THE COUNCIL BILL

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 213, 5 September 1912, Page 4

THE COUNCIL BILL

We must confess that we cannot ace on good ground for the indignation that Iras already been expressed in certain quarters at tile action of the Upper House, in throwing out the Legislative Council Electoral Bill. .A« we have already explained, we approve en- ] i : ri-iy of the principle of the Bill, mid j the fact that it has *>een brought for- ! ward by the "Reformers" has not prevented us from acknowledging that Tt is in every sense « progressive and demo•r.it,it- measure. Bvt at the same time it is only natural that -the I'.pper House stioiild prefer to take lime.lo consider j ihp Bill carefully. For in the first i plns-i , it alters the constitution <ii our ilevi.-inp CJianrber co radically that it, nitty po-wibly Iroil In n compile re-j ili.-t.rihnion of political power between ] ihe two Houses; and aiit-li a possibility ** this sirrely demands a reasonable illowance of time for discussion and re■lection. But in the .second place, though the. | principle underlying the Bill is sound j enough, we think that serious exception : may be taken to soma of the clauses in detail. It is clear from the criticisms offered by various members of the. Council who support the elective principle that the size of the. proposed constituencies and the. allocation of an equal num- > ber of members to the two islands are I suggestions that demand very careful and ! deliberate discussion- before they are! -ithi'r accepted or rejected. Tin 1 Minister ■ in charge of tlse Bill certainly seems fit ■ he impressed with this view o f the ea<v": For the Tlcm. Mr. Bell w;is obvioush pn. , - ] pared to give the Council as much time, iillownnee as it required. On the whole, therefore, we can see. no reason to >leplorc the Council's • decision to postpone the Bill till next session, and we will be disagreeably surprised if Mr. Mtemey mi. his -followers in tbe lower House tuAke the-raiatake of prtjntkieing their case by, hurrying on too precipitately what is in ; truth a Be*ir*me and ttiticlMttetded ■ rj&m.; '. _• -■.-.:-•.■•■'. _'-■■ ! ••-■ - ;

