The Daily News FRIDAY, AUGUST 9. CURRENT COMMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 9 August 1907, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, AUGUST 9. CURRENT COMMENT.

The Public Trust Oilice of iNcw Zealand lis one (if the must benevolent iiistilu- ' jlious 1 ]i i: ov any other country possesses. ' ,iii its administration ol' deceased persons' estates at the !owe-l possible cost land wiiji ab-olutw fidelity, ii lias in a t i'. niarkalil.' degree removed ditlieulfies t ! which al on? time (- \i-11■ >I very largely, i lllie greatest dilliculty was ill getting ' lpriv.it e persons named in a will to ad- , 'iii a deceased person's estate hoi .ne-dlv. Private executors have a wry iwc indeed, unit may. if tile spiVit moves llu-m. eat uji an estate in al- ; li-iri (I "administration."' Tin- jiorscin [vli» names tlie Public Trustee in hi* will 'Vimw- tliat ilie IVI'. for the time being ill no! tinaiu-ially benefit in any way, illi.ll he is a -ervant of the Slate, ami thai liis salary will lie paid whether the \••limn- "f bn-in -sS i~ great or small. A !m|':/!"-I ion nr-.de in I'arlianieiit the other liiay is worth considering, and. in fact, Ii iprevion-ly been considered during i Oilier -iv-sioii-. This suggestion is that the Public Tni-I ("tllice. which is admin- j r-.'d l.j- a dMim/iii-hed kwjvr. whw " ! Ins good legal talent at hi- serviee.! should supply cheaply, or free of cost, 1 ,legal advice.' Tile Premier has pointed !<)>« that lHe cVj-eiise of administration i would be ton Liro.it. it is not in Hit |mane!' of ordinary legal advice the avcrI ( !i»e eiti,'eii i- Hmh r a disability. R lis mostly in the matter of legal docu-

mciils of the common kind that the | evervdav person is put to unnecessary | expense! it is in the matter of. documents for which there arc set precedent forms easily available that the State might help the average person. The average person is "iot frothing for legal advice, but he certainly is anxious to obtain legal documents at a cheaper rate than he now has to pay. it would cost the State very 'little to give the public this muchneeded relief. led relief. The Stale could also reduce. with advantage to th? public, the present excessive stamp duty on these documents.

.Lhui'c i.s another impui'buil rciunu jRcuL-d. "lid iluu ia in refuel tu niurtn.ur, una iuijjliL v.iui advantage lu Uie uuul 1 - ,e o ncU UUi \ji i uiuaiuciii. iliiit is ill uuuncelion wiiii iho duly dunked uii ihe trailsK'i" ui laud vviK'ii llie major oi Lhe puivluusc-iiiuiK')' JJa-5 I" lvniuiii un moriyaiiO. it a uiuii-sli'uus tiling, as poiiuud uui hy tlio I'fildmy biar, thai Ulltll Ullly il i«.'W pUllikU pilsr. ijCtWI'CU tiu.- buyer and the seller the ouumuus impost i-T and .-soinetinies, pur-* the same pi\»peiiy ehanges haud^

several liiuvs, and on each transaction fresh duly is charged as if the whole 01 the value of tlie land is being paiu 11 nr. It would be only fair to charge [the duty on the amount of cash winch I passes with the deeds; and that if a | man pays oil any part of a mortgage 'afterwards duly should be imposed I upon that amount.

The greatest need of this country is undoubtedly population. it is a crying need, as we have remarked on previous •x-eiMons, and one tile importance of which the powers that be do not seem to recognise or appreciate- WliiU-t other colonies are going out of their way and spending thousands of pounds in order lo attract and secure emigrants Nuv Zealand practically stands with folded amis, complacently watching the mounting up of population in Canada and other enterprising countries and I doing nothing to divert the emigration I stream tov.ai'ds this country. TheA.uek-, land Herald aas been giving this subject: some thought, and in a recent issae ( makes some pertinent and succinct iv-| marks that bear reproduction. It stales; llial we are like children playing at polities, building ca-lles oil the sands! within llii' tide mark. We are setting a.-idr so many millions of acres for mdowment, arranging that half the Native lands -hall be leased, regretting that we cannot milk'' roads as fast as V,v would Ii!;>-. driving u-i-b'-s holettirmish Midland mountain-, di-cussing wlnii v.e shall tiv. and how much wo shall borrow, ami ignoring the shortage of thai labor which is the source of ;,11 wealth, because we arc all suflioieni.lv. jirosperons in the constant sunsliini' ol gnoil times. We blame the Imperial policy which, bv admitting <lii»>>M« t'> Hi,. Hand, failed to S'-ize the opportunity to g.rrison the Transvaal with a hundred thousand- Jlritish milters: but «■!■ do not see that we ourselves, by fi 1 lowing industry to lialt for lack of workmen, by allowing land to waste whi'-h might be tilled, by being indole.it and earch'sS when we should be enercetie and eireful, are failing to seize tin- opportunity not merely to increase public and private wealth, lnit to garrison these islands with a million stalwart til'-n. So tliat it will be another census year, at the rate we are going, before our population creeps slowly up t-p a single million—men, women, children. and tallies.

