LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 83, 7 April 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

w?r r!? PonS r,,to in lui"es made b^ the Wellington Chamber of Commerce -of the various chambers of commerce- in the South Island/ and in the southern portion of the North Island, asking whether they supported the . Wellington Uiamber s representations in favour of the calling at Wellington'each alternate trip ot the steamer proposed to be put mto the Eastern Pacific Island fruit service, telegrams have been received trom many commercial centres heartily approving the proposed new service. Two opportunities of advertising Marlborough s potentialities as an agrioul tural and pastoral province were presented to the Marlborough A. and P. (Association at its monthly meeting, states a tress Association message from Blenlieim. Invitations were received to make a Marlborough display at the Wellington ShDw, and also one at the Auckland Industrial Exhibition. After an amendment to show at both places was deleated a motion was carried in favour of the exhibition in the northern / city. tJ^f hJ t° nserit for £™ was en-' teied by the Arbitration Court to-day in tne case m which May Edith Elsie Hen"erson proceeded against the Union dpnf™ P?°\ m res Pect°f a fatal accident to_her husband on 15th Aiigust,last, Plaintiffs husband fell down a hold on .lie Koromiko and was killed. The Court ordered that the amount should be deposited with the Public Trustee until' further orders made.' Mr P J O Regan appeared for the plaintiff, 'and 4tr. C. G. "White for the defendant company. "I don't think there is a more apathetic community than the New Zealand people in the whole world," said .Mr. A. G-. D. Lunn, at last week's meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce,f}mu s °" the luesti°n of defence. They dj not care one iota whether they ar-. properly protected or not. If it comes to being asked to take work in hand, or to pay a, fey; guineas or a few shillings, they show that they do not care a rap." As an illustration of what he meant,. Mr. Lunn added that out of the- tiOO members of the chamber there were not 200" who thought it worth their while .to subscribe to the funds of the Navy League. j „ Cai'tain important aspects of the motor licensing question were raised at a meeting of the Clutha County Council last week. The chairman said that in the past the county, had been careless, and he knew of a great many people who were driving cars and, • were ' without licenses. . In one family there were three or four of the members driving cars, but only one held a license. 'The' council had lost a lot.of revenue in this way. 'lhe chairman also referred to the practice of changing motor-car registration numbers,from one make of car to another, and instanced a man talcing out a license for a certain car and then changing it to another, without taking out a fresh registration, which was contrary to the bylaws. It was decided that the members review the motor licenses issued in the county, the clerk to supply a list to each member, and that they notify the engineer of evasions." . An. engineer, speaking at a meeting in Devonport last week, mentioned a matter of which some cognisance might be taken in Wellington. He said that one of the things which had struck him very much since coming to Auckland was _ the way people threw paper and other waste material about the streets. llt was very much a matter .of habit, and it would be a good thing if young people,_ and workmen too, were trained in habits of order and tidiness. Only recently some workmen, doing some tarring" and sanding on the footpaths near his house, had tipped the shell on a beautiful green sward near the kerbing. The result was that when their job was finished an ugly, mark was left wliere the shell had been. A good deal of it could be put down to thoughtlessness, but be thought that attention should be called to what' was undoubtedly a bad habit, and yet which was everybody's business; • Some ■ months ago • the Christchurcb Technical College Board of Governors was surprised to receive a letter from the Trades and Labour Council stating that it was reducing by one-guinea the annual subscription as a protest" against the encouraging of militarism in" the school. At the meeting the Labour members of the board, isd by Mr. F. TL Cooke, and well backed up by Mr. H. T. Armstrong, M.P., took strong exception to the fact that boys belonging to the college were beiug i aught to shoot. At Friday's meeting of the board the following letter was'received from the (Trades and Labour Council:—"Enclosed find cheque for one guinea, being balance of the amount withheld as a protest against encouraging militarism in %he form oE a rifle v range in the college grounds.^ Please bear, in mind that we are forwarding this amount without prejudice to our protest. We desire to state that we understand your position, so far as finance goes, arid send this so that your college shall suffer no loss in reference to subsidies, but our protest still remains." The letter was received without any discussion. Mi. Cooke was not at the meeting. , '.' Goodness me!" ejaculated the Auckland Official Assignee (Mr. W. S. Fisher) at the conclusion of a meeting of creditors on Friday morning, when he scannod a telegram1 which had been handed to him. It announced that three petitions had been lodged in Hamilton, not, perhaps, a very singular matter by itself, but what aroused the Assignee's astonishment (says the " Star ") is the fact that the extent of this refuge to the Bankruptcy Act has been surprising in the last three months. Petitions are literally flowing into the office. ■ While ■Mr. Eisher was away on two weeks' holiday recently seventeen petitions accumulated awaiting his investigation. ■ Last year 163 petitions were filed with the local office, and already over fifty- have been" filed this year. This portends a j heavy number of failures, for there are two. serious hurdles yet to be faced—the winter, when the majority of people seek the protection of the Court, and the expiration of . the moratorium. However optimistic Mr. Massey may be as to the ability of people to rearrange their finances, it is stated that there are a great number of -mcirtgugors who are- likely to 1 be in difficulties.

