NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 110, 12 May 1939, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Coronation Anniversary.

A Royal salute of 21 guns was fired in Wellington at noon today in honour of the second anniversary of the coronation of their Majesties King George and Queen Elizabeth. The occasion; was apparently not well remembered by the public, as telephones of the "Evening Post" and some Government Departments were kept busy with inquiries about the salute. Rumours Denied. Referring to rumours which he said were being circulated, especially in the north, that .the Centennial Exhibition may have to be postponed for a year, the General Manager, Mr. C. P. Hainsworth, today emphatically denied such a possibility. Preparations had advanced to such a stage that postponement was impossible, unless in the event of war or national emergency. Such statements as were being made were ridiculous and wholly unfounded. The project Avas progressing satisfactorily. Social Security. Regulations dealing with the payment of monetary benefits under the Social Security Act v/ere issued with the Gazette published last evening. These regulations are identical with those governing the pensions system in operation before the Act came into force on April 1, with the exception of a few minor modifications to. meet the new requirements. With the inauguration of the social security scheme the Social Security Department absorbed the Pensions Department. Strange Bedfellows. The annual migration of field mice towards winter shelter has led to a strange friendship being formed in one Wellington suburb. About ten days ago a householder who keeps a canary in a cage hung in a covered porch,.discovered a mouse in the cage, apparently on excellent terms with the canary. The mouse was eventually trapped, and the canary showed signs of distress and loneliness. This morning, however, the canary was as chirpy as ever —another field mouse had taken up residence in the cage. School Leaving Age. The primary school teachers' conference yesterday afternoon carried a resolution urging that the raising of the school leaving age to 15 years be brought into force as soon as was practicable. There was some discussion whether the conference should ask that | the regulation operate as from next 'year, but it was felt that accommodation might not be available if it were [enforced then. Further, the sudden ! operation of the rule might bring about [industrial and social difficulties. | A Healthy People. j "Ii is a libel to say that the Pitcairn ■Islanders are a decaying people," said [the surgeon of the Rotorua yesterday, when the liner arrived at Wellington from London. "They are strong and healthy and good-looking, particularly the women." People liked to say that the Pitcairn Islanders were a decaying } race, he said, but this was an absolute fallacy. There were now 230 of them on the island, and they were looking very fit. The Rotorua called at Pitcairn on the way to New Zealand. She had a good trip out. Future of Education Bill. A request is to be made to the Minister of Education by the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Association to give early indication as to whether the proposed new Education Bill is to be proceeded with during the coming session of Parliament. It was pointed out that a number of decisions on matters referred to the Minister were being held over pending the introduction of the Bill, but there had been no indication as yet that the Bill was definitely coming down this session. If there was going to be no Bill, they would have to ask again that something should be done in those matters which were being held up on the grounds that a Bill was in the offing. The New Philosophy. The old philosophy in New Zealand, said Colonel S. J. E. Closey, addressing a meeting in Wellington last night on the problem of closing the gap between costs and prices, was that he who benefited his country most was the one who succeeded in getting two blades of grass to grow where one grew before. Then, .when the high country was tackled, the idea was that the benefactor was the one who succeeded in getting one blade of grass to grow where previously ten trees grew. Now, he suggested, amidst laughter, the tendency was that he who benefited his country most was the' one who established a factory where ten cowsheds stood before. Bull-dozer Economics. "We lawyers have a maxim which interpreted means, out of nothing, nothing comes. It may well be applied with profit by those who guide the destinies of this little country," said Mr. T. L. Seddon, Mayor of Feilding, when welcoming farmers to a conference, states "The Post's" representative. He added that whatever might be the Utopian ideas of the legislators, there were three fundamental factors which must be taken into consideration in any economic planning in New Zealand. Firstly, New Zealand was almost entirely dependent on the products derived from two animals, namely, the cow and sheep. Secondly, New Zealand' had only one main market, which was 12,000 miles away. Thirdly, New Zealand had a population of about one and a half million. The Dominion could bolster prices temporarily by guarantee or by increasing the exchange rate, but she could only guarantee prices locally. She could not control the demand for produce. But what was the outcome of it all? Simply this, that the Government was hopeful of balancing its Budget by taxing an artificial prosperity and by utilising the surpluses in years which produced prices greater than the guaranteed one. Anything in the way of a bounty over world prices must be borne by the people, and such a population as New Zealand had could not carry that burden for long. "But," added Mr. Seddon, "my economics may be of the wheelbarrow type, while legislators are moving about oji bull-dozers"