LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 29, 3 August 1923, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The petition to Parliament of 0. W. atephenson, of Wellington, praying for redress for alleged wrongful dismissal: from the Post and Telegraph Department was reported to the House of Representatives yesterday by the M to Z Committee without recommendation. The petition of Harriet Hussey, of Brooklyn, for a, compassionate allowance in consideration of circumstances affecting her late husband was referred to the Government for favourable consideration.

The only amendment effected by the .Native Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives to the Fisheries Amendment Bill is the deletion of a section of the clause dealing with special oyster fisheries for Maoris. The clause struck out of the Bill provided that no oysters should be taken from any oyster fishery betwegn Ist November and'2Bth February in the following year

" Butter-making is a lost art," said Mr. W. C. Green, chairman of directors of the Rahotu Dairy Company, at the annual meeting on Tuesday, during a discussion as to the best method of enforcing farmers to supply clean milk. He considered, says the " Taranaki Herald," that butter made nowadays was points below that made years ago. Any farmer bringing dirty milk to the factory, he remarked, should be made to drmk it. He had. had his share, as when he had charge of a factory he had to taste it to test its quality.

A Canadian, Mr. R. A. Burrows, who is accustomed to winters when the temperature drops to 30 and 40 degrees below zero, complains of the cold in Auckland. He stated on Tuesday that he had not been warm since he arrived in Auckland a week or two ago (reports the "New Zealand Herald"). He has lived in an overcoat, and has slept in his dressing gown, but still the chill air reaches the marrow. Questioned why he should feel cold in this comparatively warm climate. Mr. Burrows said it was the absence of heating in buildings. lii Western Canada every building was steam heated, a temperature of 60 or 70 degrees being maintained, and when one vent into the open air in winter it was always inside a fur coat and rubbers.

The use of motor-cars as "sitting-out" places during dances is a practice which motorists believe should be discouraged in.Cjtisborne, says the -'Poverty Bay Herald." Last week 0, car was left outside the City Hall while its. owner attended a dance, but he contends that the lights were switched on. When a policeman came along, however, the lights were out, and the owner wag accordingly charged with the offence. Counsel appearing on his behalf alleged the practice, of "sitting-out" on the part of loving couples as the cause of the car owner's trouble. He explained that such a, couple had apparently used the car, but before doing so had of necessity to switch off the inside light, thereby also turning out the headlights. When they left the car, they omitted to;.switch the lights on again., and hence the absence of lights when the policeman came.

"I have not yet had an opportunity of discussing - with the resident engineer the order in which the various sections of the new harbour works will be undertaken," remarked the chairman of the Gisbprne Harbour Board, in reply to a icuiesijou. put jby EV.,.','P.o.verty.:Bay r JJeK Sid' representative. "I think I ought to stress the point that the board should now be given a breathing 'space. I have already been interviewed by men wanting work of one sort or another, and I have had to explain that we cannot plunge into the project immediately. We must first of all complete the surveys and all the details of the preliminary investigations, and while no time will be lost unnecessarily in "instituting general work, we are not going to depart from our policy of care and economy in every department of the big undertaking. We are pushing things along as well as possible." •

An instance of how debts may accumulate was brought to light in the Magistrate's Court at Waitara on Monday in connection with' a judgment ■summons against a Native, states the "Tar'analu Herald." In July, 1922, an order was made against him for a sum of £116s 6d, and the amount not haying been paid, another 'judgment' summons was taken out against him, and on Monday, in connection with the same matter, he was asked to pay £10 Bs' 6d. Conduct money amounting to £3, was included in the dehp, the Magistrate pointing out that that item was nearly double the amount of the original debt, which, if it'had been paid a year ago, would have been the end of the matter. An' onJei- was made for the payment of the debt forthwith a suspension of the warrant being ordered if the debtor paid £5 in one month and the balance m two months from the date of the order.

Arrangements are well in train now for a party of New Zealand-scientists to pay a visit to the Chatham Islands during the University vacation at the end of the year. The expedition is the suggestion of the Otago Institute, with, which the Canterbury - Philosophical Institute will co-operate. 'It is expected that the party, drawn from the two provinces/ will number about sixteen members, covering a wide variety of the fields of science, and that, a month will be occupied by the journey and researches. The; scientific exploration of the Chathams leaves : a great deal to be learned yet. To 'take only one side of it, which might' be expected to be the ' first dealt" with the mere longitude of the islands has never yet■ W fixed decisively (says the Dunedin Star "), arid the waters which surround them are so imperfectly charted that' some" well-known reefs appear in much less than .their true dimensions on charts, while others' are not shown at all. This will be the first concerted effort that has been made for tlie scientific survey of the Chathams Previous efforts, though important in some fields, hav c been no more than individual and spasmodic. : '

