LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18468, 3 August 1923, Page 7

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

' DANGER IN THE OATMEAL.

1 -, Sir,— . makers of j a well-known ; and : much-used brand : of-. porridge meal haVe • I adopted the method, of - stapling.; the; top of the bags .with wire instead- of using the old style: of sewing. / This may , be a labour-saving, method for the makers, but it is extremely dangerous, ' as was • made | evident to me one day this week. My wife served the usual dish of porridge for the children's breakfast. The youngest child,- three years old, commenced choking and', after great exhaustion managed* to expel one of the- fasteners which had caught in his throat, and which had . evidently been- dropped into the bag in the factory. I think the Government should "prohibit the use of these wires as some child may not 'be'so fortunate as mine, and mothers would be wise to examine the meal which is contained in these new bags. Dad. • ; LEVEL CROSSINGS. - Sir,—-How much longer are the authorities going, to play with the level crossing menace ?, 'Without doubt, this danger could' be done away with easily, and here is the way. On. both sides of every level crossing I suggest, that bunkers be erected some way back from the railway line, which will of themselves pull up every motor-car to a practical standstill from the fact that any '/speeding r over these depressions would of itself put the motor-car r out of , action. If any one wishes , to try this let them come to Pa;pakura and. take . the turning off the South Road between the school and courthouse; at 20: miles per \ hour up to the railway, and run back down' to Elliot the butcher's, and : take that crossing at' a'; similar speed, .. . IJhey need have no' fears, as there are two well-equipped garages and' doctors within a minute of the spot, and I am quite assured they will .require attention. ' : Taxi Dkiver.' '• A DELAYED TRAIN. Sir,—Can " anyone explain why dairy factory directors are allowed-to stop the Kaipara train for two or three hours at Helehsville for their own . convenience, totally : ignoring the inconvenience caused to the' business houses . and public ? It amounts to this: - No mail is given out owing to the late arrival of the ■' train, which means "letters cannot ; be answered and delivered in Auckland for . 48 hours. If . they held their most'important yearly meeting on Mondays or Wednesdays,wo would receive our mail as usual, owing to the express delivery on those days, and fewer travellers would be inconvenienced i. Hoping in the future they will consider others besides themselves," * A. Uixtext. ' INTRODUCTION OF HEATHER. Sir,— the Government should at this stage, when every effort is being, or should be, made for the exercise of rural economy, propose to send to Scotland for 50,000 heather . plants is beyond my comprehension. Particularly so, in face, of the. fact that already there have been made extensive sowings of , this weed in our Torigariro Park, which sowings are reported to be doing well. This plant is of no. uso to 'man in . New Zealand. It id gratifying to note that such an authority as the Hon. G. M. _ Thomson speaks against the introduction , of heather plants. These questions of introduction of plants and animals should rnot be the work of acclimatisation societies, but shoiild be put before a board of accredited scientists for their approval and the advice i acted upon; It is a well-known fact that . plants which in their native land are quite, harmless become, when introduced to a new country, a serious source of trouble, of endless expense and - labour. These objections in themselves - are sufficient to give pause , to. wilful introduction of exotic wild, plants. Let me point out that .a white heather, > a close ally to - the : purple heather, has taken. hold /in parts of the Waikpto, and. has spread rapidly during this last twenty years,, and will, if not checked, eventually occupy large spaces of open land between there and Taupo. It outdoes our native heath and impoverishes the soil equally as much as, if not ; more , than, tea-tree. - In the .: same issue of your paper wherein appears the paragraph re . ' heather is ' another statement . ■/devoted to noxious • weeds menace. Most of .. these noxious weeds : : are ; the ' descendants of a few harmless introductions made . into New Zealand. ; Therefore, . the moral should be: beware of introducing wild plants from countries that": have long been subjected by man. • , J. E.. Attwood. ' • , « " . 