LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15549, 5 March 1914, Page 10

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

■ -—,; ' v ♦ —r~ .-.■-, . i. i. ACCOMMODATION FOE JURY. Sir,—ltiis time attention waft drawn to the lack of accommodation '■» for jurors'; at the Supreme :■ Court;';?lt'is surelyJ not too much to Ask that a ; comfortable room, be provided, ' and. furnished with "table and chairs, writing benches,*' bat ~ racks, ' eta The - existing lavatory , arrangements:;; are most objectionable. \ v Another desirable convenience \is a public , telephone. v Its absence is very .galling to. business., men •who have to wait for hours' doing nothing and out of touch With their work. I hope some ', improvement! will [be considered by those responsible at an early date. ] .;<;,.; >, A Common Jubob- ! I '. ; -?. -.. —: —: —: ,j . >>..' ; VETERANS'- PENSIONS. ' Sir,— am quite in sympathy with "Justa," who writes in the Herald of February. 27, regarding military pensions for widows. ; The. intention of the Pensions Act, ; granting New Zealand, war veterans the pension was 'to keep in remembrance the deeds of the past. The widows in many cases were as brave as their husbands, and When danger was near were true comrades. When the forma of application.for the pension \fsre filled in, the wifels name was always asked for, giving the impression that she would participate in any benefits received. The surviving widows, Whose numbers are fast decreasing, should be considered, and the pensions received by their late husbands extended to them. Recruit.

THE BIBLE IN THE CHURCH. Sir, —Very/many of your readers will heartily agree with your correspondent, "Pomegranate," regarding the necessity of making very full use of the. Bible in public worship. The movement to have Bible-reading in the. State schools should certainly, be accompanied by a consistent use of the Bible in the church. Aa the Church of England professes to be an ardent and devoted believer in the Bible, it is only fair tonote the very full use she makes of it in all her services. At morning and evening prayer several chapters are always read (including the Psalms for the day), besides the Scripture canticles after each lesson, and the many short verses used as prayers and responses. It is the same with Our Lord's own appointed service, the Holy Communion. j Here wealways have the from the Book of Exodus, a selection from an Epistle and Gospel iu New Testament, and some rich and beautiful verses called the- " comfortable words"—besides the general Scriptural.- colouring ' which the whole Liturgy contains? All lovers of the good old Book will rejoice in these facts. < , - • Jas. Col- FusSEii; The Vicarage, Morrinsville.

' ',■■ - \;„ ,/ DEMONSTRATION PLOTS.' " ■': Set, —Your . correspondent, Mr. A.';.; J. Willis, does not give the credit to .tie Agricultural Department which it deserves for its very excellent _ production of .'the demonstration plots. '.To'nave left these plots untended would nave r nullified.their value, as the object .sought, is, I assume, to educate the farmer 'to a knowledge of each grass and foodstuff. *j As regards the data of cutting, ajd; feeding value, this, I think I am right in saying, is being collated, and Will be published at an early 1 data The greatest- misfortune , attending these. experimental ' plots is' their circumscribed .area, Which.' could have been so easily remedied by taking in' a, large portion .of the adjoining waste land. The Exhibition . authorities f sadlycurtailed, what might have been '.a still more valuable exhibit. Even -in its pre-! sent state* the knowledge to be gained is I very great, and will be of benefit throughout the country, , and place our farmers under a continued obligation to the officers ! ■who have worked so hard to make this ex-; 1 cellent exhibit. , ' J. A. Pond. ■ I v Sir,-4ln reply -■ to Mr. Hpoton I -will .ftdmit I was taking the experimental plots i from ' an, educational rather than a spec- ] tacular. , standpoint. Mr. Hooton states 1 that in 'his opinion the - plots <we'revnot formed as an.experimental ' area,,' but !.'rather■„• (demonstrate what plants' may .be. usefully •)' grown for feeding, purposes by the : farmer;" •• -While; a| little. | later i, on in "his letterhe thinks ; it anreasjnable "that this attractive exhibit should,be allowed to languish and be ruined during, the dry weather." I was aware that there is. an ejocelknt experimental area, at Albany, ■where lucerne and other foliage crops, are grown under natural conditions, and I hope to. take advantage of S&.: Hooton's End offer arid visit the same ; but I understand that the experimental area at Albany, it on gam, lane, whilst the plots at the Exhibition are oh volcanic land, of which there ■ is a large area in the vicinity of Auckland I from the south. • A. J. Wnira.* >^j

