LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Star, Issue 17957, 2 May 1922, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

I Quito a number of Palmerston North I housewives wc.ro tho victims of a despic- | able trick perpetrated by a woman tho I other day. The female in question is rc--1 ported (says tho Taranaki ‘ Daily News ’) to have visited several streets, going from door to door selling poppies (of her own make) for “ Poppy ’Day.” The fact that they wore being offered at a cheaper rate than the advertised prices aroused tho suspicions of one lady, who informed the officials of the R.S.A. A stormy interview followed, and the dame, who, it is stated, worked the same dodge in Auckland and Wanganui recently, hastily consulted the railway time-table. According to indications, a big supper of Gorman sausage hampered thieves in stealing a safe from the premises of A. F. Cuff, butcher, of Eltham. They managed (says tho Napier ‘Daily Telegraph’) to get the safe to a vacant section about fifty yards frotfi the shop, but the weight was too much for them, and the inroads made on “ smallgoods,” including a largo German sausage (evidenced by the scattered remnants found next morning in the shop), made them rather lazy. And, in any case, daylight must have overtaken them. The supper took too long. The safe contained the sum of £l4O in cask and cheques, and it was found in tho section later by an employee of Cud, .The Victorian Minister of Education (Six Alexander Peacock) is surprised that the loyalty of tho State school teachers should - have been questioned. He said so a, few days ago, when referring to the decision of "the Council of Education that he bo requested to reply to the request that teachers be asked to 'make a declaration of loyalty. ‘‘There was no branch of the Public Service in the Commonwealth, or probably in the. British Empire, which gave mull evidence of loyalty during the war,” he raid. “ Perhaps it is not generally known that out of the- 1,500 rnalo teachers in the service eligible to go to tho war 752 volunteered lor service, overseas. Of these 151 were killed or died of sickness on service, and more than 100 were awarded distinctions for gallantry in tho field. This should be sufficient answer to those who doubt the loyalty of the iStato school teachers.” Referring to tho allegation Hint ho had not replied to the °council giving the result of his decision with regard to the declaration, Sir Alexander said that possibly he had overlooked it—bub was it necessary? The (acts concerning tho war service of tho staff fipoko for themselves. A Wellington message reads ; There is said to be a prospect of the price of coal being reduced as tho result of the Arbitration Court having filed an order reducing tho wages of workers in coal mines. Tho order of tho court has been made in pursuance of a clause in the coal mines’ award, which contains a provision for tho rates of wagcs_ being_ reviewed every six months and adjusted in accordance with the movement in the cost of living figures for tho food groups. Tho only effect of the order, which operated from yesterday, is to reduce the wages of tho minimum Time rate men from 16s per day to lAs 3d. Corresponding decreases are also made in tho rates of pieceworkers. When the Australian troops were in [Cgvpi, a number of men contracted a disease known as bilharzia. Very little was about its treatment in those days; it was infectious, rapidly becoming chronic, and characterised by_ severe malaise and genera! invalidity. _ Since the return of the soldiers the medical (.dicers of the Federal health service who were treating these cases have revised thoir methods, and an almost incredible eradication has been achieved (says tho Melbourne ‘Argus’). Dr Cumpalon stated that 161 of "these sufferers, according to the records, had returned to Australia, apparently as chronic invalids, and entitled to pensions for life. Five of tho men could not bo found, and probably did not return to Australia, and tho diagnosis of • bilharzk proved to be mistaken in two cases. The 1 department, however, had located, treated, and cured 145 soldiers suffering from the disease. _ Of the remaining nine, five were still being treated, two could not now be traced, and two refused to bo treated. The gratifying feature was that these men, instead of being chronic invalids and pensioners of the country', had been, after two years’ continuous work, made into self-supporting economic units.

Mr B. Kenn. head master of the Hata-i----tni State School, Wellington, has very definite ideas on the subject of “swatting” for scholarships in Stale schools. He expresses his views in his annual report to the committee as follows: —“In regard to the question of scholarships, I wish to remark that I am every year asked to prefont children for scholarships. I invariably reply that I do not wish to do so, and that in any case no extra coaching will be given. My reasons for this are; First, that any child may obtain free secondary education if he holds a proficiency certificate, so that any further examination is supeifluous, and to that extent a waste of money. My second reason is that it is not in the interests ot the child himself to have his lines of study limited to the confines of the scholarship examination. If ho is to win such a scholarship no time must bo spent on any larger field, and his child mind must ho crammed with only such knowledge as will fit him for passing that examination. It has long been recognised that examination is not the best means of testing educational ability, and why this scholarship fetish should still be so feverishly pursued is unaccountable. A further reason might be added—viz., that a teacher should not bo asked to spend any extra time on thoso children whom Providence has already endowed with abilities beyond the ordinary. In face of all this, I would request that parents refrain from asking that their children bo presented for scholarships, and, in any case, in a school liko this, where every teacher has two classes to teach, no .special scholarship! teaching can or will bo given.” A deficit of £42,000 for the year was announced by the Mayor of Wellington at the last meeting of the City Council. Tho estimates for tho now year, said Mr Wright, would have to bo cut clown by £53,000. They had started tho year with a handicap of £9,000, which should have been paid last year. They had had to find £SOOO for tho now technical school building, £4,427 for land purchased, and £973 for alterations to Mercer street. Then they had had to find an additional £8,600 for a steam roller, tar-mixor, and machinery for the Ngahanranga quarry. They were making eveiy effort to get in every account up to March 31, in order that they could make a clean start for tho new year. Tho estimates for tho new year exceeded tho amounts available by £58,000, and would have to bo cut down by-that amount. In reply to a question, the I mayor said tho antecedent liability was £550,000. At tho meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union, Mr Prcndeville (Wellington) stated that the Springbok expenses at Taranaki (£657) and at Wanganui (£460) for a 24 hours' slay were too heavy. The expenses for two days in tho W-airarapa were £SCO. Tho expenses of tho two matches in Auckland were double- those in Otago, and greater than those in Wellington. I “The main’ thing that is exercising tho | members of tho council is as to whether ! tho department has been losing heavily | this year or not,” remarked Or C. J. 13. i Norwood, chairman of the City Milk De- ; partment, in reporting to tho'Wellington City Council on behalf of the Milk Com- | miitteo. Notwithstanding the fact, Cr I Norwood proceeded, that contracts for tho 1 year had been made at the top of the , market, the department showed a profit ' for tho year of £4,474 16s Bd. One point ho would like to emphasise, and that was j that it was impossible to adjust what the I running of tho department was going to I cost tho council in any season until the | season's products had been sold and tho returns obtained. ll© considered it very ' satisfactory that on a- turnover of £IBO,OOO they had been able to show a net profit of £4,474 16s Bd. They had set aside a reserve of £18,334 2s 4d, which would be ample to cover all payments, and allow some small amount being transferred to the contingency account.