THE PUTARURU PRESS. Office – – – – – Main Street Phone 28 – – – P.O. Box 44 (Lewis, Portas and Dallimore's Buildings.) THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1926.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 115, 7 January 1926, Page 4

THE PUTARURU PRESS. Office - - - - - Main Street Phone 28 - - - P.O. Box 44 (Lewis, Portas and Dallimore's Buildings.) THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 1926.

1926. THE Premier’s message to the people of this Dominion is characteristic of the man. There is a simplicity and' Cijiectness about the words, coupled with a sound commonseuse which make a universal appeal. In asking- for cooperation during the coming year, to which he looks forward to with confidence, Mr. Coates strikes a note which cannot be emphasised too much providing, of course, the Government does its part. Nothing gives a country such a set back as internecine strife, but it must not be forgotten that such internal dissension is of a necessity born of poor government, and is caused through agitators finding suitable grounds of discontent for sowing seeds of passion, jealousy and greed. So long as discontent arising from injustice prevails the agitator will ever find a fruitful field for his labours. Take away the cause of discontentedness and the destructive agitator soon becomes non-existent. That Mfr. Coates is fully alive to this truism is evident from his practical sympathy for the worker, and it may be safely said that at no very distant date something will be done to alleviate the burdens of the married man with several of a family. On the face of it, it is manifestly absurd to spend 3 huge sums on immigration when our own birth rate is so small, without attempting to remedy matters at this end, and in assisting the family man Mr. Coates is encouraging the peopling of New Zealand firstly with the best of all bloods—our own.

The message also speaks of thrift and economy, and in view of the huge totalisator returns given from time tp time, and the recent huge increase in art unions, the lesson may undoubtedly be learned in this direction. Something constructive, how’ever, is necessary, and the Government might well give a lead by popularising the National Savings Bank by giving further concessions tp depositors. The recuperative powers of the Dominion are referred to as being of a wonderful degree, and while this must naturally be so in a young and healthy country, subject to no abnormities, in many ways the Government could give more assistance to the man on the land. I is little use complaining that men won’t “go back.” Conditions have to be made attractive enough so that there will be some inducement for men to take their wives and families away from all social amenities, and in this connection Sir Georg-e Elliott’s recent warning in regard to the d'anger to the financial stability of Power Boards through reticula tingfarm land is likely to be mis-under-stood. Electric power should not be for factories alone, and must be made available wherever possible for the farmer if we are to progress as -we should. We feel Mr. Coates is at rock bottom when he promises to explore all avenues by which our primary industries may be intensively advanced. Too long has a great proportion of our settled lands been merely scratched instead of farmed, and if we are to learn from such countries as Denmark, then big efforts must be made to ensure that the utmost is taken off every acre. Two pounds of but-ter-fat where but one is now’ produced can be secured if sufficient attention is given by those concerned to the provision of cheaper manures, better sires, more shelter belts, a greater quantity of winter feed and smaller holdings. In encouraging- farmers to work on these lines the Department of Agriculture should be made to play a greater part than it has done for some years past. In such publicity it is a poor second to the Bureau of Agriculture of_ the United States of America. On the whole, despite our many grievances, 1926 holds out promise of being a year of great expectations, and' with a Premier who comes from the people so earnestly desiring to work for all the people, his past efforts as Minister of the Crown, give solid grounds for believing that as leader of the country, New Zealand may once again, under his direction, become the cynosure of the world’s eyes so far as humanitarian legislation, aiming at promoting the welfare and prosperity of the people as a whole is concerned.

tion of licenses may turn out to be the j beginning- of a new and promising experiment in the regulation of the sale of alcoholic liquor. If the electorate had voted for restoration a decade ago, the owners of the premises which were formerly licensed houses would probably have applied for licenses, and the successful applicants would have carried on business without more ado. New ideas are current to-day, however, and it is significant that the chairman of the National Council of the Licensed Trade has propounded a scheme which has some resemblance to the plan of “ disinterested management ” which has been introduced in Great Britain. He proposes that the persons directly interested in the granting of licenses shall pool, their interests, and that the hotels of the electorate shall be owned and managed by a company whose dividends and reserves will be limited, any excess profits being devoted to public uses in the electorate. Full particulars of the constitution of this company are given in a statement by Mr. Bankart. No method of satisfying the public demand for alcoholic liquor can appear other than abominable to- the Prohibitionists, but most reasonable people will agree that the Ohinemuri scheme is distinctly attractive, and one which is deserving of a thorough trial pending any general revision of the whole system of licensing which Parliament may decide upon. The persons who possess preferential rights in respect of the new licenses which are to be granted are said to be in favour of Mr. Bankart’s scheme, and future developments will be watched with interest everywhere. Management by a company will make for efficiency, and there will be every Incentive to the company to conduct the hotels in a manner which will be approved by the public. The main incentive will be the desire of the people of the electorate that' the operation of their decree that licenses be restored shall be creditable to themselves. They may be reckoned upon to watch closely the effect of the change, and 1 this will be made easier for them if it is decided, as Mr. Bankart proposes, that the Board of Directors should include representatives of the general public.—Lyttelton Times.

CANADA’S STAND. Canada’s position since the war has been a difficult one. The part she played in the conflict was both glorious and costly. Peace found her encumbered with debt, bereft of some of her best foreign markets and without any recompense in sight. Canada in fact was the only unit in the British Empire which did pot draw a single prize from the Treaty! of Versailles. German South-west Africa was added to the South African Union, Australia was given mandates over various islands, Great Britain was able to write many substantial items on the credit side of the ledg-er .when the peace- \ makers concluded their labour. But Canada, for geographical reasons, received nothing. In the seven years that have elapsed, the Dominion has been emerging slowly from the economic depression which followed the war. The slowness of the recovery is to some extent a matter of choice. Canada has never indulged in short cuts to. g-rowth and prosperity. Her immigration policy has always been a cautious one, dictatedl largely by a desire to keep the original stock undiluted. In the past this was not difficult, as the bulk of the immigration moving to Canada came from the British Isles. Belief in Canada’s frigidity, created partly by Kipling’s unfortunate My Lady of Sn:ws verse, was too firmly established to attract Latin, Slav and NearEast flood. The United States got practically all of it. Now that we have swung over to a sound principle of restriction and selection, however, Canada could tpke advantage of the situation growing out of our Immigration law. But so far the Dominion has shown no tendency to throw open the gates. Canadians seem to feel that the wiser course is to grow slowly rather than to profit by a boom in population; and any one who considers the problems that cur old free and easy policy has created for us must applaud her decision.—Philadelphia Post.