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Hokitika Guardian, 15 November 1927, Page 2

Tiie value of homo influence was stressed specially by the Governor-General in a,n address lie gave recently in the Auckland district. The plea seemed necessary in the light of happenings so often recorded through the public press. It might be called an old fashioned idea nowadays, but the world is living so fast that the home influence is not what it was. To the course of bis address, ll.is Excellency said that most of the wasted lives came from the careless home, and half the good in the world was the direct result of the early home training of the young. At present there is a

strong movement towards substituting community action for homo influence, and towards making the school responsible for what is really the duty of the parents. Too many parents are quite willing to fall in with this process of delegation. Teachers are frequently blamed for deficiencies in children which ought to he remedied in the home. It. is impossible for a day school to teach all those finer points of unselfishness and consideration for others which go to make good manners. If children are confronted hv examples of selfishness and indifference rn their homes they will copy wliat is daily before them, and it is out of the question to hope that the bad example set in the home will lie entirely remedied by either the day school or the Sunday school His Excellency rightly pointed out that children could not comprehend Divine love' if they had no experience of love in the homo. lie admitted that his words might seem oldfashioned. but because a thing is oldfashioned it is not nceesaril.v valueless.