LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The proposed institution of a cottage hospital in the Lower Hutt district is to be explained to the Wellington Hospital Board by a deputation from Lower Hutt next Thursday. The board will hold a special meeting to receive the deputation. The Minister of Marine, Htn. G. J. Anderson, interviewed at Gisborne, expressed satisfaction at the progress being made with the harbour works at Wairoa, and stated that, in his opinion, Waikokopu would become a good port and a most usefulharbour. In the opinion of the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital (Dr. D. M. Wilson) it is desirable that the Hospital Board should make a rule that 'no liquor shall be brought into Sipspital premises by, anyfjmember of the staff. ' Any offender should be liable to dismissal. "This is an unwritten rule, says Dr: Wilson, " but I think it might be made a ' written ' one." For being absent without leave from the steamer Kent, in December, a young fireman named George, Arthur Foyne appeared, before Mr. E. Page, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court yesterday. The chief engineer of the vessel said that he did. not want the accused to be returned to the ship, and Foynel was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment. The desirability of retaining the protective tariff on wheat, potatoes, and chaff, irrespective of the fluctuation in New ■ Zealand prices of those commodities, was endorsed by the executive of the North Canterbury branch of the Farmers' TJnion yesterday at Christchurch, states a Press Association telegram. It was decided by the Hospital Board yesterday that the duties of the district nurse at Paekakariki as school nurse be restricted to the' Paekakariki school^ only. It was intended that she should have under her the schools at Plimmer-' ton and Paramata, but these would entail too long an absence . from her _cenWfe., <; \ At a poll on Wednesday, the Greymouth power district carried a proposal to borrow £80,000 for the institution of a hydro-electric scheme at the Arnold Kiv.er to sfcve the whole district. The voting, with two small returns to come was:— For, 626; against,"' 148. It is expected, that a tender will be acceptedsnext June, and the scheme completed 18 months thereafter. The Arnold River's-maiimum capacity is 15,000 horse-power. The nuisance caused by smoke and grit from the paving plant on the Hutt road Was mentioned' at the meeting of the Hutt Eoad Board yesterday' afternoon, letters having been received from the Railway and Health Departments setting out the grievances of two householders whose dwellings are close to the plant. It was admitted that ,the' nuisance did exist, andvthat.it was particularly bad in, one case, as a slight southerly at once had the effect- of enveloping the place in smoke/and covering it in grit. The matter, was left with the engineers to deal wjjh. So much trouble has been experienced by the Hospital authorities in dealing with cases where wrong addresses have been wilfully given, that the Patients' Fees Committee -has drawn up a new form of m-patient's ticket for admission to the institution. Special prevision is to be made for obtaining at least two names of persons, friends or relatives able to verify the statements made; and also, provision for -a declaration in regard to the particulars furnished' being correct. At yesterday's meeting of the Hospital Board, the chairman of the Patients. Fees Committee (Mr. W. Appleton) was heartily, congratulated by members on having devised a method fen- dealing with a very, serious problem? Appreciation was expressed of the good work being done by the committee, and it was stated that its formation was fully justified. '. . J. The Hon. G. J. Anderson, Minister of Marine, accompanied by Mr. G. Godfrey, Secretary of Marine, arrived at Te Puke, Buy of Plenty, on Wednesday, reports a Press Association message. The Minister was waited on in the evening by representatives of various local j bodies, who pointed out the importance to the district of the further development of Muir's gold teefs, and pressed for further Government assistance m that direction. The Minister, in Teply.'