LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 146, 17 December 1924, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Hn yar.lous speaker at the civic recepan? t fr Excell«":«K>. Sir Charles and Lady Ab.ce Ferguswn at the Town Hall last night referred to the excellent impression which Sir Charles had made by the speech which-he delivered after the sweanng-in ceremony at Parliament Buildings on Saturday afternoon. In humorous vein, Sir Charles replied that he wished he had never made Saturday s speech. "After listening to the extraordinarily kind remarks that have been made," he-said, "I begin to regret that 1 ever made thaf: speech the other day, because I feel like the who has gone round in the best number of strokes that he ever did, and feels Jt would be better for him if he never tries to go round again." (Laughter.) "What is the position in regard to .weed limits on the Hutt road!" asked Mr. H. W. Shortt at yesterday afternoon s meeting of the City and Suburban Highways Board. '-Does the speed through Kaiwarra aud Khandallah remain at 12 miles an .hour? ... I think it wants altering; very few cars can do it_on top gear. If motorists can do 20 miles an hour in Willis street, then they should be able to do twenty through Kaiwarra, It's a bugbear of ail motorists." Councillor H. D. Bennett supported Mr. Shortt, and moved that it should be a recommendation to the City Council that the speed through Kaiwarra and Khandallah should be increased, the speed on the remainder of the road to remain as at present. The Mayor and Mr. J. W. M'Ewan held that twenty miles an hour was too high a speed through Kaiwarra on account of tho fact that the children in that area had nowhere to play and so went out upon the road. Mr. Wright recalled that reports had already beeii asked for from the police and the chief traffic officer upon the advisability of increasing the speed. It was decided to defer consideration of the proposal to increase the speed above 12 miles through the settlements until those reports were received.

An interesting proposal in connection with the Evans Bay power-house was mentioned to a "Post" reporter to-day by the Gneral Manager of Tramways and Power Station, the utilising of surplus Maugahao power for the preliminary heating of water for the power station boilers, thereby bringing about a very considerable saving in the fuelling bill. The heating of water on a large scale by means of electricity is an expensive business, as far as current consumption is concerned, but' everything depends upon the price, of the current, and since there will be any amount of current to spare during the night hours the system will really be inexpensive in operation. The council will buy so much power over the full 24 hours of the .day, power short of that required during the hours of the peak load (the Evans Bay station joining in durin" those few hours), but very considerably above what is required to keep the city Srfjt\ /W^S"? the Prin«P^ which will be followed if the water-heating pioposa! is followed out will be that it is wiser to use power than to pay for it and receive no service. It has been suggested that a similar practice mMit be followed in taking the ed*e off the water at the ThorndoTi baths! The heat! &££ er7-^--n— db adapted to this new purpose. "A dozen times within the oast ear," writes "Safety First," <We Se toeS, ref?l'i n C6S r°mid tlle couuci' table to the wisdom, the advisability, or *he absolute necessity of a city rciulaX TctV 111 C0W1)el citi^ to Seriu m-fl G f grai"s of wmmon-sense tn nf g r°m °i le side of the street to Ihe , T', b, Ut ' llke,tbe. consolidation of ■entlv ?n y 7 S' the matter is aPPaI" en% atm uud6 r c . onsidel . ation _ Nq l * ?2h" P08?? 5810" °* all his faculties wnll „nT " favourabJy a pleasant walk up the centre of Willis street, but takTthn t T °^ fiVe luite "W frn il f k Of accld«'t by starting off come r th: n fr tpath,- at the "«**' str^ corner and reaching safety at somewhere well on the way to Stewart DawSriit" t C? m|no?u kw glVes tllem full right to please themselves, and common•ense is apparently not sufficiently called upon by those three 'jay-walkers.' h?M tVUrthet CoU»cil^«etings are to be held this year, presumably nothino- can ™I ffl ft OUe> %5 b the B Jrl^s Committee might possibly start away in the New that 1" r t (? raw l u«. UP a by^w insisting should -Streets Pedestrian» should cross at definite crossing places, or, at any rate, should at lelst walk directly from lootpath to footpath. Past experience has shown that between the actual drawing up of bylaws and their enforcement-or official enforcement, a rather, different matter—at least twelve months must elapse; but it may be that, " *n. c wl»eels are speeded up a little, Wellington may know and observe a common-sense regulation for the greater satety and comfort of pedestrians and drivers alike by Christmas twelvemonth : that, however, may be to take a rather optimistic view of bylaw progress." ' J r

According to a Preis Association message, the Christchurch City Council has declined to allow picture theatres to operate on Christmas Day.

About £1700 is still wanted to finance the Buuedin soldiers' memorial, but if is understood there 'is every probability of the work being started after the holidays.

A large deposit of good lignite coal has been discovered near Kurciw, states a- Press Association message fiom Oamaru. The face of the seam is 22ft hi depth. Application for % coal lease is being made to the Otago Laud Board, and mining operations will be commenced next month.

Sir George Fenwick, of Dunedin, who returned yesterday by the Maheno, after a ten months' tour, when interviewed, said he agreed with, the statements of several other business men on the Maheuo that British trade and commerce were steadily on the mend, an improvement to which the recent political events had largely contributed.