ii;t ew Aai.jid, without any iiimcult} whatever, bue suiipiv bj slca-ly ,md scieutilic development ot its lesources and encouragement. oi immigration, wuuout any reduction oi wages, bill i»y u steady itUU righteous inertui wagea ;t» inuustriul methods become more ellccUve and prolitabie, might he made the home ol many millions o£ happy, contented, prosperous, and loy-.1 Uriusli people. liif Lnglisliinan nejds persuading—mr he i* not hungry- iio eats oui mutton and our butter—tile burst in the world; ho inula l * iiid bread ui Hour from Australia and Americi, drinks the ica ui Cnina, wears eoioniui \\u<d and Indian cotton; he id a mm wiik our own ideus and our own inwhose children already go (o. school. and who himself already lias a vole. There are many British people who. if tiicry well understood the ddl'er-<-ikc jjetweeu British and colonial eonilitious, would not emigrate; but there an; many others—and the best— wlio, if they well understood our condition*-, would come and join us. and would makf as goud and worthy colonists a* any that luve ever landed here. The Australian (ioveriniictit is taking action I<> bring .Australian resources ami coniUlioiii I.efoiv the British working cla-ses. Mew X<-al i.nd would guiu evjn imuv than Australia if our own fiovernuieu! adopted the same vise course. t

lln Jtarch olsl last Lherc were iU/207 old i.ge pensioners on the books of the U'p.iriincnt. including bUU* Maoris, being ,iu increase of Inu on the number |oi the previous year. "Although the j increase i fl a substantial one,"' states I the Kegistrar, in hia annual report, "it is nut so great as might be expected, | and I desire lo point to tlio lact that 'in spite of the increase in the amount of the pension to JJiiO and the widening ou a much more liberal basis of the

rv.'jjK! ui the Act by the amendment oi' JM.3, the number oi' pciiaious to-day only exceed* the number on tlie roll on M.uvli olstj i'JOii, by 4SI. There lias l>een a steady drop ia tliu percentage oi pensioners to ilia population eligible by age ami ru-idciice sineo that date." The loll'Aviug ( iimpuiisoii shows the perleu I age of pensioners eligible for 11)01, HO! and IDU7:~ Vlmi' Kuiu|jeau per- European pen- Per <ioii9 eligible aiouer* cent. l!H)l 2G.503 ll.:i07 i'l lUitf y0,590 11,11)7 no : I'.m? tSS.fill 12,597 1(2 ■<M tlui pensioner.- oh ilie roll 10,1)5.1, or per i-i-iu. oi' the total number. are'in r"i'cipi of the lull [icii-ion of ;C26.

Ilie pensioners who wero admitted in iln* iir.st year of Ilir* .Net ;JH per cent ar* ■-fill on the bnok- The number of [•cn-ioiM-r-, in four chief centres is as Jitllnw-: - < "Inn<*li 1.VJ.1, Auckland l-!!- 1 . i)n>it«,liu I'J'i'J. \\\*' 1 iniit<»ii i!'>2. The .inn l .- pen-ioncc- \]\ r female by I'l-T. 'l'lii' which claims the highe 1 Mil:ula i" nf jii-ii-iniiris is 117. 1l;V) ruroji-an-: W-ing nf that age, uhile In~r2 'm v a'A'il 71. There are 7Kuropean |>"]i-ii oi(■ »s of tbo age <if HO or over, of which nine arc !»t> or over, and three are ("iileii.iiiaus. Otic contouarum is a iv-iJc.il at mil* at Ashbnrfun. ant! ui; fi at fifaki. their respective aa'es »•< i..y I"::. im| iOft, The Unwell aid A-libiirl"ii cn.iviatH draw their nri'i'iM- in j>"VMtn a' the po-t ofli'.-e carl innnlh. The .!ol al pa yineiil s fi >r Hi- ; -a-ii'ii wis raispd to C2fi, were M.<i. II i- c-dimated that the sum cf I - :::;.";.(it)n v,il! bo iw-ecsjirv to meet Hi- mi-mo vear". : e\;ieudiiuu'. 'During 'lie vr !r 2n."i in'ii ion- wht added ?<> i!i' i• 11. th<- to 1n 1 number of applieai ii• ;* i - 2~>77. There were IKI I •la inn nfs of )>rili-b e\lruction. of which numb'-r 17*57 were bom in the United

I Kingdom. Only 550 were of tlie minimum age of (!•">, while 58 were aged SO I years aud over.