CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 92, 18 April 1913, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

: - THE HAURAJQ TERRITORIALS. (To' the 'E-ito'rO Sir, —In your issue of 12th inst, under the- heading "Territorial Storee," appears the-following statement: "Tho Haurakis are dr'a'wh from -brbinandel, and during the camp: hare been regarded as a. somewhat turbulent section," Now, Sir, this is quite contrary to fact, and is a most unmerited shir upon the Coromandel men ; i The 6th "(Hauraki) Regiment is recruited from a large district, embracing towns as far'apart a. Rotorua, Opo- . tiki,-'Waihi, Paeroa, Thames, Coromandel, Mercury Bay, etc.' The Territorials from - Coioitiande 1. at the Cambridge camp only . .numbered /It men, and they were attached to C company (Thames).. These Coromandel men were a particularly quiet, hard-working, well-behaved section, and took no part in the disturbances you refer to, arising out of either labour troubles or alleged bad food. . There wa_ tio doubt at first a slight echo of the late labour troubles amongst the Waihi contingent, ac was only to be ex---peeted, but this wae more in the nature of coarse fun than anything else, and there was also "a ' demonstration over some alleged bad meat by men from the Wailii end of the district. In every camp, there will he found some chronic growlers '_•/__>. expect • camp fare to be vastly' superior to their usual meals at , honje,, .but. not a.. single .man of the

Cq'tQmandel section (eight out of 11 of whom are old volunteers)~inade any complaints with regard _o the food or took . any. part: in the disturbances. 'The Coromandel. volunteers have for years past had a ajfleiidid name-, for good shooting. but.alßp for Steadiness, nianli_ess and dis-ipline, and have been more than'once; singled out and complimented not only by the staff officers but by Col. R.- H. D.ayies.—l' am, etc., '_ '', . OLD VOLUNTEER. A CAUSE THAT LACKS ASSISTANCE.: «.._■ .(To the Editor.) Sir,—Being a regular reader of the "Star," I read with sympathetic interest your leading article on "The Belgian Strike," in which you correctly say mat the "one man one vote principle is now the watchword of progress in nearly all democratic communities.'' Why do we fail-to have, your valuable -support for the adoption of that principle hi New Zealand ? If good for the Belgians, surely it is for us? As .a community we are as competent to manage our own affairs as they are, and yet we labour under a conservative law that- confers a 50 per cent privilege upon a wealthy class of voters, with never a leading article to help us to obtain a democratic solution which is the only permanent cure' for the injustice that thousands of electors are labouring •under; While it will not be removed by a similar strike to that going on in Belgium, the next election will see a strike at the baltot box that will shake the existing political parties unless in the meantime equal rights are given. Needless to say, I am referring to the threefifths requirement to secure au effective local, or national, vote on the liquor question. I wish, Sir, you could have heard what I have during the past few days. One woman said, "I sometimes feel.like being a Carrie Nation; oh, if you only knew what we suffer from the liquor] traffic. \. . vtfte 'poll- after"'poll. . Jmt'wc don't get rid of it. ' T told her the |ie .Bon was