ELECTION LETTERS IN BRIEF

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25955, 8 November 1949, Page 7

ELECTION LETTERS IN BRIEF

“Mary” asks what the Labour Government, if it had been the government in the depression years, would have done to “put New Zealand on an honest financial basis.” She also asks: "Regarding the war effort, can the Government honestly claim so much credit? Did we not receive much substantial help from America under lend-lease?”

“Dave” claims that Labour has “grown arrogant in manners and has lost its sense of fair play, such as it had.”

“Fair Play” suggests that the destruction of the National Party’s hoarding at Rotorua was not actuated by party politics but was “simply the action of persons who have no regard for property, private or otherwise.” “Passenger” maintains that Britain is no exception in the increase of national debt, “yet all this is just too confusedly big for our budding politicians to bother about. Too big to bother about by Labour or National? Will the Liberals take the golden opportunity? Our money system is tragically wrong.”

“Sixty Years a Worker,” replying to Miss Mabel Howard, commends the policy of the National Party, which would permit women on age benefit to earn £3 a week* in domestic work and not lose part of their benefit. The writer argues that the Labour Party has stolen from the National Party the proposal to allow age beneficiaries to earn 30s a week without losing the benefit. , “Voter” writes: “I think the time is ripe for an overhaul of the Rehabilitation and Land Sales Acts and to get rid of some of the white collars and replace them with more practical men, who have a good knowledge of land. The result would be more returned men and civilians with farms.”

“Another Disgusted” thinks it time that capital punishment was reintroduced, especially flogging for sex offences and assaults on women. ‘‘What we want is action not vague promises, ’ so here’s homing for a change of Government,” writes the correspondent. Replying to A. E. E. Ivory, “A Worker” contends that Mr Ivory “must be living in a favoured locality, as in the one I live in there has been nothing but paper bags of sugar for the last 10 months; and these are very small bags. As for spending my sugar, I do not need any advice from Mr Ivory a s how to spend it. I may say none of it goes to ‘booze’ or ‘gee gees.’ No doubt if so much sugar did not go to manufacture the booze we should be able to get more.’’ “Springbok” writes: “The Labour Party tolerates decent capitalism, as a certain amount of competition is necessary to ensure the production of goods for sale at a reasonable price to the public. Our New Zealand capitalists are not corrupt by any means, although most of them support a different political party than the one I support. They are a decent crowd of men and good citizens of their country.”