LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13905, 12 November 1908, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

MR. THOMPSON'S CHALLENGE ON OLD AGE PENSIONS. V V Sir,—l have neither the time nor the desire to follow Air. Thompson in his circumlocutory ractios. At first ho stated he would" " Rive £50 to charity if I could prove that he -'opposed'' the third reading of the Old Age Pensions Bill, now he asks me to bet 1 £50 that he voted' against it. I am not a ... bo.ting man, and decline to make any wager, i.: but in tiie tie bate on the Old Ago Pensions Ij! ® ,4 *» page 60'J, vol. 104 of ilartsayd. on .the, ; [■ question tuaL the words '' .e ; iiil-i be now' ,"i reau a. third lime stand part of the ques- ■ tion, Mr. K. iuompson's name will be found J among the noes. On page 616" of 'the same » volume the iiotioe divideu on too question J " tiiac the Pili bo read a third ' time.' Mr. ! It. Thompson paired against: the- bill with | Air. Meredith. I j It is usual in the House to regard a pair I;, against a measure as a vo e against it',' ana 1 , j am quite prepared to leave the interpreta- :•( tion of Air. Thompson's action to to. Hon. • Speaker or any other intelligent man.; i am* j also satisfied to refer those wlio are in.eiesti ed in tiie matter to the volume of Hansard I I quoted, to decide for themselves whether, i!{ or ,lot Mr. R. Thompson opposed the Bill. 1 j In any case, if he supported it on the final reading, w»y id ho pair :t when mo division was taken? Ciias. H. Poole.- | SPREAD OF THEOSOPHY. Sir,— your issue of October 27 is coni tained under above heading a brief digest of ; discussion re theosophy opened „ recently by • the Anglican Synod at Dunedin. • Now, sir,as one brought r.r in what is generally termed the orthodox church doctrine of Christianit-,. and having also made a study of thoosophical reasonings, permit me sufficient space for a brief reference. Judging from the remarks of the Rev. Mr. Snow, it would seem that the spiritual welfare of those who I classify themselves as theospphists is in a very disordered condi.ion. Pantheism, reincarnation, and spiritualism, allegedly .theosophical in character, are looked upon by the rev. gentleman as subjects emanating from the lower regions of creation. _ However, there I is nothing in the theosophical treatment of : them at which any need feel alarm. The Pantheistic conception of God is encouraged certainly; and for this reason: It is a grand and sustaining belief that the omnipotent ; spiritual power is above, beyond, througn, and behind all the evidences of material life, only requiring acknowledgement and appreciation to be discerned bv man's innate (but ■ generally uncultured) spiritual sense. Reincarnation is not advanced as a dogma, to be accepted blindly but only as a suggestion likely to answer certain questions which 'o many earnest inquirers seem inexplicable. Spiritualism is not encouraged. Theosophy avers of spiritualistic manifestations, but discourages close inquiry. No, sir, the fundamental basis of theosophy, in fact, the only creed to which a student is bound to subscribe, is the attainment of tho same object for which Christ suffered, viz., "The Brotherhood of Man. ' Reasons are plainly given for this grand motive." Individual responsibility is taught, and man's duty to his fellows made plain to him. I say this unhesitatingly: No man or woman can bo a theosophist without being a Christian in every sense of the term. Ifc has been the great trouble with many of the Churches, too much attention being given to' creeds, { and insufficient to the understanding and I practice of Christianity. People ITave been i undo* the influence of So-called spiritual advisers, who, whilst receiving princely salaries for teaching, the primary, and, in fact, the only doctrine of Christ—" Love— have so utterly failed (generally speaking) in _ their duties • that tho people are now doing the work themselves, and already beginning to learn that the jewel of Christianity long since.buried under the worldliness, pomp, ceremony, and ritual of orthodoxy is as pure and valuable as it was when in pain and suffering it was placed in thp hands/of benighted mankind by tho Sodeemer Himself. In conclusion, I assert that unless the Christian Churches discard 1 ma terialisra (which is more soul-destroying than Pantheism), and join ' hand in hand with theosophy in the endeavour to elevate the human 'race and bring mankind back to its source of origin by the practical application of Christ's precepts to every-day life, orthodoxy will era long be cast aside as obsolete. Men will learn their relationship to God and- their duty to their fellows without consulting on spiritual matters with others who, whilst- professing much, have but an abstract ' ides, of; what spirituality really is % No need - to fear the result. Theosophy agrees,, that 1 '' Chn3t , «.