LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2602, 26 October 1915, Page 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

MR. SIEVWRICHT'S MISREPRESENTATIONS. Sir, —Mr. Siovwrighfc .complains of tho length of my loiter, and inferentially compliments himself upon tlio shortness of his own. A friend oncc remarked to Dr. Johnson that it entailed great' labour and trouble and much writing to provent< tho unwary from boing dccoived by designing or careless people, 'io which the Doctor replied: "It may tako a philosopher a life-timo to establish a truth, hut a fool can deny it in a fow moments." He went on to say that it was impossible to couch arguments in such terms as to prevent anulhor class, not fools, but something olso, from misrepresenting them. I am suro that 110 0110 who coinparos tlio statements in my letter with those which Mr. Sievwright attributes to mo will bo dceoircd. Nor can anyone fail to seo that it is needless to argue with a man who is superior to Webster, and who can seo 110 difference between residence taken up voluntarily and the enforced residence of a prisoner. I stand by every statement made in my previous letter.—l am, etc., T. W. HISLOP.

TWO MR. H. C. HILLS—OR THREE?

Sif) —There is only one point in. Mr. H. G. Hill's entertaining letter to which I feol justified in taking serious exception. He 6peaks of me as having, <as a member of tho Victoria Collego Council, voted away money that did not come out of my own pocket, IJid as having in another capacity advised others to give something which is also not mine—namely, their lives. A moment's reflection will surely convince •him that sneoring of this kind is aa mean and foolish as it is cheap and easy. Every lover of his country who finds himself in a position of pubile trust but unable to go to tho front— every one, in fact, from the Prime Minister to tho president of tho Patriotic Society—is open to tho samo taunt, aiid therefore it does mo no special injury. But Mr. Hill's patriotic philippics . will lose nothing in force if he remembers the advico of Burke—"so to be patriots as not to forget we are gentlemen." Mr. Hill evidently fancies himself as a wit, and not entirely without justification, but if he could only see it the involuntary humour of his incredibly muddled logic is much funnier than tlio best of liis intentional witticisms. To argue with a patriot whose emotions have boiled over and made such a sorry mess of his brains is almost as difficult as to talk with a foreigner whose languago you do not understand, and who does not understand yours. One despairs equally in both cases of firding aiiy common ground or mediim of exchange. But in the confidence that others who may have been impressed by Mr. Hill's sophisms are not er.tiiely beyond the pale of rational argument, I will attempt a brief reply. Tho pith of Mr. Hill's singular farrago of ingenious inconsequence and personal banter is to be found in the subject which he proposes for debate between what he regards as my mutually conflicting personalities. "I would suggest," ho writes, "that the Victoria College Mr. Atkinson tako tho affirmative in a debate that 'It is in the interests of the British Empire that Ger-. man professors should be subsidised, and that as the Germans are very fine fellows it is not necessary to fight them.' The recruiting Mr. Atkinson would, oppose thiß motion." Let me assure Mr. Hill that neither of my alleged personalities _ could affirm either clause of this idiotic proposition, but that they both concur in giving a hearty support to every part or the following 6imple, statement: —

■ "The must either break the power of Germany or perish. To the interests of the Empire in this terrible struggle every private, sectional, or local interest must be' subordinated. But it is not in the interests of the Empire to carry the war against a nation to the point of- persecuting, proscribing, or disqualifying every or v any members of that nation who is living peaceably in. a British community, and who without any countervailing injury or risk cf injury, can render us useful service. It is, on the contrary, in the interests of the Empire that we should use those services just as freely as the national safetv permits, and to deny ourselves this benefit at the call of racial hatred, social prejudice, or personal or political hostility would only be cut oif < ur noses in order to spite our faces." I trust, Mr. Editor, that there is nothing treasonable or paradoxical or solfcontradictory in this simple creed. And I am glad to know that on 1 both the lines of public activity to which this faith has recently led mo I have had the sympathy and support of an. overwhelming majority not only of my colleagues en the Victoria College Council, but of the,professors and students. Mr. Hill's pretty little "argumentum' ad hominem" has, indeed, a much wider reach than he intended. It probably hits at least half a dozen of his own colleagues on the executive of the Patriotic Society. To talk as Mr. Hill does of Professor von Zedlitz's salary as though it was a. dole from_ the public funds is a fallacy which it is amazing that any business man should venture to countenance. The College got full value for the Pro-1 lessor's salary during twelve or thirteen years of peace, and the value was not diminished to the extent of a penny by the outbreak of war. As for the compensation voted for loss of office, Mr. Hill overlooks the fact that Parliament, knowing thai/ six months' salary, was all that the Professor could claim if his contract were determined in the ordinary way, tempered the harshness of the legislation for his sum- i mary ejection by empowering the council to double this amount. Mr. Hill's argument implies that he would object to compensation of ajiy kind. And why not? After all, what is a contract any way? "A mere scrap of paper, which a patriotic Parliament should be as free to fool with as tie Kaiser with the Belgian treaty, and with 110 more regard than ho to any claim for compensation. I hope that I have said enough to show that there are not really two Mr. Atkinsons. May I now ,aslc whether there is not more than one Mr. Hill? There was a Mr. Hill who a few months ago informed the Aliens' Board that he was daily receiving complaints as to acts of misconduct by Professor von Zedlitz, and, when asked for his evdence, was only ablo to produce a single letter —a letter which on the face of it' was anonymous and which inquiry conclusively proved to be falso. No public apology has yet been mado for the cruel injustice thus perpetrated on a helpless foreigner in the name of British patriotism, nor has the Patriotic Society disavowed it. For this reason, 1 infer that the Mr. Hill who has attacked the Professor cannot possibly be the Mr. Hill who is president of the Patriotic Society, and I am wondering which (if either) of them it is that has attacked me. There seem to be at least two Mr. Hills about, and possibly throe.—l" am, etc., A. R. ATKINSON. October 25.

