NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 95, 23 April 1931, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

"The Evening Post."" , • "The Evening Post" will not be published on Saturday, Anzac Day. Yesterday in Parliament. Thero was little of: interest in yesterday's sitting of the House of Representatives to give real- satisfaction to the fairly large "galleries" which watched the proceedings both nn the afternoon and in tho evening. Tho debate on the flour and bread question m the afternoon was not productive of any new points or suggestions, and was inconclusive, an amendment moved by the Leador of tho Labour Party advocating a further investigation by a Committee of the House being "talked out" by tho tea adjournment. The \6vening session was devoted to the continuation of the second reading debate on the Finance Bill (No. 2). Tho only interesting featuro was an unusual speech- made by the new membor for ■Western. Maori, Mr. Taito To Tomo— his maiden effort in the House. Speaking thro»gh an' interpreter, he amused the House by prefacing his remarks with the formula "Glory to God'in the highest and honour to the King," concluding with a genial "Ida ora." As the House adjourned at midnight tho Leader of the Opposition asked when the session might end. Tho Prime Minister replied that he could not say bocause ho did not know how long the discussion on Bills yot to be concluded would last. Ho would niako a statement in regard to'tho business of the House to-day. Optimism, Not Opossums. , Having preached in Auckland to some fruit-growers tho gospel of optimism, His Excellency tho GovernorGeneral, when subsequently at Eotorua, was approached by one of his hearers. The latter, said His Excellency yesterday, when opening the flower show in the Town Hall, told him that he was in some trouble about the advice His Excellency had given; "What beats me," said the fruit grower, "is why you fold us to cultivate opossums." His Excellency added to this story a strong^ plea for optimism in the home and in national life. The psychological value' of a bright garden, he said, was a great aid to the cultivation of optimism. Appreciation of Native Floral "' Eemarking that the beauty of the native flora in New Zealand was second, to none in the world, His Excellency the Governor-General, at yesterday's opening of the flower show iv. tho Town Hall, said that wkon the time came for him and Lady Bledisloe to leave, which they would be very sorry to do, he hoped that he would have loft the people of the Dominion with a greater appreciation of their nativo flora than they had when he arrived. Ho would be happy if this was so, for he was afraid that many did not appreciate the native flora as they should. These remarks were made in connection with the trophy which ho has donated for competition amongst gardens growing native plants. Hutt Road Speeds. That hardy annual, the question, of Hutt road speeds, again came under, the consideration of- the City and Suburban Highways Board yesterday, and another discussion much on tho same lines as many previous ones ensued without any definite step being taken. The Town Clerk reported that the average speed by all classes of vehicles on the Hutt road was considerably higher than was thought safe. Varying opinions as to what was safe, and what was not, were expressed by members of the board, and in the end it was decided to hold tho matter over on Mr. Stott saying that it was quite possible that the now Motor Regulations, which .were about to come out, would contain some provision which might have bearing on tho speed limit.