1 : • ■ ■ '' " i -' , J FIJI RIOT RECALLED. Sir,—To anyone who was in Suva at the time of the Indian riot .and. the visit of the Tutanekai., Mr. : Holland's remarks seem extraordinarily perverse; : were we not certain that the information he seems to have acquired 5 on - the > subject ■: is absolutely unreliable, and only . gained from disappointed 'leaders of : the riot, wo should say, unfeeling. The fact that _he mentions the protection . of ; the Indian woman as . being lost sight of, only shows that' he knows nothing of the fact that the" Indian women took a leading, (and most unsavoury) part in that y sinister affair—in. fact, but for them it might have fizzled out before. it became /really ; ,dangerous. Manilal, an Indian . lawyer*-; disgruntled because he was unable - to mix with ; the whites; or the more ; enlightened members of his own race, became a will- • ing tool in. the hands : 0f... the propagandists of the Bolshevik-cum-Ghandi> movement. ' The rising was part of the general Indian unrest, fostered ; by sundry wellmeaning idiots,'who were going round telling the Indians how-badly off they were. As a matter of fact, raising an Indian's wage in Fiji does not always mean a corresponding rise in his. mode of life; it simply means he has so much more to carry away with him. He goes on eating his rice • and dhal, wearing a dirty dhoti, and living in his hut' built/of old scraps, as if . he did not own a farthing; and his money being all hidden away, no one is any wiser or better. . The affair professed at first to be a' strike, on account of the high price of i food; but; as a large percentage of the strikers • were house, servants, ! whose food was provided, this was only /a pretext. X y Fortunately the ! Government was prompt. ■ ; It had - need , to be, the ratio of Indians ' to Europeans in that district being about 10 to 1. The -little defence force was mobilised, and other white men sworn in as special constables, and sentries ! were posted on the main roads. On seeing this, a , large number of Suva Indians would have gone peaceably back to work, but Manflal's wife got hold of their women-folk, and so worked , them up that they took . the most disgusting measures to stiffen . their men again. .The Indians .on the Colonial Sugar, Refining Company's sugar mill at Nausori, 15 miles away, were now on the ' war-path, " and converging .on Suva. Telephone , wires were cut, roads strewn with broken glass, etc. * Things , were decidedly - middling!, ■ There . were several skirmishes, with casualties on - both - sides, " and the white women; and children were brought from outlying districts to the Grand Pacific Hotel, at the Government's expense. The' arrival of the -Tutanekai was hailed with relief by anxious - white /women. Indeed, if the Fijians had not taken our part with pluck and. spirit, who knows - whether we could have held out till she came without a large amount of .bloodshed and worse? Manilal's, followers were ultimately thirsting • for .his blood, and the women who were imprisoned for various /cases of as-, sault were asking wildly why Mrs. Manilal was not '.with , them. They were both too clever. It is indeed strange to see a labour leader' go to the length of abusing cur hospitality to personally inqfiire into, and perhaps stir" up, matters that he cannot possibly understand; and all for the sake, of a race which boasts the .most bigoted and adamant class-distinctions in the world, members of which, in many cases/ , would have to* undergo ' a : tedious ceremony of purification if so much ■ as Mr. Holland's shadow were inadvertently to; fall upon them J • M.J.; l\ ;