-^suggested that the company should seek further local capital, as lie personally felt confident of the value and future success of the mine. The Minister was subsequently entertained by the local bodies. He visited Muir's Mine this morning, and will reach Tauranga \this afternoon. He will leave to-morrow for Hamilton, en route „to Wellington. . , Should it be possible for hospital leases to be trafficked in at a profit to the vendor? This point, which the chairman (Mr. F. Castle) stated was not a new one, haying first been ventilated about six years agoj was raised by Mr. A. E. Hornblow at yesterday's meeting of the Hospital Board. He contended that it should not. be possible for anyone to acquire a hospital lease and in a short time dispose of it at a profit. There was a case he knew of where a profit of £100 was made in twelve months. That might be good business, but it was not fair to the public, and the board was responsible. The chairman said there was no means of preventing the transfer of a lease acquired from the board. When the board disposed of a lease it gave certain rights away with it. Did.it not do so it. would not be able to do any business. However, no apprehension need be felt on the point. Six years ago a Labour member came on to the board and thought there was something wrong with regard to the leases, an inquiry was held, and the member found that there was no ground for criticism. Mr. C. H. Chapman said there was no scandal in connection with the leases, and the fact that values were increasing was really r a matter^ for congratulation. Under the law as' it stood there was no means of preventing some degree of trafficking in the board's leases. ■ It is stated that Messrs. Beban and Co., representing a part of West Coast co-operative labourers and miners, have' secured the contract for the construction of the t new Lake Coleridge tunnel, at a price approximating £100,000. According to the specifications the new tunnel will be one mile twenty-five chains in length, of an elliptical section, .and measuring lift across. A shaft having a depth of seventy-two feet will be sunk at the lake entrance, and another shaft 200 ft deep will be sunk half-way. At the outlet end there \^ll be an adit, or auxiliary tunnel to take the water down to the power-house. The size of the centre shaft will be 10ft by sft, and the size of a shaft at the oullet Bft by 4ft.' The tunnel will run level for twenty-six chains from the intake, and for the rest of the distance the grade will be 1 in%looo. On the level it will have to pass through rock, but for.the rest of the distance itx will pass through shingle, clay, and compact- sand (states the Chris'tchurch "Star"). The top of the new tunnel at the inlet end will be 13ft 6in below mean lake level, and at ihe,outlet end 18ft 9in below mean lake' level, which is 1667 ft above sea level. The cpncrete used in the construction of the tunnel will be from six to nine inches .thick, to be varied according to the soil conditions. It, i» estimated that th« cost of the tunnel und tnti cftnstquent «xtea«i9na will 'b« .approximate^ £517,050,

*By Order-in-Council, gazetted last night the uae of purse-seines ofc trawlers is prohibited. V ' Several very narrow escapes from drowning have recently occurred, near the Paremata railway bridge,1 owing to swimmers attempting to swcn the channel, without thinking of the very strong tide running at this spot, particularly during spring tides. It is a task subject to great danger. During the last week there were three very narrow escapes. Rlenty of suitable bathing spots are, however, available. Members 1 of the Hospital Board were informed by Mr. W. Appleton yesterday that £20,000 worth of the board's debentures, bearing interest at 5£ per cent, per annum, had been taken up, and that the cost of raising that amount had only been £35 13s, or one-fifth of 1 per cent. The security was gilt.edged, and the offering should prove attractive to all classes the community. There was plenty of ready money available in the country (some of the farmers had received substantial wool. cheques), and it was advisable that the board should again bring the issue before the public. A_special meeting of parishioners" of bt Barnabas' Parish, RoseneatH, was held, last evening to consider what action shonld be taken in connection with the restoration of the church building recently partially destroyed aby fire.- It was resolved, that the vestry should take steps to ascertain the approximate cost of rebuilding, or ■ restoring, if possible, the old. building, and report to another,-meeting,to be held in a fewweeks,' The Roseneath schoolroom will be used in the meantime. * , • _ A party from the Post and Telegraph Department will leave Wellington about the end of the month for Cape Maria van Diemen to erect a temporary wireless station for carrying out directionfinding experiments for the Marine Department. The party will join the s.b. Tutanekai at Auckland, and Eail round the coast. The party will be in charge of Mr. A. Shrimpton, Chief Telegraph Engineer, who will make the trip overland. , _ -The Canterbury Steam Stiip Company has ordered a new 300-ton oil-burner for ttie ioxton trade, declares a Press Asl?01^ 1011 message from Palmerston JNortn._ The vessel is under construction, and will arrive from England in nine months' time, and will immediately be commissioned to develop the trade of Foxton with other ports. She is specially designed ttf meet the needs' of the port, and will be one of the first oilburrung coastal