LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 125, 23 November 1923, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

After speaking i n terms of appreciation of the valuable report on hospital attairs and management recently fur?i! ?,t n? tho medical superintendent of the Wellington Hospital, Dr. D. M. Wilson Mr. W. Appletou moved at the meeting o f the board yesterday that the Press be thanked for the generous amount of space that had been devoted to the report. Mr. C. H. Chapman thought they were fortunate in Wellington in having so impartial a Press. He paid a tribute to the fairness and public spirit of the newspapers of the city. Tho motion was adopted..

The Maungauni, which left Sydney at noon yesterday for Wellington, carries 724 bags of mails for the Dominion .including 221 bags of mails from Australia, 264 from beyond, and 239 parrel receptacles. The mail from beyond includes East 16.

Tl} e secretary of the Postal Department, Mr. A. T: Markman, speaking at a complimentary dinner to the Postnias-ter-beneral at Dannevirke, justiaed the readjustment of the telephone charges, and said, that they had only lost 390 subscribers out of a total of 100,OCO which, worked out at' less than i per cent. .* L

nn'n' 1 un£ ersland we are sending £7,000,UOU each year to America for motorcars said Mr. D. B. Jones at the meeting of the threshing-mill owners at Chrotchurch. It would be more creditable to New Zealand if she supported more heartily the country who buys her wool and meat, who supported her at all times, and bore the brunt of the dark days of the Great War—our Mother Country, Britain.

A meeting of creditors in the estate of Edward Beckman, builder, Eona Bay, bankrupt, was to have been held today, but the Official Assignee stated that no statement from i the bankrupt had come to hand, and as Beckman was not in attendance ha suggested that the meeting be adjourned to enable arrangements to be made to ensure his presence. The Official Assignee's suggestion was agreed to.

Repling to a deputation, at Napier, the Minister of Railways, the Hon. J. G. Coates,.said he wanted it understood that his view was that unless employees were satisfied and living under good conditions good serwice could not be expected from them. One of the first things a Minister had to attend to was proper housing and working conditions for the men whom he had got to do the job. At Frankton the Department had a house-building factory, and when it got going properly he hoped to be able to turn out 380 houses a year. By that means they would be able "to cope with the housing difficulty.

The Hon. J. G. Coates, PostmasterGeneral, speaking at a complimentary dinner at Dannevirke, said that when he became a Minister of the, Crown he made up his mind that he was not going to make promises, and he had adhered to that policy, but when he took a job in hand he would see it through. That was the only way to secure the best results. He did not object to honest criticism— it bucked one up—but he thought it was a good thing occasionally to give' praise to the officers of the State—it was wonderful how far a little commendation went in helping one along. It did more good than continual fault-finding.

The question of the provision of finance for the proposed new hospital buildings was brought before the board yesterday' by -. a report of the Finance Committee. The chairman of the Hospital Board fully explained the position, as outlined in "The Post," last.evening, and the following -recommendation of the Finance Committee was adopted : "That debentures for £50,000 loan bearing 5j per cent, per annum, redeemable in ten years, be issued forthwith. The consent of the Minister of Health ha* been obtained giving the board authority to establish a sinking fund to redeem one-half in ten years, and to reissue fresh debentures for the balance of £25,C00 for a further period of ten years." .

While passing a resolution complimenting the City Council's Departmental Investigation Committee upon the report it had brought down upon the establishing of a stores and purchasing department, members of the Civic League last evening expressed, through the chairman, Mr. W; S. Wilson, Mr. D. J. M'Gowan, and other speakers, some disappointment that the committee set up was in its present form, /or it was not what the league had asked for. The idea had been that the investigation should be carried out by an independent tribunal, but though that was not the case the work of the Investigation Committee would undoubtedly be of great value to the city. Already in its first report it had shown that great waste was going on, and had suggested a practical means whereby savings would be effected.

It was reported by Press Association message from Te Awaiuutu yesterday that Mr. R. Cobbe, of Feilding, a candidate for the Dairy Board, had applied for a copy of the roll of dairy producers, but that his application was refused by the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. Nosworthy), though it was understood the roll was issued to the "ticket." Last night, Mr. Nosworthy said that he had been advised by the returning officer that a complete roll of electors under the Dairy Export Control Act would not be ready until towards the end of the month. The Electoral Department was making every endeavour to have it correct. Only/two copies., besides the original, had been prepared, and, as names beginning with each alphabet letter were completed, one copy was made available to representatives of those in favour of the Act, and the other copy to representatives of those opposed to it. Up to the present the former copy had not been taken,'whereas the latter had been. The Minister added that the roll was prepared under the regulations of the Dairy Export Control Act, which did not prescribe that it should be printed and circulated as in the case of a Parliamentary election.

