NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 274, 13 August 1921, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

"Tho man with a grievance” is rather more plentiful and rather more of a nuisance than usual nowadays. Usually he is to be found in. the role of a. financial critic—of sorts. Some of the things that aro being .said by the more irresponsible sort are so very foolish that they would be amusing were they not also mischievous. There is always of course the man with a grievance against the Government, and just now the Government is being abused: very vigorously for its railway cut, for taxation, for paying a low rate of interest, for a. drop-ping-off in savings banks’ deposits, and so on. It is as well that Governments should b® kept up to the mark by outspoken criticism, but it is very foolish to decry the credit of one’s country in order to injure the people who for the time being are governing it. Yet this ■is what some people ere doing to-day in attempting to throw on the Government the blame for a falling-off in post office deposits—a falling-off due mainly to tho temptation offered by recent attractive debenture issues and the pinch of hard times. To anyone who gives a moment’s thought to the question it is of course obvious that the best security offered in this country, whether it be for investment in the Post Office Savings Bank or in War Loan certificates or other Government loans, is the security .offered by the State. Every post office depositor, every holder of a Government loan bond, has the guarantee of the State (that is to say the whole of New Zealand) that payment will be made at due date. The State to-day holds several millions of gilt-edged securities to meet any emergency demands, it has guaranteed that Savings Bank deposits will not come under the moratorium, and it is paying a liberal rate of interest considering that the money is «t call and can ba withdrawn by depositors nt a moment’s notice. Yet "the man with a grievance,” "the political calamityhowler” .and the plain fool go their dismal way disturbing the peace of mind of the ignorant, earning the contempt of the informed.

Finance is tho most important portfolio in the Cabinet, and when Parliament opens it will be in the hands of the newest recruit to the Ministry. Mr. Downie Stewart is to bo congratulated on his promotion. He has won a. reputation as a sound economist and should bo well equipped for the onerous duties which he has taken up until Mr. Masgey’s return. As we have more than once pointed out Mr. Massey is overburdened with his duties as leader of the Government, Treasurer, /and Minister of hailways. In these days, when the whole of the operations of the State need to be brought under the most critical examination, a redistribution of portfolios is urgently necessary. It is to bo hoped that it will not be long delayed after Mr. Jfassey’s return, and that tho present temporary promotion- of Mr. Downio Stewart will a preliminary to giving him a wider scope than is afforded by his late post as Minister of Internal Affairs.

South Australia last year provided the Commonwealth with a record inaiiiagc rate, of 10.33 marriages per thousand of population. This is a remarkably high figure, but it is worth noting that it is only one point better than New Zealand’s 10.32 per thousand hist year. Our rate was easily the highest shown for any year in the “Year Book’’ tables, which go back to forty years ago. Tho next best vear was 1915 with 9.12 marriages per thousand people, and tho worst was 1918 with 5.65 per thousand. Both those figures were.influenced by war conditions, and the same is doubtless true of last rear also. Despite the ban on babies by th* letters of apartments in which so many people live, last year s baby crop in the Dominion was the biggest on record, and was only a few score short of thirty thousand. , w K * *

Now that, the city has its tar-macadam plant sot up it is time for it to take another step forward in road construction. At present there seems to be an extraordinary lack of co-ordination between the various municipal departments in their work on the vends. No sooner is a street remetalled and rolled than the tramways or some other Tiranch come and dig it all again. An Instance in point is Tinakori Road. It Jny neglected and in a bad state for a long time, but it. was no sooner put in order than gangs of workmen appeared and made an attack on the tram rails np a great part of. its whole length. Tho road surface between and beside the rails was dug up, and when the job was done and the metal replaced all the consolidation it seems to have been given was by hand-roller and tampingby hand. This sort of thing is bad enough on ordinary macadam roijds, but if will be infinitely worse when permanent waterbound roads are laid down. A go-as-you-please system in opening up such roads for tramway, water, and gas repairs and renewals will mean either their ruin or an intolerable expenditure in patching them up after each succeeding onslaught, r w » :•

All opinion is widely held by those whose business brings them in contact with proceedings in tho law courts that the jury system is resulting in serious

miscarriages of justice. Tn too many cases the decisive factor with the jury seems to ho anything but the evidence before them. Yesrerday, at the conclusion of a case in. which the accused person was charged with conspiring io defraud by the alteration of time-sheets, His Honour Mr. Justice Reed remarked that he did not think the jury had understood the case, and suggested to the Crown Prosecutor that in future application should be made for special juries in such cases. With the merits'of yesterday’s case wo do not propose to deal, but the prevailing laxity of juries generally is a serious matter. If the scales of justice are not held evenly it is the community os a whole which suffers, and the result is a general blurring of moral standards. It is possible that the present form of oath insufficiently impresses jurymen with the responsibility they are about to undertake. Any steps which can be taken to bring those responsibilities more vividly before the minds of I juries deserves consideration.

Extremist Labour government in its nakedness is to be seen at work in the Sydney City Council. Citizens generally are taxed for a lavish and spendthrift policy; municipal employees 'benefiting by that expenditure are compelled to live within the city limits so as to become eligible for the burgess roll; and to provide the Labour aidermen with election funds they are now being forced to take up bonds in proportion to their pay. •The amazing scheme is described in a cable message this morning. It is about as far removed from sound democratic government as anything can be. Its authors are the nominees of the Australian Workers’ Union, which is endeavouring to incubate the One Big Union in Australia. The promoters of the same movement in New Zealand are in close alliance with Australian headquarters, and the public can judge from to-dav’s message of the political rottenness with which the whole enterprise is tainted.