LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 159, 31 March 1922, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Houses are said to bo scarcer than ever. The Mayor stated yesterday that the legislation of last session which enabled owners to regain possession of their dwellings had resulted in a good many people being deprived of their homes. The Government offices throughout New Zealand will be closed for the Easter holidays on Friday, April 14, Saturday April 15, and Monday, April 17. s Regulations under tho Land and Income Tax Act are issued in this week s Gazette. They are the old regulations to a very large extent, but contain certain amendments marie necessary by recent legislation. They do not appear to impose any new duties on ordinary taxpayers. Tho Mayor announced yesterday that rates amounting to £267,580 had been received out of a total of about £300,000.

The Greymouth branch of the Hibernian Society, at a largely attended meeting last night, unanimously resolved: “That the St. Patrick’s branch, No. 17, of the Hibernian Society desires to express its loyalty and devotion to Bishop Liston, of Auckland, and its sympathy with him in the bitter attacks that have been made on him, and in the misrepresentation to which ho has been subjected, and desires also to assure Dr. Liston of its cordial support.”—Press Aesn. Remission of rates on the site of the Theosophical Society’s Hall in Marion Street has been granted by the City Council, but the council has decided not to accede to a request of the Island Ba-i’ Presbyterian Church for a remission of rates on an area ,at Island Bay. Tho Mayor explained last night that tho Island Bay church had already received such remission as it was entitled to.

Authority for the reconstruction of the main storm-water drain at Willcston Street, at an estimated cost of £7OO, was last night granted by the City Council. Harold Alexander Stewart, a youth, who was charged with escaping from the. Borstal Institute, and with breaking, entering, and stealing from Price and Bulleid’s shop, at Invercargill, was yesterday remanded by Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., for trial at Invercargill on Monday next.

Provision is to bo made by the City Council for the expenditure of.. £1250 during the next financial year in connection with the proposed fish-landing stage at Island Bay. “I’ll have to see what the Supreme Court says about that,” was the comment of a solicitor upon a decision given yesterday afternoon by Mr. J. S. Evans," S.M. “Sit down,” tho Magistrate replied. ‘‘Don’t threaten me with the Supreme Court. If you want to go to the Supreme Court,, go to it, but don’t threaten me with it.” An attempt on tho part of tho solicitor to get in a few more words was crushed with “Sit down, sir I Sit down!” The solicitor sat down for a moment, then reached for his hat, collected hie papers, and departed. Reporting to tho City Council last night tho Finance Committee, stated that it had received a deputation with reference to tho uso of the Concert Chamber at midday for community singing. Tho deputation asked that the hall should be granted free .of charge, and that the organisation should receive recognition by the council. The committee’s recommend at "" was that a charge of 10s. 6d. should b' imposed for the uso of the hall, and that in tho meantime the request for recognition should bo postponed until the organisation was fully established.

Against several judgment debtors Mr. J. S. Evans, S.M., yesterday refused to make orders. One of tho debtors was a carpenter out of work. He had a wife and nine children to support, and was paying 355. a week in rent. He had a eon employed as a telegraph messenger. The lad was earning 245. a week. Another of tho debtors was a labouring man who owed £3B. A labourer, the Magistrate observed, could not possibly have accumulated since January 28 (the date of the judgment) the amount required to wipe off this debt. Tho city engineer last night submitted to the council a proposal for the grassing of a 15ft. strip of Featherston'Street, between Bunny Street and Whitmore Street. The council approved the proposal. "•Did I understand my friend to say that his client had gone to tho racesf” asked counsel in a case “called” in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. “You know the old motto,” observed the Magistrate (Mr. J. S. Evans).. “If racing interferes with your business, give up your business at once.” Valuable presentations of books and pamphlets have been mado to the Central Library by Mr. A. R. Atkinson tad Mr. Groy (formerly of Wellington and now of Auckland). In reporting tho fact to the City Council last night tho Libraries Committee recom mended that Jotters of thanks should be forwarded to both of the donors. The council adopted the suggestion. Councillor Dale said that the collection of books' and papers was an exceedingly valuable one, containing, as it did, some historical works and rer cords not even contained in the Turnbull Library or the General Assembly Library. The Mayor said that ho was sure the council deeply appreciated the gift of these books by Mr. Atkinson, a gentleman who had rendered valuable service to the city as a councillor, and Mr. Grey. He was sure, also, that the citizens generally would greatly appreciate tho gifts of these two gentlemen.

Certain residents of Miramar recently asked the City Council for .an alteration of the regulation requiring rubbish receptacles to be placed on the street line for tho collection of refuse. They asked that the system should be brought into line with that adopted in tho city. Last night the council refused the request. An important conference opened -at Brisbane yesterday of representatives of all tho official forest services of the Australian States. Delegates attended from Now South "Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and Queensland. Among those present were Mr. G. H. Knibbs, Director of Science and Industry for the Commonwealth Government. An invitation was extended to the Now Zealand Minister of Forestry (Sir R. Heaton Rhodes) and the Director of the New Zealand State Forest Service (Mr. L. Mclntosh Ellis), but they were unable'to go over for the conference.

