LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 104, 3 May 1924, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Ihe Maheno, which left Sydney at noon on the 2nd instant for Auckland, carries 74 bags of mail from Australia, 174 from beyond, and 38 parcel receptacles for Wellington.

Wednesday was the sixtieth anniversary of the Battle of the Gate Pa, between the British Forces and the Natives. One of the survivors, Mr. Harry Knowles, is residing at Tanranga. He was a member of the 68th Light Infantry. He is also a Crimean veteran. He joined the 68th Regiment expecting to go to India, but found that the regiment was ordered t o New Zealand instead (states the "New Zealand Herald ). Ihose who were killed iv action or who died of wounds received at Uate Pa were interred in the military cemetery here. They were: 43rd Buckinghamshire Light Infantry—Colonel Booth, six officers, and thirteen of other ranks; 68th Durham Light Infantrythree N.C.O.'s and men; 12th' Regiment—one private; H.M.S. Esk—CaptainHamilton and three of other ranks ; Ji.M.Sj. Harrier—(Commander E Hay and three of other ranks; ».M S Curacoa—Lieutenant Charles Hill and one seaman; H.M.S. Miranda—Gunner Watt and one marine; H.M.S. Eclipse—one marine.

Referring to overcrowding in classrooms and the accommodation of 100 children in a temporary schoolroom measuring 24 teet by 27 feet, the Eastern Hutt School Committee, in its annual report to householders, remarks .-—"Your committee is not responsible in the slightest degree for sufficient accommodation being unprovided. It has on the contrary been their greatest concern during the year to prevail upon the tardy officials to hurry on with the buildin". Often it seems that the official mind :s far more concerned with saving expense than saving the children from trouble and inconvenience.'" What satisfaction can it be to force children to sit three at a desk built for two only, or to have them trying to write without desks, as is the case with the classes at present meeting an the Methodist Sunday school 7 Nothing can be too good for the education of the rising generation. Yet a building proposal for our school has never once been submitted to the Department of Education, but what some part of the scheme has been deleted 'in accordance with the policy of the Department.' "

The area devoted to the cultivation of strawberries in the neighbourhood of Auckland will ba considerably smaller this year than in 1923, on account of the heavy loss sustained last season by growers in suburban districts. The period of planting will begin next week and. those directly .concerned estimate that the decrease in area will, be about 15 per cent. Not the same number of plants are available this year, owing to tho very dry spring and early summer. Ihe heavy rains of a few weeks ago al«o have been against satisfactory plant production. Certain of the Auckland fruit and produce auctioneering firms are themselves producing runners. Previously a good proportion of the young plants were produced by Maoris, but that system was not looked upon with complete favour by growers (states the New Zealand "Herald"). Most of the voun" plants are raised in the Waikato, and in the North, on the areas bounded by tho Wairoa, Port Albert, and Otamatea Rivers, while areas are under cultivation rpuiid Manurewa. • Lust year upwards of four and ;, half million plant* were. 11. is calculated, giwii at Norllir.utp. Birkrlale, Olonfiekl, takapiina. Birkenheud, Albany, Waikowlufi, Avon: dale South, Oleu Eden. Henderson, and ■Hie upper reaches of Auckland Harbour. On an average, about 25,000 plants grow to tliu uue lU'thu places muwed.

We will absolve the grocers from i'uy idea of profilccnnij." remarked Mr. Justice L-'razei- in the Arbitration Court ah Auckland during tile hearing, of a wages dispute. There was, his Honour supposed, hardly any trade in which there existed so much competition on the part of the small shops as in the grocery business, and that condition prevailed all over New Zealand.

I lie four loans that the Dunedin Corporation offered to the public are now fully subscribed, namely, the Public Works Loan of £40,100, the Antecedent Liability Loan of £43,300, the Flood Damage Loan of £26.000, and the Waipon Loan of £772,000. The market f nJor) T^ fr- ee; the drai«age board loan of £200,Q00 is being offered.

