LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 202, 20 May 1908, Page 9

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

THE UNION JACK. Sir,- —United we stand, on the other hand disintegrated, wo fall.' A notice appears in .your issue of even date, concerning tho schools in tho Wellington Educational District, intimating that as tho first term vacation" commences on Monday, 20, there is therefore no likelihood of tho children of tho schools saluting the Hag. As was noticed a little while ago the (lag was banned from Hying over schools in a part of the British Isles; now we .fiud.it is' tlio same in the much-vaunted Dominion of New Zealand. It is . almost like backing up Cardinal Loguo's opinion. I glory in Canada's decision as regards Empire Day, that tho Jack will bo Down over tlio schools on that day.

Sir, can not our Education Board havo all children attend tin! schools on Umpire Day (Monday) at hoist tho Hag, salute it, sing tho National Anthem, i and then disperso for their holiday—thus imbuing them with a spirit of-loyalty. Otherwise it will bo 'a disgrace to our New Zealand patriotism. England expects that every man will do his duty: What is dono must be dono at once.—l am, etc., . - ' HENRY WALTON. Waikanac, May 18. TAILOR-MADE. Sir, —Ro "Tailor-made," and your correspondent "Fleoced."—lt seems to have taken the latter a good time to consider tho ments which naturally followed his previous letter, and now after this of time wo see a long "rigmarole" about..tailormeii, tailore'ss'es, factories, protection, etc., nothing whatever .about the point at isSuo and whiijli drew forth the 'comments' from

and myself which arc referred to as so many insults, "Truth hits hard" at any timo for it seems to havo scored. It looks easy to get out of an untenable, position by miming

round a corner, as it Were. I would like ■ "Fleeced" to keep to the point, and answer' •this if lie can. "Is it' fair dealing to sell 'factory-mado' suits (thoso made by the wholesale manufacturers) tft the general public as 'tailor-made,', charging tho sluno price and giving a much inferior article as retgnrtls lit and workmanship."' I would bo foolish to att-empt to argue the difference : here: one has only to use his:eyes. Now, sir, that is tlio whole sum of the question on which. I wrote previously— and" sco what'it bas'brought forth. —I am, etc., -V ' ' .W.T.W., : May 10. 'V "CUR, TOO SMALL TRAINING-SHIP." Sir, —It is now, I think, nearly, twelve, months since the Amokura was put into commission as the Dominion's "One and Only" training-ship. During this, period - wo' havo heard a great deal about both tho ship.and her. complomtnt, and wo havo.been treated to pictures "galore," in fact, oven ; the Tourist Department'will soon havo to look to "their laurels in this resjwei. Lately, wo havo been informed through th^Press that the imokura is too small. Now, sir, being ono of 'tlio uiifortunato taxpayers of. this "Country of Superfluous' Experiments," I should Jiko.to know, for .what, purpose.'this..ship is "too small?" , For a training-ship' for New. Zea-. land boys, I contend, she'is very much "too large," especially from a taxpayer's point of .view.' ' v i ■'

. There are, I understand, ahout7o boys >on board , for training purposes, and . for tlieso 70 boys thero are: 1 Commander,' 1 chief officer, 1 chief engineer, 1 second engineer, 4 instructors,! engine-room assistant, I.chief steward, 1 chief cook, and, also, when ''voyaging," firemen are engaged. The salaries alono of this permanent staff,on board this "Too Small. ,Traiuing-ship " amount to over - £1900« per year; .'add to this, tho"cost.'of firenifln;'.coal, •repairs, overhauling, and general" tiijkeep' t'if you are clever enough to bo nbl.e to hnd out),' and you will have .the cost of "training" ;70 "New., Zealand Boys." ?" v ...

