LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 63, 17 March 1922, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postal authorities ha'va received advice that mails which left Wellington on the 7th February per R.M.S. Tahiti, via Sari Francisco, arrived in London on the 15th instant. ,

. A warning is given the public that live shell practice (field guns) will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. to-morrow from the Fort Dorset reserve,^Seatoun. The targets will be situated on the land on the,far side of the harbour, one mile and a half south of where the Goilan's Valley-road leaves the coast line.

City reserves are to be,closed for summer sports as from the Ist April. They will be reopened for winter snorts on the 29th of that month.

Touching on railway-,- matters in his speech at Fairliej the Prime Minister acknowledged that there was much room for improvement. He admitted that freights were too high, but said that money had to be secured. He hoped to make reductions in the next few months arid improve the working system.

"The committee has to report that an information was laid against the Wellington Milk Vendors' Association for short delivery of milk to certain residents of the city, and that the company, in or<ser to avoid publicity in the matter, has paid the amount and coets into the Court by way of satisfaction." —A clause in the report of the Milk Committee pr& canted to the City Council last night,

One of the arts taught boys at the Boys' Institute—and a remarkably fine art to th>e person who tackles it for the first time—is boot repairing. > Some of th© boyo, under the guidance of an oldboy, Mr. W. Coronno, have become highly proficient. The boys are taoight to do as much for themselves as possible, and thrift is further encouraged by the institute savings ,-bank, where the old proverb of keeping an eye on the pence is put into actual practice. '

Consideration has been given by ttio City Council to a new bylaw altering licensa and, other feess for vehicles and drivero. Bast- night thei Byla.ws_ Committee reported thai it had 1 met a' deputation from the Master Carriers' Association, and, in view of the possible heavy charges- to be imposed by the Government by motor-tire tax and annual tax, and the effect of the increases suggested in the bylaws coming into force during the present depressed condition of the carrying trade, the committee recommended that the council should not at present bring into force such bylaw, but that the matter be postponed until the next year. This- recommendation was agreed to. ■ '

Additional rules under the Divorce mid Matrimonial Causes Act h.ive been made by the Judges of the Supreme Court, and are ?nnounced in the Gazette. They provide, among other things, that the petitioner nhall Rive to the respondent not less than 21 days' notice in writing of the motion to mako the decree nisi absolute. If. the respondent hnVnot entered an appeiirance in the cause, and it is impossible or difficult to effect service of the notice on the respondent personally, the petitioner shall apply to the Court or c. ,Tud<;c in Chambers for directions an to Gervice. If the respondent intends lo 0;>p033 the making of the decree nisi absolute, he or she chull f;ive to the petitioner 'at ie:-:.<-i ten clear dayo' notice in writing of auch intention, and shall state in such notics the grounds of opposition ard iiiiall ftivg therein iull particulars of the alleßed wrongful cvcta or conduct .on tl?s part of the petitioner on which the respondent relies.

Application is to be made, to the City Tramways Renewal Fund Commissioners for a refund of the expenditure incurred in connection with the track renewals since 31st March last. I According to 4 the Auckknd Herald, Miss Pauline Hoeft, when she broke the world's record for 220 yards at Auckland on Wednesday night, was accompanied over the journey by L. L. Kronfeld. A doubt therefore arises as to whether the record will be recognised.

Intimation was conveyed to the City Council by the Tramways Committee last night that the request of the Wellington Tramway Employees' Union for the erection of conveniences iii. the vicinity of the Kilbirnie Post 'Office will be given favourable consideration as soon ac the land required for the purpose can ba obtained.

The finding of Mr. 'F. K. Hunt, S.M., at the Inquest into the circumstances of the death of Leonard Frost at Lower Hutt on the 15th insi., was that the child was accidentally killed by a motorcar, no blame being attachable to anyone. Tlie father of the : child R avo evidence that the driver of the car wns most careful, and that the occurrence could not have been avoided..

The housing operations of the City Council hf.ve.come to an end. Finishing touches to the work were given by the council last night, when the • Housing Committee recommended that as the work at tho Northland housing block was practically completed, .all surplus timber be advertised for public sale: and that the vacant sections at the block be advertised for sale, at the upset prices fixed by the City Valuer. The recommendations were adopted. The manner in which a man may got tied up financially in bad times was illustrated at the Auckland Magistrate's Court 'recently. A witness was asked,," "How ranch -money have you now?" and replied, "About one shilling." ~Yet, in the course of examination by counsel, it was shown that the debtor had mortgages on land from which ho was getting practically no -return. In one case, the best offer he had received for- a mortgage of £2000 was only £500. The property had been thrown on his hands. As, there was n sub-mortgage for J3SOQ, the offer simply meant no .would lose all his money, but at present he was getting £20 a year for grazing rights.

