LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 90, 13 October 1920, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The question of a locel exhibition of, New" Zealand industries y/as discussed at last night's meeting of the Industrial Association. Mr. C. J. Ward, chairman, expressed the opinion that an exhibition could be launched on no extravagant scale locally, and the Town Hall might hi secured for the purpose. Reference was also made to the possibility of reviving an "Industrial Week," such as had been successful t in Auckland and Christchurch, It was decided to leave the matter of an exhibition in the hands of the Standing Committee. Several members expressed the opinion that the main difficulty with an industrial week would bo in inducing the neceusary industries to enter. The Chairman said he was sure that, with the co-operation of all manufacturers, the once-annual fixture could bo made a success. The question was left to the Standing Committee to investigate.

The loss to the Auckland City Council in fares during the fifteen days' stoppage of the trams amounted to between £15,000 and £16,000. The amount saved in wages and a proportion of expenses during the period (states The Post's correspondent) is about £7000, leaving a net loss of between £8000 and £9000. . ,l

Only two inebriates appeared before Mr. ,T. S. Evans, S.M.. in the Magistrate's Court .this morning. ./tone was a first offender, who was fined ss. George John Couroy, with tinea previous convictions and with a breach of his prohibition order, was defended by Mr. C. A. L. Trendwell, who, on account of defendant's war services, pleaded for leniency. He was ordered to come up for sentence in three months. Frederick' de Lisle, charged with the theft of a pair of boots, the property of n fellowboM'dsr xl tbs Salvation Army Horns, was Mntsnced to a month'c hard labour.

A conference of delegates from the vairous fire boards of the Dominion was opened in Wellington this morning, but the proceedings are not open to the press.

Owing to a minor breakdown of the engine, the Upper Hutt-Wellington train did not arrive at Lambton this morning till 9.35, forty minutes behind time.

Mr. H. W. Chapman, who is retiring from the position of clerk of the Upper Hutt Town Board, has submitted a halfyearly balancesheet, from Ist April to 7th October, showing that the receipts were £1732 9s sd, in which the pwncipal items were rates £976 Is 9d, water supply revienue £323 3s 9d, Government subsidy £176 10s Id. On the expend!-, ture side £2577 12s Sd is shown, including bank overdraft £938 13s Id. i

"A Subscriber" complains of the charge made for raw sugar being the same as that for refined. This question was raised in the House of Representatives, and the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Hon. E. P. Lee) then explained that the strike and the increase in wages had involved heavier expenditure by the Government. While refined sugar was unobtainable the raw sugar would .be sold at the price fixed for refined. '

At a meeting of the Dunedin Presbytery yesterday, the following resolution was adopted :—"That this Presbytery, while recognising and protesting against the unwarranted vexation occasioned by the 'No Temere' decrea, regret that, they cannot rejard the amendment, as passed by the Legislative Council, as satisfactory, on the ground that' clause 6 appears to infringe upon the spiritual *ndependenoa of the Church and fta right to exercise discipline in regard to its own members, and hope that the Legislature may yet devise means to meet tfie situation that will be free from these objections."

The important matter of instructing and coaching young tennis players was mentioned by Mr. D. • Seymour at the Wellington Tennis Association's annual .meeting last evening- He suggested that those well up in the game might be approached with a view to giving demonstrations in footwork and tactics, and so enable young players to secure a better understanding of the points of the game. Mr. W. H. Stainton pointed out that the best method of getting young players interested was by going fight dowD to the primary schools. After a discussion it was decided that the ,incoming committee be recommended to take steps to arrange for demonstrations by experts.

"Mr. Massey mad© it pretty plain )that the Government wanted the money,' and it. was no use the Chambers killing the Taxation Bill without being able to suggest how that money was to b© secured," declared Mr. H. Hart, at a meeting of the Central Chamber of Commerce yesterday, when he reported the result of a recent deputation from the Associated Chambers of Commerce to the Prime Minister. "We asked for a Royal Commission to inquire into taxation generally, but I do not think we will get it," said Mr. Harf,. Mr. C. M. Luke stated that the fact that the Government wanted money _ was no excuse for perpetuating iniquities. Mr. Luke was supported by the president (Mr. A. Leigh Hunt) in urging that a Royal Commission should: inquire into the question, with the object of finding a scientific basis for taxation incidence. The present system was certainly not a scientific one.

