LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 136, 5 December 1918, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Shareholders in the Bank of New Zealand are reminded' that the halfyearly general meeting will be heldl tomorrow morning, at 11 o'clock.

It was decided by the Education Board at its meeting yesterday to create three new positions on its instructional staff, viz. : Third Instructor of Agriculture, at a salary starting at £275 and rising to £325; Chief Instructor in Art, commencing at £300 and rising to £400j Instructress in Home Science, £180 a year to begin with, and a maximum of £210. | The Education Board yesterday passed the following motiorf: "That the Department be urged to provide the necessary funds for the payment of returning soldiers from the date their military pay ceases until they can be'reinstated in the-positions from which^they obtained leave; consequently that, money- he provided to pay up to the date of reopening of the schools the teachers appointed to discharge their duties during their absence on .military service."

Notice has been given in the House of Representatives by Mr. V. Brown (Napier) to ask the Prime Minister whether he will have legislation passed^ making it illegal for any steamer registered! in New Zealand to leave port in New Zealand until prpper sanitary prjt vision is made for the men on the boafe; also that they have separate diningquiirters and sufficient ventilation in their sleeping-quarters,' and that, their quarters are disinfected by Government^ officials at least once a month.

On account of the influenza epidemic, all the shops and offices in Ashburton are at present closing during the .luncheon -hour, and with a view to having this arrangement made permanent a meeting of drapers, clothiers, tailors, and boot retailers was held recently, states the' Guardian. The meeting was fairly representative, and, after a full discussion, it _ was decided to give thej proposal a trial for three months, providing certain establishments which were not represented, at the meeting fall into line.

Mr. ißasil de Lambert, an Oamaru tea merchant, has received from his Ceylon buyer a letter which indicates that the exportable quantity bf tea of the 'island is likely to be, considerably affected by the ravages of the epidemic. The waiter, whose letter is dated 21st October, siays: "The whole island is now suffering from a very severe scourge of influenza fever and pneumonia, which is causing a tremendous amount of mortality amongst the labourers, so that, although crops are coming on well, planters are unable to cope with them, and supplies in the near future are likely to be light.", r

' Of the fatal accidents that occurred in the Dominion last year, four were the outcome of the workers trying to repair belting or put belting into gear without first stopping the machinery; one man was electrocuted whilst using a defective electric torch; another was crushed in the crank-pit of a steamship; a freezing-works labourer was crushed between two railway trucks, and another was drowned. Of the remaining two cases, one man was scalded in a vat of boiling whey and' also badly injured on the face while endeavouring to jump from the vat, and the last fatal case was caused'by a sawmill worker being struck by a piece of timber thrown from a circular saw. There was nothing, the. Labour report says, to show that these accidents were due to the inexperience of workers who were brought into the employment on account of the war.

When postponing the Junior Scholarship examination from 20th November till 17th and 18th December, the Education Department considered that the selection of the latter date was reasonably safe, the Chief Health Officer having stated, in answer to enquiries, that' there was a fair prospect of carrying out the examination on that date." Subsequent developments, howler, have made it necessary for the Department of Public Health to forbid any examinations of this kin& being held before Christmas. As it would be unfair to candidates to hold the examination for Junior National Scholarships in January, owing to the long period for which schools would then have been closed, it has been decided to hold the examination on 20th and 21st February, 1919. Nearly all candidates, in any case, will be eligible for junior free places, and may commence their secondary course at the opening of high schools, technical schools, •or district high schools. Any candidates who cannot proeoecf* to secondary education without a scholai*;iip will require either to wait until the results of the scholarship examination are known, about the end of March, or to make the best arrangements possible for attending school during February and March. Arrangements will be made with the secondary school authorities to provide adequately for any scholarship candidates who may not enter upon secondary, work until after tba sf.ht>laj»hin tiTuninati-ni.

"Equal pay for equal work" in the Po** and Telegraph Department was advocated by' Mr. J. Vigor Brown (Napier) in the House of Representatives yesterday. He said 1* that in some cases women were working as well as men, or even better.

"The epidemic .*r as the biggest problem which has ever confronted the peo•pie of this country, , and the biggest problem the Government has had to face in regard to life and health."— Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., at this morning's final meeting of the Wellington Central Group Committee.

Mr. Witty (Riccarton) has given notice in Parliament to ask the Prime Minister whether he will state when the fares to England are likely to be reduced, and: whether the soldiers' wives are to be granted- the same concessions as were granted prior to the Imperial Government taking over shipping?