When the Minister of Railways was at Napier on Wednesday he was waited on by .several deputations in regard to railway matters. Mr. Edmundson urged the running of a train on Saturday afternoons to Westshore and Sunday trains to Eskdale. He pointed out the unsatisfactory platform arrangements that were at present in vogue at the Napier railway station,,when the Wellington mail train was arriving, and asked that something be done to improve matters. Mr. M'Villy, replying to the matters concerning administration, said that the Department was not in the h»bit of running Sunday trains except in the main centres. Even in the centres such services were run at a loss. As to the Saturday afternoon train to Westshore, he was prepared to run the train provided the people of Napier were prepared to give the necessary guarantee. Mr. W. Harvey mentioned that 200 people went to Westshore on a Saturday afternoon. Mr. Coates: "If they have got 200 we will "give it a fly." Cabinet has aproved of £10,000 for motor trains and that would be a good place to try one out." When Mr. Harvey mentioned the number who went to Westhore, Mr. M'Villy agreed with the Minister to run a train. He added that the question of suburban rates was under noneickraUoii.

By notice in the "Gazette" the Home Service League of New Zealand ia dissolved, as it is no longer carrying on its operations.

Authority was given by tha Hospital Board yesterday to the house steward to make application to the City Engineer's offioe for loan of flags and bunting for decoration of the wards at Christmas.

Tho capital of the Dunedin Exhibition is £100,000, of which £70,000 has been subscribed, states "The Post's" Dunedin correspondent. A representative business men's committee * has been set up to raise the remaining £30,000.

Sittings of the Court of Appeal for 1924 are as follow :_First Division, 17th March; v Second Division, 30th June; First Division, 29th September. Supreme Court fixtures in Wellington next year are:—sth February, 6th May, 29th July 2bth October.

The by-election held to fill the vacancy on the Hutt County Council, caused by the resignation, of Mr. Limbrick, resulted yesterday in the return of Mr. Rhoderick Mulhern. The voting was as follows :^R. Mulhern, 187; F. M. Garner, 84; James Wall, 5&

The Hospital Board has decided to enter into an agreement with the Grand United Order of Oddfellows to accept their guarantee ioi* payment of halffees for members and their dependents undergoing treatment in the General Hospital and the children's hospital, for the term expiring 30th June, 1925.

Mr. Justice MacGregor yesterday afternoon granted a decree nisi in the case of William James Irvine against Maud Mary Irvine, a petition for divorce on the ground that the parties had been mutually separated for a period of three years. Mr. W. Perry appeared for the petitioner.

Donations received to date in aid of the Chatham Islands children's visit appeal are as follow: —Wellington Education Board, £10; Rev. J. Dawson, £1; W.C.R., ss; Mirainar South School Committee, £2 2s; Newtown School Committee, £2 2s; Mount Cook School Committee, £2; J. J. Clark, £1; Brooklyn School Committee, £5: total, £23 9s.

A resolution was adopted by the Hospital Board yesterday thanking the Collego Old Girls' Association for their annual donation of £20 for tho upkeep of their special cot" in the children's hospital. The board also thanked tho Wellington Chinese Masonic Society for their donation of £23 11s to the Hospital funds.

That producers should endeavour to enect an improvement in the quality of New Zealand mutton and lamb wai the burden of a, statement supplied to the Press last night by the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. Nosworthy). Mr. Nosworthy said he had been much interested in reading the remarla of Mi 1. J. Fraser, general manager of the Meat Board, regarding his observations upon the New Zealand meat trade in England. The results of the test shortly to be carried out in the chilling of beef for export from New Zealand would be watched with interest. It was disquieting to be told inferentially at any rat©, that the quality of South Island lambs was falling back. New Zealand's frozen lamb and mutton trade was of such vital importance, and Canterbury produce had so high a, reputation, that every sheepowner must realise the necessity for always endeavouring to improve the quality of New Zealand's output. "Our market is a good one, and is capable _of being increased from the point of view of the quality o{ meat it can absorb, but if we are to not only hold our own, .but -to advance, as we should do, our watchwords mugtl>e'improvement, and continued improvement," said the Minister in conclusion.