The New Zealand committee of the Pearson Memorial Fund met in Auckland on luesday, Mr. Clutha Mackenzie presiding. The chairman reported that subscriptions and promises totalled £40.136. The collecting expends to 31st March last were £685, or less than 20 per cent. Progress lately had been comparatively slow. To bring, the fund to the total aimed at, another £6000 was required; and an organised effort should be made to that end. It was decided to make an appeal in Auckland City and suburbs immediately.

The inaugural meeting of the Association Argentinp-Noozelandes was held in the Lyceum Club last evening. Mr. W. T. Goodwin presided. The election of officers resulted:—Patron, Senoi- TJ. Bidone; president, Mr. E.; F. Baldwin ; secretary-treasurer, Mr. W. T. Goodwin; committee, Mrs. Leek, and Messrs. A. E. Young. W. E. Budd, arid N. F. Rings. The' initial lesson of a course in Spanish, which the formation of the club has rendered possible, -was given by Mr. W. E. Budd, who has been secured as tutor, Senor Bidone giving instruction in the Spanish social courtesies, which will be observed by the club.

In the civil case in Which George Crawford, a contractor, proceeded against K. Alexander, an importer, for the recovery of £119 lls in respect of a contract for the construction of an' asphalt tennis court, paths, and other contract work, reserved decision has been given by Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court. The defence was that the amount claimed was not in proportion to the work done, and also, it- was submitted, there should be deductions in view of .the fact that the courts ; ujd the paths were not as thick as bad been specified. The Court made a deduction of £60 12s 6d, and gave judgment for the plaintiff for the balance, with substantial costs. The plaintiff was. represented at the hearing by Mr. P. H. Putnam, and Mr. R. Kennedy appeared for the defendant.

Some very attractive playing cards illustrating Canadian scenery have been produced by a well-known firm (writes j "'The Post's" London correspondent on 24th March). This firm has now approached the High Commissioner for photographs of New Zealand scenery, the object being to print playing cards illustrating the beauty spots and industries of the Dominion. Sir James Allen has submitted a hundred photographs from_which the firm will make their selection. On the back of these cards will probably appear the New Zealand coat of arms. The pictures take up most of the space on the face of- the cards, the suit and number of each card being indicated in two corners. The Canadian ! sets are printed on a particularly high quality of glazed cardboard, and" the result is very beautiful. As the New Zealand playing cards will.be sold in large quantities at the Exhibition, they should be an excellent advertisement for the attractions of the Dominion. The: manufacture of these cards, of course, is entirely a- privat-e scheme, and beyond giving permission the New Zealand Gov--eminent is not'implicated in any way. Merchants with goods to sell are popularly supposed to be not niggardly in the use of superlatives 'to describe their wares, and there are many evidences to support this belief (says the Melbourne "Argus"). While,. however, the shopkeeper may exhaust his store of, glowing adjectives, the importer has a censor in the shape of the Customs Depart^ ment to make him stick to the approximate truth. This will be brought home to importers by a notice issued by the Customs Department. It has come.; to •the notice of the Department that the words "stainless," "acidproof," and "hole-proof" have been used to descrioe imported, hosiery, whereas the Department believes that, as a matter of sober fact, no stockings ever made are1 impervious to stains, acids, or holes. "The use of such extravagant terms," the authorities declare, "is regarded as constituting a false trade description under the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act, and it Has been decided that the terms in question must be either eliminated or modified. Officials admit that the word "stainless," as applied to hosiery, is understood in the trade to mean "fast dye,"-but it is considered that the term is likely to convey other meanings to the public. "Acid-proof" and "hole-proof" are officially deemed to be equally misleading. The Department, it is stated, does not wish to hamper unduly the importers of hosiery who contravene the, Commerce Act in this manner, and will allow reasonable time for the wording to be amended. In addition to making its decision public through the Press, the Customs Department will take; further steps to make its decision known throughout the State.