Finance is a matter over which City Councillors keep a watchful eye nowadays, an<Tthey~ are not disposed to make many grants or concessions which would entail loss of revenue. Recently,' th» Terrace School authorities asked for the free use of the Concert Chamber for a concert in aid of the school grounds, and the, Northland School Committee sought a subsidy'in connection with' ths formation of school grounds. At last night's meeting of , the council, the Finance Committee recommended that the requests should not be granted.

- Accommodation for boys is provided' at the Boys' Institute, says the director in his annual report, for a small fee of from 10s upwards, preference being given to the sons of. fallen soldiers, orphans, and boys from the country, who come to town as apprentices, and who are earning small salaries. The coat of maintenance has be-en' heavy during tno past year, owing to tKe higher cost of commodities, and the director' expresses his thanks to the Ladies Auxiliary Committee and the Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen's Association, for valuable help given during the year.

Mr. D. Menzies, a. member of the City Council, of Perth.. Western yAustralia, was a ; guest at last'night's meeting of the Wellington City Council. In replying to the Mayor's welcome, Mr. Menzies said that having seen some of the wonders of New Zealand', he was surprised that: the country was not flooded with visitors.. He expressed himself much impressed with the-milk-station.. He quite expected that the Perth ■ Coun-' cil, which had been much interested in information obtained from Councillor W. H. Bennett, would follow on the lines adopted in Wellington.

At a general meeting of sawmillers held in* Taumarunui yesterday, convened by the Main.Trunk Timber Trade Protection. Guild, over fifty executive representatives of mills between Thames, Botorua, and Hunterville were present. Mattel's of importance- to\ the industry and the general community were con. sidered. The main difficulty facing the industry is the dearth of orders and slackness of trade. After discussion a motion was adopted to reduce the hours of work by closing down on Saturdays,. If the slump continues a. further reduction of working hours may be necessary. This measure was adopted as being less likely to cause.hardship t*ian closing the mills down. Should any appreciable reduction in production costs be attained by the contemplated reduction in wages,' the benefit will be given immediately to '■the consumev by reduced prices.

The Te Aro Advancement Association approached the City Council a little while ago with a . that conveniences and a rest room should be established 'in upper Cuba-street. This request has been.considered by the Finance Committee, which intimated to the council at the meeting last night its regret that it could not recommend the council to accede to the proposal at the present -time. Councillor Fraser last night protested against the delay in providing conveniences which were urgently needed! The Mayor (Mr. E, A. Wright) said he regretted that owing to financial pressure, it had been impossible to carry out the work. He wished to say this, however, to all the ratepayers' associations, that' the council would do anything they wished if they got together and adopted resolutions that the rates should be raised. If it were only one part of the city that wanted something they might rob Peter to pay Paul; but all parts wanted something, and there was no one to rob. He ventured to say not one association would,, advocate raising the rates..

Appreciative reference is made in the annual report of the Wellington Boys' Institute to the-work done by the late Hon. J. 6. W. Aitken in all matters connected with the institute. There-were 'few institutions in Wellington, states th» report, -in which Mr, Aitken had not at some time or other played some part. In the original Boys' Institute, situated: on. the reclaimed land near to where the tram power-house now, stands, Mr. Aitken was an outstanding figure, being president up to the time that tii« building was t taken over by the City Council for storing tramway material, after which the work of the old institute was closed down, and the present Boys' Institute came into being. Mr. Aitken' v«ll ever b9 remembered as.', a friend of j«»re. There must be many men in Wellington, at the present time who look back with gratitude to' his timely help. The committee also refers to the passing away of Mr. William Allan, fenother old institute worker, who was intimately associated with.the late Mr. J. G. W. Aitken in the work of the institute in its early, days. Mr.- Robert Pearson, who recently died in-Auckland, was a staunch supporter of the institute, and, was a member of the committee at the time of his death. For many yearn he gave the institute financial assistance, and. was to the fore whenever any practical support was required. The institute, as a token of the high respect in -which it held him, sent a representative to his funeral at "Auckland-.

City Fathers sometimes make mistakes. Speaking at last night's meeting of the City Council, the Mayor (Mr. R, A. Wright, M.P.), referred to the action ot p.- former, council which sold ahorse- for £10, and -afterwards- bought the sums animal back for £-20!

Subject' to. complying with the usual conditions, the Centra! Mission Silver Band has been included in the list of bands subsidised by the City Council. •

Under the Customs Act the 'Minister has powecrto impose special duties upon goods coming from countries having depreciated currencies. A notice in this week's Gazette prescribes the form to b* used in making application on. behalf of a Now Zealand industry for tlie application of this provision. :

Application is to be made by the City Council for the exemption of Hollo-way-road from the' provisions of section 117 of the Public Works' Act, 1908, and the suggestion is to be made that a condition be imposed that buildings, where the configuration of the land permits, be set back 25 feet from the centre line of the street. . . ...