: . . - HOME RULE. ' • • Sir.— reao with- interest Mr. William Walker's letters, having known. him in j Belfast; where I actively canvassed to se- 1 cure his return in 1 1906 andagain in 1907, when *he unsuccessfully* contested < North Belfast against the late Sir Daniel Dixon and Mr. George Clarke respectively. To Mr. Walker is, . in a: great measure, due Mr. Devlin's returnfot'West Belfast in 1906. On several occasions during the contest I heard Mr. Walker publicly advising his *. supporters to vote for' Mr. Devlin on the' g)xrands that Mr; Devlin • would-be a better, friend to them than the Unionist! candidate for ; West Belfast; Captain Kerr Smiley. . To do Mr.-Walker justice he never proclaimed .himself a Home Ruler. ,t He stated;he opposed- it, not because he feared to he governed* by the majority .of his. feilpw-cotmt«men, but because lie did not consider it wise to increase the number of Parliaments! Mr. Walker, to his credit, be it said, did more than a man's part to allay the horrible spirit religious bigotry .-trtucn: has' done so much to discredit Belfast in the past. . , ' ■ ' '. ~ ■ ;i Belfast.' '.

Sir,—lt., is nob true that since the Home - Rule question r has taken a. , prominent ~ place - the v"Liberal Government " has in • the T by&ectioiiß lost" "a great • a.*hy ; ' seats.** ;*' Since*-the' general election of December,. k 1910, 14 seats have Been lost by the Government and one gained. . Of the seats, lost, five were lost through the folly of the Labour. Party-} in dividing the: Liberal :.Vrte,^aaid. would have been '.retained-; if 'the second ballot wag iii;force.« One would; probably also; have been retained if ; the; ; Unionist candidate had been; opposed by a Liberal instead Of a Socialist and Female Suffrage candidate. One seat was gained by the Unionist candidate by. one • vote, and another., by the' magnificent'-majority >fe j four !, This leaves sik by-elections inwhieh i the Government suffered decided reverses,' j and one (Londonderry) in which Home triumphed gloriously. Certainly Snot I a disheartening' record of more than three years' waif are , against most unscrupulous Ipe4. The: assert ion, that t these I reverses were occasioned by the Government's Home Rule policy is absolutely without foundation. Every elector, who voted .in 1910 for a Liberal candidate knew that he was voting for Home Rule. It was hot a discovery which subsequently, dawned upon him. The present balance of parties in tbs House .'of GonQtuinsisi as; follows :-— Liberals, 262; Nationalists, ,84; Labour, 39; Unionists, 285. This means a majority of 100 for Home Rule, which could, therefore be carried even if the Irish Nationalists abstained from voting. It is also worthy of note that of the 103 members for Ireland only lfl are Unionists, and of these two stand tor 'Dublin University "(which, from * a democratic point of view, may be'termed 'ft- " rotten > borough''},and 16 for Ulster constituencies: There is certainly no mistaking .Ireland's demand for Home Rule. The-Mbel'that the Irish.are incapable of self-government .may well be treated with contempV It is only "adhered to now by those who otfce behoved that the Irish were • naked savages with red hair, whose diet was turf and blibteifmilk. r . ■ The very Mtisfacwry: working ; of local government in Ireland gives a sufficient answer to the calumny— an answer it needs. . .-..-. A. G. CIASKfe

~Suy--A3 I know. ev«y,street in Belfast and know A all about that electorate's .teeming population, I wish to inform >■ your correspondent,- Rev,-- A. Q.