DELAY IN PARLIAMENT. ( ' Apart altogether from party conr siderations we think the : Prime Minister is fully justified in /protesting against "; the useless ; waste of ■ time ■ that , has been taking place in the House. Were this/ an ordinary session with no special call of Imperial need the position would/be different. We find, however, ; ; the / leading Statesmen ( m England -'• looking ; to:- the coming / Imperial; Conference as of the utmost, importance: All who are alive to the heeds of the Em- 1 pire , realise the very great importance -of this f conference, and within this; Dominion. thinking; ' people must -", desire to ' sen' New Zealand represented. No: doubt is: held on the subject of Mr/ Massey going home -as the country's representative. To be there in / time is vital. /-What/ sense, when the time of his sailing is so hear, is there in spending' time /oh captious'; motions which can effect nothing? ■; On a recent occasion, the Prime Minister was ; right /in ;, crying out;'' What is the game?" and declaring that ho would not be humbugged. ;If the game is party, then we. suggest that party may. wait whilst the Empire is served. Of course, ordinarily a great deal of time 'is often spent on the /item of. the Estimates, and members may find it difficult to abstain from an old habit. However,; they should realize , that whilst on other, occasions it might not matter this, is hot the occasion for mere expenditure of time in words, words, words. The Opposition say that : the / Government members are jrst as bad, 'they will reply to everything. Well, i whether it >be Government' or Opposition members who are indulging in useless loquacity/ we;; contend that /it /ought' to cease,' as; it is really i humbugging /the country .to so. carry on at -this .tune, The talk /about/ a Library Report was ; weak. The' imnortant legislation to be dealt with should be concentrated upon with Irs' little delay as possib'e \ and the Prime .Minister assisted ■ toward carrying/ out our Imperial duty. . N.Z. Welfare League. ' QUEEN STREET, ONEHUNGA. ■r Sir,—" Epsom," in his letter on "Civic Vision," nientions Queen/ '■-. Street, Onehunga, as one of the localities suffering; from 'lack/of civic vision. It does not require an expert town planner 'to ';'; see that the Manukau Road and Queen Street should long '■ ago have; been/ widened to accommodate/ the/ traffic .that' they will have to take. . , \" / ;I? think it -will be admitted; that • Queen Street (Onehunga) must "be ,widened Jin the near future. There are several very pood reasons why/ this ; should) be so; Queen;-: Street is/the -main street of an important town; ,it is also the main ■;. link between the ports of Auckland arid; Onehunga, and : it carries all traffic using the Mangere Bridge. '/The majority, of■ Buildings . in this street will v soon ybe .out of date /and new ones 7 / will have to /be erected./: Indeed, ' in/ my ; opinion, .Queen Street is .just, at the point; where a period, of . a , few '■■year's will see- enormous /changes in : the class of buildings erected. Considering ,/ the// importance/of I this thoroughfare, a; set back of '-' a quarter /of,' a chain on. each side would) hot be too great. / Building activities may increase the values i fourfold ?l within: the next few years, so the time : to set about'this work; is how; , , Kaieure. ' 'BANK CHARGES. . , Sir,-—lt is high , time; • public attention was ;, drawn/ as was done by recent articles in your columns; to /the charges made/by the combine' of •; Australasian: banks'for'.'ex/ change, and other accommodation. In. addition / to / the /profiteering/ disclosed,/ it ; might be pointed but that, /while : a customer of i the bank requiring an over-; draft: is always }' charged the current rate of interest or more, if the ; same or :.■• any other ; customer Has money lying in the bank to his credit, there is no interest Whatever allowed him for the: bank's use of same. This is not only manifestly unfair, but .is quite contrary to the prac/ tice of - English banks, and , with such glaring' injustices as these on the part of capital it is/no wonder that-Socialist and Labour parties gain adherents. Personally, / I have hitherto opposed to Socialism, ; but when capital abuses its position by indirectly fleecing 'the; public in; this way, it gives one furiously >to think. Also, as .the Govßrnihent -is' a large shareholder in the Bank of New Zealand; I reiterate the query of a i high financial authority ,in ■? London;' " What does; Mr., Massey think of It?" iAs the wtrkers do not have ; much business with ordinary commercial ' banks, this extortion Us not thrust under their; notice; but it -■: affects ;,- them ' none the / less, a's,■ ; of ■course, the charges . are added Ito : cost of commodities, thus raising the '., cost of living. ■ . ■ Consumer. IRISH EMIGRANTS. Sir, —" Student " • in. the Herald • of August 1 begins his incursion into '•de discussion on "Scotland for , .Scots/' by -writing Permit me to intrude by saying tha£*Mr.Z'Murdoch/ could hot : possibly know of a state of i affairs' which does ,not exist. ':i This en-ed <to the driving ';•■ of Catholics, out of house; and home, in Belfast. '■ An ; extraordinary / statement front .one styling ~ himself "Student!'.' V The pogrom;;in Belfast started oh 'June/19; .1920," following a: violent -speech in , the city from Sir Edward , Carson,/ and continued with short intervals up to and after the signing/of * the treaty on December ,6, 1921. , On July 21, 1920, a' monster' meeting r was ' held rin/ th % shipyards at which a resolution was carried ■«/to "Clear the yards* of f/Papishes.'"/•-■.; The clearing, / was accomplished, followed by attacks on the e Cathdlics ;in various parts of the city. Catholic , churches; in Belfast, Lisburn, ' and " Ballymacarrett; were attacked, so were , the 'Catholic hospitals. From -August 27 to August,3o> 1922, thousands of Catholics employed in mills and factories* f were forcibly, expelled;from" employment. < The Lord. Mayor of Belfast ; stated oh August 'i 28 that ', property to the value of £500,000 had been destroyed. Before August ended, 70 houses and shops belonging;- to Catholics were wholly ; destroyed, and upwards of 200 houses 'and shops had their windows smashed; /On June 8, at. a public meeting, ' Mr. / Sam McGuffin, M.P., said: "By organisation/of ; a special : : force they would : drive Catholics, bag and baggage, out of the six counties!" //Rioting; followed, and ISO Catholic families, driven from their homes, were' sleeping in public/halls". From Dublin .Castle it was officially stated on June 11, 1921, that/" During ■;, three days 82 Catholic houses were wholly / destroyed, and; 41 /partially destroyed .; by civilians described „as' Unionists." Sir Hamar Greenwood confirmed this statement. / Mr,'' Niven, the well-known English : journalist an eye witness;' wrote: "The savagery {in the streets of Belfast which I saw perpetrated ' on the Catholic . population /exceeded, in ferocity 1 anythinsrl saw. in Belgium during S the war!"!" Mr. A. G. -Gardiner,; formerly editor of the London Daily News, wrote : "I am not a Catholic and I j have ;no love for the Papacy. But it is because I believe in liberty of the Protestant : ; faith that/ my ; blood ' boils -at the infamous pogrom } against /the'/ Catholic population ' in: Belfast, which /has/ been carried on for two years, and is being continued to-day /under'/the /auspices and by the ; forces *of the, Ulster Government. The whole Catholic population/is/living in 'a/ terror that recalls the Middle Ages. They are driven out of /employment by the thousand, and;; by the ten thousand-ji their homes burned over their' heads i they ; are shot down ,in the /Streets by '; the armed hordes of / the : Ulster/Government'. The poor wretches retaliate, of course. If you ■ govern by murder, what-con i you expect to reap but murder? .But who ,'are to blame but the'infamous authors of this lavage pogrom ?'.',.' Mr. Hugh /Martin, in the/Daily/News, j also condemned ; the pogrom, and said he witnessed .-, "Hugo mobs enter arid: rob; the spirit/ stores 'and carried at the head of the procession a Union Jack." Bishop McCurry appealed to, all for ? sustenance., to sustain his /per* ! secuted and impoverished- people. ■, The Geneva Bed Cross organisation responded; so did the American Cross body) after ■ receiving; a report from - its direct representatives on the spot. / In "the face of all this, testimony Student '-ihas»the hardihood to tell your ; readers that "the state of /affairs' does not exist." "Student" reminds one ;of Nelson /in Danish 1 /waters when he put his telescope to his blind eye and said he could not see the enemy! ■'•'■-■ "* , JusxmA."- *:■ ,'-.'■:"''- ■ ' : •'.-.' '" ■' ' '••' '' : V.;, ■■■':'; . : -.y,i> i "i:■■.'■■ ■ V ,-,■..:■■-\:-:-:'', -.:r\: : ■ A- ??hs ; f-.:-s"=-.

