LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 34, 4 November 1907, Page 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

■. ' ■■■ ■ -——♦ — ■ ■. DR. GIBB AND "THE INFALLIBLE FOOL." ' Sir,—" Lord Kelvin, Sir William Crookes, and .Sir Oliver. Lodge congratulated Mr. Marconi on -his recent successes in linking Eiidnnd and America by wireless telegraphy. "• So ran ii Press cable in your paper a foVdays ago, and yot how few readers are awaro tliat the above men of such vast re : search aro avowed -spiritualists, Marconi being '■ the most -recent- convert, while Sir William Crookes has written works covering over thirty-live years-of his experiences. in science literature, and art wo could add the names of the world's brainiest men, such as Dr \lfred Russell Wallace, dear old Gerald Ma'ssey. P oet > wIIOSB obituary notice you riehtly gave such prominence in Friday's paper .the late Judge Edmonds, Professors W F. Barrett and de Morgan, F.R.S., Hev. Dr. Parker, City Tdmp'o, Rev. Canon Wilberforce, Archdeacon Collie, Rev. 11. It. Haweis, Rev. J. Page Hopps, Alderman J. P. Barkas, F.R.S., Mons. Thiers,- late President French Republic. Space will not permit or I could till columns with such notabilities, and yet Dr. Gibb says of spiritualism and table' rapping (which is' decidedly spirit manifestation) that "If it is true, he would rather lose bo'dy and soul." The colebrated Robert Chambers, of " Cltambefs's Journal,' etc., snys, "I have for.many years known of the phenomena as real,'quite' apart from impostures,' and in time it will revolutionise the whole frame of human opinion." If Dr.'Gibb or anyone else will not investigate into, this -grand truth, and get a deeper held than mere table rappmgs and the lower ffirms of spiritism (where so much fraud and trickery are prevalent), it is impossible to realise that higher spiritualism is the grandest knowledge, the purest Christianity, it is possible to conceive..: if. holds no narrow creeds, only love and duty to God and the universal brotherhood of man, as expressed in the life of that perfected Being who manifested an earth life 2000 years ago. Forbear with one another, said the Master, and 1 know that, as Dr. Gibb ovolves into the higher truths of what life really is, he. will forbear with his brother who happens to do his own thinking.—l am, etc., •

■: } ; ':.'-., g: w. minter. November' 2, 1907. . •■■ . . THE FIRE BRIGADES BILL. gj r) _Th e reports of the debate' in Parliament'as to the provisions which' it is desirable- to put into this Bill can only be read with astonishment by .anyone who is acquainted with the principles of insurance business and with the special circumstances existing in New Zealand at the present time. The insurance companies have at all times protested against any measure which taxes them' for contribution 'towards tho cost of reducing tho; fire hazard, tho extent of which determines. ; their field of operations and also the income which they can obtain. Yet the public arid: the House , will always insist upbn'deajing.with/thei question as though the price of insurance were a fixed quantity and a-reduction of risk proportionately beneficial to the offices. It is proposed'that-tho latter shall have; no voico as to the question of imposing the contribution for fire prevention or of the amount of it, as tho initiation and establishment of Fire Boards is vested entirely in the local-authority, subject only to Ministerial approval; a procedure which practically determines all results which follow. Action can bo brought about.by a few energetic ratepayers'who in the measure, an' opportunity of-; placing, some part of their ordinary responsibilities as owners of property upon the insurance companies, the latter,, by the provisions of the/Act, being •bound ready for..!the purpose. The suggestion to. give the, companies a minor voice as to spoil shall be disposed of is'quite beside the question of principle, which ought to provide for,-proportionate representation as to.the imposition of tho burden. The House has already created the State Fire Department, with regard to which the Government has. time after time been reminded that its' principal function is to prevent the offices from.fixing prices of insurance according 'to their requirement. The House upon such occasions has been assured that this

