LOCAL AND GENERAL

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 4591, 17 May 1922, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

FLIGHT INTO NEAV GUINEA Sydney papers to hand state that an Australian aviator was to leave on AVednesday last on a daring flight to tho big, savage-populated island ol Papua, to the north of Australia. The man is Mr AVilliani AV. Marshall, an ex-Syduey Grammar School boy, a capable aviator and cinematographer. His object is to explore the interior ol wildest Papua, and return with interesting films. Tho aeroplane to be used in this adventure is a single-seater Baby Avro seaplane, and is the machine in which daring Hinckler attempted to fly alone from London to Australia. The course to bo taken was over Grafton, Brisbane, Bowen, Cooktown, and Thursday Island. TAXATION ON FARMERS. According to Air . Hugh Morrison president of the AVairnrapa branch ol the Farmers’ Union, at the interprovincial conference at AA’angamii yesterday, the taxation that the farmer has to pay has practically trebled since 1914. “I wish,” lie said, “to take this opportunity of congratulating the Government on appointing a committee to go into the whole system of taxation. As far as 1 can sec, it is a very representative committee, and it is our duty as fanners to put evidence before it to prove that the taxation i.s altogether too heavy on farmers if they are to carry on the industry and produce more.” TAPER OFF BORROWING. “A note of warning ought to be struck as to excessive borrowing, as 1 we cannot blind our eyes to. the fact that we cannot reduce taxation if we go on borrowing,” remarked the chairman of- the Interprovincial Farmers’ Conference at AA’angamii yesterday. “I do not say that, under certain circumstances leaning on the money-lender is wrong, but we are fast approaching the timo in tins country when it will fie absolutely necessary to taper off borrowing.” NEAV ZEALAND FORESTS. The total area of New Zealand is 103,284 square miles, and at the time when organised European settlement was first started (about 1840) there were about 30,000,000 acres, or 45.4 peri cent, of this area under forest, writes Mr E. Phillips Turner, in the Forest Magazine. The rapid advance of settlement (too often indiscriminate), the operations of sawmills, and the ravages caused by the fires of kauri-gum diggers, mining prospectors, and other pioneers, have resulted in this area being rapidly reduced, so it is estimated that the remaining area of forest on all classes of land in New Zealand is only about 11,500,000 acres. The area of permanently reserved State forests is 1,068,319 acres, but there are also 5,134,051 acres under provisional reservation. Until further surveys have been made the area containing merchantable forest cannot lie safely stted. “The bachelor tax at the present time might be looked upon as a jolro, but when we cornuare his expenditure to that of a man with a family who pays not only direct but heavy indirect taxation, it seems to me a, very lair method of equitable taxation,” remarked Mr Hugh Morrison in a speech at the. Farmers’ Union meeting at Wanganui yesterday. The Victorian Onion Growers’ Association recently lost heavily by holding back supplies. “Hero’s a nice lot,” said the auctioneer in AVcllington. “A meat chopper, a bowl, egg-beater, wife-beater. How much?” The lot went for Is Gd. “The present-day fashions are i shocking. An illustration is given by the lialf-nakcd young women who ap- ; pear in the streets of our city. Still, they are not so much to blame as ' their parents.” These observations . were made by Rev. Father Kennedy during the course of a sermon- in the Franciscan Church, Waverley, Sydney. recently. Revivalist Booth predicts with this area of “powdered” , nudity, and “peek-a-boo” fluff, and I “10-and-behokl” blouses, and “toueh- . and-tumble” frocks, the devil will get , the girl, and tho British Empire will f follow the Babylonian and other ani cient Empires, and ho dumped into , hell.

Defendant in a Christchurch case said lie had about two drinks a day. “Do you ever have any more than that?” asked counsel. “Yes, I had six with you, about a year ago, at the Clarendon.” According to tho latest reports there are over 2,000,000 tons of shipping. British and foreign, at present laid up in the 36 principal ports of the United Kingdom, compared with 1,500,000 in January, 1921 (says the Pall Mall Gazette of March 28). Of the tonnago now laid up that of Bntish ships amounts to nearly 1,900,000 tons. Taking tho smaller ports into consideration, it is calculated that at present there are vessels representing 2,250.000 tons laid up in the ports < I tho United Kingdom. Since tho reduction in the price of coal tho mines at ICaitaiiguta have been working full time, states the Otago Daily Times. Where only six and seven shifts were worked in a fortnight prior to the fall in price 11 days are now worked, and all the men havo been employed. The reduction in wages means a difference! of from 8d per shift for lads of 14 years of age to Is lid per shift for shift-men. On pay day last week tho general comments were that the reduction had taken effect quicker than the rise did. An amateur gardener in Dannevirke is experimenting in growing a winter supply of fresh green peas in his extensivo glasshouse. He hones to make ifc pay by getting fabulous prices. The stocking of the Wanganui river with quinnat salmon, which lias been undertaken by the Government, will add largely to the interests of that fine river from a fisherman’s point of viow, Mr Ayson. who is in charge of the work, has been asked by tho Hawera Acclimatisation Society to undertake similar work in one of the Taranaki streams.