CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 155, 30 June 1916, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. A. A. TROUP.—You have beep misinformed. The new by-law provides that the slow moving traffic shall, as far as possible, keep close in on the left in order to reserve the centre of the road for fast moving traffic. SEGREGATION OF DALMATIAN GUMDIGGERS AT PARENGA. <To the Editor.) Sir, —I observe from the published remarks of Mr. G. E. Alderton that in allowing the Dalmatians to be isolated on Parenga his company accepted the suggestion merely in order to oblige the Government, and to help them out of a difficulty. This is all very interesting and refreshing, and will tend to reassure a large number of people" who might possibly have thought otherwise. No doubt the directors were taken completely by surprise at the Government request, particularly as they had failed hitherto, in spite of every effort, to induce diggers to go on the field, except in very small numbers, much of the gum hitherto sent to market from Parenga having been dug by the Maoris who hay:. their homes there. Mr. Alderton says it is "absurd" to suggest that the proposed action of the Government would ruin, or even injure, the gum trade. It is perhaps natural, from his position, that he should take this quite optimistic view of the matter, but it cannot he too clearly stated that in this Mr. Alderton's views are exactly the reverse of those held by the entire gum trade of Auckland—exporters and brokers alike—who may be pardoned lor thinking they are in a better position to form a correct judgment on these matters than the managing director of the Parenga Gumfields, Ltd. It is the concluding remarks of Mr. Alderton, however, that call for particular attention:—"The aliens will not be exposed to any hardships or undue restrictions"; there is plenty of room for all, as the property comprises 48,000 acres; and, lastly, "the gum is of a high-class black species." Does Mr. Alderton suppose that the merchants, brokers, and others are such fools as to accept these statements as correct? Everyone in the trade is perfectly well aware that by far the greater portion of the gum produced at Parenga consists of low and very common grades. For these reasons, in fact, Parenga is the one field that could be shut up altogether without doing the slightest harm to the industry. As to restrictions, it may not be so well known that anyone who buys gum at Parenga must disclose the whole of the prices paid and all other particulars to the Company. There is, as a matter of fact, only one storekeeper there besides the Company, and he is on Maori land. During the last week or so (just about the time the Company had concluded their arrangement with the Government, in fact), some "person or persons unknown" have been moving heaven and earth to have this storekeeper, a mo3t reputable man, "moved on," on the ground that he omitted to get a permit from the Native Land Board or some.,such authority. This, although hcJ'haS been there'two to three years, and although there has been a store on the spot for some 15 to 20 years, and this question has never previously been raised. As to the 45,000 acres, doe 3 Mr. Alderton seriously ask the public and those interested in the •industry to believe that all this land is gum-bearing in payable quantities? If he does, then he must take them for a lot of simpletons.—l am, etc., J. F. MONTAGUE. SEGREGATION OF ALIENS. , A CHALLENGE. 'To at Edltcr.) Sir, —The controversy re the segregation at Parenga of the alien gumdiggers has assumed largely the form of i an attack on Parenga itself, and it is necessary, in defence, to repiy to sonic ' of the very wild statements made. I have nothing to say to that phase of the question referring to the loyalty or the necessity of segregating the aliens—it does not concern the city man, it concerns the people in the country; but those opposing the Government segregation scheme must, ii they wish their statements to carry weight, sec to it that those statements arc reasonably truthfni. It is very easy, in this case, to show that many of the statements are quite maliciously untruthful, and the value of the remainder must be weighed accordingly. First, we have Mr. J. F. Montague i persistently and repeatedly nroelainiing that Parenga only produces "low-grade black gum," or "practically all black ; gum, most of which is of inferior quality." Further, he states it is an article that is "not much wanted," the • deliberate intention being to convey the idea that Parenga only produces low- ; grade black gum and men would, do extremely poorly there. Now, there is only one way of dealing with Mr. Montague. He is out to traduce the Parenga field, and persuade the Government and the ; public that the gum is poor, there is no market for it, and men could not make ■ a living