SYDNEY TO-DAY.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19731, 23 September 1929, Page 7

SYDNEY TO-DAY.

A MINISTER'S IMPRESSIONS. The B«v. W. B. Hutchison, of John Knox Chureh, Bangiora, who has just returned from a visit to Sydney, on S turday . ave to a Press reporter some of his impressions of this great city as it strikes a' New Zealander on arriving in that city. Mr Hutchison stated that weather conditions during the past season had been most extraordinarily unseasonable. The winter had been dry and cold, and the outlook for the farmer was not very bright. Wool and agricultural prospects were for lower prices, and, in fact, the lot of the farmer was rot to be envied. The Sydney people seemed to be affected by the changeable weather and were complaining of the cold. An interesting fact which was worth noting was a fall <>f three feet of snow on the mountains, this having not happened before during the past 30 years. There had been a fairly liberal rainfall on the coast and near the hills, but there had been very little on the plains. The industrial unrest was causing the authorities a great deal of concern, continued Mr Hutchison. The coal strike was still unsettled, although there had been' many offerß to arbitrate in the dispute. The strike was limited to the northern area; in the west the mines were all in full swing. As a result of this unrest in the northern district Newcastle was a dead port. The dispute was just a matter of principle. The owners said that to give an increase in pay would mean that the mines would not pay, and the miners, on the other hand, said they were not earning sufficient to pay their way and could not go on. The position was a most diffi 1 cult one, and business everywhere was dull and practically at a itandstill. Mr Hutchison said that the Churches had done all they could to bring about a better state of affairs, going so far as to offer to arbitrate. The matter had also been discussed in the Anglican Synod, and the Archbishop of Sydney had made a strong appeal to both parties to try to come to some satisfactory settlement. Mr Hutchison was struck by the extraordinary number of big works that _ were being carried out by the Public Works Department, one of

which waa ths Harbour Bridge, the estimated cost of which was £6,000,- j 000. Another great work in progress was an irrigation scheme for the impounding of the Lachlan river by erecting a great dam across a gully When this work was completed there would be created an expanse of water Sual to that in Sydney Harbour. teee works were giving employment j to a great number of men. j He was also greatly impressed with the tremendous growth of the railway system in Sydney, and the construction of the underground railway; The latter work had been completed from the Central Railway Station on the eastern side of the city as far as St ■James's station in Hyde Park ; On the western side the work was in full swing day and night. On this side the completed railway would connect with the new Harbour Bridge, which would span the hajf-mile waterway between Dawe's Point and Milson's Point. Through the construction of this railway, one or two Sidney's historical churches would have to be pulled down and removed. Another thing which struck him was the people's love for amusement, and also the number of theatres. The talkies were having a great run at present and had superseded the silent pictures. Speaking of the churches, Mr Hut- ; chison said that his impression was that thev were feeling the strain of modern life, as in other parts of the world. This, however, did not apply to all churches, as where there was a real earnest desire on the part of the minister in his church work, there was a ready response. One thing that struck Mr Hutchison was that in spite of the heavy demands on the columns of the newspapers, considerable space was given on a Monday to sermons hy outstanding preachers. Mr Hutchison who is a member of the Rangiora High School Board of Governors, is keenly interested in educational work, and in view of extensive improvements at Rangiora by the building of a modern hostel, naturally he was eager to gain any information that might help the Board, but in this he was disappointed, as most of the schools were on term holidays. _____