LETTERS TO THE – EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 203, 21 May 1908, Page 4

LETTERS TO THE - EDITOR.

" GENERAL; WOLFE." _®' r > —In yours of yesterday, re "The Winning of Canada," you refer to the different engagements of General Wolfe. You say ho was-engaged against the Scottish insurgents in 1745-IG. I'ruo, ho was a major under the Duke of Cumberland, otherwise known as 11 the Butcher," as .the following incident will show. After 'tho "disastrous defeat of tho Highlanders under Prince Charlie, on Cullodcn Moor* riding over tho :field, with some of his officers,..the Duke observed a young wounded Highlander staring at him and his, staif. Having'asked t'ho ' miui" to what side he belonged, Cumberland received tho answer, "To tho Prince." The Duke instantly ordered an officer to shoot "that insolent scoundrel." Tho officer, Major Wolfe, declined tho task, saying " that his commission was at the disposal of his' Royal Highness, but ho would never consent to bo an executioner." This was a moral victory \yorthy of the future conqueror of Mont-' calm. At last Cumberland persuaded a common soldier to-, dispatch,the Highlander, ihe latter was Mr. Charles Fraser, younger, Invcrajlacky, who had been-Lieutenant-Colonel or the- Master of Lovat's Regiment. A®? comment on this, it is stated that in l/ 09, Wolfe, the victor of Quebcc, died in tho arms of his favourite Highland orderly, one Oi tho I'raser clan.—l "am, ctc., . „ in . .. THOS. M„ MILLIGAN. May 19. ■ ■ ' , BROOKLYN'S HEALTH. Sir,—Your reports concerning the health' of Brooklyn leave much to be desired. In Friday's issue, for ' you . state: — 'Eleven eases, of .scarlet fever have been reported in tho city since tho beginning of the' week. Only 'one case was from Brooklyn." Why thus stigmatiso Brooklyn ?* Why not tell us also whero tho other eases wcro? Your reporter has fallen into this unfair habit, for similar paragraphs; have more than once appeared. I fancy, sir, if you will analyse the returns of infectious diseases, say for tho past quarter, Brooklyn will by.no means.de-. sorve tho bad reputation some folk are trying to give it;- It is truo-wo have-had a numberof.eases of fever; but it is also truo that •tho week when tho largest number were recorded tho.fever ward was already quite full.' .Whero did tlioso cases come from? Tiio fact that so much fever, exists, not in one suburb alone, but throughout tho whole city, ought to cause the authorities serious, concern— more serious concern than is at 'present, oyidont.—l am, etc., ■ - ARTHUR DEWDNEY.' Brooklyn, fllay 15. ■ /.■ [Tho. reference''made to-Brooklyn,- instead of being unfair, was intended to show .that t)io .number of;.fever cases, in. ,that district liad dwindled away to one'. Brooklyn' generally speaking, is regarded as ono of tho healthiest parts of tho city.]

PUBLIC SERViSE CO-OPERATIVE . STORES. Sir, —Some few montlis ago the Magistrate appointed a liquidator to wind up tho affairs' of tho above Society., .;I : slipuid ■ ]iko ~to; know whether ho lias done so, and also whether it-is his duty-to notify tho shareholders of tho result of his labours?- I undorsto(xl'tho assets exceeded tho liabilities'ljy over £1000, consequently there' should bo a small 'dividend for tho unfortunato shareholders. I have tried to get som-o information' from .tho directors, but tliey seem .to. know less about tho matter than anyone else.' Is tho.' liquidator (appointed by tho Court)- supposed to look after tho interests of tho'creditors and himself only, or is' it his duty to attend to tho interests of the 'shareholders as \vell ?—1 aro, otc., '• 1 ' .SHAREHOLDER.. [The duty of the liquidator is to realiso tho assets of .tho Association to tho best .possible advantage. "-jVfei ibay be able to supply any informaticiif ' availaolb- iii to-morrow's issue.] : ;' :t I ; -i'"

