Sgvietc of Revieun, I/SJ06. 



History of the Month. 



113 



O LocKyer, N.S.W. 



with to buy 

 what working 

 plant is neces- 

 san', and al- 

 loH-ing them 

 abundance of 

 time in which to 

 repay the loan. 

 How the face of 

 things changes. 

 Ten years ago 

 such " a pro- 

 posal would 

 li a V e been 

 1 a u g h ed at. 

 Xow one of 

 the most busi- 

 ness - like Pre- 

 miers Victoria 

 has know n 

 seriously pro- 

 poses to carry 

 scheme like 

 :his into exe- 

 cution. By-and- 

 bye the right- 



Social 

 Reforms. 



AsslBtant Comptroller-General of CustomB. n^cs and com- 

 A recipient of the Imi)erial Service 

 Order. mon sense or 



the proposal to 

 help the helpless to earn their living will wholly com- 

 mend itself to the people. This is the kind of help 

 that does not smack of " charity,'' and that will 

 conimend itself to helper and helped alike. 



Social reforms necessarily loom 

 large in the proposals of all the 

 State Premiers. That is one great 

 advantage Federation has brought. 

 It has removed from State politics a number of 

 questions which took up a lot of time, provoked 

 much discussion, and did little practical good. Vic- 

 torias Premier announces gaming and licensing 

 amendments, easy facilities for home-making by 

 poor people, children's courts, etc. New South 

 Wales promises greater facilities for settlement. 

 South Australia places in the forefront of her pro- 

 gramme pure food, workmen's compensation, etc. 

 This is a sample of the domestic legislation which 

 all the States are pursuing. It is notable that in 

 each the necessity of getting people on the land is 

 recognised. This is being forced home. There is 

 plenty of room 'for improvement. It has been neg- 

 lected long enough. 



The Case 



of the 



Mentally Weak. 



be made for 



A number of gentlemen, medical 

 and lay, waited upon the Victorian 

 Minister of Education during the 

 month, asking that provision should 

 the separate instruction of men- 



tally weak children. Dr. Fishbourne, one of the 



most eminent authorities upon this subject, pointed 

 out that heredity transmits nothing more readily 

 than mental weakness, and that 2 per cent, of the 

 children attending schools are to be classed among 

 the mentally weak. This is truly a department 

 where society may help the helpless and guard 

 itself. It may suffer incredibly from the propaga- 

 tion of the mentally weak, and it is to its best in- 

 terests to look after them. There is a vast field 

 before the educational reformer in this respect. Mr. 

 Tate, the Director of Education, threw out a sugges- 

 tion in favour of medical supervision of children by 

 permanent officials. What an amount of benefit the 

 State in future would reap if children in schools 

 were tended not simply with regard to education, 

 but physical development as well. As far, how- 

 ever, as the object of the deputation is concerned, 

 too much cannot be said in its favour. Mental weak- 

 ness means moral weakness, and a liability to yield 

 easily to vice, and the Education Department will 

 be well advised if it takes in hand this important 

 branch of reform. 



That something should be done to 



Compulsory make electors take advantage of 



Voting. their privileges becomes more and 



more evident. Flxtraordinary elec- 

 tions have taken place in Victoria during the month. 

 In one case — that of the Barwon electorate — only 

 63.6 of the electors took the trouble to go to the 

 polls, and in the other — Glenelg — only 69.87. Mr. 

 Bent has intimated his intention to introduce a Bill 

 for compulsory voting, to secure majority rule. 

 Every self-respecting citizen will support him. It is 

 not too much to say that the refusal of an elector 

 to record his vote should be punishable by fine, in- 

 creased with subsequent offences, and ending with 

 disfranchisement for a number of years. Of course 

 it may be said that if people do not vote they 

 really pay the penalty of abstention by living under 

 laws' that they might, by voting, have altered, but 

 that is not an adequate criticism. In a democratic 

 community, where the people are so much con- 

 cerned, and have such a great voice in their govern- 

 ment, everybody should \'ote, otherwise Parliaments 

 become representatives of only a section of the 

 people. Moreover, it is a bad thing for a country 

 when its electors cease to take an interest in public 

 matters. These are worthy of the best attention of 

 electors, and every- effort should be made to induce 

 a keen interest in them. The voting at the last 

 Senate election, in connection with the Federal 

 House, revealed a most lamentable lack of public 

 interest. It ranged from 26 per cent, to 54 per 

 cent. Queensland headed the list with 54 per 

 cent. ; New South Wales and Victoria tied with 50 

 per cent. ; Tasmania dragged behind with 44 per 

 cent. ; South Australia laboured so heavily that she 

 came far behind with 32 per cent. ; while West 



