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Evening Star, Issue 15188, 20 May 1913, Page 4

Dr Harvey Sutton, one of the official medical examiners for the Education Department of Victoria, delivered a remarkable denunciation of the morals of Australian parents at the Surrey Hall, Surrey Hills. Emphasising the moral and social dangers involved in late marriages, he pointed out that Victoria is by no means immune in this respect, seeing that the average of marriages among the professional classes is as “high as 31£, while the working classes usually marry at about 27 J,. I assmg on to the. question of instructing children in sex physiology, Dr Sutton, who was an old-time athlete and Rhodes scholar, said that the proportion of illegitimate children bom in the Commonwealth was 1 in 10. This was serious enough, but a still more alarming fact was that about 1 in 6 of these was the result of infraction of the marriage code. It was, he said, highly dangerous to assume that instruction in these important social questions should he left in the hands of tue parents, seeing that the general standards of sex morality among the parents themselves had been so low. Our Cromwell correspondent wires that the weather during the last 36 hours was exceptionally rough. A gale raced earlv on Monday morning, and before midday cold rain set in on the low country, with snow on the hills. The barometer was exceptionally low (28.20deg), and a severe storm was anticipated. Rain continued until evening, and there was a heavy fall of enow on the bills, and from all appearai ces much heavier than a week previous. The rivers have risen very, little, and should not interfere with the gorge dredges, which are now on the point of making a start. Than? was hard frost last night* and the weather cleaved, although there are still signs of snow in the back country.

Mr Paulin telephoned at 2 o’clock Squally gale from S.W. to N.W. j heavy rain and sleet showers, with snow in the back country.

Arrangements for the special excursion, to limara on Thursday in connection with the unveiling of a gift statue of Scotia’s Ploughman Poet have been completed. Everything points to complete sucoess.

Tho_ Tramways Committee of the City Gounod hope to have a definite recommendation to make this week in regard to the purchase and running of motor buses to Opoho and other hill parts of the City.

A first offender was convicted of drunkenness in the Police Court this morning and discharged. A prohibition order was granted against a man on the application of his wife.

The proposal to have Turkish baths in conjunction with the public baths came before the General Committee of tha City Council last evening, when Mr G W. Gough was instructed to prepare a' plan in respect to the same and submit it to the next meeting of the committee in a fortnight’s time. No difficulty is anticipated m making provision for Turkish baths Ihe only question is that of expense, and it is believed that that will be cot over satisfactorily.

A deputation from the St. Clair Lifesaving Club waited on the General Committee of the City Council last evening and asked for some authority from the Committee in the matter of exercising a supervision over bathers at St, Clair warning them as to danger zones, eeeiim that they are properly ccstumed, and other matters. Members of the committee stated that they were favorably disposed towards the suggestions of the deputation, but they doubted whether they could give the control asked for, which is apparently vested in the Domain Board. It was finally decided to meet the board in conference and see what could be done in granting the request of the deputation. The Reserves Committee of the City Council last evening considered a letter froin the Reserves Conservation Society offering the sum of £3O towards tha cost of improving the entrance to Roslyn where the electric line branches off from the mam Rattray street tram line, bv planting trees, etc. The society asked” U-t the committee should supplement tills amount ihe committee decided to recommend the council to vote £ls towards the work, and to proceed with the improvements. The society also asked the committee to make improvements in a blind street leadiim from Alva street to the Town Belt K was decided to recommend the request to the council for favorable coin'd- - Th© society further offered £25 towards the cost of planting trees at Chisholm lark, and asked the committee to subsidise this sum to the amount of £25. qhe committee decided to recommend the council to decline the offer, as all the present ™ • , s for the improvement of Chisholm Park are to be devoted towards laying out football grounds, etc. Inspector Donaldson is to report on certain suggestions for - the improvement of the conditions under which garbage is at present carted in the Citv.

The Dunedin Central Committee of the v*t l n Schools League of New Zealand resolved at a meeting yesterday afternoon to request the Very Rev. Dean hitchett to make a full reply to the recent address of the Right Rev. Dr Cleary Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland. The obowmg were appointed a sub-committee to make the necessary arrangements for a public meeting:—The Revst W S’ade (convener), R. E. Davies, W A R Eri chert, and Air E. Rosevear ‘ ‘ 1

Rew premises for the Australian Commonwealth were opened in Paris last week by che Commonwealth and the British Chamber of Commerce in ..ns. Captain Collins, secretary to tlm Australian High Commissioner's Office was present at the opening ceremony. ' Ausr.ihan products will be exhibited in the building, with the object of advertisin'frozen meat m particular. °

. b)r Iricdmann, whoso consumption cure is ju.rt mow being subjected to considerable criticism ny the profession, both in Canada mrl in the United States, is at present in Montreal (says a cable in the Srdimv jmn ) It is reported that plans are about to be bud for a large canatorium, v. here the Friedmann treatment will be administered. ■