In proposing the toast o£ Agricultural and Pastoral interests at -the Greater Wanganui celebration banquet, Mr. W. S. Glenn, . M.P., said there wag no need for the jstupid cry ,of town y. country, and he was glad to see that it was dying out. The man on the farm was just as much interested in the welfare of his market centre as the citizen, and lie was just as loyal to it. The farmer was not yet round the corner financially, but another good year would see him in a sound position and able to spend his surplus cash. ■ ' . ' " At a general meeting of the Hawkes Bay branch of. the New Zealand Educational Institute, held on Saturday, says a Press Association message from Hastings, the following resolution was carried : "The Headmasters' Association of Hawkes Bay expresses -entire agreement with the stand taken'by the Wellington Headmasters' Association regarding the recent regulations and their interpretation. It urges the Minister to have the obnoxious regulations withdrawn, and allow head : teachers freedom of - action 'in the management of their schools." It was further resolved to emphasise the necessity of consulting the "executive of the New Zealand Educational Institute before new regulations are gazetted. In order to provide extensions of the port facilities to meet the rapidly-increas-ing trade, the New Plymouth Ilarbour Board has decided to seek. authority to raise a loan of £600,000, and the necessary Bill is to be prepared immediately, so that it may be submitted to the coming session of Parliament. Of the total of £600,000 it is proposed, to spend £350,000 on the', construction of , new wharves, additional berthage being urgently required, £100,000 on a dipper dredge. and on dredging, £100,000 on extension of the breakv/ater, and , the remaining £50,000 on other • worki, as may from time to time be decided. It has been represented to - "The Post" that its editorial comment"on the causation of goitre did not make sufficiently clear the work done in this direction by the Department of Public Health. As a matter of fact, the day before the article appeared^ the Minister of Public Health (Dr. Pomare) made it plain that his Department had far a long time past been pursuing--'investiga-tions into goitre and its causes, in New Zealand. Further, Dr. Ada Paterson, of-the School Hygiene Division of the Department has been doing work for the past, three years, in association with Professor Hercus, of undoubted' benefit in preventing' the increase of goitre in New Zealand—work 'readily Tecognised by the medical profession as of a most valuable description. . ' ■ The Undersecretary of Internal^ Affairs has been conducting an inquiry as to the loss sustained over the Auckland Returned Soldiers' Club. The Auckland Provincial Patriotic War Relief Association has. furnished the .following information (says the .."Star "):—The original cost of the land and buildings was £12,----500., which, with the .-cost of additions, alterations,, and furniture, increased to £24,659. The building was sold for £19,----000, from which £554 had to be deducted for the C3mmission and advertising charges. - When £80 was added in respect of adjustment of rates , and £807 realised on. the sale of the furniture, the net proceeds amounted to 519,353. The loss on the transaction was, therefore. £5326. The cost of fitting up the building was-v,ery expensive,- and as'i€ was impossible to, dispose of the building'as a club, a heavy loss was experienced. Prior .to offering ;the building for sale by auction, two valuations were obtained one being £17,000 and the other £18,750 ■ A^ reserved £20,000 was-placed on the property," but the highest bid was £13,----750, at which figure the property was ■ passed in. .Subsequently the building "was sold by priyate treaty~for £19,000. A letter written- by a young married woman who, with her soldier husband, is living far inland, -many,'-many miles from a railway station, gives a goed icsightinto the things which those out-: back have to' think about, and some- of the problems they have to try to solve (says the Auckland "Star"). "We are expecting the Eevaluation Board any day now,"' she writes, "but we are not expecting that, we will' reap much benefit.' Not that we do not need help, for we are very hard up, but I am afraid we look too prosperous, because we slave from morning