On his way to join the Cope Expedition to Antarctica, Captain G. H. Wilkins, who was official photographer to the Australian Imperial Force, was a passenger on Monday by the Maheno from Sydney. He is, states The Post's Auckland correspondent,. going to America, and expects to join the expedition either at Monte Video, in Uruguay, or Port Stanley, in Falkland Islands. Captain Wilkins, who has been appointed second in command of the Cope Expedition, states that Dr. Cope's party was to go out from Europe to the Falkland Islands by whaler, and from the Falkland Islands they would travel in a small steam whaler, whioh would land them on the Antarctic coast. The party expected to carry on a twq years' preliminary expedition, traversing the coastline of the Antarctic Continent as. far as Edward VII. Land. .On this expedition the party would carry out as much geological, meteorological, and biological work as possible. They would be equipped' with boate, sldeges, and dogs, and would, to a very great extent, depend on the food of the country. It was expected, continued Captain Wilkins, that six aeroplanes would accompany Dr. Cope's next expedition, and a great deal of topographical work would be done. After all other possible work of more economic importance had been performed, it was likely that a dash would be made by aeroplane for the South Pole.

A donation to the funds of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, forwarded by the Commissioneiof Police (Mr. J. O'Donovan) 1 at yesterday's meeting, was accompanied by a letter, in which a special tribute wae paid to the work of the Inspector (Captain J. Henry). Oommiseioner O'Donovan stated: "It is obvious that his energy in carrying out the work assigned to him has mitigated the sufferings of many of the dumb creatures that serve and assist us. In looking over the return« P of cases in Court since 1910 to the end of 1919, I find there is, year by year, a steady diminution in the number, which in 1910 was 273 and in 1919 was 172. This is doubly gratifying in respect of man and beast, for the former has to a large extent abandoned the cause of his degradation and punishment before the tribunals of justice, and the latter has had' its sufferings, in the mass, considerably reduced." The Commissioner also noted with' special satisfaction the formation of a junior league of the society. The glad news that Auckland will linger very.little longer under the gloom of gasless nights and days of cold cookers has been coupled with the announcement by the Gas Company that the price of gas will be increased on 12th November by a shilling a thousand feet (telegraphs The Post's correspondent) This brings the net price to 8s 6d per 1000 ft. On the first of next month the Northcote and Birkenhead Gas Company will also increase its charges by 5d a thousand feet, which makes the net price 9* 2d for the first thousand and 8b 4d per thousand afterwards. The last published returns of gas prices throughout the Dominion were for 15th March last. It i« reasonable to suppose that some of them have beon increased sin<Se then. Wellington. Christchurch, and Waihi then paid 7s 6d per 1000 cubic feet for their gas, Mid Wanganui and Dunedin 6s 3d. The lighting service in Hamilton and Dannevirke cost the consumer 10s per thousand, Whangarei was 9s 2d, G^sborne 8s 9d, and New Plymouth 8s 4d. The causes of the local increase are understood to be heavy expenses and high coal freights. Japanese steamers bringing coal from Newcastle charge 45s a ton freight, whereas other vessels belonging to the Union Company and other lines have rates that vary from 25s to 40s a ton. If Japanese freight were only 5s higher than any other, the extra cost of coal on these colliers would amount to £437 10s for'i7so tons, which is about one week's supply.

