CONTRACTS FOR FOREIGNERS.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 49, 27 February 1924, Page 4

CONTRACTS FOR FOREIGNERS.

The re-affirmation last year by the. Imperial Economic Conference of the j, principle that in all Government con- s tracts effective preference should be < given to goods and materials produced ' within the Empire, has been followed - by action in the contrary direction by ( more than one of the Governments con- • cerned. India and South Africa have ' placed railway orders in foreign coun- j tries, and now it is announced that the ] British War Office has placed a contract for tinned meat with the Argentine. It ' is impossible to express a definite opinion on this case until there is more in- | formation. On the one side, the War Office •' says that the difference in prices was ; too great to justify giving the contract ( to Australia, but it does not state the amount of that difference. On the other hand, a representative of the Australian . meat trade says that the difference was not large. All that can be said at present is that the War Office should be ' required to disclose the amount. It may also be said, however, that the application of the principle of preference is not nearly so easy as it may seem to be to some people. The War Office receives 3 instructions to practise rigid economy. < It is then called upon to choose between |« two tenders, of which the foreign one is |« lower than the British one. What is its ' duty? Is its obligation to the Domi- ' nions so much greater than its duty to |' the taxpayer that it should take every } tender that comes from oversea regard- ( less of price, or should it decide to treat every case on its merits and give preference only when the difference is small? If the principle of preference were applied to all cases, British suppliers would take less trouble to meet . competition, and it is probable that the . Government would have to pay a good ; deal more than was justified for some ] of its goods. South Africa has found that after foreign tenders for railway : material have been accepted, British tenderers are ready to lower their prices. The Dominions argue that as they are ready to pay more for British goods than , for foreign Britain should reciprocate, and the contention cannot be brushed . aside. We in New Zealand, for example, ; are willing to pay more for British material for public works than for j foreign, so long as the difference is not ; great, for the reason that we realise . that English industry is in a bad way , and we wish to help it along. If this policy is generally accepted in Britain and the Dominions, there will remain the difficulty of deciding what is a great | difference and what is a small one. The Dominions, through their preferential tariffs and such policies as our own Minister of Public Works has set forth, have granted definite preference, and Britain should endeavour to reciprocate by laying down a policy that is more or • less clear. . There was a. titter of laughter in the 1 Police Court this morning during the hearing of a .by-law case, in which the , defendant was'the Mayor of Avondale ( ('Mr. W. T. Tait). Giving evidence, Con- i stable Douglas stated that on January • 27, at 7.30 p.m., he found two horses 1 wandering on the Great North Road. ] The horses were subsequently impounded, and at 9 p.m. Mr. Tait called , on the constable, explaining that he was the owner of the horses. "He said he wanted to square the matter up," stated Constable Douglas, "and I replied that squaring-up day would be . here!" The magistrate smiled, and imposed a fine of 10/, plus costs 9/. Whangarei Borough Council decided to support the principle that the Auckland University College should have a dental school, but a minute recorded indicates , that the council considered any question of the transfer of the existing dental School at the Otago University is purely ' a matter of internal economy, with which the Whangarei Council in no way • associates itself. "It's only a small amount," said ; counsel to a judgment debtor who had not satisfied a judgment for £2 9/6 ] given against him four years ago. The ' debtor, a bootmaker said he was earning £5 a week, and had a wife and five • children to keep. Mr. Hunt, S.M., remarked that the amount was small, : but the debtor's family wasn't, and 1 .therefore no order would be made.

