LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1329, 5 January 1912, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

THE CLINGING PREMIER. Sir, —May 1 Ijs allowed to join my honest indignation wilh yours in expressing astonishment nut altogether unmixed with disgust at tho treatment Sir Joseph Ward i- meting out. to the people of New Zealand—the people who have shown, at lite prills ami by public dumniislration Culien Kiven the i.-h:inee) that he has entirely lost their confidence as Loader of the Jliiuse? He is in the position of- tho unwelcome guest, who does not realise that ho is unwelcome—that the time has arrived for him to resign his manifold portfolios before they are torn from his dc-p-.iiriiii; grasp. Ho is consistent, if nothing else. After the second ballot ho promised a statement as soon as tho result of the Maori elections were known, then he said "in a day or two," and now he has nothing to say. What is happening all the time he is saying nothing:- , 1 would suggest that a public mass meeting be held in the Town Hall, calling on Sir Joseph Ward to resign forthwith. In that famous speech of his, delivered at New York, he said: "We find out what the people want, and we give it to them!" Well—hu has found out what they want, hasn't he I'— l am. etc.. THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE. THE TRAMWAYS. Sir,-—Do you consider it correct for a member of our City Council to attend a meeting of the Tramway Union? Do you think that a councillor could give an unbiased opinion on the Fuller case after doing so! . Why should the union invite certain councillors and not the whole council ? How is it certain of our councillors pay inoro .attention to the man in the street than to" the heads of departments, and how can the citizens expect the heads of departments to carry out their work in a business manner when they ;ire continually overridden by the inllueuce of members of a committee who naturally know less about it than they do? When such tactics are used, don't you think it tetter to place the trains under the control of a Tram Board, and keep it away from political influence? Don't you think that any inspector who docs his duty would bo unpopular? Why should au'inspector be made to suffer for the misdeeds or tho just-deeds of the council, for I take-it they must authorise the dismissal of 'any servant? Humour is that councillors, or certain of them, visit the closed door meetings ■ of the union, which.seems wrong and, if it is so, I hope you will throw light upon it.—l am. etc. MODERATE. SACRAMENTAL WINE. Sir—lt is remarkable that in the' Australasian Colonies, both tho Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches either remain neutral or openly' side with • the drink traffic. Among th-j clergy -there are'some notable exceptions in both denominations, but the fact still remains that as churcli organisations they arc mostly hostile to temperance legislation; To me it is difficult to account for such trencherv. Ono tan hardly think their action is based on shm- ignorance,'of what 'the "bible teaches on tho question. No book published ever contained so many admu'nitions against the use of intoxicants. Hence we are told "that wine i> a mocker, and strong drink 'is raging." That it "bites like a serpent, and stings adder." but perhaps no passage in the Bible so completely condemns the use of intoxicants as docs Lev. x, ver. S, !), 10, 11. Now that the Lord has said that intoxicating wine is unholy and unclean, how dare Archbishop Redwood affirm that it is the only proper tiling to be ■ used"at the bacramont? ,Aiid ; :it .is more, ustolmdings'hll to bo told-by tho Anglican -Actin?-' Pnmate that tho Anglican Church has made it unlawful to use the pure juice of the grape in the Sacrament. Christ, ■111 ordaining the Passover, used the'unequivocal words, "fruit of the vine."'.' To this' day Jewish Rabbis conform to this rule. Ypt prominent clerbs in-both tho Anglican and Roman Catholic. Churches are not ashamed to use a poisonous liquid as- typical of the blood, of Christ,, she'dfor the remission of sins. A drug that ■drives people mad should never bo found on the Lord's Table;-' Among the' Anglicans, the balance of tho wine unconsiimed is supposed to bo drunk by the clergy, while in the Catholic Church the contents of tho cup is drunk'by the priest alone. ■ - ' .- ■■

I he Prophet Isaiah must have had such men in his mind, when he wrote: "Woo unto them that declare uiiiH-teous decrees, and .that write Krievpiisi.ess which they have prescribed. .Vcrily th«e. whited sepulchres, these hypocrites who pose trssaint?, will have their rjeTOOil.-Tl.ajh.iotCi,! ■ ; A : 'SrJ?AIG'H.T-GOEir."" Masterton, December 25. ■; ■••■.- ■ ■

