NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 58, 10 March 1937, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Surprise on Birthday. When carrying on his work yesterday afternoon as senior partner in the firm of George Thomas and Go., Mr. E. B. Bristow was told that someone wished to see him. That "someone" proved to be the representatives of all the other merchant firms of Allen and Blair Streets, called to wish him many happy returns on his eightieth birthday. Mr. Arthus Press, of Thompson Bros., expressed the sentiments of the others and Mr. Bristow's health was drunk with enthusiasm. Mi. Bristow suitably replied. It was on the death of the late Mr. Thomas in 1890 that he and Mr. F.-W. Haybittle took over the business. He was previously on the staff of Johnston and Co. Dearer Milk. ' Explaining the price of milk at 6d, per quart in Christchurch, 'Mr. G.-'C. Pickett, chairman of the local milk venders, said that it had been decided to uphold the present price Of 6d, as it was considered impossible, because of the increased costs placed on the industry, to guarantee a supply of milk, at less than this figure. It was stated by. the venders that the majority of the customers were paying the new price willingly and had been expecting the increase to take place. "Drastic action will be taken to curtail the activities of price-cut-ters," added Mr. Pickett, "and there is every reason to believe that the present price of 6d will be maintained at least until next summer." ' State Housing Scheme.. A short review of the activities of the Department of Housing Construction was given to the Municipal Conference by the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) at Timaru last night. He said that contracts had been let for 375 houses at Miramar and Lower Hutt. Tenders for a further 212 houses to be built at Orakei, Auckland, closed on March 4. Tenders for 58 houses in Christchurch would close on March 16, as well as tenders for five houses at Johnsonville. Plans and specifications for a group of approximately 50 houses in Dunedin were under way, and when tenders were called for these houses smaller schemes would be embarked upon for such * centres as Timaru, Palmerston ( North, Wanganui, Napier, Hastings, Invercargill, and so forth. Imported Plants. The number of plants and bulbs annually imported into the Dominion are tabulated in the annual report of the New Zealand Horticultural Trades' Association. Holland supplies a big quota, the bulb trade of that country being well known, and included in this are a good many thousand lilies of the valley. From both the British Isles and. Australia are annually imported thousands of trees, shrubs, and plants, and France is credited with a large number of forest stocks and a smaller quantity of fruit tree stocks. The United-States, Japan, Belgium, Canada, Germany, China, Fiji, and Samoa are amongst the other countries whose plants and bulbs have been imported by nurserymen in order to increase their stock of varieties. Gentleman of the Road. One definition of a gentleman is a man who is never unintentionally rude. Probably that fits very well a Wellington motorist —gentleman of the road"—when he behaved as he did to a traffic officer last Sunday. A broadcast description of ~a missing car had been noted by the officer overnight, and when he started out in the morning for a long free day with his family, there was the car, downhill from his place, quite a distance. It would not go, but he and his neighbours and his wife and neighbours' wives pushed it a long way, and uphill all the way. And that took time. So did the tracing of the owner, till the day was badly broken. When the owner did turn up his manner was thoroughly objectionable and his language definitely not that of a gentleman. For some reason or other that traffic officer feels badly about the whole business—the day off, the hard work uphill, and the plain, unvarnished, ungentiemanly behavibur and ingratitude, of the car owner. Because, says the traffic man, he did not borrow the car, he merely found it and pushed it uphill to where it could be looked after.

Empire Shopping Week. A suggestion from the British Empire League that an Empire shopping week should be held throughout the Empire, commencing on Empire Day, May 24, v/Ss received by the council of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce at its, meeting last night. On the motion of Mr. D. J. McGowan, the suggestion was referred to the retailers' committee of the chamber for action and report. Are Marathons Worth While? "The position regarding the running of marathon races is one that must receive early attention with a view to arriving at a decision whether we are to continue to foster this type of event or not," states the annual report of the Wellington Harrier Sub-committee. "It appears inevitable that support from the other centres will not be received, and the previous events have disclosed that there is I only a small number of our own runners who evince sufficient interest to take part in the event. Moreover, it is an exceedingly awkward event to finance for suitable and adequate trophies. The centre's finance, and this applies to any other centre, is such that continuous expense on trophies for the event cannot be justified." The report indicated that a great improvement would have to be made to establish the event as a New Zealand title, and that there did not appear to be the slightest grounds for a belief in such an improvement. Local Government. The British system of local government was commended by'the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) in an address to the Municipal Conference at Timaru last night. The Minister said that in America it was usual .for local bodies to foe given the power to determine their own activities with practically no control from the central authority. Then the local authority had the power to enter any field which was not specifically limited to the central authority. Its methods of operation were ,at its . own '•■ determination, and in this was included the tax system. One American town of 20,000 had a debt of £50,000,000. That was an extreme case, but it was indicative of. the general trend. The British solution of the problem of local government was that obtaining in New Zealand, namely the grant of specific powers by the central legislature with considerable freedom in the functioning of those powers.