Politician's Busy Day| The experiences of Mr. W. J. Poison, M.P., on Saturday afford an illustration of tlie facilities that exist to-day for rapid transport, says au exchange. Speaking at the I'arniors' Union gathorjng at Loppe'rton in (,he evening, i he remarked that lie had left Welling-1 ton that afternoon at 2.30 by aevo-j plane, and had arrived at "Wanganui I at 3.45. Ho'remained there for the | opening of the new aerodrome, and left for Stratford at 4.15 p.m. by car, ! arriving at Stratford shortly after 6 ■ o'clock. At 6.45 ho was present at ai meeting which did not -finish until two or three minutes after 8 o'clock, when | he proceeded by car to Leppcrton. It; was nearly 11 o'clock when he left ou ■ liis return to Stratford, so that ho had experienced, as ho remarked, a busy | day, even for a politician. ' j Maori Greetings in Melbourne. > Kecontly pcoplo in one of Mel-1 bourno's busiest business streets were startled to hear a loud Maori greet-' ing, and turning to sco what was hap-, pening, found that the clamour was created by two well-known New Zoa- i landers who wero meeting after a lapse of years. They were Mr. G. N. Goldie,' ■ of Wellington, and Mr. W. M'Konzie, better known to residents of the Dominion as "Off-side Mac," famed to a past generation as a Rugby player. Mr.' M'Kenzie is now living at East Malvorn,,and is on. the stall, of the Mel-1 bourne "Herald." Mr.'Goldie, who is accompanied by his wife, sailed from Sydney on the Balranald towards the | end of last month, en route to England,; where he hoped-tri witness the England tennis championships at Wimbledon in June. ■ ' Tram and Bus Earnings. "The question; of bus services is a most difficult one," said Councillor G. j Mitchell, a Civic League candidate for I tho City Council, speaking at Seatoun on Tuesday. '-'The public demand has been for biggor and better buses, until they are -now most luxurious affairs, somo oP them, doing only live miles to the gallon of petrol. A comparison of the cost and roturns may bo interesting: Tho trams cost; 23 l-3d per car milo to run; they earn 23Jd. The buses cost 21i}d per car mile to run; they earn" 12Jd. Tho trams carry 10 people per ear milo; the buses 3 2-3.. The power of transport for trams is made in New Zealand; tho bus power is imported. Buses are necessary feeders to trams, but to rvm buses with twenty-four seats for less than four people and to run .thqm alongside half-empty trams is wasteful. It would appear that a smaller bus/ which could be run at a greatly reduced cost, would give tho outlying pcoplo quite as good a service, cut out some of the loss, and allow tho services to be maintained and improved." Evans Bay Reclamation. In an address to electors at Kilbirnie on Tuesday, Councillor H. A. Huggins, a Civic League candidate for the City Council, deplored the lack of any finality or satisfaction regarding the safeguarding of the bathing area in Evans Bay, and said that tho only recourse was to secure legislation to limit the rights of the Harbour Board to reclaim, so countering the wide powers obtained by tho board twenty years ago, "when the City Council was asleep." Mr. Andrew Fletcher, a member of the Harbour Board, raised objection to N that statement. Was Mr. Huggins aware, he askod, ■ that tho Act giving the Harbour Board power to reclaim was put through Parliament at tho request of the City Council, not of tho Harbour Board? "Yes," replied Mr. Huggins; ho know that the request had come from the council, not from tho board, but tho then Mayor had been, responsible, while tho council had boen asleep. "Vory good," remarked Mr. Fletcher, "but your first rof orence to the council being asleep scarcely suggested tho actual position." Councillor W. J. Gaudin, speaking later, said that he thought that a good bargain could bo struck with tho Harbour Board, as the compensation dispute in respect of the Thorndon esplanado had not yet been settled. Beneficial Pruning. , , Pruning, besides being beneficial to plants, was also beneficial when applied in an economic sense, remarked His Excellency tho Governor-General at yesterday's opening of the Town Hall flower show. "In tho present economic condition of the world, including this Dominion," he said, ''not only is pruning jn an economic sense inevitable, but, if prudently and equitably applied, it has salutary effects upon both nations and individuals. Indeed, -,tho wisest philosophers ' throughout ' the ages havo contended that, whereas tho highest happiness is'to be found in simplicity of living, affluence and over indulgonce are sources of discontent, unhappiness, and; ultimate degradation. Tho science of pruning^ whether applied to plants, human beings,-or nations, is always worthy of precise study, and may prove in times like these to be a source not only of enterprise, ingenuity, and resourcefulness, but of immense porsonal satisfaction and increased selfrespect." "Grows Like a Snowball." ' ■ "If there is ono more candidate for thj council than there was at the last election, it will probably mean another hundred counts," said Mr. Albert Freeman, substitute returning officer for the Christchurch City Council elections, states tho "Chrisfcchurch . Star." Mr. Freeman's remark was prompted by the fact that thero is a prospect of the number of candidates for the City Council being at least 35, as against 32 at the last election, when 461 counts wero required under the proportional representation system to return the full number of sixteen councillors. The I system is still in force. "The thing' grows like a snowball," Mr. Freeman continued. "Two or throe more candidates will necessitate several hundred more counts, and personally I would rather see fewer candidates than there wero at the last election." Mr. Freeman, said he was making provision for a.bigger poll than the previous one.