LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 703, 31 December 1909, Page 9

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

♦ NATIONAL SERVICE,AND PRIVATE CONSCIENCE; Sir,—ln jour leading article on tho above, subjoot of December It jou appear to bo influenced by tho snmo nervouJ hysteria v. hicb appears, to ha\ c soiral the press, and, through them, many of tho people, throughout tlio whole J]mpire. isir, tho Buh<h limpiio u eupposod, as I umloi stand it, , to claim to bo highly civilised and Christian, and consequently far in advance of tho old Jewiah dispensations. Allow Ine, sir, to quote ttio following remarks, on tho boasted Christian civili'iut'on, mado in a letter to iho "Now York Times" as to tho real "•lgmficauco ofi a fleet It is written bj H.-P. Mendes, president of tho Union of Oithodov Juwiin congicgatians of tho United States and Canada. Ho wrote as follows — "In jour lecent issue it is announced that tues lies in the harbour of Provincctowu and noar-by wateis the largest fleet of warships ever assembled tor active servico tinder tho Stars and Stripes, fifty-four ships all told, and rea vnlue of nearly tivo hundred million dollars. On board tho vessels aro 15,000 inonl< Remembering that other grtat nitions can make a similar display, and that all cull themsehes Christian nations', all bohevo in rehsion, all behove that'might does not make right, all believe ir reign of reason, all believe that individual- should not take the law into their own hands, but should seek justice ot the bar of Justice Remembering also tho crime, cost, and curse of war, is it not time that our twentieth confcry civilisation should substitute compulsory arbitration, and thus avoid huge fleets, which give the lie to peace; and great armies, whoso bayonets and bullets tear to shreds tho doctrinq of goodwill to all men? Fifty-four warships off Provincetown mean simply fifty-four declarations that brnto forco must bo nourished, and therefore man, after all theso oentnnes, is only a brute, Iho Uo hundnd millions represented means two hundred millions etulen from vagc-oarn-ers, who, but for the theft, would havo many more joys in life The 13,000 men on boaid mean 15,000 men taken trom tho paths of productive industry. Tho above remarks are food for wrious thought and consideration Sit, I havo re&iaed 20 years in tho Dominion, and in England, Amenta, and South Africa, as well as hero, havo always boon interested in social progress it was from'a financial point of ■view very startling -when our JPrlmo Minister, on the impulse of tho moment, pledged every inhabitant to bo taxed £i a head for a Dreadnought. Now, sir, y6u aver that Hie State must remain deaf, dumb, and blind as to tho moamnij of religious dogmas, quite in accord with Mohammedanism, but opposite to Christ's teachings. That idea would simply, in my humble opinion, stiflo any, attempts to improve tho minds and morals of any people. You would appear to uphold tho idea to keep people iii ignorance, which in the fbudal times was said to bo true blis , and no ambition to c\ccl in righteousness This thinly-populated colony, as shown in your papor of tho samp date, is to be taxed for war purposes for the next fifteen jears at the rate of more than half a million pounds yearly, fair, 1 ramomber the war scaro as to Nappleon" Ill's evident intention to invade England. All sorts, of rumours were Circulated in the press of that day. I remember tho Crimean War, when the passions were inflamed by all kinds ot insults hurled at tho Rusians_by the English press. Our beloved King-lid-word has set a noble example to other nations in endeavouring to remove -misunderstandings, ana acting tho part of a ■peacemaker. Tho vested interests ot tho Irmy and Navy, that havo strong representatives in both Houses at Home, have by their incessant clamour caused tho Home Government to bo 6addled with ciiormous burdens. It appeals the colohlos aro being drawn into a similar vortex of expenditure. Excuse so long a letter from an octogenarian. My Cicuso is tho vast nnportanco of preserving tho right of liberty of conscience to ovory British citizen not-to lettoguado to tho dark jffieg*!ji£tfi{>'ta& > teonth century.