LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13701, 18 March 1908, Page 4

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

A QUESTION OF FREIGHT s "us, and as owners of tin ", tl ! gro ° Wlth , on which done ■ fr, ,1 ,■»! '" q, - , ? etio, « ]'l .T M " r ' "" a " impil«S ma? h° •• ■'■ l ' l ' '" protect t her ,„(,...„'.,. , , n *> ho - SiKJ?s° f r »^-^: >' Marlr^'thf'inn!!' ,il 'r-' io " «"i«dl,y M 0 cently worn bankrupt. W " lcb rfc (2) Tim 'J'v.-.t Co. ;„,,,,.( ~ l-n , , . ! laming these words' ! '-W: i s J etofo «.co» , : don. Freight to become ,1 payable « s I ment and to ho r ,aid for U, ea a „"" S ''»P ." ! *'»'""it ,l M l„,i 1 " 1 n asl1 '» Londo" • I ship lost or nor, lost " l" "wage added ' c ! (3) The Tv,, r Co. iu-0.-,,) ,-,- „ . ,l j cash in terms of ,ii. ,-hn r-hSfore^ tl, i sumably under an arranger-," n il • » P""- ' ! convenience bet wee„ shin in,, I • m,ltual "; ih<> amount of the fr,3 ri »PP«») for (0 'I'll-' shippers havniw 1., . . ;'»'!■ <«' - a froigh"- paul hil of ad * ?nl ' - lowing the „,„ ;1 | c . ours<l , k ~ « a»»ff. fol bankers in London and drew a hi ' h '" n present- lion 1,.- In l ■i<eep ! „d as u ' Ufn 'J' !'»}ll-™n l eUn.^n;r"ofU l^!:!r OUh ' I (■■J) On presentation " hill of lading Bt lysers agoney hero wo wen- inform" \ 9 iin. goods had boon stopped for a 1i,,, r, , - ';;•'*»!'''"« •■>••■'■■ ,ii. ii..- hill „ f M,,'' : '!:: Roods being required urgently we -J . the demand under protest in order to ol •■ ■ tain possession. oi) ; ! This action by the Tvscr Co tWf™ - I strikes directly at 'the root of the i„~. ,7 -I bilily of bills of lading «.,.! bilk of IS,? i ai.<l if they are able ii, the Courts to Si, . ■ rt.e.r portion will make it an impowil, ?i J for merchants to accept drafts Similar . drawn on them with any degree of certain V . that they can obtain value therefor, a.-, tlie'v , j may be faced at any time with a shipper'; , j hen for freight unless a receipted account v i !<>r same accompanies each draft. We do not; intend to enter into the legal aspect* of the cane, which is one for the Courts to determine, but if a shipping company gives credit for freight in London (contrary to the terms of the bill of lading which they are issuing), surely such company does so at it- ' own risk, and thereby forfeits its lion; for ; credit is essentially at variance with the con- ; | tract in the bill of lading, which states db- ' i tinctly that the freight is to be paid in cash ( in London, and on its face value is bought in M good faith by the bank in London and simi- ' larly by ourselves as consignees here. , We are very pleased to learn that the Chamber of Commerce has taken this matter tip and sent it to the Shipping Committee j to investigate, as it is a matter of vital importance to- the whole mercantile community. I*. SrENCEB AND Co. Swanson-street. Sir, —If. sis Mr. Kent states in his letter in this morning's Herald, he did not nee the term " freight was paid in London'" m attributed to him by the report in the press, we must ask his pardon for having accepted the press report as correct. At the same time, the expression must have been used by someone, or there could have been no discussion on the point. Seeing that Mr. Kent "knew to the contrary," as chairman of the mooting he might have kept the discussion to the actual facts of the case. It, was solely liecause the discussion, as reported, misrepresented the facts that our previous letter to you was written. Heather, Roberton and Co., March 17. Agents Tyser Line, Ltd. ST. PATRICK'S DAY. Sir,—Can you or any of your nutneroul readers inform me why some of our Board , schools are privileged to close on St. P»t. rick's Day: oilier of the Board schools that did not actually close disorganised the classes by allowing all the Roman Catholic children a holiday. 1 have no objection to the. schools closing on St. Patrick's Day. pro j vided the other saints' days are also observed .. | in the same way. It is very unfair that, the | children of other denominations should ho i deprived of their day. It has always been understood that our Board schools were to be entirely unsectarian, but it doe- not ap pear bo, and it is therefore the cause of a lot of ill-feeling among the other denomi- ''■ . nations. If we arc to keep St. Patrick's Dtr''' let us also keep St. George's and St. Andrew's. St. George. A FAIR TEST. Sir,—Speaking at: Papakura the Trim '-. Minister said: "The average wealth pet bead, man, woman, and child, was £347, tie? highest in the world." Docs this mean that I every man, woman, and child has that amount of money? If not, I see no great argument in the statement proving tin country's prosperity. Further, it would lit truer to state that there are hundreds o. thousands in the Dominion who have not £U to their names, and who, it is more than likely, will never be possessed of such a sum as £347. Sir .Joseph Ward then proceeds to damn the North of Auckland with faint praise, and at the same time speaks of wild ' and unfair criticism. He states as follows: "There was no doubt that- in the future, with scientific application, the North would carry a large population." lam sadly afraid as fur as the Prime Minister is concerned it is certainly a far-away and dim future to which he allude.-. * ALERT. MR. MASSEY AND tdk 53 years' LEASE. Sir.---Mr. Massey, when denouncing th< renewable lease, during the course of his ad I dress in Hamilton last Monday night, m J I staneed the fact of several sections remain- : ing nnselected on the Lewi settlement, neai ; Taupiri. as evidence of the unpopularity o. j the above tenure. Air. Massey did not weary his audience by telling them thai the Otekaike settlement- '(North Otago). which came on to the market at the same time. attracted neatly 800 applicant; farms were submitted. This is an average o' something like 16 applicants a section 1 Many sections at Otckuike drew 40. 50, anc j6O applicants. For one allotment there were j just about 150 applicants. This, I believe, | is a record since the passing of the Land- for j Settlement Act. The Leader of the Opposition went on to -ay if the Rewi settlement j was thrown open on the optional tenure every section would have been taken up. I li. is as ridiculous for Mr. Ma--ey to say that as it would be for the Minister for Lands to say that every section on Otekaike would have been left- on his hands bail tin optional tenure been substituted for the 33 years' lease. Mr. Mas=ey know.- quite vail that a practical fanner considers the quality of the land first, and the length of the lease afterwards, ami bis argument might lia-v* been less unsound had his audience's know ledge of the world reached no further that Taupiri ('has. M. Down. Till', TEN COMMANDMENTS. Sir.—Some correspondents have recently suggested that a copy of the Ten Commandments should be hung mi the walls of our public schools. 1 notice thai a member of our City Schools Committee has given notice to move in that direction at its next meeting. As shoving (hat the question inot free from difficulties, ii- is well that the mover should state whit version <<: the Com mandments he proposes should be bung up— those contained in the catechism of ihe Roman Catholic Church or (hose in tin catechism of the Church of England, whiel: have been adopted by the Protostatu Churches. " Citizen".