LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2582, 2 October 1915, Page 12

MEAT EXPORT PRICES'.

Sir,—Referring to an re our frozen meat, appearing in your Saturday's paper—"'i'lio Government paid 6d.. per lb. for lamb, and most of this was resold wholesale in London at about 8-Jd. to 9d. per lb.A similar increase was also shown ill tie mutton price." Can you inform mo who received this vory handsome profit—the Government or the meat companies, i.e., to use the l'riine Minister's words, "The same agents as it would have passed through had: tho'-present-arrangement not been in operation" ? Thanking you in anticipation.—l am, etc., ' ~ PRODUCER. [This letter was submitted to the Prime Minister. Mr. Massey said that in. aotnal fact no such profit as was suggested was made by anybody. -The aim of the Board of Trade was to sell' at such a price as would enable them to quit without Joss. Tho selling agents referred to made no profit, except, perhaps, commission, because tliey did not buy tho meat, and resell it, but acted simply as agents for' the • Bomd of Trade.]

RAILWAY FARES. Sir, —As the taxation proposals - are an acknowledged, necessity, which, the people havo. to paV, don't you think, sir, it would be an act of grace on the part of. our Parliamentary big -guns to .relieve tho country of , one charge, and pay thqir own railway fares out of their well-paid expenses for their three •months' spell, besides, it' would relieve 'Mr. Massey 'of the duty of selecting, a prominent distinguishing badge ■of the ■fern-leaf variety, .which one of our noble senators: pooh-poohed in the House ? Yet onr soldiers- at the front areVpleased to have such, an ornament on their uniforms as an, emblem *of tho countiy to which they belong—as the maple leaf to CanadianSj., kangaroo to Commonwealth soldiers, probably- a: fig-leaf type would 'suit our:fastidious ffiend.—l am; etc.','} ; — - H-JSNRY WALTON.. ' ' .Waikanae, September iiO, 1915.

■ HOW NOT TO DO IT. Y .Sir-,—You- aa'e .'to -'1)6 .'iiiglilj - - commended for your, series of "magnificent, editorials ''pointing in no' uncompromising way.', to' tlie* pat!li ;i of-. duty; lj-ing ."he-. fore_ our lnanliood in tho liour or ourNation's -'.'danger,- insuoli marked coh'trast 'to, tho pusilianinious o placidity of other journals, wliicL,- ii'iHi tlie : fatuous; -optimism, :of one -dwelling. in a fool's 'paradise,,. Will npfc .l)e persuaded of .impending, danger,' tliodgli'one roso from tlie tleatl'to proclaim tlic/fact.' \ 7 Tliat. our .' nation is .."in>danger, /.was fully 'recognised liy no less a personage tlian tlio "People's" representative 'in Great Britain,' tlio ..Eight Hon.' 'David , Lloyd Cieorgo (Minister'of .-Munitions), who, iii'tlie ] preface to liis'recent pub-' li'catioii '.'entitled; - .'-'Through' Terror .-■-•-to Triumpli," . said,' "It: would be idle" to' pretend, ttat' tlie first .-'twelve. montlis'..task 'lias. been. aceomplislied ;satisfac-; ;torily," adding tliese. warning ..words: "If -wo liesjtato .-.to -.summon, tlie.. man-; liood';of tlie iiation to defend our iionour and our existenc.e;.rt'h , eri:-.1-. , caU;:See..:iio. hope, - but; if., -wo are.' prepared; to.' sacrifie'e all for our-native .land, ; victory is assured." I am afraid tliat New; Zealand is too i prone 'to ; assume, iflio. altitude of selfccmplacency, and say, "Look at what wo 'have donoj we -aro doing all we caii," ratlier- tliai! regretfully say, with that .dead. and . gone .Imperialist,. ,Ceoii; "So much to do; 'so little done." Only,.last.'.Thursday,- when the cruiser Brisbane,, ths : largest'. vessel ever launched in the Southern Hemis- '• pliere, and - the first- oriiiser 4$ ;built iiv;any of : the British'dependencies," wais launched in Sydney Harbour, the Federal Prime Minister (tlio Right Hon. Andrew Fisher) said: "Wo have made, a good beginning, 'but we have to, go much -farther."'. ;.We.-' in.- New. Zealand have also made a' good beginning,- but our Minister; of Befenco is m'oro wone to point out Tiow'.much we than regretting .(witli; the late Mr. Ehodes).:tliat there is little'done,"to modestly ; urge - (with Jfr., Fisher) that "wo-have to go much farther.", •; Self-complaceiicy is caWhiiig; and already there- is a slump in our recruiting which'has seemingly awakened even the somnolent newspapers, and evoked from. Mr. Allen the ' belated admission that "It does seem that the Minister of Defence ought now to do something .to . remind the country :of, the'vheavy. demands shortly. to ■' be made upon it," and to stimulate recruiting, duruig the ( next -few-v weeks;", : Recruiting' ». discouraged in New Zealand, as witness , the Press Association's telegram of Thursday's date from Wanganui:— "Tlie- authorities appear to think ' we aro dead, -so we are off to Sydney to enlist," said one of a party of three young men which left Wanganui to-day en route for Sydney. He proceeded-; to say that "he and his mates tad handed in their ' llames here months ago, , and passed the examination, but had never < heard further from the Defence Department;'so _ they had decided to go to Australia, knowing their services would be accected there."

There is too much, ■ delay in tho methods adopted here in contradistinction to the prompt and /businesslike methods obtaining in Australia, -where men' are 6woru in' immediately tliey _ liavo passed the ': medical ■;, rtest, - and : where the 40-years ago limitation does not obtain. ''The ;Commonwealth Defence. Department wants as many men as possible, and- states !that ;it' is able to equip all the -recruits who present themselves."- So-said the Fedora 1 Minister of Defence (Senator Pearce) to tlie New South Wales Minister of Lands (Mr. Ashford) when in.Melbourne a fow days ago. It had .been more' than onco asserted . that the' Federal authorities did not want any more than tho normal number of enlistments, because tho organisation could not e.opo with a rush of recruits. Mr. Ashford's report of. Senator Pearco's pronouncement quite disposes of that canard. Simultaneously 1 with the-Press Association's current wiro from 'Sydney that "there has been considerable improvement in recruiting during the past few days,") is published our own lugubrious lament'that there is a slumg in recruiting here. . Moral: Follow Australia's example of up-to-date methods, of encouraging recruits, Mr. Allen',' unless you want New Zealand (which fondly believes that she leads the world) to be left behind, and, above all, do not reject capablo 'and experienced men above' 40 years of age, who are better able to stand fatigue and Tcsist the ravages' of disease than men only in their twenties. Verb. sap. -—I am,, etc., .. • PERCIVAi; E. WAD.DY. Wellington, October 1, 1915.