PRESS COMMENT

Hokitika Guardian, 20 January 1928, Page 4

PRESS COMMENT

It is of paramount importance to consider liotv far our obligations to pay external interest by exporting primary products must govern our costs of production and standard ot expenditure at home. It is inevitable that some changes must be made to permit increased primary production, cheaper costs of living, cheaper manufactured goods and more employment. It is not necessary to be pessimistic regarding the future of this fine Dominion, nor to raise a scare against continued borrowing, but prudence demands the carotid scrutiny of Government expenditure and an assurance that borrowed money being spent will give an ultimate return in the form of increased production supporting increased population.— “ Poverty Bay Herald.”

As the position is now, it is nothing less than a. tragedy that there are tens of thousands of acres of good land awaiting development, but owing to a lack of initiative and resource in dealing with a problem that is becoming more acute every year, are now nothing more than breeding grounds for noxious growths, rabbits, and other pests which are a continual menace to those settlers who are working night and day in an attempt to keep tlieir lands free from contaminations of these kinds.— •‘ King Country Chronicle.”

Immigrants should not be imported into New Zealand unless and until practical steps are taken beforehand to ensure employment for them, and thus to prevent that disastrous congestion of the labour market which now manifests itself so painfully here. On the other band, if a definite scheme can be devised by tbo co-operation of our own Government with the Imperial authorities to provide work lor immigrants 011 tlieir arrival, and thus enable them at once to assist in wealth production here, immigration might at one and t ! same time alleviate industrial distress in Britain and help to develop and enrich the Duminions. If such a co-oper-ative system can be established it would undoubtedly prove a boon and a blessing to the whole Empire. But to encourage the indiscriminate emigration of workless workers from Britain to Canada or Australia or New Zealand without such safeguards cannot fail to react disastrously upon the Dominions as well as upon the Homeland.—Auckland “Star.”

Tho Empire lour of air 1,. S. Amery is to conclude with a conference with the Canadian Government on the question of immigration, when, no doubt, the transference of workers’ scheme will bo fully considered. Air Amery informed its, when in New Zealand, that Groat Britain did not desire to dump her unemployed on the. Dominions, which he realised, had their own troubles in this respect. 'The Dominions will have no objection, hut they do not desire the unemployable from Great Britain or any oilier country.—Auckland “ Sun.”

AYe h live sulllcicni confidence ill those responsible for the welfare of the pupils of our primary and secondary schonls to fool convinced that already much has been done to ensure that they will all be given the- chance that is theirs by right to learn to swim, but Hie subject is of such vital importance that we make 110 apology for reminding those responsible that in another month the schools will reopen, and unless efficient arrangements for the imparting of swimming insl met ion are made before then, valuable time will be lost. It, is greatly to be Imped that some scheme will be devised whereby not only the town schools, bill as many country schools as possible. will be given instruction. \Yo

cannot have 100 many swimmers in tbc province, and the expenditure of a little additional money is incomparable with Hie beio’iits derived from learning tv, swim. It on rents view the matter as they should they will cooperate whole-heartedly with teachers and school committees in the campaign we hone to see organised in the interests. not only of hitman life, but ol physical and moral well-being.-“Southland Times.”

AYhile it is probably too early yet lo speak of the results of the Empire Alarketing Board’s operations in pounds, shillings and pence, there is abundant evidence that British importers and retailers are inquiring for Empire goods mud! more freely, and hi' tho course of a few years producers in all Hie dominions will probably he ready to acknowledge the debt they owe to tlieir imperially-minded Alotlierland. It is well that we in New Zealand should realise what is being done for us by the British Government, but. as Air Huxley so well said bis visit to Invercargill, all the publicity our produce receives in England is valueless unless that produce is right in quality, competitive in price and adequate in supply, it should bo Hi eaim of all our producers and agents to assist the board’s great work by making sure that these throo factors are not lost sight of.— “Southland Times.”

We cannot go on safely borrowing money for purposes which, though they make life pleasanter, add little or nothing to the capacity of the ino.vidunl to extract more from the general store of Nature. We can, however, rejoice with the Prime Minister in the meantime that the value of the primary products exported by the end of the financial year will exceed last year’s value by fi.ve million poundsthat we have more sheep than at any time since 1918, that butter and cheese prices are good (and likely to be better), and that the outlook in other directions is also very encouraging. If -“C Dominions as a whole could be j made to realise that prosperity means j more lambs and better cows, and that j .-.e Government can render no service so important as making that fact known and helping to bring it about, the end of the year might find us in a better position than we have ever occupied even in boom times.—“Christ-r.-uurch Press.”