NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 108, 2 November 1929, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Yesterday in Parliament. Tho question whether or not the sliding scale of wheat duties should be continued in. the Dominion was discussed for many hours in the House or, Representatives yesterday, but by a large majority the principle of the sliding scale was approved. Some expedition was shown in dealing with Bills on the Order Paper. The Native .trustee- Amendment Bill was passed and progress" was reported on the Native "Washing-up". Bill and the European "Washing-up" Bill, also on the Local Legislation Bill. During thecourse of the sitting, a long statement was made by the Deputy-Leader of the House dealing with unemployment, the claim being made that the Prime Minister's' promise, made five weeks ago that work would be found within five weeks for all men desiring it, had been fulfilled. The House rose at 6.35 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. to-day, the DeputyLeader promising that, if possible, an opportunity would be given on Monday to discuss the question of Civil Servico salary "cuts." Petone and Lower Hutt Gas Supply. Several amendments were reported to the House; of Bepresentatives yesterday by the Local Bills Committee in the Petone and Lower Hutt Gas Lighting Amendment BilL The most important alteration provides that while any contract is in force between the Gas Lighting Board and the proposed company it is to be a condition of the tenure of the contract that the coal used in fho production of gas by the company shall be New Zealand coal. The clause authorising the company to lay mains for supplying gas to the Wellington Gas Company has been deleted; also that empowering the company to lay pipes for carrying liquids. Some Economical, Some Not. /. Women's capacity for spending money on dress was a subject that cropped up in a case heard in the Supreme Court at Christehureh on Thursday afternoon (reports the Press"). The claimant estimated that the amount she required to keep herself adequately clad was £200 a year. "Some women can spend loss than £200 a year on dress?" suggested Mr. I<\ S. Wilding. "And some can spend considerably more," answered claimant. His Honour (Mr. Justice .Adams) remarked that it was rather hopoless to inquire into a lady's capacity for expenditure of money on dress. Sonio of them were remarkably economical, and some were not. <■ A Big Butter Shipment. The largest shipment of dairy produce mado this season, and one of the largest consignments of butter ever sent to the Canadian market, was dispatched by the Shaw-Savill liner, Earanga, which cleared Auckland on Thursday afternoon for New York, Halifax, and London (states the "New Zealand Herald"). The vessel's cargo comprised 88,673 boxes of butter for Halifax, 39,543 for Londou, and 4405 crates of cheese for London, as well as a quantity of frozen meat and general cargo. The ship is expected to reach London about the 15th 16th December, so that the producer she is carrying will be available for" the Christmas market. Another large shipment will be taken by the Piako, which is scheduled to leave Auckland toward tho end of November. This vessel will carry 120,000 boxes of butter, some of which is for Halifax, and 3000 crates of cheese, 1

Volunteer Labour? ■A great deal of interest was displayed by strikers at the Auckland Municipal Abattoir iv the visit of tho touring TaSmanian farmers to the works on Thursday; (states the "New" Zealand Herald"). When "the motor-bus containing the visitors arrived at tho abattor the men quickly surrounded it, beIjeving it to contain a contingent of volunteer labour. When they were apprised of the nature of the visit the men gave tlie farmers an enthusiastic reception. A Point in Advertising. ■■ Speakbg of some of the chief characteristics of advertisements, in the course of an address at .the Auckland Advertising Club's Convention,' Mr. F. W. Petterd said (states the "Now Zealand Herald"): "No advertisement seems complete these days without a coupon. At one time, advertisers were satisfied if a coupon brought inquiries for a catalogue or a. sample, but today the coupon clippers aro expected to want everything under the sun, from .1 houseful of furniture to an aeroplane. The only advertiser that so far shown no inclination to use coupons is the undertaker." . - Hutt Road Cycle Track. It is oyer two t years since financial provision was made for the resurfacing by the City and Suburban Highways Board of' the cycle track along the Hutt road, but during those two years the track has undergone no improvement. The board has several times discussed the matter, and at a recent meeting decided that" the resurfacing could wait till next year. This decision does sot appeal to the, cycling clubs about Wellington, and yesterday afternoon representatives waited upon the Mayor, Mr. G. A: Troup, to ask that something should now be done. Mr. Troup replied'that he was not in a position to be explicit in the matter, as in any case the carrying out of such a work from,loan, money was subject to the approval of the Government Loans Board. He also reminded the deputation that the City Council was .not the only body concerned'in the matter of restoring the track.. Eastern Suburbs Tunnel. The clause in the Local Legislation Bill in regard to the taking of "land for the purpose.of the new Eastern Suburbs tunnel has been amended by the Local Bills Committee of the House .of A new sub-clause provides that the City Council may take for the purpose of a new street to connect Patterson street with any other street constructed on the Town Belt on the eastern side of Mount Victoria so much of the substratum of the Town Belt as may be necessary for the construction of such new street by way of tunnel through the Town Belt, the area so taken to become a, street under the Municipal Corporations Act. Problems of The Pacific. A plea for the establishment of a Pacific civil service, where the best young men attending the New. Zealand and Australian universities might be trained for diplomatic posts in the, Pacific dependencies, was made by Mr. D. M. Rae, principal of the Auckland Training College, in. a lecture on "Peoples and Problems of the Pacific," given under the auspices of the Presbyterian Summer School of Theology (states the "New Zealand Herald"). The speaker cited the ease of the Indian Civil Service, in which, with courage and skill, and maintaining the traditions of the race, young men faced great problems, surmounting them to the satisfaction of the people concerned and to the credit of their country. He emphasised the importance to the people of New Zealand and Australia, to whom he referred as the trustees of the Pacific, of understanding very definitely the economic, political, racial, geographical, and historical problems of the Pacific, so that intelligent public opinion could be brought to bear on the vigorous questions to be dealt with in the national policy. In this respect, the older maps in use in most of the New Zealand schools did not give a picture of the Pacific as a whole, but, being made for boys and girls in Britain, gave Britain in. the centre and the Pacific in two parts. This should be given as a whole, so that the ehildien might know their country's neighbours and realise its nearness to the major nations of the Pacific. "In general, we must not forget our Imperial tie, but we can best serve the Empire by working out satisfactorily our own immense problems," Mi". ' Kae said. "There is a need of co-operation, sympathy, and forbearance, but, above all, knowledge, in dealing with, these vast problems that in the past have been either shelved or treated lightly."