"ALL THE BENEFITS"

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 34, 9 August 1934, Page 12

"ALL THE BENEFITS"

"The public is entitled to all the benefits of the march of progress in transportation, and nothing will prevent that consummation." This sentence, taken from Mr. Alder ton's decision on an appeal to the Transport Co-ordination Board, is an important declaration of the principle which ■should govern the allocation of business among various carrying services. But one has only to read the report of the Railways Board and the decisions of other members of the Transport Co-ordination Board ■to see that, while the principle may be simply stated, its interpretation is most difficult. Mr. Alderton held that the appeal before the board should be allowed because a' road transport service could carry goods at less than railway charges. Mr. Johnstone, another member of the board, while agreeing with this decision, stated:

1^ may bo that the ultimate- cost tov the ratepayers owing to tho extra use of the roads is higher than appears at first sight to be the case. If that is so it appears to mo that any such discrepancy can bo bettor adjusted by means other than tho dismissal of this appeal.

Sir Stephen Allen, chairman of the board, who favoured the dismissal of the road transporter's appeal, was more definite and said that the extra maintenance of roads should be added to the road cost. The preference for-road transport was really false economy. It comes to this therefore: in preferring road service some ratepayers may not be obtaining a benefit, as they will pay more by paying twice, once in freights and once in rates. But if they can manage to avoid the rate payment they will get the service below its true cost. Herein lies the significance of the ■ derating movement. It proposes that road maintenance costs should be paid by road-users, a sound principle while there is competition between road, rail, and sea. To maintain the soundness of the principle, however, derating must not be rurally . onesided. The road-vehicle taxation must be distributed over all roads according to their use by taxed vehicles. This means, we are convinced, that more of the motor taxes will go to the towns, and part of the maintenance cost, both in town and country, will probably still fall on rates unless motor taxes are raised. We cannot be sure of this because we have no complete statement of road costs and part of the tax has been diverted to the general revenue. But it is clear that an inquiry (now promised) into road costs and taxes is due, and, further, an inquiry to determine how the funds should be fairly allocated.

Under present conditions some persons may be receiving "all the benefits" of the march of progress and others may be paying all the cost. There is much further adjustment to be carried out before,, the system can be deemed fully equitable. For example, the adjustment touches the use or disuse of facilities of which the community has already provided the capital cost. The Railways Board makes it quite plain that, if the transport authority decides that a road service is suitable for a district that district may have to carry on with road transport for all purposes. The railways will not be run just to take unprofitable business at a loss. It may be, also, that residents of a district will be faced with a further problem: that the business is not enough for a railway, an expensive harbour built with borrowed money, and expensive roads. They will have to decide whether they wish for all three and are prepared to pay for all three. One tiling, however, should be made plain: that mainten-J ance of three services on a nonpaying basis is more than "all the benefits of the march of progress." It is sheer luxury, miles ahead of the point reached in the march. Those who want it must pay for it themselves.

"Dentists should be of great service in tho discovery of singing talent," roniar,ked a visiting singer in Christchurch recently. "A dentist with somo experience of voice production," he said, "could tell from the manner of tho opening of the patient's mouth and the position in which the tongue lies whether the patient has beon trained and whether the singing voiae would come through smoothly from tho right place or merely be manufactured in the throat. Thero is nothing more painful than to listen to a singer .straining with a voice produced from tho throat."

