PUBLIC OPINION

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21242, 12 October 1940, Page 9

PUBLIC OPINION

As expressed by correspondents whose letters arc welcome, but for whoso views we have no respon- . sibility. Correspondents are re- , quested to write in ink. It is essential that anonymous writers enclose their proper names as a , guarantee of good faith. Unless ; this rule is complied with, their , letters will not appear. DEATH PENALTY (To the Editor) Sir, —Mr Harry Woodruffe’s letter i under this heading dated October 4 . seems to me to leave the door open : for two misapprehensions. I do not think it can be said of the statistics ! of the countries which have abol- j is’ned capital punishment that they j “prove conclusively” the death pen- j alty is not a deterrent. Two or i three years ago I examined the figures and the most I could claim of them was this—there is no statistical evidence that the abolition of capital punishment has increased the number of homicides.

No-one can agree with Mr Woodruffe more heartily than I do that delinquents should be approached scientifically, but his argument concerning “heredity transmission” leaves little room for “environment” as a factor in crime. Mr Woodruffe, I doubt net, knows that the Lombroso theory of crime has been superceded, but his second paragraph looks rather like a partial restatement of an untenable theory.—l am, etc., F. A. DE LA MARE. Hamilton, October 10. CRICKET AND HARVESTING (To the Editor) Sir, —The various cricket clubs in Hamilton are at the moment engaged in preparing for the coming season, and through the medium of your paper I suggest to them that they have an opportunity of doing a great service to tneir country this summer by organising haymaking gangs to help our farmers oyer a most difficult part of their season’s work. With numbers of farmers’ sons and farm workers already serving with our military forces, and more in the first ballot, the farmers in districts surrounding Hamilton would most gratefully welcome the assistance, at the week-ends, of some hundreds of zestful workers, and would willingly pay the usual rate of pay. If, say, 200 eager cricketer-hay-makers worked on Saturday afternoon and Sundays during the months of November, December, January and February, and averaged eight hours a week-end for each man at, say, 2s 6d an hour, the impressive total of £2OO a week would be earned, and if transportation were donated free, these amounts, aggregating £3OOO, would form a nice reserve from which substantial donations could be made to various patriotic funds. I am sure that the competitive spirit would be kept well alive by the usual club rivalry, and the story of “how I got out” superseded by the story of “how I built the stack.” It might be possible to run a brief autumn cricket competition of oneday matches, when, with the consciousness of a job well done, the lads could smite the ball with abandon.—l am, etc., SPORT. Hamilton, October 11.