MAGISTRATE’S COURT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9792, 16 October 1917, Page 3

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

POLICE AND MAINTENANCE CASES.

A more than usual number of drunks camo before Mr S. E. McCarthy, S.M., at tho Magistrates Court, yostorday. Seven were firstoffenders. Tl.fcy were each fined 20s, or had their bail estreated. Two, who had been under medical treatment tor a week, were fined 40s aud 20s respectively, and ordered to pay 17s 6d medical expenses. Henry Edward Green, for whom Mr H. F. O’Leary appeared, pleaded guilty to disorderly behaviour while drunk, and to using indecent language on tho King's VTilaarf. On the second charge Green was . convicted and fined £5, in default to go to pri--5011 for one month. defendant was ordered to pay tho amount by installments of £1 poir month. The first charge was withdrawn. In a maintenance case Henry James Stanley was ordered to contribute the sum of 2b 6d in support of a hoy who is being educated by the State, and John and James Shore were each ordered to pay 3s 4d per week for a sister who is in a receiving home. William White, who, according to his own statement, was receiving over £4 per week, was ordered to pay os towards the support of a son. For disobeying a maintenance order, the arrears of 'Which amounted to £l4, Albert Jackson was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, and the warrant ordered to bo suspended until applied for by the complainant. Herbert Moffatt, who was in arrears ■in respect to a maintenance order to the extent of £9, was ordered to bo imprisoned for fourteen days, and to pay £2 2s costs. Gustave Myers, for a similar offence, the arrears of which totalled £2 18s, was sentenced to imprisonment for three months. In each instance tho warrant is not to be issued until applied for. Joseph Lo Verne was adjudged the father of an illegitimate child. Ho was ordered to pay 10s per week towards tho support of the infant, aa well as £l7 11s expeffsos.

THE WAR’S LESSONS, SO FAR

By General Sir Robert Baden-Pofwell. I'o-day in rummng’inpr among ©ooio old ns/pcrs I came across some memoranda of mine of June, idtft, just a il'ew straws Chat olik>\ved wiiicix way th-a wind v.’u« blowing at that time in regard to possible war iriuh Germany. Of course wo had our greater warnings in the Agadir incident and other political .crises which brought us very nciu* to it. but which might weh pa=*» as aC\*)dents such as might iia-ppem in the bcs>: regulated circles. But the vStiiaws .elior.v that these cdstvs »vero not w> accideaitCal. June. iJJi. full of little istraws. Afy notes Show that King jJdwarcl'fe risii; to Kiel tii.u month produced tear in some quarter** that ho mishit come under the blandishmenhs of tho Kaiser. Ebrtunately i'o. us King Ekliward was the one man in Britain who understood and ©aw through his nephew, and ho was one of the first to give warning when he said: “Tnai man in not a gentleman. You can never trust

Every naval or military officer in Britain who know Germany know that war wna Intended.

One general gave a lecture to his officers and was hauled over tho coals in

.‘airiiauncnt by throo members (one of them a Cbbinot Minister o fto-day) and by a Chamber of Commerce; but the abuse which ho there received was exceeded .by that which ho received from Germany, which showed that ho had touched tlie spot. Thus many knew but few (believed.. Fortunately both the Army and the Navy realised tho situation and prepared theonseuveis as far as the Treasury would allow.

Whem tho history of tho war cornea to be written the vital value will be realised of tho preparedness of Lord French’o little army and of the Royal Nlavy’s opportune concentration at the moment of the outbreak of war.

1 bus one of tho great lessons at any rate of the War is—Watch which way the straws are flying and prepare accordingly.

The war as.schoolmaster has opened to as books of hidden knowledge tor wider study in many and varied branches. Iheir diversity can, bo indicated by a tow examples ouch as these :

Tactical.—'Strategy, consisting as it does of principles, remains but little altered; but tactics. Or the methods in the fighting field, have been strangely twisted through the uses of high explosives, mechanical transport, machine lighting overhead and under water, and bv the vast numbers of men employed. Scientific.—ln the field have been devised new explosives, poison gases, curative drugs, and the many ingenious con. crivonces for killing or for saving men. Industrial. —State control has been experimented with; intensive work has been introduced, and new industries, including standardisation in shipbuilding hnd aeroplane manufacture, as well aa lha home supply of over-sea products and of many things hitherto "made in Germany." .