NEWS OF THE DAY

A Slight Earthquake. , A Press Association mossygc from Mastorton records tho oocurronco there 1 of two earthquake shocks at 8 a.m. to- ■ day. Tho seismographs at the Domin- [ ion Observatory, Kolburn, recorded oho • small shock at that time, the distance from Wellington being estimated 'at ' about fifty miles. A few people in '■ Wellington felt the shock, which was . very slight. Length of Opossum Season. Following an application by a Petono resident last month for an exten-1 sion of the Wellington opossum season, which was gazetted for six weeks, the Wellington Acclimatisation Society wroto to the Under-Soerctary of .Internal Affairs stating that it would bo unwise to do this owing to the grave effect tho extension would have upon the numbors of opossums remaining in the bush for future seasons. Last night tho Under-Seeretary of Internal Affairs replied that lie had decided against any extension of the present season. Loads of Heavy Vehicles. In commonting on the difficulties drivers of lorries had in estimating the weight • of certain loads, Mr. H. H. Daniell, in tho course of his defence of a man charged in the Upper Hutt Court yesterday with overloading his lorry, said that tho regulations concerning loads were brought out mostly at the time-, when the vohicles had solid tires. It had been shown that approximately 50 per cent, more could be carried on pneumatic tires than solid. He believed that the whole system of weighing motor vohicles was at present under consideration; indeed, he would go as far as to say that the system would probably be changed so that tiro pressure would bo the factor on which weights would bo fixed. Turnbull Library. Mr. A. T. Bothamloy has presented to tho Turnbull Library the 1851 edition, 3 volumes, of Buskin's "Stories of Venice," in full calf binding, with all tlio architectural illustrations in lino, colour, and etching. This is tho chief of Buskin's works .devoted' to architecture, and is :m analysis of the fine building of St. Mark's, at Venice. Some time since, Mr. Bothamley presented to tho library some hundreds of parchment deeds, all relating to one estate, and including doeds of a monastery founded in 1146. .The deeds dato chiefly from the timo of Elizabeth onwards, and are valuable from a. paleographic point of view, furnishing examples of very many styles of handwriting extending over about four centuries. The documents are mostly in English and Latin. , *. Humane Opossum Killing. A report by Ranger P. W. Willsou on dispatching trapped opossums, received by the Wellington Acclimatisation Society last night, stated that tho present method was to bleed tho animal by cutting the throat. ■ There was nothing inhuman in. this. By bleeding a clean pelt was secured. What was. most objectionable and cruel was to bludgeon tho opossum without bleeding. Ho had' heard of instances whore tho opossum was bludgeoned until apparently dead, and found to bo alive hours afterwards." Only a few inexperienced trappers would do', this. With reference to a suggestion by the S.P.C.A. regarding the use of pea rifles to dispatch trapped opossums, it1 was stated that it was not desirable that poa rifles should bo permitted in tho forest by trappSrs, as this would result in the shooting of pigeons ami other native birds. Wyatt Earp for Auckland. The expedition ship Wyatt Earp, which, carried the Lincoln Ellsworth Antarctic Expedition to tho ice barrier in' Docomber last year, left Dunedin yesterday morning for Auckland, where she will load th c repaired Northrop Gamma monoplane Polar Star. The aeroplane is on board the Monterey, which is due at Auckland tomorrow from Los Angeles. With her are Messrs. Bernt Balehen, C. Braathen, and W. Lanz, who aro pilot, engineermechanic, and radio operator respectively of tho Polar Star. They are to join the Wyatt Earp at Auckland. In about two weeks' timo the ship will return to Dunedin to load stores, oil fuel, and tho Polar Star outfit, in preparation for the voyage to Deception Island, which will probably commence jin September. ; . "The Matriculation Bogy." "I am very glad that the matriculation, bogy is going," remarked Mr. A. K. Anderson, tho retiring headmaster of St. Andrew's College, at the gathering in Ms honour at Christchurch on Tuesday (reports the "Press"). Mr. Anderson said that it was timo that tho university entrance examination ceased to bo a universal standard of attainment, and he welcomed tho introduction of tho school certificate examination. As an oxamplo of the worst effects of the "matriculation bogy" Mr". Anderson quoted the case of a boy who, through some difficulty with languages or other reasons, had shown little prospect of matriculating. The father of the boy interviewed Mr. Anderson, and at the conclusion his remark was: "Mr. Anderson, if that boy docs not pass the matriculation examination, I will kill him." Bagpipes, Noises, and Cows. The effect of noises, and incidentally of the playing of bagpipes, on the quality of milk given by cows was discussed by counsel and witness in tho Christchurch Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, states the "Press." A witness who was the owner of a dairy farm said that an altercation between two men in tho cowyard would disturb the cows and cause their blood to become heated and their milk to be adversely affected. His business was concerned particularly with milk for infants, and ho agreed with his own counsel (Mr. P. W. Johnston) that the children drinking this milk might possibly suffer. The opposing counsel (Mr. A. S. Lyons) asked later whether it was not true that bagpipes were often played to cows to sweeten tho milk. The witness considered that the, sound of bagpipes would have not quite tho same offect as tho noiso'and commotion of two men fighting. Cathedral Chapter's Woes. ' , The story o£ a midnight search through the city for a tarpaulin big enough to cover a section of tho Cathedral organ which was believed to bo menaced by a leak in the roof that almost invariably followed a hail or snowstorm, is told in tho "Church News," which states that.at a time when its finances are soverely embarrassed, tho Christchurch Cathedral chapter is faced with a number of troubles "involving expenditure which makes it blench." First the flcur-de-lys ornaments round the top of the stonework of tho tower were found to be shaky and have to be removed piecemeal lest they should crash on somoone's head and (apart from the discomfort of'tho victim) cause even greater expenso in compensation. Tho removal of tho ornaments is a disfigurement which causes pain to the beholder, but it is in conformity with earthquake precautions which the chapter would bo unwiso, if not negligent, to ignore. No doubt when conditions improve, steps will be taken to get rid of the disfigurement. The tower and spire have boen a source of trouble in earthquakes before—witness tho twicerepeated destruction : of tho spire. The top is now copper, the sway balanced by a swinging weight within.