Qolf practice and the exercising of horses on the Worser Bay beaches is to be prohibited by the Miramar Borough Council, in order to avoid children at play on the seashore being injured. The statement in our issue of yesterday that Mr. H. H. Cornish had written to the School Committees' Association offering his services as honorary solicitor was, we are informed, incorrect. Mr. Cornish had made no offer or communication of any kind to the association or any member of it. As a means of preventing the haphazard growth of the city, the Council of the Central Chamber of Commerce suggests a demarcation scheme, whichwould divide the cityxinto, four areas— shipping, warehouse, industrial, andl residential. It was decided yesterday to ask the City Council to give the proposal early consideration. Mi. Chew Chong, a Very old resident . of New Plymouth, is dead. He was credited' with being the pioneer of'the dairying industry in the Taranaki province, and took an active interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the town and district. Born in China ninety-two years ago, Mt. Chong came to the Dominion in 1866. The Mayor of Miramar (Mr. S. M. Stone) reported to his council last night that the petition to the Governor-General-". in-Council with reference to the amalgamation with the city had been forwarded, and a reply received from the Department of Internal Affairs stating that nothing could be done in the matter until the required petition had been received from the Wellington Vtxty Council. Beference to the reception of immigrants was made at the meeting of the 'Wellington Presbytery last night. The R«v. W. Shirer reported that in cooperation with the Methodist and Angli- - can churches a plan had been drawn up, but further representations had been received from Dunedin and it was suggested that a fuller report be made later on) It was decided to continue, the committee. The possibilities of aviation in New Zealand are receiving "the careful consideration of the Government." The Prime Minister has advised the Welling-, ton Central Chamber of Commerce that the Government intended to make use of private companies for a thorough test of the carriage of mails over approved routes. The Chamber yesterday expressed pleasure at the nature of the communication. „ "An Italian paper (The Tribunal recently remarked that a great deal seemed to be thought of,humanity to animals in the present day and not enough to human beings. Well, one never found the human voice failing to make an outcry. Animals have no voices for such a purpose, anot they must rely on us for protection."—Mr. F . Meadowcroft, at the annual meeting of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Regulations relating to the introduction into New Zealand of bees, honey, and appliances are gazetted. They provide that bees may be introduced into New Zealand only at the ports of Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, Dunedin, and Bluff, from Italy, the United States, and the Commonwealth of Australia, on -a certificate that they are free from disease, and do not come from a district infected with foul brood. Honey may be admitted from the United States and Australia on a certificate that it is free from disease. No appliances which have been used in connection with bees may be introduced into New Zealand. Its loyalty to the constitution was expressed by the Council of the Central Chamber of Commerce yesterday, when the following .motion was agreed to :— "That this council of the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce hereby places on record its unqualified' loyalty to the constitution under which all people in the Dominion. enjoy tihe utmost freedom'and opportunity, and .pledges itself to at all times support law and order with all'the powers at its command. This council expressles the opinion that similar resolutions should be put od record by all organised bodies throughout New Zealand." The council also passed the. following motion dealing with the frequency of strikes :—"That this chamber, believing that the enormous wastage due to strikes is not known to the people generally, recommends the Government to compile and issue statistics, fully setting forth the continuous direct and indirect loss occasioned thereby." The acute stage arrived at by the housing problem in Auckland was shown by statements made by, tenants at the , Magistrate's Court, yesterday (telegraphs ' The Post'?; correspondent). Both Sir. J. W. Poynton, S.M., and Mr W. R. M'Ke-an, S.M., had cases before them in which owners of tenements sought to obtain possession. One tenant stated that he heard of a. house to let on Monday, and when he went after it he found that he • was the hundredth applicant. In another case the purchaser of a house stated that at present he was, one of thirteen people residing in a five-roomed dwelling. To get away from the orowd, he bought a house, and now could not obtain possession, because the tenant was unable to find other quarters. Another tenant said he had hope of getting a house in which a man was ill- He had been told that if the man died he could have the house. "Has he died?" inquired Mr. M'Kean. "Not yet, sir." was the reply. "There are ten of us in a three-roomed house," remarked witness in another case. One fortunate tenant was not ordered to get out. An owner who sought possession of a dwelling had four children, but defendant raised it. two, with six offspring. He declared he was utterly unable to find another house. Mr. Poynton declined to make any order, and allowed one guinea costs to defendant.,