THE WEEK. The Otago Witness WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1908.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 51

THE WEEK.

The Otago Witness WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1908.)

•■ Nuiqaaa allad natura, ail ad •apftatla dlxlt."— Jniiu. "Oqcd natur* and good mv aiumcr ;•!■.*— T»rm.

The news that the bank rate of interest on fixed deposits m the An Adrance Dominion - has been inIn tli* Bank creased to, 3i per cent, for Dtposit Bate. 12" months 'Imd to 4 per cent, for 24 months' deposit points to a period of deaf money, which ■is bound to react adversely upon industrial activity and enterprise. And for this hardening of, the New Zealand money market the policy of the Government must distinctly be iheld, responsible. It is more than three years since the Government raised 1 the rate of interestupon deposits an the Post Office Savings Bank, the result of which has been, the, attracting to that institution of money which in the- ordinary course of events would have been placed at the disposal of the banks. Comment has been frequently made upon tihe extent to which the savings banks deposits' Htfto been increasing^" while at the same time the fixed deposits at the banks of issue^have shown a proportionate decrease. And now matters have reached such a pitch that in self defence the banks have been compelled to raise the rates of interest in order to reattract the v deposits without wihich their usefulness to the community is certainly diminished. For, in addition to the money which the savings bank .policy has plaped at their disposal, the Government has also absorbed considerable sums by the sale over the counter of short-dated debentures, while of recent loans and renewals a good proportion has been taken up in the New Zealand market. Financiers- who have been closely watch;ittg the- trend' of events have for some thne past expressed anxiety as to the ultimate outcome of the Government fcbsdcptkui of so muoE of the available loanable capital in the Dominion. For i there is a contradiction in terms in Government action tvhich, on th© one hand ; borrows money to advance it at cheap rates to settlers, and at the same time, by this" very borrowing, hardens tfie money market against legitimate industrial, enterprise. Cfieip money is the sine qua non of prosperity, and progress, for it give§ that impulse t^» trajie and • agriculture which" -benefits the whole community. A period of dear money, on the otKer hand, while of undoubted benefit to the' capitalist, reacts adversely upon- the people at large, ior it curtails their purchasing power. JThus, despite the Prime Minister's glow-

inf forecast of the financial future, w* may question whether the signs of the times warrant any such optimism. Dear money, coupled with a fall in the value of some of our chief articles of production' — such as wool, meat, and grain, — with the prospect of an early collapse in the present inflated condition of the dairy produce market, are all factors tending to cause disquietude in the .minds of the far-seeing. Wherefore agriculturists and traders generally will do Well to exercise a meed of caution in their operations foi some little time to come.

The effect which a .disturbance in the

financial , world exerts upon Tjie America* trade and industry generFinanclal ally is seen in the conSltnation. tinued depression which overshadows the United States. For, reading between the lines of recent cablegrams, it is easy to perceive that matters in America are still far from normal/ From San Francisco comes news that the Market Street Bank has suspended payment, with over £200,000 on ■deposit > Trhil-e in N«w Xork City it is officially 6tated that there are over a million and a-quarter persons in need of relief. Under the heaa of " Canned Fish, Currency" an authoritative New York journal' recently discussed the financialsituation in terms which .are well worth* the attention of economists everywhere. Xhe immediate incident eliciting the article was the fact that the journal in~ question received tbxfe dollars in payment of a subscription, the money being "In the form of two clearing house certificates from Portland Oregon. These certificates stated on their face, that they were "secured by , wheat, grain, canned fish, lumber/ actually 'sold, and other marketable products and bonds approved by the committee." And the article proceeds: "Some of the' .great' packing houses- ol Chicago t are actually finding it impossible to get cattle because the graziers and drovers who have the cattle want currency) in payment, not bank cheques; and the packing companies, while they have largo balances at the bank, cannot obtain currency, but only' certified cheques for those balances. This stringency in a universal currency brings its suffering upon all men, women, and children alike. . . It , ought not to be necessary for a citizen of Portland Oregon to pay his New York^ bills in canned fish." And in the same article occurs a definition of 'money w3ii6n>. by reason of its comprehensiveness may, r well be taken into mind: — "To perform its service most effectively money must be' stable in value; trustworthy on its face; capable of the widest possible circulation g is instantly redeemable in commodities oil labour ;' and-its volume in a given com-, munity must expand -when the volume oi trading increases and contract when, th« volume of trading diminishes." Thus it/ ■4s that' a financial poMcy on the part of\ any .Government which tends to make/ money dear .at a , time when the tradings of the country are expanding and de-. veloping. may bring into being forcer I which, in the long run. may restrict in-, i dustry and produce, as in America, a partial paralysis of commerce.

