LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 49, 27 August 1923, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

. Th's anrlual conference of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of &ew island .is to be held in Auckland on 21st and 22nd November. , About forty delegates are expected, to ajtend. The Governo:r-Genefal, Lord Jeliiooe, is to be invited for the occasion, while it is alsp hoped to. have the presence of several Ministers of the' Cft>wn'.

In its report on the", proposed Apprentices Bill, the committee of employers and employees states:" "The training in JJnS primary schools shriiild'' not be sucft as .to. give to, the able child a bias in' the direction of academic studies and the learned professions of commerce, as opposed to industrial or agricultural occupations. . . lii, order to insure so far as possible that boys are placed in callings, suitable., to their, capacity, and which afford good prospects of future employment, and that boys ar« placed with employers who have facilities to teach, it ■is desirable .that all proposed .apprentices, should be registered;, ivii if' it is that either the boy or the'employer is unable, or not fitted, to cari'y. out the obligations' entailed, or,that future etnploymentjn the industry is not likely to be readily obtainable,- gome tribunal should be empowered to disapprove, of the .proposed contract. The prdposd Bill places' this" duty on the Court of Arbitration."

"The.way that emigrants from' the \Old Country are being, dumped into, thiis country is not a credit to the" Dominion," asid Mr. B. D. D. M'Lea'n r in aih address on Empire migration at the afinual meeting of ,the Napier Chamber' of Commerce. ; " The class of people we want are those who have capital, : and who can assist, in the deVelopment of our resources," continued Mr. jM'Lean: "The greatest care should be taken in the selection of people to come, out here. If the Government' continues to bring people from the towns instead of-tRe country, then it will end in disaster. It is not quantity but quality that . *«' want. We can see what has" happened in Australia. lii New South Wales and Victoria the town population is out of all proportion to the rural population."

The Auckland- Astronomical Society has written to the Auckland City Council in connection with the erection of the University College, telescope,- for which a site in the Domain has been' lent, stating, tjhat the-estimated expense of the erection is £300. In view of the urgency of the work,, to, enable visibility tests" to be made, the society haa asked whether tfie,council could give it material assistance iii carrying it out The coahcil decided td reply that dntil further cpmmuhicatiidns had beeii received from the Yale a.iit'horities" no action in this matter could be taken': '

',Nd, little old New Zealand'is dui'4 good enough for, me; I have no .Adsiid f?u--\^ Aril^ri^'' said a,prominent Chnstchurch business man who came b?^.>rhyv the Niagara to.an Auckland pressman, after a lengthy sojourn iii the" land of the free and the dry. He admitted that. the United States was a great country, but as a place of residence for anyone brought up in a place like New Zealand^-" no siree !" There> was, something repugnant about the Whole tone of life in the States that jarred on anyone of British instincts. Hard, to;,,explain;, perhaps, -. But it was there, nevertheless. "Gyaft," "graft," .' graft," was the burden of the song all tH 6 time.: T,.h 6 'whole.styJe^of Government, and living seemed to b^ founded oh "graft." No^ one brought up in a straightforward British country could live iii the atmosphere. £ friend' of the interviewee, a New Zealander; went over and .tried to put on the market a certain' commodity for whicE there was a great demand, arid, after making- all; preliminary arrangements, he: set about putting it on the market. At. every .turn he was met by a demand far " backsheesh " (they call it' by other. rianieV. of course),.and at last he" got so f^ull up pf the " graft".. methoH' of doing". Business that ..he the" .lot bf .them to utter perdition, and, : ,packing up hia traps, and his .goods,. he made speedy, tracks,for, London, where, he, oould get a good," honest British square deal.

