LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25049, 13 November 1944, Page 4

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Respect lor Law Sir, —Many readers will heartily agree \rith the remarks of "Disgusted" about our Government's non-enforcement of the gaming laws. One child of the great gaming family, the art union, is encouraged by the Government, while futile attempts are made to repress another child of the same family, bookmaking. Why? Does not this attitude of the Government lend colour to the bookmaker's business? It is certainly not conducive to any respect for law. Te Hira. Crooning Kills Marches

Sir, —Oould your correspondents "Frank's Fan" and "Pro-Crooner" supply me with the exact reasons as to why the crooning of Crosby and Sinatra is so popular? One musical authority said, on being asked why this war did not produce thrilling marching songs, as did the first World War, that no country would ever fight its _ best while its radio was constantly giving out, "Darling, let me sit beside you " In a recent article, it was stated that girls in their teens on Frank Sinatra swoon and shriek "Oh, Frankie, I love you." Child delinquency is a great problem in most countries today. How Ls one to cope with it when there exists a state of affairs like this?

F. H. Baker. Training lor Native School Teachers Sir, —it is to be hoped that the big Maori conference recently held in Wellington has impressed the authorities with the urgency of the matters discussed, so that something concrete will come from the deliberations. A matter brought up at the conference was the specialist training in Maori of native school teachers conducted at the Wellington Training College. The Government was asked to revive and extend this course, at present in abeyance owing to the war. To me this resolution, though good, does not go far enough The Maori language and culture should constitute a definite course at the Training College under the direction of a special lecturer. Further, such a course should be recognised as a part of the "C" Certificate Examination, compulsory for all intending native school teachers and optional for others. The trend of native education today is toward a stressing of the value of Maori languago, culture, arts and crafts in the development of Maori personality, but the training of those responsible for realising this philosophy is at present inadequate and haphazard. Maharaja Winiata. Grammar School Giants

Sir, —The "giants" of 1910 to 1920 seem to be getting so much publicity that I feel it worth while to draw attention to the successes of my old class, most of whose members left the school in, 1 think, 1887. Alanv years after Mr J. W. Tibbs, uur then mathematical master, said to me: "Your old class was definitely the strongest class that has passed through the Grammar School in my day." To refer to just a few: Dick McLaurin went to America. I have it on the authority of Sir James Parr, who visited him there, that he was head of the biggest scholastic institution in the world and drawing a salary which when stated in dollars seemed enormous. Dave Jackson after leaving school took a scholarship at Oxford. Hugh Poland came to the school as the head of the scholarship boys for his year, was second for New Zealand in the senior civil service examination and was, perhaps, all round the best in the class. James Parr, although a certain weakness in mathematics generally kept him out of top places, was a brilliant boy. Casper Simadeni took first place for New Zealand in the senior civil service examination. I have picked these boys out, but there were a number of others very little behind them. Our best claim for recognition is, I think, our performance in the senior civil service examination in our last year. From memory, our class sent up 15 boys, of whom one failed. Only 20 were successful from the whole of New Zealand. We filled all the ton places—about seven, I think, and our lowest pass out of our 14 successes was 16th. ;W. 'Mi Jackson,