TOPICS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 37, 13 February 1930, Page 8

TOPICS OF THE DAY

Not all the customers of the banks will be so wide of the mark as was the Egmont County Council in criticism of recent alterations in the ad-' vances and deposit rates. It should scarcely be necessary to slate, for illustration, that the Bank of England rate of 4-J per cent, is not comparable with a local overdraft rale. An English bank rate of 4|- per cent, does not mean that overdrafts can be obtained at that rate of interest on daily balances. The private customer has usually to pay about 2 per cent. more. Moreover, the recent increase in New Zealand has not been the product wholly of New Zealand conditions. It has been brought about in part (as the alteration in exchange rates has been) by conditions in Australia. Money cannot be kept cheap and plentiful in this Dominion while it is dear and scarce in the Commonwealth; A determined attempt to keep" the local rates down at any cost would operate disastrously by leading to the depletion of our financial resources. These and other considerations which are of the utmost importance in safe banking are not, however, well understood by the public, and necessary conservative measures are often subjected to harsh criticism because the necessity is not perceived. We do not think it is possible to dispo'se'of all criticism by answering it. Borrowers, from lime immemorial, have deemed it their privilege to abuse lenders. But an authoritative explanation of the necessity for alterations in rates is, nevertheless, advisable. It would remove much misapprehension and promote co-operation between the banks and their customers in maintaining safe finance. • ♦ * Several airmen have been fined lately for making passenger flights on Sunday. As the law stands the offence is clear, and the police cannot be blamed for prosecuting. It would be quite wrong to urge the police to withhold prosecutions because the law appears to be less than fair. It must be admitted, however, that the law is anomalous as it stands. The section of the Police Offences Act which prohibits work on Sunday does not apply lo "persons driving any public or private motor-car, carriage, or cab, or to persons employed in the working of railway trains or tramcars or cable lines, or on steamers, vessels, or boats, or in a motor garage, or lo any livery-stable keeper, or to any person letting boats for hire." It will be noted that this exemption goes beyond the exemption of essential transport services. It permits pleasure traffic by rail, road, or water. Such trafiic is extensive, and it is organised and operated by public authorities. It is reasonable that air transport should be similarly allowed. Possibly it may be argued that joy flights of a few minutes' duration do not come in the same category—that they are no more permissible than the operation of a switchback railway or the thrill-giving devices of an amusement park: It is difficult to draw a clear line. One person may find pleasure in a ten-minute air flight, and another may prefer an hour's motor ride or. a day railway excursion. But wherever the line may be drawn, it is evident that all commercial use of air transport on Sunday should not be penalised as it is at present. # # # A better standard of design and construction in small homes is desired by the Institute of Architects; but members do not see clearly how this can be secured. At present the services of architects are rarely made use of in this class of construction. There is a common impression that the small home to be built at low cost is easily designed; whereas it is really most difficult if the best results in arrangement, appearance, and economy are to be obtained. One cannot.doubt that the standard of domestic architecture would be greatly improved if the public would seek the assistance of architects in this class of home. But how can they be persuaded to do so? The usual publicity methods are not encouraged in the architectural profession; but we think that something could be done without any loss of dignity by such means as exhibitions of designs. The question of fees was mentibned by the President of the Institute when referring to this subject, and he said that if several buildings were erected lo the same design, but in different localities, a lower individual fee would then, in the aggregate, be sufficient remuneration for the producer. No doubt the same result would be obtainable if the business to be done were sufficient to permit some architects to specialise in this class of work. The first thing is to educate the public to the value of the architects' aid in this class of work.