—-—. . i i ii "in.,i ,—_—_—— :,:-/•'•;./ PIOPIO SCHOOL.;.';//; / '/Sir,— letter appearing in the Herald of the 31st ult., on the above,subject, over the signature of Gordon Irons calls ; -- for some comment and ..' further'',explana- iJ tion. The writer seems to 1-- be. trying: ;f to give the impression that ho is,the mouthpiece of the parents of Piopio, and I would .like to know •■ by what authority . he assumes this role. The, petition to which Mr. Irons refers is certainly being .. circulated in the: district, but-his' state- ;-> > ment'that it has been. signed by almost eveiy parent, must have occasioned a considerable: stretch: of imagination, as . many - of the oldest residents have / refused to: have/anything to do with it, and some of the. signatures are those of p'ersoas with r ho/children;' attending the school.'■■; The position-from Mr. Laings point of view is regretable, in my judgment the inspectors' are the best: judgea/as/to the ■ ability of any,teacher, and if they coneider that Piopio school is entitled ■to ' ; V have a teacher of higher qualifications than Mr. 'Laing possesses, the parents ought to, appreciate their ■ efforts "to in- ' crease ; the standard v of; ; education "in the district. -.//' A Resident and 'Parent.- . THREE NEW PICTURES.' Sir,—Miss Dobie, -Mr. Hellaby, the city ' council and their advisors and my humble : self, are under ,; a cloud of , high : dis- . pleasure, the displeasure of your correspondent,/" Philistine," and he makes my ;/•; article means for the- visitation of his anger. Ho begins, by calling me a critic. ; Let me assure him that my,. ambitions do : not 'aspire to the high and perilous dignity of; that /title./" If he will re-read my ; '," article 1 in 1 the light of reason, ' rather than' by the! fiery glow/'.'of his indignation, hi, ■■'■: .will find that it is not a critique at all. ' Knowing from, ' experience that these pic- ./ tures in question would .probably offer ' some "difficulties to ' " iui'• man in the , street," '[ I 'wished in all friendliness tchelp him through them, to a better understanding of the work, so' that>' he might ' • enjoy them. ,: Therefore /I ' deliberately ■ '. omitted the purely critical -rpoint .of view. / / ' ,Moreover,, a critical analysis could not be included in my scheme,, -within the limit* of a single column. As to my opinion of " the- miri in the street "attitude toward art, if I really were of tho contemptuous . opinion Incapacity to appreciate with ' ' which-;" Philistine " is pleased to .saddle - me.. I should not have written the article / at all. It is just because I do believe that : the. typical :. person, "his wife and his children, know. a : lot more about art than they y did, and,possess 'a. glowing power of ; discrimination as regards pictures," that I want to help him' and his family to /a/ fuller ; enjoyment of art. But capacity to appreciate and appreciation .are / riot - the same, thing. ..Full . appreciation and enjoyment in any -direction whatever can be approached through the long avenues ofdeliberate and careful inquiry alone, and to suggest ..- that anyone can possess it without such"; means, would be against the leachings of (common experience, and common .sense,, neither /is ,it any insult to a - , man's, intelligence ,to : suggest: that 1 he should; enlarge it by knowledge. When.' " Philistine *< says, ■ with ' reference ■to Calderon's-horses, " of course they are like those on the frieze of the Parthenon;" he' misses the point 1/ wished to make. So" far as they approach the supreme excel-', '/' lenoeff of dra\ving, modelling, proportion ;■■-;'■■■' and ' action of those mighty examples, ' - Calderon's.'; horses are -to be /commended;so ■ far; as they-suggest imitation of the', ,' work of ,i anotjic-:- artist, be ;he : never so' ' great, rather than the outcome of original ' observation- of nature, > they are wrong. Of course Miss ' Dobie's picture has jits faulls. _ She would be the last to claim perfection/ for .work; but there is no // enlightenment in the angiy abuse; the ex- ": cited misstatements in which 'Philistine" ' indulges. As to Mr. Hellaby's picture, it ' is, in its turn,- open, to. criticism, but ' again scathing comments , are nieces- ' i sarily criticism. His parting shot' of contempt- at the / standard of work in the exhibition of the Society of Arts. is in. keeping - with - the whola . tone which pervades-" Philistine's" letter. -It i*'unprofitable to;. argue with an " angry'man, • -. but ,' explosions! sometimes do : -.-'damage, ' - hence this reply, W. Page Rowb.