Some terms of tenure that, appear odd in the light of present-day conditions are to be found in the rent-roll of the Auckland Harbour Board in respect of its endowment lands. These properties (states " The Post's " Auckland correspondent), or those of them which come, under the unusual form of- lease, comprise some important business blocks, some of which were originally under water. Long prior to the creation of the Harbour Board they were vested in the Provincial Government. While still covered with water they were leased by the Provincial Council to business firms at the proverbial peppercorn rental. In the deeds of the lease this is expressed as one shilling a year, if demanded, and that is all the revenue the Harbour Board, as successors to the Provincial Government, is entitled to collect.' The explanation is that the principal con: sideration was payment by the lessees t& the Provincial authorities of a lump sum for purchase of the right to lease, and also that as the land was still water, so to speak, the tenants, instead of the .landlord body, took full responsibility for its reclamation. Practically the whole of the sites between Fort street and Customs street east are held under leases of the peppercorn variety, and they were reclaimed in piecemeal fashion ■:is filling material became available. The periods of lease were either 99, 86, or '66 years. ' Eventually on the expiry of the existing leases the board will derive a magnificent revenue from the blocks, which will-by that time be of enormous value. 'That period, however, will not begin until the early 'forties, when the shortest^of the leases will fall in.

Kit kca-Idie's tare showing in the Haberdashery Department a splendid Enle^timi of Hair Bands for evening wear, in gold .•Hid -silver tinsel, also with beads ajid brilliants. Price* Is 9d. 2s 3d 3 S £,4 4s Gd, 5s 6d, and 7s 6d.—Advt. '

Take BonningtoiVs Irish Moss at the first sign of a cold, and the odds are against your catching the 'flu. 2s 6d and Is 6dt everywhere..—Advt t "

The Minister of Justice (the' Hob C J- larr) left this afternoon to inspect «ie Prison farming at Tokaanu and VNaikena. He was accompanied by the lUontroller-General. of Prisons (Mr C Ji. Matthews). The Minister will afterwards proceed to Auckland, and will be presest during the Fleet Week there. . Mr. Justice Stringer and Mrs. Stringer arrived in Auckland on Tuesday after a three days motor trip from Wellington. The travellers took the route via New tIZTh VT Unt essen S«-, and X, ?r g *k Awakln° G°rge road to Te Ivuiti thence to Auckland through the Waikato. With the exception of the ten"?!' ""^ a st«t stretclr near Hn T^ % r°ads Were in g°°dcondistatp t? ? a. nS^ris were in a terrible state, there being no fewer than fourteen cars stuck m the mud. the Public VSorks Department's roadmen using horse teams to drag them out. The Judge s car covered the entire trip without any assistance. There was a widespread outbreak of influenza during the year, which greatly affected the average attendance, states the report of the Eastern Hutt School Committee. It was decided by the committee to close the school for a week with the consent of the board. On the Hay this decision was made there were no less than 262 children absent, and six teachers were also affected. Events such as this, which reduce the attendance and bring down the average for the whole year, show the fallacy of making the average attendance, instead of the average roll number, the basis of determining the grade of a school and through the grade the number of teachers appointed Is there any wonder that there are crowded classes in all our large schools? Had the school's average "roll number kol' ,lnstead of tne average attendance; o<», been the factor in determining the size of the staff, then the school should have had an additional assistant. '.-

■ Annual meetings of househojders in the various school districts throughout the Wellington Education District are to be held at 7.30 p.m. on Monday. In the majority of cases the meetings will be held in the main schools of the dis-. tricts, but there are a few exceptions to this, general rule: householders in . the Te Aro school district will meet in the Early Settlers' Hall, Abel Smith street of Mount Cook in the Webb street Mission Hall, of Brooklyn in Fullford's hall Wadestown in- the infant school, Levin m the New Century Hall, Pahiatua in the Borough- Council Chambers, Ekatahuna in the Anglican Church room, and of the Carterton" school in the King's Theatre, Carterton.'As the householders' meetings offer'the one occasion in the year' for an interchange of ideas and opinions upon school needs from the point of view of parents, and as also the elections of committees for the ensuing twelve months will take place on Monday evening, considerable importance attaches to the meetings, and to such attendances as will ensure that the views of a majority of householders will be given effect to.