^ord&!Mll^i»v^/^iißS v away," but, on the contrary, will bo more fully understood and acted upon. Theosophists also 1 affirm that supporting tho Church does not fulfil man's chief end. G. V. Hoofek. . Hamiltop. . THE ELECTIONS. - ' Sir, —If Auckland 'fails to send : the. best aii'ii to promote the welfare of the Dominion it will be owing to the folly of muddling the political' with' the no-license issue. Our manufactures should be encouraged, settlement on C<6S|| ; lands .promoted by the best inducements, a just; apportionment of piifc lie works", in our district, the ■ public accounts kept so that'deceptive juggling with figures would" be; impossible. .I fail to see how the election , of tony candidate can affect the no-licdnse issue; As an opponent of the present Ministry, I regret that there are no Opposition candidates, and believe: that it is by mixing the issues that such "candidature is prevented. The bitterness of, feeling that prevails'-is' most regrettable, for tho case of no-license can bo argued "with- • out the personalities that are'used. Some who so denounce the three-fifths majority, and declare it is-the device of men who are brewery tools, should know that it emanated from tho prohibitionists of Great Britain, under Sir Wilfred Lawson. Edwin Cabs. MADE IN NORWAY!" Sir,—Having occasion to order a supply of carbido for making acetylene gas, th,« mo of which is rapidly extending throughout tho Dominion, I was surprised to find that ,the drum containing the article was labelled "Made in Norway,' and had v been brought half round tho" world to a country possessing in abundance every element necessary I n' the manufacture of this material! This is only one of tho many instances in which the. Government, so far as I know, has done nothing to help to develop the resources of the Dominion. Is there 110 enterprising capitalist " who' might take a hint' in this matter? : Industry. TARIFF REFORM IN GREAT BRITAIN. Sir,Wo have lately seen very many re'ports in your paper, cables, and otherwise, of the large numbers of unemployed in Great Britain, and tho position there seem? at present a very sad one. In your editorial comments on these reports, you point out that such a state of affairs is likely to lend a great spurt to the movement in the Old Country in favour of tariff reform, and it is on this point that I should, be glad if vo.t would permit me to make a few • remarks. It is maintained by advocates . of tariff rei form that protection must create more work } and distribute more wages than is possible tinder free trade. I do not wish to enter | upon the economic arguments on this point, I but to turn' to the concrete instance of the | United States as an example, and a proof that the remedy against distress and unemployment is not to bo found in protection. Wo have'lately read in your columns that in the Presidential electiori campaign which j has just closed in tho United States, tariff | reform is advocated by both parties as a j measure with which to fight the trusts —the j difference being that tariff reform in the j Statos means the diminution or abolition | of Customs" duties, and in ' Great Britain i their imposition. _ The Republican party, I which has consistently advocated high i duties, now recommends that they be lowI erod, while the Democrats, who as a party ; havo never favoured high tariff, now argue i for complete froe trade. We have thus the '• curious position that a party in Great Bri- ! tain advocates protection for the good of I the masses, while both parties in the United ; States, which has had tho advantage of living under such a \ system, wish either for its modification or for its removal. To show the necessity of some change in the United States,, it may be as well to j quoto some figures given in the London ' Weekly Times of August; 28, 1908. It states j there that' in fairfy prosperous years there j are at least 10,000.000 , people in America.' who are always underfed and poorly housed, . and that some careful statisticians put the figures at nearly double this amount. There are 4,000,000 public paupers. In New York City alone are 350 000 tenement rooms which are windowless, while in the borough of Manhattan. New ' Xork, 60.463 1 families were evicted fror- their homes in the year 1903. One in £very 10 who dies in New York has a pauper's burial. ' The article in the Times makes no comparison between the United States and Great Britain, but it H while.,to p.oint. out that the number of public paupers quoted above is *. equal to about 4£ per cent.- of the population. In Hazell's Annual the number of paupers on January 1, 1906, is giver as • 2.7 of the population of Great Britain, It is evident from the figures that pro- 1 tection is in itself , no-panacea against dis- j tress and poverty, and," in fact, economists i are acknowledging more and more that the ] results of protection for good or .bad are 3

