Citizens Say—

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 651, 1 May 1929, Page 8

Citizens Say —

(To the Editor.)

ANZAC DAY Sir, — While many of us, like your correspondent, regret the apathy of business houses in not flying flags on Anzac Day, it could be pointed out that business places were not alone in this omission. One of the most prominent public flagstaffs round Auckland —that on INforthcote Point —was bare on Anzac Day, cither because the Borough Council mas afraid to spend money on repairs to the flag on the eve of an election, or through sheer forgetfulness, which is far worse, to my mind at least. Perhaps May 1 will see the election of civic officials more capable of giving the citizens a lead in this as in other matters. 2/A.LB. COLONEL B. C. FREYBERG, V.C. Sir, Sometimes on© has to pay dearly for amusement; at other times it is thrust upon one free of charge. I was amused freely to read in a recent issue of The Sun that “Freyberg spent his school days in Wellington, then left New Zealand.” Your correspondent, “In Justice to Old England,” loses sight of the fact that seven years—--1906-1913 —elapsed between the day the gallant colonel left school and departed from this Dominion for parts unknown at the time. Well, let me say that the intervening years were partly spent in an office at Napier, and partly as a dentist at Morrinsville. The colonel’s first notable achievement was to swim the river from Te Aroha to Thames. Having spent 22 years out of 24 in this Dominion, any reasonable person, I think, would concede that the renowned soldier should be classed as a New Zealander, despite “Who’s Who.” UNCLE JIM. CHINESE FAMINE RELIEF Sir A few /days ago a Wellington message stated that the Mayor, Mr. Cl. A. Troup, had cabled £ 600 to the China International Famine Relief Commission in Shanghai. It may be of interest to know that Auckland had some share in the contributions forwarded. The City Council gave a donation of 100 guineas, and no less than £192 3s has been received and forwarded by myself to the central fund in Wellington. These donations have come from a comparatively small number of subscribers, and I am writing this in the hope that others will be led to give something to help the starving. The need as set forth in the cables is desperate enough, and the report of the vast numbers suffering is confirmed by information from reliable sources. . . . May I say that the China International Famine Relief Commission is a well established body whose functions are (1) to handle relief measures in time of famine, and (2) to promote ways and means of preventing future famines. The personnel of the executive, in a report before me, consists of representative Chinese and Europeans, and includes such well-known names as those of Bishop E. W. White and Mr. E. S. Little. Their efforts in administering relief have been directed

to employment on embankments to prevent future floods, roadmaking, irrigation works and provision of seedgrain. It is well to remember that, though the winter is past in China, no crop is possible in most areas till September. Help is most urgently needed at the present time. I understand that a subscription list is open at the City Council office and I shall be glad to be of service in forwarding any further donations that may be sent to me. W MAWSON. Presbyterian Foreign Missions Office, 30 Pencarrow Avenue, Mount Eden. THE CALL OF THE SOIL Sir, The following paragraphs by two of your contributors liave greatly interested me: Gardening is not a gamble, a game of chance or lottery. It proves the mettle of the worker quicker than any other recreation and rewards him fairly, justly, according to his work. (By Mr. L. A. Griffiths: “Romance of the Garden.”) A properly kept and well-managed small garden and poultry yard will yield a munificent return on the capital invested, to say nothing of the eggs, and occasional dinner without the expense of the butcher’s bill, a supply of fresh vegetables and a few flowers for the house. (By Mr. G. H. Ambler: “The Poultry Yard.”) Those sentiments should be broadcast by all politi/ans and the common sense that lies in them should be stressed until the Government realises that if elderly men like me could secure an acre of land and a whare they could help production, relieve the strain on the labour market and ease the burdens imposed on the Charitable Aid Board. In addition they would have a fruitful job to occupy both mind and body. H.U. FROM THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE Sir, — A statement was recently made and published that the Public Trust Office was taking £20,000 of Auckland Power Board debentures bearing interest at per cent. I should be glad if you would publish the fact that the funds so invested in these or similar debentures are not the funds of the Public Trust Office, but that the debentures in question are being taken up by the Public Trustee specially on behalf of clients of the office. R. WARD, District Public Trustee. BIRKENHEAD TO ALBANY Sir, This transport business tangles me up. When there are trams or trains serving a district I can understand that bus competition should be limited as the public’s invested money is at stake, but when there is nothing of the sort why should one bus concern be granted a licence and others refused? As. for instance, on the BirkenheadAlbany run, where Mr. Ingham took up a motor-car service when the buses

ceased to run because the conditions of the road made profitable running impossible. With a big car he took over the mail contract, carried the daily papers through, and ran a regular time-table whatever tho weather and the road conditions. Now' the roads have been improved another enterprise has secured a bus licence granted while Mr. Ingham, who saw us through the bad days, cannot get one. It beats me. I suppose there is some sense in it—but just where. PUZZLED. Glenfield