PUBLIC OPINION

Hokitika Guardian, 7 October 1930, Page 8

PUBLIC OPINION

THE HOLIDAY. “Change and rest,” says the “Church Times,” “are the two requisites for a holiday; this is why moderate means and a busy life are essential to its full enjoyment. The rich seldom enjoy the true delights of change. Surrounded by an environment which they carry with them, like wandering planets wrapped in an envelope of their own atmosphere, they merely enjoy under different skies the same food and drink, and the' same monotonous diversions to which they have grown accustomed at home. Most of us suffer from one-sided development. The daily routine exercises only Certain groups of mental muscles; holidays set us free to bring into action capacities which we employ so seldom t-fiati they runthe risk of becoming atrophied. He who seldom or never takes a proper holiday is in danger of becoming a dull dog, like the towpath horse who cannot feel happy without the tug ol the towing rope at his shoulders.

THE ORDER OF PREFERENCE. “The Conservative attitude,” asserts the “Morning Post,” commenting on the Canadian elections, “was ‘Canada first’. If Great Britain was prepared to make a deal with the Dominion, they were prepared to talk; but it was foolish for Canada to give something for nothing; to propose an advantage to British goods without, for example getting any preference on Canadian wheat. Heavy disappointment as it will be to this country if the preference of the Dunning tariff are lost, we cannot dispute the justice of the argument. No country can expect to enjoy a preference in another’s markets and give nothing in return. We must expect the Canadian to act—Canada first, the British Empire next, and the rest of the world third. On that basis we might still do excellent business. And Mr Bennett will, no doubt, make note of the fact that American comment shows tile United States to be less afraid of Canadian Protection than that of Imperial reciprocity. ’ ’ PROBLEMS FOR MODERN , EDUCATION. “Less, and less are , mental capacity and native pkill demanded of the factory operative., Labour is employed for the most part only to put the .raw material into one end of the machine, and pack ; and stack the : finished product at the other end—a few minutes to kindle the. flame of imagination, to nurture the. creative spirit. In every civilised country we see the effects of rationalised > and mechanised industry, whose tremendous power of productivity makes smaller and small-, er demands upon human, agency. Everywhere we see the result in an unemployed, and . disorganised human ! society .which' is beyond the ? power. of Ministers and Governments. to remedy, because it, is ;the natural outcome ot the present trend of industry. To that extent the more urgent becomes the call to the schools .to train the mobile and adaptable mind which can rapidly accommodate . , itself ,to the swiftly changing economic society of the, day.” —Mrs Manning, President of the English National Union of Teachers. FUTURE QF AIR TRANSPORT. “Air transport at the present time is coming more and more to be a commercial proposition. In regard to the question of economy, aerial transport is', to a large extent, subsidised In France the air transport companies earn about 30 per cent, real, revenue from their traffic, and the remaining 70 per cent, is Government subsidies. In Germany matters are rather similar. In Great Britain we stand about ‘fifty-fifty’, and next year perhaps our companies will be earning 60 per cent, revenue and 40 per cent, subsidised. At the present time in this country we are speedily moving towards the point when we will not require a Government subsidy. The position is at we in Great Britain have no incentive to fly, because of the fact that we live on an island. If British people have little incentive from an insular point of view, they have a great incentive from an Empire standpoint. They have first of all to get the assistance of the Colonies and Dominions, for rapid Empire communication is going to be an invaluable factor. The aircraft industry is going' to be as important to Britain in the future asshipping has been in the past.”—Air Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker.

THE MISSIONARY AND THE GOVERNMENT.

“There are mighty enemies entrenched in that land, drinking, immorality, sorcery, etc. Could not some action be by the Government to end thesp destructive forces? Wo long to sweep them away by strong action, but we have no legislative power whatever.’ To our intense surprise the administrate™- turned upon us sternly and reproachfully said: ‘You have the only power that will destroy them, moral power.’ We are not here in the interests of Governments or commercial companies, but for Christ and the Kingdom of God.”—From a report by a Madagascar mission of an interview with the French Governor. COSTING IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. “Costing—one of the foundations of scientific management, is, in its application to the processes of administration, undeniably a difficult subject,”

says Sir Henry N. Bunbufy, Comptroller and Accountant-General of the G.P.0., writing in “Public Administration.” “The attempt some years ago to create a complete costing system for the Army was abandoned on the ground that the results obtained were not worth the substantial expense of obtaining them. Possibly, as I myself am inclined to think, it was on wrong lines. To the advocates of ambitious costing systems the processes of administration are full of pitfalls, and there is some warrant for the notion not uncommon in business circles that ‘cost accounts are costly accounts.’ It is probable that the comparison of one administrative unit with another is less valuable than the comparison of the performance, of one unit in one period with that of the same unit in another period.” t