MR. CAUGHLEY'S MUCH-MUDDLED STATISTICS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2180, 19 June 1914, Page 8

MR. CAUGHLEY'S MUCH-MUDDLED STATISTICS.

©iwighlcj' is iiopetess.. ,J£o neiilioif can' iti'iftersiiii'Hd .statistics, licr fi9.es lie scwii r.apablc of learning Clio rudiments- of tliafe'scifaiac; ill Iris letter in ■ to-day's Dominion, ho writes at great Ifi'jigth on a number of issues more or Ida's connected with thd original soliia-ry point with which 1 dealt-, in 111 V iirsr- letter 1 confined myself solely to his figures about tlriiiikenitest, and that i wiier. lie explained why Ire' iised iigu'res from the Commomvealih Year ■ Book. ivUhout the -ii-ecEtopah.tiflg• paragraphs ■ ivJikii are essential to tlieir<p]''oper lift* derstandiitf*. and when lie ■explaiived why he oßinted tire Tasmanian lijnires, : it WduW he finis enough to go f.'.u ther ■ 111 tho matter. One fact .now remains ■ clear, on Air- Catigliiey's adnvissten, that he did lift, figures abctit drunkenitaway iroin. tho paragraphs which, tlif skilled Jiild experienced jftatisti.oiiiii attached as inseparable irom those- figWes. Aaotlier tact also remains- clear that, to suit his own. purpose, . jlr. Oaugl-itey lifted only tie (iien-.Bi.hle*i«-S'ellool®) Victorian irg-ures, whieli pleasnd_ him. and suppressed the I Bible-in-Schools) Tasinani.au figures; an action of whit*!) I say no more than.that it' is. ■ enough tf>' siiow that his argument is seiuntifirallv unsound, AW' ill itis present letter ho introduces new statements, obviously with' tire intention of eiotiding tins public mind from seeing tiiat lie has beer, guilty of suppression of facts. For ox- : mnpli'i lie speaks of a c'ab.legßiim. from Sydney stating thai \ T ew South Wales is tte most drunken. State in. A irstnilia. Here lie shows his inabil- : ity to deal with, statistics. lie s.tj'p- ■ presses ' t lie fact that this cablegram ' emanated from an iijfercstp'd pariy. and tlinrefo-Fo lVmi'M i.ios .'be rega riled by a.. statistician as impartial, presses tho fact that the Inspector-Gen-: ei.il of Police foi j\tw South Wnles immediately ,aii.<i jiflbliely dial}engefl. the. (ieeu.ra.ey of the interested op.in'ioii.' Another instance of Mr. Cauijlilev's mcilwd of argument. is found in his as- ■ sertio.ll. in te present, letter that in Victoria and New Soiitli Wales ".ill conditions are almost' identical." 11 ere again Mr. Oaushjey is far from s&tiiig tiro fads of tho case. Let i.n&.giTcvydu ■ Otto example: Tho population of Tv'-cw' South Wales is 42",00(1 (or 30 per cent.'!' greater than in Victoria, and—a still innrc important factor--Xew South YWes has six por squaw? iivijes as acainst- 16 persiivs per square mile, in Victoria. Sfl.i.% ara -.iiyo tilings wiieh; sliow that Mr. C&ughicv js thoroughly incompetent- to dea.l with statistics, B'heH b.<? says that in. these two states "all ooudrtfei'.ns are almost ifleittiriij.^'

Mir. '.OiittgMri.v' o'iico again sissfe. to' .(rorfusothe issue- Hfr says tljo inaWrat issy.o: is tbo «xtr« d:ruhkeitnoss In. Npiv.'Ssijth Wales, 1 ,'IV is frG'tiiiiig of the. r>Vt- -Tjip mutter on <vTfj'cli i ijd'incd-i'.s--■SMS iv jib -It-fai. is whether Sir. , Caughley 1*4.8 ;if]St:j-Ji,(*4 in JgtiHng to tie .puttie ■•'fjgnreS fmjn syMqli, Jio. suppressed ttosfi tores. *hfch. toi<J. ; ag.ajii?t liinis.si.f, aiisl >a/rso omitt-pd thq : grapli.s ffihic'li We're 'considered; licccssa'ij'.by tlip kefcjitific \ytas6 figures he piirti&rteii afti;,..o'.tc-, IOMj. June, Mi, .■■„.■'.' fPM? Mtfcr wwA titers has licm do* ■layeji iii ptfMtefttiQii {nvMjj to peVsurc on .onr-spites.;!