According to a decision made by the City Council last night, strict compliance with the by-laws will nob bo required in the erection of an open shelter at the Citizens’ Day Nurseries, Cambridge Terrace. The chairman of the By-Laws 'Committee explained that the shelter was being erected in wood within tho “brick area.”

Amending regulations relating to leaving and sick pay are published in this week’s Gazette.

“The inevitable cup of tea” proved a matter of contention at the Conciliation Council yesterday during the hearing of the bakers’ and pastrymakers’ dispute. It cropped up in connection with tile union’s proposal to reduce th', period of work before breakfast from four and a half hours to four hours. The contention of tho union, as voiced by Mr. Andrew Collins, was that some employers kept their men at work in the bakehouse “without bite or sup” for the time first mentioned, nnd he gave a graphic description of the harrowing condition of the mon, surrounded by every luxury the patrons of the pastrycooks could desire —pies, cheesecakes, j'am tarts, cream sandwiches, etc.—piled up in profusion all around them, without a bito for themselves or a drop to whet their parched throats, until the end of the long period of hard work, in a heated atmosphere, with a hot oven in front of them, enabled them to adjourn for a ipeal, although tlie strength of his argument was rc« ther lessened when it was pointed out that most employers provided something, if it was only a cup of tea. to relieve the tenseness of the situation. Then, while it was contended / there were employers and employers, the union representatives endeavoured to have a condition inserted in the award providing for a ten minutes’ interval in the first two Fours’ work for a tea partv. The employers’ representatives would not agree to insert such a clause without further consideration, and tho whole, question will be referred to the Court. This recalls to mind the objection made bv one large office in Wellington to the growth of tho morning tea habit, which was said tn cost, in lost time, something like £4OO a year, and it has consequently been ' cut out.”

A visitor from Tasmania, Mr. H. H. Scott, curator of tho Victoria Museum, speaks in praise of tho excellent postage service and the luggage-checking system in New Zealand. The average price of goods here, he says, is about the same as tho Tasmanian pre-war prices. One fault in Tasmania was that the primary producers ‘eent so much of their produce overseas, particularly potatoes, and they had to import at peak prices to satisfy local requirements. The register of midwives under the Midwives Act, 1908, is published in tho Gazette this week. Tho successful tender received for Harbour Board contract No. 171 H. steel reinforcements, Pipitea Wharf, was that of Messrs. E. W. Mills and Co. Ltd., at £3lll 17s. Gel.. Other tenders were received from Messrs. Cory Wright, and Salmon, J. Duthie and Co. Ltd., Iron nnd Steel Company of N Z. Ltd., Hutcheson, Wilson and Co., Ltd.., Stanley E. Green Ltd.. Briscoe and Co. Ltd., A- D. Riley and Co Ltd., Crispin and Co. Ltd., W. Cooke and Co. (N.Z.) Proprietary Ltd., R. R. Hunt and Co. picture entertainments, the City Council has decided, will be permitted on Good Friday (April 14). Hie piogrammes are to be strictly consoled by the acting-Town Clerk.

Tlip body of Mr. S- Baker, drowned in Robinson’s Lake, Foxton, was recovered on Tuesday, 100 yards from the shore. 1

Tho Post Office, by means of a conspicuous notice placed, over every post-ing-box in the Dominion, cautions the public against sending money and valuable articles in unregistered letters. Notwithstanding this warning, money continues to he sent by post m unregistered letters in the most carc--less manner. Within the last few days, an ordinary letter that burst open in the post was found to contain tho sum of £7O in bank notes. This happened in Wellington. The. Post Office keeps no record of unregiste’ed letters, and persons who poet such letters containing money expose to temptation everyone through whose hands they may pass, and in. the event of non-delivery, suspicion is cast on innocent persons. There can be no excuse for failure to register a letter containing valuables. Letters can be registered at every post office in the Dominion, and the fee for registration is only 3d. The sender of a registered letter receives a receipt, the letter is checked from hand to hand, and a receipt is obtained on delivery. An offer by the local Deputy Public Trustee to dedicate to the Citv Council, free of cost, a strip of land at Palmer Street,. 43ft. long and Ift. in depth, was last night declined by the council. The land jwas not worth taking, and tho taking of it would spoil the appearance of the stre'ij’tj, the Mayor explained.