Our service has been singled out tor the most unfavourable treatment under the amended sick leave regula tions, comments Mr. H. E: Combs in reporting as secretary to the P. and T Officers' Association. .'.'The regulations are bad enough, but they have been made worse by the rigid literal interpretations placed on them by the De partment. They are supposed to be uniform throughout the Public Service but we find that the Public Service Commissioner is exercising the discretionary powers given him very fairly and even liberally, while the Railway and Education Departments are ignoring them altogether. The same comment largely applies to the alteration of annual leave regulations. Formerly our service had a slight advantage over the general service to compensate for the absence of intermittent holidays, night duty, etc. The small advantage has been taken frora.us, but the other conditions reniain unchanged: The eVecutivfe has been ibid that the decision is thai, of the uniformity committee, and the PostmasterGenera) has added on another occasion ,tbat there seems no way, even for jVlin-iflt-tii'e, to hrtv* wrongs Hgiiiotf 'v,;hero tkia couuuiUep is concerned. 1!

The duty on imported bran and pollard is temporarily suspended. The currency of the Order-in-Council in relation to this matter is to 30th Septem: ber next.

Regulations, published in "The Gazette " provide against admission of grass seed' from tick-infested districts "1 Queensland and New South Wales; and for the treatment of grass seed fiom other portions of those States.

Owing to the Conciliation Commissioner, Mr. W. Newton, haying contacted influenza it was not poaeible for the adjourned sitting of the Conciliation Council in the matter of the hotel workers' dispute to be proceeded with yesterday, and a, tentative fixture has been made for Friday morning next.

Road bridges in the Colyton' district erected half a century ago, when totara was plentiful and the sap discarded, have lately been replaced by concrete. Some of the main timbers, up to 12in by 18in 25ft long were sold and cut into fencing posts. These were sound as a bell, bright in colour, and probably good for another fifty years.

I could not have been very drunk v one policemau could take two of us," protested John Flannagan, when making his fifth appearance for drunkenness within the period before Mr. E. Page, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court to-day. Constable Flannery gave evidence, as to the arrest, and a fine of £2, in default seven days' imprisonment, was Imposed..

An amusing reference to the wellknown supercilious demeanour of the camel wa3 made by Bishop Averill in Ins lecture on Palestine at Auckland. The Mohammedans and Arabs, stated the bishop, were credited with having 99 different names for Allah. It was stated that, the camel knew the hundredth, and that was the cause of his air > ' *

There has just been landed in Gisbprne a shipment of bridge steel, part of an order of HO tons-, for the Public Works Department, for use on the Gis-borne-lSapier railway line in the erection of a bridge. This is a repeat order, the first shipment having been lost in the Wiltshire. With the arrival of this steel, work which has been held up for some months will now be proceeded with.

■Nelson College has probably a unique record in regard to the number of headmasters of secondary schools in New Zealand who are old boys of the 1 college, says an exchange. Following is the list:—Mr. J. Drummond, Auckland Grammar School; Mr. C. T. Major, King's College, Auckland; Mi-. W M* Moyes, New Plymouth Boys' High School; Mr. C. H. Broad, Nelson College; Mr. G. J. Lancaster, Christchurch Boys' High School; Mr. F. H. Milher, Waitaki Boys' High School; Mr. Pearce Southland Boys' High School.

That rent restriction legislation should be made more extensive, as well as being continued, is advocated by John E. Ingram in a letter to the "Post." His principal contention is that definite and severe penalties should be imposed upon landlords who refuse to let houses to respectable people with children. Such a measure, he states, has been proposed by the French Chamber of Deputies. Other suggestions are that rent increases made upon the pretext that the house has been painted or repaired should be disallowed, and the purchase of furniture as a condition of tenancy made illegal.

The Bay of Islands Acclimatisation Society is reported as applying recently »or the removal of kingfishers from the protected list of birds, and a correspondent writes as 'follows from the ;Hokianga district: —"The complaint that the society makes is surely sliort-sighted. With the exception of the broadwoo'd stream, a waterway oi.ly a few feet wide, there are no streams suitable for trout in this locality,'and it, is because this society is embarking on the problematical effort of stocking this stream with try that the application was made—the statement being made that the kingfishers took a toll of the fry. Now' kingfishers are by no means dependent on fish for their food, being largely insect and mouse-catchers. At one' time every post or prominent position had its outlooking kingfisher eagerly' alert for any unsuspecting cricket, but a f the present not one-tenth of the birds remain. Unckets, however, abound, and the writer has observed from four to ten undoubtedly took a heavy toll of the joung herbage which |ias every'evidence of their work."

