LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 49, 26 August 1922, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

■ A' rumour ; luw been cirealsted that there will be a serious shortage of wooT packs and corn sacks in New Zealand this year. Replying tS Mr.-'A. D. M'Leod in the House of Representative* lyester-: day, the Minister.' of Agriculture promised to have full inquiries made on the point.4 He said he would also inquire into the prices that were to be charged, 'and make a statement to'the House at a later, date. . , ' , , Among the applications for assistance from the War Belief, Association prior to the monthly, meeting of the executive yesterday were some made by discharged soldiers engaged in agricultural, indusi trial, and commercial pursuits. Apart from comparatively small grants awarded to those who were suffering war disability, the Applications Committee supplied \ tools of trade to men who could not have repaid^the cost had it been advanced as a loan by the Repatriation Department, and rendered" assistance in other directions. . A considerable; number of grants was awarded to un«mplpyed> disabled soldiers pending their re-eriiployment, or as part restoration of temporarily reduce!! civil earnings rusultant upon physical impairment, to mcii who were discharged fit and had subsequently suffered* a war disability, stated a report of the Applications Committee to the executive of the : Wellington War Relief Association yesterday afternoon. In both types' of application the aasistanße was supplementary to, or in\ anticipation.of, ~ pay-1 ment oi war pensions. - '

Govtrnmant grading, of' d«iry produce for export, up till recent ye»r» performed free in the interests of producers, bai ; ; now to be paid for. The charges'htve ;? v', been increased from H\to I.OSd per : : box of butter, 'and for cheese from ■?;;■• 1 l-3d t01.40d per box. •.>- ;' :[ : i "Some people love ■. and admire any i other 'country bmV their own;' they have ; ■„• a 'twist,' :" said the Hon. C. J.< Parr, , :' addressing the pupils of the Miramar ■; School yesterday afternoon.: • He himself :•.- tl had been three times round the. world, .; but he still thought there was no other ■•: country as; good as .New Zealand.: ; . _ ;Ifc. was reported at last night's m^et- ;.'• .' ing of the Eastbourne Borough Council that a garage in the borough had been converted into a-dwelling. The building: was unsuitable and th» arer not sufficient under the- bylaws. It was decided to take legal action to prevent .. continued use of the building for dwel- ' ling purposes.. ;'/ ' ■•' '.'. :•'■'■''■ '7 ': \ ■'■'': •■ "■ -. ■:"- ■■-. A;question'.as to whether th« borouglr ■'• engineer had his.report upon the roading policy ready \was asked by a councillor at a. recent "meeting- of the, Gisborce . Borough Council (report* the "Poverty „ ]■'■ B.ay Herald.'')' ."1 am getting, infonna- ; -;-' tion together," replied the engineer. -. "If ': you desire ,a: lead, 1 niay, -say''"ihat I ;' shall ' certainly: recommend ■ concrete ,' ■ roads," he-added. i.. . V: ' "I know nothing about the mechanical ■' aspects of the tramway" service," said a '.' Gisbprne resident to a "Poverty Bay .: HerAld". representative' recently, .but IV have been making, observationV of the C cars Jately,: and it; seems . to '■ ime that some means "of encouraging ,traffic 're- '■■ quires to.• be devised,.quite independent j of the system. At what ought to: have been, fairly busy'periods ,th», trains were almost'empty. The morning;, tram, fo>. instance, that would be full: in: other ! towns, only, contained one or two 'pfoeengers." .-:;,.. V-.;.' ' y\../;-.. ■:.:-;-.i;[. .■ ■-.•••■■•■. Praise for the Miraaur) School Com- 1 mittee as a working organisation -was J given by "th« Minuter" of :■ :• Education i S (Hon. C.^Parr)VwKenVhe unfurled the school ensign yesterday;afternoon. Mr. 4 R.M'Keen, chairman of the.Miramar .. School Committee,; explained to the Min> (] ister that,the residents'of Miramar had considered the school, which had only , i been opened a*few months, incomplete;. = without a fl^g-staff,''a and- consequently )■ they hid, set to work 'and erected .one. ,; In reply, i\lr! Pair congratulated the' school-comraittee 6n-the work.it was do; ! ing. It was a committee, he said, ''af. ter .his own heart" ; ";one .. that would ■■■: tak« up its load, jroll upits sleeyesj; and get to,work. .H« would like to'see that kind :of committee everywhere in New :, Zealand. Thel members of the Miramar ; committee were an example. '■ .--...!;.-,.• TJere is a pwiaibiHty of a cr»w of Australian oarsmen visiting; New Zealand this season. Speaking at the '.annual • meeting of the Star Boating' Club last - evening, Mr. A\D. Bayfeild,.h6n. aecre- ' tary of the New Zealand Rowing A»- , soci«tioh, said that..aii■ invitation hid ; been extended to Anairaliaa oarimen to compete at New Zealand reg»tt»* for; y itfcle past. two.BM«ons, and it w«s proL-' ■ ':• able that the. invitetion wouW ;be.r«-;

