LOCAL AND GENERAL

Evening Star, Issue 19272, 10 June 1926, Page 13

LOCAL AND GENERAL

♦— At the meeting of the Invercargill City Council tffe action of the town clerk in accepting an offer trom mr Harman Reeves, of Dunedin, to take up at par the whole of the sewerage redemption loan of 1926, amounting to £18,600, was confirmed. Ino loan, which carries interest at the rate or ol per cent., is to mature in twenty-live years’ time, and gives the council the option, if it so desiros, of repaying the loan on January 1, 1939. An emphatic protest against the Dairy Produce Control Board assuming the absolute control of produce as l»om August 1 was made at a meeting ol over ninety dairy farmers in New Plymouth, and it was decided to ask Parliament to prevent “ this unconstitutional and unwarranted seizure of lawfully-owned property,” and to oppose any alteration m the present method of direct voting by the individual producer. The meeting was called by the Free Marketing League. Two staunch.defenders of control submitted an amendment expressing confidence in the board and its policy, but they were the only ones who voted for it. The following resolution regarding the Agricultural College was adopted by the Canterbury A. and P. Association yesterday “ That in the opinion of this meeting neither the number of agricultural experts at present required nor the finances of the dominion warrant the immediate establishment of two agricultural colleges of university standing, capable of turning out, first-class agricultural experts. That Government be urged to consider the feasibility of both reconciling the conflipting claims of the North and South Islands, and of economically and efficiently meeting the present requirements by the establishment of a single agricultural college located partly at Lincoln and partly in a central position in the North Island.” It was decided to send a copy of the resolution to the Prime Minister and each member of the Cabinet. Mr C. J. L. Hewitt, S.M., said at Wellington that men who failed to attend military camps were acting unfairly to those men who did, and who. gave up, for the time being, lucrative positions and accepted the 4s a day paid by the 'State. Four young men were before him, and he fined each £5, which he described as the uniform penalty. At the Magistrate’s Court at Otautau Frank Hardy Francis, ex-postmastor at Otautau, was charged with the theft of various sums, the largest of which was £IBO, over a period of two years. Accused was arrested at llangiora in May, when in a statement to the police he admitted the thefts, and said the money had been spent in drinking and gambling. The police said Francis had given every assistance in clearing up the matter. After evidence had been heard accused pleaded guilty to all the charges and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. The Auckland Harbor Board has decided to proceed at onco with the first section of its scheme for the further development of the port. The cost of the section is estimated at £500,000, and the whole scheme at £5,500,000. The most important work in the section is the western reclamation, a now vehicular ferry landing for Northcote, a boat harbor to accommodate 600 pleasure boats, and the construction of a viaduct to give railway connection with the western wharf. The New Zealand Drapers and Clothiers’ Federation is arranging an Empire Shopping Week throughout the dominion in October for the purpose of the further use of goods of British manufacture. Regarding the Blenheim report that a German lantern was used to show slides illustrating Mr Hurst Seagar’s lecture on the war cemetery memorials, it is stated that the Department of Internal Affairs was asked at the last moment if it could lend the Blenheim Borough Council a lantern. Hasty inquiries were made in Wellington, and the loan of a lantern was obtained from a local firm, which sent it direct to Blenheim. The department was unaware till the lecturer arrived here that the lantern was not of British make. In the Supreme Court, Hamilton, a well-known farmer of Roiotuna, named Herbert Gothorpe, was acquitted on a charge of incest. At Napier Herbert Gloeson and Albert Gleeson were sentenced in the Supreme Court to two years’ hard labor for arson at Ormondville, the sentences to be concurrent with those inflicted recently at Wellington for theft. Three years’ reformative detention is to follow. John Harold Morris, aged twentytwo years, was found guilty of rape, and remanded for sentence. The_ girl concerned suffered considerable injury, necessitating a sojourn of a fortnight in the "hospital. Prompt work hr the pupils of the Gisborne High School yesterday saved the school gymnasium from serious damage. if not destruction. Shortly before 1 o’clock smoke was scon issuing from the building, and a number of boys m tho vicinity clambered _ in tlirough the windows, the door being locked, and passed out rifles and school hooks. Other lads ran to get tho school hose and to telephone tho fire brigade. Tho hoys did such good work with the hose that on arrival the brigade had practically little to do._ One corner ol the gymnasium wns slightly burnt. There is no clue to the origin of tho fire, but it is believed to be due to an electric heater. The gymnasium is detached from the main school buildings, and is being used ns n class room. At a meeting of the Christchurch Presbytery Dr it. Erwin moved the following motion supporting tho Prime Minister in his stand against art unions: —“That this Presbytery desires to express its appreciation of the stand taken by tho Prune Minister against lotteries which, by their frequency, tho largo prizes offered, and bv the strenuous efforts made to sell tickets, were demoralising the public by fostering and diffusing a spirit of gambling.” Tho motion was carried unanimously. The thirteenth annual conference of tho National Beekeepers’ Association of New Zealand was opened at Hamilton yesterday. Tho delegates were welcomed by the Minister of Health (tho Hon. J. A. young), the Director of Horticulture (Mr J. A. Campbell), president of the association (Mr A. H. Davies), and the Mayor of Hamilton. Prior to the conference the annual meeting of tho shareholders of the New Zealand Co-operative Honey Producers’ Association was hold, when a, comprehensive report and balance-sheet were presented dealing with the association’s operations during the past year. A letter was attached to tho balance-sheet by the auditors urging the directors to adopt a constructive policy in regard to their advances, which wore considered too liberal. A vote of censure on tho directors was proposed by a member, but it found no seconder. The retiring directors were re-elected unopposed. The Y.M.C.A., at the “ Y ” Luncheon Club gathering, was honored with the presence of Mr Allan Gardiner, who gave a review, of Mr Basil Matthew’s book, ‘The Clash of Color,’ mainly dealing with the fascinating problem, “ The Dilemma of the Pacific.By tho use of a modern map showing Rangoon on the left and Cape Horn on the right, the vast extent and modern significance was revealed, arid some striking comparisons and statistics were given—i.e., from Liverpool to New York across the Atlantic 3.050 miles, while from Yokohama to Valparaiso, across the Pacific, is 9,340 miles. Japan’s area of 148,000 square miles supported 56,000,000. against Britain’s 120,000 square miles, supporting 47,000,000. Whereas in Japan, owing to its mountains, only one acre in six can be populated, yet six out of every ten people are on the ' land. Around tho Pacific seaboard, if India and Burma are counted in, are

1.000,000.000 people—considerably more than halt tho human race. A now Chinese script can bo learnt by a peasant in three weeks, enabling him to road tho news of the world. In many parts of the Bast there are more cinemas in proportion to the population than In London. 'The speaker urged members to read further into this most faflcmating and urgently 'important problem, which would inevitably closely involve Now Zealanders. At tho close Mr W. J. Dove moved a hearty vote of thanks to tho speaker. An entertainment was staged in the Town Hall, Port Chalmers, last night by Mr J. E. A. Thompson. It was a juvenile effort of distinct merit. The title of the piece was ' Look Who’s Here,’ the pretty scene depicting a winter garden in New York at carnival time. The stage was delightfully picturesque, and the little artists in fancy costume displayed a good appreciation of their parts. Throughout the singing. dancing, and the performance generally there was a bright touch of finish that resulted in numerous recalls.