An endeavour likely to meet wtih the success which it deserves is being made to place the Boy Scouts of Wellington on the best possible footing and to standardise the instruction and work of the various troops. To this end' three old and experienced scoutmasters have re-entered the movement io assist and advise younger men who are relatively new to-the work. Messrs. C O Clark and W. Phillips will rank as district scoutmasters, and Mr. E. Lawsen will be organising secretary, and by means of regular inspections of troops by these officers and scoutmasters' instruction classes it is hoped to bring all troops to that high standard of efficiency which is generally associated with the iioy Scouts. It is also intended to have at the back of every troop a parents' committee of such strength and vigour as will materially assist the scoutmas,ters in what has often been an uphill fight.- , At a well-attended meeting of Island Bay residents recently held the following parents' committee was appointed to foster the local troop:—Mesdames Pidgeon, Suisted, Power, Boocbck, Barnett, Moss, Greie, Lyon, Messrs. "Willis, Odlin. Campbell, Churchill, Hobday, Griffiths', Brooker, and Rev. BJ.athwayjt. This committee will pay an informal call on the Scoiits at their clubroom _ this evening, when the provincial commissioner and" the organising secretary will also be present.

The question of taking steps to prevent a tax being placed on the export of bran knd pollard was raised at the annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union yesterday afternoon. It was explained that "the tax, was off, ajid would'remain off for some time." The remit was withdrawn. At the evening session the sub'js'it was revived, and some discussion • ensued ' between fcb'e members representing grain-growing districts and members from other districts, more especially Auckland. ' Mr.'X "E. Harding said the -Auckland delegates were anxious to bring the' matter to the test. Whenever "an "attempt was made to make foodstuffs dearer he Would, he said, oppose it. It was a question 'whether they were going to stick to the polity of the union or allow' any section of the organisation to clamour for protection of their own particular section of the producing industry. Several speakers urged the Withdrawal of' the remit. It was'stated that if it were' forced to a division it would mean probably splitting the Farmers' Union in two! ' Mi-. J. H.-Joll (Hawkes Bay) moved that the further consideration 'of the subject be postponed till next annual meeting. Mr.' F. S. Bowen (Gisb'orne) remarked that the wheatgrOwers' were in 'no worse position than were the maize-growers of the East Coast in respect to change of pollcv. Several speakers expressed the opinion that those farmers who'were asking for embargoes on 'particular products I were endangering the existence of the union. Other members said the whole trouble had arisen because of the high Iclupping freights from <ho South to the North Island.' 'The proposal to defer the further eoruideration of thn' rfcjnit ioi' itwelve moivihs wan. agreed, .to.

The Arbitration Court will open its sittings in Dunedin on Wednesday, and following the conclusion of business in that town will proceed to other centres in the South Island.

The Postal authorities have received advice from Sydney that the Makura left at noon on the 2nd instant for Auckland. She carries for Wellington 62 bags of mail from Australia and 6 from beyond, which includes East 3.

The result of the ballot for the election of officersof the New Zealand Farmers' Union for the current year was declared last night, the result was: — President, Mr. W. J. Poison; Dominion treasure, Mr. H. A. Nevins; Advisory Committee, North Island, Meßsrs. A. A Boss G. L. Marshall, J. Livingston; oouth Island, Messrs. A. C. Leary, W. W. Mulholland, and J. G Anderson.

Recent appointments by the Wellington Education Board include:—Koro Koro, infant mistress, Miss C. M. ■Rains; Mangatainoka, infant mistress, Bliss V. K. Seymour; Carterton D.H.S., assistant, Miss D. G. Armstrong; Paekakariki, assistant, Miss M. H. Muir; Mt. Cook Boys', assistant, Miss M. E. Kelly; Island Bay, assistant, Miss M. J. Swan. '

At the fortnightly meeting of the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board yesterday the tender of the National Electric Light Company was accepted for insulators to be delivered in November. The chairman advised that the first delivery of poles would also be made in November. The inspector reported that forty-three prospective consumers had already signed applications for current in Eastbourne. Plans for the South Otago Hospital liavs been finally adopted, states a Press Association message from Duhedin. Provision has been made for 42 patients and special accommodation for another 10 or more. The building will be erected oil the pavilion system, and there will also be a nurses' home. It is said that the operating theatre will be one of the most up to date in the Dominion, and ah X-ray plant is provided for.