The question of providing a sanitary service' fox Onslow is under consideration by the „Works Committee of the City Council, and a.' definite recommendation on the matter will be placed before the council at its next meeting. . . ,

' A Chinaman . named King Fun appeared before Mr. F. K. Hunt, 5.M.,. ai the Magistrate's Court to-day to answer a, charge of having been found in possession of opium in a form suitable for smoking. On the application of Mr. ,E.. Q. Jellicoe, ivho appeared for the accused, Fun was remanded until Monday. Bail was fixed at £50.

Revocation of the order prohibiting the importation of fruit pulp p.nd >-jam of Australian manufacture is announced in the Gazette. This prohibition was imposed at a time when the Australian jam manufacturer!! were suspected of "dumping" to the detriment ot the New Zealend industry. The prohibition of the export of wheatmeal, flour, bran, and pollard frora New Zealand has also been revoked. - "^ , >

Specia.l provisions, in the building by■ Irvws permit the erection in Waterlooquay of ateel frame buildings covered with painted galvanised iron.' These provisions are to be extended also to that portion of Te Aro reclamation.; along Cable-strest. ' ■

The organise-.' of the i New Zealand Forestry League reported at the last meeting of the League Executive -that a. number ..of citizens interested in forestry had, asked that c, Wellington branch.of the league be formed. The territory embraced., by such a branch would include moat of the Wellington province, excepting only those centres where the residents might wish to set-up their own committee. The organiser was .authorised to call a meeting at 8 p.m. on, Thursday next in the Farmers' Institute building. . : -.■•..'

"This is another, of those -cases:'in which young mothers have got into a very bad habit of taking their children to bed with them," commented Mr. F. K. Hunt,'S.M., at the inquest yesterday afternoon regarding the death of a young child, Patrick Colbert, five weeks old, who was found dead in bed on Wednesday morning. The finding of the Coroner was that death was due to suffocation. Evidence given : by. tfie mother \went to show that the child was put to bed at 6 o.'clock on Tuesday night, witness retiring herself about 9.30 o'clock. The following morning she found that the boy was dead. ,

A medical welfare depavtment'has been established in connection with the Boys' Institute, and the director (Mr. J. W. Butler) believes this to be an importan:. step towards insuring {.he boya of the club good health. Dr. Harrison Horrax is the attending physician, and, carefully scrutinises. eactr child, and ■any.;'d«fect« are recorded. Tlie height, weight, and 'ches!>'measurements are also taken, after which the children are'handed over to ■a physical; culture 'expert; v wjio gives . calculated°to /ensure, health. In the niedical examination, ailments have been disclosed which neither the childi'en nor,their parente knew they possessed. In all cases the'parents have shown a willingness to co-operate with the officials.. At present the correc-tive-class numbers thirty-eight' girls and boys, this wtrk not being confingi to the latter only.v It, is hoped to secure the cooperation of the Health Department and the Education Board, and thus follow up the excellent work being done in Eho schools by the doctors and nurses.

, The question of taxation find its effect on the farmer was brought up at a recent meeting of the provincial executive of the Auckland Farmers' Union. Mr. L. M'Alpine said that the position of the farmer in respect to the renewalof mortgages at present held up by the moratorium was very serious. All the money in the country was being absorbed by the commercial people, and when mortgages on land became due there would be no money available for renewal. The manner in which companies w*re taxed Was ascribed by Mr, F. Colbeck as the great trouble in, thel matter. A company, in order to realise 6 per cent, net on mortgage money had to ...charge 12 per cent. If'the Government would forego the tax on money lent on land there would be a flood of money available for removal of mortgages on broad acres. He suggested that the Government be approached with a view to getting the income tax on mortgage money remitted. It was d-ecided that a remit on the subject be framed for discussion at the next provincial conference of the> union.

When the commercial part of the business in connection with the signing of articles for the race for the sculling championship of the world had been transacted at Wanganui yesterday, Hadfield and Paddon went for a row, the latter being accompanied by his pacemakers. Larsen and Casey. The champion did the full course on his own. The challenger also went over the full course, towing at about 22 to the minute. Therei' is no doubt (states a, Press Association message) that the styles of the men are; entirely different, and the contrast was very noticeable to those who saw them .in: action. Paddon is putting more ginger into his work, and it is quite evident that he is steadily recovering from his recent indisposition. The improvement during the past few days is most marked, ond if he continues to make the same progress Paddon is going to make the race a clinker. : Hadfield, who never looked better or rowed better than he did yesterday, is to have his pacer co-operating with him next week. Mr. W. Webb, of Wanganui, ex-champion sculler of the world, has been appointed referee, and Messrs. W. H. Cooper, W. H. Swanget, and A. S. 0. * Anderson judges. The, referee has been given power to warn -either of the scullers by means of a megaphone of any impending danger arising from overhanging trees. floating timber, or from any cause whatever likely to prejudice tie chances of either man. , . '\ A request by the Wellington Antemobile Club that the speed- limit throiifrh Kaiwarra /should be increased from 12 to IS miles' per hour has bean declined by the City Council.