A ; boy late for school had a narrow escape from death in Wellesley Street this morning. The youngster dashed across the street behind one car right in front of another coming down the hill. Fortunately the driver had reduced speed slightly, and the Bohoolboy had a fraction of a second in which to wheel round and spring out of the way. Had he endeavoured to clear the car by running ahead he would have been caught .before getting half way across. As it was, he just cleared the tram, partly because he acted on the spur of the moment and partly because the car was not running~at top speed. ' 'It is our purpose to transform this I unsightly, offensive, and useless mani grove marsh into a green 6ward of use, j recreation and beauty," declared the ' spokesman of the parks committee of the Stanley Bay Improvement Association yesterday at the Harbour Board meeting when asking for permission to begin dredging operations on the .north side of the present retaining wall round the Stanley Bay recreation reserve. He asked for enough material to raise the park level two feet, which would make proper drainage possible, stating that this necessary project had been delayed for want of a workable | scheme within the bounds of modest | finance. Mr. Finch, late resident eni gineer of the Napier Harbour Board, ! had, however, propounded a scheme ■ which was within the means of the association. The chairman of the board, Mr. H. Pa. Mackenzie, after hearing favourable comment from Mr. W. Wallace and Hon. E. W. Alison, assured the deputation of the board's interest in the work, and the necessary permission was given subject to the approval by the 'board's engineer of the details of the reclamation scheme. The attendances at the Auckland Museum during the past year have been estimated at 125.000, and the record day recorded in this respect was April 2, "when 995 people visited the institution. It is believed that these attendances will be greatly increased when the treasures of the institution are housed in the new War Memorial Museum, and set out in the most modern and attractive style. The accounts of the City Council for the financial year 1922-23, prepared by Mr. A. Messer, City Treasurer, and submitted to the Council by Mr. J. S. Brigham, Town Clerk, have been published in the usual handy and handsome form. Full information is given about the accounts of the various departments, rates, assets and liabilities, endowments, debt and sinking fund, and the material is well set out and indexed. [The volume, which exceeds 240 pages, helps one to understand what a large and complicated 'business the government of Auckland has become, and 'should be very valuable to students of ' city affairs. At a meeting of the Wanganui Borough Council last evening an offer was received from the Wanganui Trotting Club to sell its course to the borough for use as a recreation ground. The price asked for the property, which has an area of approximately 45 acres, is £15,000. The following letter (says the Greymouth "Star"), was received by a Greymouth business man:—"lf you would _c kind enough to get a divorce on illtreatment, also, keep company with another women. If you please singh your name at the bottom of the divorce. We will up after. Please and oblidge. (Singned) Mrs. ." Pickpockets evidently had a "day out" in Wellington on Sunday at the expense of several citizens who were present at the function held in honour of Archbishop Redwood. One person was robbed of £35, and three other similar thefts were committed in the vicinity of St. Patrick's College. Inquiries are being made by the police. When a letter was read from a Hindoo debtor this morning stating that he -was out of work, had no money, and was so ill that he was about to enter a hospital, counsel, appearing for the creditor, remarked that the Hindoo had been going into the hospital for two years and had not arrived there yet. The debtor was employed at a country store. An old boar which was put up for auction at a clearing sale in the Ashburton district evidently was not wanted by any of the stockmen present (relates the "Guardian"). The auctioneer could not get a bid, not even a sixpenny one. Finally he pulled out a £1 note, and planted it on the pig's back. "Now, gentlemen," he said, "what will you give mc for the lot." The boar and the note were sold for 18/. At a District Highways Board meeting (says the Napier "Telegraph") the chairman, Mr. F. N. Thompson, remarked that he had, during his recent inspection of the roads, seen one which had a very good surface. He attributed this to the tortuous route taken by it, a3 motorists did not care to drive at an excessive speed over such a read, where bends and corners prevailed along the whole route. "Mind you," he added amidst laughter, "I am not advocating tortuous roads to reduce speed." An Oddfellows' picnic will be held a I Shelly Beach Kaipara, on Sunday, March 2, when steamers and launches will leave Helensville in the morning. The Shelly Beach Domain Board hope that before long they will be in a position to fence and improve this domain in such a way that the spot will be one of the great attractions for Aucklanders either by road or water. Numerous picnics have been held at the beach adjoining the domain, and the spot has been voted a perfect one for recreational purposes. "It is just a matter of principle," Baid a lady at the (Magistrate's Court on getting judgment for £1 17/6, the value of a lamp sold amongst other goods belonging to her. "I don't want the money, and you can give it to the Hey. Jasper Calder for his mission." "You think that the costs were excessive?" asked counsel of a witness in the Supreme Court at Wellington. "Yes, I do," was the emphatic reply. "I am afraid that is not an unusual opinion," remarked the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout). One of the mail cars travelling between New and Hawera collided with a mob of sheep at Egmont Village on Friday morning, with disastrous results so. far as the sheep were concerned. Seven were killed, while others appeared to have been badly injured. The car (says the Taranaki "Herald") was not damaged. The "Argus" says that a commercial traveller visiting Eltham -states that on a recent occasion there were just over a hundred commercial travellers in New Plymouth. Sample rooms were at a premium, and many travellers could not get one. "Let us leave the common law alone just now, and stick to the facts. . . We are having trouble enough with the facts," remarked Mr. Justice MacGregor to a witness in the Supreme Court at Wellington.