A committee set up under the Labour Disputes Act sat at Auckland yesterday to consider the dispute between the City Council and tramway officers, states a Press Association message. As a section of the members of the association objected to the proceedings, and desired to withdraw from the association in order to form a new body for traffic members only, the proceedings were adjourned to ascertain the actual position of these objectors;

For quite a long time the cjerks at the Ghristchurch. Magistrate's Court have been engaged in the laborious task of preparing 350 summonses for serving on those citizens who have failed to ,pay their rates, states the "Sun." However, there it is; 350 pieces of blue paper ale in the process of distribution; no small job itself. The. total costs represented by all the summonses will be £183 17s 6d alone. This number of summonses is an easy record for Ghristctiurch. The total rates payable were £235,984 4s Bd. Of that amlouht £3414 was outstanding at 31st July.

A tribute to the good work being done by the High Coihmissioner (Sir James Allen) was paid by Mr. J. R. Cruickshank when addressing the council of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerca on Tuesday^ states the " Herald." He had kept in dose touch with the High Commissioner's office 'While in England, and, though he felt that much better service could be given to the Dominion, he was of the opinion that with the material at his disposal Sir James Allen was doing very good work indeed. Mr. Cruickshank specially mentioned the courtesy and efficiency of the staff.

Opossum-trappers in' 'the" Weilmgtori district will be gratified to learn thit tiie season, which' expires on litli August, has been extended for a fortnight beyond that date. For' 1923 a season'of six weeks was arranged, as against one month in the previous year, and record catches were anticipated. In. the bush districts, however, July has proved a phenomenally wet month, interfering* to such an extent with trapping that many of the trappers did not anticipate clearing bare expenses. As a result, petitions were lodged by the men, praying for an extension of the season, aiid, a3 indicated, this lias now b?eh granted. It is estimated that at the start of the season over 230 trappers were out. • • '

A number of remits dealing \yith finance and taxation were considered at the conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union yesterday aftefnooij. ' A" remit was adopted urging "that' moneys lent on mortgage be taxed in future at the same rate as moneys lent J,o local bodies. 1' It was also agreed "that the present system of levying company income tax is inequitable and requires adjustment in the direction of making income tax payable by shareholders and not by companies." The following remit' from mid-Canterbury was also carried: "■That the time has arrived wlren considerable reduction in the direct taxation of land should be made, first, by" the entire removal of the super tax, and, secondly, by a considerable reduction of the graduated tax on farm lands."

A suggestion was made in Christchurch on Wednesday by Mr. H. C: Cameron, who' Has returned to Ne^iii Zealand after spending many'years' in England, that arrangements' should' be made with the' Shaw,' Savin,"' aiid Albion Company and the ISew Zeakrid 'Shipping Company; which provide'regular direct lines to London, for fheir • Vessels to discharge New Zealand cargo at Southampton as well as"'setting' down passenger'g there, tn order to secure trade "witt the Wes.t Coast of' England ancf the JlidJands. He said that it was necessary to have a regular" and speedy service to those parts; not an intermittent one. as ?p- " F^l^ " *?&***' «ie '""Lytfclt&i limes. Southampton Was ihe only Pm P «*f J?fk -°* Wtf: <?f Engird not affected by tides. Hie Southampton docks-were owriW by the Xo:iidon' aiid bouth-West«rn Railway Company, and Railway hnes ran alongside the steamers 1 sides There were' cool stores. A cargo f nrwi e }P*t Cb¥* arid ih* Midlands could be discharged at Southampton 'and delivered before the steamer reached -London. ' ■ " '■ ' '' '

Three times -in the last twelve months have our friend? in the itiail .vans escaped death by narrow margins mishaps to ' th 4 MainTrunk express, states the^report of the secretary, Mr. H E. Combs/ of the P. and T. -Officers' Association. ""On each occasion repvesentatidns 'have' been made to Tiave the position or the "van changed to the rear of the train;' -Tlie last "occasion is so recent that it Mb too early yet to speak'of results, 'but as v?e M m?, 11 m°?t concerned know only too well, the first two "efforte were failure^. L 1?-^? '?k?? a cata.strpphe to change official decisions: This was -the case with our tramcars; Several cpriductors lost their lives or were badly injured before footboard collection of fares was done away with. Expense must take second place to human safety. It'is hoped that, as one result of the recent sad accident, general measures for the greater safetj* of passengers on the Main Trunk' will bo introduced, and, as another, that the mail van will be placed at the rear of the train', where if is ' most: convenient to "work, and ho longer apis as the buffer to a'ldng and heavy train:" '