Clarke, that none but householders are 03 ' tho; roll; of ■ electors and . to' put' it at a- •- • : very low estimate there' must be a ■ man' '• ; ''-> of 21 years, of. age in East Belfast for ;'"'"' every - elector -in <■ that V constituency. ■",' : MrJl|lSfl Clarke can see' from these shores a certain' number of Home Rule electors in East - '■'■ Belfast,-;.but? if he ;knew .Belfast, ras -"wettiSpll as I do, he would know that nearly all tie Home Rule electors of ;' that ■'. city have *. 3 been "packed"' into the West division - in order to capture it from the Unionists • " ; i and retain it for the Home Rule party" Mr..Clarke says an apology is due from - me, but will he first explain to the readers of the Heeaij) why (and I take him'iypl to the fountain of his knowledge on the ' Ulster question, Whitaker's Almanac), rSPpI the sleepy little town of Newry returns'one "'■=*"', Home Rule* member for its 2021 (all on >-'! the roll) electors, East Belfast's 16,330 S should not return eight Unionist mem- - ¥M bers ? If Home . Rulers believe for one " ' 3 moment that there is a majority in the " % '% United Kingdom for Home Rule, why '"'"*! doesn't Mr. Redmond clear the air by '*9| amply saying to Mr. Asquitb, "Dissolve*' *ft and then if the country declared for Home '* | Rule, all us Ulstermen would be silent ***3 afterwards. r Wii. Waikzb, •" > { Norton Road, Franktcm. THE UNIVERSITY SCHOOLS. $\ Sir,— editorials regarding tie uni- ; versity schools should give Aucklandew ; - ; : and especially those desirous of starting "';' their sons upon an engineering or medical j?*? career, considerable food for thought Not . only* it. seems, are we, the largest and: : ' most flourishing city in the Dominion, to : '- be dependent for all time upon educa- -'■ ?& tional institutions between six and nine % ' hundred miles away, but it now appeal " that our own engineering school, already'?''. established and fully equipped, is actually : to be denied its recognition in order topreserve the monopoly of Canterbury. ThefStrfl proposal to admit Auckland students to the degree examinations, met with, - .w-pSPW are told by Mr. Peacocke, " determined Isl opposition from Canterbury representa- jll| tives on the Senate." No doubt it woddllPtl —a monopoly is a very excellent thing, from the point of view of those who ex- -', ercise it. But is this monstrous state of m things to be acceded to, simply .to gratify the sweeping aspirations of Canterbury! S i I have made a few inquiries in order 'io '',%'. ascertain how they are making use of '! their monopoly, and unearthed a record >f$ of barren results at the engineering degree : :,& examinations that show only too plainly ''|?| why competition is undesirable. Our own ©■ university is not much to look at, but in M numbers and in successes it is the equal ; ?" of its splendidly-built Southern rival." Can !1 we doubt that, the engineering branch, 8 if allowed, to develop unchecked by i| Southern influence, would at least do tie .1| same. If iso grave an injustice is allowed Vm to, continue, what chance have we of es- V M tablishing the medical school that is so -m badly heeded?, "\ Education. . ~'•<!