much less than is commonly supposed. "But ' there is ono other aspect of the question . ' - which, is worth considering.r. Tariff reform 3 in Great Britain lias two sidesprotection 1 and ;oionial preference. Whether the . country adopts protection or not can possess tor us but an academic interest, but ' in colonial preference we have a deep and , V j .personal interest. It is a measure by which / j ..Great, .Britain is asked to pay more for her - ; imports, in order that we may get a bigger {' brief?'* for that portion of them which wn ( 'supply. Her imports from the colonies aro ' ! raw materials and foodstuffs.' W> may rule- ; ! out the firstqamcd, as no one yet has been I found to maintain th.it - manufactures are. . ; aided by increasing the price of the raw 'material. We are thus left with foodstuffs as, the, subject for colonial preference, ; and 1 .'submit. ■t• iai the paragraphs concern- | ing the number and condition of the unem- : ployed would have a very different meaning for ue if wo could reflect that their position ; -.•/ as 'made a littlo v«orse. in order to give us | a •omewhat 1 better price. In truth, no ; more mischievous and unpatriotic proposi tiou was ever made than this of preference. : If' it came into force it ninst always associate tho'adea of Empire in the minds of ■ the people at Homo with the taxation of . J their food, for the benefit of those whoso position is already better than their own. ' If it is not carried, r'nere may bo .hose in ; the colonies who will consider themselves ,j : aggrieved, because false hopes have not been ,i realised. To the credit of the colonies be ■it said that, with the exception of the last colonial conference, they have made but . ' little fuss in the matter, and it is to bo hoped that this aspect of tariff reform at least may b- allowed to die quietly. S." GHAT. FIFTY YEARS AGO. • . Sir,—Under the heading "Fifty Years i Ago." in the Herald of October 30, mention is made of an interview fay a reporter of the : Canterbury Times with a Mr. * Wilson, of : Sydenham, Christchurch, who is reported to . claim to be a, survivor of the light cavalry charge at Balaclava on October 25, 5+ years • as°- Mr. Wilson's interviewer reports that Mr. Wilson stated he- "belonged to the 10th and 11th Hussars." The 10th Hussars . were in India, when tho Crimean war com- ! menced; the 11th were aT Home, and pro- < ceeded by transport to Varna, , and from I thence to the Crimea, taking part in tho j landing and subsequently the passage of the i Alma, etc., on Septembei 20. "The 10th did not receive orders for the Crimea until after tho _ Balaclava charge, when they were hurried across the desertto reinforce the Light Brigade. They did not arrive in the Crimea until man? months after tho charge, not until the spring or summer of 1355. Mr. Wilson ' says he holds the Crimean medal. The lltb Hussars have Alma. Balaclava, Inkerman, and Sebastopol. beside Crimea, among their war honoursthe 10th have "Sebastopol • only, except Crimea possiblv, but writing from memory I cannot be sure Of course, the 10th havo many Peninsula honours, and so have the 11th. It seems to me a pity that this . charge, brilliant though it was. should eclipse the equally brilliant and v equally effective charge of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, the Ist Royal Dragoons, and tho Scots Greys (the famous Union Brigade of Waterioo fame) on the morning of the same day, when they charged; through and through enormous masses of iv.js.sian _ troops, rallied, - reformed, . andl, charged back again. This splendid charge is seldom spoken of, and but little known, simply because- the 'charge of the," 4-th andl loth Light Dragoons, the Bth and 11th Hussars, and the 17th Lancers was ■ supposedly more brilliant and certainly more disastrous. Nec Aspera Tbbant. NORTH AUCKLAND RAILWAY. ' , r SirS P eaki ng at -a meeting in Kaipara, Mr. Stallworthy toid'-he had secured in • three years £50,000, £40,000, and £80,000 for ' tho North Auckland railway. Seeing that the latter sum (£80,000) was only voted a month ■ ago, it can scarcely bo considered as . « secured. But are wo to understand that ot tho electors had failed to * return Mr. btaJworthy as the representative "for Kaipara, the Government would have" punished " this electorate by making these Votes much smaller.' .If so, this is a serious charge against the Government. Now, I . think Mr. Mander (member for Marsden) . ■ and Mr. Houston (member for Bay of Islands) haver a stronger claim of ; having "secured" these • grants. With the exception 1 of a few chains : m length near • the To Hanua, not £1 "of these grants lias been expended- in Kaipara electorate, but in Marsden, and ifi the route . faxed by the chief Government 'engineer is adopted the whole of the £So,oob%rant will / be also expended; in; MarsdeniH,Well, where • 4 ; does Marsden s moihKr come in ? 