Community singing, by general agreement among community singers, is for winter weather and winter evenings, but -the proposal that all should join in the singing of Christmas carols in the Town Hall on Monday evening should be very well taken up. The visiting Samoan chiefs have been invited to attend and will sing some of their native folk and other songs. The Samoans are a music-loving and musical people, and their numbers should be a great attraction. Mr. H. Temple White will direct the carol singing.

One point of similarity between NewZealand and the Homeland was brought under the notice of the new GovernorGeneral, Sir' Charles Fergusson, by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. T. M. Wilford) when welcoming Their Excellencies on behalf of the Opposition at the civic reption at the Town Hall last night. "Sir," he said, "you will find nothing unfamiliar in any of our streets in this country. In this country we are diggers. We dig up all our streets the same as you do—(laughter)— and I hope his Worship the Mayor will not mind the dig lam having at him." (Renewed laughter.)

Some woollen mill owners in the North have been compelled to reduce hands, but the reduction, so far as Dunediu is concerned, is not on a large scale (states "The Post's" Dunedin correspondent). At Roslyn Woollen Mills, the largest' concern in Otago, the reduction amounts to only about 10 per cent.,- or between 60 and 70, mostly girls, .and they have been notified that if they possess the qualifications most of them will have an opportunity of being taken on after the holidays in the firm's other factories. The Mosgiel Woollen Company has so far not put off any hands, the required reduction for the present being effected by not taking on new workers to fill the places of those who are voluntary retiring.

In reply to a question from Councillor H. D. Bennett at yesterday afternoon's meeting of the City and SuDurban Highways Board, the City Engineer (Mr A. J. Paterson) said that it was unlikely that the Kgahauranga Gtwge road up from the Hutt road would be given a bituminous surfacing prior to the removal of the mixing plant from- Ngahuranga to its new site at Petone, as no arrangement as to widening and paving had yet been come to with the Main Highways Board. Councillor Bennett suggested that the public would be inclined to pass unkind remarks if material were carried back from Petone; at present the mixing plant was on the spot. Mr. Paterson replied that though the haulage would be more expensive, the compensation which would have to be paid to the residents at Ngahauran<»a would balance off that additional cost.

Speaking at yesterday's meeting of the City and Suburban Highways Board, Mr. W. T. Strand, Mayor of , Lower Hutt, suggested that the board should at an early date consider the increasing of the proposed heavy traffic license fees, £2 per ton. An enormous volume of traffic was upon the roads, and it was necessary, in his opinion, to increase those fees to at least double to cover the damage which would b e done. Auckland was imposing a very much heavier rate. Mr. J. W. M'Ewan advised that the board should wait awhile; it would be found that the Auckland fees would probably be the subject of legal action, and if a ruling was given against the Auckland City Council fees wnich might be fixed by other bodies could not hold. Mr. Strand intimated that he would give notice of motion in regard to an increase of fees prior to the next meeting of the board.

An amusing story bearing on Her Excellency Lady Alice Kergusson's repute as a Maori linguist was told by the Gov-ernor-General when speaking of the Maoris at the civic reception accorded Their. Excellencies at the Town Hall last night. "My father and Her Excellency's father were greatly interested in, and had many friends among, the Maori race," remarked Sir Charles Fergusson. "Indeed, Her Excellency, I be-' lieve, had the reputation of being expert in the Maori language—(applause) —whether she deserved that reputation I do not know, but at any rate may I tell you that at the time when we were engaged to be married one of the newspapers, in one of those cha-nnin" nights of fancy that newspapers 'sometimes, indulge in, in announcing our engagement, referred to our connection with New Zealand, and said that, the young couple are able to converse with each other in the Maori langua"e. (Laughter.) For my part, I am happy to say that Her Excellency conveyed her concurrence with the proposals which I had Jaid before her in a more natural and, to me, a more intelligible manner." (Laughter and applause.)

If first impressions count for anything, then the 628 assisted immigrants who arrived at Auckland by the Pakeha from Southampton should be pleased with their prospect of settling down in this country, says a Press Association message from Auckland. This was the largest batch of immigrants which has arrived in New Zealand during the year Special sleeping compartments were &C ted up on the Pakeha, and the general opinion seemed to be that the quarters were very comfortable indeed. Deck space, as was to be expected of a cargo steamer, was not as extensive as it might have been, but this did not prevent .the holding of deck games on the ■way out. The passengers were full of praise for the efforts of Commander W. P. Clifton-Mogg, his officers, and crew. I An. outstanding feature ,o£ these new colonists is their obvious physical fitness. Men, women, and children alike all appeared to be in the pink of condition, and all those approached stated they realised that if they were to succeed in this country they would have to work, and were prepared to work. There was again a predominance of immigrants of Scottish origin. There was also a large proportion of English people and a fair sprinkling of Irish. Almost every trade is lepresented. Amcng the men there is a batch of some fifteen qualified engineers who are going to try their luck in the Dominion. Many intend to settle on tho land, while others expressed their intention of going in for mining. Withal there was wholehearted contentment on all sides, and little batches could be heard painting a picture of the future in glowing terms. One Scotsman could not suppress his enthusiasm, and gave vent to his feelings through the bagpipw. Around th» dscks he marched, »ud ft« ioou had » p«ud