OFFICIAL STATISTICS

Hokitika Guardian, 31 October 1930, Page 3

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

LORD BLEDISLOE WANTS TO SEE THEM ALTERED.

WELLINGTON, Oct. 29

Statistics pultmstied recently dealing with immoral.ty in New Zealand wure referred to by Lord Bledisloe in the coarse ol remarks at the Wellington Sunday School Union’s rally. “Are we as pure in heart and action as we desire to be?” asked bis Excellenc3-. “Are we as pure in heart and a'diion as Lite country and the Empire would like us to be? Don’t let us decs, lvc «o oi selves. Here in the Dominion, dislike it as we may, we have in an official publication certain statistics Wilicit are not to the credit ol New Zealand. Possibly sometimes exaggerated deductions may be made from them. There can be no doubt those statistics suggest that many young people, when they enjoy the greater freedom of 1 after lite in the difficult period of adolescent* —when temptation is so severe and we require all the courage we can find to resist itare led into paths which all rightminded people deplore, which very often affects their lives for many years after. • “Blesesd are the pure in heart. Blessed still' more perhaps are the pure in action. Before we leave New Zealand we want to see those unfortunate statistics altered. We want, to see them bettered. We look to von who are irt- charge of; Sunday schools, to take a blot off the escutcheon of New Zealand. • “Let me suggest one wiay which will help to clo it. Tf we want young people to be refined, clean and pure, it is a very good thing to surround u.irs fives with thing,' that make tor refinement, cleanliness and purity; not picture*,’ photographs and>6lher’ things that tend to demoralise. I cannot help thinking sometimes, when I. go into schools, that if we could put on the walls of our schools and our comes pictures and illustrations tending to raise our minds to beautiful things it would enable us to beautiiv our minds and make them more worthy of the great Empire to which vve belong. • ‘The Bible will not do its best*work amongst us '■ unless it can make us happy and bdsmtifv our lives. That, can never be if we find ourselves tempted to do those things .wji.icjh a-s British subjects and servants of l God we are ashamed to do. Let us do all iu our power, through the medium erf our Sunday schools and afterwards, to make this country clean, pure and happy.”