CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 79, 1 April 1908, Page 8

CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE.

"A Sufferer" hopes that amalgamation of the city with suburban bodies will lead to the abandonment of the system of spraiding mud scrapings on the roads as binding for metal. He considers this a peril to public health. Mr. Elija Mandich, writing with reference to a propcsed Austrian settlement promoted by Mr. Ferri, says: "H Mr. Ferri wants to interview the Prime Minister and the Minister oi Lands he can do so, of course, but I protest on behalf of my countrymen strongly against any assertion that he is acting on our behalf. Encouraged by the experiments at the Waerenga State vineyard, under the supervision of our countryman Mr. E. Bragato, quite a number of Austrians have taken up land in the various parts of the Dominion which were found suitable for grapegrowing, and those of my countrymen who have the intention to settle here will do it without having to depend on the Government."

Mr. Wm. Philcox writes:—"Mr. Johnson, writing in Wednesday's "Star,'' says that he thinks I have confounded Trades Unionism with Socialism. It is of no consequence what he .thinks about it; only he affirms that under Socialism, "the whole community- works in cooperation and harmony." And I wonder how Mr. Johnson knows that, as all practical experience of that system proves the contrary; and his own words bear witness against himself.' He reproaches the Trades Unionists for their selfishness, and says that their treatment of inferior workmen is "a disgrace to civilisation." Are we then asked to believe that, at the magic name of Socialism, a miracle would be performed; that these men, and all others, would suddenly throw off their natural selfishness, take on a new nature, and work together in co-operation aud harmony, like ''sucking doves?" As the Highlander would say, "I ha' mc doots,'' and I offer this as another specimen of socialistic logic. That, by the way, as the real object of this writing,is to point out that it is not the Trade. Unionists, as Mr. Johnson affirms, but the law that is a disgrace to civilisation. Blame your statesmen, then, as the Trades Unionists have only exercised the power which the law has conferred upon them. And whether they have been considerate, or unduly harsh, is for the purpose of my argument, beside the question. The point is that no one should be invested with the power i to deprive a fellow creature from work-1 ing to supply himself, and those dependent upon him, with the necessaries of I life."

Mr. Arthur E. Baker, writing from Sydney, opposes the combined drainage scheme adopted by the City Council. He says:—"All sewerage experts of tha present day disapprove of the absolutely combined system, but are of opinion, that sewers should be kept as small as possible, and be laid at such grades as will give a self-cleansing velocity to -the flow, delivering the sewage at the outfall, fresh, before putrefaction has had time to set in, thus nunimising the generation of sewer gases. The present scheme proposed for Auckland is directly opposed to these principles, with the Hat grades and unnecessarily large sewers, which can only do full duty during exceptionally heavy storms carrying fresh water to Orakei that might go to the harbour at Queen-street Wharf, er any other convenient place. At othertimes this great, empty- space will be filled with those dangerous gase3 so deadly to health and life, and with all due deference to the opinion of the designers of the scheme, it might be suggested in the interest of the health and pockets of the community to leave out the bulk of the storm-waters letting that go to the harbour by the usual courses., and in connecting up existing sewers with the new system, do so in such a manner as to take little more than what is usually called the dry weather flow, that is practically sewage only. By so doing, the size of sewers can be greatly reduced, and with that also the cost of construction, and with attention to grades, greater efficiency and cleaner sewers will be the result." He objects to discharge into the Auckland Harbour, and suggests taking the sewage out to the West Coast.

"Bara Fostus," writing on the subject of "Socialism," says:—Biased, warned minds will be scarcely . considered the right ones to judge of the effect Socialism will have upon improving the condition of our communities. They are w-holly incapable of grasping the scientific side of sociology. All new economic systems are opposed by the orthodox ones, but they themselves do very little to remove the soul-damning, soul-blight-ing hardships and inequalities which for ages have held in iron-bound fetters our working classes. As Bishop Gore asserts, it has been left for those outside the pale of the Christian Church to take the initiative, and make at least some real attempt to remove the debasing and demoralising inequalities which now hamper the vast masses of tSis and other lands.' It has been left to the humane, sympathetic Socialists to ameliorate the unhappy condition of our suffering fellows, a.nd not until the clamour of socialistic voices and demands were most pronounced did any of the Christian churches consider that the starving poor were worth considering, at least not by the church's official leaders. Had the Christian churches of every denomination arisen to the occasion and battled for justice and right for the submerged tenth, millions of whom are daily upon the verge of starvation, there would have never been any occasion for the cry of the Socialist for equality and a fair portion of the wealth earned by the people themselves. Does not the cry of the countless; thousands who are to-da-r literally starving, shame the idle classes who.thrive upon the wealth produced by the wretched toilers? Doles of charity are useless palliatives, they do but touch the fringe of the disease which so seriously threatens to engulf us in the abyss of moral degradation and hated revolution. When it is too late methinks our grandees of society and our legislators will understand that the present competitive system leaves ample room for remodelling upon better and more harmonious lines."