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Evening Star, Issue 20318, 29 October 1929, Page 8

A valuable suggestion for local bodies in the disposal of their share of Poppy Day funds, was made by Mr Tannock when giving evidence before the Disabled Soldiers’ Employment Commission this morning. In. many eases, local bodies used the money for rounding off corners or some such work, whereas if it were used for planting trees, a distinct asset would be tho result.

The postal authorities advise that the mails which left Auckland per the Aorangi, via Vancouver, on September 24, reached London on October 25,

Burglars during the week-end broke into the Garrison Hall at Gisborne, and secured three revolvers and 500 rounds of ammunition. The residence of mr Fred Collin (Kaiti) was also entered and ransacked. A gold watch, cash, and other valuables totalling £SO in value, were stolen.—Press Association.

With holiday-makers returning home, train traffic was heavy last night, the figures being:— 6.29, from Palmerston, GOO; 8.11, from Oamarn, 600; 8.25, from Palmerston, 200; 5.55, from Oamarn, 480; 9.35, from Oamarn, 480; 5.54, from Balclutha, 300 ; 6.23, from Invercargill, 450; 5.5, from Christchurch, 285; 5.43, to Invercargill, 250. The paragraph which appeared in the 1 Star ’ last week in connection with the bad state of a part of the footpath in Bay View toad has had partly the desired effect, for towards the end ot the week, a number of workmen were busy filling in a few of the holes with tarred stones; but tlie whole footpath has not been completely sealed, with the result that some of the newly laid stones have been scattered by many feet, and the path is almost fts rough as previously. For about three hours this morning the secretary of the Southern Whaling and Sealing Company, Ltd., and the local agents (Messrs John Edmond, Ltd. 1 ) interviewed in the vicinity of 400 applicants A o fill thirty positions on the whaling factory ship Southern Princess. The thirty men required were practically chosen by noon to-day. The Southern Princess will bo engaged in whaling in the Ross Sea for four months.

Mrs Denton Leech, secretary of the Dunedin Branch of the League of Nations, acknowledges receipt of an anonymous donation of 10s, and v, welcome others, whether anonymous or not.

No. 2 mine of the State Liverpool Colliery at Greymouth was idle to-day, The men returned home because there was insufficient water in the creek near the mine entrance for some of the men to fill their drinking bottles. At the middle break, about 300yds from the mine entrance, there is abundance of water, but the men refused the mine manager’s request to have their bottles filled there. —Press Association. An attempt was made to enter Rutherford’s grocery store at Caversham over the week-end. The padlock was broken, but an entrance was not effected.

Several applications for exemption from the closing hour provisions of tho Shops and Offices Act were heard by Mr j. R. . Bartholomew, S.M., this morning, the following being granted: J. C. Stewart, King Edward street; Hannah Lancaster, Hanover street; Mabel May Perks, Prince Albert road; James Grey, Grosvenor street; Margaret Hannah Stewart, King street; Slay Elizabeth Farquharson, King Edward street The application of Albert Blackwood, Caversham, was refused.

Deeply laden with coal, and showing traces of a tempestuous voyage, the Union Company’s chartered steamer Ngakuta reached Auckland yesterday afternoon from Gladstone, Queensland. When three days out, a heavy sea was met, and a big wave smashed one of the ports under the poop deck. A solid mass of water flowed through, and the crew’s quarters were flooded. The master of the vessel decided to heave to, and while the engineers worked to get r metal plate fixed over the broken po;c, the crew had a busy ,ime rescuing their effects. The storm lasted for four days, with a high, confused sea and heavy rain squalls. After the vessel was on her course again sir was swept by a big ■ sea, and water found its way into the saloon. The steamer was again hove to until repairs were made,—Press Association.

At a meeting of the North Canterbury Post and Telegraph Employees’ Association a resolution was unanimously carried protesting emphatically against Sir Joseph Ward’s refusal adequately to consider the salary schedules as submitted by the Post and Telegraph Employees’ Association objecting to the question being handed over to a committee. The resolution continues:— “ Wo demand that a most serious effort be made to examine thoroughly cur salaries and working conditions. The rank and file are not receiving a living wage. Youths of eighteen arc receiving £57 per annum, and men of twenty-two and twenty-three are receiving £2 Cs 4d per week after seven and eight years’ service, a state of affairs which Is a standing disgrace to any fair-minded Government. The dissatisfaction i» aggravated by the fact that no fewer than eight Cabinet Ministers m the present Government previously voted tor an improvement in the salaries.”

A resolution expressing grave concern at the refusal of tlio Arbitration Court to grant an award to the South Auckland Forestry Workers’ Union has been adopted by the members of the union, and refers to the decision as remarkable and unjust, and requests the Alliance of Labour to protest to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour. In giving the judgment of the court, .Mr Justice Frazer said there was no evidence of a genuine dispute within the meaning of the Act.—Press Association.

