PRESS COMMENTS.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 September 1926, Page 3

PRESS COMMENTS.

Much might be said about the praelieal questions set down for consideration at the Imperial Conference, but in view of the Prime Minister’s assurance that no decisions can tie finalised without Parliamentary approval, comment, on details may he dofencd. .Meanwhile, Air Coates is to he congratulated on his wise statement find policy, and sent away on his important mission with the knowledge that he enjoys the country’s approval and goodwill.—Christchurch ‘‘Sun.

For in any people an attempt to give statutory baptism to the bus regulations may easily be the last straw. A\e are sorry to fee] obliged to say Ibis, but they are no true friends of Hie Administration who will, without protest. see it running into wrong courses to Hie ultimate profit of the enemies who are cheering it on.—Christchurch “Press.”

The suggested provision to ensure a more or less uniform series of by-laws is sound.' and in time it may lead to the drafting of laws for the control of public transportation services on a national basis. The report deals ail effective blow at Hie growing tendency to govern the country by regulation, does something to reassert the right of Parliament to pass legislation in such cases! and loads ho the obvious conclusion that the regulations for the control of motor-lms services were bad in law and crude in design.—“Lyttelton Times.”

The allegation that the State mills have in stock at present millions of feet of cut timber which it cannot dispose of, supplies no reason for additional protective duties; rather does it indicate the need for transferring it to centres where it would find a ready sale if submitted to auction without reserve. In this, as in the case of mo-tor-ears. the only effect must he to increase the cost of living, 'ihe surprise is that members of the House gave the proposals such ready endorse-ment.-—Taranaki “Daily News.”

The Director .of the State Forest Service states that there" are still some 5,000,000 acres of land suitable for planting. It is a good policy to add to the country’s assets, and in tlie case of afforestation many benefits should accrue, not only directly hut indirectly, for forests have important effects upon climate and temperature, while extensive deforesting leads to much trouble, as the people of China know from their many terrible experiences of floods, assisted greatly by tlie denudation of the high country in the interior of that great country.--Wan-ganui “Herald.”

Besides stating that he intended to restrict expenditure on public buildings as narrowly as possible. Mr W illiams mentioned that he was considering the possibility of renovating the old wooden wing of tho Parliameiitnrw Buildings. Tlie Minister certainly will he doing the right thing if by a moderate outlay on repairs lie postpones for a considerable period the heavy outlay that will have to he made ultimately on tho completion o£ the palatial building in which Parliament meets.—“Wbiiinrnpa Age.”

No country can afford to waste its forests. Even the huge areas of forest in Canada and tho United States are not inexhaustible. While those countries have virgin forests to cut out they may continue to supply New Zealand with cheap timber, hut when they approach exhaustion, as they will, this Dominion will have to depend nioie entirely upon its own resources, and it is very fortunate that the matter of State forestry was taken up so earnestly a few years ago, and that it is now in such capable hands.—" Taranaki Herald.”

Deposits with companies other than recognised hanks , should tie eithei treated as trust funds or, alternately, the law should be- so amended that ordinary limited liability companies should he barred from accepting moneys on deposit, leaving that class of business open only to chartered banking companies or companies with unlimited liability and recourse on the part of their creditors to the shareholders. Something ought to he done to prevent the recurrence of such disastrous happenings as have befallen a too trusting section of the public during the last few years.—“ Manawatu Evening Standard.”

It mav be that gradually, as Now Zealand' expands, and as increasing news supplies lead to severe restrictions on newspaper space, the trivial o teii- , es will cease to be reported, or will be crowded out of the newspapers as is tfie case in larger cities, but there is no doubt that under present conditions even trivial cases have a certain news value that properly brings them into public notice, and the suppression of names, under these conditions is wrong-—Christchurch “Star.”

The question of the introduction of religious exercises in the State schools was no doubt mentioned m the course cf the election, campaign m the oontituences just the same as the question of the special taxation of Bachelors and that of Die desirability of abolishing capital punishment and that of the dehorning of cattle may i. been mentioned. But it is entirely - assort that it had an> erroneous to assert u influence whatever on the result of th election in any one constituent* in th whole of the Dominion. Theie is l foundation at all for the argument that the Religious Exercises m Schools Bill

was a factor of any consequence at tlie general election. It is most- surprising that such a fallacious and invalid argument should be employed in support of what is claimed to be a great moral reform.—“Otago Daily Times.” Nobody, nowadays, bears tlie term charity applied to the State payments made to old people, widows, the blind, etc. AA’hatever may be said to the contrary, the modern State must be something more than a disciplinarian. Its people require to bear in mind that in the role of parent a State must be willing to he helpful where lack of intervention would mean that the nation interests would suffer. —Gisborne “Times.”