'OIVIL SERVICE SUPERANNUATION FUND. Sir, —A peculiar position has arisen over tho election'-,of.■.members-'-of tho Superannuation Board., By!tho; letter of. tho Act, civil servants who do not join tho fund prior to the day for closing nominations will be. do,-: barrpcl'fi'oin" votirtg.' 'Tho Returning Officer, may close nominations not moro tlfau twenty' days prior to thb-'dato of tho clection-i-fix-ed-l>y tho Act as July G. Representations have been made , to''xirgo. 'him to'ploso. tho. roll on tho last!possible''day,.' June'.- 30,' so that, allintending contributors as well as actual contributors may • .vote. These representations hav.o.:.been met. by.'.technical objections .of a very -. trivial nature. : The Civil Service is . alarmed at tho position, as unless tho Returning 'Officer.roads the .Act in the spirit, as ho may if ho likes, a large number .of, intending contributors will lose their votes, or, in tho alternative, if they desiro to vote they will practically have to pay for tho privilego. —I am, etc., . ' . DONE AGAIN. May 20. ■ V : ■ MONOPOLIES. Sir,-—Soma years -.ago-the,presont. Premier,, whilst in tho United States 'on route for New Zealand, made a speech to.which was given wido publicity by tho American. Press. As ..is-.usual with Sir .Joseph it was a good' upeechj 'anU''the''subje'et dealt with was bno bf "ab'sprbing'; interest, to tho people whom jio 'was addressing—namely, "monopolies." " At' one time," Said ; he,wo had a mono-poly-'in New, Zealand; called the i'lour 'lVust, Uut'tha Government, .'over watchful of tho in''terests'.of the;people, .'acted promptly, and it .)vas jSlipd'in tho bud...;'. Take, it from mo, wo havo now no such" thing as a monopoly in the colony, and wo never shall, have!" Of courso, Sir Joseph meant a monopoly in tho bad senso of tho term, for there are beneficent monopolies, such, for instance, as a trade monopoly gained and held through special -cxcellenco 'jn an articlo vended, or, though hero there may bo room for diversity of opinion, State ownership of railways and oyster beds, or municipal ownership of abattoirs, electric tram lines, gas and electric lighting plants. Of tho other kind of 'monopolies wo havo at • present one in the' Dominion which flourishes, strange to' say, liko tho green bay tree —I refer- to that of the brewer. Take Wellington, for instunco; is it in tho interest of the public that ho should own all of its humorous hotels, with tho exception of about as many as can bo counted upon tho fingers of ono' hand, and by yirt-uo of tli'is gigantic monopoly be ablo to oxact from tho publican for a three years' lease of a house even in a poor locality, in a back street, such a sum as £3000 Ijy way of bonus, in addition to ..a. fairly stilt- rent, and to tho obtaining of. a moro or less sure market for his beer?

; "A gontleman may brew but hc'imist not bake," runs tho old saw, and in chawing attention to' this matter one is doubtless venturing upon, dangerous ground, but who is it that . in. tho .'end pays this tribute unto Caesar?'' Why, it is exacted from every working man who, in tho spirit of bon camaradarie,' has a glass of beer witli his friend, and it compels tho publican at tho end of tho lash to use every effort, short of risking the loss of his license, to got men under tho influence'(i.e., tho spell, or mana) of'drink. For every family which, by virtue of this monopoly, enjoys a little extra luxury, in a thousand other Homes tho wife and childron. have, willy nilly, to make sacrilices great and small, and it behoves both Moderates and Prohibitionists, publicans and their customers 'alike, to make common cause with tho women who voto for homo and fireside, to see tliat every man who is returned to the Houso at tho coming election shall go there pledged to put an end to this great and crying wrong. What is tho cure? To my mind, there is but ono—namely, tho assumption by the Stato. of air breweries, State importation of all into-icating liquors; and Stato monopoly of tho wholesale distribution of all alcoholic and malt liquor. Tho. breweries and wholesale'wine and spirit businesses are in the hands of but comparatively few, and if these wero taken over at a fair valuation no hardship need bo inflicted. On tho other hand, this plan for the cutting of the Gordian knot is ono which obviates interference with vested rights, or with tho income at present derived .directly and iniwHJy by the State and Jocal

