CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6827, 3 October 1883, Page 6

CORRESPONDENCE.

3IE. S. VAILE AND THE EAILWAYS.

THE ILANIA.

THE MATAURA'S CARGO.

SEDITION.

- TO ZHK EDirOE, See, —Mr, Vail written many letters upon the railway management, and gives the question mach study, bat lie does sot seem to get the public ear as I think he deserves. Very great interests are involved in cheap railway lares, and if has a scheme by which the country can l>e opened and its people benefitted, the soimer we know all a boat it and "adopt it ti« better. If Mr. Yafl would call a public meeting he would get a patient hearing and candid criticism, and good might result. If he does not like to do this, perhaps he could jget * patient hearing before the Auckland Institute.—l am, S:c., F. G. Ewlsgtos.

TO THE zorroa. Sm, —In these colonies some mania o? other seems epidemic at all times. Some time ago we hid gold raining on the brain ; now we have annexation ditto. In the former 'case many of as burnt the tips of our fingers in trying to get a few of the chestnut!! out of the fire, but now we are for sticking oar whole hand in the flame. Suppose annexation is carried out, what will it involve?—(l) A large addition to our civil service ; (2) consequently, no mean addition to our taxation; (3) our maintenance of a regular navy (how it is to be manned is of course a point scarcely worth considering, to such enterprising people as ourselves); (4) we shall require a regular standing armj'. And what is it all for ? Ostensibly to prevent France deporting criminals in this direction. Now if France is determined to send her criminals to the Pacific, the action of our ( Premier and ex-Premier at the Conference will be about as much use as if .they ran their heads against a stone wall. Unless England is prepared to back us up by going to war with France (which is not very likely, to oblige us, as it would cost her at the least, say, 50,000 lives and one hundred millions of money), we may just ati well bend to the inevitable Before we tal.k of annexing ether places we had better annexe the King Country and try to govern that; and before we try to bring down upon us any European Powers, we had better look to our defences, with our wonderful one torpedo boat, which is to arrive. Why, within a month of the declaration of war between England and any of the great European Powers Auckland wculd be sacked, if not laid in asihes, the latter the more probab'.e. As for the fuss made by the home papers, of course that is only intended by the Opposition journals to harass the Government; if we had wanted the moon, and Gladstone had said we onght not to have it, the said journals would have declared we were badly treated. I hope that this mania,, like a good many others we have had, will soon be a thing of the past, and that our J respected delegates, after spending a little of the public money (of wliich. we havß snch abundance), will come back invigorated in health, but- wiser and sadder men.—l am, &c., Citizen.

TO THE EDITOR. Sib, —There seems to be great speculation as to the cause of failure in the shipment of meat to England by the Mat aura. Some say it was frozen top soon, while the meiit was warm; another, that it was caused by Leaving in the kidneyß, or by being packed in boxes, &c., forgetting—or, in moat cases, perhaps, notknowing—what wasmost undoubtedly the real cause, ahd which was manifest to all those who happened to visit the vessel whilst loading. For how was it possible for meat to escape being tainted when at the same wharf was a vessel laden with blood manure, of such an offensive nature that it poisoned the air all around ? So utrcng was the perfume that a pereou who took away a small sample in a bag tells me that it took him three days, despite bis washing and perfuming, to take the smell from his hand, and that he had never bfien able to wear his coat since, having pat the bag in his pocket for a few minutes. Consequently the wonder would have been if the shipment had arrived at home in a fit state to eat after such a trial.—l am, &c., T. W. G.

[We have received a letter signed " TV." referring to the same matter.—Ed.]

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —The advent of the sedition lecturer, Mr. J. E. Redmond, M.P., to this city is most undesirable, and it would be well that some signs of disapproval from the inhabitants should, not be wanting. It remains with committees of various lodges to decide whether they will permit their halls to be rented for such a purpose. So far as affecting these colonies is concerned, the matter is one which must engender strife, and only strife. As to money, well, those ample funds which have already disappeared unaccounted for under the hands of the " Land League " is sorely sufficient to serve as warning to those so gulled from throwing away more money on what is falsely termed " the patriotic." So long as the exchequer is supplied, just so long will there be found agitators of all grades and pretensions.—l am, &c,, Citizen.