LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17361, 7 January 1920, Page 10

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

| | TRAMWAY |SAFEGUARDS, v'' J Sir,— think the Wellington train accideal should' moke the City : Ojuncil sea that there iis ft compulsory atop is i the middle : of - the; run down Upper Queen Street,'. Both' f tramcare and motor-cars come down that hill at too'great * paco.. . Queen Street. / John Moeoan. . LAND TRANSFER" DELAYS. ;J Sir,l have often wondered why His that strong protest are not being made by the.Chamber of - Commerce and ,similar bodies against the delays at the Land Transfer Office and the Stamp Office in Auckland. The Joes of time In ; getting documents, etc., assessed for stamp duty is out of jill reason, and is canning no end of inconvenience and loss of money, parti, cularly in regard • to deceased . eoldwrs' , estates. ' All that is Wanted is a sufficient ) and. properly organised staff, and the arrears of work would soon be overtaken. I think the Auckland members of Parliament might take this matter up and en. deavour to have things speeded up at these two offices. Manga. TAKAPUNA TRAMS. Sir,--As Takapuna is perhaps the favourite summe* resort, it teems a pity that its residents do not make an effort to municipalise the tram service.* As in Auckland, it will have to be don© sooner j or later, And tho more delay the heavier I the expense wi'l be. A line to Devon port could he arranged for, and the present wretched hourly service dispensed with. It is a common occurrence to wait half-an-hour or more after leaving the' boat at Bayswater, and then get barely standing rflora upon the platform of the car. Given a good tram service, Takapuna would soon double its population, and Devun'port would also greatly benefit by the (ibange. This can all bo accomplished if residents are careful in their choice at next election, John Graum*. Strand Road, Takapuna. GREATER NORTH SHORE. Sir,—ln the Hmu> of December 27, Mr. J. R.' Tooar writes to substantiate I Mr. H. H. Hunt's version of what I eaid ! at the amalgamation meeting at Birken- : head. It is a pity that Sir. i'onar, before [ doing so, did not take the trouble to make sure that ,he, as well as Mr. Hunt, did not misunderstand my Remarks. Before correcting Mr. Hunt, I took care to consult the chairman of the meeting, Mr. McPhail. Mayor of Birkenhead, as to the impression my remarks conveyed to him, and was assured by,him that my remarks referred only to myself, and were so understood by him; and, further, that he failed : to understand how my remarks could be misunderstood by anyone who paid reason' able attention to them. As' my remarks wire addressed to the chairman) his dej cision should be conclusive. I have again interviewed Mr. McPhaiL and have h.a I permission to refer Mr. Tonar to him for confirmation of what I have written. In further reply to Mr. Tonar's letter, I may say that I should be sorry to do Mr. Hunt an injustice, but fail to see that anything in ray letter either unjust or uncalled for, and am quite prepirud , to leave that matter to those who have i wad Mr. Hunt's letters and Mr. Greendado's replies to them. W. E. Richardson, Deputy-Mayor, Northcole. EXCHANGE AND CURRENCY. Sir,—! was deeply interest!*! in Professor fcegar's sut&raiwn that Hi is puasiole to revert 10 the suuiaaia m jNuw lm. iiinu, una so toe o cue tit of better excaaugo rates ug«nust jwigwna, and hup*: tlie question wui not do scored by Uluae lin autiiuuty. Hut. we must bo sure of our grouiiu first, and 1 should like rniorraation on one or two points.-— ill Is not our currency almost as badly incited as that of bnglaudl Since the war began the banks have been authorised to issue notes in New Zealand against their assets, i wherever situated, and the note areola- ' tion has enormously increased; at the same time the gold reserve lias gone down. (6) in estimating the inflation of our currency, would not Professor Begar take into account the extension of tankers' credits (including in this country the credits granted by so many firms that virtually act a» bankers) ? Siudsxt. Sir,— article No. 11. on "A Matter of Exchange," which appeared in the : Herald of January 5, Professor Segar | maintains that the present state of the American exchange on London is chiefly, if not entirely, due to the inflated currency of Britain. While I admit that the expanded state of credit in Britain causes the rate of exchange to be unfavourable to Britain, nevertheless a contraction of the currency, as proposed by Prdfesa»r Segar, is a remedy infinitely worse than . the disease; for, whereas an unfavourable I rate of exchange affects only those who insist on buying goods from the country with which the balance of trade is an* favoured®, a contraction of the currency in Britain, by curtailing bank advances, would cause great hardship to all aha would undoubtedly rain many. II would compel the people of v England and her Dominions- to export to America goods [ which she really does not urgently need, while they themselves would be in great want. Of course, if and whete English people are living extravagantly, they should be taxed, and the,money thou eel- ' lotted sent in goods to America, and th»! tend to bring the rate of exchange back ,to par. To argue with ProfetssOr Sfcgai and othere Who still support "the gold standard of value" is like attempting tc ; areue on evolution with a party who still ' upholds the belief that this World is flat. Wonld Professor Seiwr kindly explain his definition of "an inflated currency," "a ; contracted currency," and what is a j " normal currency," and the various wavs in which the currency of the world can be ! contracted and expanded, and how it can Ibo maintained at par or firm4l ? j C. P. W. Lonqdill.