LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 104, 30 October 1923, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Dairy Produce Export Control Act will come into force on Saturday. The Moeraki, which left Melbourne at 2 p.nu on the 87th instant for Bluff, carries a email mail for Wellington.

The Petone Borough Council agreed last evening to a conference between the City Council, the Lower Hutt Borough Council, and the Petone Council on the question of pooling the fees collected f« hae,vy traffic license*, the City Council io collect the fee*. At present the city collect* £7D6, Petone £223, and Lower Hutt £140.

Sir Thopas Mackenzie, now residing in Dun«dia, is being called on. for a number of purposes (states "The Post's" Dunedla correspondent). He spoke at the official opening of the children's exhibition yesterday afternoon; h© has promised to attend the opening of the Memorial Hall at the AVaitaki High School qn Thursday of this week, when the Governar*General is to be present; he is to distribute, the prizes at the Wanganui Collegiate School on Ist December; and about the same date he will open a hall and give a lecture at Hunterville. His. connection with Hunterville is historic, for he was the first man to pitch a survey^ camp there, not as a surveyor but as a member of his brother's party.

There was evidently considerable money in Aghburton a week ago, writes a correspondent of the " Lyttelton Times." As an instance, while the gala sports on Labour Day were scooping in nearly £1200 for town improvements, the Catholic Church was inviting its adherents to wipe out the debt on the budding and property of- the Church of the Holy Name. Special- collections taken up at the two morning services last Sunday, entirely apart from the ordinary collections, realised the sum of slightly over £500. This, when rieducted from the amount of the debt, yi I, ea.ve only £300 to be cleared off. ihe debt was incurred »ome four years ago by making provision for repairs and addition* to the church and for drainage and sewerage.

The unfavourable climatic conditions ttoat imposed a serious handicap upon the. ventures of tlia New Zealand Lawn ienois Association last season are referred to in the annual report to be presented at the annual meeting tomorrow evening. Pew open tournaments or matches were held without delays caused by wet weather. The same disadvantages were met by the men's team that visited New South Wales; the Test match being played on very wet courts. 'Uuder such conditions," stites the report, "it i« difficult to comment fairly on the standard of play shown. One result of the wet season experienced is the greater demand for hard courts, and when this demand is met, the better facilities for a longer period of play in each year -will give our players an opportunity to develop their game in a similar manner to the more favoured players overseas."

j. " Latterly it has been somewhat painful to me to note that a party spirit has grown up among ua. and as the party spirit grows the Spirit of God goes out, 1' said Archbishop C. Julius in a short address at the close of the Christchurch Diocesan Synod. The Archbishop recalled th&t about forty years ago, when a vicar in London he had been a member ot a small clerical society of twenty-four members, called " Friends in Council." The society, he said, was made up of men of the most diverse views—extreme, high, low, and broad churchmen. At iti meetings he. learned one great lesson ~-how to respect the views -of other people, He realised that he had a very small grip of the whole truth of God. and that hi» ideas must be supplemented by the views of others. When he came to Christchurch he decided to respect other people's views. For many years there had been in the diocese men who differed widely in their attitude to the church, and in their opinions on religion, but they worked together in a friendly and brotherly way. Speaking about ithe growth of the party spirit, the Archbishop said that he did not like the formation of party coteries (reports tfie " Sun "). "So long as we have little societies for the purpose of propagating a little line of thought, so long will we have intrigue, which is the devil's work," he said. " I strongly deprecate little party societies, where every man simply intensifies the narrowness of his views. I don't want to use strong words, but I do hope, now that I am an old man and changes are.-coining, that we will m>t have this distrust, suspicion, intrigue, and the like, but that we shall strive with one heart and with one mind to set forth the truth of God in »11 it» a»p«€ts." The Archbishop 1* verawlu v*r« bwrtiljr »ppUud&d.

In an address delivered at Nelson on the recent Pan-Pacific Conference, Professor Eaßterfield said that one point he noticed particularly was the difference of opinion between Australia and New Zealand regarding lime for agriculture. Here they considered it absolutely essantial. In Australia it was not so regarded.

" I am quite satisfied," said Mr. B. J. Howard, M.P., to a " Lyttelton Times" reporter on Saturday, "that Christchurch made a mistake -when it handed its. trams over to a separate board. Both in Auckland and Dunedin one can see evidence in the way they are tackling their roads. Auokland especially is putting down some fine roads. Two strips .of concrete each side of the tramways keeps the traffic off the rails, and makes for better control, and must certainly ease the nerves of the motormen. Then, a^ain, in the waiting-rooms, Auokland would not permit, or at least would not put up with, the ugly sheds wp put up with. From the city beautiful point of view, Auckland has some very pretty waiting-rooms."

