Readers Write

Northern Advocate, 1 December 1939, Page 4

Readers Write

About a month ago, I applied to the| Reserve Bank, Wellington, for per-1 nission to send some money to Eng-? and. I have received! io answer. Perhaps 1? id not use the orthodox? method: send through i the Post Office. I don’t exist as an entity in making a personal application. Why all this red tape? The Post Office is one of the biggest banking institutions in New Zealand. And why, I ask, does not this Government take over the Bank of New Zealand and, with it, the banking done by the Post Office Savings Bank and all? This would save a lot of trouble, but this is not an orthodox method, and would be condemned by all rightthinking people, as it is not done, you know. \

1 EXCHANGE r CONTROL. cl

I find, in looking at things from the] other side of the Tasman, the same thing applies. Mr J. A. Lee, speaking in the House of Representatives, says, inter alia (vide Hansard, August 30, 1939): “I cannot refer to past debates. We hear members ask with indignation in their voices; ‘Has not a British citizen a right to invest his few pounds in any country?’ ” But a man cannot take a “fiver” out of New Zealand. And now the people who supported honourable members opposite and took their money to Australia, cannot get it back again. Exchange control has suddenly been implemented in the whole Empire, and the millions that were sent overseas have now become frozen, and are likely to remain so. In conclusion, I say that any person who subscribes to a foreign scientific paper must get permission to send a “quid” out of the country; he must wade through a morass of red tape to get his money away. It is a long way to the Reserve Bank, and a better system could be devised, as I have indicated.—CAßLTON HOBBS.

I am writing this with the object of showing farmers that where they are faced with a problem affecting the productivity of their farms and show that they are prepared to help themselves, the 11 assist them.

REMOVAL OF WILLOWS.

The problem with which we were confronted was the eradication of willows (some of them up to three feet through) from a stream which traverses three farms, a total distance of two miles. The willows blocked the stream so that the flats bordering it were becoming nothing but swamps, and the carrying capacity of the farms was already affected. Learning of the sympathetic attitude of the Government, £IOO was raised, and, through the valuable assistance of the clerk of the Whangarei County Council, a] subsidy of £2 for £1 was obtained from the Public Works Department. Had the others who promised assistance in lieu of cash played the game as fairly as the Minister of Public Works and his staff, no difficulty would have been experienced in carrying the job through. However, in spite of having to pay wages for elevent weeks where I have been promised free labour to pull willows on a neighbouring farm, the job is now nearing completion. Just in passing, sir, if you would like to see what can be done by oldfashioned methods, plus a little ingenuity, I would suggest the sending of a reporter with a camera, as on this job a big tractor was tried for a short while, but was abandoned in favour of a whim, one horse, a few blocks and some ropes, which cost less than 20 per cent of the tractor expense. You will think this is an entry for a “tall story” competition when you are told that this gear pulled out of the creek a waterlogged rata log which had lain so long that the stream flowed over it. That might be hard to believe. When I tell you that the log was 43 feet long, the smaller end girthed 10ft and the larger end 20ft, you will think this is an exaggeration, but I assure you the log is lying on the farm to‘ be seen. The work done will, I feel sure, increase the productivity of the two farms by the equivalent of 20 cows. Taking them as low as 2001bs butterfat, that means 40001bs of butterfat, or nearly two tons of butter. —JOHN McBREEN.