General News

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21085, 9 February 1934, Page 8

General News

British Capital in the East

I From samples of goods received by the secretary of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce (Mr J. Roy Smith) yesterday, it would appear that British capital is taking advantage of the cheap labour in Hong Kong to manufacture articles which other competitors in the East are exporting at very low prices to British markets. The samples which Mr Smith received consisted of electric torches and white canvas shoes. Rationed Teachers' Scheme Of the 350 teachers for whom the Canterbury Education Board had to find positions under the rationing scheme, which was introduced this year, positions have been offered to all, and so far only five have declined to accept them. These teachers have probably received situations as governesses or havp taken other temporary work, perhaps at a higher salary, and three teachers have accepted permanent appointments with other education boards. Already several of the rationed teachers have had to be taken away from the schools to which they were at first appointed to fill relieving appointments at ether schools. Wireless in Motor-cars "They have no chance of doing that. You cannot stop progress," said Mr F. W. Johnston, president of the South Island Motor Union, when a letter was placed before the executive committee of the union last evening, recommending the prevention of the use of wireless sets in motor vehicles. The letter was from the South Canterbury Automobile Association, and asked that a remit be considered at the quarterly meeting of delegates of the union at Nelson on March 12, to the effect that in the opinion of the conference the use of wireless sets in motor vehicles in motion was not conducive to safety, and that steps be taken to prevent the practice from becoming a source of potential danger. The remit will be forwarded for the consideration of delegates. Praise lor Service Car Drivers High praise for the motor services in New Zealand and for the skill of the service car drivers was expressed by Dr. A. E. Porter, a retired medical officer, of Reigate, England, in an interview with "The Press" last evening. He said that the ears were not always as comfortable as might be desired on account of the large numbers of passengers carried, but they maintained a fast and very efficient service frequently over indifferent roads. Dr. Porter said that the skill of the drivers of the service cars on the West Coast was remarkable—he would have described it as daring had lie not been informed that accidents were unknown.

The Oranges of Palestine

The oranges of Palestine, according to Dr. Benzion H. Shein, the visiting representative of the World Zionist Organisation, are superior to those produced in any other part of the world. In a public lecture last night he said lie did not wish to be discourteous, but the Palestine oranges were superior to those received in New Zealand. As a matter of fact, they were even better than the Californian variety. Once the Californian growers played a trick on the Palestine fruit farmers. They look some of their orange trees and transplanted them in America. But the Palestine oranges played a trick on the Californians, for in their new habitat they refused to taste so nice! The explanation was that some peculiar combination of light and soil was needed for the production of the perfect orange, and that existed only in Palestine. It was hoped to develop a very large export trade in Palestine oranges, for they ripened when other oranges did not.

Services of Mr A. 11. Tyndall

The members of the executive committee of the South Island Motor Union decided at a meeting last evening to approve of the action of the president, Mr F. W. Johnston, in suggesting to the Prime Minister Hhe Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes) that the services of Mr A. 11. Tyndali should be retained for the Main Highways Board by appointing him as a member. Mr Tyndali, formerly the chief engineer to the board, was recently appointed Under-Secretary of the Mines Department. The union protested to the Prime Minister against the loss of Mr Tyndall's services, but Mr Forbes replied that Mr Tyndali would be available to the board in a consultative capacity. Mr Johnston then sent a letter, suggesting that the appointment of the former chief engineer, as a member of the board, would be a graceful gesture to motorists, who. he> declared, were at present inadeyuatelv represented. Recovery in Great IJritain Crossing over from the United States, where the position was most depressing, it was a tonic to see at first-hand the wonderful recovery made in Great Britain, said Mr Will Appleton, a well-known Wellington business man, interviewed on his return from a tour overseas. A visitor could not avoid being impressed with the building activity all through the country. Huge factories were being erected in most of the large centres or existing buildings extended, and the clearing out of the slums and their replacement by modern dwellings v/as a concerted policy everywhere. Round London, and near most of Ihe large industrial cities, new settlements on the latest town planning lines were springing up overnight, and even in the smaller villages the number of houses being erected was remarkable. A pleasing feature was that this boom in building was not the work of speculators, but represented a genuine demand for better accommodation. Dairy Herd-Testing "Unless it is handled on sound and thorough business lines, there is no longer "any hope of success in dairy farming." said Mr C. M. Hume, when addressing the Auckland Rotary Club on herd-testing from th~ commercial and national points of view. Mr Ilume is the executive officer of the Federation of Dominion Herd-Testing Associations, and has done a great deal to establish herd-testing in New Zealand. Mr Hume said that just as a business man must have a complete costing system of the different units of his business, so herd-testing provided a costing system for the dairy farmer. Dairy farming used to be regarded as a very simple business, but those days had definitely gone. Since herd-testing had come in it had been proved that men were badly let down when they tried to judge dairy cattle by the eye. Herd-testing was started in Denmark in 1895, and now a third of the cows there were tested year by year. Denmai'k, though not as big as the Auckland Province, had 1,500,000 milking cows, giving an average of between 2601b and 2701b of butter-fat a year. The average in New Zealand was about 2151b,