A great suffrage demonstration wr.c held last . week in New York, 30,000 woman taiung part. They paraded through the streets dressed in white, and looking as soh'nrn as they could Gaiety or an” an pearance cf festivity was discouraged. The object of ih» paradcrs was to convince, onookers of their earnestness and determinatmn The grand marshal in charge of the procession issued this order;—“lf friends vn l . not march with you, cut them dead March with eyes front. Lot there be no talking or laughing. Keep step with heads erect and shoulders back. Temcmbor, your are marching for a principle ” A contingent of 5,000 men joined the procession. '^

At the annual demonstration of the Primrose League at the Royal Albert Hall, London, last week, Lord Curzon said that the matter of Home Rule was drifting nearer and nearer to the. abyss, and unless tlie Government., stopped in' their mad enterprise the pit into which they would fall would be the pit of fratricidal strife. Writing a letter to the meeting apologising for non-attendance, Mr Bonar Law” (the Leader of the Opposition) said ; “The Constitution has been destroyed. Churches are threatened,, and the integrity of-the kingdom is again imperilled."

An interesting statement regarding the preservation of timber used for railway sleepers was made before the Forestry Commission by Mr James Burnett, Chief Engineer of Railways. He said the Dewas at P resent powellising about 50,000 sleepers a year. Experience had shown that creosote was fairlv satisfactory as a preservative, but the difficulty was getting supplies of creosote in New Zealand. The creosote process cost about Is 8d per sleeper, and the average hie was thus prolonged to 16 years, as against a life of two years for natural white pine and of seven years for natural rimil. The Department had not yet found, however, anything to come up to jarrah foi sleepers. On the Gatlins lino 24 years ago. all tho sleepers were of jarrah," and during that time only two had to be removed and replaced" in the whole eight miles of line. °

Ihe English mail which was despatched from Dunedin via Auckland and Vancouver on the 9th April arrived in London on the 17th inst., five davs late.

The South Otago Freezing Works bid fair to have a splendid record for the season. The slaughtering tallies made up to Saturday night gave a total of 52.437 sheep. The management expect to put through another 30,000 before the works close down. Last year the works did not open until May 22, and in a short season put through 26,000 sheep. It is expected that the slaughter-house for cattle, now in course of erection, nail be completed in about three weeks’ time.

Tho Tahakopa correspondent of th" ‘Free Press’ advises Ids journal that Messrs Waite and Macandrew, of the Railway Department, visited the various railway stations on the new extension, and took into account the probable amount of goods, etc., that would be handled at each station, so that the necessary accommodation could be provided. At' present it is thought advisable to make Papatowai the mam station, by placing the engine shed turn-table, and surfacemen’s cottages there! He says: This is a matter that wants looking into _ thoroughly, to make sure that such course is advisable from a commercial and development point of view, and I urge the local league to visit the league m Dunedin and lay the facts fully “before them. “It Is outrageous that this country should spend lens of thousands of pounds annually on its Territorial Defence scheme, whilst settlers in the backblocks are denied roads to their properties. lam willing to take a rifle to-morrow in defence of our lair should the occasion arise, but the present Territorial scheme is shameful waste and extravagance.”—Such was the outspoken condemnation expressed by a member at the local Farmers’ Union meeting on Friday evening, says the ‘ Bruce Herald.’ Other members concurred, but -thought the Defence Act too big a problem to tackle, and referred the objector to the Hon. Jas. Allen.

An effort is being made to resuscitate the Bruce-Clutha branch of the Otago Educational Institute, says the ‘Free Press.’ With that end in view a representative meeting of members was held in the Balclutha District High School on Saturday, and officers were appointed for the ensuing year. Teachers as a class are a scattered section of the community, each one labor? ing in his or her little corner, and anything which tends to bring these scattered units together for the interchange of ideas and the discussion of matters of common interest must be of benefit alike to teacher and to taught. The Institute hold their next meeting at Waiwera.

Mr W. T. Young (secretary of the Seamen’s Federation) waited on the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher (Minister of Marine) to-day, and complained that in the infliction of penalties on seamen and others for breaches of the Shipping and Seamen Act two authorities—the Marine Department and the vessel's master—had power in some instances. It was shown by statistics that as many as four separate penalties had been inflicted for a single offence. Mr Young further complained that the nature of the punishment inflicted was generally out of all proportion to the nature of the breach. Mr Fisher promised to consider the matter and communicate with the Seamen’s Union at a later date. —Wellington P.A. message. Every likelihood that the Invercargill sittings of the Supreme Court, beginning on Monday, will be lengthy. They say that the criminal business will last several days, and the civil business includes the oats case of Batger v. Robertson Bros., for which a special jury was granted this morning. Sir Joshua Williams travels to Invercargill on Monday. The London ‘Daily Citizen,’ which represents the most ambitious attempt ever made to run a daily newspaper in Labor’s interests, is in serious financial difficulties. The journal is published every morning in London and in Manchester, and within a year it has secured a circulation of about 300,000 copies daily. The policy of the ‘ Daily Citizen ’ is socialistic and it presents the workers’ case capably and vigorously. But the Labor organisations which promised support have not all been as good as their word, and last month the managers announced that they had funds enough to produce the newspaper for only eight more weeks.

