LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13368, 24 December 1906, Page 5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

BELLRINGING. Sir,— considerable amount of interest ;'l ban been chimed already in the pent of'belt* 1 which hare recently been removed from m Hishopacotirt. ia Partec'sl to the w/wvr of St. j Matthew** Church. As very few people 'ft£§§§ poor to understand want the difference tweeu ringing: and chiming bells «* :LsbouM|| like to try and explain. Kinging consists ot ; •■winging a . l»ll backwards ant! lorwartin ; until it performs almost a comWe rerotu- $ ttoti. So it- will be «en at- once teat when | the Mis in an avenge peal of eight _ vary . -; in weight from about 9c»J to 35c. «t it to- I quires all one man"* i'kill to ring <•>'«* bell. { Chiming can bo carried oat in several way*. The most common perhaps J* by gently swaying each bell until the dapper btrike* the* side. Another by having th** : rope fixed to tho eiapoer and making that- - strike tho bell. The* bes-t is by having separate hammers, controlled by separate ropes, which by a very simple mechanical device can I** so a trained th.it the slightest pro-tore on the rope will cause the hammer* to mike t!i*> bottom-of the bell. These bell-* while at Bishopsoourt were not hung foe ringing. They were chimed by rope* fixed to tno clappers, ami in this way two or three men can easily chime eight bell*. By having separate hammers and separate, rop<jtf"l| one man can chime the whole peal, bo I l * eight, ten. or even twelve bells. To ring E tunes is an impossibility; it can only b>» | done by chiming. As r matter of fact rhiin- . iug is frequently dona by machinery. King* 1 ing can only bo done by hand. > "4'«j I lake it that the principal reason for the '.' removal of this peal is to have them'rung* ';- which 1* infinitely more beautiful than any ."' chiming can be. As one wlk> has had a considerable amount of experience, and is deeply interested in this peal, I should lib® to express the hope that the members of th« ; society being formed to ring them (somo of whom have probably been expert ringers in their day, but through force of circum- ■■ stance have not touched a rope for many years) will he careful to indulge in plenty of dumb practice before giving the publio the benefit of their efforts, otherwise I - plainly see that the people in the city will . bo fairly roused as a consequence. KI.VGKB. " '

TUB GOVERNMENT AND THE GOLDFIELDS. Sir,—What; industry is more taxed and loss encouraged than gold mining? Evci»|j tlio farmer lias his privileges, for he got* free lima, etc. What arc big ; prospecting • shafts but goldfiokls reads. perpendicular instead of horizontal? If Government lorrows £350,00J for a State coal mine, srtirery it can do something for gold mining, which v employs many more men. Considering Mr. Scddou wm « goldtields* member gold nursing fared badiy under the Seddor Government. Eot some years there was an item for aid to goldfielda tacked on to a loan, which should never have boon issued. Ad- ' ditions to constructed railway lino* 1 This and the goldfield* expenditure should have Ikh'ii borne by revenue. Tno history "of Australia shows that the roofs generally have ;&> barren stratum, then become payable aguvin. ' In New Zealand local capital is not likely - to solve this problem for generations to come. The country is exceedingly prosperous, and £50,0-00 a yoai could be easily spared. Why not keep two shafts go:, . continuously? When those were tested other districts could bo tried. Say, £25,000 each wore capitalised for machinery, a. vote. of £20,000 each would not be missed. To. prevent, jealousy they _ might proceed con- ! currently, one in each island. I have two credibly informed that excellent prospect* •. were left at 1200 ft in the Kapanga alaft, U Coromandel. Tho.-o prospecting shafts' would l>e much more legitimate than prosecuting the notorious Midland Railway, which -.i will pay—if ever— Wit. S. Aickih.

THE NATIONAL DEFENCE. LEAGUE.'.. Sir,—Canon Mac-Murray fays that J niis« ■ , represented him, but in what respect I can-* not. understand, nor docs ho show. Ho* i rather discounts the assertion by assuming and maintaining the attitude.J attributed to him. His position from the ethical standpoint seems to me peculiarly illogical and untenable. Theoretically he approves and encourages the pokey of German emigration, yet supports stud_ advocates a schemethe object of which is to prohibit, it by ' force of arms. No one will deny the accuracy of Canon Mac-Murray's statement that! the necessity foi German expansion fiinevitable." There in therefore no . point it* his contention that 1 admit the fact; -of course I do. It is quite plain. What Ido expressly deny is the right of Canon MacMurray and his fellow jingoes of the National s League to endeavour ito frustrate • what is plainly shown to bo the operation,'; of a natural law. To teat my contention I invited Canon Mac Murray to apply tta-r. golden rule of which he is a recognised ex- - ponent and to which in tho final analysis,' I presume, ho is always willing to appeal. '; Who gave the National League a mono- | poly of tho Pacific? If expansion be "laudable," "necessary," "legitimate," and " natural " from the German point of vie*, as Cation Mac-Murray and tho Spectator agree, can it possibly bo wrong from ours? Can there bo two standards of truth and . righteousness— for the Germans and ' another for us? Can these qualities be so , partial and local in their application that . what is right in Germany is wrong hero? What need then 'can there be to".protect "* ourselves in a military sense against a country that is doing what is right? An - a final illustration of Canon Mac-Murray's 2 illogical position observe that: his concluding paragraph actually commends foreigners' for doing what ho invokes the aid of mili- 1 tarism to prevent. "We have no .right," he says, "to find fault with those nation* (German, Chinese, and Japanese) for being virile, for growing, and for a desire to ex-; pand." The National League cannot justify itaexistence by in appeal to Christian principles despite the fact that clergymen (the* preachers of goodwill) compose the bulk on its incendiary propaganda. Mr. C. H. ; Poole is hard pressed for material to manufacture a ease. At Birkenhead on .Friday, night he sought to excite the angry passions of the crowd by making the ridiculous statement that "the Chinamen were on lie move and might come down to New Zealand. In the event of which we would' have to ' shoot" them; and further fchafc> there was also the danger of th© JapaneseSam *" e What drivel! P Jingoism f and the ~,,;?v r »• ■ I dnvw,: -fmgoism and th» Writ of fan; play are absolutely incompatbio quantities; but while he was on tho subject m : Mr. Poole might, have 21 Jif-™,-*? «**» a,lu d«' to U " do Sam-hii,,. .-xir was the aggressor, and that any move-! rnent on the part of the Japanese wiTiX» «? 1? by reasonable resentment against th* action of Uncle Sam in prohibiting"the dren of our allies from attendance at the pubho schools. To mention this? I „__? would have been fair., but it would have ruined the speech and depreciated a v.53 able asset of tho National League. ___________ LITEBAX.