NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 46, 31 August 1928, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Yesterday In Parliament. Many words flowed into "Hansard" in the course of yesterday's sitting of tho House of Representatives. The report of the Special Committee which considered tho London and New Zealand Bank;- Limited,' Bill was agreed to. in the afternoon after general approval had been voiced in favour of tho establishment of tho bank. The Labour Party was inclined to be critical on the point as to whether the bank would be instrumental iv cheapening credit because of inability to enter into real competition with the other banks, but none of its speakers opposed the passing'of the Bill. An Imprest Supply Bill was introduced in the evening and a general discussion ensued .on a variety of subjects. • The Labour Party projected an amendment favouring the restoration of Civil servants' salaries to the 1920 standard, but this was defeated by 43 votes to 20. An unexpected incident of the debate was the production of a telegram by Mr. Veitch alleging that the Prime Minister would agree to the Bast Coast railway following tho coastal routo, provided support was accorded the Reform Party, but Mr. Coates vigorously denied that there was any truth in the statement. Bofore the House rose at 12.50 p.m. an assurance was given both by tho Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture | that there was no fear regarding future supplies of phosphates for the Dominion from Nauru, and that ample notice would be given by Great Britain if she required more than her quota of 42 per cent. The Legislative Council spent a profitable hour in the afternoon, passing the Surveyors Registration Bill, the Sruveryors' Institute Amendment Bill, the Noxious Weeds Bill, the Rabbit Nuisance Bill, and the Law Practitioners Amendment Bill. Otaki Rating Commission. In reply to a question asked by Mr. W. H. Field (Otald) iv the House of Representatives yesterday, the Minister in Charge of the Valuation Department (the Hon. A. D. M'Leod) said it was hoped to present the report of the Ofcaki Rating Commission and that of the Commission which made general rating inquiry, next week. Unemployment Estimates. Discussing the subject of unemployment, the annual report of the Labour Department says that estimates of unemployment are apt'to bo misleading, as the question depends on tho duration of the unemployment in each ease rather than on tlje number of persons. It is found that a large proportion of the unemployed change from week to week or month to month, showing that many of them have not been idle for a lengthy period. It is also necessary to take into account the nature of each applicant's occupation and his earnings during the, past year or two years. An inquiry into all the serious cases of unemployment pn these lines is now in train. Church of England Bill Altered. A number of amendments have been made in the Church of England Empowering Bill as it was returned to the Legislative Council yesterday afternoon by a Special Committee. In most instances the alterations are in the interests of* more aceurato expression. A proviso has been added to the clause, lylrich authorises the alteration of "the formujariqg and authorised version of the Bible, stipulating that the General Synod is npf fo depart from the Doctrine and Sacraments of Christ as defined in the Constitution of the Church. To be valid, any alterations made must in each case be confirmed by a twothirds majority of General Synod, after a majority of the' Diocesan Synods have assented. , ■ %' Maori Not a Museum Object. > The Historical Association, said Sir Apjrana ftata, in his address to the Wellington branch last evening, should avoid the common error of studying the Maori merely as a museum object, and dismissing him from the story of New Zealand as it is to-day, and as it will bo to-morrow. A learned professor left New Zealand lately after publishing a historical sketch of the country. In other lands he was asked as a New Zoalander ans as an authority, what contribution, if any, the Maori race had made to the eepnpmic progress of New Z/ealand. In other words, did the Mapri do any yyprk? He fouuri hinir self unable to answer except in tho most general way. Like a candidate in the examination room who had not crammed the particular subject,' he could refer only' to tho literature, tho arts, and the mythology of the brown brethren he hRd known here; but catching at any straw, he recollected hearing of some Maori farming on the East Coast of New Zealand This exemplified a mental attitude not uncommon in the highest ranks of rosoareh. The investigations now being conducted into the part tho Maoris have taken and are taking in the economic life of New Zealand should do much to correct not only ignorance, but error, the error that too often characterises the Anglo-Saxon mind in approaching Native problems and facts. The impatience of tho white settlor together with tho aloofness of the Universitytrained intellect combine to affect the focus of the most friendly investigator.

