IN OTHER CENTRES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 79, 27 December 1907, Page 2

IN OTHER CENTRES.

, (raOM OUB SPECIAL COBBESPONDENTS.) ■' ■ ■ " .♦ — -\ ...-■-■■ ;;. ■'. DUNEDIN.' •■-■■'■ : " „," ■■■■"• The residents, of : Balclutha and: Milton- are:..', .averse to. Mr. .Cruickshank'.s-removal -to the.;.,charge of the Inverqaifgjll Magisterial dis-. . triet, and it is , not improbable that the i'[ Minister, for Justice' will , be requisitioned to * cancel the order! -r ■■-;:■ ■"■■'■■' .-;■;.* ■ -.- The letterpress machinists of Dimediu have •'. formed a union. \ .-■ -j : ; :v. .. • • The recent hot. weather is.-,supposed to be responsible. ;fpr the appearance! of.'large sharks in the southern -harbours,- and.on the . coasts/this morning seven or ''eight ■ mpnstew " were seen heading up Otago Horbpinv , . The Arbitration .Court lias!. Hied the.de-i . eision regarding the application'made.by. the Otngo tramways'.employees...fpr..',intftrpreta-',,'. tiph of Clause 1 of the award, which definej ... the hours of labour. 'Ilio employees wished - to ,know, if this clause made,, it .incumbent ■ on employers to ■.provide, the. moil'', with -at least l eight hours' \work! per day.,.,The,.Court > was of opinion that tho.City Council, if,em-, • , ploying a worker less than eight! hours.a-,! : day, other than by reducing the- hours.tp j seven by relieving a worker for a meal hour, ■; was possibly guilty of a technical breach, but■; ■. the ..Court was not prepared to decide.: do-/' finitely without ..hearing both parties',.vieivsj ■ Assuming that such;'was a technical breach,-.-the Court thought it-was notsuch.as caljed for the.: interference of . -tho. inspector -. awards,! an 4 .tlio,executive of- the Unionwould exercisq -.a .wise.discretion , in- refraining .from any .proceedings in,-.resnect.>to.;it:'.;!..- ..,.;: ' General, regret.isr.expressed at- theisuddeil,'..death;of; MiY:Har.ry -Buckland,-. run .■ holder-^.-> of ■'Waikouaiti.; He., a)id liis-;,wife.'jcamD,.tojj;,. - town ~for- the purpose of- meetiiig- t\yo-.6f" Mrl/. ' Buckland's-sisters,-who- afrivedj/rp.m ;^qbarb', "".j : by -tlieMarama;-.- Whilst/walking 'along thff r v street, Mr.; Buckland fell dead,. , heart!-,, had given way. ■ The deceased .gejitlqirian'wag. - a son'of Mr:. T. Buckland, \yho 'used..tip-sit .■ in the -House', of .Representatives. , Two or •■••... -his- brothers; -Mr.. J! C! Duckland. and.Mr, ! W. F.- Buckland, also hold , seats in the. House. Mr. Buckland, who was forty-seven -years-, of agoj leaves two children to comfort their widowed mother. ■ ■ •'■,■'■•■ It is virtually settled that the Nimrod ie • to be towed-down to the ice by the Union , ,. Company's steamer Kooiiya, leaving, Lyttelton January 1. The run from.Lyttelton will., . be about 13000r1400 miles. The Koonya is ~/-■ now at Port Chalmers undergoing overhaul. Being a cargo vessel pure.and simple, she.ha 3 - : . no accommodation for passengers, and it may,,. be supposed that if she-had, and-was pared, to take passengers; not. many would , caro to go—not many; at any rate, amongst • tho men who have "had experience of tow. .,'' voyages in, high latitudes. The pafie is slow, •■ and the temperature low, and the-perpetual.-standing; by and signalling beComo moiioj .tonous. .' .■■ ■■ - 1 ' ■ , . ..., :■. Money" seems to bo , plentiful m .Dunedm this. Christmas, and, iii spite of the-increased . cost of living, the shops havo beon domg :... good business.- ■- i •' * ■ \"i Tlie 'detoAating- system of fog signals, at- - Otago Heads is working admirably. : A shprt . tiirio ago a • New -York ..steamer-was -over- •, taken, % a fog outside, and -.the. captain; :.;. reckoned he was right enough to cast anchor,; - Then lie heard tho cracking of; a detonator, . and raising the anchor he.went ahead, led .. bv the periodic booming,.and when the fog. lifted the skipper found ,that, he.had been . led seven miles ...by the sound,, and .was, only , a , mile from the entrance..- .■..<■: -.- ; . - ; ...

CHRISTCHURCH. ;• .. V ; - ;

■' ■■■■„■■■.. '■':. (... - A. riowspaper. correspondent. lifts up. :hi3 voice against i "nature study" in tho schools, "'• and what he .styles the present deplorable,!' system of primary: education/ "Our publio -Y school children," ho Bays, .."aro expected "to .'■. acquire a : smattering-., of' knowledge in a- '• multitude of 'subjects without really becom- . ing proficient in any oho of them. This all- '■•.- important 'Three li's'. are neglected; : -that '■'■ the children may watch the teachers dshib'it '■■ .the'harrowing','spectaclo of' butterflies, moths,. ground spiders, and other creaturoS suffering - . ■ intonse agony, the creatures being''kept for • days in boxes aud tins and allowed to slowly die. Anyway, this, is what'•■ occurs in • a school I-know, so I suppose the practice is general. A nice obje6t-lesson for little ; children, to bo. surel Then again, boys in thd HI. and IV. Standards aro taught to -: humbug about .w'lth fancy coloured crayons,' ■ drawing' flowersl' This'is how -tlurtime is . wasted, necessitating home-lessons: /Mora ' time is snatched 'from the 'Three It's" m ordor that the children may listen to, aii ( oration by a bored teacher, who , can hardly distinguish one tree from, another, in the : ■bush on leaves, and'that they may.■ watch'.. h'cr pull a half-dead rnco to piecosv Thosys-.-torn, which ■ neglects to"-place boys of the i-. VI. Standard under ■. the control "and :guid-.; ance of a man, and does not separate: 1 these :.■ boys from the girls, abounds in folly."■■:>■'<■'.'V