GENERAL ITEMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 17 November 1937, Page 6

GENERAL ITEMS

I New Nelson Com (house ! The Nelson Col rtlieu.sc was mentioned as a building due for replacement ia the Public Works Statement presented to the House by the Hon. R. Semple The statement indicated that estimates: and plans for the work arc at present under consideration. The Basie Wage A Dunedin business man lias received from a relative in Newcastle (Australia) a letter m which lie men--1 lions a family who returned from New ! Zealand a short time agu. Questioned i as to the cause of their return they i said that the basic wage had almost | ruined them It appeared that they ! hired a good deal of labour in their j business, and though much of the | casual labour they got was not satisj factory they were bound by law to pay i the basic wage. The Newcastle man 1 adds: "The principle may be all right. ! but i am afraid the results will not Always be satisfactory. I’m a firm believer in paying on results, because I've proved it, in my own elTorts, and when in charge of bodies of workmen you can discover the shirker quickly, and the physically weaker man, but j willing, you can make allowance for."

Sa vilig £6OOO Savings .'iiiimnit mg 1,1 ‘' J accrue to Taranaki dairy companies as the result of a judgment of the Court, of Appeal, issued at. Wellington last week (says the "Daily News ). I lie effect, of the decision is that factories in the province will not. have to make payments to employees lor holidays last season As the hnnl outcome of pioeeerlings taken against the Cardiff Dairy Company at Strallord the judgment applies directly only to members of the Taranaki Dairying and Farming Industrial Union of Employers, which undertook the delence of (Audit! throughout the litigation. It v.ill. however, alVeet. the position of factories in other districts, particularly in IVlanawatu and possibly in Southland. The reason only Taranaki taclorics are concerned directly is that in the past each district, has been covered by separate awards or agreements

Labour Shortage in Britain “Business conditions in Britain are such that in most industries there is a distinct shortage of skilled labour,” said Mr .James Fletcher, managing director of the Fletcher Construction Company, Ltd., who returned by the Aorangi after spending seven months on a business trip abroad, states the "New Zealand Herald." Mr Fletcher said he had spent two months inspecting many of the principal factories engaged in producing plant and machinery for the building industry, and had investigated a number of housing schemes in England and Scotland. Referring to the skilled labour shortage, he said it was quite common to see posters at the railway stations calling for labour, especially for the engineering trades The need for labour in the engineering trades was a result of the Government’s re-armament pregramme. While, however, that programme was undoubtedly affecting trade conditions, England’s prosperity was due in a great, if not greater, measure to the übiquitous housing schemes, the constituent .activity in building and its allied trades, and to the fact that industrial plants of every kind were at present engaged in rc-equipping and remodelling their factories. Collection for Crippled Children There were a number of stands about the city streets to-day where collections were made for the Nelson branch of the Crippled Children Society, and there was a good response by the public to this worthy cause

Stock Embargo In view of the very wide diversity ot opinion among breed societies and similar organisations, the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. Lee Martin) is not disposed to make any recommendation regarding the removal of the stock embargo, he informed the House of Representatives yesterday when the agriculture vote was being discussed. “I am positive that those engaged in the dairying industry particularly will hesitate very much before agreeing to the restrictions being removed.” be said. The Minister added that the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) had made inquiries in this connection when he was at Home, but in view of the many other questions tlmt demanded attention they had not yet found an opportunity of getting down to it and examining it. If there were some unanimity among breeders and farmers, then the Government might be able to tackle the problem "I have in my mind the question of allowing stock to come direct to New Zealand instead of coming by way of Tasmania and Canada.” addud the Minister. "That would mean increasing the period of quarantine in this Dominion. But the whole question and all its ramifications will have to be looked into.” Competition Willi Retail Butchers Unfair competition by certain of the freezing companies with retail butchers was alleged by Mr S. G. Smith (Opposition. New Plymouth), during the'discussion on the estimates of the Agriculture Department in the House of Representatives yesterday. Mr Smith said some of the freezing companies operated shops near the freezing works where they sold meat to the public. It was generally understood that this was meat which had been rejected as unfit for export, but because it was cheap people travelled considerable distances to buy it. The position, as far as the retail butchers were concercnd, was becoming increasingly serious. "I am anxious to meet the position pointed out by the member for New Plymouth,” said the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. W. Lee Martin, "but it is not as easy as it appears on the surface I have a Bill in course of preparation which should have the effect of dealing with the situation.’ The National Party )n a recent issue the "N.Z. Observer” makes some interesting comments on the present political position of the National Party in Opposition. After discussing the merits of the Hon. Adam Hamilton as Leader, and saying that Mr Coates has recovered much of his lost prestige, it. continues: "Next to him comes that very forceful young man. Mr K. J. Ilolyoake of Molucka. who is proving himself one of the most capable of the younger men in the House. Mr Broadfoot and Mr S. G. Holland are two other useful men to the party. ’

How an Anri was Broken How a simple and not uncommon physical contest can cause injury was revealed in Masterton last week, when Mr H. Plimmer, cashier for Levin and Co., l,td.. suflercd a broken.arm. With hands gripped and elbows resting cm a table, Mr Plimmer ancj another employee of the firm were practising the feat of forcing each other's arm down to the table as a way of gauging the strength of their arms, when suddenly his arm broke above the elbow. Mr Plimmer was admitted to the Mastcrlon Hospital for treatment. North Otago Parched A report from Oamaru states that the continued absence of rain is causing much anxiety in the farming community of North Otago (writes a Dunedin correspondent in yesterday s “Press"). Since early in October no rain has fallen, and the shortage of green feed is becoming acute. Sheep and lambs are dying rapidly, one farmer at Hildcrthorpc having lost more than 150 ewes in (he last week. Others report heavy loss in lambs. The wheal crop in purls is ruined. Where land is at all low-lying, the crops are still surviving, bill on more exposed areas oiv.y brown stubble remains. In many cases the crops have been eaten oft by sheep. Farmers have had to resort to this method rattier than lose their entire Hocks, especially in the more hilly regions of Ngapara and Tukarahi. where water is being carried, in some instances, for distances of five miles. The use of water is everywhere restricted.