The proposal of the Otago Education/ Board to set a man aside* Infraction In for the express purpose of AgricnltKre. imparting , instruction ifl agriculture to the rising generation will commend itself to all who are- interested in the future of the Dominion. For undoubtedly the hope of the development of New Zealand lies in the extension of its pastoral and agricultural pursuits rather than in ' an increase of manufactories. The increase in .the price of labour which is co markedly a. feature of industrial development renders it all the less likely — no matter what restrictions in the way of the imposition of ihigh tariffs may b*e resorted to — that New Zealand will ever be able to compete with the huge outputs of England and America, so far as manufactured products are concerned. But climatic environment gives New Zealand a- great advantage in agriculture and in all the products which are directly the, frjiit of the soil. Anything, therefore, .which will help to popularise settlement on the land is a step in' the right direction. Generally speak* ing, there is a distinct leaning on the part of our youths towards 7 a city rather than a country life, and to some extent this may be traoed, to the fact that the curriculum of the public school prepares children rather for commerce, and the counting house than for agriculture and the plough. But with the advent into the schools of the agriculture expert, whose business it will be to create interest in and excite enthusiasm concerning the nob(e pursuit of farming, the popularisation of the country life, with' all the Inducements and advantages which it undoubtedly offers to the enterprising youth, oufitht not to be a difficult* matter. We shall therefore watch with, anxiety the result of this effort on the paft of the Education Board to add the subject of practical agriculture to aa already overburdened syllabus. Some discussion has arisen on. the question of the 1 desirability of -the expert visiting othescountries with the view of adding to his) experience.. Probably all the experience which will serve him in his new responsibility may be gained in New Zealand itself. And this course will have this advantage, that the course of instruction inf technical agriculture can be commenced without the delay which a tour round the world must entail.

A century since, in many households in the Old Land, there existed Immoral a strong prejudice against/ Fiction. the perusal of fiction, on account of ite alleged - tin* healthy tendencies. But vrith the dublica-^ tion of^ the Waverley nov|W. and the •' masterpieces of men like Dickens, ■ Thackeray, Kingsley, and other of . the great writers of the Victorian era, this prejudice > gradually dissolved, untjl the novel began to be recognised as the most

powerful channel' for forming public opinion. — the pulpit and the press not excepted. Recent developments in the wholesale dissemination of a great- deal of fiction, of an. undoubtedly- immoral nature ia. ones more creating, a prejudice against the indiscriminate reading of novels. One -of the leading osgans in the publishing world in, England' has Deen. discussing the question- of the= relation of education to the circulation, of immoral books. And" in the- course of an. article on the subject, that journal utters some exceedingly wise words, which may well be passed on to readers of tihe Witness :—" The real fact is that within the last 20 years or so, a great change hae tafterr place in the attitude and feeling of the- commfuiiity generally towardk works- of the imagination,, a«s regards' wfiat are generally classed under the heading" Papular faction.' This change waa alight at first, fcut soon grew with Its growth, and itrengthened with its strength- We are convinced that Jiowever muc£r or litfcle publishers ar& to be blamed' for this change,, to blame tirem is futile. The disease is not one they can cura IF it can be cured/ at all— if there is any real and general efosire to cure- ft, edocatioff, it cteems.. to us, ia the only force wMcR few any* chance^ to* do. so. If all the young souk now being- taught and trained for the battle of Hfe amWt be- taagfit to look at good and evfl as they are taught other thirigs, then the future writers, pir&Bsheas, critics, and' readers, of books- woufiF look at good* and evil in. a different sgirife from that whajb seems- to be so largely the !>resßnt feeling of the commnnfty. Wl»t b the present feeling T We should defineit, as regards- evil' books, as made ap> of condemnation, approbation, and toleration | —these three,, but the greatest of all by far is tolerafcimi. B; ia uapoaaißle (or anyone who has nadkleng antf wSte «Epen«ace of criticism of fiteiafcin* in the P»bbb of England* and! JSmerrcs ilofe tty Barre notiec* how widespread Eas become tfie view tiba*t i no matter how.reaßy vile- and aoouninalfe a book may Be- in S» esseirpe and teachmgand effect, if it can clionr to typ < w«Il written, clever,, witty-, br%ht, and' stertling, or pQwerfttf, it can paesi —^paas- rßfo- 1 ■th<> iiom«& of our people."