LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15948, 19 June 1915, Page 11

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

THE MOSAIC INJUNCTION.

Sir,—Tho Rev. S. A." Goldstein has asked me to explain and show the Mosaic injunction to which I made reference in the Auckland dairymen's ' dispute heard at the Arbitration Court on Wednesday last. In reply, I may state that the Reference was fully explained by me when I made it before the Judge, but the report of the case did not include the explanation. The matter in consideration at the time was an offer of a quart of inilll per day by the employers to each man in j their employ as a distributor - , in addition to £2 10s per week, as a minimum wage. I pointed out to tho Court that the men were already in receipt of the quart of milk, some by consent of their employers and' others without their consent, from what was left in the can at the end of the round. Further, that this was not looked upon as dishonesty by those in tho trade, and added, jocularly, that it was obeying tho Mosaic injunction of "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn," see Deuteronomy, 25th chap., 4th verse; referring to tho time previous to the introduction of the reaper, binder, and threshing machino, or oven of the Hail, when the threshing was performed by the primitive method of tread ing out the gram by oxen on a threshing floor. Hence the law of Moses provides that the ox was not to bo prevented from some pickings -from the result of his labour. Each milkman is allowed to tak« out a small surplus, to allow for wastage, or drips, and by being very careful, he should be allowed to take a small quantity tor his own needs. This is recognised in many other awards, such as the country butchers', where a man is allowed a small quantity of meat per day for his own consumption without charge, thus carry nig out the Mosaic injunction. A carpenter usually takes home a few blocks of dry wood each evening for kindling his fire in the morning, and it is not looked upon as stealing. It is merely following out the text quoted. This text is referred to also in the New Testament in I. Corinthians, 9th chapter: "For it is written in the law of Moses, 'Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he' treadeth out the corn. Is it for the oxen that God careth, or saith Ho it altogether for our sake? Yea, lor our sake it was Written: because ho that ploweth ought to plow in hope, and lie that thresheth to thresh in hope, of partaking.'" Also in 1. Timothy. sth and 18tti verse: "For the scripture saith thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. And the labourer is worthy of his hire."

I trust I have satisfied Mr. Goldstein that my reference to tho Mosaic law was well grounded, and I further state my belief that if the teaching of Moses, the/ lawgiver, were more closely adhered to in these modern days there would not be the injustice and poverty prevalent in our midst. Arthur Rosser,

GERMAN MUSIC.

—Tha hearty thanks of a large sec- ' tion of the Auckland public—and, indeed, the public of New Zealand—are due to the Herald for its spirited attack of the I6th on the tyranny of German music. To how great a degree, not only Britain, but Europe as a whole has submitted to be hypnotised by German " kultur" in its musical department; is very 1 well exemplified in a recent statement of one of the foremost French musical critics, Romain Rolland. " He expresses the opinion that the greatest creative geniuses in music -are Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Handel, and Wagner. All Germans,, you will note; though surely wo may fairly claim Handel as an Englishman,"on the strength of his naturalisation, by special Act of Parliament in 1726. Happily, however,' ;we have one ally who has never allowed her music to be seriously affected by German " Irightfulness," even though a member of the Triple Alliance. Apart from the regrettable lapse of Verdi in his later years (would it be kind to say in his dotage], when he composed " Falstaff" and "Aiaa" in the Wagnerian manner, and /the influence of >he same German composer on the works of Puccini, we can look with gratitude and respect to tho rich and original melodies of the Italians Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Mascagni, and a host of others. Nor do" the composers of . the present day among our other allies submit to the German yoke so tamely as of old. You rightly complain of the " poor, thin, tinkling'' of Richard Strauss, but have we not our compensations in the simple melodies and rhythms, and the clarity and directness of thought, displayed in the music of the Russians, Stravinsky, Ornstein, and Scriabine, and the Frenchman, Ravel and Debussy! No doubt Servia and Japan too. can point with pride to works untarnished by German influence. At the risk' of trespassing unduly upon your readers' patience, and for the 4 sake of emphasising for how many years past, and with- what prodigal sacrifice of her sons' life . work, Germany has prepared | her noxious gases of sound, may I be permitted to add a black list" of the names of a few of the more prominent German musicians,, from whose/ names even the present war has failed to remove their lustre, throughout the benighted civilised world. To the five great names quoted above I would add those of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Franz, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Havdn, Raff, and Cornelius. I wonder if we" would bo proud of their music had they ken Englishmen Music Lover.

MUNITIONS SUPPLY. . Sir,—After having read Mr, C. C. Allen's statement on the munitions supply question I must admit that (to the lay mind) his letter reads very well, but only in theory, and to put in practice would not be feasible. Mr. Allen refers to factories in other countries now turning out munitions that have never done so before. This, however, is only possible when the master company or experts are within call, not 14,000 miles away, as we are situated here in New Zealand. Moreover, there is the question of. materials. By the time we imported explosives such as trinitrotoluol, gun-cotton, cordite, brass, copper, suitable steel for shell drawing, and a hundred and one items in connection with this work, we might as well send a few more pounds and have them loaded there and then and save time. Had we had a j shell works at work in the Dominion, and these works could only produce, say, going round the clock, about 2000 shells per week, it might have been possible for the war demand to produce, say, 10,000 per week. First we would have to instal extra plant (which at the present time I vfc cannot get from Home). Then the proper authorities would step in and authorise the engineering firms to give a hand, and the result wrfuld be that under the expert supervision the plant and other | items could be added to. Material and labour would do the rest. But it must bo borno in mind that only under expert instruction would this be possible. There is a vast difference between making explosive shells and locomotives, etc., or motor-cars. Badly constructed shells' would kill more of our own men than they would tho enemy. I feel sure that New Zealand will not make any success what l ever in trying to manufacture shells or other explosives to be of any use during this present war. Tnke as an instanco the Australian rifle works. I think it was some three years or more before tho first rifle was completed satisfactorily, and they had the most up-to-date plant in the world. Australia may be able to do something, as she has more resources than wo in New Zealand have, with her rifle works, cordite works, steel, iron, and lead smelting works, .dock works (that must have a first-class plant installed). Great Britain can do all that is required in munitions. It appears she has lost six or mora very valuable months, but we see by cable they are thoroughly organising this industry now. She has the machinery, material, and skilled labour for all her requirements, and we would only bo harassing the War Office were we. to suggest manufacturing big gun ammunition here. W. Marshall. Mount Eden.