LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 56, 8 March 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Government has reappointed Mr. Harold Beauchamp, of Wellington, and Mr. J. H. Upton, of Auckland, a% directors of the Bank of New Zealand for a further period of two years as from the 31at inst.

No trace has yet been discovered of Mrs. Arthur Blacklock, who disappeared from her home some days since.

The quarterly meeting of the Otaki Licensing Bench was held on Friday, when it was announced that if continuance was carried some of the hotels in the district would have to be conducted on more modern lines, otherwise licenses would be cancelled.

A misapprehension seema to have got about regarding the reopening of the Scorching Bay - Point Halswell - road, which has been closed by the Defence authorities since the beginning of the war, The fear has been expressed that the road is to be closed altogether, but this, the Defence authorities state, is wholly erroneous. The road will be reopened immediately peace is declared, ■ and is only being kept closed during the armistice period because of obligations entered into with the Imperial authorities.

Mr. W. M. Singleton, Assistant Director of the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture, refers in the Department's journal to tae trial of the dairy cow certificates of records of milk production which are now kept in almost every up-to-date dairy farm in the Dominion. The cow is on her trial. Her milk production and the butter-fat it contains are all carefully recorded. The "loafer" cow finds her way sooner to the butcher than she would do if no particulars were Isept of what she was yielding. This applies to the butter-Sat in her milk as well as to the volume of milk the cow gives. Since .this check on the dairy herds has been instituted, the productivity of the New Zealand cow has attracted attention- outside the Dominion, with the result, as Mr. Singleton shows, that an export trade in purebred dairy, cattle has been established. He thinks that the distance of New Zealand from Europe may negative any idea of exporting cattle to countries north of the Equator, although if import regulations permit he should not be surprised to see limited exports even to Britain. The issue by the Department of certificates of record has now been in operation six years, and already 1001 certificates have h«»n issued a»d 108 repeat gertliluatcs besidjSSi

At a meeting of the Otaki Town Board, it was decided to offer the Patriotic Society _ a liberal donation towards the erection of a monument to soldiers.

The Wellington City and South Island men who disembarked at Auckland yesterday from tho Port Melbourne are due to reach Wellington by special train at 3.56 this afternoon.

An air of probability now attaches to the old nursery jingle of the gentleman who "sold his bed and lay on straw, sold the straw -and lay on grass, to buy his wife a looking-glass." The only stipulation is that the bed must have fetched a very fair price if a mirror were to be purchased with the product—at present-day prices. Belgium had extensive and important glass works, and the exclusion of the product of these from the markets of the world—with other causes—has brought plate and mirror glass to a fabulous price. " You see that dressing table with the oval mirror," said a furniture manufacturer the other "day to a Post reporter, "five years ago I could sell it for a price that I now" have to pay for the mirror." About 10s 6d a square foot is the price nowadays for mirror glass which was once sold for Is 6d. Even with these prices importers have found difficulty in placing orders, but a slight improvement in this latter respect is now reported.

A very curious thing happened on a farm in the Omata district on Sunday, says the Taranaki Herald. There is a lagoon on the farm, perhaps two acres in extent, and the farmer was at the lagoon on Sunday when he' saw a sort of eruption of the water, followed by the gradual appearance of a little island, which is now about 10 feet by 6 feet in area and several inches above the water level, quite dry. There has long been a warm spring at about the same spot. The depth of water where the island appeared was about four feet, and probing with a rod on the island met with a hard bottom at about six feet. It may be that the phenomenon has some connection with the activity recently observed in the oil wells at Moturoa, for there were indications of oil on the water after the eruption.

A Press Association telegram from Auckland states :—According to officers who returned by the Port Melbourne, no great success was. attained with the educational classes conducted on board. Lieutenant A. 0: Ponder, a Rhodes Scholar, of Christchurch, was, director. He states that ■ the results were very disappointing, mainly owing to the lack of text-hooks and equipment, _td the difficulty of providing .class rooms. The instructors were compelled to take classes of sometimes 200 and even 300 men, and as there were on the vessel not more than two text-books on any one subject it was impossible to make much progress. After the first week the classes were made optional, and an improvement was noted, but the classes were very popular, especially the commercial classes. Many officers interested in the future of the soldiers complained of the lack of continuity apparent--in educational 'schemes at present conducted, and expressed the opinion that, a greater effort would have to be made to train' men along lines to their desires, and more especially with a view to occupations they were likely to follow after leaving the Army.

Speaking as a member of a deputation which waited upon the Hon. J. A. Hanan at Christchurch yesterday, Dr. Charles Chilton mentioned the educative value of the kinemato.gra.ph. In his reply, the Minister spoke of some of the pictures shown on the screen very critically. "I believe," said Mr. Hanan, "that I would be failing in my duty if I did' not condemn some pictures that are shown in this country." Recently, accompanied by some members of the University Senate and a number of ladies, he had visited a picture theatre, and all of the party had a-greed that one of the pictures shown should not have been screened for the public, more- particularly' v/here children were present. Each of them had been disgusted with that picture, and if such were to be allowed on the screen in this country they would! help to. undermine the splendid work that had been done by their teachers and by good parents. He had recently discussed the question of providing suitable pictures for children with those interested in child welfare, and he was hopeful of arriving at some system of supplying suitable films for school exhibition. Another point that he considered a very serious matter was the number of children attending picture theatres in the evenings, sometimes accompanied1 by -their parents or their guardians, but often without either parents or guardians. Medical authorities complained that the physical and the mental energy of children were being depleted as a result of frequent attendance at picture theatres in the evening. In the interests of the children themselves that must stop.

The registration of the Wellington Soft Goods Employees' Industrial Union of Workers has been cancelled in accordance with section 2 of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and the union has been re-registered with the following title : —"Wellington Amalgamated Society of Shop Assistants in Boot, Hardware, Stationery, Fancy Goods, Furniture,, and Soft Goods Trades Industrial Union of Workers." Mr. A. W. Oroskery, secretary of the union, states that the new registration will enable the union to make claims on behalf of all shop assistants covered by the, registration. It would bring the union into harmony with similar unions in Australia. In that connection a judgment by Mr. Justice Hayden, of the Australian Court, delivered in 1907, and dealing with shop assistants, was of some interest. His Honour stated: "As a matter having some bearing on the question of jurisdiction, I think that shop assistants in the various businesses concerned _ this award are really ono class. In some shops they sell everything ; in others the business is divided and sub-divided into an- immense number of departments. The generaliponditions, however, are so similar that, as I have said, they form really one class and members of the class may represent and make demands on behalf of all." When f ranting the registration of a Canterbury Tnion with a title similar to that just adopted by ; Wellington, Mr. . Justice Stringer, on 17th May, 1917, argued on the same lines as Mr. Justice Hayden with particular reference to tho case of drivers.