Hospital Visiting Hours. The Hospital Board decided yesterday that the hours for visiting patients in the Hospital will in future bs: — Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 3 to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 7 to 7.30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m. The visiting hours at the children's hospital will remain as at present. Hidden History. j "The Land Transfer certificate, | which declares an indefeasible titlo to a parcel of land, and is backed by an [ assurance fund, is a monument of simplicity and directness. How much history lies behind it?" asked Sir Apirana Ngata of, ids audience last night. Answering himself, ho wont on to say: "It has behind it the chequered history of the North Auckland Peninsula, of.tho clash of cultures in and around the Bay of Islands, of claims preferred by whalers, Sydney merchants, adventurers, missionaries, and Crown agents, superimposed on contending claim? from tho aboriginal occupiers. The last named ran the gamut of native history, a most complicated one >to disentangle, without tho aid of genealogical charts, back two or three centuries before the earliest white settlement. of the Bay of Islands." . Gone For Ever? "Writers of New Zealand history," said Sir Apirana Ngata last night, "harped on the picturesque elements in the Maori ,make-up, which one of them was assured would persist and become valuable in the characteristics of the future New Zealander. Tho Maori who was fisherman, fowler ; agriculturist, architect, eanoo-builder, engineer, organiser, ruler, diplomat, and statesman apparently ceased to exist with the first vigorous gesture of European civilisation." Better Than Peace Pacts. A Maori saying was, "Marry your sister or your brother so that you may curse or ill-use one another without occasioning offence to any one," said Sir Apirana Ngata last night in his address to the Historical Association. By "sister" or "brother," he added, the Maori here meant first or second cousin. Wars were thus avoided, lands retained within the family circle, and chiefly rank maintained at a high level. Lessons on the Peace Pact. The Minister of Education (the Hon. B. A. Wright) in a circular letter received yesterday by the College Board of Governors, wrote that m the recent Peace Pact was of such world-wide importance and significance, bo suggested that headmasters and principals of schools should be requested to ceJcbrato the occasion as soon as tho schools re-opened by giving appropriate addrosscs and lessons on the aims and objects of 'the League of Nations and the signilicanco of the Treaty. The board agreed to the suggestion. Sickness and Unemployment. In submitting the accounts of the Social Welfare Committeo to the Hospital Board yesterday. Mr. Q. Petherick said that the amount for the month, £2618, was the largest he had presented during his experience as chairman, but it included £300 to tho Education Department for the maintenance of defective children. There had, he said, been a email increase in the unemployed relief granted, and the authorisations for rat-ions was larger than usual owing to sickness among the breadwinners of families, i Work and Wages. The annual report of tho Labour Department states that 90.4: per cent, of disputes dealt with bj Commissioners and Conciliation Councils during the year ended 31st March, 1928, were settled .or substantially settled by them. It should be noted, however, that in some- cases the settlements reached merely' followed upon recently-made awards pf tho Cpurt, or settlements through the Commissioners or Councils in the same or similar industries elsewhere. Nine disputes in which only minor recommendations or no recommendations were' made were gpnfined to three industries, namely, sawmilling (7), theatrical work, and driving, while 85 disputes settled or substantially settled covered 45 industries. In regard to wages in yarious callings, it; is stated that while for a number of years the rates generally paid frequently, exceeded the award rates, thp wages now being paid tenjied to fall towards tho award rates. Tho number of awards in. force at the end of tho year was ■472. Recuperative Power pf the Maori. The amazing thing about the Maori race, said Sir Apirana Ngata in tho course of his address to the" Wellington branch of tha'iNew {Zealand Historical Association last evening, is. thai contrary tQ pxperience \yjth other primitive peoples who became subject to tho influences of western civilisation and faded away before them, the Maori race seems to have recovered its grip on life and to have jjeepnie a living, if a minor, faster in the history of the Dominion. One is tempted to attribute the miracle, whpliy-tp the beneficent teachings and guidance of civilisation, deriving the liveliest satisfaction from the contemplation pf this well-earned result. But the honest historian wil) find upon a close examination, of the case that some of the elements in the primitive Maori policy and in the Maori character have had their sharp in tjie present revival, and that civilisation would haye'failed as dismally with $he Majpr; as it has with other races on tlie same eulturerplane, if there was not in the Maori himtjolf and in his, agelong .experience responr sivo characteristics capable of adjustment to tJiO new order of life, '