The sentence of five years' imprisonment ptsaed on Albert Ernest Harris at Gisborne on a charge of counselling or' procuring a woman to procure abortion was under review by the Court of Appeal yesterday. Harrig appealed against the sentence on the following grounds: —(1) That the sentence was excessive; (2) that it was substantially in excess of the sentences usually imposed in like offences, and in like circumstances j (3) that the Judge (Mr. Justice Eeed) had been influenced by general hearsay statements made by Detective M'Lead; and (4) that one of these statements was not trua-in the sense in which it was apparently mads and aocepted by the Judge. On the Bench were the Chief Justice (Sir Robert. Stout), Mr. Justice Hosking, Mr. Justice Salmond, and Mr. Justice Eeed. Mr. M. Myers, K.C., with him Mr. H. F. O'Leary, appeared for the prisoner. Decision was reserved.' Having admitted his guilt last week in the theft of three bicycles at Feilding and Lower Hutt, a farm hand named Charles Patrick M'Allister, twenty-three years of age, again appeared before Mr. B. Page. S.M., at the Magistrate's Court this morning to answer to further charges of the theft of two more bicycles at Wellington, and o* saddles bridles, etc., at Hamilton, Te Kuiti, and Taumarunui. The total value of the five bicycles was said to be £38 10s, and the value of the other articles £17 3s. The accused asked for trial in the Supreme ' Court on the five newly preferred charges, and a remand was granted. Detective Nntlall stated that the accused had a, list of previous 'convictions, and was only released from gaol in January after serving a period of twelve months' hard labour and three years' reformative treatment. He pointed out that the thefts admitted and al- | leged were spread all over the North lAsland. M'Allister was sentenced to reI formative detention for a period not exceeding two j^ears in respect' to each of the three charges admitted.

The heavy thunderstorm which passed over Dunedin about 7 o'clock on Sunday evening was of short duration. The lightning was particularly vivid, and the thunder was followed by a. deluge of ram and hail, more especially in the northern part of the town. In the area in the vicinity of the lower portion of St. Andrew street many householders with a vivid recollection of the April flood became uneasy as the water quickly collected on the streets arid rose towards the- doorsteps, but the rain ceased as suddenly as it had started and fears were quickly set at rest (states the Otago Daily Times"). The tram service was held up at the corner of George and Frederick streets, and also at the corner of Princes and Maitland streets, several cars being delayed while the silt which had been washed on the line m a sufficient quantity to cause a blockage was removed. As far as can be ascertained no damage of a material nature was sustained in the city. Heavy !T ln/ h°Wr 9 <fell afc interval* during the day. A severe thunderstorm passed over the Taien late on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by a heavy downpour of rain and hail. Some of ■ the hailstones were as large as birds' eggs, and did a considerable amount of dlm^ age to fruit trees, young plants, and flower gardens. The hail fell so thick\U *h m open spaces the ? rou¥ had the appearance of a coating of wYrdf evdeTing m crated *-

A simple but expressive act of eratithe result of impressions left by New Zealand s soldiers was recently exoeri W Cft.r y-,a- ,Well»S^ redden *M " fvi,U^ old AnCk'- Who has returned from a. vmt to America and Europe, relates • I was crossing from Warsaw to Dover and on arrival at the Belgium frontier passengers disembarked for examination i PrW ?/ lUggage" As iW«-«fte the bank hohdays in England, hundreds were returning home. Two nationality queues were formed, but as the Belgium hne was exhausted early I jnnocfnUy wandered over there. The official on examining my passport and noticing my domicile, smiled shrewdly, and drew the attention'of the stationmaster X 'X^flW served in the war/ I «vW V neP tive- Hs "n«nued, saymgj We rarely meet your country grateful Belgians are to New Zealand sol. vS« an T *c P.ro^ed to extoll their virtues, I jocularly observed I have oeen mfonned they were also good U^TA P°." try- The "tatfonmSter lawghed heartily, and, tapping me on the shoulder, said: 'WeU, call theTn a°" round efficients.' The cursory examinations were not proceeded with, and a porter was detailed to provide me with a carnage seat. As I calmly observed I^s? X S > humanity avvaiti^ their turn I thought, even in. distant Belgium there.« something in being a sj^ isnciQr.

