LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1060, 24 February 1911, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

« PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS. A . VIGOROUS PROTEST. Sir,—l havo read in several of you issues matter bearing on the appointuien of the Ilou. Jlillnr's son lo a positioi in'the Government'service, controlled b; tho Hon. Minister himselt. Also a littl elsewhere relative to the same.subject, am.one, sir,-that would press.lor al Government billets to 1)6 thrown ripenlo public tender, awl Hint an iudeiieiiden - board should judge the candidates,' giv ing tho be.4 man the post. . This is.i practice that all .conscientious pien believ in, tho raau getting the prelerenci every time. . It is ccrtainly a great draw back to this country; and injustice to th ' outsido public, for important positious ti be filled by men possessing little quali : (ication, but much influence. Tho Hou. Miliar, in his reply to cer tain criticism, gave as a claim for hi son's eligibility tor the post, flint his soi was an Associate of the Institute of Etec trical Engineer's.- Perhaps it will sur prise tho Hon. Mr. Millar to,learn that to be an associate of any chartered insti tute is no great achievement. An asso ciate of a chartered institute is consid ered a mere student, practically eutcrin; on his course. In'ail cases, ass9ciatc: are burred from taking any part in thi proceedings, being considered not suffi ciently advanced to bo able to discus: the subject matter. , Therefore, associate! follow qualified men. However, let thai pass. Sir, as matter bearing on "fat billets,' I will givo your readers exactly whai came under my notico. about four yean ago, and as near as ray memory serve: me, word for word:. In the year 1906, 1 . by ehande .mado tho acquaintanco of t man, in that of Mr. -—. I am not quit( J i sure now; whether it was in tho latter par! of the same year, or in tho earlier pari of the nest, 1907, there appeared in tht papers an advertisement by the Govern mont calling for applicants for a ccrtair position. Ono fine day, when going dowr the street (Customhouse Quay), I mel Mr. —, and thi following is what passed:— , 'Mr. -—: Hal-loa, M'Cabe. M'Cabo-. How do you do? ; Mr. -—: I havo just been down interviewing the authorities, in reference tc a billot advertised by the Government. . M'Cabe: Oh, arid how did you get on: Mr. : They tftld me. to go home and be at rest, as it had been, settled; the billet was, mine.; you know, I made a spccial trip to . Nelson the. other day to meet the Minister, whe-h he tdld me before leaving .'Nelson 1 that I could-'be ■finite sure of getting'the billet.. I ; have just btcn down; to i<'e6. the other chaps, as the time appears- eo long to wait. They told me,..that .if .had been decided the billet was.mine. l.only"had~t6' wait tho-time. But, you know, I was not to ; say anything. Not to worry, but be at , rest. ' - - ■' M'Cabe:.Oh, I sec. It is strange. How 1 do you get to know so; definitely—seeing that it is yet three weeks'to wait before ! "applicants', papers" aro due to be op- ; eilCd.' ■•■■ ■' •!", '• llr.' —r: Oh, how do you know that we have towait-another three-weeks?- • M'Cabo: You don't think every one is [ blind, neither asleep, do you. I read the papers, and notico these things. Mr. : Tho Minister has seen my papers, and you know there are many ways that business can bo worked. ' M'Cabe: Oh, I see now; It is a case •of yon scratch my back; and I'll scratch jMurs. There,aro th,JU\9lle ol working tr jcks ~9! 1 .tb.s,, sej-t.',.V!. - Mr.-.- — (witji ai.smile): Ali, at! ghat's . 1 After a littlg r^i^u^vs cl, our ways. About three weeks after,' wheii ;applications intjiipation given to other' applicants wfis" given through the "Evening Post." . 'l'hat Mr. —- (my friend above referred to) had ' been appointed to the position. Sir, the , above is 110 make up, but was voluntarily , . given to mo ,by Mr. —. He still holds 'the position. § • ... • Now, sir, I will ask the opinion of, your : ' readers. What chance had tho other ap'plicants? Would they consider this fair. ;.play to the- outside public? , Do they •.'ajiprociato thp actions-of theirirenrcsenta- , ' tives"*who opposed-the Bill brought, down Ay ono of >ur str/iightest and soundest. ;lmcu ■ (Mr: • Herdiiian) -to' blot ,ou't'-'this ;; curse of 'party influence from amongst uis? Then I would: say: Out yrith'- the so-callcd Liberals, and professors of democracy! Mnkp room for tho truth; give tho word, IVaitor, to those deserving, the brand! The word Liberal, to the tiberals—the word Democrat to tho Democrats, and those now trading under thd flag of Liberalism—proteuders. of good faithprofessors of all that-is :good for themselves, worthy of no ; name.n at' r . Sir/you may; think,m >nriU rftthfr. straißbr. -. Admitted,-,- But,; -Fir/ • -what about ■ our ' Premier, who openly de- . Clares- to ,the world that our?, ■cliam-. pions of truth are -1 traitors :.tb their country, siinply because - i they • vehemently denouueo the rcckless policy of injustice and greed. ' Sir, your humble servant 1 declares the time has arrived .ivhen "all conscientious men, having u love for truth and uprightness 1 must writo ami speak plainly. Yes, strain every nerve to stay tho ever-swelling tide of cflvctonsness, and combat the evils of State now being wrought upon us. Come ont in the open, wo must, and be . pre-, pared to fight our. country's foes to, the bitter end. Sir, if I am not taking up too much of your; valuable space, with your permission,' I will sketch, in my rough way, a picture, giving to your readers a true outline of the present rule under which we now labour. A rule which, if not checkcd, will,. I venture to predict, march our future, headlong, into open revolution. We, the people of New Zealand, are fast becoming demoralised. Tho leader, with .the aid of his aide-de-camp and pettv followers—full of talk, and no siibsfanco —are stripping us. of our last thread of liberty, robbing lis of our true, natural' trend of lifo and manhood, hauling us down from a higher to a lower standard of living. With the air of a great monarch, a despot, he commands us in tho sweetest words:. "Behold, our example. Go yo out into tho great field of competition, with tied hands ■ and feetfettered with tho ohains of State control." Harassed to our very death by the most inequitable aud. diabolical laws. Encouraged to attack each other. Nice oxample, sir, for tho people of this country to follow, coming direct through the words and actions of our leaders. We, the people, in our desperate, confused, and indifferent state, clamouring and struggling, as it were, for the last bone in , tho market, can see, if we care to turn round, our pure, aud righteous politicians scooping the pool, for themselves, their friends, and dependents. Tho dependents, now numbering probably 140,000 or more, practically one seventh of thp population of the State. This large-and-ever-increas-ing family of friends and dependents must bo well provided for, as tho election is near. They must be 1 got into'good fighting trim, as tho political existence of the Government depends on it; To prevent disaster to their party, 'and ,tho bottom from falling out of the country, .£5,000,003 is borrowed, tho peonlo saddled with the interest, and the public staff .fed on' the loan. Sir. this is tno picture, and I leave it hero for your readers to judge—l am, etc., J. M'CABE, M.M.C.E.U.S., Inst. Engineer?, Wales. . Wellington, February 22. . WAS IT A TEMPORARY LAPSE?