till night to keep our piace. v tidy. The untidy people and '.the• people; who don't try are far more likely to get help than we are. .My hair has been turning greyer than ever lately (I'm only 26) trying to make garments for my two boys out. of their father's old things—a great game, which is an education in itself. Why, oh, why; were we not taught sewing at school? A fat (lot of. good algebra and geometry, etc., are to me now in these days of trying to keep a, house going on very little. Enough, or I shall .become, bitter,- but maybe in the dim and distant future a girl will receive an education which will help not to make her a bigger fool than over when it comes to managing -a household.. ■ ■• ;'.- Assertions made by an. Auckland architect that men had been taught bricklaying in Sydney in thirteen weeks and had reached such a stage of proficiency that they were laying 1500 bricks a day' are disputed by Auckland bricklayers. When asked their opinion by a, "Star" reporter, they were emphatic that it was impossible to teach men 4he trade, in thirteen weeks, and that to say "they were laying 1500 bricks a .day was pure non-' sense. Why, you couldn't teach men thejbond m the time," said one man who claimed thirty years' experience. •On a, .straight wall, four bricks thick with just plain squared points, and with everything in readiness, it might be that a. man would do 1500, but -men don't work under such conditions, and a real good man, a top-notcher, would not do .more than 1000.' Another "brickie" expressed himself very forcibly. "Lookhere,' he said: "I don't want to argue with a man who says men lay 1500 bricks a day, to the line, plumb and true. It isnt,done, and that's the end of it ' I can't do.it, and I'll back myself to beat, any thirteen weeks' trained man in the game to-day." Prominent contractors expressed the opinion that it was hard to. believe men .were doing- 1500 a day especially men with only thirteen weeks' training. Men with thirteen years' experience did not do that number in Auckland, and their average was round about 800. The Minister! of Customs' (Hon W Downie Stewart),' speaking at the banquet given to celebrate the inauguration of Greater Wanganui, «eaid. that this vwas not only an important occasion in the history of Wanganui, but it- was an unique occasion in the history of the Dominion, for it was the first occasion in which a community by growth of population and absorption of adjacent local bodies had reached' the position of being at least a potential city. Ha likened the union to that of. a wedding, and hoped that the uniting bodies would brinogood dowries of-reserves, and no debit to add to the burden of the older body The Government might give a weddin^ present, not a "rant of money", but it might christen the. town as a city; for that was the most that lay in its power to do. He realised that Wanganui had a history of singular interest. The town was founded by pioneers at a time when pioneering was a real adventure, into the unknown.- It ,was riot for the weak' and unefficient but for the strong and 'adventurous, . wfto not only had to face strenuous difficulties in pioneering but hud continually to be on their guard aaainat attacks from. Haons.. "

Most of the industrial works in Dunedm were on Saturday idle because of*a shortage of water. A year ago, less exactly a fortnight, Dunedin and its suburbs got the first of the great flood, eight and a half inches of rain'falling ' from the Saturday afternoon to the Monday'morning-. ... . ■ . -. " In the opinion of the Dunedin TranS ways Department it has become necessary to restrict the carriage of gc-ca'rts on the cars-to a certain extent, and after giving the matter due consideration the Tramways Committee of the City Council decided that instructions be issued that in the meantime 1 no go-carts are to be carried on the cars between the hours o£ 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., In commenting on the constitution and personnel of Jhe Taxation Commission, Mr. P. J. Small, president of the Manawatu branch of the Dairy Farmers' Union, stated, that it was generally, recognised that there was rid'desire to cause any friction between' townspeople and country people, but ■ taxpayers were made up of a large proportion of country people, and, therefore, the /latter had a right to