DUNEDIN NOTES.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3960, 12 August 1930, Page 5

DUNEDIN NOTES.

♦ I Kroin Our Own Corre.spuudctu.) Rugby football in Otago is in the doldrums. Some critics who follow the game closely say that it has never been in a worse position since the earliest days of the province. The British team beat us by a wide margin of points and now we have suffered defeat at the hands of Southland by 37 points to 5. It is true that Otago secured a victory over the visiting Wanganui side, but that obviously was a very weak combination. Otago was not represented at Invercargill by its best' fifteen certainly, but there is no reason to suppose that even if the strongest side had been available, the result would have been materially altered. So far as can be judged Southland Rugby at the moment is much superior to that in Otago. Dunedin has had the hardest winter it has experienced for many years. There have been quite an unusual number of hard frosts and we have had a good fall of snow. It lay for two or three days in the higher suburbs, and Flagstad and Mount Cargill remained covered for a week or more. Yet strangely enough our domestic water supply has been inadequate all along, though the position at Waipori is alright. A good rain this week, however, should add ’ substantially to the stores in the reservoir. Ever since the end of January we have had a dry period, which is an unusual state of things for this city. Our experience this autumn and winter should strengthen the hands of the City Council when it goes to the ratepayers for a large sum of money to augment the domestic water pliesThe new taxes announced by the Government have had a mixed reception in Dunedin, but though additional taxation is always unwelcome it is generally recognised that extra revenue, is essential in the present state of things. Tt is natural for those who are most affected to think that the added imposts might take a different direction. Tobacco is described as a luxury, but it hais become more than that to many people, and to the poor and honest working man it is one of the few pleasures that he enjoys. However, the added cost to the kind of the tobacco that he chiefly smokes is very little. Whisky, of course, is a pure luxury, and the man who buys a bottle of case whisky, will, it is said, have to pay an extra eighteenpence. It is understood that the price of the nip in the hotel bars will remain as at present, but that the system of the measured nip will be instituted in all the city hotels. ) This provides quite a generous allowance, so that there need be no grumbling. This plan cuts both ways, of course, The publican perhaps scores if a man is having only one or two drinks, but if he has more, in helping himself from the bottle he is likely to reduce the quantity taken. The increased petrol tax has caused a controversy. The person that it hits hardest probably is the ordinary carrier and taxi-driver or other man working on his own in a small way. With the motorist who keeps a car for pleasure there seems no logical reason why he should not pay a bit more, for with this latest rise the price is no higher than he paid a few years ago. Vigorous protests have been made against the added totalisaitor tax, but the Finance ’Minister’s business is 'to get. fresh revenue by putting as little of the burden on industry as possible. Assertions have been made that this impost will greatly reduce the volume of betting and so defeat the Treasurer’s aim, but that remains to be seen. In this connection, an interesting point has been raised in Christchurch, where prominent racing a fid trotting men expressed the opinion that if the Gaining Bill were passed into law this session, with its clause sanctioning the receiving of investments by telegraph and post, there would be an increased turnover which would go a long way towards compensating the clubs for the loss of revenue that would be incurred through the extra per cent totalisator tax. This is a private Bill which came before Parliament last year. Since the session began, however, Mr Forbes has expressed his cordial approval of the proposals, so that its chances seem hopeful. The clause referred to is really only a revision to a system that existed in the Dominion years ago. Another clause proposes to do away with the prohibition o’f the publication of dividends, which was always permitted in years gone by. This is a ridiculous ban, and it would puzzle anyone to show that it has done any good whatever. The chief effect that it has had apparently is to play into the hands of the bookmakers. They are numerous in all the big towns of the Dominion, and their illegal operations deprive the Government and the clubs of no small amount of revenue. It is considered improbable that the Gaming Bill will mce*t with much opposition this session in Parliament. 'Mr A. H. Allen has been alive president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce in the’last year. In vacating his office (which is a rolling one) this week, he made some pertinent remarks on current events. He expressed the opinion that as the United Kingdom overcomes its present economic difficulties so will unemployment in New Zealand be diminished. The moral he deduced from this was that ' by supporting the industries el tire

Mother Country to the fullest extent we would assist to restore prosperity in the best market we have for our exportable commodities, and concurrently improve our local conditions. Referring to the indifference and apathy on the part of the public concerning state and local affairs, he declared that until there is an improvement in this direction we cannot expect reform in connection with the administration of public departments. He pointed out that the prodigal, be it a nation or an individual, reaps what it sows. “Since the war we have gone from grave to gay. ‘On with the dance’ has been our motto, and picture shows, horse racing, and an excess of amusements of all kinds seems to be the national tendency of the age. Tastes have become luxurious, standards of living and of economy have altered and habits that once would have been thought to be very extravagant have become common.” These are true words and and many people to-day are suffering as a result of the conditions he mentioned. It is only the pinch of poverty that will check the impulses referred to by 'Mr Allen. The saying that a policeman’s life is not a happy one, which was coined by W. S. Gilbert in ‘The Pirates of Penzance,’ has become a proverb. Its truth, however, does not apply to New Zealand. No doubt there are drawbacks, as in every trade or profession, but the force in this Dominis on the whole on a good, wicket. Its members have fair pay and reasonable conditions, with the prospect of a comfortable old age on superannuation. Furthermore, our country is remarkably free from crime, especially of a violent order, so that our police, unlike those of less law-abiding countries, seldom go in peril of their lives. We have reason to be proud of our force. It is composed of a fine body of men who carry out their duties with a great freedom from charges of corruption in what must often be tempting circumstances. Dunedin has just had a visit from Commissioner Wohlnunn, who is making a tour of the Dominion with the object of obtaining firsthand information of the conditions that prevail. From his record we may expect the phases of the law under his jurisdiction to be administered fairly and impartially. Commissioner Wohlmann began his career as a constable in Dunedin, but he has never occupied any of the major posts in this city. Talking of the police, an interesting innovation has been introduced at the spot where Stuart street intersects Cumberland street, near the Evening Star office. Here, being so close to the railway station, there was often a great amount of traffic, so much so indeed that pedestrians at certain hours of the day crossed the street with a considerable amount of risk. Then the City Council arranged with the Police Department to have a constable on the spot at certain hours of the day, and a most efficient man he proved. Firm but considerate, Constable Oswald won the goodwill of motorists and pedestrians alike. Lately an ingenious mechanical appliance, known as the “silent cop” has been installed. It created an uproar at first, but now it is accepted as a matter of course. The contrivance is worked by a system of automatic lights. A car, say, going up or down Stuart street 'must stop when it comes to Cumberland Street if a red light is showing. If it is a green one it may pass on. The same thing applies to Cumberland Street. The interval between the changes of lights is sixteen seconds, so that the wait is not a long one. No right hand turn is allowed from Cumberland Street into Stuart Street and vice versa. Certainly the congestion of traffic lias been relieved in a remarkable way, and apparently without serious inconvenience to the motorist. About one thing, at any rate, there can be no doubt and that is that it is a boon to the pedestrian.