Following.is- Mr. D. C. BaW weather forecast for 24 Hours from 9 .a.m. thin day:"The indications are for variable ■winds and strong 'breezes, easterly moderate to strong prevailing. The. -weather will ■p'rofoa'bry prove squally with heavy showers. Barometer rising slowly, but falling again after 24 hours. ConsideraWe swell on the coast. Tides good."After his lengthy inquiry into matters affecting the administration of the Auckland Hospital, the hispeotor-General (Dr. Yalintine) discussed with members of the Hospital Board in committee this morning certain of his intentions so far as Ins report to the Minister is concerned. These, it was stated, would, not be made public Wore, they came under the notice of the Minister in charge of Hospitals <the Hon. R. H. Rhodes). Dr. Valintihc stated that he intended to be present at the next meeting of the ■Board -on Tuesday week. In the meantime he flip, a visit to the Consumptives' Sanatorium in the Waikato district. A Ruj»£O.st.k>n to vi.ait the proposed site? for cottage hn&pi.tnls at Warkworth and Devonport was made to the In-spector-Genoral (Dr. Va.lintine) by the Hospital Board when in committee this nioruinjr. Dr. Vulintine Mid lie would he very pleased to do so after his return to- Auckland next week. He remarked that he. thought the Hoard had quite enough important matters in hand to keep them busy for some time to come. Mr. V. Dye Mijrgesled that, when cottage hospitals were gone in for it. should ■be upon the basis of a general scheme, «o that more than one or two districts nriprht participate in any advantages accruing therefrom. Dr. Valintirto will ■jo to YVnrkivorth and to Devoirport some time during next wepk. Owing to the rapid frrowth of St.-in'ey Bay, the residents have addressed a lettor to the chairman of thr Dpvonpnrt Ferry Company. inquiring if two or tlire more trips ran h" made to the Stanley Bay jetty to meet the requirement? of passengers. A half-hourly service till li a.m. \t> asked for. an extra boat direct, to the city leaving ore hour after the 1.40 trip. A bo.it leaving A>i-',.l.ind at 4.30 would inert the convenience of a large number, and it is A«ke4 that the G. 30 boat from Stanley R«"y be put on the time-table, and the last rc-piest is that a direct trip be made from Stanley Bay any time after nine p.m. These concessions would make the nervier thoroughly up to-dnte. and would suit the needs of the locality lor a long time To come. It may be said that the i hi.irn in of the Company has always !«t:i very willing to meet the desire*, of th*> Stinle.jBay people, and has on more than one occasion remarked on the YnivleMy of their demands. - (Correspondent, i I'ontrnry to the expectations of those who considered that the rearrangement ; of the Wellington tramway portions ami fares would I><- nttended by a drop in 'he revenue, consequent upon the boy.ottinp of at least one of the her. kef-lions by those who preferred to walk thnn pay an extra penny, the revenue for the first i week of the new schedule shows an increase of £433 15/ over the amount received for the corresponding week of the previous year, the jrrsnd total, £2,845 S/4, being almost a record for the service. This is regarded as being highly satisfactory by the Tramways Department. A very fine collection representative of the food fehc* found in New Zealand ■waters' is beinp BiaHe for tJre Auckland Museum. This has beeu a marked want in the institution, mainly owing to a lack of funds, hut when the work is complete it will be the fiDcst collection in the Dominion. Not only in the collection interesting from a scientific point of view, but also for economic reasons, as eventually fishing will be one of the most important of the industries of the Dominion. An article telling how the specimens are captured and mounted appears in another part of this evening's "Star." It is rather interesting to know that so long ng<« as (he Crystal Palace i Exhibition of IR.M little New Zealand 1 was represented by an exhibit, of dried and tinned fish which sec.nred a modal. The exhibitor was Mr McL*>od, of Wai-hr.k-e Island, and his son. Mr Donald McLeod. the well-known sht>rebrol:er, still hrs the trophy. Wliat is considered to bp the largest pile-driver in the Dominion is at present 'being ronstrwted on the Queen Street wharf. It is Oftft hifrh—2oft higher than tho Auckland Harbour Board's present driverand weighs about 30 tons. The •bftse, -which is of ironba-rk, measures 30ft 6in by -28ft Oin. The rest of the structure, wit.li the exception of the head, is built of huge 'beams of Oregon pine. The workmen have been en<ra;red in the task of construction for about three, month:-, and it will probably be several more weeks before it is completed. The punt on which the crane j will stand is being ibnilt at Freeman"*! Bay. The. driver is lying on its side, J and -will be upended by means <ti the: floating crane. This will 'be the heaviest! •weight the Ma-hua. has lifted since it j underwent its tests. I The native* of Wai rant pa have initi-1 ated a movement hirvm-g for its object i the sirmmonin; of a large and represen- ■ tative gathering next Maro-h in <Jarrtarton | of o'nief and iTTfliient-ia.l Mamris from the I Wellington, Hawke's Bay. and Gisbornc ■ districts. Tlie object of ihe assembly ie to bring Dogethe.r. n-nti to have recorded, the £eiieaJogy of important, families of these localities away ba<-lv to the first eanoee. and. in connection with them, the history of New Zealand (Ao-lea-I!oa) as fur ats they have it from | the legendary chronidefe. which the to- j Irunjras have "orally carried on from goner- . iition to generation; and. in addition, the j personal recollections of old men still j living, with 'the incidents they have I heard from their father? and grand- ] fathers. Recently applications were called for the position of billiard steward to the Working Men's Club, Pcfcom. The appointment made was not agreeable to the billiard players, of whom there are a large number, and a strike was declared. The, billiard tables were not used for a week, the strike only ending when the steward resigned on Saturday. An important sale of land was made yesterday by Messrs T. Mandeno Jackson. This was the "Glendowie" Estate it St. Heliers Bay. facing the harbour on one side and the Tamaki River on the ! uUier. The sale was important in that ( Ihe property will eventually be cut up.' tnd, having two miles of water frontage, ; ivill further extend the suburban homes j lUiug the harbour beaches. This will hi- \ it'l.iyptf for a year, as Mr .1. MHtj.'ey lias : the grazing rights for that time-. 'Hie, property contains ")SS acre.*, r-.ri'l tltc [■■rice paid for it was £44.1W1>. Tlie pro- j i>erty was sold on account of Mrs .lames | MacFarlar.e. Hon. Seymour Thorn? ; [icorge, Ifr E. (". Towle Hate manager ii the Bank of New South Wales), and Mr Coleman, as tbe trustees of the will of Mr C. A. Harris, deceased. The Have.lock Social Club will hold their annual ball in Druids* Hall, North I Street, on Friday evening. The music will I be euppliii by Adeane'a oidmi&L . - .-■ '.---- . - ......... '• 'I