Community singing will be commenced in Auckland on' 11th June for a nine-weeks' season. The question was raised at the meeting of the committee on Wednesday of the attraction of suburban dwellers to the city as a- result of the community singing to the detriment of outside shopping centres. It was pointed out, however, that the organisation was primarily for the benefit •of the city worker, and every assistance and. encouragement would be given by the 'central committee in any endeavour made to establish and carry on similar singing in suburbs. - The organisation of these would serve the dual purpose of relieving any undue pressure upon the capacity of the Town Hall and remove any cause for dissatisfaction in other shopping areas: The Eev. Jasper Calder mentioned the matter of singing in harmony (states the New Zealand "Herald").- There seemed to be no reason why this should not be encouraged by medium of the "sings," which would gradually tend toward a - commuhity knowledge of harmony similar to that found in Wales, for instance. .To this end'it.is possible that people with the necessary knowledge -will be asked to distribute themselves .through . the body 'of the hall to give a lead in the singing of simple melodies in four-part harmony.

An interesting discovery, or rediscovery, has been made during the trenching operations on the main road at Karori, the turning up at a point about acouple of hundred yards on the city side of Church Hill of a deposit of blue clay, gritless, and when worked up of puttylike consistency, a clay which is considered admirably suitable for modelling. The nature of the clay was remarked upon to Mr. J. H. Howell, director of the Wellington Technical College, by Mr. H. Hamilton, a member of the Dominion Museum staff, and a sample was submitted to Mr. J. Ellis, art instructor, who pronounced it a first-rate modelling clay, quite as good as that which had in. the past to be imported from Australia. It is proposed that the Wellington Technical College should now "stock up" with Karori clay, and it is also considered probable that many inquiries from other schools, both in and out of Wellington, will be received as to supplies of clay. The Assistant t City Engineer, Mr. J. Brigham, for many years borough engineer at Karori, states that he has been aware of the blue clay deposits for a long time, and that he had suggested some years ago that it would be excellent clay for the manufacture of china. There is, said Mr. Brigham, any amount of. the clay in various parts of Karori. The work of erecting permanent headstones on soldiers' graves in Auckland cemeteries is almost completed, this-last, service to the memory of the dead being carried out by the Department of Internal Affairs, under the supervision of the local officer of the War Graves Division, Miss Statham. The-number of soldier graves in.Auckland cemeteries is 284, of which over 100 are in the Memorial Cemetery at Waikumete, and the others in Purew'a, O'Neill's Point, and Waikaraka. Practically all the temporary wooden crosses have been removed and replaced by headstones of Coromandel granite (states the "New Zealand Herald "). The work of the War Graves Division in New Zealand extends from one end of the country to the other There are no fewer than 2000 soldiers' graves, contained in 490 cemeteries, situated in all parts of the Dominion, and extending from within a few miles of the North Cape to Bluff. Some of these little cemeteries are in very, isolated spots, but every soldier's grave will eventually bear the permanent granite headstone. About 600 graves in the North Island have now been equipped with headstones, leaving 1400 to be completed. Work in the cemeteries of the South Island is being taken in hand, and after the southern war graves have been completed the 350 wooden crosses at Karori Memorial Cemetery will be replaced by the permanent stone. As the work is completed the next-of-kin are supplied with photographs of the grave. Attention is also being paid to numerous graves of men who have been on service, which cannot technically be classed as war graves, and these, in the meantime, will be marked by a simple wooden cross. This matter is receiving the attention of the Returned Soldiers' Association, to \vhich the crosses taken from the finished, graves will be delivered, to be repainted arid placed over graves that at present have nothing to | mark lie.ni.