BRETT'S ALMANAC

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 289, 5 December 1936, Page 13

BRETT'S ALMANAC

PUBLISHED MONDAY. SIXTY-FIFTH EDITION. VALUABLE NEW FEATURES. New features in the 1937 issue of Brett's Almanac, published on Monday, include detailed census figures, the new scales of taxation in the Dominion, a full and up-to-date sports guide, and a summary of the new industrial legislation. The almanac sums tip briefly the main facts of a year of many changes. Government boards have disappeared and new statutory bodies or Departments have taken their place; these developments are recorded. No less than 18 changes or additions have occurred in Departmental heads, among them being the appointment of directors of housing construction, broadcasting and primary products marketing, and a manager of the new State Advances Corporation. Thirteen appointments have been made to the Legislative Council, salaries of M.P.'s have been restored, ten additions have been made to the select list of persons entitled to retain the title 'of "Honourable," and Departmental staffs have expanded, notably in the Labour Department. These are among the items of information gathered in a rapid glance through the almanac. But a guide of this kind must be used daily, kept on the office table, at the manager's or secretary's elbow, in the home, or in the holiday bach for its full value to be discovered. It is a book of immediate reference which covers a wide range. As one instance, the list of societies and institutions is a key to more than 250 different organisations, alphabetically arranged. The religious institutions are also numerous, and the associations, clubs and other bodies classified in the <50 pages of the local directory run into several thousands. Every aspect of business, social, sports and religious activity is represented. Dominion's Trade and Finance. Equally informative in a different way is the statistical survey of tlio Dominion. "Here is a conspectus of the country's balance-sheets and the Budget for three years. Trade is reviewed, showing its growth, the main items and the countries of origin or destination. The progress in manufacturing industries is recorded, and such matters as broadcasting and the new construction schemes on the railways receive due notice. Also the extension of the Reserve Bank's powers and the functions of the State Advances Corporation are subjects of illuminating articles.

Air transport of mails within the Dominion, an innovation this year, lias made it necessary that the public should have at hand a brief guide as to the rates charged both inland and overseas, also the routes traversed, and hints on the addressing and dispatching of correspondence. The radio telephone and the increasing use of radio to transmit messages to Pacific Islands have creatcd a demand for additional postal information. These needs are met by a comprehensive revision of the section in the 1937 almanac. Many Other Features. Thus the almanac is marching with the times. It is fully abreast of progress, and is reflecting that progress in its pages for the benefit of the public. The index- of more than one thousand entries gives immediate reference to everything the book contains. Besides the features briefly discussed should be listed the following:— 1. Streets directory and postal district indicators. 2. Every place in the Auckland pro- . vince. 3. Tables of the tides, sun and the moon. 4. A daily memoranda for the year. 5. The main buildings and business chambers of Auckland. 6. Hints on first aid. 7. Half-holidays of all towns. 8. Local body statistics of greater Auckland. 9. Parks and reserves of Auckland. 10. Records of rainfall and other meteorological data. 11. A garden and orchard guide. The almanac has a value many times exceeding its price, which is only 1/, from all booksellers, or from the "Auckland Star" Office.