because we lacked "one vote '.TO:_-4lJ.e.'; thftt'lairt--pqll we hat. a Majority of 54,000- in favour of its expulsion. A man said: "I've walked in that Domain for miles when that cruel thirst has been on mc, and sometimes thought of doing away with myself." This man is" a model, citizen when, in normal conditions. These incidents could be multiplied by hundreds in this city. The Belgians touch a.cord of sympathy,- what about our own folk lacking the democratic vote? On Saturday you spoke of the amount of. mpney spent on motor cars—£2,soo,ooo in ten years—a small matter compared to £50,000,000 on liquor during the same period, with its eyer-recurring tragedies, as recorded nearly" every night.—l am, •c. C '_. •..- -CITIZEN. MR.. JOHN. CAUGHLEY AND THI. BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS LEAGUE. -. . -(To-the Editor.) Sir,-— In.your issue of April 4th there is a 'strongly-worded letter by Mr. John Caughley. about a. mistake in figures which occurred ..in a. leaflet issued in the name of the ;BH)le-in-State-Schools League.. In that, leaflet the mistake' is made of taking the total number of Roman' Catholic children enrolled—3l,ooo—for the "num-ber-of Roman Catholic children under in- : stMiction by Roman Catholic priests in -lie State, schools of New South Wales. On the strength .ot .this blunder -in figures. M_:Caugliley speaks of a 'grossly ' dishpne..t.'.^ttetopt,".and. Seeks to construct a. grave moral, charge against the -League,, As Canon Garland was responsible for the mistake, I -sent the letter to him, expecting him to reply. He does not think it worth while, and sends a statement to mc which he asks mc to make use of. In that statement- the following sentence in reference to Mr." Caughley"s letter occurs. "The same letter has been published in numerous* papers • throughout, the Dominion, notwithstanding the fact that so soon as the error was detected it was corrected in the Press and in the leaflet itself." But, in view of Mr. Caughley's attempt to fasten a moral charge on well-known public men on the strength of a blunder in figures, I would point out:'that the validity, of Canon Garland's argument in noway depends on the figures, whether accurate or inaccurate. - Mr. Caughley's statement of the case is; given in the following sentence:—"A. grossly dishonest attempt, is made to show that, although the Roman Catholic Church declares the New South Wales system of religious instruction cannot be accepted by them, yet their priests visit and instruct about 31,000 _toman Catholic children in the State schools under, this very system." •Xojv, ii we strike out the words, "about 31,000," the validity of the argument is in no way-affected. . And it is only the figures that are wrong; It is absolutely true that Roman Catholic priests in Australia teach Roman Catholic children in the public schools under the 'Australian system of religious instruction. And that ia. the very system; which they declare they cannot accept. In view of this, what, are we to think of Mr, .John Caughley's "grossly dishonest attempt" (to use. his own language) to bring a grave moral charge against the leaders of the .Bi_lc_n-_chool. •League on the strength of a mistake in-figures which in no/way affects the validity of the argu--j__n. used. The. charge of cunning, etc., recoils on Mr. Ciiughley himself.—l am:.W,." ' • ISAAC'JOLLY. |7t., mt, ;.!.- ■■•-,_•

