CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 192, 15 August 1925, Page 11

CORRESPONDENCE.

TO CORRESPONDENTS. PARENT.—Your letter is not D.M.—We are not prepared to open a general correspondence on this subject. ROAD BOARD WISDOM. (To the Editor.) Sir, —At their last meeting the One Tree Hill Road Board expressed regret that their by-laws excluded pinus insignis but the chairman hoped to remove this restriction. Apparently this is to be done at the request of one builder. It is a sample of Road Board intelligence, for pinus insignis is rubbish which ought not to be used in permanent structures. On the other hand needless restrictions in One Tree Hill by-laws materially' increase the cost of building. A few years ago there were almost no restrictions, and some amazing shacks went up. Then they became painfully sanitary, and if you erect a tent on twenty acres in the district, the inspector will be after you promptly to insist on forty pounds' worth of sanitation, and as the by-laws with their usual wisdom leave the matter entirely to the discretion of the inspector," for the time being the door is pretty wide open to abuse of power. But there is no restriction on cattle. You may keep as many cattle as can stand up in a building section. You may keep a cow in your back yard or bedroom, and I think some of them do. One Tree Hill South, where cattle swarm thickest, is reminiscent of Mark Twain's description of the farmhouse in the Black Forest, where the rear elevation of a cow appeared in the drawingroom window. As the average citizen does not care to live among cattle, and you cannot get more than ten feet from them on an ordinary section, the result is that a very fine suburb is kept unduly empty.—l am, etc., A. J. P. AICKIN. THE FLEET ROUTE MARCH. (To the Eaitor.) Sir.—Tn view of the forthcoming march of the American sailors I would like to make a suggestion that I think will meet with general approval. I suggest that the Traffic Department should prohibit the parking of all vehicles along the line of march whilst the procession is passing. During the march of the Brtiish sailors hundreds of people, especially women and children, saw nothing owing to the streets being lined with motor cars, lorries, etc. This is obviously very unfair to the pedestrians, many of whom took up thier positions on the pavement hours beforehand in the hopes of getting a good view. We have enough police and traffic officials in Auckland at the present time to enforce that which I suggest, then everyone will get a fair go.—l am, etc., " J. HARVEY. _— PROPORTIONAL VOTING. __! (To the Editor.) Sir, —Your Sydney correspondent advises that the New South Wales Labour Government purposes abolishing proportional voting. Mr. Lang, Premier, did not at the last general election consult the electors on this question, and therefore is not entitled to alter the voting system. Had he on the hustings denounced the system the chances are that he would not now be in office. It is a measure of justice long asked for by the people, and notwithstanding any faults it yet has, it has proved superior to any previous system tried out. Had Sir George Fuller and his party done their duty he would have amended the Act. It failed to carry out its to continue the count for the purpose of filling casual vacancies, and at the elections his party managers gave out instruction cards; so did Mr. Lang'3 party managers. It should have been made a penal offence to do so. At least two Nationalists were defeated by this moral breach of the Act. Sir George partly owes his defeat to this immorality. The Labour Government owe their victory to the late Nationalist Government's remissness. So now the champions of the people's liberty makes a bad start by setting out to rob them of this great measure of justice. Why? Because it challenges the power of caucus; because by means of proportional voting an independent candidate has a fair chance of election. Proportional voting has abolished votesplitting and minority rule. Mr. Lang expects to get additional supporters elected when a split occurs in the antiLabour ranks. In single seat electorates, as we in New Zealand know so well, many minority candidates get returned. Under proportional representation this cannot happen. Therefore never mind how fair P.R. is it does not suit Mr. Lang's' book. He wants the votes split and so get more Labour (so called) representation. P.R. knows nothing of party and factions, or creeds. It is designed to guarantee majority rule, and in this even the imperfect Act in New , South Wales has done. Instead of abolishing the Act Mr. Lang should amend to continue the count for the purpose' of filling casual vacancies, to make any paper with one marking on it formal, and to make it unlawful for any person or persons (except the returning officers) to issue "How to vote" cards. If he did this he would deserve the thanks of the electors instead of their contempt and condemnation. Labour may well cry out "Save us from our friends." Robbers of our hard-won measures of liberty and justice.—l am, etc., ' ' J..J.T.