A Staunch Old Ship. Little now remains above water of tho 70-yoar-old hulk Dilpussund, which was run ashore east of tho power .station at the head of Evans Bay on "October 31, 1933, to bo broken up. Although the work of demolition has been carried out in quick timo, it is understood that considerable difficulty was met with because of tho vessel's construction. Tho Dilpussund was what is known as a "diagonal-built" ship. That is, her outer shell was formed of planks laid diagonally from tho keel, and not, as is usual, running parallel with the watorline. To complicate matters from tho shipbreakers' point of view, the Dilpussund's outer shell consisted of two such diagonal layers, sloping in opposite directions and strongly clinched together. This being so, tho staunch old ship has boen one of tho toughest propositions met with by tlio local shipbreakers. Protecting Swan Eggs. Eveiy year tho question of protecting native swans' eggs during tlic nesting season on Lako Wairarapa, tlic chief shooting water in the Wellington district, becomes important. This year an earlier nesting season for duck and swan is apparent, and last night the matter was considered by the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. It was stated that last year's ranging had been well carried out, with the result that thore had been a considerable number of. successful prosecutions. Swan eggs, j though they might appear a trifle coarse as an article of diet, make excellent pastry or omelets, and for these purposes are stated on some occasions to have reached Wellington. Poached eggs (not in the culinary sense) are naturally inexpensive. Instances were given of general raids on the nests, and it was finally, decided that Banger Austin be employed from August 1 to October 31 to range tho lake at a remuneration of £35, to. cover wages and milage. . . A One-ton Bullock. A bullock weighing a, ton was one of the many show animals to bo sold at the Grand National double market at tho Addington salcyards yesterday, states "Tho Press." The bullock camei from the North Island and arrived on Tuesday morning by tho steamer express. Tho National market has for very many years been regarded not so much as a fat stock salo but as a fat stock show, and breeders from all parts of New Zealand make a special effort to send forward stock of a standard seen only at shows. These special beasts are keenly competed for, and as a rule tho record high price for bullocks, sheep, and pigs for Now Zealand is paid at tho National market. North Island lines of special stock are not as plentiful this year as they are generally, possibly because of the disturbed shipping position, but southern consignments have made up for the deficiency. The salo contained as many outstanding animals as over. No collection .of fat stock throughout tho farming year reaches so high a standard. Tho bullock in question was sold for £-10. ' Blenheim's Beauties. Expression of the public's appreciation of Blenheim's new riverside park is taking an undesirable form, remarks the "Maxlborough Express." For instance, some people are so struck with tho beauty Of tho bulbs that aro bursting into bloom that they pick them and take them away. Then again little children, entranced by the grace of the water birds as thoy glide about oil tho river, have adopted tho innocent trick of throwing nice hard stones at the swans and ■ducks to make thorn keep swimming beautifully and gracefully. The enthusiasm of these admirers of the riverbank scheme has reached such a mark lately that the polico are keeping a watchful eye on tho place just to make suro that none of the little boys who go down to the river to pelt the ducks with road motal do not fall, in and get wet. Those citizens who are not so thrilled about the bank improvements as to want to take samples home or see a few laino ducks added to tho livestock are invited to exereiso protection as far as possible, too. • A Eider's Skill. < . " A superb piece of horsemanship by a competitor at the Leicestershire Show saved a number of spectators, among them children, from serious injury. A chostuut horso ridden by. Mr. Bogcr Toyo, of Derby, having cleared a polo jump, turned and bolted for tho barrior some thirty yards away. Children were seated three deep inside the barrier and behind spectators wore crowded. A terrible accident seemed inevitable, but Mr. Tpyo put the chestnut at the', barrier and, amid the screams of ' women and children, the horse cleared tho spectators, and landed safely on tho other side. Three people . wero Struck by the horse's hooves, but escaped with minor bruises. One'of the spectators said it was a marvel no one was killed. "Tho horso cleared tho heads of nearly, all those standing by nearly a yard and landed in the only open space in the crowd/ he said. "Had tho horse landed a yard either side of whore it did there would have been a serious accident. The rider was magnificent." " ,