NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 142, 13 December 1933, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Sealing Sanson-Himatangi Koad. The motoring public generally will rejoice to learn, states "The Post's" Palmerston North correspondent, that the M-anawatu County Council, with the co-operation of the Main Highways Board, has decided to proceed immediately with the- preliminary work of permanently sealing the Sanson-Hima-tangi main highway.. This follows on receipt of an intimation from the board favouring a £3 for £1 subsidy and an expression of agreement for the work to be done as soon as'funds are available. ' . Cnristmas Tree for Pitcairn. A Cliristmas tree arid a considerable number of toys were presented to the Pitcairn Islanders when the, liner Tainui, which reached Auckland from London on Monday, called at. the island on November 30, states an Auckland message. The tree, a fir about 7ft in length, and toys were gifts from Captain A. Mclntosh, commander of the vessel, and Mr. C. J. Hobden, purser, who purchased them in- London. There are over 100 children on the island, and each child will receive a gift. In addition to the tree and toys the islanders were given bundles of clothes, which were donated by passengers who travelled to England from New Zealand by the Tainui on its last vSyage and forwarded the clothes to the vessel after they disembarked. The clothes were much appreciated by the islanders, who are feeling the effects of the depression and, in their'isolated position, rely on the assistance given by passing vessels. . . . The Carriage of Fruit. Cold storage investigations, according to a report made to the .Council of Scientific and Industrial Eesearch, reveal tho fact that it has been shown desirable to carry Cox's, Jonathan, and Stunner apples at slightly higher temperatures than has been practised in the past, iii order to reduce wastage to a minimum and maintain quality at its best level. It is anticipated that, with the progress of years, when different matters have been subjected to thorough testing, the fruit industry will be gradually provided with new information which will assist towards maintaining a high standard of quality. Cold storage investigations have, in a number of other instances, reached stages' when a certain amount of additional experimentation is necessary to secure complete verification, of results. Fishermen's Plight. "The plight of , the local fisherman today is, worse than that of the relief worker,", said the manager-of a fishing company at Thames • when commenting on the condition of the fishing industry there. He said that at present' flounders :. were ■ extremely scarce, and that not for years had the supply been so poor. Seine-net boats as well as the'local net boats were suffering. It appeared that the contention of the local'net fishermen with years of experience-that the operations of the seine nets'in the gulf would eventually prove detrimental was well founded. Snapper were , also in short supply. It was felt, he added, jthat the Marine Department was alive to the position about the depletion of the grounds, and that sooner or later regulations would be gazetted to conserve the-industry. ,■>-:'■..'■ An Optimistic, Note. > ■An optimistic note was struck by members of the Petone and. Lower Hutt Gas Lighting Board at the conclusion of. the board's meeting last evening. The chairman (Mr. W. 6. Loddor) said it| looked as if things would be better next year than this, with higher wages and, better dividends. Mr. W. G. Meldrum said the recent wool sales showed a great improvement over those of last year. Ho hoped that 'the time would come when the board, with other local bodies, could consider restoring the wage cuts. Mr. C. P. Brockelbank ■ said the first duty of all would bo to get everyone back to work. Other members were of the opinion that conditions were brighter than'they had been for some time. Workers In Private Hotels. The inspector of awards at Dunedin recently applied to the Arbitration Court for an interpretation of an order of the Court fixing minimum rates of wages for female workers in private hotels. In a considered judgment, Mr. Justice .Frazer says:—"The Court must put to itself the question 'What is a private hotel V or 'What is meant by tho private hotel industry V' In the opinion of the. Court, a private hotel, as distinguished from a boarding-house, must be taken to.be any premises in which a business similar to that of a licensed hotel (with the exception of the bar trade), including the provision and ; sale of meals to the general public, is carried on. It caters for the general public, by supplying single "meals and beds for a single night, as a licensed hotel does, whereas a boarding-house caters more especially for permanent and semi-permanent guests; The size of the establishment and the number of the staff employed do not affect the position: it is solely a matter of the class of business carried on. In the opinion of the Court, the order is binding on the proprietors of all private hotels as above defined." Research Funds Decline. Referenced made in the chairman's report to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Eesearch to the falling-off in funds received from outside the Dominion towards the cost of various researches. "In view of the falling-offi in the funds received from the Empire Marketing Board towards various researches, and from tho Bockefeller Institute towards the .maintenance of the Apia Observatory," says tho report; "it will be necessary for the council to give consideration to the measures which, should be adopted in regard to the continuation or otherwise of %the various activities affected, and an opportunity taken to bring before tho Government such recommendations as will seem most desirable to meet the position which will arise in consequence." With the conclusion of the Empire Marketing Board's activities, revision of the grants received from this body> have been undertaken by a specially constituted body in Great Britain, the policy in general being to maintain each of the remaining grants tmtil the end of their respectiye^erigd's. (

"Daylight-Saving" Relief Workers. I'or some time an early start has been made on the relief works at Korokoro, Petone. It has often been noticed that theso men start tlie day ;is early as 7 a.m. In the opinion of a fellow-worker tlio men concerned have improved on the present Summer Time; instead of half an hour more of sunshine, they now get one and '.i half hours. He suggests that tho view obtained from the works might be one of the reasons for the early start, as it is one of the most imposing in Wellington. Probably the real reason arises from tho necessity of. making up back time. Repainting Te Aro Baths. During the past two weeks bathing shelters and accommodation about the city have received a much-needed coat of paint. The recent grant of £1500 is being utilised by the council in renovating as far as possible tho city's bathing facilities. From tho point of ;view of the habitues of Te Aro Baths, however, this sudden energy has been rather ill-timed. Last week, on one of the hottest days this season, swimmers and sun-bathers found tho whole wall on the sunny side of the baths covered with wet paint. Fortunately tho seats had been left unpainted, and these w^re soon piled high with clothes. At 5 p.m. there was no accommodation left, and sun-bathers were lying all but two-deep on the decking. Much the same scene occurred this week, when more *paint was applied, and the expressed opinions o£ swimmers were even more caustic. Nevertheless, the baths are looking better now than they have done for some seasons past, and should last those few years necessary before the completion of better enclosed bathing accommodation. ■