The memorial erected in Pahiatua to the memory of the late Kenny Bayne, a returning wounded soldier, who lost his life in an attempt to save from drowning a child who had crawled through a porthole of the Ruahine. on November 25, 1916. and fallen into, the sea, will bo unveiled by tho Minister of Education (Mr. Parr) on Monday next. Messrs. A. McNicol and G. R. Sykes, M.P.’s, have intimated their intention of attending the ceremony. Practically all the schools in the district are observing a half-holiday for the occasion.

As from April 1. the fees charged for play on the municipal golf links are to be increased frosp 6d. to 9d. per round of nine holes, and a charge made of Is. per round of eighteen holes, this round including nine holes on the eastern side of Adelaide Road.

In theso days of acute house shortage. even the old disused Thorndon Baths building affords a welcome shelter to a family. The City Council was recommended last night by the responsible committee to call for tenders for the purchase and removal of the building. .But the Mayor said that he hoped that the. committee would not put this plan into immediate operation. A man who was living in the building with .his wife’ and family had come to him and said that if they were turned out of it they would have nowhere to go. The man was paying tho city £1 a week rent, and he was saving the cost of a custodian ns well. Mr. Wright hoped the building would not be nulled down until these people had found some other place to live. Councillor Thompson, chairman of the committee, said that this could be done. Four keas and four Muscovy ducks were recent gifts to the Zoo bv Mr. G. Graham (the Hermitage, Mount Cook), and Mrs. McVicar respectively. Tlio employees’ representatives at the Conciliation Council yesterday would not consent to the adoption of any clauses dealing specially with automatic baking, contending that the businesses concerned should come under the ordinary clauses of tho award. Mr. Collins said that the general, bodv of employers were not sincere in asking for the conditions proposed for automatic bakeries, for they knew that the existing bakeries, if given the conditions asked for, would be able to bake all the bread in Wellington, with three shifts.' Even the conditions in the last award would not be agreed to. It was decided' to refer tho matter to the Cdurt.

To-night the,winning number of t'he £4OO alluvial gold specimens in the Wellington Plunkeb Home art union will be decided. As intimated in our advertising columns, tho drawing win take place in the Mayor’s Room, Town Hall, nt 8 p.m. The public are cordially Invited to attend this interesting fathering, which will determine who is the lucky winner of the gold nugget.

Commercial Wellington has been enriched by the completion of a new fivestory, reinforced concrete warehouse in Lower Cuba Street for the firm of Macky, Logan, Caldwell, Ltd. In addition to the five stories mentioned, there is a well-lighted and spacious basement, whilst tho walls have been made strong enough to carry another two stories. In all, there is a total floor space for warehouse purposes ot 53,000 square feet; in addition there is a flat roof laid down in Neuchatel asphalt, which, when netted in is to form a practice area for the firm s stair cricket club. Following modern ideas, each flat is splendidly airy and welllighted. There are ample electric goods and passenger elevators, a lunch-room for the ladies, another for the men, and strong-room and lavatory accommodation on each floor. An innovation is provided in the provision of a spiral metal chute, which traverses the building from the top floor to an office, and down that chute every parcel wnich leaves the building must travel. This chute is so constructed that a small piece of paper twisted into a ball will find its way to the parcel office if thrown into it. There are also partitioned sample and sale-rooms on each* flat, to ensure privacy in sales. An internal telephone exchange, connecting all departments with a central exchange by five trunk lines, is a convenience which enables a client to communicate witn a succeseion of departments without cutting off The facade of the new warehouse is cleavZy amd attractively finished by the use of Oam.aru sand and whitd cement. The contractors were Messrs. W. J. Grouatt and Son, of Auckland. The structure and fitting cost in the vicinity of £55,000.

Two residents of the Geraldine district (had a remarkably narrow ’escape from death. They were motoring from Farlie towards Beautiful Valley and reached a place known as Sharatt’s cutting, between seven and eight o’clock at night (relates the “Lyttelton Times” correspondent). The roadway at this place is narrow and the darkness was intensified by a thick mist. The driver was proceeding slowly and cautiously and, on feeling his left-hand front wheel slip, he stopped the car, and he and his friend got out to see their position. Whether or not tho clutch was put in seems uncertain, but ns they were trying to get the ear farther on to the road it moved forward, knocking the driver down and then plunged down the hill, the engine running. Below the road the hill elopes at an angle of forty-five degrees till near the bottom when there is a sheer drop to a water-course which is some 300 feet below the road. The ear went down headfirst, apparently for a distance and then turned over more than onco. lit- tho i car wore three dogs, one of them being free, but the other'two were chained, the chains being made fast. The free dog made its escape at once, but, in some wav, the chains of tho other two were snapped, and all three dogs got to. their home before their owner and wore unhurt. The driver was not so fortunate, for in addition to an injured knee and a severe gash on the forehead, he had two or three ribs broken.

The next meeting of the City Council will be held on Tuesday, April 11, instead of on Thursday, April 13, which is the day before Good Friday.