duty will-be strictly carried out, having proper regard, however, to charges which ought to be made. This assumption of knowledge as to what tho rates of insurance ought to bo is siniply preposterous, for any man having within himself such a fund of information, would .be worth a larger salary than any Cabinet Minister in the world receives. ,„ Under such circumstances, the outcome is ,a- foregone conclusion, as tho influence end pressure will always be in the one direction, leaving no prospect for tho companies who have few. votes and fow- friends. There is no record of legislation in modern times, so i.ir as I am aware, quite so exceptional or quite soiUiijustifiable. It is one form of Socialism gone.mad. The fire insurance companies in New Zealand will apparently be placed in a similar position to the unfortunate members of a pertain i: persuasion in days gone by, who, because they had money, were levied upon by any who were strong enough to exact toll and had no scruples as to tlio manner. of obtaining it. . The ; substance of insurance companies, is in like manner to bo seized upon at the instance, and for the benefit, of those who combine for tho purpose of abstracting it. -Under legislation such' as this, tho .Dominion of New Zealand will be a very good place-for the insurance companies to bo out of, especially as they aro now collectively.. ; carrying a . contingent : liability amounting to millions in-each of the principal centres without any consideration in respect, of it; the revenue, owing to the intervention of the Legislature,' being now not. sufficient ,to meet even ordinary liabilities.—l am, etc., ~ •■•..■■ R. M. SIMPSON, Generni Manager for ' Now Zealand; Phccnix Ausurance : '-, ;, ■' ! ' \C P ., Ltd. '-■■'. . ■ ■ ■ ■Wellington, November 2, 1907. .'.' ; LEGAL TENDERMONEY. Sir,—ln noticing my remarks iivthe House on.Friday night your report did not.notice what. I-considered the .important point. It Svas the cablegrani that was sent from Berlin on,-7th October, stating that Germany was coining £15,000,000 worth of. silver into full legal tender money. Seeing that Germany was the country which,commenced the demonetisation of'silver in. 1871 by selling 3,552,000 kilogrammes of ■ silver (3496 tons) for £28,000,000,. the fact that they have decided to coin £15,000,000 worth of silver (1837 tons) into full legal tender money at a ratio, of 15i to 1 is' significant. The pressure upon gold at.the great money centres of the world has 'been growing more acuto oyery year, and it seems likely that silver will be romonotised \ as it was demonetised to.suit the financiers and money lords. It will bo restored, not by international agrecnVent, but by'international disagreement.—l am, etc.; •'. '■■.'-. .'■••. • '! .;.'.'■ ■;■■ DONALD -REID, Junr. Wellington, October 29, 1907. LAND SHARKS. Sir,—l see these gentlemen ;whb think money is .everything in this world have caused the Rev. J. J. North,to speak out. Now, instead of wasting his time in trying to wipe out tho totalisatoi- and gambling (ho might as woll say'to the Bca: 'So far shnlt thou come, and no farther'), if he would turn his attention to these land sharks and money lenders, members', of his> own church, perhaps, anc toll thorn in.--such conciso language that thoy 'could not serve God and; mammon, and that the churches would be purer for. their room than their presonco, ho others of his calling may do somo good. Fancy tho Rev. J. J. North'and'others preaching about the totalisator and gambling, when in.si littlo town noar by wo have two brothers—one preaches the Holy Gospel, the other lends, money at high rates ,of interest. '.On. Sunday the -10 per cent, man attends his brother's church, and his "anions' are the loudest. On ; Monday each returns to everyday life, one to try 'and alleviate pain and suffering, the pthef to cause it. —I am, etc., '• ' . ■' PRKSBYTEIIIAN. Napier, October. 31, 1907. SHOOTING ACCIDENTS., .' Sir,—Within the last few days two moro cases have been added to the long list of fatal shooting accidents, one distressing featuro of which is that the victim is usually a man in the prime of life, and whom' the country can ill afford to lose. The frequency with which such occurrences arc reported in Now Zealand raises tho consideration whether

