Dear Sir

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 61, 10 April 1946, Page 4

Dear Sir

Letters to the Editor, must b® clearly written on one . side of the paper only and where a nomde*plume is used the name of the writer must be included for reference purposes. The Editor reserves the right to amend or withhold any letter or letters. UNITY Sir, —Unity what does it mean? It implies I think a ‘voluntary grouping of the people towards a common, end.’ First of all the group must know to what end it is uniting and what is its* purpose. All members should then work together in order to achieve that purpose. To think that all of a section of the people can be forced to unite is an extremely dangerous attitude to take as it implies the exact opposite to Freedom—and Democracy! Such an attitude can only bring into being a form of dictatorship! Do we want Dictatorship? Freedom and Democracy means that minorities will have the right to their own opinions and also the privilege to voice them. Let us at least be careful what we are doing. Where are we going? Do we farmers know what is happening and is going to happen to us in this new organisation?

It is suggested that to finance the Federation a levy be placed on our produce. In other words we will be forced to pay towards an organisation in which we may have no confidence, of which the farmers especially the working farmers have no control, whose policy we may completely disagree with and to which we do not wish to belong. This is neither Democracy nor Freedom. Unity is very much a thing of the mind and spirit and can only be achieved with toleration not by force. Yours etc., UNITY WITH FREEDOM.

Sir, —Is the press excluded from the meetings of the Whakatane Borough Council? If not, could we ask you to publish reports of same, as some of the ratepayers are interested in what is being done for the Borough.

Yours etc., A RATEPAYER.

(We cannot understand our correspondent’s request in the above connection in view of the fact that we have religiously covered all meetings of the Borough Council over the seven years of the BEACON’S existence. All such meetings have been fully reported and as far as we have been able to judge are fair and accurate reflections of the Council’s deliberations. Ed.) (‘Who is She?’ The writer of this enclosure failed to write his or her name. The letter will be held pending the identity of the Writer being disclosed for our own purposes only,. Ed.)