TRADE WITHIN THE 'EMPIRE. Sir,—Just' about a year ago I spoko of the apparent necessity for the existence of a league, or whatever one may wish to toni) it, for the encouraging of trade within the Empire. I understand that there are sovoral bodies in the Dominion existing for this purpose. But their existence has been marked with 110 particular accomplishment to their credit. Might I suggest that they could seek a lino of action in urging the teaching of school children in the desirability of bmiiw onlx British goods?. How we

elders cherish memories of our youth; and do not tho teachings of our youth guide our actions in after years? So if tho children wore taught the idea of buying within the Empire, such, teachings would stick to them m after life. i'hon would not it bo well to amsider issuing some simple placard, bearing, say: "Itimembor August 1915, and Buy British Goods" to all stores within tho Dominion; and! such card could Iks placed in. a position, in each store where it would be read by. every purchaser. Then the purchaser, being impressed, and with this message 111 mind, could hardly go past British goods. If only people would realise how much is to be gained by keeping our own countrymen prosperous—what an easy thing it is for us to do—and—well, why cannot' we do it?—l am, etc., w „ J- H. BEALE, .Waipiro Bay.

V/AR CORRESPONDENTS AND THE PRESS. Sir,—Permit mo to make use of a little space in order to reply to ono signing A. 11. Hornblow, who was responsible for an offusion appearing in your yesterday's edition. TWb gentleman, m paving the way to an attempt to belittle tho work done by war correspondents, makes an irrelevant statement at the outset which I qui)te verbatim : "Most of your readers read ■ from time to time glowing and descriptive narratives of events happening at the scene of hostilities, as detailed by, various Press war correspondents."' So says Mr. A. R. Hornblow. "Most emphatically we have," say I, 011 behalf of not only most, but of one and all the readers of your valued daily; whom I have had the pleasure of coming in contact with. Wo have not only read, we have appreciated to the fullest; we have even gloated over these pen pictures drawn by experts whose duty it is to hand back to tho world the tales of victories, aye, and of reverses, too —tales which have brought home to us tlje grim realism, tho horror, and the glory of war. "Most of us," Mr. Hornblow specint'3 in his assertion, do not quite catch what he means, unless he numbers amongst his acquaintances a few of those beings who strive to ignore and _ secretly' deride, the' ardour of patriotism. We are not of those, thank God. Wo hanker for every, atom of news that can he wrung from the relentless grip or evade the eagle eyo of the censor.

In sentence number two Mr. A. 8.Hornblow makes an alarming statement: "Mr. Ashmead Bartlett," ho declares, "has suddenly come into prominence." Ashmead Bartlett, tho master of description, who for a decada has been famous for his perspicacity, whose narratives have ever been of such a faithful and authentic order that' no is recognised by the rulers of nations as an authority! Ashmead Bartlett. whose name has been ringing from one end of the southern hemisphere to the other as a man who' lias immortalised the deeds of derringdo of tho sons of New Zealand and Austra'ia in his chronicles, which havebeen cabled word for word to the four corners and spread broadcast across iha seven seas since that first red landing day at Gallipoli! Ashmead Pa' iJett, the courageous war correspondent, the outspoken critic, the highest-paid literary genius of the, dav, the man. whoso features have not only "appeared in a local paper upon which he had made an impression," but have adorned the pages of practically every standard English, American, and colonial publication! Ashmead Bartlett suddenly, como into prominence! La, Mr. A. R. Hornblow, some day we will awaken and discover that) a little man named Lloyd George has done likewise.

And- now' it is beginning -to dawn upon my small understanding the full significance of tie first few words of tho initial remark, ''Some of your readers read."' They reiterate' insistently.

lam a staunch supporter of. the Kitcliencr polioy, but we must describe Mr. A. R. Hornbloiv's faith'in the great man himsolf as pathetic in the extreme. Either the gentleman is an intimate ac-' quaintauce of Lord Kitchener or he is a hero worshipper to a remarkable degree. Be careful, Mr. Hornblow! Wartime is a bad time to bow the knee to idols, for it is also tho time cf rampant iconoclasm. It,is well to have a .great faith in a great leader, but it is also well to have a great faith in one's own self and one's own opinion. We must not cast the responsibility of our national welfare upon one pair of human shoulders. We must help ourselves, and ■then God will help us. Mr. Hornblow says that,, in accordance with his way of thinking, ivar correspondents would he more fittingly employed in the trenches. Mr. Hornblow, there is an old maxim, and at- times a very true one, "The pen is mightier than the sword." The scribes and chroniclers on our battlefields are the creators of history. They -ire men whoso exceptional talent has equipped them for the great duty they are performing. Veriiy, I say that tho man who is to-day at the firing-line, watching and watching, and telling of deeds that will never die, portraying with skilful pen the rock-strewn path which leads to' victory, piecing together an enthralling tradition to bo handed to our children's children, and so live for ever—that such a man is doing as much for his nation in his own peculiar way as ever man did.

No, Mr. A. R. Homblow, we want our waT writers; wo' want their vivid pea pictures to stir us to greater efforts; we want their timely warnings lest we forget. We want every word they can givo us, for our hearts are tut where they are striving that not one of our kin shall find a gory, graveloss death, unwept, unhononred, and unsung- I. am. etc., A VISITING WAR CORRESPONDENT.