Citizens Say—

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 507, 9 November 1928, Page 8

Citizens Say —

(To the Editor.)

GUY FAWKES DAY

Sir.— I wish to contradict “Aussie” in his statement about the celebration of Guv Fawkes Day in Australia. They never celebrate November 5. Guv Fawkes Day. Their day for fireworks display is the King’s Birthday. I am positive of this, for I happened to be in Australia at that time, and amazed people by asking why they did not have their fireworks on November 5. They never associate that day with celebrations. NEW ZEALANDER. ARMISTICE DAY IN DEVONPORT Sir,— I would like to protest against the action of the Mayor of Devonport, Mr. E. Aldridge, in making our council chamber a species of recruiting office for the local churches, as he certainly did when he suggested making next Sunday, Armistice Day, a “Come to Church Day.” It is not part of a council’s duties to concern itself about the religion of the borough, and members would do well to devote themselves to the secular affairs awaiting them. That is what they are elected for. A.E.C. ONKAPARINGA STEEPLECHASE Sir, — Last evening I read an article in The Sun with reference to the Great Eastern Steeplechase. The writer states that it is not a difficult course. I beg to differ. I have ridden over the most important steeplechase courses 1 n Australia, and I maintain that Onkaparinga is the hardest I have had to negotiate. It would do the writer good to have a ride over Onkaparinga. There is no comparison possible with it and Ellerslie. I have ridden 1-1-hand ponies over hurdles in Victoria as big as the fences at Ellerslie. Fred McCabe, who has ridden over almost everv steeplechase course in the world, will, I think, bear me out in stating that Onkaparinga is the hardest course in Australia, not excluding Flemington. A. F. GRIFFIN. TRUTH IN POLITICS Sir, — In the old days of the Thames goldfields it was the practice to classify persons who couldn’t tell the truth into three grades—liars, liars, and mining experts. After a round of political meetings, I have come to the conclusion that the mining experts are not in it with some of our Parliamentary candidates. I attended a meeting the other night as the constitur m of a member seeking re-election. J » made a clever and most amusing speech, but I regret to say the truth was not in him. One of his chief points was a statement that a squatter might have

an income of £IO,OOO a year without paying any income tax, whereas any other taxpayer with a similar income would be taxed to the extent of about 4s 6d in the £l. The audience was to draw the inference that the Iterorm Government was the friend of squatters, who, by the wav. are not very numerous in Auckland City electorates, and that it was a hideous injustice that a squatter should get away with an income of £IO,OOO and pay no income tax. What the candidate might have told the audience if he had been reasonably frank and honest, and incident-ally if he had known what he was talking about, was this: The number of squatters with an income of £IO,OOO a year from their own pastoral properties could probably be counted on the fingers of his two hands. To obtain it. the squatter must be grazing land of an unimproved value of £IOO,OOO. His land tax would amount to about •£4,000 or more, or something like 8s in the £ 1 of his net income, as comwith 4s 6d which the taxpayer pays should he happen to be a brewer, or a biscuit manufacturer, or in any other business that puts his income in the £IO,OOO class. Further, if the income taxpayer has a bad year and his profit disappears, he doesn’t pay any tax, while if there is a drop in wool and the pastora list’s income disappears, he has to ps/ his land tax all the same. Mainly fur this reason, capital invested in sheep farming shows a very poor return compared with capital invested in most mercantile, manufacturing or distributing businesses. To tout for votes by inflaming working-class opinion against a handful of squatters whose votes mean little or nothing at election time may be clever tactics, but to put it mildly, it is unworthy of anyone who aspires to membership of the legislature of his country. ELECTOR. A “CINCH” Sir, — In your leader of November 7 you say: "To make appropriate use of a hideous American colloquialism. Mr. Hoover's return seems a ‘cinch.’ ” Now, treasonable as it may seem, “cinch” is as much a "hideous”—if you like —Canadian colloquialism as it is American. It is, in fact, merely the North American adaptation of the Spanish “eincha,” meaning “girth.” And horsemen on both sides of that imaginary boundary-line that follows the 49th parallel of latitude across the North American continent, “cinch up” their horses. A “cinch,” in short, is merely an indispensable item of saddlery necessary to secure the saddle when on a horse. And why, oh. why. “hideous” colloquialism? To me, the word, if properly understood, seems apt and expressive, and needs no apologies for its use. It is sad to find a live newspaper like The Sun obviously compelled to follow suit in the matter of pandering to a pitifully splenetic and snuffling section of the community. I refer to those who, apparently in order to live up to their

particular interpretation of ( beins “more English than the English,’ mu& needs discover something objection* able in nearly all things AmericanClearly, Mayor Thompson, of Cbicag » has nothing on our home-grown P duct; and as a British-born citi®» wi3h to protest against the encouragement of this Ameneopn so prevalent in New Zealand. NORTH BRITISH-

INTERRUPTIONS AT MEETINGS

As a voter who had a S 1 * 6 * l * tion to cast my vote for a I have been present at quite a ber of meetings of the United, and Reform Party candidates. The one thing that ame at these meetings is that, w the Labour and United canaia* —iven a fair hearing, the oni form candidates have been su to bitter and un-British a*“fpartysupporters, not of the bu: as some people are led to be - t j. ( . undoubtedly by the followers United Party. . fitting » This unmank fashion of Br jton* campaign does not appeal co un* who are Tvroud of their King - try. and has been the ca sH United Party losing many others. _ . _ ÜBCKAb WCUB^"