CORRESPONDENCE CONDENSED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15820, 19 July 1913, Page 15

CORRESPONDENCE CONDENSED.

R. A. Western pleads for the exercise of a little cominouseiise in the conduct of the tramways. A conductor wlio takes two snips orf a concession ticket /viion ihe paseeagct has distinctly told him iie is travelling lor one section only, and who admits his mistake, says the only remedy for the passenger is to call at. the office where, it ihe mistake has been reported, a rotund ■will bo made to him

T. E. iirown expresses his satisfaction j with the recently reported remark by l J ro- j fcKor Hewitson in tavour of a hospitablo I reception bcin<r given by an open mind to new ideas. Too often, he says, wo obticrvo evidences of a blind and unyielding j bigotry which condemns, unheard, anything : and everything not. stamped with the hall- • mark of "prim conventionality." William liarr expresses the opinion that | tho Rev. Mr Saunders's manner of ap- ' ; preaching what ho considers objectionable practices will only defeat its own end. Mr : Saunders's complaint is against enclosed coursing, while he seems to approve it in tho open. Now, the fact is that at least double tho number of hares are killed in open coursing, and it- is certainly more severe on both dogs and haves, while the hunted and injured haro must attend to , its wounds an beot it can, or die a linger- j iifjr death.

"Motorist" wriies that,.when he waa coming to town'from Waitati on the night of the 16th inst. in a fos so thick that one. could not see a yard ahead, he met, between Waitati an-J Ihe Junction, no fewer that four vehicles, not one of which had lights. It was almost a miracle he did not run into two of them. He suggests that the powers that be should make an example of some of these people who drive without lights. If an accident had happened, of course the motorist would have been blamed.

Edward Nelson writes:—" Various causes have been assigned for the great social and industrial unrest of the world. The working class, with larger wages, shorter hours ajid comforts, such as many well-to-do people could not enjoy 50 years ago, are moro discontented than ever, and seem ready {or revolution. .Agitators arc only the symptoms of the disease —not the cause of it.. A secondary cause is the widespread common education. Scientific advancement and mechanical inventions have brought the world forward marvellously the last 50 jeare, and increased -its wealth, many thousandfold. While the working class in America, Great Britain, and the colonics, and in many European countries, have benefited from this in increased wages and reduced hours of labour, the capitalists and enterprising employers have benefited much more in proportion. Never before in the history of the world have there been such large and many fortunes possessed by singie individuals. This wealthy minority, naturally associating with it-self every social advantage _ and making its influence felt in every direction, is exciting tho envy of a largo class who are 'not on easy street'; and to this cla?6 Socialism, in, one form or another, seems the right way of justly dividing up the earth's wealth and increase. Why are tlioy not contented? asks the oldfashioned person. Because they are human and selfish. But were not people always human and selfish? How could they be contented in the past? The answer is. to my mind, that in tho past a large number of workers had faith in God and 'the hereafter." In development of this argument, cur correspondent proceeds to say that for the last 20 ycare or so the higher institutions of learning, including the theological seminaries, have been teaching an evolutionary theology which denies every fundamental truth of Christianity, together with higher criticism, which is a complete, denial of the inspiration and iufaliibilitv of the Old Testament and most of the New. Further, he answers certain statements respecting the Bible, attributed to Professor George Jackson, which were published in tho Sunday Circle in the Otago D.rly Times of tho 12th July, but as the authenticity of these statements has now been denied we sen no need to accord space to a reply to them.