LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 186, 3 May 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Whilo the Royal train was at Tnumarunui yesterday a, railways omployeo spoke to the Prince and expressed sorrow at the inconvenience to which the strike had put His Royal Highness. Iho strike, said tho railwayman, was in'no way an act of disloyalty—Press Assn.

Had the railway strike not been settled the Wellington Rugby Union would have been indebted to Admiral Sir

Lionel Halsey for a gracious act. On Friday night the union telegraphed to tho Admiral, asking whether, in tho •ovent of the railway troublo being still in progress, passages could bo arranged on H.M.S. Renown for O'Brien and Singe, two members of the Service team. On Saturday afternoon a reply was received, from Sir Lionel Halsey, 6tating that if tho two nion could not proceed to Wellington from Auckland by rail: he would be pleased to convey them on the warship.

A new Roman Catholic school was opened at Northland, yesterday, the opening ceremony being performed by the Very Rev. Dean Holley, assisted by the Rev. Father Smyth. v The new school, which has been designed to accommodate eighty children, will serve the requirements of the ICelbnrn, Northland, and Knrori districts, and will bo in charge of the Sisters of Mercy. Tho building has been erected as a memorial to the late Sir Charles Johnston by the members of his family. The Basilica choir, under the director, Rev. Father Schaefer, Bang' the Mass fdr the occasion. ■ Reforring to the question of pay of assistants the report of the Secondary Schools Assistants. Association remarks* inter alia:—"We asked for an increased expenditure of <£M,OOO and a Dominion scnlc of pay. Wo got an increase of .£21,000 and only such a scale as 'rendered the disbursing of th.e; ,£21,000 farcical nnd iniquitous. Tho regulations raised the average salary for all full-tiino assistants (male) from ,£2so' to ,£320, for all full-time ossist»nts\(female) from ,£175 to .£250. The minimum appointment salary was fixed nt JJISO. Principals and first assistants had their salaries definitely, increased: but the hard working, experienced teachers who are neither principals nor first assistants have fared badly. In order to get teachers, 'boards must offer salaries far in excess of ,£l5O to young inexperienced men and women. Having gqt tlieni, _ boards must and do give them substantial increases to induce them to rShaTn. The result of the whole system Is thta tho general average of .£•320 is quickly attained at tho expense of the senior teachers who are not first assistants. To our mind, the Education Amendment Act, 1919, has not only perpetuated but has accentuated the anomalous anil chaotic conditions of things obtaining in. secondary schools. ... It is our plain duty to miike Parliament sco that tho time for tinkering with a worn-out system is past. Wc want reconstruction."

■ A spctnal series of services was con. ducted by tho Snlvntion Army in tho Qneon's Theatre yesterday. , The preacher was Commissioner Hodder; who was assisted by the Chief Secretary, Colonel M'lnnes. Large congregations were present morning, afternoon, and evening, and the services were very successful. A feature of the services was the musio '•provided by the band.

An employee at the city powerhouse named W. J. Hamilton, 27 years of ago awl single, residing nt 225 Adelaide llond, fell off a tramenr in Eiddiford Street about a quarter to 1 on Saturday after, noon and sustained concussion of the brain. He was admitted to the Hospital in nn unconscious condition. Yesterday morning he recovered, but in the afternoon' he relapsed into unconsciousness, wid last night his condition was reported to be serious. The Board of Management of the Wellington Letterpress Machinists, Cutters, and Lithographers' Union 0 met on Saturday evening and considered the demands which will be placed before the Conciliation Commissioner on May 17. The assessors were instructed to apply for the 6s. cost of living bonus, in addition to the demand formulated. A resolution was passed extending the wishes of the union for the complete success of the railwaymen in their present dispute. Seven trips round the world is a record that will be achieved by Mr. J. J. Virgo, honorary world's representative of the Y.II.C.A.jWho is a passonger to Australia by the Makura, at tho conclusion of his travels this year (says the "Herald"). During the last i\ years Mr. Virgo has travelled 320,000 miles. He nsited nil

the fronts in the wnr, and lectured to nearly 2,000,000 soldiers. After spending some time in Australia, Air. Virgo intends to visit the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements, and probably Japan, returning to England of the end of the year. He was Inst in Auckland in 1918.