vessels in the Dominion. She will be equipped with Diesel engines, giving a gpeed of ten knots, with a draught, of 8i feet fully loaded. /> <'An. American boy named John. William Colfer, who as, yet haS.not reached the age of seventeen, recently stowed away on a deep-sea vessel1 at San Francisco, and in due course arrived in New Zealand: The wandering one soon tired of Lyttelton, where he landed, and again hid himself on a vessel which brcuht him to Wellington. He was found sleeping under a tarpaulin on the wharf by Constable Johnston, who arrested him for vagrancy. The youth, when he appeared before Mr. E. Page, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court yesterday, admitted the charge, and was remanded for sentence until to-morrow.' In the meantime, further inquiries are to be made, and the American Consul is to be informed of the lad's plight. A Press Association telegram from Auckland states that under the will of the late Mr. J. M. Mennie, public bequests are made as fellow :—Auckland University :■ College Council (for. education in commercial subjects), £4000; Auckland Presbyterian Social Service. Association, £2000; Leslie Presbyterian Orphanage, £2000; Parochial Board of Turriff, Aberdeenshire, for deserving1 poor, £5000, Door of Hope Rescue Home, £500; Salvation Army, Auckland, £SCO. Provision is made for the widow arid family and for old employees. The residue, probably about £40,000, is left to the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees for" the establishment and maintenance of an institution to be called/ "Mennie's Cottago Presbyterian School." The heavy surf at North Brighton on •Tuesday was nearly responsible for a triple tragedy. At noon, when the tide was well out, a little girl was swept into the' breaker*, and Mr. L. F. Thompson went^to her rescue. Other swimmers, including Mr. ,D. Rj Thompson and Mr. H. Sparrow,- also went out, and then became exhausted in the surf, which was the heaviest this Beason. Mr. L. Thompson brought the girl back to land, and then- he and others went ' out to help the men (states' the Christchurch "Press). After a biff struggle, both' of them were pulled ashore, arid after first aid had- been applied, they 'came round. The main rescuer Mr. L. j\ Thompson, was exhausted after his efforts. An important statement in regard to wireless communication was made at Auckland yesterday by the Hon. W. F. Massey, states a Press Association mes-' sage. "We must have a high power station if we are to keep in line with Empire progress," declared £he Prime Minister. He had discussed the subject with the, permanent head of the British Postal Department, and would place definite proposals before Cabinet at an early date. The proposals would include the erection and equipment of a high power station so that the Dominion might be linked .up aerially with London and other Empire centres. He stated he could not indicate the locality in whish the prospective station would be established, but it would probably be similar to that proposed for Australia. > "Gisborne is practically off the map as far as meteorological records are concerned," remarked the chairman of the Gißborne Harbour Board (Mr. George Smith), in applying to the Minister' of Marine for better weather recording appliances. This town, he said, was the centre of the East Coast and for shipping purposes-weather reports were indispensable. He inquired! whether the Department would consider appointing a person at a salary to take the meteorological records, and whether it would obtain better appliances. Mr. Furkert, Engi-neer-in-Chief, said that Gisborne was well served as regards weather reports, which were usually taken by the harbourmaster, as any other town. The Minister said the records sent from Gisborne were quite as good as from other places^and he did not see,why improved facilities were requiredAt a social held in connection with the annual conference of the New Zealand: Boot Manufacturers' Association, Mr. R. T. Bailey, in toasting " The Trade," said he was a great believer in " Made in New Zealand," and in the support of local industries^ If manufacturers and trade unionists would only- get together and inculcate loyalty to goods made in the Dominion', much good would accrue to trade. In replying, Mr. J. B. Frame said that Mr. Bailey had struck the right note in speaking of loyalty to New Zealand products. In Australia they were more loyal to their own products, and in New Zealand propaganda work must be pressed on until success was achieved. The president (Mr. A. Ross) emphasised the importance of secondary industries,-and maintained that recent history had proved that the extent to which a country \ developed its secondary industries was the measure of its progress. He instanced England, France, Germany, and Japan as?having advanced by the building up p( their secondary. uiduß-