NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 24, 29 January 1932, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Workless and Trees. , That "the afforestation of \ Crown and local body lands should, wherever possible, bo in the forefront of the relief programme for the coming winter" is 'a' unanimous recommendation to tha Unemployment Board by the New Zealand Forestry League. During 1931 the leaguo urged the utilisation of unemployed on afforestation— in particular, the Kaitoke afforestation, scheme of the Wellington Water Board —and it is continuing this effort in the present year. At the meeting of the council of the league yesterday note was made by Borne of the speakers of the; failure hitherto of the Wellington local bodies to take up the ideal and already planned Kaitoke scheme (though nearly all the local-bodies are directly concerned in the' Hutt basin and the -behaviour of the Hutt Biver), and reference,-was also made to the special activity'in unemployment matters; of the Wellington branch of tho Town Planning Institute, which' body, it was 'hoped, wonld recognise the adaptability of afforestation to 'the unemployment situation. The mover and the seconder of the resolution were Messrs. r. S. Pope and A. Seed. Captain Cook's Landing. One hundred and sixty : two years ago to-morrow Captain Cook hoisted the Union Jack in Queen Charlotte Sound and thereby, took possession of New Zealand as a British Colony in, the name of His Majesty King George the Third. Cook was voyaging round the world in tho barque Endeavour at the time. Ho landed at Ship Cove in' Queen Charlotte Sound and upon the adjacent island of Motuara. In. his narrative ho says:—"l then took the post" (one w^ich the carpenter had made and inscribed with tho ship's name and date 30th January, 1770), "to the highest part of .tho island, and after fixing it iirmly in tho ground, I hoisted upon it tho Union flag, and honoured this inlet with the name of Queen Charlotte Sound, at the same time taking formal possession, of this and tho adjacent country, in the name and for the use of His Majesty King George tho Third. Wo then drank va bottle of wino to her Majesty's health and gave tho bottle to the old man 'who had attended us up tho hill, and who was mightily delighted with his present.", Probationary. Nurses. A recommendation made by the Nurses and Midwives Registration Board that no pupil nurse be signed on tho hospital board staff until she has served a period of twelve months' probation was adopted yesterday by the Wellington Hospital Board.

Seduced Hospital Grant. i At the meeting of the "Wellington •Hospital Board this afternoon a letter was read from the Director-General of Health stating that in future there would be a 10 per cent, reduction in Government grants to hospital boards for the examination of public health specimens. This means that the existing annual grant of £1500 will be reduced to £1350. Witness Complimented. "I think the witness showed great sense and presence of mind," said Mr. T. B. McNeil, S.M., to-day at an inquest into tho death, of a man who was found dead in a gas-filled room in a hoiise at Breaker Bay on Tuesday. "Immediately on going into the room," said Mr. McNeil, "the witness turned off the gas and opened the windows. Although the deceased had been dead for some time, that was not for witness to know. Such action in some cases has resulted in' the saving of life." Steamers on Lake Wakatipn. Tenders are being called by the Government Kail ways Board for the purchase of tho ntcel paddle Steamer Mountaineer, which is at present at Queeristown, Lake Wakatipu. Tho fact that the board is selling- the Mountaineer' does not mean that there will be any curtailment of the regular lake steamer service. Two boats are regularly employed on the lake, ana a third is sometimes 'used during the busy season. 'It is understood that. .the Mountaineer has outlived its period of usefulness on the lake. . f Health Services In the North. The Minister of Health (the Hon. J. A. Young) announced last night that it had been decided- to reorganise the Health Department's activities in tho North Auckland district. Public health matters in the north have in the past been, controlled from Auckland by a medical officer of health and a school medical officer, but.from Ist April next the two posts will bo combined and the duties carried . out by an officer stationed at Whangarei.' The Minister said the arrangement would result in a considerable saving in travelling expenses alone. l Fireblight. "A fortnight ago I found signs of fireblight in my own nursery, but because it was not in a fireblight area, there being no commercial orchards in the vicinity, I found that the Department would not take steps to have cut out hawthorn hedges on the farms," said Sir Heaton Bho'des at the opening of Horticulture Week (reports the