Our New Order

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 285, 31 August 1942, Page 6

Our New Order

Sir, —I cannot help feeling a little bit doubtful about the new order that we arc promised after the war. I mean ours, not Hitler’s, for thank God his will never come to pass. Of course, many improvements will be brought about, such as better distribution of the necessities of life and many other essentials, and living conditions will be improved wherever necessary. This will be of great benefit to the people of the world. But my chief fear is that people will tend to become more and more easy-going and lazy. Science has made such strides in providing labour-saving machinery that before long there will be little need for physical effort.. And shall there not be a grav-e danger that the inhabitants of the most modern and up-to-date countries will lose the full and proper use of the locomotion provided by Nature? Even now, if a man wants to buy a piece of land it must all be flat—there must be no hills ou it—and it must have almost every modern convenience or it won’t appeal to him. Many farmers have been in the habit of going round their stock in their cars. And no doubt before very long they will be performing this task with aeroplanes. Then it won’t matter so much whether the land is flat or hilly, provided there is enough level from which to take off. Personally, I think the ideal farm is one which contains about half the area flat and half undulating. As a general rule, both people and stock which have been reared on hill country are stronger and hardier than those bred on level laud. I know from personal experience that most, of the troubles found among both sheep and cattle are caused through lack of exercise. It is questionable whether any other nation possessing the primitive anil obsolete weapons used by China could have as successfully held a fully-equipped Power like Japan at bay. And China was looked upon as very backward from a Western point of view. Any nation which makes leisure one of its chief aims will go under. The civilization, toward which we are apparently aiming will, I am afraid, have the effect of killing all pride in personal accomplishment of good work done. Everything will be expected to be cut and dried, according to plan. The self-reliant spirit of the old pioneers in regard to the handling of land has almost disappeared. There are, of course, shining exceptions, some of which I could name, but they are few and far betweeu. And I nm. afraid this attitude of expecting everything for nothing is not discouraged by parents. If after this war our aim will be to have an easy time we will bcforc long find ourselves "working for some other nation. One of our chief endeavours should be io inculcate a spirit of self-reliance and pride in personal achievement. I am, etc., G. F. MOORE. Bushy Park, August 28. Answers To Correspondents

“Margaret Avenue” (Havelock North): Guadalcanal, is the accepted modern spelling as used by the National Geographic Society. Bass (Wellington) : Published in a contemporary.