Citizens Say-—

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 627, 2 April 1929, Page 8

Citizens Say- —

(To the Editor.)

EQUALITY BETWEEN SEXES Sir. — Apropos to the recent retirement of a lady teacher after 30 years’ service, it seems something of an anomaly that men have to do an extra stretch of 10 years’ hard before retiring. A few ambitious women striving after headships of big schools are at present crying out for equality between the sexes, but surely their sisters will not be willing to sacrifice the 10 years of superannuation for the joy of seeing these two or three satisfied. The Women Teachers’ Association has nominated a full “ticket” for the Wellington conference on the “equality” catch-cry, but it has not made the position with regard to superannuation clear to the constituents. Understanding the true position, surely the lady teachers will protect their privileges from these “feminists.” Thanking you, sir. A TEACHER. THE TOLL OF IGNORANCE Sir, — Your correspondent “Q” raises a subject which in my own opinion should be placed before the public in plain unvarnished. language. It can be safely said that ignorance is th© one great factor in the spread of the worst racial cancer spelt in the tragic initials of V.D. Now, so far as New Zealand is concerned, I have no figures regarding out-patients, because the Year Book does not publish them. The figures I have are taken from successive issues of that book, and deal only with in-patients from 1923-27. The figures, sir, which totalled 1,089 in 1927, show the vital necessity for the public to be informed of the true position. And even then they are only a skeleton index. For the Year Book coolly informs us that the greater number by far are out-patients, but gives no indication whatever as to the extent. This is very different to the New South Wales Y r ear Book, and that for the Commonwealth, which both state all avenues of information, even notifications by medical men. It is more than time public opinion in this country was awakened from its foolish If J.argy. That, sir, is the worst aspect of the situation. R. M. THOMPSON. CEMETERY FIRE Sir.— Your correspondent, “More Light,” deserves to be supported in his demand for more public knowledge about the cause of the disastrous fire last week in the Waikumete Cemetery reserve plantation. I, also, visit the reserve frequently, and agree readily with “More Light” that the fire, obviously, was due to “stupidity and neglect.” Of course, it is not to be expected that grave-diggers should be experts in forestry, but surely they must have been under the control of someone with common sense and authority. Wer*. tb* simple men allowed to fire the tall that makes the cemetery a wilderness without having been instructed as to the danger of firing the plantation as [ well? [ Beyond a doubt the City Council

again is primarily to blame for the havoc that has been wrought on the beautiful plantation. The reserve Yvas planted on the familiar lines of Auckland, municipal stupidity. Mot a single fire-break was provided over the whole of the hundred acres planted In commercial forest trees. And the undergrowth was as tinder for a midsummer bon-flre. Moreover, the adjoining cemetery reserve always has been permitted to be a mockery of administration and the sentiment associated with death. After 10 years of promising growth in the plantation and a decade of characteristic neglect alongside of it, 40,000 trees have been killed. The stupid fire was cremation on an extravagant scale. If the trees were valued at the ridiculously low figure of one shilling each, £2,000 has gone up in smoke. The public in justifiab'e wrath ought to sweep the City Council, and its inefficient staff into belated oblivion, and place the quick and the dead under the control of competent and less callous administrators. SEARCHLIGHT. ORIGIN OF THE MAORI Sir, — Tawhitiroa criticises me in setting forth the usually accepted and only scientifically proveable theory in respect of the above, and seems intent in proving his own racial affinity as a Polynesian with the undoubtedly Mongolian red man. He also invites us to ‘study more closely and minutely,” to prove his contention; hut does not state what his contention is founded on Certainly it cannot be the languages’ nor the legendary and mythologicai close and minute study” of these totally diverse branches of the human family. For those aspects of respective .racial cultures have been very exhaustively examined and relatively compared by the ablest scientists in +£ OS€ L e^s knowledge, resulting in the definite conclusion of the Aryan ° f P , olyneKian uiao, and likewise the Mongolian origin of the American Indian people.

It is definitely known that the Poly"f; s , ian ancestors were in fact compete*ll navigators within the Indian Ocean and Malay seas before ever they entered the Pacific, and that they StiSf TT\T d,a ’ V via the Malacca and , thence by various routes Pacific-wards. The evidence is the ; - th , e ocean pathways which these ancient navigators traversed are to-day traceable from group to group TbL„ lonß the , c , oasts navigated. There communities, descended from H*° se old navigators are found, speak<rog,nate languages, possessed of identica l customs and mythological Ptl i?“ S ' AU these people and their cultures are traceable back to the RidkT 11 racial cradle—Aryanmigratory pathway of RehHni I Sf n -t ro . m Northern Asia, via Behring Strait, is as clearly evidenced from many anthropological and other scientific facts— all clearly proving Ms As l ia tlC " M ° ne ° lian origin ln North-west Tawhitiroa makes unnecessary difllculties for himself ln suggesting that the Polynesian arrived in the Pacific —not by the natural and more obviously convenient gateways of Malasea*, but ss-ther via Ssdia»j

Ocean, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn, etc.” He invites us to “a study of the map” to convince us. That surely is just what the map would not suggest, for such a theory is an apparent geographical absurdity. Apart from it* obvious impracticability it has no scientific data whatever to aid it. Madagascar is certainly inhabited by a race of almost pure Polynesian affinity and which apparently displaced therf an older negroid people, and there are in fact suggestions that the neighbouring African coastal people hav p some racial similarities. But south or that there are very doubtful traces. Whether Madagacar was thus occupied by that race migrating from India or Malay, or even backward from the Pacific, does not appear to be determined. Finally, Tawhitiroa suggests that we agree with his conclusions and ai<L us thereto by “casting aside the scientific and ethnological aspect of the question.” Now the value of any course of study (pursued, however “closely and minutely”) would be con* pletely discounted if one were to ignore those essential aids to research in am I branch of knowledge. , „ GEORGE GRAHAM.