PUBLIC OPINION

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7868, 2 August 1911, Page 2

PUBLIC OPINION

THE TRAMWAY MISMANAGE M ENT nv> the Editor “N.Z. Times,”) Sir,—lt is high time someone with atilliorilv made the City Council mine I<> its hearings about the overcrowding and the liigh-olep on the ears. Caines tom: and lii-riv have been the exnerience of ilm travelling public in the latter case. Not merely n net of steps, but a stepladder is ueetled in some of tiio palace cars. Anneals to the council aro ot no avail. Councillors are hidebound. \\ lm ore the nmmhn.s of the council who aro allowed to ride roughshod over Ihe wishes of Dip citizenst There nin.sk he somo very occult reason or why is public opinion, etc., ivnen-d ? Every day brings outrage-. A stable erected, tn sheer defiance, in one of the few beauty sp-p s in Wellington-(he Botanical Linden n despite the opposition of the citizens. The wholes!! b- destruction of anv hit of greenery in the shape of a trem Tho disregard to enforce tho Act. or hv-taw, re spitting on sidewalks-. Even at tho public library tho entrance porch is perfectly disgusting on a wet dnv with nmu Waging and spitting and Woking. If tho council, cannot carry out l.heir mien, thru it is time someone else did it for them. 1 hope tiio Minister of Rtildic Works will pot bo tin-nod away from doing his best to help tilli* citizens of tin's oily.—l am. etc., Gi-nnat; Archibald. Kilhirnio- July 31st. THE SHEFFIELD CHOIR . (To the Editor “X.Z. Times.”) Sir, —At Inst we have in flic Mayor of Adelaide ono civic dignitary who shows by his action that lm thinks for himself and not as part of a machine. This gentleman lias refused to give tire Sheffield choir a civic reception on tire ground- of it,; money-seeking clnrjiactar. Quito right. Why -should a Mayor with his attendant corporation he expected or bo linked to rpsppctahilitate cum allow more than anotherf Why should the Empire Sheffield choir he accorded mure honourable treatment .or less honourable than tho Birmingham Empire Empyrean of Bounding Acrobats? Each has its way to malm along appointed moneymaking lines; each docs or .should do it; let; no one ho disappointed at tho success of either, or withhold pity at its non-.siicce.ss. But these in usque in dcs of disinterest cdn-cas or super-excellence, _or in tenner culture, by which mere exploitation of tiio people’s pockets is covered, should not, he panoplied any longer by the people’s representatives. There can he no doubt that the acrobatic gentlemen aforesaid are just as good poseurs as tho innimger or the managers of a famous choir, that one priina donna is the very greatest in the world until the next prim a’ donna arrives, that tire exponent of seven Bibles is seven times as clever as tho hxponent of only one. But the one question that should’ Bo at: tho hack of the mind of the gentleman with the gown ami ncckojiain, when u cunning enterpriser begs his aid in booming his wares; is; “Is this tiio same o-ld money-hunt? If it is, . why should I give It a ‘pull’ over similar hunts?” And he .should answer himself like a business niau put in his place by his follows to protect their business. ■ .

What did. the Sheffield choir do? Come to this country and took away ten tlionsa.nd golden sovereigns at the very least. Did it help a charity or a musical educational establishment, or even musical taste? It did not. It took care to give ns littlo hack ns it possibly could to the country -it was exploiting; much Ic-'s indeed* than the country wns entitled to expect. (That hospitality trick was n masterpiece of ctuining.) it cebtain.ly gratified musical taste: tho sordid rushing about this district of spout singere

in pursuit of shilling was certainly no earnest of a desire to help to lonn musical taste, The choir remained good in spite of exhaustive ellorls of iis managers to make it had. In getting no the demonstrations by which they enhance tho appearance of lho>e travelling fortune-seekers in the eyes of their public, tho municipal authorities never seem fur a moment to weigh tho question of object. ‘‘ls this what we are being asked to do to redonnd to tho people of this place in either money or creditr” is a fair question for them to put to themselves when the “this” means helping to lift the money that is quietly lying in tho bottom of pockets awaiting the arrival of the rate - demand, and to transfer it to other pockets that will safely carry it to the other side of the world. Tho fact is, to state it shortly, crowds are cowardly. Lot a man be clever enough to think to help himself—to anything—by the aid of a oiwd ami he can have his cowards for the asking by the score: people who daren’t for their lives say what they think for fear of—(Something or other, always intangible and mostly non-existent. T was on the committee of the Sheffield choir. Therefore, say I individually, all honour to Adelaide!* flavor, for his rommcii-sensc. I hope Hayors elsewhere are listening.—l am, etc., ■\v. July 29th, 1911.