Untitled

Evening Star, Issue 17706, 6 July 1921, Page 4

The City Council to-night will consider a supplementary report from the Finance Committee, in which it recommends that no further steps be taken in the direction of raising the £350,000 loan for extensions at Waipori. The conditions under which the loan can be raised in London have been ascertained, and, in view, of the financial readjustment to take place m March next, which it is known will impose a heavy additional burden for interest and sinking fund on both tho electrical and tramways departments, the committee considers it advisable to withhold proceeding with the proposed loan issue until tho repayment .loan is disposed of.

Since its inception the Repatriation Department has placed 24,192 discharged soldiers in employment, and the number remaining on the “employment wanted” register at the date of this report (July 20) is 398, distributed throughout the various districts as follows: — Auckland district 115, Wellington 122, Canterbury 70, Otago 91. During the past month applications for employment were received from 718 men, and 505 of the men were “ placed.” Unemployment sustenance was paid in three cases ot hardship.

It now transpires that the winner of the second prize for the war memorial design used a nom do plume. The authors of the design placecl socoid are Messrs Hyland and Phillips, of Hastings.

Yery satisfactory_ progress is being made by the City Council in its attempt to get money towards the 6 per cent, loan which is now being raised. A largo number of investors realise that 6 per oent. by the City Corporation is infinitely better than 4 per cent, given in other quarters. The sum of about £40,000 has been received during the last few weeks.

Mails from Australia, ex the Manuka at Wellington, will reach Dunedin to-night by the second express. The mails comprise eight bags and five hampers from Sydney, ton bags and three hampers from Melbourne, two bags from Adelaide, two from Brisbane, and two bags from Hobart. Loans to assist discharged soldiers to establish themselves in businesses or professions have been granted in 5,721 cases, at an expenditure of £1,058,600. A further 12,257 men have received advances totalling £570,352 for the purchase of household furniture or tools of trade, and 3,701 others have been granted financial assistance in other directions, the amount paid to or on behalf ef y?ldier&.

Mr Paulin’s forecast: —S.E. to N.E. winds, and electrical rain showers. Daring a discussion at the Christchurch City Council on overcrowding of cars, a report jvas presented affording comparisons of accommodation with other centres. This report showed the average number of passengers carried for each car mile run to he as follows: —Christchurch 8.26, Wellington 12.76, Dunedin 13.11, Auckland 13,15, "The comparison is oven more in favor of Christchurch when it is remembered that larger cars are used than in some of the other places,” the report concluded.

A poll of the Auckland ratepayers will be taken by the City Council within six weeks on its proposal to raise a loan of £120,000 for the Queen street widening, endowment development, and municipal building scheme. In addition to this issue another will bo put to the ratepayers at the same time—namely, tho council’s proposal to raise a loan of £72,000 for drainage. The mayor stated the other day that all tho other finance under the proposed £500,000 consolidation scheme would be otherwise provided for. Tho vocational training of partially disabled soldiers unable, owing to war disabilities, to resume their pre-war occupations, and of apprentices or others who have lost opportunity through war service has been a special feature of tho Repatriation Department’s operation, and training has been arranged for 7,090 men. Of th'“ number 4,482 trainees have completed their courses, and have been absorbed in tho various industries, leaving 1,260 still undergoing training. An additional 1,548 students have been assisted financially with grants for tho payment of fees _ and the purchase of text-books. All trainees are carefully supervised by experienced officers of tho department, and reports indicate that, almost without exception, the men are making excellent progress. During the past month fifty-four men commenced training, whilst 162 completed their courses and were drafted out to employment. Tho total expenditure to date on training facilities, sustenance of trainees, etc., is £340,787. Only an occasional supply of fresh fish is now offered to tho public at tho waterfront, The small motor trawler Aurica camo up to Dunedin this morning, and tho owner had no difficulty in disposing of his wares, which totalled about fifty dozen flat fish—mostly soles. It was noticed that the price to-day was 12d for three large or four medium-sized fish. On Sunday last a gas-heating system was set to work in First ChurcH, thirteen of the flat-flame burners being lit, and j they were in use at tho organ recital last night. The effects seem to bo as desired. It necessary, somi more burners will be procured.

The case of Mr John Norrish, of St. Clair, is peculiarly unfortunate. Years ago one of his legs had to be amputated. Last summer, whilst on duty as pavilion caretaker, he was about to check some skylarking, when ho made a false step and broke his natural leg. On Sunday ho met with anotner mishap to the same limb, and now lies in the hospital. The children for whom he has catered with hia merry-go-round are very sorry that he is again laid up.

This week there are changes in the interior of the Dunedin Post Office. Mr Chisholm, chief postmaster, has taken possession of tire room on the right hand of the entrance, and the quarters he has moved from arc occupied by Mi’ James (assistant postmaster), who now has the clerks and cadets close to him, some being placed in rooms constructed out of what was formerly the side corridor. The entrance to the private letter boxes leads only from the main door. The Public Worms Department builders have completed the new structure that covers what was a spare bit of ground in Burlington street, 'and the result is to add largely to the available space in what is known as the money order office The public have nearly thrice _as much room as formerly, so the congestion on pension days and some other days will be materially cased Further, the counter is lengthened by 15ft 91n, therefore more clerks can got to work there, in sight of customers, as soon as the required wire fixtures are in posit'on. This will enable the officers to rearrange the withdrawal system. Heretofore "Lampsen carriers have been used for communication between the counter clerks and the ledger-keepers, and under that plan a waiting customer, not seeing what is being done, was apt to fancy that be was taken out of turn, and become restless, since a delay of three or four minutes, apparently without being attended to, seems like a quarter of an hour. By the new plan the clerk who takes the book will band it, in full sight, to the ledger-keeper, and the depositor can see that something is being done. Incidental to these changes, tho staff of thirty-two will work in relative comfort, and the barricade on tho footway in Burlington street is removed. The secretary of tho Dunedin Pc turned Soldiers’ Association reported to a meeting of tho executive last night that Mr H. Hams (president of tho 0.R.F.U.) had called on him with reference to tho request for seats to be reserved at the matches against the South African team. _ Mr Harris had explained that, on receipt of notification of tho number of soldiers in the various hospitals who wished to attend, seats would bo reserved for them free of charge. It was tho intention of the union to open a booking plan for seats, and if there were any limbless soldiers or soldiers impeded in their means of locomotion who wished to book teats, tho secretary of .he R.S.A. was to supply their names, and seats would be booked accordingly. Mr Laing added that Mr Harris had' said that it was further prepared to allow a number of motor cars to enter tho ground, so that soldiers who could not walk oould see the game from them. Members of the executive expressed their gratification at the action of trie 0.R.F.U., and it was decided to forward a letter of thanks.

Mr Ernest Drake to-day engaged with the Dunedin Choral Society to sing the tenor solo part of ‘The Golden Legend,’ also to sing in ‘ The Messiah ’ in December next. Mr Drake is engaged also by Wellington and Auckland for ‘ The Golden Legend.’ Mr Walsh, of the Auckland Flying School, has been commissioned by the Fijian Government to experiment with a view to an aerial mail service in the group of islands made a flight round Viti Levu, 284 miles in 270 min. Later they circled the island of Yanua Levu, in tho north of tho group.