Citizens Say

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1020, 10 July 1930, Page 8

Citizens Say

ART UNIONS Sir,— It is evident the Government has not stopped this system of raising money by the means of art unions. Why not, then, use the art union to relieve unemployment? AVo should be able to raise a million pounds in six months, with prizes in proportion. The organisers would find that the world would subscribe. When the million was obtained it could be lent to the New Zealand Government for public works or to local bodies at the current rate of interest for works absorbing labour. This would find employment for a large number, and would not be charity. The interest accruing from the principal could be used and divided annually among the benevolent associations to relieve distress. If tho unions of New Zealand took this question up I am sure the result would be a success. WILLIAM PINCHES. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Sir. — The statement by the London chief ol' police, if correctly reported by your correspondent “Status Quo” (“If the death penalty were abolished, I would have to arm my constables”), cannot be ignored, but one must await the full report of the commission to which this official was giving evidence before being able to calculate the amount of weight which it deserves. It would be. just as easy to pick out equally strong evidence offered to this commission by those who favour abolition. On the facO of it, however, one cannot help asking why the abolition of the death penalty should call for the arming of constables in England or New Zealand and not in the countries which have successfully discarded this barbarity. N. M. RICHMOND. “CORAM POPULO” Sir.— In these days of mob justice, and its greater, attendant evil, mob mercy, may I plead for the revival of a grand old English custom which if the hour is not too late may give back to us in its pristine vigour the greatest of our hereditary characteristics a. stolid insouciance in the face of death ? We have ready to our hand a means, well proved by our forbears, of making our

(To the Editor.)

young people contemptibly familiar with. Death and his rout of horrors; a, means of engendering in them true British phlegm when in their ears the dread trumpet sounds; a means which not only fulfils the incisive wisdom of tho Biblical saying—a tooth for a tooth—-but also brings them face to face with oe*ith without undue risk and with certain profit. This means is the making of executions public. Humanitarians may speciouslv object, but who would not rather make his final bow before an attentive ami appreciative crowd, beneath the kind’.v rays of a westering sun. assured that a silver collection would benefit his bereaved (or some worthy fund if he had none—thus eschewing the regrettable spirit of the lottery) than, bleared with sleep, be dragged, bound and blinded to a frosty solitary scaffold ere even a lark were in the sky ? MEDICAL DAVY. NEWTON FOOTBALL HISTORT Sir,— I read with keen interest the history of the Newton Bangers' Football Club in your sports edition on Saturday. As a former member I appreciated the article to the utmost. Those responsible for it deserve a great deal of praise, for they are doing an inestimable amount of good for the game. Because of newspaper apathv and prejudice in earlier days the achievements of those intimately connected with the game were seldom chronicled so that only few of the many thousands who visit Carlaw Park on Saturday afternoons are familiar with tho early activities of the club and its struggles in its uphill fight firmly to raise the League banner. Inseparable from such a review as that I mention must be a few inaccuracies because the historian must depend to a large extent upon other people for his sources of information. So I may be pardoned for pointing out some errors. The first refers to George Gillett being a member of the All Golds. This is not correct. Gillen's name was freely mentioned as one likely to join tile late A. H. Baskerville's pioneers, but he preferred to take on the 190 V visit to Sydney with the I'nion All Blacks. A few years later Gillen threw in his lot with the League and toured England with the first Australian and New Zealand team in 1911. Other New Zealanders in that party were * Boiler” Francis, the late Charlie Savory and Frank Woodward, four in all. It was in the final match of the 192, season that Newton won the Stormont Memorial Shield from Richmond

when poor old Dick Stack met regrettable mishap: not the ' match, as stated- Your writ€ T * f formants evidently overlooked the ’ n that Lou Brown. the great “ winger, made his local debut *n 13-a-side game as a member ® Newton Club about 1922. Two P* - f to whom 1 consider an injustice » been done in being omitted special mention were _ Brothers. Charlie and “Squash aoK )i of the finest club forwards one wish to see. They were out in tn when the late Billy Newdick, "Wally Soman* *aa * Bass—all Newtonians — - loy^ the best in the land. Yw*> und honest men never dontlnd I -wish also to note that a>iu —nreXew Zealand and Auckland sentative honours were fortro co«wishing you the best of luck » n <r* tinuation of splendid aervice -^py came I would add that such f->r the League was nev«?Vu'/subof before the ad vent