OUR MINISTER FOR MARINE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 619, 23 September 1909, Page 4

OUR MINISTER FOR MARINE.

s Sir,—ln an' editorial to-day,,:you state that "the Hon.J. A. Millar never shows' to better advantage than when ho • speaks 1 as Minister for .Marine." If this is so—and'l donot: presume to question your judgment—the inference I urn compelled to draw is that it' -would be to tho very, great advnntago of tho people of this Dominion,.and particularly those whoso business or pleasure, leads thein afloat, if the hon, gentleman was relegated to private life, and never, allowed to speak "officially" upon nautical matters nt nil. .'I can .well conceivo that Mr. Millar knows :how to' mako himself pleasant at smoke concerts and political'banquets; ho has served a long apprenticeship under a Government that has tho reputation of being past-masters in that art. Hut is that sufUciont qualification for tho responsible position of .Minister, for; Marino of our sea-girt isles? Surely, not. A fow months ago, whilst the memory of a dreadful shipwreck was still fresh in the public. mind, this Minister was waited upon by a representative body of shipmasters and others, who urged that it was imperatively necessary to establish nnother lighthouse, or rearrange.the position of existing ones,-in ordur to mitigate against a;rcourrence of disaster in tho same vicinity again. What wns his reply? Ho handed tho deputation. ; of experts a. letter that he had -received, from - a country chemist, which stated that in his (the chemist's) opinion, no moro lighthouses wero'needed! ;• And so 'Mr. Minister Millar declared -lip .light wns needed, and. also that the: cost of'installing auii maintaining one could not'bo entertained by n Government pledged to retrenchment' and—DreadUOUghts.■'■<:.;.•-•■:.'•':"■■'•'' ':';.'■,"■''"•'.'..';' ':':''"';■ : Sir,-in-the'lnst .official report of'the De-partment-it is shown that the sum of .£32,377 was 4 collected from the shipowners of vessels

trading.'in'.nml out .'of New Zealand, for light dues. From the samo' report it appears that tho' total upkeep of all the lighthouses in the Dominion for tho samo period amounted to .£10,007, or not fjui.to half the total' amount collected. In consideration for your space, I am sparing comment.' Your readers" have averago intelligence. A vote was taken in the 190G session, of Parliament to establish a'muchneeded survey of tho wholo of the coast of New Zealand, along the shores of which hidden and - uncharted -rock's and shoals oro . every 1 year being found. 'That vote was shelved, and is likely to. remain so, whilst. Mr. Minister Millar, ,and liis-. confreres . retain office. ■ Yo\i, sir, soy. "that the efficiency which he (Mr.-Miliar) praised is in laige. measure, owing to '.tlio comparative -freedom of our shipping from .the extreme'harassment.* that press upon private enterprise ashore." ..May I..(lifter from you hero ?> May I affirm iny opinion that the .harassment,?, pressing upon private' enterprise, ashore ore. only a circumstance in .comparison to those-'undcr-which shipping—owners and seamen alike—is labouring at tho'.present day?" Quite recently'l. read in your columns that .the. (probably) largest private mutual insurance; society in 'Great Britain hiut "notified Australian and New Zealand steam ship owners that'they (the -insurance' society), could not see their way to include any/longer our Antipodban'owhers'in their fund, on'account of the harassing- and'uustable laws that had been .made. "Possibly"Mr.' Millar.may have some ideai'on the'subject," you'say. In'tho -nAmo of a long-suffering and hitherto"qnitc unrepresented'portion of'tho people of this' Dominion —I mean-the sea-going community at -largell - - ask Mr. Millar to. ventilato. said possible ideas, • and I-, also ask that you, sir, will give us tho.benefit.of your candid criticism thereon when they do appear,—l am, etc., ! . >' ■ .::•■;-■ •■■■■! '■•'■ ■ "- ■ ! -September'2l,; '' "'■'■'