bodies ..from tho Trade, whilst it would free it from at least some of tho disabilities which press so heavily upon publican and public alike—l am, etc., ; ANDREW GRAY. May 17. SOUTH AFRICA. ' Black's interview in your issue ot this morning convoys far too sombre ail impression of tho state of tilings in South Africa, a country ,to which I belong, and which I "Jc'ft only a few weeks ago on a flying visit. The most serious fp.ll in values has Iwen :n mining shares. These wore placed on a 4 per cent, basis, an impossible position for a mining company, and the fall wii3 inevitable, but not by any means disastrous to the. bulk of tho country, though many stock-jobbers arid brokers hare been rmned.. ~. . Land had a sudden rise of more than ICO per cent, after .the war, r.nc! wo have been gradually getting; back to r. more reasonable, level. Purchasers ; at top. prices have, of course, felt the pinch, but it is curious how row ' the ' actual' sales are.' Building went rnad over the whole country ill 1902-5, and the whole country was practically re-built, and no doubt in oxcess of actual present, requirements. Capital thus locked up is lost for, other development,- and now tho building has' stopped a considerable number of persons connected with the trade aro out of employment. • There are undoubtedly too many' builders' clcrks, and men of similar trades, in tho country under our present 1 economic conditions, which places tho wlnto man in tho position of ail overseer, but if tho white labourer would work as he does in this country there would not bo-a single.unemployed able-bodied man in South. Africa tomorrow. I, have ,not. tho actual figures by me, but the following facts .are'accurate: — . ■ 1. South Africa last year exported 250,000 bags of mealies. Thrco yeara ago she imported ■ almost that amount-. ■ ;

2. Tho import of frozen meat .has stopped,entirely, anej before long tho country should bo able ,to export. 3. Tho gold output was a record last year, and is continually increasing. '4. The diamond'output was an increase. The present impasse in the industry is a bad factor, but there is scarcely room for doubt that a few months will seo even this arranged.• 5. Base metals, copper and tin, have conic into the export list, and should bo very largo this year.' This,. of course, docs not apply to the Capo' Copper Company, Nomaqualand, and which has already paid some millions in dividends, but to now fields in the Transvaal. ~ , ; . 6. The funds on'fixed.deposit at the banks and the balance in the Savings Bank are considerably larger than'they have ever been. . These aro- tho. facts regarding South Africa, and it/is only .tho political unrest that lias ■ prevented tho ' country from pushingvigorously - forward. ■ With - regard to tho great, distress in. 3lr. Black quito over-states tho position, and it can bo taken as a fact that no m?.n need starve in that city if ho is not afraid to- work. I have replied to these statements, as our poor country has had its fair share of troubles, and it can do us no <iood .whatever to exaggerate them.—l am, etc, . ' A. LINDBERGH. ' -Wanganui, May 18. RAILV/AY SERVANTS AND THE NEW ACT. Sir,—l-notice in your issuo of .'to-day's date that you publish tho Post and Telegraph Regulations. Tliis is iii marked contrast to the manlier ,iii which tho Railway Department deals- with anything relating to tho staff. Last session wo had an Amending Bill passed to' comb into operation from April 1, yet.so. far the staff know nothing as to how the Bill is going to affect them, let alone having thci Regulations un'der it gazetted. It- may seem strange to say that there is not a single, member,.(other than Cadets) outsido the manager's staff, who has any idea as to how the Bill is to affect tliein, nor .can this information bo obtained, and I suppose will nob ..be available... until tho end of next session-. If a" member were to ask a question coneerningitMio would bo told th'at this could not bo. given until compilation jof tho D 3 (which by'the way is supposed to 'bo out on April 1, but never out till lato 'in the year). . . ...

You see tho injustice of this, if a man wore to.resign in Juno or July ho would lose tlii;oo or foiir months of tho increased salary, and tftoiigh lie may think ho is entitled to ascertain amount of hack jjay, ho l)as, 110 'means' ,of '.ascertaining .what the amount is, or is. it right.; that wo should be kept waiting si}: months and then got back "pay ? ":Again;pt"is nri-ly-natural wo should liko to know exactly what wo arc to got. Memhors arc beginning to get very dubious ovor tho matter, ■ aiid think that the whole Bill was merely an cntiecr on the part, of tho management' to J obtain entrants into tho service which they found-very difficult undor tho' old Bill. They instruct the.,managers to ad-, .vise intending applicants that they will get so much on April 1, but if; a man wore resigning they cannot tell him what ho would get 011 that date if ho remained in tho service.

Another important, matter concerning tho railway; meir and which is- prominently before 'the- public,'just-know, and that is-the question of superannuation... .There can bo no doubt that it is time that the advisability of bringing tho railway men under the Civil Service. Superannuation Act was considered as ; I am , sure /this: wouldbo' beneficial both to tho Civil Sen-ice Fund'and to the railway men, and I think tho latter should be given an opportunity of deciding the same as the police, whether- they will come, under the Civil Service Act or hot, and there can certainly be no advantage of administering tho .two Xets separately, as by. the Civil Service Superannuation . Act the Railways Act was brought into lino, in 'every detail. Tho only advantage' that can accrue by' -tho separate administration is that which may. accrue to the railway management.—l "am, etc., ■ ' ' ANXIOUS. ; May 17. , :. . -