Citizens Say-

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 104, 23 July 1927, Page 8

Citizens Say-

(To the Editor.)

THE BUS-HOG

Sir, — We hear enough about the motorhog. What about the bus-hog as an especially fine and superior specimen of the species? Secure in the size and strength of his vehicle, the busdriver keeps to the middle of the road, contemptuously disregardful of the rights of the smaller private vehicles. There are some courteous exceptions, but for a tliorough-bred, all-round, noyielding, go-to-hell hog of the road, commend me to the average bus driver. May he have to drive an asbestos bus in the place where asbestos will be the most useful commodity. SMALL CAR. RE “N.Z.EX-SERVICE LEAGUE” Sir, The officers of the New Zealand ExService League have devised a scheme for securing work for all the unemployed ex-soldiers of Auckland, and I must confess that after very careful consideration of that scheme I am satisfied of its practicability. If the required funds are available, and capable management and control of same are exercised, then there is every reason for the belief that the desired object will be achieved. No one surely will quarrel with the desire to find work for all unemployed exservice men. I have recently had several conversations with the secretary of the league, also with its president, Mr. McCormack, of 59 New North Road, Kin island, with a view to analysing the pros and cons of the scheme. To me, their ideas seem sound and practicable if the necessary funds are forthcoming. The amount required for its accomplishment is £ 500. Is it possible for you to open a subscription list through your valuable columns for this purpose? As an evidence of my own faith in the practicability of the said scheme I herewith enclose my cheque of £ 5 toward same. E. E. KITCHENER. [The scheme is a worthy one. Our correspondent’s cheque has been forwarded to Mr. McCormack. THE SUN will be pleased to receive and forward cheques from other readers who may be interested in a scheme to find work for unemployed ex-servicemen in Auckland—Ed., THE SUN.] THE TAUPO RAILWAY Sir, Those interested in the construction of this railway are, as might be expected, making the most of the report of the Royal Commission, but I question whether any single individual who gave evidence before this commission ever even touched on the real economies of the matter. Engineers talk of grades, bridges, cuttings and embankments; farmers of the carrying capacity of the soil; politicians and business men of the prospect of the line paying interest on capital expended None of these, nor yet all of them, are conclusive, as to the desirability of prosecuting this work, nor do they cover the whole of the economies involved. You might, by building the railway, induce sufficient settlement and provide sufficient revenue to make it pay its way, but if so you will be taking actual or potential revenue from existing lines. Suppose, instead of settling the Urewera country, the settlers were put on the better land, already served by rail and road, but held out of use, the railway revenue would accrue to existing lines, and would be therefore a very much better proposition, seeing that the extra revenue would be obtained with little, if any, fresh capital expenditure. It is the Government’s duty to break down the monopoly which holds these better

lands out of use, or only partially used, and settle them before new railways and roads are built. If it is really necessary to settle the Taupe district, one of the remotest in the Dominion, while the population is yet under millions, the population capacity of New Zealand must be near ing its limit. But such an idea is a palpable absurdity. It is safe to that the Urewera will not be reqi until the Dominion’s population is very much iarger, say, 15 or 20 millions. My criticism of the Taupo railway soheme is based on farming considerations. If it can be shown that the undertaking would pay from a tourist point of view and/or by reason of the revenue derivable from timber forests, then the project may be justified on economic grounds, but not otherwise, at the present stage of the country’s development. C.H.N. FAN TAN AND BRIDGE Sir, In opening my paper the other day one ot the first items of news I noticed was a paragraph mentioning the generosity of the Chinese citizens in giving donations to the public hospital, and remarks by the chairman of the Hospital Board to the effect that these donations were frequently received from the Chinese. Do not many of your readers feel rather ashamed when reading accounts of the raids made on these peaceable citizen’s premises by oui* police force, who raid their houses, and find ten or a dozen of these rascals actually gambling; a most heinous crime, apparently, if practised by Chinese, but quite permissible in men, women or children if European. I and many others fail to see why these poor foreign devils should be harassed in their private residences, when they seek a little harmless recreation which is generally confined to their own countrymen. It may be law, but it does not seem like justice. If we put ourselves in t?ie other fellow’s place m China and had our house raided and a whole party of bridge players were hustled off to the police station wouldn’t there be a howl? I have had dealings with the Chinese in this country for over 40 years and can bear witness to their integrity and their good citizenship. JUSTICE. LOVE AND GARDENING Sir, — Love and gardening go hand in hand. What is better for the “tired business man" than to potter about in his garden among flowers, fruits, vegetables, and blossoms? Nothing: What is better than to see a man and his family all busy as bees in the garden whenever they get a day off from work ; or even an hour or two? What would be nicer than to see all spare land in I and around Auckland let out by the year in quarter-acre sections and made into gardens for the use of those pre- j pared to pay £1 a year for the privi- : lege, the same as they do in Kent’ Notices could be put up on boards- " Anyone found taking vegetables from any section to which he is not entitled will be prosecuted.” Then you will get land cleared for nothing, and £4 a year for every acre cut up into quarter-acre sections. Any citizen who chooses may then have his own garden for one year—from the Shortest Day to the Shortest Day. This gardening stunt" is not a new thing. It has been going on through the ages. WALTER RICHARDSON.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS “Magna Carta.”—Your attack on the Bench is rather too violent. Magistrates may not be infallible, but they are, as a general rule, extremely impartial men who endeavour to give just decisions in every case and to see that both sides in anv dispute obtain a hearing.