have representatives on' the board. He was of the opinion that a commission of that nature should be shared by the different taxpayers of the country. "As farmers," said Mr. Small, we feel {hat we are being left out of it altogether.v / ■"■'-" -Mr. J. "W. M'Ewan, chairman of the Hutt Valley' Power Board, reported to the members of the board last week he had paid a visit of inspection to the pole-nrecting gangs, and that, with a few short gaps caused by pole shortages, the main transmission poles had been erected from the' Petoiie Esplanade Jo Quinn's Post corner at Trentham. A few days would see the work completed to Upper Hutt, and.then the gang would be transferred to erect the main line through to Eastbourne. The poles to serve the ■ township of Upper Hutt were also being erected. The main line had been/wired as-far as White's Line, Petohe. and the engineers intimated that several more ' wiring gangs would be' immediately employed. ; ■;■'•■■ .. .'. ,: '": ■ " The. questionvof steel tires on the Hutt road was discussbd by members of tfie Hutt Board Board last weelq. Mr. H. _ Atkinson (Hutt County Council) moving, in the interests of traffic safety generally, " that the council take action'under the provisions of the Act to reserve the s_ealed coat for the traffic for which it ;is intended." It was explained that notice boards would shortly be .placed in position warning unauthorised Vehicles off the bitumen strip, and that action would be deferred until those notices .were in position, - lest the person proceeded against should plead that he. knew nothing of the regulations.' Once •• the warning bgards were in! position, he would not have that excuse: .The danger., of cyclists, bo.th to themselves-and to •others upon the road, was also discussed, the Mayor remarking that he did not see in what way cyclists could be. ordered off the bitumen strip, since there was nothing in the Act to enable that to be done, whereas it was clearly laid down that steel-tired vehicles must keep off the. new surface. .He would refer the question to the City Solicitor for, his -opinion. . „ : v ■ The decision of the' Arbitration' Court in regard to an appeal by the Wanganui Meat Company against a decision of tho National Disputes Committee has beenfiled. The facts of the case.were that the company ordered ten. men down for/ 4 a.m. on Monday^ 30fch July, 1923, for the purpose of working. the Arawa. On the Saturday previous it was discover ed that the vessel would c not arrive, and all .but-two.iiien:were.,n'otified. of. tho change. The two, : mcii claimed"-: four ' hours' pay at double rates, but this the company, declined to pay. The National Disputes Committee "decided that.the'" men were entitled to double time for four hours. In: delivering the judgment "of \.the Court, Mr. Justice Frazer said that the award' did not mako provision for a, minimum payment to'"men who were ordered down for work when the ship did not arrive,; and this had the effect,of. allowing the appeal. The Court, however, was unable to give the amount to be.paid, although it thought it should be four hours 'at ordinary ■rates. The. Court was prepared. to amend the_ award in this direction if a joint application were made by" tho parties. x , . .. >■ Although for'the first few days after the publication of notice calling upon motonstss to pay'their Hutt road, fees trie response was satisfactory, {here has ( smcebeena. marked falling-bff in the numbers, of those calling at the-City Treasurer's office; and up till this morning only about.one hundred and fifty receipts had been issued. . Unless- the i daily average is/ very considerably' in-'' creased during the remainder of the month—shortened vby reason of the' Ea&ter .holidays—it would seem that the Treasurers office will be kept thoroughly busy during the last two or three days by- motorists who do not wish- to have referred to themfor their particular and individual notice,; those .clauses of the Hutt Road Act which lay'it down that every person who fails to pay the fee or fees due on or before Ist May, is liable to a penalty not exceeding £20.. Even the knowledge, that moneys gathered xin by the City Council by way of fines will b« applied to' the maintenance of the road may-fail to reconcile the motorist who pays the fine, particularly as- he must still pay his fee as well.