Social.—Class distinctions have large ly disappeared; work is done for work’s sake; and reforms so long used in theory for political cloaks arc becoming practical reality.

Political.—Tho exaggerated value of party politics and tho want of efficiency in our politicians at homo and in oni diplomats abroad hava all in turn been shown up. Imperial.—What some of us wore pleased to look on as '’British Colonies” are now recognised aa great self-contain-ed nations actuated bv a common tie and common aim, hud whoso very strength in in their freedom. International.—Communion with our Allies in fighting for a high t ideal has brought us into closer touch with mutual sympathy than any mere commercial alliance coul I have done. Domestic. —Tho war has discovered tho splendid courage and sense of duty that animates our race though, maybe, leavened by divergencies in other directions; also the women, bv rising to the occasion as they have done, have put themselves upon a now and higher plane.

Educational and Keligious.—Tho need of new methods and new- standards to meet the exigencies of tho future have been more than plainly shown.

The a I.o vo does not by any means exhaust the list. It is merely indicative of the diverse channels in which study and progress are -.possible, and which obviously could not be dealt with in a short article of this description. But it would be nothing less than criminal to neglect such lessons and to lot them slide.

If we are to get value out of tho war such as might compensate in some degree for tho awful havoc it has' entailed wo must take its lessons well to heart and utilise them for tho best. Tho main deduction from these is that revolution or evolution is in the air in every line of life. Whether this is a matter of promise or of disaster rests mainly in tho hands of the people themselves. In this upheaval men must keep their beads, retain their balance, and look ahead. It must not be “down with everything” before they have got something definitely better to “up” in its place. The South African war taught us, and this war again teaches us—Don’t be blind. Note the straws. Be Prepared, .not only for what is probable, but for what is possible. Look ahead. Wo have been blind in the past. Whether it is from our characteristic want of observation or want of imagination wo have not sufficiently visualised tho future.

We are now concentrating, or we ought to bo, every effort collectively and Individually on winning this war. But each of us has two eyes and also two lobes to what we are pleased to call our brains. While using one of these on tho immediate work in hand we should not neglect to use the other in looking forward and in being prepared for the needs of the future. Germany lost the war on tho Marne, out she did not thereby lose all chance of gaining her aims in the end —namely, the power and commerce of the world. She is even now organising to obtain in peace that which she failed to get by war.

'Whether Germany carries out these aims or not, whether-we win this war or not, these things are certain; wo have to repair the terrible havoc wrought by the war in order that our nation may as far as possible become prosperous, happy, and peaceful. If it is to win the high place hoped for ft should pcssocb a clvirootcr sufficiently high to make it Worthy of the place. If it should fail in the wax it will

equally need that character to enable it to stand up to itb los=cb and to stave off ruin. For either we need two things. First a good Government. -Not one of place-hunters or faddists or of persuasive talkers, but of men of character who uo things. No more of tho miserable party politics. The old Roman proverb, ■ A p'oplo deserves the Government that A gets," holds very .good to-day. It is up to each one of us to have a good Government, to nolo wliic.i are ’’strntrsenon” os distinct from mere politicians and to keesp these man in power. Secondly, a good education system. The brunt of tho work and the disaster if that work fails will fall upon the rising generation of citizens. It is up to us to prepare them for tho great ordeal baforo them. _ • As a nation wo aro too few in number's adequately to man our Umpire, yet not only is our birthrate declining but of tho children that are born a disgraceful proportion die early or are physically unsound. “Disgraceful” because it is preventable by organisation' and education. Tho aim of our education should bo to prepare the children to be efficient citizens rather than erudite scholars. And citizens not merely up to tho standard of yesterday or even of today.-but up to the requirements of to-morrow. . This moans thoir organised education in Character, in Technical Skill, In, Service for Others and Ihe £Aato, and in Physical Health and Endurance with the mobfco ever bafore their mindU of—“So Prepared."