FREE AGAIN.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 169, 18 July 1924, Page 4

FREE AGAIN.

The arrest of De Valera a year ago ! was an act of wisdom and courage. Hia release to-day may be policy of the same kind, but at this distance it is impossible i to judge. When he was arrested it was : said lie would be kept until he could be ! released with safety. It may be presumed that tile Government is satisfied that j lie will not do serious harm, yet com- | petent observers of Irish conditions | report that the Government is not so i strongly entrenched as it might be, and that the Republicans are active. The trouble is, says a Dublin correspondent, that there is no effective Opposition inside the Treaty—nothing to catch "the normal inevitable swing of the pendulum." The consequence ia that the Republicans are getting the votes of those who dislike the Government on general grounds. In the Limerick byelection the Republican candidate was only 4565 votes behind the Government nominee in a poll of more than 50,000. And a writer in the current "Hound Table" notes that the question that rules in local and national politics is not one of the many economic issues | that are so practically important to Ireland, but whether a man is a Republican or a "Free Stater." Moreover, the boundary dispute with Ulster is not settled, and the Republicans are making the most ot this. Such are come of the factors of the situation to which De Valera is permitted to return, and, knowing the fanatical, unpractical nature of the man, those who wish to gee the Free State a peaceful Dominion cannot help feeling uneasy. .- .. ■-.- ■ \

; An idea of what a hard time some • farmers are experiencing may be L gathered by a statement made at a meetf ing of creditors this morning. Asked I the value of the stock on the farm, the . bankrupt said: "Two-year-old cattle will j not bring more than 30/ each in the t market at the present time; that, oi course, does not pay for the cost of j rearing cattle." [ At a meeting of the Curran Street ( School Grounds Committee this morning the tender of Mr. P. Barry was ac--1 cepted for certain work in connection . with ground improvements, and will mii elude grassing, asphalting, and rocker- . ies. This is only the first portion of a scheme of improvements to be carried 1 out, and the work covered by Mr. • Barry's tender will cost about £§00. ' j A minor outbreak of fire occurred in • J the boiler room of the New Zealand Dry , Clearing Company's premises in Howe Street at 12.35 a.m. to-day. When the City Fire Brigade responded to the alarm it was found that the trouble was • caused by the ignition of a small quan- : tity of coke. The outbreak was speedI ily extinguished. I The dismantling of the block of buildings facing Welleeley Street and Queen Street is almost complete, and to-day workmen made a start on the Anchor Hotel, the only building remaining on the block. Next week the row of shops at the foot of Grey Street, opposite the . Town Hall, will receive attention, as. many of the tenants have secured other promises in which to carry on their businesses. . J Keen competition exists among residents of certain stfeets in the Mt. Eden borough, where considerable roading works are being carried out, for the possession of surplus soil. In one street in particular the workmen employed by the contractor have hardly turned the corner on the way home before wheelbarrows, trolleys, and even tins, make their appearance from the various houses, and in a few minutes men, women and children are working at a jazz pace, all eager to get as much of the soil as possible for top-dressing lawns, or making gardens. The competition is so keen that one mantis reported to have knocked off work in the I city at four o'clock in order to be on , the mark ready to "get in" when the roadmen leave off, No doubt it is his ' only chance, and as the various water pipes, gas pipes, etc., are already down, it is unlikely that the road will be opened up again—not for a week or twb at any rate. ' I Competition at the fruit and produce sales is well maintained this week. Certain lines such as onions, cauliflowers, and eggs showed an easier tendency. Eggs continue to decline in price, with supplies rapidly increasing. Hen eggs, Which a month ago were realising 3/ and upwards, sold this morning at 1/9 and 1/10 a dozen. Duck eggs were . about a penny cheaper. In the poultry section there was a short supply of heavy cockerels and fat hens for the table, and competition was keen. Plenty of ducks were offered, and there was a . slight fall on last week's prices. Many I cockerels sold at from 7/ to 0/3, heavy hens from 3/!) to 5/, light cockerels ' from 4/6 to 7/C, and light hens from 2/0 to 3/0, laying hens from 4/ to 5/3, laying pullets from 0/G to 7/6, young pullets from 3/G to 5/. Ducks and drakes realised from 2/6 to 4/6, and breeding cockerels from 7/ to 10/6. Mr. T. H. Patterson, Instructor in Agriculture, reports that the farm school recently held at Dargaville, in co-operation with a local committee, was marked by a record attendance for New Zealand. There were ten such schools held by the Department of Agriculture this year, from Invercargill to Dargaville, and it is considered that the record of the Dargaville school is one that the province may be proud of. At Ruakura the weather was perfect for out-door work, and the school, as in previous years, was very successful. I To step from a tramcar dashboard into a passing motor car is calculated to surprise anyone who is unaware of the presence of the automobile waiting to receive him. A gentleman passenger on a Lyall Bay car, at Wellington, who endeavoured to step from the tram near the Basin Reserve, found himself ! astride tho windscreen of a passing taxi 'on Saturday evening just after dark. i The motorist evidently thought that the \ tram was not going to stop, and was endeavouring to pass it, when the unfortunate passenger essayed to step off the moving tram, and consequently smashed the windscreen, to the surprise of himself and the driver of the car. The tram passenger was so badly hurt that he ' had to be removed to the hospital. An old sailor at Port Chalmers says that sea chanties would be found very suitable for community singing. He sug- , gests a trial bring made. The sea chanty was formulated to produce united action, and the quaint thing about it whs that it seemed to put exhilaration into tho effort. There are chanties of various measures, and many of them should ba suitable for community singing, at any rate as adding variety to the programme. The old sailor who makes this suggestion says he has in his time heard some very fine chanty sing- ! ing. He recalls with pleasure the chanty jof the negroes in screwing bales of ' cotton into the holds of windjammers in the Southern States of North America. The African negroes who stowed cotton j into sailing ships in Bombay also sang I the sea chanties with fine feeling and 1 good effect. i Apparently there are worse propositions that a roadway through a gum swamp. At the recent meeting of the Otamatea County Council, Cr. Brown presented a cheque for £00 for rights over a strip of roadway at Mangawai alongside the metal, and had an offer of £400 for other portions. The balancesheet of the county shows that £72 was received from this source during the past 12 months. "She'll do mc," joyfully remarked a ' happy-faced "Digger" to a "Wairarapa Age" representative. "I feel I can carry on in better heart," he said, as he proudly handed over hia returned revaluation papers, showing the Dominion Board's approval of the reduction in value of his farm from £40 to £27 per acre. I There ig some curiosity in England as to what will happen when the first woman is appointed to the Privy Council. Miss Bondfield is an Under-Secre-tary, but not a" Privy Councillor, though as Under-Secretary she is entitled to wear a uniform of a quieter kind. The Lord Chamberlain is addressing himself to the problem of devising a uniform dress for women. The Army, the Navy, and the Air Force solved the matter easily enough under service conditions during the war, and there ought to be no difficulty about it. Wlietlier levees should be attended by women, comments the . "Chronicle," is another matter, though. I it is difficult to see why not.