Citizens Say—

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 558, 10 January 1929, Page 6

Citizens Say —

Ml. ROSKILL ROAD BOARD Sir, — Now that there is another by-election being forced on the ratepayers on the 16th of this month and another £SO is going to be expended on this, let us at least, from a ratepayers’ point of view, urge that all those who are employed on the election be ratepayers only of the Mount Roskill Road Board. It has been the custom to employ outsiders and not the ratepayers and there are plenty of ratepayers out of work, so let any ratepayer get at least this day’s work to help him pay his rates. JUSTICE. SAMOAN AFFAIRS Sir, — Permit me to express my entire approval of the sentiments voiced by several correspondents in The Sun. I cannot help feeling ashamed about the imprisonment of Tamasese for failure to pay £2 12s in taxes. We should remember that these Samoans take a different view of things to ours. We in New Zealand think we are born to pay taxes. We love being heavily taxed to keep an army of inspectors and officials pestering the life out of us. But the'Samoan is used to an easy life and knows little of officialdom. We may have some trouble in bringing him to our way of thinking. E. STEVENSON. SHORT-WEIGHT BREAD Sir, —■ We hear' a lot about the laws of the land and the many paid officials. Where are the \veights and measures inspectors? Yesterday I weighed a loaf. It was under ljlb. I paid 6Jd for it We then weighed a tin loaf that was 2Soz short. It is time someone looked into the whole question of weighing and measuring goods. It is enough these hard times to pay for what you get without being given short-weight. I would point out also, that since the Food Act, with all its wonderful provisions, has come into force and so many preservatives are not allowed, food will keep no time. Bread goes mouldy very soon, smoked fish, and bacon will not keep as they used to do I consider food and health were better before all these patent laws came into force. 8.8. ARGYLE STREET CROSSING Sil*. May I trespass on your valuable space again to call the attention of the public to the continued danger of the Argyle Street crossing. On October 10, I wrote to the Minister of Railways on behalf of my association, calling his attention to the unsatisfactory nature of the device installed I received a reply dated October 12, stating that the matter would be investiNovember 10, I received a ! letter from the Minister of Railwavs j stating that with the exception of two i slight failures the signal has proved j satisfactory. In a letter from Mr ! Coates, dated June 20, in reply to mine j of June 8, the association was informed that an automatic alarm would be inj stalled. I his was not done, but -i

(To the Editor.)

flashlight signal was installed which we still maintain is unsatisfactory, and I think, sir, our objection to the present device is upheld by the recent accident. On June 8 we asked that two disabled soldiers be appointed as crossing-keepers, but were told that There were other crossings at which the need for protection of that nature was more urgent than at Argyle Street, and while such conditions prevailed it was regretted the request could not be favourably considered. The statement of the Minister in reply to my letter of October 10, that he had caused inquiries to be made from prominent business men living in the locality, and that they were quite satisfied with the present protection of the crossing," is quite different to the statements made to myself, on personal inquiry, from motorists and drivers. What do the shopkeepers know? They are behind their counters. It is the motorist, and motor-carrier who should be considered, and unless some action is taken by the general public (this association will do its share), we will one day have such an accident that the whole country will rise in wrath. What is the spending of a few pounds on the proper ! protection of this crossing compared ! the loss of human life that has already occurred and is likely to occur again, unless the Government takes steps to install an alarm bell at this, and other, dangerous crossings. I am bringing the matter before the present Minister of Railways, and will submit his reply to you, for the information of the general public. CHAS. COLLINS, Secretary, N.Z. Natives’ Association. A NAUTICAL PROBLEM Sir, —• Underneath a picture published recently in The Sun was set a problem concerning the adjustment of a main skysail lift. It is very simple. If the sail is set and the yard is hoisted up, the lift is not wanted. If the yard is down, haul your braces taut, loose off the sheets and, in the morning, if the weather is fine, before you loose the sail, the hand aloft can make fast the lift lanyard to the masthead—and the problem is finished. The Olivebank has no skysail in anv case. SAILOR. We are glad to have a sailor’s opinion on the little problem we set, but we did not anticipate that a seafaring man would have any difficulty in coping with it. The question, propounded for the benefit of landlubbers who would be bewildered by the maze of ropes, was this: What would you do if the skipper asked you to “shin aloft and fix the port main skysail lift, on a black night, in a rough sea, on the Bay of Biscay?”—Ed. The Sun. NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENT Oak (St. Heiiers). —No furniture is immune from the ravages of borer, if the insect has established itself in the house. There are two ways of overcoming the difficulty. The furniture can be treated with creosote, a method much favoured on the other side of the Tasman, or the house can bo fumigated with a patent gas which, it is claimed, will rid any home of the pest. An Auckland company is exploiting this fumigating plant which may provide a solution of the most distressing furniture problems that the New Zealand householder has ever had to face. — Ed. The Sun.