—l am," etc,->» , J. EBCKOVEK. 'Gisborne, December 21, 1900. < WAIMARAMA SETTLERS' GRIEVANCES. Sir, —Kindly allow mo a small space of ' your much read . columns to give a little publicity ..to, tho unfair treatment shown towards the unfortunate settlors on the Waimarama Block \fter ten months of weary nailing,'living "uT tents and packing all their necessaries' on to the sections, expecting tho Government to -push on with -the •roads, as promised, 'they have now given up ail lope of getting in any building material for house,'yarns, or sheds this summer. • Tall, about,puffing people on tho land, it w, scandalous a«k poopio to pay as high as eight nine shillings for second-class pastoral land, and when the Government get ud of it, to allow tho unfortunate selectors to gpt along the best'they can, and meet this heavy rent each half year, and ,no conveniences whatcvei to do it with Two p'limners have! already been sent to the House, but our worthy member for Ha'wko's Bay appears to bo asleep, as nothing has been lieaid of them since' Mr. Dillon is the only, man that leally kftows Hie settlers' position, and drawbscks, as ho has driven bnllooks over tho epuntry many years ago, and ought to bo capable ot pleading tho scttlois' cause that then petitioners may gain their ends. Sinco the settlement was opened only s \vto sections 'have accessible roads* through them, and even then, with tempoiary stone culveits and scrub in the weeks Now, I ask Is is fmr to chargo this high rent and then not'to push on with all loads as piomised? Where the big loan that wes reccntlj put on" tho Pubho Works Estimates? I am afraid nono of it lenched Waimarama "roads. On going through some settlers' sheep some timo ngo, I noticed some of them were in a fcirful state with dags and footrot, for tho want of yards Thu= is another drawback, oven a big loss, to men just starting In conclusion,, I hope the membei for Hawke's Baj will wake up and do all he can to help the oettlcra to gain the email concession they wo asking for through him, and I am pTltivo it, will help those that aio down to get on their feet again Thanking you in anticipation, I am, oto, JIANUHAEA. Hastings. ' OUR RAILWAYS-A CONTRAST, Sir,—Circumstances bevond my control havo pieventcd my dealing earner with 'this year's Railway Statement, and I can 1 onl) do so bow in the briefest possible manner. In tho following letter ,1 propose to show the difference in tho'treatment of the North and South Islands Ot new miles opened during tho year, 81 miles and 58 chains weio on tho Noith Island 1 Trunk railwaj. Of other now lines, 17 miles and 50 chains wens in the North Island and 23 miles and 23 chain' in tho South Island Whoti the South Island ?<tnin Trunk lino was opened i> now a matter of ancient historj; the North Island trunk was opened only lasi year. It will be s-een that apart from this,, that m tho row construction Ihc South has ogam got tho advantage ovei the , Nbith, to the extent of 5J miles ' On Maich 31 last wo had 2C82 mile< open, of which 1132 were in tho Nortl ami 1512 in tho South, so tho bouth ha 1 still the advantage over the North Ot 41i ■ The capital c\pended was JC29,032,132 Of this jei3,010,G12 v.as in thu N)rth, am. ,£10,011,820 m tho South. So in capita e\Donded tho South still has tho am on ,toge over tho North of .£2,971,208 Tho gross revenue produced was £2,9°% i% Of this sum the 1132 miles in tht North Island contributed .£1,408,890, ant tho 1542 miles m tho Sjouth Islam j81.8i0,(i35 „„«„„,„ The working e\pcnscs were .£2,114,815 Of \his the North Island was chargm ■With .£983,858, and tho South wlli TliilS, according ttf tho Department, the 1112 mild;) in thd North produced .£l2O, 032 of net revenue, whilo tho 1512 ani. tho lake steamers in tho South , producet but JC3M.G7B, or X 25.531 less than the North. Thia is due to tho muoh louoi rates and faros'granted to the Southj a< I will show later on ,f'Thd "ordinary passengers" carried num bored 10,457,144. i Of theso tho shortei linos of tho Noith Island contribute 5,138,101, and thA South 5,058,743, oi 33<J,0t8 moro in tho ♦North than in the South.