The Obstetrical Society of Now Zealand is quietly but earnestly canvassing well-to-do persons throughout the dominion for donations towards an endowment to provide the salary for an “ nlltimo ” professor of midwifery and gynaecology at the Otago University when Dr Riley’s term expires. The sum sought from donors is £25,000, this to be supplemented by a grant from the State of equal amount, thus producing a salary of £2,000. It is understood that the canvassers are already meeting with encouragement. On Saturday morning last the total supply of water in the Dunedin Corporation reservoirs was 117,361,000 gallons. During the previous four days the quantity had been gaining, because the Powder Creek pump was put to work to maintain the storage in the Southern reservoir. There was also a drop of rain on the morning of Wednesday, the 23rd, recorded as .21 at Ross Creek, .28 at Whare Flat, .20 at Sullivan’s dam; and on Saturday, the 26th, there was another sprinkle, registered as .10 at Ross Creek, .09 at Whare Flat, .12 at Sullivan. This morning the measurement was 119,010,000 gallons, tile total of all the reservoirs. Sullivan’s dam has been full all the time since Juno 4, and is still full; but in short periods of abnormal demand its water is not available, and cannot be made available until larger pipes are put in. The city engineer, Air J. G. Alexander, who supplies the above particulars for public information, adds that the Ross Creek storage is still dropping, and will continue to drop until rain comes; but if the 14in pipe were in to Sullivan’s dam it would make up at times for some of the deficient supply to the high levels from Ross Creek. The rainfall this October so far as the tlneo gauges has been; Ross Creek, .52; Whare Flat, .43; Sullivan’s dam, .50—slightly under half an inch. Mr Alexander counsels strict economy on the part of householders. Extravagant use hy any is unfair to all. The hosing of lawns and gardens is particularly wasteful.

The Dunedin tramway returns on and about the holiday just over show an increase as compared with last year. The figures as recorded by Mr W. 11. Mackenzie, the manager, are as follow —Saturday: £-197 l(is 5d last year, £407 17s 5d this year. Sunday: £172 2s 5d last year, £177 14s 7d this year. Labour Day : £325 4s 5d last year, £307 11s 8d tins year. Thcso figures relate to the takings on the electric tramway system only, excluding the buses. The improvement in the tone of the property market in Dunedin in regard to business premises is now observable also as to dwellings. A loading agent says that, though there is no sign of a boom, the demand is certainly keener than in the first half of the year.

At the sitting of the Disabled Soldiers’ Employment Commission this morning the chairman (Sir J. S. Barton, S.M.) said that one of the things the commission was vitally interested in was the seed-raising industry. Recently a Government paper mentioned that £350,000 a year was sent out of New’ Zealand for seeds. The seeds were originally sent out from the dominion in bulk, and came back in small packets at greatly increased prices. Mr D. Tannock, who was giving evidence, said that, in addition to that, six months frequently’ elapsed between the time the seeds left New’ Zealand till they came back, which was not as it should be, and many seeds died on the voyage.

The effect of fires in Dunedin catchment areas was touched on by Mr Tannock in the course of his evidence at the Disabled _ Soldiers’' Employment Commission this morning. He stated that round about Dunedin there w’as a good deal of scrub, which, when thoughtlessly burned, left the place of little value as a catchment area. This had been going on for years. If trees

were planted it would ho worth while to keep a guard over the areas. The small growth would bo suppressed, and a good catchment area would bo provided. The retail-price index (dominion weighted average) for tbo three food groups as at August 15 was 1567 (on the base that tb© average juices in the four centres during fho years 190913—1,000), an increase of five points as compared with that for the previous month, and of 46.5 per cent, over that for July, _ 1914. The prices of potatoes and onions have risen slightly in most towns, causing an increase of thirteen points in the index for the groceries group. Eggs are declining in price, which accounts lor the fall of eight points in the dairy-products index. Meat-prices are stable in some towns; they have slightly advanced in other towns - and in a few cases slight reductions have taken place. The net effect of these movements has been an increase of five points in the dominion average index .for meat. Expenditure on food constitutes somewhat less than two-fifths of the expenditure of an average household. In order to present a more comuloto picture of movements in retail prices generally, statistics regarding the retail prices of clothing, drapery, and footwear, and miscellaneous items of family expenditure arc collected at quarterly intervals, and when combined with the indexes for food, rent, and fuel and light, approximately 87 per cent, of tho average household expenditure is represented. The August food and fuel and light index numbers, when combined with the clothing, drapery, footwear, and -uiscellaneons items index numbers, and Tie rent index number, give an “ all groups ” index 60.4 per cent, above the July. 1914 level, so that it now takes £1 12s Id on the average to nurdm*”' w'mt could have been ■purchased for £1 in that month.