WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 160, 18 August 1916, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE EMPIRE’S FUTURE. TRADE WITH JAPAN. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, August Hi

Much has been heard in Wellington lately of Imperial Federation, a topic that must grow in interest and importance as the end of the war approaches. It appears to be taken for granted by many public men, as well as by the brotherhood of the ‘‘Round Table,” that the next Imperial Conference will undertake the discussion of the questions raised by Sir Joseph Ward in 1911, and that proposals for the creation of a truly roproentative Imperial body will receive very much more serious attention than they did five years ago. During the dying hours of the session the

Hon. J. Allen urged the members of the New Zealand Parliament to give

their grave consideration to this question of the future government and organisation of the Empire, and his remarks drew from Mr A. S. Malcolm a brief speech warmly advocating the creation of a real Imperial Parliament, representing the Empire as a whole and holding authority over the national affairs of British people in the Mother Country and the Dominions. Mr Lionel Curtis, whose recently published work may be regarded as a text-book on the subject, is another ardent advocate of Imperial Federation, and his lectures in the Dominion undoubtedly have made an impression on that section of the public which gives thought to such matlers. But it is a long step from a realisation of the inadequacy of the present Imperial organisation to the acceptance of a full measure of federation, involving the curtailment of the powers of existing Parliaments in favour of a Parliament of Empire. The question is far too big for casual discussion, but New Zealand’s public

men will have to study it closely if they intend to keep abreast of the trues. The Eastern Ally. A chat with Mr S. Utika, the Japanese Trade Commissioner at present visiting New Zealand, throws V?orae light upon the probable development of trade between Japan and Australasia. This courteous and well-inform-ed visitor is. full of interesting information regarding the industrial capabilities of his own country, and ho that Japan will supply a very large ' proportion of the cheap articles that. New Zealand and Australia used to draw from Germany and Austria. The war has stimulated Japanese industry in a very marked degree, by causing capital to flow into the country and by opening markets that previously were fed from Europe, and the Mikado’s Government is cooperating with the manufacturers and merchants in an effort to take full advantage of the opportunity that has offered itself. Glassware, bottles, boots, mineral waters, matches, cotton goods, steel, tin plates, tinned fish, and brushes are a few of the articles that Japan is prepared to supply, and is already supplying to British markets. The cheapness of the goods appears to .bo beyond competition, and Mr Utika insists that quality is simply a question of demand. The Japanese manufacturers will supply the class of articles that buyers require Japan, in short, is prepared to manufacture for Australasia on a very large scale. There is a hint hero of another postwar problem. The services rendered to the Empire by the loyal Eastern Ally during the last two years can never be forgotten. But it is a fact that Japan has no factory laws. A law limiting the hours of wor-k for women to about seventy per week, and placing a check upon the unresticted employment of children in faetores, was passed by the Japanese Representative Chambr about two years ago, but its operation has been postponed indefinitely, on grounds of “expediency,” by the Council of State, and the protests of Japanese newspapers show that goods are being manufactured by men, women and children, under conditions of employment no longer tolerated in British countries. Discontinuing Academic Attainments. An interesting recommendation has reached the Minister for Education from the Executive of the New Zealand Institute of Education. The Dominion grading scheme for teachers, adopted early this year, provided that in making the classification the inspectors should allot points to each teacher, the maximum points to be as follows: Skill in teaching • • 40 Personality and discipline . . • ■ I«> Organisation and management . . 15 Environment 0 Academic attainments , . . - 15 Service 10 100 The Executive of the Institute has ./.asked the Minister to “consider the advisability of reducing the maximum, for acedcmic--attainments in .connection with the. grading scheme..” ►Some "of the most experienced teachers in the Dominion, in other words, believe that 15 marks cut of 100 is too large a proportion to allot on. mero “book learning, ’ ? as indicated by the pass-

ing of examinations and the earning j

of certificates and degrees. The recommendation is likely to have the concurrence of the Minister, who has never disguised his belief that in New Zealand’s education system too much importance has been attached to academic attainments, to the neglect of such essentials as character building and the development of habits of independent thought. The Service Ballot. Ministers and Crown law officers are engaged in the framing of regulations tinder the Military Service Act, and are finding the task a difficult one. The Act itself merely outlines the scheme of compulsory service, and leaves the details to be adjusted by regulation. One of these details is the method of ballot to be adopted in the selection of recruits from the groups month by month. The British Government did not require to arrange a ballot. The available men were classified according to their domestic status and the number of their dependents, and were then summoned to the colours in big masses, a class at a time. But New Zealand wants recruits in regular monthly drafts, and will require to select a few dozen, or a few hundred, at certain dates from classes containing many thousands of names. The choice must be made by ballot, and the men concerned will be entitled to an assurance of perfect fairness.