, while tho remainder are under bo control, and often grow up to be criminal? or wastrels, who become-, a permanent charge, on the community, and end their days in gaols, workhouses, or asylums. The results achieved at the. special schools sfcott that a large proportion of these children can be taught many useful things, and so become partly self-supporting; but the work has bcea fo a largo extent hampered and nullified in the past by the fact that at the age of'lo, when they arc in most need of supervision, tbey, pass out; of control. It is by checking such evils as those which arise out of the unchecked multiplication of the unfortunate element of the population—evils which, as Mr. Galsworthy, points out. are the cause of more suffering and more damage to human nature than tha acceptance or rejection of tariff reform, Disestablishment, or Horns Rule—that Parliament justifies its existence, rather than by die cleverest party tactics or the most cunningly-devised schemes for capturing votes.