".A DISTRESSING CASE. (To the Editor.) Sir,—l would like to. draw your attention to the case of Mrs. Margaret McConnell, of 36; Lincoln Street, Ponsonby, who, owing to the death:of her husband, has been left destitute with six small children. Our band is doing all it can to assist the unfortunate widow, and Mr. Brooke,,of the Windsor Theatre, has promised to give an entertainment for her' benefit- I would like to suggest that you open a subscription list in your office, and also help this most worthy cause through the medium of your esteemed paper. If .you:, will refer to Mr. A'ickery, secretary ol the Church of Christ in this district, at Hannah's Buildings, Queen Street, I think you will be satisfied that the case i_ a' most deserving one. 1- e'fiClos. herewith a copy of the particulars supplied to mc, and which may be of assistance to you should you desire to help in this matter. —I am, etc.. D. CALLINAN, Manager Ponsonby Drum and Fife Band. [The particulars sent by Mr. Callinan shew that the case is one that deserves sympathy and help. Mr.' McConnell was in the hospital twelve months, and-'three months in the incurable home. Mrs. McConnell has been three.years on and off in the hospital, and has just been out two months and cannot work, and has also j.ot a little girl at home ill at present. The eldest of the six children is only twelve years of age. Subscriptions may be sent to this office.] SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY. (To th. Ertifor.) Sir, —If only for the reason that for two or three years I worked for a large retail firm who inflicted a Wednesday half-holiday, along with other, privileges in the shape of long hours and public holidays that have to be "made up, I should like to add my quota to the correspondence that the above movement has called forth. Comparisons may be odious, but enjoying, as I now do, the Saturday halfholiday, I have an intimate and personal knowledge of an expression that was previously only a figure of speech. Wednesday never did, and never will, give that break in the week's routine that is sO essential from a relaxation point of view, and I always felt that when one left his shop at 1 o'clock, reached home, dined and changed, there was so little of the " holiday " left, that one might say it was over before it started. Assuring you that one afternoon is no longer than another. I contend that Saturday is the ideal day, for the reason that the worker enjoys his half-holiday with greater zest, anticipating a to-mor-row that will not see him behind the counter. It is the long break that takes him away from his environment and un- ! consciously breeds the sense of relaxaI tion that his weekly half-day should | stand for. I have little to say in reply I to those who oppose the change on the | ground that it will put restrictions on j their shopping. Let them put their sel- | fishness out of their minds long enough | to realise that the body of workers now I clamouring for a change only want a j change, and not shorter hours: merely I a readjustment. Long hours, late uights and close coni finenient make their occupation an un- ! enviable one, -and the solid support of the public, whoso servants they are, should be humanely given.—I am, etc., WEEK-END. THE MILK SUPPLY A> T D RISE IN, PRICES. (To the Editor.) ". '.'.-. Sir, —Re shortage of milk supply. There is no "actual shortage" of milk whatever. The real state of affairs, put in plain words, is that there is an "artificial shortage." This "artificial shortage" has been effected through the efforts of the milk vendors and their suppliers. They have worked hard, andhedged the milk business round with barbwire fence restrictions to such an extent that the milk business is now practically a monopoly. And they are protected by these "barbwire fences" so securely that they need only hold a meeting to raise their prices when and how they like, thereby forcing out of the pockets of individuals this extra tax imposed by them. Who gave them this authority to. tax consumers and at the same time prevent outside supplies coming in? Why can it not be removed as easily as i.t was put on? Milk went up in price in the beginning of- last winter. But the milk vendors forgot to lower it in the summer. Strange to see how many lines of business are infected wfth this particular kind of forgetful-, ness! .Their estimated loss is £50 per day. This loss is not an actual loss— it is imaginary loss. How can I lose on an article I don't sell? Will you kindly inform your readers how much more di _ milk vendors receive for their milk since they put up the prices l.st winter? In other words, kindly inform your readers bow, many gallons of milk have been sold in Auckland since the milk went up to 4d last winter, the rise being then 2d per gallon. Multiply the number of gallons by 2 and divide by 240 and we will. have actual excess profit they have. since made in £ s. d. This real profit or tax they have levied on us since last winter. Now, again, they tax us another 2d per gallon: so multiply the foregoing result by 2 and we have the amount of extra profit or tax they will be able to levy on the people of Auckland during tbe coming year— and this is over and above the remunerative profits that they were making 12 months ago. Again, will you kiudly inform mc how much cream has been separated from this same quantity of milk during the last 12 months; and if the separators most possess are for ornament; and if ornaments weaken milk? I notice similar effects and artificial shortage in fish, meat, mutton, sugar, eggs, butter (not in margarine), pork, jams, etc. In fact, most of the principal necessities of "a w-orker's table." Now, the position is simply this: that it matters not what the excuse is, or pretext may be, whether trade expenses, bad debts, various kinds of business and other losses, a craze for motor cars, or the greed 'of get-rich-quicks, etc., etc., hold a meeting, and up goes the price. It passes on. to the consumer, and presses hardest on those least able to bear it —the workers. If the workers hold a meeting and ask higher wages, what a hub-bub and trouble follows! Oh, my! What a difference! Why? The workers are being squeezed all the time, as if they were in a huge screwpress, upon the top of which are the middlemen, etc., all tightening down the press on them as" much as possible. How long is this going to continue? To expect them to' voluntarily cease doing so would be sheer madness on the part of the workers. The remedy lies in' the workers' own hands, and the proverbial last straw is near. "Rise in prices" will always counteract all the "rises in wages" until the workers all put their shoulders to the wfceel and establish "a houseiipld supplies .usd/i

large enough to buy wholesale and distribute to the-workers their supplies,'' thereby doing away with the necessity of the;■ .middlemen: and their "ring," "circles," and "combines." —I am, etc.? . A TOILER.

CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE.

- W. G. Shaw warns'pedestrians, when passing under any buildere' scaffolding, to look out for falling materials. He has two narrow escapes from serious'accident lately arising from this cause. He thinks builders should make more careful arrangements than ie sometimes done for the protection of the public-