CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 June 1917, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

THAT JOKER, "BRITON." To the Editor. Sir, —Surely he was joking wlien he wrote that letter, in Tuesday's issue, or, precisely, lie was in that stale of jocosity I described a man as being nv'lien lie calls himself a Briton or speaks of the British lion. If he was not, then what a jumble of misconception, inconsequence, and irrelevant diatribe lie inflicted upon us. Note his moral obliquity He is my neighbor and therefore he must take cover to deal me a neighborly dig in the dark. Waitui is isolated in a fork of the Manganui and Waitara rivers. There a baker's dozen or so of us live and love and squabble, kiss, and make it lip again, "just like plain folk as our ain folk used to be." If I know anything, I know "The Corner." Not one of us could be guilty of such an enormity in term and epithet as "England or British"; it would be too revolting to our "literary" instincts. Hunnislt or otherwise. It is unique, at any rate "probably unique," "Briton" is no true Briton. Where are the humor and intelligence of your Irishman, where's the gallant spirit of the Highlander, the mental acuteness of Taffy? "Briton" is an Englishman of that limited class, thank Heaven, for whom in the presence of the true Briton or kultured Hun, one lias often to blush. But I have promised a friend to bo good and "nice," bo, in the words of Mr. Chucks, the immortal bosun of Peter 'Simple, to "Briton" "Allow mo to observe in the most delicate manner in the world, just to hint, merely to insinuate,.that—here a long, long pause, Mr. Editor —I cannot condescend to notice further his ef-

fusions. except he come out into the open, where be may indulge his literary instincts to the full, for I hold them, like education, to be worthless unless they enable a man to hold his own in a rough and tumble round the slfim milk tap or in the hearty give-and-take of a Moa genera! meeting.—l am, etc.,

ROBERT J. BAiKEWELL. Waitui, Juno 20, 1917.

P.S.—I believe Milton has it, "When the Almighty would a great thing lie speaks to his Englishman." In all humility may I add, when Satan would a monstrous thing lie speaks to your compositor. If I typed "British race" instead of English, it must have been in a moment of mental aberration; apart from its inaccuracy, the phrase is -p----posed to the whole drift of "An Englishman's Opinion." SECOND DIVISION AFFAIRS. To the Editor. Sir, —As a member of the New Plymouth branch of the Second Division League may I reque.it space for a few remarks? Although the meetings held in New Plymouth have been well attended it is necessary to have a stronger backing for our delegates who will be sent (with delegates from all other Lcasruesj to meet Parliament early next month. Every mail who is in any section of the Second Division should become a member of the League for his own and especially for the good of his wife and children and any other dependents whom he may leave behind. In addition to the enrolment of all Second Division reservists in the League, I submit that it is the duty of very man and wofian in the community to come in and support the movement, for the following reasons:—*

(!) The Second Division will be called for a certainty. (2) The present allowance fffr dependents is absurdly insufficient. (3) If the Government) fail to make idcquate provision for dependents, then the cost of maintaining these will most assuredly be a charge on the community.

This latter reason is a. most important one for every business, professional or working man and farmer in the community. Let us take the Taranaki electorate and presume that within the next year there will he at least 1000 married men called for military service. This is a light enough estimate. Of these it is Bafe to say that GOO will be unable to give their dependents any extra finanical assistance over the (paltry few shillings ft week allowed by the Government. This will mean that in our own district 600 wives and families will have to receive other aid, and it is a moral certainty that this charge will he a direct one on the community—especially the business portion. Business men will ftnd that hook debts will heap up rapidly, and how are these unfortunate women (whose husbands are away in tlie trenches) going to meet their liabilities with the .present allowance? It "will also mean that functions will have to be organised to provide funds to assist soldiers' dependents, and from experience most business men know that this drain is already very considerable. No, the whole military show is on its head, and wants righting. Second reservists are to a man loyal to tlio cause and are game for trench work, but until our wives and dependents are given at least a sufficient amount of money to meet absolute obligations, Second Division men are wise in taking up a firm stand on the matter. The treatment of soldiers after past wars is known to us all, and that is the reason Second Division reservists should secure decent treatment for their families—not after—but before they go to war. That portion of our responsible men who are over military age should most assuredly back the Second Division League in its endeavors to bring about a fair condition of things, otherwise they will be faced with the very difficult problem of maintaining an army of dependents—l am, ettc., SECOND RESERVIST.