The Guardian AND EVENING STAR, With which is incorporated "The West Coast Times.” SATURDAY, JUNE 18th., 1921. THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1921, Page 2

The Guardian AND EVENING STAR, With which is incorporated "The West Coast Times.” SATURDAY, JUNE 18th., 1921. THE WEEK.

Si'mtT occupies much attention these times, and with the Australian cricketers carrying all before them at Home the cable news is highly charged with interesting details of the proceedings. New Zealand excels more in the* winter game- football, than the summer pastime—cricket, and though the latter is not the popular vogue in this country, there are other branches of healthy outdoor sport in which the Dominion occupies a foremost position. This country has a place in the sculling world, and again holds the pre-eminent position of the world’s championship. As ft contemporary remarked Dick A rust’s victory over Hannan on the Wairau River on Saturday marks Die eighth occasion since 1880 on which the world's sculling championship has been won by a New Zealander, and the third I occasion oi which two New Zealanders i have contested the event. A rust’s reentry into the sculling field after a lapse of eight years and his comparatively easy victory over a younger man is a reminder of the fact that god men “come back” in sculling more frequently than in most other athletic 1 sports. Stnnbury’s successes in world’s championship events spanned a period i of fifteen years, and it is now thirteen years since A rust first gained the title. His win on Saturday i.s n victory , for Canterbury, and it is interesting to •recall that this little province has produced more than one athlete who could chim to he in the world’s championship class. The leading case of course, is that of Robert Fitzsimmon-, who, if be was not born in Timnru, at least spent bis youth and early manhood in that port. The late Anthony Wilding’s brilliant successes in Davis Cup contests surely entitle him to mention among Canterbury’s world’s champions, and while Jack Arnst, the elder brother of Dick Amst, gained no irt'< national honours as far as we can recollect, his performances in road cycling events in Australasia were so remarkable as to stlamp him as almost certainly the strongest and seediest long-distance cyclist in the world, Dick Artist’s ifium-

pliant return to sculling when only two years off forty reopens the record of a very famous family. New Zealand’s entrance into the world’s sculling championship contest, of course, was due to William Webb, of Wanganui, who won the title in 1907, losing, it (< A rust the following year. Arnst re tained the title till 1912, when ho was defeated on the Thames by Barry. Barry though not physically the most powerful of the holders of the title, was a superb waterman. He remained in possession for seven years, was defeated by Felton in October, 1919, but, as already stated, on the Thames, where Barry's wonderful skill as an oarsman, combined with liis perfect knowledge of the course, Arnst was the loser. A third match between the two, Would have aroused great enthusiasm but Barry who has passed his fortieth year, resigned when challenged by Arnst a few months ago, So that Arnst was technically the holder of the championship in Saturday’s race. Logically the next challenger should be Felton.

A very interesting address on ‘‘democracy and education” was given in Christchurch this week by Professor Salmond, and in the course of his remarks he said on the subject of democracy that there were serious defects; there were also great virtues. Lord Bryce pointed out the wonderful manner in which democracy preserved public order, cared for the poor, and was comparatively constant and grateful. It was evident that, only right education could remove the defects of democracy Tiie quality of government must depend upon the quality of the citizens. The people must be educated. Lowell said that unless democracy succeeded in being gracious and winning it must fail. Only by cultivating the virtues of men could that come about. It was plain, then, thnt education was essential. Did education mean the storing up of knowledge in the mind of the student, and the sharpening of the intellect? In itself, intellect was a force which might be used for evil as well as good. There was a kind of education going on to-day in some quartos which consisted on having nothing to do with culture. It turned out 2001 or 3000 leaders e;ch year. They were trained in narrow economics, a false school of philosophy, and in Marxian Socialism, which the best thinkers said was false. In this narrow intellectual education those men were content Professor Salmond had no hesitation in saving that such an education was evil. An edti- j cation which failed of a wide moral culture was futile. Thor must be. edu- 1 cation not merely of intellectual but of the emotions. Jjord Bryce sa' l that the , question of permanence in democracy : resolved itself into the question oi whether man was growing in wisdom and virtue. The basis of human nature was found in the emotions which we had in common with the animals. When these primal emotions became attached to ideas, anarchy often resulted in the human 'mind. How were these emotions to be reduced to order? "Train man s intellect,” it was said, and lie will see the stupidity of evil emotions. But there could he no regeneration through mere intellect. Intellect of itself would merely become the in strimient of emotions.