; An,d now, sir, 1 should like' to know what' these 70 "Chosen. Peoplo" '' aro being "trained" for? I have seen it stated that they aro being "trained" for; —The Navy (New Zealand or some other, not mentioned),' Merchant Service, Defenco of their -country, aud to become [jood and upright citizens, and a credit to their country. "1 havo also seen other "stations" mentioned, which these boys were being trained for, but-tlie principal ones aro thoso mentionod_ above. : Now, if ' theso boys aro being'trained for the Navy;' 1 should like to know for what portion of.that r very . fino sorvico they, are 'nit-ended. Tho "Too Small Ship's" Commander,when first choosing his, "crew," remarked (vide .the Press) that ho was getting a very find stamp of youth, and amongst 'them.'-sons of lawyers and doctors.' Having had a'.little experience of H.M. Navy, and a big experience, of .this class of New Zealand youth, I can'only ask, if you, or any other person 1 ,-is of th'o-opinion, that this typo of youth will becomo a "Jack" , in tho R.N. If ho. does'not becomo a "Jack,"' what is lie to become? Probably thti parents of these boys are under tho impression that their sons aro being trained to becomo officers ill the Navy. If they won't becomo "Jacks," and tlioy can't becomo officers,-thero is only the non-combatant, ranks left open for them, and for theso no trajning is required. As for the Merchant Servico, I contend that this is not the typo of youth to becouiea fireman oi'O.S., and lie cannot becomo an officer without' serving a further apprenticeship. As to tho defence of his country, well, _ this ho might be useful for, but, in what direction? llowing, sailing, boxing-the-compass, bugleblowing, scrubbing decks, or what? , -'. . And now, "tho last object mentioned,' to becomo upright and good- citizens., Now; I think that each of these 70 boys will \ltaye. a chanco of accomplishing this object, but even this-is doubtful, because for this "station" a man must havo had a good training in cjisciplinein his youth, and from what 1 havo seen' of tho way that these boys treat their, superiors when they meet them on shore, they aro not taught strict discipline onboard. Another very necessary attribute to a good citizen is cleanliness, and from the appearance of somo of tho boys, when on--shore, they are not given much instruction in this "art-.". However, 1 am willing to forego these few ■"odds," and admit that they will make 70 good, upright, and honest citizens, and,this is the return to the taxpayer for his money expended. And allthis. from tho "Too Small Training-ship." Aiid this, sir, is a system of training (?) . adopted by thoso who are supposed to havo the. taxpayer's interests at heart.

What is the system adopter!., by ft pnvato 'firm wishing.to train boys? Note the differonce. A private firm purchases a good sailing vessel, and puts, its boys on board, and makes thera "pay their way" , whilst undergoing training, by carrying ..forgoes from country to country—a thoroughly practical training.' l Why, I beg to ask, cannot the Government" of this country do the same? Thero aro plenty of good ships for sale, ant! a ship of this description would bo making money, and would bo a very fine advertisement for Now Zealand (which is evidently very necessary), and boys could bo trained to become officers and seamen in tlio Merchant Service, or seamen in tho Navy, and to bo upright and honest citizens us well. ■ :For 'what the "Too Small Training-ship" lias cost tho New Zealand Government up to tho present time, a first-class clipper could liavo been purchased, fitted out, and oommissioned,. and could 1 have,-by now, completed at least three voyages at if probable totaJ profit of £2000 or £3000. lint no, sir, this won't suit the "powers that be," because some other onuntry lias tried it' first, and. tho "Country of Supwiluous Experiments" must always bo "The Jfirst in the Field."

In conclusion, I. might suggest to tho "powers that be," that M.M.S. Powerful is now nearly obsolete, and 1 liavo received in-; timation that she can be purchaser! for a very moderate (?) figure, £'950,000. But," hush I Is slio largo enough? I must apologise for taking up so much space, hut I think' that this "experiment" is one that donmnds attention from tho taxpayer, and 1 trust 'that 3omo of my colleagues will make inquiries and satisfy themselves, because it is 0116 of those many "experiments" which wo have to pav for.—l am, etc., STOP! GO ASTERN. May IS. ,