WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 May 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE GERMAN IDEAL

NOT WANTED IN SCHOOLS

(Our Special Correspondent;

WELLINGTON, May 13 In his presidential address to the delegates at the annual meeting of the Secondary School Assistants’ Association held here this week, Mr R. M. Laing, of the Christchurch Boys’ High School, broke away from purely professional subjects for a moment to utter a word of warning against the introduction of what he called tlie German educational ideal into this country. The German ideal, he said in effect, was the direction of the young mind into one universial groove in which an artificial State and a narrow autocracy were elevated above the needs of the community and the liberties of the individual. New Zealand, he urged, would have to beware of a similar tendency. “Navy

leagues, Empire leagues, and other leagues,” lie protested, “are seeking ex-cathedra pronouncements in oiu schools, and all of them represent some form of political partisanship or econo-

mic interest, however carefully it may lie disguised.” Many people here aie professing to he scandalised by such a pronouncement coming from a prominent public school teacher, hut Mr Laing remains und i smayed. THE BROAD OUTLOOK.

Mr Laing lias the highly strung, judicial mind which n'uist examine every question for itself, free from precedent and tradition and regardless ol the conventionalities. “If these tilings must he introduced into the Schools, he says, referring to Navy leagues and the rest, “let the Nava list and the Imperialist state his case; hut let the antinavalist and the anti-imperialist have an equal opportunity of doing the same.” Mr Laing would trust neither the politician nor the teacher, much less the newspapers, to instruct the children on these controversial subjects. He would invite “the most prominent men in the town, representing the most strongly antagonistic points of view, to give addresses to the upper forms of the schools,” and he would let the publicans and the prohibitionists, the individualist and the Socialists and the representatives of all the other opposing forces argue their, eases before these youthful judges. This would he a long stride towards the socialisation of education which only a teacher with 1 an established reputation could afford to advocate even in these days. SIR JOSEPH WARD.

The report that Sir ."Joseph Ward "ill return to the Dominion in the course of two or three months has given rise' to a good deal of speculation as to his political intentions. In some quarters it is stated, as if with authority, that ho will take the earliest opportunity to re-enter Parliament and when there will place his services at the disposal of his old party. As regards this, if may he said positively that Sir Joseph has no such intention. He went Home expecting to remain there about a year and his return at the time indicated would he consistent with his original programme. Hut he will he in no hurry to immerse himself iw polities again and he certainly will not lie an eager candidate lor the fliberal leadership. Anything he has said to his friends on this subject does not commit him beyond the dissolution of the present Parliament, hut that may not he the limit of his renunciation of public life. POLITICAL PARTIES. The Progressive Liberal and .Moderate Labour Party is continuing its activities witliwut seeking or obtaining much publicity. Its promoters have not yet realised the abiding truth of the American maxim that judicious advertising is the keystone to success. The official Liberal Party is in much the same case. Highly elated by the great fight it put up in the .Patea bv-olection against the forces of Reform and extreme Labour, it is counting many chickens yet unhatehed and making little effort to consolidate the scattered .progressive legions. Everyone recognises that the only hope for the formation of an effective Opposition lies in the revival of the old relations between Liberalism and sane Labour, which would mean the collapse of the Holland-Fraser faction, hut so far the strong man necessary to bring this about is not in sight. Mr Wilford and Mr Stalham both have many admirable qualities, hut neither of them possesses that rare gift of human magnetism which forms the first essential towards successful party leadership. SOLDIERS AND EMPLOYMENT. alleged dismissals. WELLINGTON, May 16. The statement made bv the Acting Minister of Railways in regard to tlr allegcd dismissal of returned soldiers and married men from the railway service in order to give employment to recently arrived immigrants is not proving entirely satisfactory to the people immediately concerned. Mr Guthrie admits that certain men on account of their age have heen “paid off”, a less harsh'term than “dismissed,” and that new arrivals have been placed ;n positions for which men of the proper age “within the Dominion” were not available. Though the Minister does not allow quite so much, the truth of the matter seems to he that the Railway Department did not foresee the decline in the demand for labour, any better than the private individual did, and committed itself to the employment of immigrants before it realised the difficulties of the position. Tt is now being alleged that other departments are in much the same position. PUBLIC WORKS EXPENDITURE. The “Evening Post” instigated, hv tho irrepressible Central Progress Longue, is again drawing odious comparisons between the publi# works expenditure in Auckland and in the southern portion of the North Island. Doling the three years ended in 1920, it says £626,046 was spent on railways in the Auckland district with a population of 308,760, and only £226,060 in the Central Progress League area with a population nearly 100,000 greater. This is followed by many another hoi rid example of the favours that are being bestowed upon Auckland at th° expense of the rest of the Dominion The Government already has replied to this criticism by saying developmental needs, not population, must be the do- J

pidinjg fe'Ctor in the distribjutiion of public works expenditure, and there may be reason in this contention, but probably Wellington would fare much better than it does in this respect had it more of the civic spirit that an' mates the people of Auckland. POLITICAL PARTIES. The somewhat futile oorrespon.lah: ? between Mr Peter Eraser, the member 2 for Wellington Central, and Air T. B M. Wilford, the leader of the Opposi- ! tion, which opened with a discussion o. I the relations between the Liberal Paity

and the Labour Party and now is landing over the whole surface of Lie world’s politics, has brought from tee extreme Labour champion a definition of his own and his party's attitude towards the Russian revolutionary party which may be worth keeping on record. “I consider Lenin and Trotsky to be two of the world’s greatest statesmen, he writes. “I do not think the policy • which these two working-class Leaders have supported in the process of establishing and maintaining a Soviet Go-vernment-in Russia either possible or

desirable in New Zealand. ’ Tin's does not commit the extremists to a "real deal, but it suggests that their loyaloy to the British Empire aiul to constitutional government is mainly a matter of convenience and opportunity. LOANS AND FINANCE. There is much speculation here as to the prospects of Mr Massey being able to raise on anything like reasonable terms the five million loan for public works, soldier settlement and other pm

poses on which the losing of the Dominion’s finance during the next few months so much depends. The Prime Minister should arrive in London at the end of the present week and within a few days of his landing he should he able to gather sufficient information concerning the money market to advise his colleagues definitely on the position. The authorities here expect him to succeed, hut predict the rate of interest will he considerably higher than New

Zealand has been accustomed to pay However, the advantages of having funds available for urgent public works would be so great that a substantial in crease in the charge would not be felt and settlement and production throughout the country’ would be enormously assisted.