Season tickets numbered 192,517. Of hese tho North contributed 110,439, and be South £2,108, or 28,331 more in tho Vorth I Tho total estimated tonnage of all tho teas ot coashing rinffic v\as 263,53.1 tons. 5f this tho North furnished 115,8'U and ho South 117,011, cc 28,251 more to.is in ho North. i Tho total tonnage of goods carried nt ier ton was 1,871,874 Of this tho Nnrili ontnbuted l, r ?5i,833 nad tho fuuth 3,317,)38, or 1,762,195 tons moro in tho South. Now a few words as to tho proportion if revenue Contributed bj the North ftnd South Islands in each department, and he charges mado for services rendered. Tho average "ordinary passenger" fare •hsUo'ed m the North Island was Is 10 16-IOOd In tho South it was Is. bjd. Tho stverago price paid for eacli boason 'ckel fl as 9s 0 11100 d In the South t v\ns 9s 10 56-100 d l'arcels, Inggago, mails, and mKorlnneous contributed to the revonuo J3187,)10 Of this tho North pnid .£91,517 and he South ,£95,547 Tho total coaching traffic produced £1,198,098, of which the North paid £639,819 and South £558,819 Tho total goods revenue was dei.710,837, >f which J 769,010 came from tho North uid £961,787 from the South. > The averjge price charged for tho raniport if u ten of goods in the North \aa 9> lOijd. In tho South is -Has only is BJd Whv? The nbo 'C is a very brief glance at tho ecord for the past year. It appears to no to exhibit a most di°istrons failure, ind I say that that failure is mainly lue to thi shameful favouritism shown to ho provinces of Canterbury, Otago, and kVestland Tho present short session stops mIHirj, and favours the Government, but 0 desperate is the position of our railvays and so unfair and oppressno tho reatment of the North Island that some hing must be done shortly. Let me ask mrticulai attention to tho following acts nnd iigures The South Island has a far less popuatioii and contributes far less to the rade, commerce, and revenue of tho Douimoii than the North does, yet it lias iad ,£2,971,208 more spent on it in railway 'oubtruction than tho North has, and iii lev, railways is still securing tho advan ago The South has 410 more miles of "opon ■aibiays" and 260 tnoro railway stations -hau tho North, jet in spite of tins enormous advdntngo in transit facilities, the Vorth produced ,£25,351 -more of what tho government is pleased to term net revenue than the South did The Northern lines carried 330.G58 'ordinary rassengers," 28,331 season tick■■ts, and 28,251 more tons of coaching traffic than the South dull Thh averago charge for tho transport )f each ordinary passenger was ljd. moro in tho North than in tho South, and on svory lon of goods 4s. ljd. more. This an 5,393,000 passengers, and on 1,555,000 tons is a crushing handicap on Northoin production, nnd a great hindrance to tho levelopment of the Dominion Tho outcome of tho whole year's worli was that if the Government accounts wero kept as the laws ot tho Dominion compel its traders to keep theirs, then on Maich 31 last om Railway Department had mado n less of no less than .£915,803 Jurri" tho last jear only. I affirm that thoro is no need for this frightful, loss It has been, and is still being, brought about by sntnfiuug tho interests Of the Dominion to the supposod interests oi the Southern end of it.—l am, etc, ■ SAMUEL VAILE. .Auckland, December 14, 1909. SIMPLE ARITHMETIC. - Sir,—Ono of the headmasters of the Wellington schools lias supplied mo with 1 set of question!) in arithmetic put by Mr Robert Leo (chairman of the Education Board) to tUe children of tho local prim my snhools, in connection with the Chamliei of Commerce prizes Here are one or two of the questions.