A proposal for .the....holding- 61 ■ a "Health Week ".in Auckland has been rejected by the City Council. A cdmmunication.was received from the Health Week Committee of the Royal Sanitary Institute, London, giving particulars of a "Health Week" to.be held there in October, and, asking the council ,to consider the matter, with a .view to step's being talcen to form, a ..coniihittee to' promote a similar campaign in this city. TKe letter was formally received: The Mayor . (reports, the. " Herald ") .. (aid there Was no.occasion for such' a special effort in Auckland. The work of tlie sanitary inspectors' department was con-" Hnuoa*, 6M he»lOi eenditisns were quits sitif.ftebjry. -

At the Wariganui churches yesterday morning resolutions were passed supporting the Bible-in-Schools Bill" now before Parliament- and urging ite passage.—Press Association.

The' Wellington Zoo hag been further enriched by the addition of one p'ajc 6f peccaries, whioh arrived las.t Friday. The peccaries were under offer to the City Council, and it had been decided hot to purchase them, but th:e Zoological Society s offer to subscribe £15 towards the cost secured these rare animals. '

" Nowadays ".people seem to choose their food to. please the eye father than for the requirements of the body," said Mr. T. fiunter, Director of Dental (Hygiene, in an address to pa rents a* ChrJßtchufch. "As an instance, you'll notice they pi'efet a white loaf to real bread."

, The Auckland Zoo is to' become the home _of an aged tor'boifie, the City Council having accepted an offer from Dr. A. Campbell Smith to donate one to the' citizens probably over 150 years old, and measuring 2 feet-in length and in breadth.

Mr. Tom Buxton, lecturer and organiser for the New Zealand Fdrstaers". Union, has been payings visit to the Manawatu district, with the result that there is Stated to' be ■ri noticeable revival of interest by primary producers; in matters pertaining to shipping, banking,; etc. A large number' df new members bis been enrolled, states a Press Assdciatidir message, and interest has Been.aWaKeae'd", largely owing to.the rtsuHs of efforts' made by the New" Zealand. Farniefs' Uiiiott during the last years'," and particularly to the aiHelidfatinf legislation passed by the - Govefnmelnt to' assist the man oh the fend. .■

.iThe advanced, scheme, of medical bene-* fit that, was adopted tWo or three year's ago by the Southern Cioss Lodge, 1.0.0. F., under which .member of the ledge who' r.e^ires.ine'dicUl attrition, is enabled to call, in the..services of'sky practitioner in the Domuiidri, cofttiiiues to give the, utmost satisfaejtioli, both; to the members of the lodge and to the medical prpf'?ssi6n,. ivhUe , its financial basis is proving adequate to meet all requirements. The latest, development of the -Blatter is that the other lodges of the Order in Wellington are combining to institute a,similar-system o£ medical service, the funds of which will be controlled by the district lodge; This plan is' to conic into operation" oh Ist Janiiary next.

¥6r having keen found in possession of opium, in a forni suitable for smoking, a' Mddle'-aged Chinaman named Chow Dick" appeared before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., .at the Magistrates-Court to-day. Detectives Jphnsori and' Ambrose described the; finding of the ojjiuiii, and smok-' irig paraphernalia; on the premise's of the a'coused at 28, HaiHing street last evening. Miv P. Jackson, on behalf ,6f the accused,- ; raised the' defence^ that the bpiurti, itself had been used, as an' .ointment for a bad foot, from which Dick was' suffering, while he was in the habit, .of smoking ordinary, ; tobaccq in. the pipe. "It would take hire all' his time .lighting', .matches/ commented . the Magistrate. , "Fined £2§,in default three months' imprisonment."