The Southern Brewery will shortly start operations in Dunedin. The company has been locally floated, and a site is secured at the corner off Princes street south, long tenanted by Watson’s smithy. A start has been made to erect the building.

On Friday of this week the Supreme Court at Dunedin is to hear two appeals from convictions by Mr Haselden, S.M., at .Alexandra. The appellants are John Charles Sanders and Reuben Walter Conlson, senior cadets. The Magistrate convicted them of failure to attend parades and inflicted a fine in each case. Thomas Shanahan is the.respondent.-

Yesterday at Port Chalmers the tide was very high and the mercury very low. The tide, which usually rises from sft to 6ft, rose yesterday to 7ft lOin. The highest tide on record at the Port is a rise of Bft, and that occurred a few years ago. The barometer was down to 23.60, and this morning it had only got up as far as 28.80. The general verdict is that the elements are warring somewhere in the, vicinity. At Dunedin the tide reached the 7.10 mark, being over the heads of the rows of shorter piles. The mean tide at Dunedin is sft 4in.

Over £161,600,000 was spent by the United Kingdom on alcoholic beverages in 1912. This compares with other items of national expenditure as follows:—Army £27,649,000; Navy, £42,858,000. Over 100 millions was spent on beer during the year; over 43 millions on spirits” over 10 millions on wine; and 1£ millions on British wines, cider, etc. Of beer, 535,456 standard barrels, value £1,000,368, less was consumed than in 1911, and there was also a slight decrease in spirits. In 1912 the average expenditure on alcoholic liquors per head was £5 10s 9d, and per family of five £l7 13s lOd, as compared with £3 11s 10d per head and £i7 19s 2d per family in 1911. These figures included both children and abstainers, and do not, therefore, indicate what is spent by the adult population winch consumes intoxicants. A Hamilton P.A. message says that a setiier at Ohaupo sprayed some blackberries in a paddock where he kept stock. k.ome weeks later the stock were put in tae paddock, with the result that 35 cattle mostly heiiers, sickened. Of these 11 died.

Ihe arrivals of vessels at Otago last year a net tonnage of 1,036 591. Ot the total number 80 vesscJs wore foreign, 155 intercolonial, and , coa st<il It is interesting to note that whereas in 1390 the SO foreign vessels calling here totalled 80,488 tons, the same number of fcuch vcesels last year ga.ed 299,459 tons. That demonstrates tho vast difference m the sizes of foreign vessels running to New Zealand at present, and those trading in these waters 20 years a co. J

A cyclonic storm yesterday did a good deal of damage at Seddonville (says a P A. message from Westport). A six-roomed cottage was destroyed, and several other buildings were damaged. At Charleston bt. Marks Anglican Church was completely wrecked, and the losses in chimneys and windows were considerable at both these places. No damage was done in Westport.

Mr J. Steadman, of the acme Photo Co treorge street, would like you to look at some superb enlargements and ether work on “i? Acme and other paper. Telephone 503 f.Vdvt.J

The Burns Club advertise train arrangements in connection with the unveiling of the Bums statue at Tuna-m.

Wilkinson and Son keep all new preparations in demand, including Lavona, Bisom-d Magnesia, Sanatcgen, Marmola, Barkoia Oxyom. etc.—[Advt.l The first meeting for the current year of the technological branch of the Otago Institute takes place this evening at the University, when Mr L O. Beal will give a paper upon ‘ Coal Mining Operations.’ This branch has issued a very attractive syllabus, and seems to have held the support and interest cf all concerned in technical science. A glass of Speight's beer at lunch and supper is better than all the tea in China.— [Advt.]

In order to celebrate Empire Day, the Dunedin branch of the Overseas Club has arranged a patriotic programme for the occasion. Parlicul.irs are advertised.

If you wish tho services of Mr Morris personally, he novr makes portraits at his home or garden studio, 554 George street: telephone 859.—[Advt.] P

Tho Mayor of Dunedin invites the citizens to observe Monday, June 2, as a public holi. day in place of Tuesday, June 3 (King’s Birthday). Ladies recommend Martin’s Apiol and Steel Pills. Sold by all chemists and store*. Sec you get the genuine.—[Advt.] Mr Edward Nelson’s pamphlet, ‘About .Hell,’ which he distributes free at his Bible lectures, can also be obtained without cost by writing to the lecturer’s address, 16 London street, Duusdin.