Appreciation of the high quality of New Zealand butter was impressed by several Americans and Australians who were through passengers on the Niagara at Auckland on Friday. The oversea, representative of a large Canadian motor firm, Mr H. C. French, stated that he was struck with the quality of the butter S, n -i- i? , rafc the Vancouver Hotel British Columbia, and complimented the waiter upon it, "That is New Zealand rso. I, was the waiter's acknowledgment, lhe presence and popularity of New Zealand butter on the Pacific Coast market had also been noted by Mr J 1 L Marcy, a prominent business man of Melbourne. "The only really good butter I ate in Canada came from New Zealand. It could be recognised in an instant," said Mr. L. Macintosh Ellis, director of the New Zealand State Forest Service, who retuprned by the Niagara "It is acknowledged in Canada that the progressive methods of co-operative marketing and compulsory grading of food products has placed New Zealand in the foremost position in the Empire in butter and lamb production. Mr. Ellis said he had noted a widespread and lively interest in New Zealand and her laws (reports the "New Zealand Herald"). The Capadians would even concede it was the "paradise of the 'Pacific." Canada had a great respect for, her sister Dominion in the South Pacific, and, contrary to expectations, Mr. Ellig found that Canada was well informed of doings in New Zealand.' While he was there, Pyßfjg dispatches from this 6icle af the world were plentiful ?nd aoouvat*.

"This case is a very bad one," declared Sub-Inspector Cummings in the Magistrate's Court this morning, in opposing the granting of bail in respect to a young man named James Frederick Foster, who was charged with indecent assa.ult. "The accuied himself admits the statement of the boy that the offence was actually committed." There was a danger that he might leav« the country. Mr. W. T&, Leicester, on behalf of the accused, said he h»d certain duties to carry out, and he asked that bail should be fixed in a reasonable sum. The Magistrate, Mr. E. Pag*, S.M., said he could not comply with -the application, and granted a Teraand. aB requested by the police.

Two men who had previously pleaded guilty to the ' theft of a quantity of ■mattress cases, twine,- etc., valued at £30—Albert Patrick M'Brjde (42) and Phillip Herbert Ogier (61)— cam c" up for sentence before Mr. E. Page, S.JI., in the Magistrate's Court this morning. "I have come to the conclusion that probation cannot be granted in this case," remarked the Magistrate. "The thefts have extended' over a considerable t.eriod, perhaps two or two and a half years, and they, appear to have been systematic. One of the, accused was employed in a position of trust, and the other was a business mtn who conspired with him in the thefts. I think a term of imprisonment will have to be imposed. Each of the accused, is sentenced to six months' imprisonment."

' Twenty-three per cent, of the pupils attending secondary schools in New Zealand leave by the end of their first year, said an Auckland headmaster on Friday evening. "This is a disaster; and I think probably the position is little better in technical sohools. Also, 1 have noted that 7£ per cent, of the children in the primary schools are over thirteen years of age. This should not be. These remarks were made during the discussion by the Auckland primary and secondary headmasters of a proposal to introduce into schools a system of keeping a continuous record card 3howing the work done by a pupil at various stages of his school career. A motion advocating the adoption of the system was carried. .' ,

'" We have had to abandon trawling operations on the West Coast," said Mr. Gilbert Sanford, managing director of Sanford's, Ltd., the well-known firm of trawlers, at Auckland. " Although fish are there in plenty, previous catches haying proved t£at, we have found that it is not a paying proposition to have one or more trawlers working off the West Coaßt. Although able to operate successfully when the weather ia favourable, the frequent changes to bad conditions compel the trawlers to seek shelter, nnd it is a well-known fact that the havens on that coast "to which small vessel* can run during stress of bad weather are few and far between. Probably two or three days of splendid weather will be succeeded by boisterous, stormy conditions, when practically nothing can be done, although the consumption of coal and other «xpenier have to be met. We have therefore decided to discontinue trawling on that coast and confine our operations to the more hospitable shores of the Eastern seaboani, where harbours and bays can be sought in any weather.''