'Rio k i -ilinister for • Publio - Works,' when j, inter- - V ! viewed by a deputation of the Auckland ; I Ittuhvays League, promised a much larger . voto for this railway this year, in conse- : M}o> I quoxice of the Main , Trunk e railway- being j completed. We should give praise to all■ who have in any way assisted to promote ; - the extension of the North Auckland rail- V t way. As an old Albertland settler I feel' grateful to the Railways League for practicalhelp. The fact remains it has " taken IT • ' ? years to construct 17 miles of this.-railway! i v o. ; mve a right to. choose whom ,v we may ■ as our representative,- and wd ■ further claim V£ fair treatment in tho.iaatter of expenditure ;i s ?. ox borrowed public money. 4 r! ; , Port Albert. Thos. A. Gubb. -' • \ 1 1 ™ : . ' » ■ •• ■ ■ * rv'•> ■ ■ "LIVE HORSE AND YOU GET GRASS.'*-Sir,—-This is rather an opportune moment to jog tho memory of ;tho, people, though I j • doubt if it will do any - g00d..? Sonic % time'-v : ago tne ? romier ; came to Auckland;- osten- r sibly to view various sites for the new post ■ ofneo, when the whole thing was already r " & , arranged, and plans prepared to build it oft • the l railway grounds. More recently stiff,' . ' when the now Main Trunk timc-tablo wax " under . discussion, wo were practically ' lefft. out m tho cold, with the usual take it op!| leavo it manner so characteristic of our pail) - * servants. Now comcs - the climax in subsi- : ; dising the Wellington steamers to tl» Islands. Will the people ever wakenip tb their own best interests?'" CertaifiijgSiot & long as "they™ believe some of the -fairy tales now being repeated by the Government can-and-so readily-swallcrwed by In urn : - thinking community. ' " " v " """ "A.'lß.C.* . - ■ ~ :* . \.. /•• 'i :\; .; , Z;':-J-V 'Hr\ ' LETTERS IN BRIEF. 1 ' Candidates who will blindly, support fcbfo " : Ministry should not bo .ijQnt'td' Wellington.4- i A. Saniord. , ' '< ■; - ■ * ' . Every;, vote cast in favour of the present » Government is a vote cast against Protestant ; libertiesfree speech and a free press.-— Protestant. ' • ■ - ■ . - % ■■ *5 Raising, poultry by the State is a failures and tho whole of the plant should be sold »t and all the employees sent out,,in the world to battle for a living like other people.—Alv , Sanford. In a -repent issue you have an account of £ trout-fishing excursion at Lake Takapunai Pupuko is tho proper name of the lake, not Takapuna, which is the name of the district, i —A Former Takapuna Road Board Member.: - * , After years of experience and investiga? tion of the spiritualistic leligion and its scientific truths, 1 would nor change the lessons I have learned, the knowledge I have gained, or the spiritual consciousness I have ' acquired through trial and trouble, for all ' ? the wealth which either the Church or the world can bestow. There is not' the slightest doubt in my mind that- spiritualism (rightly understood) is the coming • religion of * thp world, for it is governed by inimitable law*. Spiritualist.It is an open secret that without interest at headquarters there is no promotion in the v Civil Service, even afier years of faithful ' and efficient service. The wt'll-merit'ed'l?rse ? nover comes ; on. the contrary,-you are-put -side for some inexperienced youth, whoso only qualification is that ho has interest at court. This is well known by all classes '• throughout the Dominion, and'is a serious blot on the administration of the present >- Government.Fairpiay. ' 5, i - . _ j*■'. ' ■ vy&y-.j: The Hon. Goo. Fowkls.expresses the hope that- before Jong a S;ate coal mine will be established in this district. It-is a well' known fact that in the Hunua district, only • .'.6 mile-, •*«>»! Auckland, tt'ere is a large- and valuable coaifiold awaiting development, only requiring- t> ,be connected with the main line 4a make a supply .'of iir»t-:-lass quality coal available. I understand that, the Hon. v; G.- Fowlds- -is: aware :of tho existeuce of this V source of bupply.—•Consumer. In considering the reason why the Liberal / Government ignores or plays with the ques- . . tion of opening, up Crown and native Jands, -, I have come o the conclusion that as far- -H. mers are mostly Conservative the present. ■> Administration is afraid if these lands were , settled that tho balance of "political powerwould be against it. Further, as most of the unoccupied land lies in i the '--North'-.; Island, if this were mottled the preponderance of yoting power woiild'fbe?Bo"ioverwhelwdg^?to.^P|f^ favour of the North that the South Island would iie unable to 'obtain, such "large_ Micps, •• -. of the public revenue. I am a'staunch * e88 ®" .- holder, but sooner thaft the waste lauds » of the Dominion remain unproductive'X would gladly sec ovory acre of these sold tor cash as long as such sale, carried with 'fc CO • ? r' pulsory occupation and W. ■