PROHIBITIONISM-A PURITANICAL OUTBURST. '.' Sir,—Not long ago. a number of letters appeared from one wjio .appeared to be a churchman by accident rather, than conviction. His sympathies seemed' to be with puritanism, but now we find the same writer in a puritanical outburst attacking his pastor, whose teachings rest oh a foundation closer to .. Bible and Prayer-book. The immediate pretext for tlio. deplorable, unreasonable" attack is the wretched iirohibitioiiism whicU.is supposed by its professors to be the great, doctrine "generally necessary. to .salvation." If a word-is said agaiiist this now. doctrine from the pulpit and a'thrieateiicd example is to be- followed, it' is claimed 1 that (he congregation should'become liostile and withdraw from the Church, after the practice of Plymouth Brethren, whose "assemblies" split up on the least difference of opinion. According to the prohibitionist, tho pulpit may denounce drunkenness and preach up prohibition as a religious duty, but it must not touch upon the intemperance of prohibitionists. The preacher who does so is promptly denounced as a political parson and.insulted. Jly admiration, however, is for the preacher who fears not to stir up the iiost of prohibition hornets. The reception of his words knows-theni to be. true. The prohibitionist' should remove the beam of intemperance from , his own eye,', for this blinds him to his own inteniper-. ate follies. lie is a chip from the old puritan block. The past has shown how lie would drive innocent .mirth out of.'tho life of tho people. The present shows him to be'still at work, and under a new name seeking to innke it criminal to eat plum pudding with brandy sauce at Christmas. Doubtless the' trade requires a severe shaking up. and I for one have folt that I would like to see it swept away and a' better system adopted. * For this" reason many vote forprohibition who do not want prohibition. They do not accept the prohibition hpreticiil doctrinu that wine is bad in itself. Thpy believe it to bo good in the use but injurious in the. abuse, and the moment prohibition is secured would seek to bring in'the use with better safeguards against abuse.The extravagant aims of the -prohibitionist have caused, many to withdraw from this temporary prohibition. The Rev. llr. Hammond has let the cat. out of tho bag. and admitted that prohibitionists arc beginning .to deceive , .-the people v.-ith iiiifei'inciifi'd. so-called: wino on occasions when "they should bo especially, careful lo "provide things honest.".That tin , outburst is puritanical'is further shown by the snef'Vs cast, by its writers' on thv priesthood. They tell, us tho Apostle Paul was a "minister,", not.ii "priest," forgetting that St. Paul distinctlv claims it to have boon his duty to net as a sacrificing priest.'liven tho Rev. Mr. North has written ignorautly "on this question. -~',. Until Mr- Hammond s-admission appeared it was my intention to vote for a temporary prohibition as a step towards pulling the liquor supply on a bolter foundation. The pxtrnvagnnt aims mid doctrines of prohiliilioiiisin urjri'd me to caution, and my vote went against those whom it had previously favoured. I did not act recklessly, but first read portions of Mr. A. R- Atkinson's pamphlet thinkin;.''thai thorp if anywhere I should find a "justification of a scheme so. extravagant as to make' it a crime to eat an ordimiry Christmas dinner. Now your correspondents have still further estranged hup from their ealise by showing■ lipw iin-no-*ihle it- is for them to restrain their inli'iiipcnite insultinij hostility even at the Christmas season.-I am, <*e ?im "^ December 30; 1011; ■ WANDERING CATTLE,

Sir,--1 would like to ask through youv. c.otuiiuis if tlii , . cil_>* proriilcf. ,i rnncrif fur vandcrim; stock iu the interests o£ x'ato-

payers I reside in Kilbirnie, and at all limes, and particularly on Sundays and holidays, burses are at large doing damiiild to property of law-abiding resident*. I see liy til-day's papers that Dr. Jl'Arthur, presiding at I'eloue, stated "the only way to deul with theso ollomlers was In iniilio tho prnctiro unprofitable." 1 upppiil to (hi! Mayor to apply the remedy to this district, and I ani sure he will reeoive tho grateful thanks of many who take an interest in the appearance of their homes.—l am, etc., KILBIRNIE SUFFERER. lln answer In inquiries made- at tho Town clerk's office it was stated that the city Inspector of Nuisances and his assistants a 111 constantly on the look-out for wandering horses and cattle, and that. a good many owners have brai prosecuted. In addition to this the City Council is willing to take proceedings upon being supplied with information likely to lead to the conviction of offenders, but a difficulty often experienced is_ thnt people who lay informations decline to appear in Court as witnesses.]