NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 210, 6 September 1927, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Winter Exhibition Pays. A profit well up to the average of recent years resulted from the winter exhibition which was held on the Central wharf from July 21 to 30. The controlling committee received a report yesterday, stating that the surplus was £2700. and the president (Mr. J. A. C. Allum) said there was every reason for satisfaction, in view of the economic conditions prevailing. The 1020 winter exhibition, of ten days, produced a surplus of £3500, and that of 1925 (nine davs), £3000.

Below New Zealand Standard. '•Very weedy." This was the opinion of Mr. Hope Gibbons, of Wanganui, on the cattle that he saw during a visit to Samoa. The New Zealander said that the Samoa a Hereford* were very small, and killed out at about 4001b. The meat was sold to the butchers at -Kl per lb, and retailed at 1/ per lb, prime or otherwise. He considered that the Samoan cattle were capable of a lot of improvement, but it would not come about until good stock was tuken to Western Samoa.

Cargo Pillaged. Between live o'clock on Friday evening and eight o'clock yesterday morning u quantity of cargo on board the btearner Pakeha. berthed at the Prince's wharf, was pillaged. About a dozen cases in Xo. 0 hold, containing men's and women's clothing, silverware and cutlery, were broached, and the goods removed. A thorough search by the wharf police yesterday resulted in most of the stolen property being found in one of the steamer's lifeboats and iu other hiding places on the ship.

Trouble at Mount Albert. The decision of the Mount Albert Borough Council to ask for the resignation of the borough engineer (Mr. W. 11. Cook) will be further discussed at a special meeting of the local body this evening. The matter has been taken up by the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers, and resentment at the treatment which has been accorded to Mr. Cook has been expressed, it being alleged that he has not had an opportunity to rebut charges made against him. The matter has also been taken up by the Mount Albert Ratepayers' Association, which has decided to suspend judgment until the Borough Council lias further considered the matter.

Museum Show Cases. Regret that the Auckland Museum Committee had accepted a tender for the Museum show eases from overseas in preference to that of a local competitor was expressed at a meeting of the Auckland Manufacturers' Association yesterday. The association decided that the suggestion that the work could not be carried out satisfactorily by Now Zealand workers was a gross reflection on local artisans, who had been, and were, turning out articles that would compare favourably with those of any part of the world. Further, it was decided that the Museum Committee should be- asked to reconsider the matter, with a view to having the work doiu , in New Zealand.

"It's an 111 Wind " '"It's an ill wind, etc.," and I lie truth of the old saw was again illustrated last evening, when tho late arrival of three trimmers resulted in the steamer Maheuo being held up for two and a-half hours. This also allowed a passenger who had overslept to catch the boat. The steamer was scheduled to sail at nine o'clock, but at that hour three of the ship's trimmers were still up town. For an hour and a-half the passengers and their friends waited for the absentees, and then a taxi dashed on to tho wharf. From it jumpe'd, not the missing trimmers, but a man with suitcase in hand. As he went up the gangway he volunteered the information that he had slept several hours longer than l;r> had intended to. The Maheno eventually i-a-t >;T u'lout halfpast eleven.

Guidance of Youth. Difficulties experienced by younji persons leaving school in securing suitable employment, and also complaints of the unsuitability of the training of many of the rising generation for the jobs they are ultimately called upon to fill, are matters which have recently been engaging the attention of educationists, business houses, the Chamber of Commerce, and other bodies in Auckland. Doubts exist at the moment as to whether the remedy lies in the reorientation of the educational system, whether it lurks in the provision of some machinery for the vocational guidance of youth, or whether the remedy is to ba sought in some other channel. With a view to considering the matter, a conference is to be held at the Auckland University College Council on September 27, and the Manufacturers' Association decided yesterday to be represented.

Call For Leadership. "We are not producing sufficient great leaders in our cities and country to man the positions which call for the supreme qualities of leadership." said the Rev. D. C. Herron, president of the Council of Christian Congregations, at the annual meeting of the council last evening. He attributed the cause to the education system, saying that apparently tho minds and imaginations of men were not being stirred to respond to the appeal for public service and statesmanship. It was for the educational institutions to explain why men were not offering in larger numbers for the positions in public life, and to scrutinise the results of the materialistic training given in the schools of New Zealand. There was a deplorable lack, he said, of that idealism, inspired by the great public schools of England, which kept thrusting out on the surface men of wide outlook and vision who made the sacrifice necessary for public leadership.

Ships That Never Return. Some American business men have found an easy and profitable way of disposing of old sailing ships. The four-masted schooner Aneiurn has just been disposed of in Melbourne, and Aucklanders will remember tho case of the Guy C. Goss last year. Briefly, the method is this: A small syndicate buys a vessel, loads her with lumber, and away she. goes. The owners collect the freight money, and apparently forget that they ever owned tho vessel. When she reaches her port of discharge the crew claim their wages. and, there being no response from the owners, the vessel is sold to meet the claims. In American ports at the present time there are hundreds of sailing ships of all rig?, many of which were built to meet the shortage during the war. As they are not worth the cost of breaking up, it has been the practice to make them up into rafts of from ten to twenty vessels and tow them out to sea, where they are burnt. Here is evidently one solution of the problem of getting rid of junk at a good profit:. Inequitable Stamp Duty. The Stamp Duty Department is claiming duty on all applications for supply made by consumers, contending that the forms are in the nature of agreements. At yesterday's meeting of the Auckland Power Board, objection was raised to the imposition, members contending that the duty was claimed wrongfully by the Government. The general manager (Mr. R. F. Bartley) stated that the board's solicitor had recently gone into the question, and revised the form" completely. There was now no suggestion of an agreement between the board and the individual consumers, but the Department still refused to exempt the payment of duty. He advocated that, in an effort to remedy the position, an objection be lodged with the Commissioner of Taxes. The chairman (Mr. W. J. Holds worth) pointed out that the whole position was very uncertain at the present juncture. The question had been placed before the Minister of Public Works, and he had promised to give it his consideration. Mr. S. I. Crookes described the system as most inequitable, and one that would prove a heavy burden on country power boards. The general manager said the whole question was very involved, and affected every power board in the Dominion. It was eventually agTeed to contest the legality of the Department's claim.