—"What fraction of six and a half millions ii two hundred and sitty thousand? Divide 35 by 005 1\ .31 x •5; find x. How many rectangular sections JOft. x 100 ft would make an acre? Which 13 cheaper, a bnish which costs 153. and lasts nine months, or one which costs 12s Iqsts sovon months?,' How much monoj would bo saved in fourteen months h> using the cheaper brush?" Theso are five of twenty arithmetical problems put to tho boys and girls of our schools. Bccanse tho majority of the joungstera fail to answor such questions on tho spar of the moment, the teachers are told that they "do not know their trade." The teachers of to-day, fortunately, know their business too well to waste time over such , 'problems.' The Chamber of Commerce dods not, surely, e'epeot arithmetic to bo , judged by such tests as these.—l am, lietc , ; ' ' COMMERCE. ; ,A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION. (Sir,—rrom tho cabled address of tho British Premier, it would appeaT that statutory provision is , to bo mado t6 take away the power of veto absolutely from tho House ot Lords. It jnay not bo amiss to point defeat of that Qhaiuber which might at tho semo time rccoivc some consideiation. Tho strange anomaly of tho Lord Chancellor, sitting in Cabinet as I understand lie does, holding a somewhat Ministerial position with regard to tho\\Patont Office, which was so hold but a short tiiuo ago; making partisan speeches m the Lords; and meannlnle holding what ought to bo a purely judicial position l as Chief Law Lord in tho Empiro. Is life not in tho position of Speaker in the House of Lords, also head of tl>o Judiciary in tho Privy Council? Tho mixture of Minister, partisan, and judgo is, to say the least, unbecoming. Now, while tho abuse is an old ono, it is none the less unjustifiable. I}id not Lord Lvndhurst—an accomplished man, though a Tory—sit on O'Connell's case? Did not Lord .Westbiiry, though in chronic disagreement with xhe Bishops, adjudicate in the caso of 'Essays and Bcviews"? Did not Lord Loreburn quite recently make a speech in ths Lords, an uttcinnie which was a strange mixture of policy and partisanship; while at the sjime time it partook ot the nature of a jndicial dclivoranco? There are, however, other reasons why we should have a written Constitution, up-to-date. Tho British Parliament as tho sovereign authority should lead, and be led by outlying possessions Is it not a fact that within tho last few years a Marnages Validation was passed, to marriages contracted at least thirty years ago in New South Wales and subsequently in othei parts of tho EmpiTo' Is it not equally a fact that ono of the Australian Statos received n dispatch, within tho last five ■' years, calling, attention to tho fact that a certain statutu had been passed,', which was ultra vires, and requesting its repeal? Is it not also a fact that withiji very recent times "three hatters"—j«aceful British subjects —were engaged to , establish a very, necessary, industry and were almost denied a landing in Australia in consequence of somo wretched ■colonial contract law being liable to be infringed? Now, Bir, just compare that action with Clause 41 of the Charter of King John, granted nearly sovon. hundred years ago. Kindly grant mo space to quote this:—"All merchants shall have safe and secure conduct (.0 go out of and to come into England, and to stay' there and to nass as woll by laud as by water, for buying and selling by tho ancient and allowed customs, without any evil tolls; except in time of war, or when they afo of ajiy nation at war with us." Well, sir, that was real liberty, Bocttred by a Tory, nation. What the Australian legislation is now, I leave yo'ur readers to decide. , Just a few words a3 to the. means by, which, and by whom, this very desirable object should bo attained, liy humble suggestion is that an Impovial Royal Com,mission bo sot up, such to consist, 'not of partisans, but of select men of known ability and high integrity. The Chief Justices, (if possible, of all overseas dominions should' bo included, as 'they mtlst possess tt knowledge and .experience of oUtsido affairs quite unknown to oven ithe ablest men within tho British Mes. In conclusion, I submit that tho fuhji'O rule find good governance) of tho Empire is the natural corollary of its defence. I appeal to you' and all thoughtful leaders to givo this mattor tho consideration it deserves.—l am, etc, ■ , ''«, ' ifAGBICdIiA.