LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1752, 17 May 1913, Page 7

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

THE PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE. Sir,—Tho pnblic aro indebted to yonr correspondent "Faitplay" for tho ablo manner in whioh lie has dispersed eomo of tho clouds of misrepresentation and abuso with which certain newspapers hnve obscured, by ail attack upon tho legal profession, tho real motive of tho n present Government in Appointing Com- t misjioners to inquire into the (ldminis- h tration of the Pnblic lVnst Oflk'o. i' The many excellent suggestions fnado by ( the Commissioners to facilitate tho future t working o{ that invaluable institptioft o hare been entirely passed oven and public l attention has been focused upon ft few minor recommendations dealing with tho c working of tho legal branch of tho De- n partment. li "Fairplay" has shown us that there n is nothing whioh can be called revolu- e tionary 1 in those recommendations. Then j why all this "pother," unless the ia-u© j. explanation is, cs suggested by Fairplay," that tho aiewspaper attacks are in- j Bpired" ? , • 1 am glad to see, 1 in your issuo of to- j day, that Mr. M'Cullongh hip had tho p decency to apologise to Sir. Alex. JVlaoin- v tosh, and to admit that his attack upon p tho Commissioners was foundsi h facts which cannot bo substantiated. It « would be interesting todiscover the fountain head from which his information d Ct lt n sureiy' is absurd 'to think that if j. his only object had teen to confine tho c office solicitor to the inside work of tho i office or to prevent him from making himself obnoxious to the legal profession, the h Minister in charge would have found it p necessary to set up a commission to at- , tain his ends. Such a suggestion magm- * fies too trreatly 'tho unportanoo of tho - office solicitor The Minister could hav« ' issued a few simple instructions to his b subordinate, and so have saved the » country much expense. But verily t "Duos Daus vult perdOTO pruis dementat, - which translated is—"Whom God wishes to destroy He first makes mad. —I am, J etc " -. CURIOUS, i Wellington, May 16, 1913. j Yin connection with "Fair Play's letter, f wo have received a communication from t Messrs. Bell, Gully, Bell, and Myers ( making strong protest on behalf ot the , legal staff of tho. Public Trust Office t against tho suggestion that any of the t members of that staff had anything what- t ever to do with tho criticism of the Com- < mission's report which has appeared in t Ihe press. The firm of solicitors men- i . tioned that their clients (who, are pre- ] eluded from participation in newspaper , controversy and So cannot defend thtm- , selves) take the strongest possible | exception to the paragraph in ; tho letter referred to, and add: l "Hot ono of the members of tho legal , staff of the Public Trust Office has been , in the slightest degree connected, cither , directly ,or indirectly, with any of the. I editorials, correspondence, or other critic- j isms that have appeared in the public I press on either the Public Trust Office Commission or its report. We are glad to bo in tho position to publish this authoritative denial, for somo of tne matter Which has been appearing in tho press in connection with tho discussion of the Commission's report appeared to disclose a Yory intimate knowledge of the affairs of the Department. The suggestion has been made that "Fair Play's" criticism ■was in a measure a reflection on the professional skill of ono or more of the officers of tho legal staff of the Public Trust i Office. Such was not the case, unless it i 3 claimed that a lawyer is lacking m skill in his profession if lie is not fully qualified by practice and experience to deal with every branch of office and Court work. Most successful lawyers specialise, and a good office solicitor may be an inferior ' advocate in the Courts, What was really suggested was that' the legal Btaff of tho PuTilic Trust Office, which have been specially trained in office work, and which aro required to devote their attention almost entirely to offico work, could not''be'expect€d._to;p6ssess an .equal of proficiency in the "law' Courts. This -certainly is not a reflection on rfie staffs-it is a criticism of tho 6ystein laid down for the Department.] THE LICENSING ISSUE. Sir,—Now that tlhe clamour to repeal the ihrco-fifths majority in favour of tho baro majority is in the air once more, it is instructive to study the results of the last census in their bearing upon the question. It appears that thsra axo 585,727 persons of ■tho ago of £1 years and. upward whoso, ages have been specified ini the returns. It may be assumed that tlhose not qualified for tho franchise are distributed proportionately among the various ages, and so the following tablo will give eome indication of tho degree of maturity among tho electors at large :— ADULT POPULATION OF THE DOMINION. Approximate proporAges. Number, fcion por cent. 21 and under 40 ... 345,461 59 40 and Under 60... 169,525 29 60 and over 70,741 12 585,727 100 Unspecified ages... 1,265 Total adults 586,092 With 59 per cent, of the electors under the age of 40, it seems fair to say that a baro majority veto gives au inordinate effect to tho votes of the yonthful alid inexperienced, and until soma method Ims Ixsen devised of including in our sjstem of franchise that which John Stucirt Mill terms tho just principle of allowing superiority of weight to superiority of mental qualities, it is surely not undemocratic to insist that no popular interdict shall bo accepted unless adopted by a proportion of electors in itself sufficiently lal'p» to indicate that the proposal was supported by young and old alike.—l am, etc., ' , 8.8. Wellington, May IG, 1913. DIRTY MONEY. Sir,—Your correspondent "K.M.G." is evidently alarmed at the dirty bank notes and coin in circulation. bt«t more so because ho knows of no machine to cleanse the notes. Now, in Amorica paper money is clenns?d and disinfected by machinery, but what may surprise "Iv.M.G." more is tho fact that in Wnngannj wo havo the very maohino to do the work, and is part of the plant in the Wangunui Steam Laundry Company, of which I am a director.—l am, etc., W. W. WILLS. Wanganui, May 15.