Christchurch "Press"). He thought that there should be Government regulations compelling farmers to cut down affected hedges, and he had suggested to one Farmers' Union that unemployed labour could be secured for the work. Ho was quite certain that many farmers would agree to have that done. "I hope that tho conference will take steps to have tho menace wiped out," concluded Sir Heaton. Foreign Seamen In Hospital. An American^ seaman was admitted to the Wellington Hospital some thro ago, and left the hospital owing £!2 8s for medical treatment. The American Consulate declined to accept aty responsibility; neither could the amount be recovered from tho shipowner. When the matter came before tho Hospital Board yesterday the acting-chairman (Mr. C. M. Luke) said the question raised an important point" for consideration as to what Bteps could be takento protect the board's interests in such cases.' In ,the case in point the amount would have to be' Written off as a total loss. It was agreed to inquire into the matter, and refer it to the Hospital Boards' Association for consideration. Thirsty Folk. Lower Hutt seems recently to have done pretty well in tho matter of water consumption—laTgely perhaps for gardens—but Christchurch seems to be moro thirsty. Last week-end, according to the "Press," new records for water consumption, were established. On Saturday 6,218,300 gallons of water was consumed, the previous highest consumption for one day being 5,800,000 gallons. During the hour" between 7 and 8 p.m. the record total of 450,000 gallons of water was'used, the level of ,the water in the main reservoir, falling 28,' inches. A record for Sunday-con-sumption was also set, 5,309,500 gallons being used during the day, although as a general rule the Sunday demand is only about 'three-quarters' of that of week-days. Bates Five Shillings in the Fonndl cannot go on indefinitely with the cheese-paring methods of the past year," said Mr. T. JleNab, Mayor of Mount Eden, in intimating that the Borough Council would have to strike a rate of 5s in.tho pound nes.t year in place of the present late of 4s 2d, unless amalgamation with Auckland City takes place (reports the "New Zealand Herald"). • "Even 5s in the pound would make no provision for maintenance of- any, kind,", said- Mr. McNab. "In my opinion, a rate of 5s 2d may be found necessary. Tho present rato produces £06,000, and of that amount 95 per cent, is required to pay fixed charges. V. The opinion that an. increase in rate would be necessary was readied at a special meeting of,the council at which a report on the subject was received from a committee consisting of tho Mayor and Messrs. W. H. Nagle and J. J. Mnlvihill. The report gave a comparison between tho present financial position of the city and of Mount Eden and showed the requirements of Mount Eden for the next financial year. Stating that a rate of 5s in the pound was the absolute minimum that could be strnek next year, Mr. McNab pointed out that in striking the rate of''4s 2d in the pound the eonncil had obtained authority to postpone for twelve months the,payment of certain charges on. the borough finances, which meant a temporary relief to ratepayers of Bd. That- relief had> been gained largely by a suspension of sinking fund payments, which could not be arranged again next year. The further increase of 2d.-iu the rates which the council intended to strike was to cover costs of the No. 5 scheme and interest 'on the bank overdraft, ■; Sounds as a National Park.' In the Marlborough Sounds New Zealand possesses one of the most magnificent marino playgrounds in the world, but the Sounds are without a controlling authority, and therefore continue to bo the sport of careless vt.ndals, who cause incalculable harm and damage every year, says tie "Marlborough Express:" The necessity for the proclamation of the whole area as a National Park, under the. jurisdiction of a suitable "board, has been clearly indicated for many years, and is emphasised by fecont happenings which have resulted in the destruction by fire of much beautiful bush/ and in the disfiguration of wido areas of picturesque scenic Teserves. At the present' time a few honorary rangers generously keep an eye on. things, as far as they can, but petrol for launches' costs money, and their time is also valuable, so that they are unable to cover the ground properly. Under a National Park Board methods of raising flnanco could bo evolved, and there is little doubt that tho administration would soon becoino self-supporting. In addition to taking steps to preserve the bush and the bird life of the Sounds, the suggested board could be- empowered to legislate to prevent further harm to the cod-fishing which is a feature of tho locality. Supervision would soon result in a substantial improvement, and there is no doubt that attention to this matter is

much overdue.

