SECRET COMMISSIONS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 32, 7 February 1907, Page 6

SECRET COMMISSIONS.

AN AUSTRALIAN ACT-ON THE* SUBJECT. -■Apropos the Grand Jury's presentment on Tuesday last concerning secret commissions, .the manager of an important trading firm in Wellington yesterday received the following question fro.m^_the_ manager .of. his Australian house: "Well you please state if there is any prospect of such an Act (as the Secret Commissions Act) being given effect uo in New Zealand ?" The writer adds -. "It has been found that the introduction of this Act has been beneucial to onr trading so far as Australia is concerned." ► A- uom, ' of .the. Secret Commissions • IVcV, 1 which "Was passed" "by the Federal Parliament in 1905. wa3 enclosed in the letter trom 'Australia above referred to. The Act rclr.tea to'secret commissions, rebates^ and profits, amd* applies to trade and commerce with other counirics and among -the States, and. tp agencies qf a2d~contracts with_the Commonwealth or any department or officer thereof. T-he-njeasuse . .pro'jides against, secret, gifts' bsing a"ccPDtetr by o.r ■ offered to sny_ agent as-an inducement or reward, against'false accounts being given to or received or nsed by any agent, and against • an agent secretly buying from or selling'to himself. Subsection two of clause four reads: - "A gift or consideration shall be deemed to be given as an inducement or reward if the receipt or any expectation thereof would be in any way likely to influence the agent to do or to, leave undone something contrary to his duty." The penalties provided are a fine of £1000 for a convicted corporiiion, or in' 'the case of any other person two years' imprisonment, or a fine of £500, or both.- Whoever aids, abets, counsels, or procures, or is in any way directly or indirectly knowingly concerned with a breach of the Act shall be deemed to have committed the offence, and be punished accordingly,

A deep-breathing demonstration was given by Mr. Royd Garlkk before the Conference of School Inspectors and .training cpUcge principals this morning. The Chief Health "Officer (Dr. Mason) was present, and briefly stated that the exercises shown by Mr. Garlick wero those which he had suggested should be introduced in the public schools. In hia opinion the injury which resulted from many kinds of sport and ezcensive exercises was due in a large measure to tfie. fact that those who had to teach children did hoi known anything of the- value of deep-breathing. Answering a question about the danger which some authorities contended went hand-in-hand with deep-breathing, Dr. Mason said the only objection to it was when it was carried too far. Excessive deep-brc-i-thing would certainly result-in harm, but if properly regulated in the cans of healthy children the only risk they run was that of becoming stronger* "