POINTS OF VIEW

Waipa Post, Volume 51, Issue 3694, 6 December 1935, Page 6

POINTS OF VIEW

OPINIONS OF OUR READERS. BE FAIR TO GERMANY. Sir, —Many of the cabled statements of German anti-Jewish and anti-reli-gious “outrages” are too ridiculous and childish to be accepted as fast by any but the very biased. Sneeifing and jeering at Hitler, his Government and his people may appeal to the temperaments of certain nationalities, but not the British. There can be no great European war without Germany’s participation, and, like Sii lan Hamilton and hosts of others I would not care to see that great nation deliberately antagonised. In a naval and military sense there are only three really great European Powers—Britain, Germany and Russia. Of these Russia is rather an unknown quantity. Despite ill-advised partial disarmament there is little doubt as to Britain’s power. There is no doubt of Germany’s. France is a dying nation. Italy—well, her army hauled a marble statue along to erect on the old Adowa battlefield! In the Great War the writer fought side by side with Australian and New Zealand-born Germans. They were loyal, true and generous comrades. Germans are almost universally good citizens and good settlers. —I am, etc., EX-DIG.

RICHARD 111. Sir, —'After reading your report of the Orphans’ Club “ladies’ night,” in which reference was made to an entertainer reciting Shakespeare’s version of Richard lll.’s alleged maundering, after committing a horrible murder, a member of my family, with recollections of history as taught in the schools of New Zealand, remarked, “ Richard must have been a horrid man ! ” Now, sir, when the question arises of King Richard lll.’s innocence or guilt, I no longer feel surprised or even hurt. I have, carefully studied two books that were written in an effort to dispel some of the more common delusions, while many other writers of greater reputation than the authors of those books have fought for an understanding of that tragic king but evidently no impression whatever has been made upon the public. Most people are presumably under the illusion that the so-called More’s “ History of Richard ” was written by Sir Thomas More. May I assure them that it is by no means certain that Sir Thomas More wrote that book, and that a great deal of it was undoubtedly written by King Richard’s greatest enemy, Cardinal Morton ? Also, surely it is carrying an argument too far by producing Shakespeare as an authority ? In the first place, it is more than probable that Marlowe wrote “ Richard III.,” and, in the second, neither Marlowe nor Shakespeare can be accepted as historical evidence. It is extraordinary how the defence of Richard is so utterly ignored; most people, alas! do not seem, to know that it exists !—I am, etc., •STUDENT.

SISTER ESTHER’S APPEAL. iSir, —As the season for giving is here, we ask your kind help for the aged and sick, and for the needy children of the city. We feel constrained to make a special appeal on behalf of our aged. During the immigration period, when families came to New Zealand in very large numbers, men and women often brought their parents with them. Economical conditions have been such that they are now unable to support their aged dependents. Yet these, owing to the residential clause, are not eligible for the old age pension. Many of them are ailing - and depressed, living under unhappy conditions. Would you please help to make their Christmas a memorable one ? one ? The decrepit, the lonely, and even the outcast find their way to us; those who are without friends or home. A clean shirt, a coat, pants, a pair of shoes, or a packet of groceries—-the smallest gift will call forth pleasant memories. Our work among the children has two aspects—one of joy, and one of sorrow. In our distribution of food we see much that makes our hearts ache. Quite lately a boy was given some vegetables and a smoked fish to take home. A short distance from our gate he sat down on the pavement, took the uncooked fish out of his kit, and devoured the whole of it. Frequently children are seen to take the stale, dry bread out of their kits in the streets and begin to eat ravenously. , For over twenty years we have kept this house on the hill adjacent to the poor neighbourhoods. Even tiny tots find their way here. All clay long they come; earnest pathetic little souls many of them. School children, too, and big boys and girls who are sensitive about their shabby clothing and bare feet. They also appreciate a bathing suit, or a book to read. Could you draw a mental picture of our depot on a Saturday morning you would see among our many callers come eighty children, each representing a home. Their demeanour is quiet and subdued as they wait patiently to be served with vegetables and other food, or with clothing. Will you please help us to send food to all who have insufficient, or. who are without.

We desire to express our tender appreciation of a generous public for what it has enabled us to accomplish in the past.—l am, etc., SISTER ESTHER. 11 Picton St., Ponsonby, C.2.,

Auckland