luk ultimate question of education, then, was how to reduce to order the disorder of our emotional lives. The answer was that the only way to quell the disorder of tlu> emotions was to bring them under tho sway of the higher feelings The human mind was capable oi a higher form of feeling, called the sentiments. The difference between these and the simple emotions was that whereas the former were aroused by direct excitement, the sentiments were aroused by an idea or an image, or a grou pof such. The sentiments were complex emotional ideas. Tlie more the life of ideas expanded the stronger became the They were the alchemists of character. Tints mere animal anger might become the auger of a saint against evil; fear might become respect; self-subjection might become reverence. Therefore education had to do with more than intellect. Democracy would never reach its goal unless they produced men of fine feelings. All education should give the power of appreciation of great art, especially literature; should inculcate, the love of truth for its own sake; should develop the sentiment of goodness, popularly called conscience. There was no ending to the development of that sentiment. By a right moral education this sentiment, the conscience might he developed to an uiiMniited extent. Only as the public conscience was developed would democracy become safe and really progressive democracy must include moral and spiritual ns wed r. purely intellectual elements.

Titr leading organs of Reform continue to ask their party to do the things it was put in office to do. “The decline in customs and excise revenue, shown by the returns of the first two months of the new finanieal year, is another indication of the imperative necessity fo,. departmental economy.” says the Auckland Herald. “The change is a symptom of the general adjustment from a phase of extraordinary inflation to. a normal level, under the influence of economics forces against which the administrators of national affairs will r ebel

in vain. The Government should be giving serious attention to the form of the normal Budget. It is as idle to suppose that the scal e of last year’s accounts can he maintained ns lo anticipate a return to the- pre-war level, j The outstanding fact in any considera- | tion Df this matter is that certain obligations have been assumed by the Dominion that are beyond the scope of any measures of economy.” “Provision must be made in drafting the normal Budget,” continues the Auckland Journal, “for nearly .£11,000,000 to meet charges of the public debt and to pay pensions. The significance of this figure is apparent from the fact that the total expenditure in 1913-14 was only £11,825,864. The departmental expenditure for that year, including the work ing expenses of the railways and the post and telegraph offices, find the cost of education, represented nearly 75 per cent, of the whole disbursement. Last year’s total £15,834,000 showed an increase of 90 per cent, but forined only 56 per cent of the total. The task of reforming the Budget is therefore faced at the outset with the difficulty that little more than half the national expenditure is subject to revision. Nevertheless that task may be accomplished, for the taxpayers of tho country, laden with the burden of the war debt, cannot pay for extravagance in departmental administration or subscribe the funds for such fallacious expedients as food subsidies.”

Thk annual balance sheet of the Bank of New Zealand discloses a prosperous year, and in congratulations on that point all may join Tor the country, (thanks to the Liberal legislation of the

i past) has a considerable holding of shares, and indirectly the public at large will participate in the profits of 1 the bank both in regard to the substantial dividend ]>aid, and to the solid and solvent position of the institution itself ns a very important factor in the general prosperity of the country. Yesterday was published a lengthy review of the financial position not only of the Dominion, hut also the world at large. There is no more important question today than the economic situation, and people will do well to try and master the intricacies of a complex position, for it is only by realising the true import of right economic administration that the country can recover from the financial stringency now besetting it as a result of the war conditions and their aftermath. The Chairman of the Bank is one well qualified to speak with authority on the subject, and his range and vision afford a clearer understanding to those who will take the trouble to ponder over the exhaustive statement and who will realise lor themselves tlfe true import of the situation. All round the world financiers and statesmen are grappling with the position bv which they find their businesses or their countries surrounded, and many and various are the suggestions pul forward to escape from the stringency and to seelc to return to the prewar or normal conditions of finance. This is no easy matter, nor does their appear to any easy road-leading that way.

Thk only way is by effort, individual as well as national, and it is this expenditure of energy and call upon mental resources and application, which is the difficulty. There is the want of unity of action ; co-ordination of forces; and even sympathy of desire. But experience—which is growing more and more expensive as time goes on—may yet force the position. For we see where I industry representative of capital is failing; where labor is being dislocated by want of employment. The two main forces counting for national as well as individual advancement have yet to learn how inter-dependent the one is on the other, and instead of warring with one another by strikes and lockouts, both sides must come to earth, and by a common understanding find by work and production in sympathetic unity to retrieve the general financial position, and so restore conditions to something of their bygone ■stability. Meanwhile the abnormal conditions in finance are helpful to all hanking in the way of business. Money is the commodity the institutions trade in, and its scarcity accounts for its dearness. Lending rates have gone up, and money is earning more. There has been a hig business in profitable advances and discounts —for the careful banker invariably sees that the institution has the security against its lending favors. The Bank of New Zealand as the country’s foremost institution has thus had a good year. Its profits have increased substantially and is financial position is stronger than ever. It is good to have things , -so—well managed and financially sound—and as such the institution is a tower of strength to the financial position of the Dominion. Incidentally, as was remarked above, the State is a considerable partner, being a large shareholder, and will participate directly in the profits, as well as enjoying a good deal of the reflected glory from the hank’s excellent position.