NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 75, 21 December 1929, Page 10

NOTES OF THE DAY

Mr. G. V. Hudson by letter calls attention t'6 the fact that the earlier arrival of the trans-Pacific mail steamers would, under the present schedule, make work for a considerable nuniber of people on Sundays, or what should be their day of rest. His contention ' is a just one and worth consideration when the mail contracts come up for review. The whole point is, in the interests of overseas business correspondence, that there should be an interval of at least 48 hours between the arrival of the incoming steamer and the departure of the outgoing one. If that were arranged so as to fall on any two weekdays, it would serve the North Island just as well. The suggestion should be examined, the only difficulty likely to arise beihg with the Atlantic connection. ♦ * * *

As busy a man the year round as anyone in the community is the commercial traveller. His work takes him away from home, he has to put up with a great many inconveniences on the road and to work all sorts of hours to suit his travel schedule and his customers. Yet he is almost invariably cheery and he carries about with him a stout and a generous heart. As witness, take the record of the Wellington Commercial Travellers’ Association in assisting community efforts in town and country. Every year, moreover, the commercial travellers bring cheer to the orphanages by distributing a goodly sum raised by themselves. No wonder when we meet orie of the fraternity we feel we have met a good fellow and one who, however busy himself, spares time and money for others.

Nature lovers in New Zealand will rejoice to learn from an article published in yesterday’s Dominion that the Governor-General-elect, Lord Bledisloe, has taken an active interest in the preservation of wild life in England. His advocacy of an English national park as a sanctuary is indicative of the interest he may be expected to take in the sanctuaries already established in New Zealand. He will also be replacing at Government House one who has missed no opportunity of studying our native fauna in Her Excellency, Lady Alice Fergusson. One of the encouraging things to nature lovers is the way in recent years native birds have been returning to former haunts, even in the cities. A Remuera lady in springtime counted no fewer than fifteen species of native birds in her garden including a kingfisher and a shining cuckoo. And in Kelburn residents are entertained by,the rhapsodical song of the grey warbler by day and the melancholy hooting of the morepork at night.

While a great deal can be said in favour of the amalgamation of related departments to secure better co-ordination and to save overhead expenses, it is difficult to follow the merger of the three departments announced to-day by the Prime Minister. A suggestion has already been made in this column that, for obvious reasons, the Tourist and Publicity Departments could well be combined, and Sir Joseph Ward's action so far can be unreservedly approved. But it is puzzling that he should propose to merge with these two the Industries and Commerce Department. The latter seems to have few points of contact with Tourists or Publicity so that the union can not be envisaged as a natural one. Moreover, Mr.'de la Perrelle is now to take charge of the three combined Departments, whereas it was announced a few days ago that Mr. Donald would be the new Minister of Industries and Commerce. Has the Prime Minister forgotten Mr. Donald’s new post or is he creating the new and extremely doubtful precedent of two political heads for one Department? On the face of it, Mr. Donald’s administrative duties Seem to have been reduced almost to vanishing point