The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 1920. A MESSAGE TO CHILDREN

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 212, 2 June 1920, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 1920. A MESSAGE TO CHILDREN

The fine impression made by tho Prince of Wales in his recent tour of the Dominion will bo heightened by his farewell message to children which was read in tho city schools yesterday. The message is marked alike by sound sense and graceful good feeling, and is well worthy of being preserved and cherished, as it will be, in tens of thousands of New Zealand homes. The Prince has addressed bis future subjects in simple language, which most of thorn, even if they are of tender years, will readily understand. Yet . his straightforward and telling appeal for the'cultivation in the individual of those qualities which make for sound national life deserves to be re?,d and remembered not only by children, but by their ciders. In urging the children of the Domin;"ion to be honest and truthful, always to remember other people's interests when pursuing their own, to live straight and useful lives, and to play for their side and play , the game, the Prince has been content to point as an incentive to what is worthy and creditable in tho record of the present and past genorations. Tie people, of the Dominion, however—at all events those of them who are capable of an open and unprejudiced outlook—will have no hesitation in affirming that, with its better features, the record of the present generation shows in some directions a serious neglect or suppression of the root qualities upon which national progress and sound Avelfaro vitally depend. In what ho has to s»y to the children, the Prince of Wales is moveJ evidently by single-hearted loyalty to the interests and welfare of the nation. Ho states pithily the only conditions in which it is possible for tho people of a free democracy to' advance and prosper and in a maximum degree elevate their standards of life. Any impartial observer will endorse our future King's conception of what is most essential to national 'progress and welfare, but such an observer speaking his wftolo mind is bound also to declare that too many people in this country show themselves callously indifferent to the rights and welfare of the community with which their lot is cast. Examples of_ this tendency aro to be seen on all sides, and nowhere more conspicuously J;han in the.attitude and policy _ o'f some of. the. Labour organisations' which are bent avowedly on improving- and elevating the conditions of industry and community life. A wide scope-of action is, of course, legitimately open to bodies of this type. No one doubts] that there is much to be done in improving the exist ing_ organisation of industry and arriving at the fairest possible distribution of wealth. But it is an absolute condition of constructive effort aiming at these results that it should be based throughout on honest fair-dealing and pay full regard to thc ; interests of the whole community, and not- only to the supposed interests of this or that section. Whatever their real aim may be, men who wantonly break binding agreements and make minor disputes an excuse for indicting suffering and hardship on their icliowcitizens are not working for industrial and social progress. As everyone knows, this form of exploitation is going on from day to day. For instance, although there is at jirosent an acute shortage of coal" all over the Dominion, miners at several pits within the last few days have 'alien foul of their employers on apparently trivial grounds, and cut down the output by hundreds or tons. Another example of the spirit that prevails only too widely is seen in the refusal of the Seamen's Union to permit a few men to remain, aboard their ships and carry on necessary services when a stop-work meeting was being held. These incidents are typical of a policy which has become commonplace during the last few years, and amounts evidently to a denial by the unionists concerned that the community has any rights to be respected or considered. It may be hoped • that the generation that is growing up—the children to whom the Prince of Wales has spoken—will one day look back with con tempt and amazement on the want of faith,and disregard of citizen obligations which make such a policy possible. At this stage, however, it is only too clear that, although the record of the present generation—particularly the record of those who fought and endured in. the Great War—is rich with inspiration for the men and women of tomorrow, account has to be taken also of a serious failure and decline in some cases of the qualities upon which sound national growth and progress absolutely depend.