peated this aeason. The Wanganui Ac-: ■ aociation had guaranteed an Australian crew £50 to come to New Zealand, bit the offer had not be«n accepted- The difficulty which had existed aome ttir» ■-. previously over the definition of the Aiis- "!: tralian amateur status as-compared'with the New Zealand definition had' now. been settled, and he could see no difficulties in that direction preventing the proposed, visit. It ws* unanimously tesolved that the Wellington Bowing Asociation should? urge1 the,N«w; Zealand " Rowing Association to make every cV fort towards bringing Tan Australian crew of oarsmen to compete in New Zealand this season. . '

A letter from the Poatraaster-Generrl was rapeived by fte Baatboarne Borougi* CoimoU lait wening to the eflect that owing to financial stringency the Department was unable to construct the . proposed new poet office building at. ' Rona Bay. The matter would be proceeded with when the present difficulties had been overcome. The Mayor (Mr. > F. H. Mather) expressed- the opinion that the exutiag facilities were qnit» ■ inadequate to deal with the . bosinees, ' And the postmaster's residence wae in a very dilapidated condition. The Premier had written to him stating that a • police station would be erected at Rona Bay, and he' believed tender*" had bedi called, but nothing definite had so far, been done. Councillors exprseeed , the' opinion that the policy of the Government was short-Hghted, as it was at : present paying rent' which amounted to .'',;■'. the: interest on a.' considerable sum of money. It was suggested that a peti- ) tion in regard to the matter should be circulated and presented to the Government. Increased Government facilities in the borough were long overdue. ;. j ■ ..:.

Up till the present time, said the. Hon.) ■ 6. M. Thomson, M.L.C., while address- - ing members of the Philosophical Soewty '■, on the subject of ''I*e.Wealth.ef.the] Sea," the /people^ of New Zealand'had - >- devoted all their time to the develop- 0-;' raent of, the land, to the alinoet total neglect of the aea. In 1920' the value of the fish taken from waters'round New Zealand: was £386,000. In that same year £200,000 worth of fish. was imported. New Zealand could not claim, there- ' \ fore, that she! was a fi«h-«»ting country, as her annual expenditure repre- :•/ sented approximately 6s 8d per head of ): ;.!' the population. The lecturer said it ,: wis a fallacy that any locality of large • area could be fished out altogether, „■;. though Vo doubt it could be for -a time. What was largely' responsible ffor; the ,-.■ scarcity: in certain areas was the thrown '.'■;■. ing,, overboard of ashes; refuse, .etc., fltun pissing "Vpff, m^ +-h* nf :-- :- soil obtained in dredging, all these things being calculated to destroy' millions of the smaller organisms which/were the food of larger fish. In Europe the fish-1 '..'. cry industries were regarded as 10 important and so essential to life that in- '■;,., ternationaJ boards had' been constituted to inquire into all problems of fishing, and consider means of developing the industry still > more inteMively.Mr., Thomson instanced .ways in whioh the fish round these shores could be utilised ■ other than simply v food^-Mch Mthe; feeding of stock, fertilising purposes, the extraction of oil. There wae no reason whatever why this country should not export fish in large quantities. ,