Dear Sir,

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 18, 18 February 1942, Page 4

Dear Sir,

Letters to the Editor must be clearly written on one side of the paper only and where a nom-de-plume is used the name of the writer must be included for reference purposes. The Editor reserves the nghi to abridge,, amend or withhold any letter or letters.

PETROL RESTRICTIONS? Sir, —Your correspondent "Home Guard" in Wednesday's issue, takes undue liberty with the truth, when he says I am an "interested member of the Carriers' Association," for I have never earned a shilling plying for hire and have ijothing invested in that business, consequently am not a member. He further says that I "suggested that the farmers are Fifth Columnists" seeing my letter in which appeare<yf the following sentence. "Before explaining it is as well to record that a very large majority of the farmers are so intensely loyal, that they and their wives and even the children work 70 hours a week to help win the war, although the authorities make it illegal for a large portion of the population to work more than 40 hours including holidays." It can be left to your readers to judge how much • "Home Guard" squares up with the truth.

Generally speaking, fifth columnists are the men who burn petrol, which? might be used tci save the Jives of Our sons at the front, and who are not particular in regard to the tale they tell to the gullible controller. What I said was that there was "a small minority of farmers bent on sports and pleasure while their neighbours work antl bleed to make the country safe for them to live in without getting hurt'*

This week at a social in one of our own toAvns, there was scarcely room to park another car, seine of them were farmers' cars which were doing a round trip of over 50 miles. These are of the minority to whom the petrol authorities hand out 40 gallon drums of petrol while the loyal majority get only one to one and a half gallons a month.

Recently a farmer was seen in a small hay paddock, using a truck to push in hay and also a big car to elevate it to the stack. These were both working in low gear and burning over four gallons an hour, while in an adjacent paddock there stood a team of horses that had done the job in former years and were waiting and willing to do it again.

During this month, farmers who receive petrol by the drum, have been seen doing several trips to town to have a look at the sales, pictures, socials, etc. for which they must have used at least 10 gallons for the week, and yet the petrol controllers are not intelligent enough to know that they bleed the 40 gallon drums for pleasure.

Possibly we New Zealanders have all blundered when we did not place in authority men who were born British and who* willingly trained in the last war, instead 'of selecting descendents of a neutral country. Yours etc., E.P.S. MEMBER. SECRET PROCEEDINGS

Sir, —In a leading article of the Herald Saturday, February 14, 1942. was the statement that most of the sittings in the House were held in secret. Surely there are some subjects 'on which thei people might have been informed; some discussion which might have let in light and ventilation on matters the public mind! This is a point Mr Editor that calls for answering by the heads of our Government! Here we have our Ministers negotiating with the United States for representation as members of the Senate at Washington! There was also a hint that there might be permanent Ministers for London also when the Bill was brought before the House by the Hon Peter Eraser. When asked for" anr explanation on costs and salaries etc. by the Opposition he side-tracked. The Opposition pressed fo:r the Bill to be put on the floor of the House, for debate, but the Prime Minister £ ' wanted to use his prerogative to finfv'ise the Bill without debate. Fin- iW ally he agreed to a debate in prl- < vate session and the radio was closed down as was the House so far as the public were concerned. This looks to me like trying to force the issue for Federal Govern-* (.C ontinued in previous column)