During a conversation with a Nelson "Mail" reporter, Mr. J. A. Campbell, Director of Horticulture, stated that the system of "sticker" or grade-labelled fruit was working well and to the ad-. vantage of those growers who adopted, it. Auctioneers and buyers were giving. it every support ■ and encouragement, and the results had been decidedly beneficial, as the "sticker" gave the original buyer and the eventual consumer con. fidence in the quality of the fruit. Mr. Campbell remarked that Nelson's volun- ! tary control system would be practically on the lines of the "sticker" system, and no doubt would achieve similar beneficial results. 'Giving an actual illustra. tion of the rvalue of the "sticker," Mr. Campbell mentioned that V grower who was sending a consignment of apples to Wellington ran out of "stickers." A portion of his fruit therefore went without a "sticker," and when the returns came to hand it was found that the cases bearing a "sticker" had realised from 2s to 3s a case more than those which had no "sticker," though the fruit in each lot was o£ exactly similar quality. . When the new regulations governing next season's export of apples were published a good deal of concern was felt m Nelson at the removal of' London Pippin from the export list. This variety is. fairly largely grown in the Nelson district, and last season about 5000 cases were exported. Kepresentations were made to th> Department with a view to securing the reinstatement of the variety The matter was mentioned by a Nelson Mail representative to Mr. J. A Campbell, Director, of the Horticulture Division. Mr. Campbell stated that the variety was an uncertain carrier, and although certain shipments last season and the previous season had arrived afi their destination in good order and realised fanv prices the average return was not good, and it was doubtful if this variety was a payable one to the grower. However, Mr. Campbell added, in order to meet the present position it had now been decided to reinstate the London ttppm to .the position of J921 This means that this variety, along with others then "starred," must be of B pe. cially high grade t6 come' under the Government guarantee.. Bein K a yellow variety and the characteristic five crowm being veryi susceptible to blemish > from rough^ handling or undue pressure,' Mr Campbell advises that ca«es containing London Pippins be lined with straw board and that the apples be doublewrapped. The reinstatement of the London Pippin for ejep^rt will be welcomed by a large number of growers in Nelson/, where it is estimated that the total output of this variety will approach 30,000 cases.

"If the members of the Relief Committee wanted further evidence of the necessity of their recommendation to the board last week, that the penaltie« for wife desertion be made more drastic, and that the Government be asked ta alter the law so that those who were sent to gaol for not complying with the order of the Court in maintenance cases, should get payments made to their wives from the first day they ware imprisoned out of their prison allowances, it wag at our meeting today, said the chairman of the Auckland Hospital BoarS on Friday night when speaking of the long four hours the members had put in trying to solve some of the problems which came before them. "Some peppje had been very sceptical about that' part of the report where it stated that young wives under twenty years of age with one or more children often came before the committee for relief after their hutbauds, as a rule not much older than themselves, had deserted them. Ample proof was got of young blighted livei whose troubles had commenced before they had reached the twenties, and not in one case was there one child, but in every case there were at lewt two. The evil was not being grappled with as it should be, and in esses where the deserter had heen brought to book th« sentence was not nearly long enough, in some cases fov three months only, and that meant that the wife woujd ge^ nothing from the prison allowance because payment did not commence til] th« fourth month-' The gaols. we.rg getting too comfortable, and. m»ny 9 f the he*r£ less rasoals did not ieel any punishment at «11.

A- fruiterer ceases to be a fruiterer in the eyes of the Labour Department when he sells a packet of cigarettes, and fruiterers, likewise confectioners, are well aware, of that fact; but that a fruiterer or confectioner who stocks a few bundles of Chinese crackers or rockets or whizzbang* wherewith to make the hearts of the young fry glad and the duties af the Police Force heavy.on. the night of sth November at ono» loses his status as such is perhaps not generally known. Fortunately/for him the loss of status is not permanent, but during the time he has' on hand a Guy Fawkes stock he cannot claim exemption from the provisions as to closing hours in section 21 of the Shops and Offices Act, and must close up shop sharp at 6 during week days and at 1 o'clock on Saturday afternoon.

Whangarei's claim that it is the only town m New Zealand in which the stdck route follows th e main thoroughfare is challenged by Frankton, where an instance occurred a few mornings ago illustrating th e danger of this practice {states the Auckland Star "). A mob ot cattle were being driven along Commerce street early in the morning, when a cow wandered on to the. footpath and m between the two front • windows of Mr G. _Card s shop. The driver sent a dog after the beast, which in turning caught its horns in the framework of one of .the windows. Two sheets of plateglass were smashed, and had "to be replaced. It is only a few weeks aeo that a deputation of Frankton business men wilted on the Minister of Railways (the Hon. J. G. Coates), asking him to have- the cattle loading, yards removed from ttair present site to a spot near the saleyards. This would avoid cattle traversing the main street. Mr. Card wag th«.leader of the deputation. The importance of encouraging junior players is emphasised in the annual report of the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association. "It is the duty of the afthated associations to foster "lawn tenI ms in their districts,." states the report Ind the performance of that duty must be governed by the conditions prevailing and the facilities, such as'courts, availably Since coming to a decision to grant i nnancial or other assistance to enable I promising juniors to attend the New. j Zealand championships, your committee has learned that the same views are held by that recognised authority on junior tennis, W. T. Tilden. After years of, experience and experimenting Mr Til den considers that the sectional associations should find the promising juniors and the National Association should offer the encouragement for their development by paying necessary expenses for their attendance at the championships. The New Zealand Association now offers the goal and the affiliated associations are asked to do their duty and find the juniors who should be encouraged"