PUBLIC OPINION

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20247, 16 July 1937, Page 9

PUBLIC OPINION

As expressed by correspondents, whose letters are welcome, but for whose views we have no responsibility. Correspondents are requested to write in ink. It is essential that anonymous writers enclose their proper names as a guarantee of good faith. Unless this rule is complied with, their letters will not appear.

FINANCIAL PRINCIPLES. (To the Editor.) Sir, —“Seeker” accuses the League of “decrying people who develop attributes of Christian human beings.” This is really too funny I Let us examine this accusation. A | Douglas Credit advocate, following the usual propaganda of his creed, quoted Professor Soddy as a supporter of : Douglas Credit. The League gave ex- j tracts from the Professor’s books j whioh showed that he by no means j accepted the Douglas theories or doc- j trines—in fact, he ridiculed them. | For having made this correction the j League is accused of decrying those j who try to develop Christian attributes. Does “Seeker” infer that it is a Chris- ‘ tion attribute to set up a man like Professor Soddy as a Douglas -sup- ; porter when as a matter of fact he is • no such thing? ; In order to confound the League | “Seeker” then quotes extracts from : Professor Soddy’* writings on mone- 1 tary reform. These have nothing to ! do with the discussion, which was i whether Professor Soddy is a supporter of Douglasism. Douglas propaganda says that be is; Professor Soddy himself says he is not. The Professor’s views on other matters are irrelevant.—We are, etc., N.Z. WELFARE LEAGUE. Wellington, July 13.

BOBBY CALVES. (To the Editor.) Sir, —A few days ago I read a letter from Mrs Seal on* the subject of bobby calves. I am glad that a voice is raised in protest on behalf of these poor little victims of human greed and cruelty. It Is agony to me to hear, often all through the night,, the pitiful cries of the poor little sufferers, obviously cold and hungry, in trucks in the Frankton station yards, and I have wondered what steps oould be taken to end that hideous barbarity, perpetrated in the name of commerce. If no hope of assistance is to be placed in the Government, is- there no other way of raising an organisation strong enough to demand cessation of such a scandalous traffic, which is a disgrace to our fair land With the oncoming season imminent it is imperative that some attempt should be made to bring relief to innocent victims. I congratulate Mrs Seal on her firm stand on the side of humane treatment of animals, and I hope the orusade will be continued till relef comes. Will not the people of Hamilton voloe their sympathy and support through the Press?—l am, etc., A SYMPATHISER. Frankton, July 14 (To the Editor.) Sir, —May I, on behalf of the New Zealand Federation of the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, place before your readers the facts of what has been done and what needs to be done to reform the bobby calf trade ? In May of last year the Minister of Agriculture called a conference of representatives of the freezing works to draw up regulations for the improvement of lorry transports, and to prevent the handling of unfed calves and calves that are too weak to stand the journey. Regulations were gazetted on June 18, 1936, and are good so far as they go; but what provision is there for their enforcement? Constables and officers of the Agricultural Department have their own special duties, and it is impossible for them to cover the vast areas from which bobby calves are picked up by the thousand each day for each freezing works during the season. The inspectors of the S.P.C.A. do their utmost, hut they are so few in number that their power to check the barbarities of the traffic, which these regulations seek to prevent, Is almost nil. The crying need Is for more inspectors, and this can only be met by greatly increased financial support, governmental or otherwise, for the S.P.G.A., or else by the appointment of a large staff of conscientious Inspectors by the Agricultural Department.

The worst cruelties are undoubtedly inflicted during transport, and so far nothing has been done to mitigate them. It is an Inhuman thing that weak, starving baby calves from one to four days old should be transported In bare iron trucks, without foot-hold or cover, for tarpaulins cannot be used with these trucks on account of danger of suffocation. Those who have had experience of travel, even in firstclass carriages, on “mixed” trains in rural districts, know what a horrible shaking-up may be experienced during shunting operations, and can imagine the sufferings of these newly-born

calves in open iron trucks on “freight” trains during winter on journeys that may take anything up to 2! hours. The mortality among them is often shocking.

In March last, the New Zealand Federation of S.P.C.A. waited on the Minister of Agriculture and asked that the following regulations, among

others,’should he gazetted: (1) Making compulsory on railways the use of sheep wagons covered with tarpaulins;

(2) specifying the fittings to be used on motor trucks and the maximum number of calves to be carried; (3) requiring calves to he taken to I lie nearest works for slaughter, and if arriving before 8 a.m. to he killed on Ihe same day. If the regulations asked for were made, any breaches could be much more readily detected than in the case of those already in force, and an enormous amount of cruelty would he prevented. The federation si ill hopes lhat, though late, the efforts which tlie Minister of Agriculture is making will bear fruit during the present season. —1 am, etc., JOHN 11. lIOWELL. Chairman of Executive Council. Wellington, July 12.

ORANGKS AND BANANAB. (To the Editor.) Sir, —“Reciprocity” seems to be an alien word, so far as the banana and orange trade is concerned; also, there I appears to be an attempt to explain j things away rather than state the posl- , tion as it actually is. For instance, we are told: “The reluctance of the * New Zealand Governments in recent years to relax this (present tense) embargo has been largely due to trade i commitments with Jamaica and other i West Indian Islands, and also is the j logical and necessary sequel to Ausj tralia’s embargo on New Zealand’s i potatoes.

According to the lion. M. Fagan, there are certain restraints on Australian oranges, yet the Hon. D. Sullivan, Minister of Industries and Commerce. Informs the writer, in reply to a letter relative to the orange trade. “I am pleased to advise you that no duty is payable on Australian oranges and the freight charges—Australia to New Zealand —are 2s per case. No information is available covering the price received by the grower.” Referring to bananas, the same gentleman informs the writer that the entry of bananas from Samoa, Fiji, Niue and Cook Islands is free of duty, but bananas from Samoa and Fiji are subject to primage of 3 per cent. Freights are stated as follows: Samoa-New Zealand 4s lid, Niue-New Zealand 2s lid, Cook Islands-New Zealand 2s lOd, Fiji-New Zealand 3s per case. Again the Minister Is ignorant as to the price the growers are receiving for their fruit. However, the New South Wales Fruitgrowers’ Federation has issued a statement to the effect “that at the beginning of June 3000 cases of Island oranges reached the Dominion, and the price was fixed by the Government at from 14s to 21s per case, this price being reduced later by Is because of the refusal of retailers to purchase at the higher value.” We are also told that the Island growers sell at 2s 6d per case and the freight oharge to Auokland Is only 3s 9d per case, but the official landed cost amounts to 14s 9d, consequently the Fruitgrowers’ Federation of New South Wales puts the question: “Who receives this balance of 8s 6d whioh Is not accounted for and still remains unexplained”? In conclusion, the Minister of Industries and Commerce informs me "that the Government, in fixing prices in New Zealand, has insured that no undue profit is being made by New Zealand merchants; and, finally, another letter I have by ms, from the office of the Director of Internal Marketing, states “that the prices of oranges and bananas are not subject to any regulations whatever.”—l am, etc.,

HARRY WOODRUFFE Auckland, July 12.