Citizens Say

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1037, 30 July 1930, Page 8

Citizens Say

(To the Editor.)

MARIST “ALL BLACKS” Sir,—■ I note one player in the 1924 Marist team whom you have overlooked. L. Stewart was the only man ot' that team who won New Zealand honours, playing as first five-eighth against England at Dunedin (1924). ONE OF THE TEAM. Otorolianga.

A CARPENTER’S APPEAL

Sir. — Please allow mo a little space in your paper to state my misfortune, hoping it may meet the eye of someone able to give me work. I am a carpenter by trade, but will take on any kind of work. I am hard up against it, and have been given 14 days’ notice to quit the house I now occupy. I have a wife and three young children to support, and have only had an odd day’s work or so in the last five months. No job will be too small. WORKER.

WRESTLING

Sir, — I noticed in The Sun on Saturday the criticism by Mr. Lewis, of Onehunga. It is very evident Mr. Lewis does not know the facts. I believe the wrestling body under the patronage of the Auckland Returned Soldiers’ Association was formed without knowledge of Wellington, and that when a request for affiliation was forwarded, it was instructed to appoint a delegate to attend a meeting of all centres interested in wrestling. Auckland Association was also invited to attend, but for reasons of its own decided not to do so, and without going into details it appears that the other centres were quite unanimous in voting in favour of the Auckland Returned Soldiers* Association. I feel sure when the soldiers open their season Mr. Lewis will enjoy interesting matches and should derive a certain amount of pleasure, knowing that portion of his admission fee goes to help the distressed soldier. LE QUESXOY.

THE FOURTH TEST

Sir. Having now recovered from the hurt received on seeing, for the first time, our famous All Blacks take the field in all white jerseys, I now crave a little space to express an opinion concerning the last Test. I am sure our perplexed selectors will be grateful if I select for them the next New Zealand side for the fourth

Test. So here you are, Messrs. Selectors. I’ll wager the following team will soundly beat all comers: Fullback: Nepia. Backs: Hart, Cooke. Lucas. Strang, Xicliolls, Corner. Porter (rover). Forwards: Hadley, A. Finlayson, A. Knight, L. Knight, McWilliams, Batty, Stewart.

I would like to put Soloman in, instead of Porter as he plays a good, solid game and is less likely to give away points, but one cannot overlook Porter’s generalship. You will notice the backs are the same. The forwards are the same as played for Auckland with the exception of Solomon, Palmer and Greville. I have- already explained Solomon’s omission and, although Palmer is a great player. 1 do not consider he is as good a hooker as A. Finlayson. Stewart is undoubtedly a wonderful forward and locking the scrum with Knight brothers on the sides—well, they would simply overwhelm the visitors. Will any selector who reads this please take note? Mr. Editor, I thank vqu for space granted. I shall now sleep peacefully knowing that I’ve “done my bit” to help win the last Test. AJAX.

FARMERS OR SLAVES

Sir,— “Go on the land, young man.’’ has been the slogan for many years. It would be interesting to know whether the New Zealand Land Settlement and Development League and other advocates of settling land are actuated by a desire to establish a free, contented farm community, receiving bare justice, or are they out to waylay more toilers into the position of paying levies for the upkeep of roads for the benefit of tourists and the great leisured motoring class. In a dairying district situated 20 miles from the nearest town, a return was lately made out which showed that small farmers were compelled to pay from 24 to 48 times as much a mile, for the use of the roads, as the non-ratepaying motorist was. This did not include land-tax. Hospital and harbour rates or the keeping of vagrants who are sent out to the country by the police courts. That young men are viewing all land settlement propaganda with suspicion within recent years is shown by the statement of a Cabinet Minister that there are 15.000 fewer people on the land than there were 10 years ago. During this period about 130.000 boys and girls have left school, and while some of them can be found in the ranks of the unemployed, quite a few have gone to America and other places beyond the seas where they have settled and married. If little New Zealand does not require farmers, excepting for the purposes mentioned above, there is now no need to go to foreign countries, for in parts of Great

Britain The land has be™ de-rated and the land-tax abolished In homeland of our fathers there is . need to haul fertilisers half-n..y ro> n tho globe, for they are landed*' ' #w farm at less than one-third the * Zealand price, while dairy Ph^” c in tho market in fresh condition a fe hours after manufacture . <4 Those who advocate the JJ™ 1 * . land for settlement unde^. pr ' ,™ th of diUons will soon learn the truth the old saying that "you maj ‘ ' j horse to water but you c ° 2J. him to drink. If land locates are not concerned wUn "J.. justice being given the f“ rm o". tv haps the future of the lo " "“f. “,'e might interest them for "'J}* 0 " 1 ‘j* land workers the city would perish. . _ . .a If legislation were brought “> allow the farmer to use rate money to pay interest and sinking i und 'a loan, he could borrow between OPC two thousand pounds for ,he of fencing, bushfelling nnd . which would absorb all the ***** available for many years to comAnyway, it seems to l>e the inten of young men to wait and see 1 / hostile attitude is likely to be U• «**» before thev set about pegging their tents in this or some otn country. , v young man Bay of Plenty.