, Vague ideas regarding the whereabouts of New Zealand appear to' Be possessed by some firms in America. At a meeting of the.Council of the' Auckland .Chamber .of Cominercej a corw spondeht stated he' had' received a letter from America, addressed to,-» Auckland, New Zealand, England". .; He thought there was insufficient publicity of the Dominion in . America. The secretary of the council said he haof received a letter addressed to New Zealand, _ Australia,''afnd''another \to New 'Zealand, Western Australia. : A member: said he' had two letters addressed Auckland, New Zealand, Alaska. : ;

Thiß New Zealand Dairy" Company, Waik'ato', says the Tar'ariak'i " Daily; News," is giving a lead to the rest'of New Zealand' in' the" matter of scientific reßasrch~ ji. .coiinectidn with, dairy j/o-1 ducts It has not waited for the Governniett to step in,- ""but of its own accord has" established a" la rborat'dry where i'nvc-.stigatidn. is made" jvithi}view to getting more ofat'jjf the materiai supplied to the factories' and utilising the by-products to; tfie' best advantage. It is hot the slightest uke' looking to' the Government to establish' and'" conduct' a' Bcieri.t|fic dairy scli'obi' in Taraliiid&i. Xlia'6 would be only to irpiiUi failure. Tar'auald should take a leaf .outJ of Waikat'o'e book and establish its own ins'titu'tibn. The ohly 'ifay to retain pur: positidii oh the Home markets against compete tioii that niiist be expected! to' become' increasingly keen is not only by maititaining, but'improving the quality of oiir 1 products. It,.is essential,-however,. to. build on. a strong and sound basis. And we suggest. that Taranaki ; could, well follow ; WaikaW in providing 1 facilities, for the scientific investigation of all matters' peijtainiirg' to" the d&ir'jr iMus-: try arid the training arid equipment' of those .responsible for the manufacture ofthe products'.

A~ party of Dunedin visitors -which' Has just returned, ten. Mt, .Cook ..states that the time spfmt .amongst the snow and mountains was most' delightful. At the Hermitage ipbfts'.of all. Kinds'- were in full aiving. Ski-ing, was the main attraction outside, the snow being in excellent form d'aijy for this sport. Thj? spe'c'taicle" of forty ydiing' p e'qmppeff ii' breeches, _ jerseys, r .and puttees' ailing, ani. the pai'ticina^ifen ofthpir; jollity when' they tumbled were most exhilarating: ...Tobogganing,.. snowballing, and. enow-walks also occupied the time of visitors out of doors, the depth' tif snow—-fully ip inches deep .round the Hermitage—preventing climßirig' of any consequence bepng attempted. Time passed rapidly,..inside,.with jazzing and games of all kinds in the large lounge room, whichis also equipped with a fine billiard table. The" guests at the Hermitage .numbered, about 70,..fr0m various", parts of .No*. Zealand and outside, states the "Otago Daily Times." The time spent thei-e was simply one whirl of gaiety and sport. The resort is a great.asset, to New Zealand, and, in .the. opinion of English 1 tourists', compares more than with' any similar winter resort in the world. , ■

■ ■-. The offer of a gift to Auckland city ot x an area of fifty acres' of 'native bush ,at Te Whareo-rangi, 1 Waitafcere, by Mr. Wesley Spragg, was.announced, by the Mayor; at. a meeting <if the Auckland City Council., arid the council gratefully accepted th;e offer. The area, BtatediMr. Gunson, in. apprising. the council of. the' offer, comprises some of the, best ma-, tufe'kauri..and tptjira trees now. standing on. the Waitakeres, and generally .the bush is very ettractive. It cdmmanijs a, view, from one. of the highest pointy of the ranges, of both the east and the west coast, has a good frontage to a pubjio road, and is accessiblei by a har:d road, from, c city; from'which it. is, about eighteen, niiles. distant., Mr, Gurisdn'.i';?:, called that a few years ago Mr. ■ Spragg gave to the city an area of 76l acre^ on the shores of Manukau Harbour, known siS:Kaiterakei Psi-k', in memory of "all the boys." ."The. gift;" stated Mr. Guhson,' in acquhiriting the council 6f the. offer, "is a magnificent gift, arid includes some of the. bbst' 'bush left near AjickTarid. ;,It is, 1 think, an outstanding example of tlio . public., spirit for which Auckland is noted, and an irispiratioa to others to keep alive that publicspirit."