Bed beer Season. = The season for shooting red deer and hinds in the Wellington acclimatisation district will open on 15th March and close on 15th May. Fence for Programmes! Discussing the question of concerts and the attendance of tho public, Dr. S. K. Phillips, of Auckland, at yesterday's conference of the- Music Teachers' Association remarked that it had always struck him that tho fact that, audiences were put to the necessity of buying programmes was not calculated to put them in the best of humours. When you, go into a restaurant, you are not expected to pay for the bill of fare," he remarked. Carrying the simile further, he said that he thought a concert should be like a good musical dinner. "It should go from the hors d'oeuvres to the savouries, with something light and something serious. The public do not pay to bo educated:.they pay to be entertained." Garret* Street as a Meeting Place. Garrett street, off Cuba street, has been in great demand for a long time past as a site for open-air meetings, generally in the evening, but the City Council has lately laid it down that none shall be held there.- There have, however; been certain exceptions1 to the rule, and yesterday afternoon Messrs. P. Fraser,.M.P., l J. Thorn, and W. Atkinson waited upon the Bylaws Committeo of''the council and asked that Labour' Party speakers should be permitted, to speak there. Mr. Fraser, said that at one "time Garrett street 'was one of the locations allowed the Labour Party. Others were given the same privileges until objection was taken to ono particular speaker, and then all permission was refused. Beecntly, however, a speaker had been given permission to use "the stand tin his representing that ho had the consent of the residents of tho, street. Mr. Atkinson said that Lower Taranaki street was, an unsuitable place for meetings, as it was exposed and cold. Councillor H. A. Huggins, chairman of tho committee, said that the application would be considered, but permission to speak would be given conditionally upon the consent of the residents of the street being obtained. Mr. Fraser said that that condition was only right and proper. Little Canterbury Fruit. The prospects'for the export of fruit from Canterbury this season vdo not make very cheerful reading. The estimated total will be somewhere between 5000 and 10,000 cases, compared with the record total of 30,000 cases last season. Late frosts and a hailstorm on Ist January, and' the dry weather, have reduced, the crops very considerably, particularly in the Pap'anui and Lobnrn districts, where the bulk of fruit for export is grown. Last week-end's strong nor-'wester came as a last straw to the orchardists who specialise in apple and pear production. Their crops, already considerably curtailed, suffered severely, for the strong wind stripped the ripening fruit from the branches. From the Papanui orchardists it was learned that heavy toll had been taken of apples and pears. . Most of the fruit is now. lying on the ground and will be useless. One man said it was not sufficiently far advanced to ripen off. In any case it was too badly bruised to be of any value for export. Hospital Revenue. The Wellington Hospital Board decided this afternoon that it did not approve of a rem|fc sent by the Hokianga Hospital Board for inclusion in the agenda of the next Hospital Boards' Conference favouring future revenue for hospital .purposes being collected by means of a tax on income and wages, in the same manner as the unemployed levy. North Canterbury Wheat-Crops. . , In North Canterbury the harvesting o,!f the 1932 wheat crop has begun, and it is now generally conceded that the outlook taken in tho early part of December was unduly pessimistic, says the "Timaru Post." Yields appear to be fairly good and the quality of the grain, is excellent. Early in December the Wheat Pool sent out to two hundred representative owners a questionnaire, asking for estimates of the yields of their' own and their neighbours' crops as compared* with' the crops of last year.,-Almost without' exception the answers returned painted -* dismal picture:'' Many; of the farmers circularised'wero not enthusiastic about the probable quality, of the wheat. At tho beginning, of* this month it >,was* generally conceded that'the first.estimates of yield and condition'were unduly low and unfavourable, good, rains having to some extent altered the position. The Pool again sent out the original questionnaire with the request that the farmer who had answered 'it should amend it', if he thought it necessary. The answers have now come in, with the result that.the Pool estimates that a twenty-live' bushel yield- will probably be obtained, instead of the twenty-one bushels estimated from Ihe first returns. * Good for EviL Although the Murchisbn earthquake did much irreparaßle damage, it seems that some good, at least, will come of it. According to Mr. J. F. Burke, of Arch Hill, Auckland, one man whose farm'was overthrown in the upheaval has stayed by the-ruins,of his.home, and he is washing, a., payablei quantity of gold from a small Btream thftt'runs through his property. This 'man; said' Mr. Burke, thinks it is possible that at a time when hills were changed into velleys, and the whole face of the countryside Was altered, the rocks containing the gold, away in the back country, may also have been crushed, thus freeing more of the gold, i He is certain that more gold is gradually finding its way down the little stream in his property, and he thinks that the whole of tho West Coast may in 'the future produce considerable quantities of gold.