AN exhibition attraction. % : Sir,A suggestion I should like to make 'V, through your paper'to the Exhibition *Sv i executive is to hold an international tug-' §§ I of-war, which I believe would greatly add q§ |to the -gate: receipts « and prove a good ' S draw. If the executive would seek -theyf*i co-operation of the different foreign don- ' f sols 'ins Auckland I do not think there ~, Would be much ; trouble in organising a'-/::/ representative y team from each country. >3 For instance,; teams could', be chosen to x Sfig represent New Zealand, England, Irehrd, - - -.. Scotland, Germany, France, China.. Nor-.',--.; way, Maoris, etc.j each team to consist-.:-v= of ten men % and to wear a = distinctive J badge, such as a ; sash i or-belt, the■ Ufa: B fe be.- native born or : ; direct descendants of native born parents 5 best two out;o£j Athree pulls to win and, of course, a small • -. entrance fee could be, charged of say, Is/: : per man. Then vthe-idea could be ex- - : '- tended and have an industrial contest for •".. - teams representing the different trades ;<£; unions. lam sure it would"" prove very ■£ §| interesting to ■'witness, contests between -'• teams 'drawnifrorh\the waterside workers, ..- general -■ labourers,' bricklayers,,;, tramwaymen, : bakers; , grocers, <: etc; or it,-£,-couid be;; further^extended to. -include teains from tie local bodies or from ther-p large firms- in'term Of \" course the exe-V '-■ cutavie • would have: to provide prise -money;; :i Otherwiseithe; cost of {organising it wouMy vl riot be much, for all that is required is a; : >• raised platform and a good strong rope. ; I feel sure that the f extra gate 'receipts.' ; - would more-than ' amply repay,: the out- \ lay.- V - P.E.H. ;v :„" —~~—""" RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. ; : ~<f Sir,—l would like to state in reply to ifi. H. WV Smales, that 99 per cent, ol - ' the shooting men in this country will not'." agree with Mm. The.most important. :' work; of acclimatisation societies is to give the shooting men something to shoot; for.' . ; as soon as the shooting stops the societies 1 :: close down. Mr. Smales says the, red-leg |% \ is a great fighter, and. kills everything>'.. that comes in its way, and yet he says: ._": .he -was partridge-shooting , where thi«6 ~.;' birds were. , If his opinion is"gpuhd, how is it. he found other partridges to shoot? .All game birds will fight, but only in the > breeding season as a rule. "When part- 5 : ridges are pairing . there is battle-royal, and * the English partridge will ■ protect its mate-equally as well as a red-leg. By; paying £1 anyone can shoot in New Zea- . : land, but although he pays £5 in England for;a full season's license,, where can he'.;; shoot game, unless he rents" an estate or . •■!£■, lias wealthy friends to' invite-him.*- Very. ;•,>" few- farmers in England have the right to . ihoot! on the land , they ifarm unless they, hf:= pay for it.. Game ■ shooting in England-. ~- is-in the hands of the wealthy few, and. -. .■ we in New Zealand should appreciate the " •', feet that it is : not the"case on. here," iind all shooting men should pull together for J " clean sport.. .-I am certain that any of my ,; shooting friends would Be delighted to - return home after '& day.'s ; tramp with two V i. or three brace "of' Ted-legged;. partridges in- --' stead of f Galif6rniai^quail, : or the small {>„ . brown quail. / ; Brown quail are good I,' ; sport; but I have never found the Cali- .; fdrhkn ! quail' fart: from cbver. ; They T. usually, get ~up id -a big covey and fly to *{ the trees.?'' T have' often" heard of a man 5 ; getting' eight. or nine at a shot, but I do rfnot': care for that kind of slaughter,. '-,• •- "s|S t Thames, March S. . Jno. Guessing, M

".FACING BOTH WAYS. | the, speech; delivered bv Sir"-* Joseph Ward ln/Dunedin he is reported M to nave said-: ".They (the: Government) M also proposedan increase in the graduated? £n n^!*: » Elusion 'and what :al| fallacy! The Government then rc-adjus- -I ted ms: estimate upon which the land rf? should valued and that - protected :theP* large land-holders." This is in agreement with, a -statement by Mr. Wiliord who, m ***'-speech ; : at the Hutt, called the in-Si a«ase in,the-graduated land tax a "fake" i because ho asserted that the effect of the ; :•'< one. Act; nullified by the provisions M Of ; .the: , Valuataon Act Amendment Act I passed by. the Massey Government in the same session. Now, it will perhaps snr- 1 prise your -readers to learn that both Sir "3 Joseph Ward-and- Mr. Wilford not only I spoke in favour "of both the abovenamed ■'$ measures, but also voted for them Sir I Joseph Ward, speaking in the House on ' ?; October 3, 1912, said: : "I think the pro- '% posals .in that- Bill (the Valuation Act Amendment Bill) are in the right direc- If ?s?>'.?d.:l. am thoroughly in accord with:? what iis submitted there. The principle '% ofexempting all. improvements is, in my opinion, thoroughly sound, and I think f: thoj Government is quits right in submitting proposals of that kind." And on the M Land Ta± Amendment Bill on the same pi date he Biid: ; "I have said, and I wantß! .ft~ say again, that the proposals in this||; : Bill have my approval and my own senseJS; of consistencycauses me to support tue|||| . BiH." KSo .much; for Sir Joseph, and thfjllf support given.' to both Bills by Mr. Wil- I; ! fowl - was : equally , emphatic Is. Jit not; enough to, 1 make ins blush for those men ,' when we find them facing both ways iS:'\; this barefaced manner? * Such tactics are. ;„ - against all the traditions of our race, and I hope thatfair-minded people who realise -'j Vftißi.no ! matter to which party they may ■ belong, will ishow how they dislike such v.; tactics;: - '-■ H. N. Bifl^uu^^ ,-' "■ ■■•■■ - , ' - '3 I. -. •' ——— : — -