Sir,-I sincerely hope that the parents of boys attending our public schools and colleges will not. allow their sons to read any reports of the 'Attorney-General's lliknrangi speech.;! few short weeks'Ago~ tho hon. gentleman was pained, severely pained, doubled up; in fact; by hearing iv report that our boys used such deadly terms as "rotten" and "rotter;" and until now his example has been excellent. Such (revd old .'Uislo-h'iixon. vjords ns "lie," "liar," "blackguard," etc.; ho tolerated; ho has even on occasion risen to heights of vituperation, which I, not being a cartoonist, cannot hope to convey flint never, never, never has he stooped, not even in his deepest depths of eloquence, to such a term as "rot." To his inmost soul ho may have whispered it, even havo mu'inured "rotUr," but now, how are tho mighty fallen! Can it be that our. one md only phr.ißc-m.ikcr, the man in tho whole of God's o«'n Country who carries right in-his'head the whole (1) Encyclopedia, (2).' Dictjbliilry (every: dictionary)! (?) Shorter Ciitechi'Bm;- ; (1) •Martin FarquliufTitypai'V"iy<>rk»,' uothlnE of an intimate'acnuaintince With.

. public morals and immorals, both as they are not and as they uever ought to be—the one man to whom words come at will and from whom they flow like leaping cataracts or gently-singing brooks, with or without point or ir.eanng as the case requires; can it be that he is pumped dry!-—I am, etc., ANTI-HUMBUG.