therp. I emphatically say that these statements arc not true, and I am prepared to lodge with you the sum of fifty pounds for the Navy League if Mr. Montague can show that his statements are true, Mr. Montague to similarly lodge the same amount and forfeit it if he fails to prove his statements. If Mr. Montague, will accept this challenge, I will undertake to prove: — i (1) That Parenga not only produces the highest grade of Wack gum, but the field is famous for the fact; (2) that our gum sells readily at all times, and we do not hold a month's stock at the present time; and (3) that the men make as much money on Parenga as on any other field in the province (to take the average of 20 or 30 men, as shown by store books). A Mr. John Tovich, of Dargaville, j president of the N.W. sub-branch of the London Slavonic Society, goes a point further, and says, if the men were re- j legated to Parenga, "their earnings would be infinitesimal with those now obtaining" (at Dargaville). This statement Is simply silly, or the 70 Austrians that have been digging on Parenga for some time would have cleared out to i other fields. The irresponsible way in * which these people make statements 1 shown that they have no regard for facts, ' Mr. Montague says that "hundreds of storekeepers" would Buffer if those aliens < were segregated, As there aro less than ■ 000 isingle unnatarallsed aliens alfcocfcher, their trade distributed amongst ' '.mndreds of storekeepers" could not bo I fipretaably felt. As a matter of fact, ' :;e Austrian business people of Darga- ' ■il.le, of whom there arc a considerable •lumber, would feel it the'ftiost. ! The moat remarkable statement, however, was that made by Mr. A. E- 1 ing afj a Chamber of Commerce meeting J]

at Dargaville. He is reported to have said: "The whole business has been worked to further enhance the fortunes of a wealthy absentee syndicate." This is a nasty innuendo. The public are asked to believe that a political trick has been "worked," and that a. "wealthy absentee syndicate" is trying to make capital out of a most unfortunate position. To. Tefer to the Parenga Gumfields Co., Ltd., as "a wealthy absentee syndicate" is on a par with the other quite extravagant statements given off by these apparently angry people. The Parenga Gumfielde Co., Ltd., is simply a limited company, composed of all New Zealand shareholders, registered just in the same way as the Dargaville company, Messrs. A. E. Harding and Co., Ltd., general storekeepers, gum buyers, etc. Two of our shareholdei'3, Dr. McCarthy and Major Beere, of Wellington, are away at the front doing their "bit," and those are the only absentees we have, for which we are dubbed "a wealthy absentee syndi:ate." At any rate, the so-called "wealthy absentee syndicate," to help the Government in an awkward position, offered when called upon to lend them absolutely on their own terms 48,000 acres of land as a segregation camp, and for lending the Government a property which has cost us £50,000 we do not receive one red cent from the Government. As Mr. Harding is interested in gumfields and stores at Dargaville, where Austriaiis predominate, 1 can understand that he cannot conceive that our action in assisting the Government was prompted in a patriotic spirit. But where did this idea of segregating the aliens originate? The answer to that will probably explain why all this storm in a teapot. Is it not a fact that the idea originated in Dargaville itself? Is it not a fact that a Dargaville firm first approached the Government on the subject of segregating the aliens in that district? The property was considered unsuitable, as the essence of segregation is isolation, and it was then that we were asked to lend Parenga for this purpose, and that is how the business was "worked," and because the Dargaville coup failed to rope in all the aliens our Company, for quite innocently offering to help the Government, is being attacked. Dargaville has been the centre of this upheaval. In days gone by timber and gum were its sole exports, but not until the lands of the district were settled did Dargaville advance and gradually became the progressive town it is to-day, and its only blemish now i 3 its contact with the gum trade. If it never saw another ton of gum it would be to its advantage. The gum trade has never permanently benefited any town, Dargaville least of all. Gum digging creates great desolate wastes, and tics up far too much land for what it yields, and though they are now crying out about injuring the gum industry, it will be better for Auckland when it is wiped right out, and the land turned to more profitable uses. At the present time it is carried on mostly by aliens, who are the cause of this trouble. The aliens are not so much to blame as the people who are after the bones.—l am, etc., G. E. ALDERTON", Parenga Gumfields, Ltd.