Ballnnco householders have refused to elect a school committee as a protest against the delay, of the Education Board in erecting a teacher's residence. . This decision was arrived at' at the annual meeting presided over by Mr. Bremner.

A correspondent states that there was a representative attendance at the meeting, and strong feeling was evinced on the matter. The householders intend' to remain on strike so far as school committee is' concerned, until. a, satisfactory solution is arrived at.

A remarkable operation was performed at the Boliugbroke Hospital, Wands--worth Common, South London, recently, when a'needle two inches long was removed from a child's heart. A girl nt seven years was playing with her little brother when the boy accidentally pushed the needle into her heart. The needle was nearly out of sight when the girl arrived at Bnlingbroke Hospital, and soon after being placed on the operating table it disappeared altogether. With the nid of the X-rays the needle was seen quite plainly moving "with each pulsation nt the heart. Dr. V. Z. Cope, assisted by Major Lowe, then operated, and the needle .was successfully removed.

: Mr. J. Voss, of Marshland, the acting 1 secretary of the North Canterbury Potato ■ Growers' Association, .telegraphed' last, week to the Hon. W. No'sworthy, Minister of Agriculture, asking if Australia had .placed an embargo on ; New Zealand potatoes.: Tho Minister replied that the Government had no information regarding such an embargo other than the proclamation issued by the Commonwealth

Government in September of last year, which provided that the Minister moy permit potatoes which are certified by a quarantine officer to be free from disease to be imported under, and subject to, such conditions as the Minister may think fit to impose, for use as food. There is a. widely-accepted impression that the profits of picture theatres resemble the proverbial gold mine, states the Auckland "Star." This, however, ie not borne out by the experience of shareholders in such concerns. In a recent inquiry into' tho'earnings of some leading Auckland theatres it was said that at least three theatre companies had not paid any dividend for several years, another company paid 2$ per cent., a fifth G pe.r cent., wnilp even the most successful had' earned only about 9 per cent. Taking into consideration the mnny risks incidental to the business, picture theatre investments are evidently not such a payable proposition as is generally supposed.

A Press Association telegram from Auckland on Saturday stated that the city was suffering from a serious coal shortage. The supplies for municipal services were, however, sufficient for the week-end. .

■ The Wellington Society of Musicians met on Saturday night at Dustin's rooms. There was a good attendance, presided over by Mr. Lawrence Watkins (president). -The president concluded his lecture on "Evolution of Form in Music." ' Musical items were contrib-. ivted by Mesdames Segrief, Grant, F. E. Johnston. Miss Grace Kennedy, and Mr. Gough. of Bristol, England.

A warning note in connection with the present high prices of land was. uttered by Mr. Newton King at a recent gath-er-inn at Inglewood. . Some care and thought, he said, should be exercised regarding tho lnnd boom. He was by no means pessimistic, but he knew of farms that had been sold "at too high'a rate. It was a question where 6afe investment ended and speculation commenced. Ho knew of-farms: being bought, on which the buyers did not intend to reside, holding them only for a rise of .£2O next season. Lnnd booms were dangerous, and always had a sequel. • Ho admitted that land.had, to rise in accordance,with the. risii in produce, but there were farms that had bean sold at over value, and he urged careful consideration' of tho question.

A tourist who recently returned from the Milford Sound'track visited, in tho oompany of the rest of the party,' Mrs Donald Sutherland, wlho, aloug with her hushand, has spent so many years of her life in the solitude of Milford. Mr. Sutherland, it will be rememberedj died last year, and a number of months elapsed, before _the outside world' knew, Mrs. Sutherland, who is far advanced in years, having had to dig. his. g.vavo and foragefor herself until the arrival of tho Hine moa on one of her periodic visits. Tho tourist mentioned, who was one of the last party to go over.the track for the season, states (says the "Southland : Times") that Mrs. Sutherland was quite determined to spend the winter alone at Milford,' although many requests to her, tp come away have been made by relations and others. However, exoept for a few expressions in regard to tie loneliness that wOuld be here, when she saw the party departing ska appeared quite liappy, despite the fact that she will not see a living soul until the Hinemoa arrives in, three months or more. The trackmen have seen to it that she is well supplied with provisions and firewood.