Citizens Say

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 923, 17 March 1930, Page 8

Citizens Say

THE END OF FOOTBALL?

Sir, Your correspondent “Squib,” in his tabloid drama depicting a Cabinet meeting, has hit the nail right on the head. When a Government finds that absorption point has been reached so far as prohibitive laws are concerned, why not recognise the fact instead of spending sleepless nights trying to evolve something new with which to plague the populace? Is it imperative that new laws should be passed each session? There seems to have arisen a tradition that the fatter the Statute Book becomes, the more successful the Government. To my mind such a thing is utterly ridiculous. This fireworks restriction is the latest absurdity. Why on earth should my children be deprived of a harmless pleasure which has given children, for centuries, “the thrill of their lives”? Occasionally there are casualties on the football field. Will the United Government consider next session an embargo on footballs? WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED.

OVER-PRODUCTION

Sir,— In Wednesday’s Sun you have a cablegram dealing with the American farmers’ plight—those who have, or will have, 100,000,000 bushels of surplus wheat, and no market. Will the New Zealand dairy farmers soon be faced with the same problem ? Australia has shut us out; Canada has almost decided to do the same; the London market is over-supplied; and values are daily sagging lower. Our politicians urge us to produce more, but what are we going to do with it? Advances of Is Id a lb will not leave much margin unless the cost of production is lowered considerably. BUTTERFAT.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH N.Z.?

Sir, — I suppose you will think the writer rather garrulous, but your article on “What is Wrong with New Zealand?” was far too mild. To get at the root of the evil would mean a real “eyeful” for readers. First of all, the wrong started with the war. The war ended but the wrong keeps on. If wealth had been conscripted as well as men things would long ago have been normal again. But then if wealth had been conscripted there. would have been no such thing as reparations, and it is reparations that are today reimbursing wealth for all it expended, with interest as well.

It is reparations that make the allied countries idle, because . the defeated countries had no gold to confiscate, so reparations mean, solely, work. Thus 30,000,000 workers are compelled to work an extra seven hours a day at lowest remuneration and, of course, this means that 30,000,000 allied work-

(To the Editor.)

MAORI DIALECTS

ers have seven hours a day less work to do. In Prance the case was different. War’s havoc has supplied the Frenchman with work. As the reparations mean that Continental workers are doing work for British workers, the idle workers of the allied nations cannot pay for butter, so it has slumped, and a slump in toutter hits the New Zealand worker also. Getting nearer home, we find that all the nonsense our political men have approved, making it necessary for boys to matriculate before learning a trade, is costing parents at least £10,000,000 a year. Local bodies—by concreting the whole of the roads and providing no footing for horse traction have substituted benzine traction. This costs New Zealand another £10,000,000. Then the substitution of hydro-power for steam has given overseas workers the job of making the machinery and deprived miners of work; while the miners are being hard hit by the firemen making trouble and compelling even the coastal boats to use oil. Then children who stay at school after they are 16 lose their sense of initiative and instead of becoming clever practical men become theorists and inferior workers. Generally speaking everything ' seems wrong m New Zealand. Take conScnptmn. This costs an enormous sum *A th ® taXPay ? r - Tllere are a dozen hS 6^ 11188 - that cou!,J be mentioned, but the mam one is that the people themselves are not like the old-timers tTon flre<i tlleir public men each elecHAROLD SCHMIDT.

Sir,— report of the discussion which took place at the last meeting th th k Akarana Maori Association of * beabove sub J' e ct it states that the M aikato dialect was chosen by Mie early missionaries as the standard speech of the Maori. This I feel surP I® Pat c °vrect. and I cannot understand a member of the. Association making such an erroneous statement. As a student of Maori history I have* learnt that the Ngapuhi dialect had that honour, and I am sure that this can be proved by reference to the work of Colenso, Archdeacon Williams and other eminent workers who first made the beautiful Maori speech of the Ng'apuhi into a written language. In using this dialect I have always believed I was speaking the standard literary Maori, and sensing its superiority to other dialects have been thankful that it was Ngapuhi and no other dialect I had learned. Since its inception I have looked to the Akarana Maori Association as an authority on such subjects as do many other citizens, but I doubt if the members of Lhe organisation were right in allowing such a mis-statement to go to the Press. I should be glad of an explanation from the Association, and wait for a reply. M. B. SOLJAK.