Mr. T. A. H. Field, M.P. for Nelson, has asked the Government whether temporary employees in the Civil Service who have been appointed during the war and who volunteered and Were discharged from camp- as medically unfit for active service will be retained in their positions if the Government decides cv. retrenchment in the future.

The following appointments have been made by the Wellington Education Board :^Mr. V. Higgins, assistant teacher at Levin; Miss E. E. Dagg, assistant at Shannon; Miss D. Pritchard, assistant at Picton; Miss M. p. MThee, assistant af Te Ore Ore; Miss R. Fellinghatn, assistant at Wadestown; Miss A. I. Bastings, assistant at Newtown; Miss A. D. Hawley, assistant at Upper Hutt.

"It-would 1 be more compatible with the (dignity of this—'God's own—country,' said Dr Thacker in the House of Representatives, yesterday, if, instead of giving these 0.8.E.'^ or 'Orders of the Bad Egg' indiscriminately, out to people who have given large cash donations to wax funds,, they should give them to industrial fighters who have done fine workl to carry on the statutory obligations of New Zealand." He was speaking on the Post and Telegraph Bill, and was referring particularly to women workers.

A number of returned officers who have been training in the Expeditionary Force training camps, celebrated their demobilisation by a dinner at the Grand Hotel last evening. A total of'twentysix were present, and a number of apologies were read from officers unable to, atlend. Major., A G. Price, .Ist A.1.8., presided. 'A most pleasant evening was spent. The principle toast was "Absent Pal>," which wae drunk with enthusiasm.

In his report for August, the officer commanding the New Zealand Command Depot at Codford states (writes The Post's London correspondent) , that 17 men were admitted to hospital suffering from V.D, complaints compared with 43, 55, and 60 for the months respectively of July, June, and May. He attributes the large decrease in admissions to (1) the. continued success of the abortive treatment, (2) the early reporting for treatment of men, which has been more marked than ever, (3) the system of issuing prophylactics in London.

The Port Nicholson Yacht Club will get off the points races on Saturday next. The following entries have been received: —Ist: Class: Waitangi, Marangi, Rona, Kotiri 11., Atalanta, and Viola.' 2nd Class: lolanthe, Galatea, Venus, Wairere 1., and E-awene. 3rd Class: Amai and Muritai. The course for thejirst and second-class boats will be around the Pinnacle buoy and back to the starting line, between Clyde-quay and' the King's wharves. The third-class course will be around the s.s. Taka-, puna lying in the stream, and back.

Milkmen may have an aversion at pre. sent to going too close to their patrons to deliver the morning's milk, but, tho Christchurch Press remarks, there are evidently certain circumstances which permit of more intimate contact. The patrons of one particular dau-yman woke up the other morning to find the milk outside as usual, and, as also is usual at the beginning of the month, tinder the jug was the monthly bill, which is usually paid at the patrdn's convenience. An hour or so later, however, the milkman was back again, this time to collect the account. At such a prompt "demand for payment, the patrons were naturally astonished, and their many queries as to its cause met with the same answer, "Well, you can never tell who is dyin' nowadays." \ / ■ .

Mr. Harris (Waitemata) said last night in the House of Representatives that in the- early stages of the war a number of employees of the' Post and Telegraph Department had volunteered for active service in Gallipoli and else- ' where. Later, certain officers were requisitioned for military postal work overseas. As an inducement they received half-civil pay, in addition to the military pay. Some of the early volunteers, after active mijitary service, were diverted to military postal work, but they received only military pay. It was unjust to give them less consideration than was granted to men who were sent away purely on civil service. The discrimination in favour of the latter class was discreditable to the' department. Sir Joseph Ward said that men who had received civil pay were non-com-batants. He would look into the matter agajn to see what could be done. • One alteration made by the Legislative Council m the War\Legislation Bill was a provision that discharged soldiers as tenants might contract themselves out of the benefit of the rent restriction' law. When the Bill was received in the House of Representatives, Mr. M'Combs ,(Lyttelton) said that if soldiers' dependents were to be allowed to contract themselves out of the benefits of the law designed to protect them the position in Wellington would be similar to the one which arose in connection with the mortgages extension provision. He moved that the House should disagree with the Legislative Council's amendment in. regard to the contracting out. The Prime Minister said he would move for a disagreement with the Legislative Council's subclauee. The House had to choose the lesser of two evils, for there was a danger 1 that landlords might refuse to let houses to soldiers or their dependents. Mr. Statham (Dunedin Central) said that there should be provision for giving advice to such tenants before tfyey contracted themselves out of the benefite of the law. Mr. Massey's motion, was carried. The Prime Minister and Messrs. Statham and M'Comba were appointed commissioners to confer with commissioners of the Legislative Council.