they arc not out of proportion to oui population ,aud leads ono to ask whether there is not some remedy, or -Means of prevention, which could reasonably bo advocated. In the past, the Government has steadfastly set its' face against the imposition of a gun license when urged, in the interests of acclimatisation and preservation of gamo, to do so. It is to bo hoped,-however, that thepresent administration will see, in the possible preservation of human life, urgent reason to reconsider tho question. By far the larger proportion 6f shooting accidents can be traced to one of two sources —either a defective weapon, or careless handling. A gun license would directly deal with both these causes, and, if it resulted in the saving of only one life now and again, would justify its imposition. There mnst be in New Zealand at tho present time hundreds of guns which should never be used, cither because of their original "cheap and nasty" construction, or through becoming light in the pull, or otherwise erratic in action, from some defect in mechanism caused by age or neglect. Such weapons are unsafe even in the hands of a careful man, and, when taken out by tho averago casual "sport" are a distinct menace to human life. Tho imposition of a gun licence would not only mean that a number of these obsolete and dangerous ciirios would be relegated to ■ the private museum or to tho scrap-heap; but it would also mean that the use of firearms would be more restricted to those habituated to their use, and sensible of tho dangers of-careless handling. The man who simply goes out to try his luck because a gun of some sort happens to be handy would becomo a vanishing quantity; and the more fact of being required to take out a license to uso a gun would result in a littlo more thought and commonsense being exorcised, oven by tho most reckless.

i The cost of such a licenso need not bo great —not- more than tho cost of a few cartridges. The good would lie in tho existence of some regulation, and, for that- reason, a yoarly registration would be preferable. So far as the trouble was concerned, it would amount to less than is required to register a ■dog, and need. not bo taken into account when tho object to be attained is considered. 1 am sure that all truo sportsmen would welcome such a .measure, and the man to whom the use or possession of a gun is either a necessity or. a real pleasure would mind neither the small additional expense nor the trouble involved. ■ Of course, opposition might be expected from the' vested interests behind the sale of cheap ironmongery, and from other familiar sources; but I can imagine no interest or prejudice which should be allowed to outweigh the possibility of lessening the heavy toll on promising and useful human lifo. To the humanitarian that possibility, should bo tho only consideration.— I am, etc., JAMES WILSON. Otaki, October 31, 1907. MUSICAL AND LITERARY WORK IN , WELLINGTON. . Sirj—Why' doesn't ; Wellington hold her own with the other States in these branches of art?., Surely there, is plenty of good talent.hero that only needs waking up and encouragement! What could bo better for this purpose than holding an annual competition in all branches of art? It would bring out valuable talent that is now lying' dormant, and in time-bring us in touch with talent from all parts of Australasia. In my opinion, this would prove very beneficial, because we would work our hardest to prevent outsiders from beating us, and in s« doing would we not be raising music and other branches of art to a very high standard, and thus gain for Wellington a position in the musical and literary ' world such-as Ballarat (Vic.) now holds through tho perseverance of hor widely-known South Street Debating Society's competitions. 1 havo watched the progress of these competitions, so can speak personally on tho benefit derived from tho same. I-think I am sale in saying that competitions held in Ballarat, Bondigo, and Melbourne wore the first means of bringing before the public Misses Amy and Dolly Castles Nis singers, and Miss Alice Crawford as an elocutionist, who, as we all know, aro distinguishing themselves abroad. There are choirs and competitors from all parts of Australasia competing in the Ballarat competitions, but I have not heard of any from here, if wo can raise funds to send a team of footballers to Australia, surely there can be no difficulty in doing tho same for a choir, who would also win laurels for tho Dominion. 1 feel convinced that there are plenty of good, singers in Wellington, who would willingly help to form a choir lor the purposes of competing in any of the above competitions. I would be pleased to co-operate with the musicians of Wellington in 'holding a meeting with a view to discuss the matter.—l am, etc., MURIEL M. VARE.' Wellington, November 1. . .