SANITATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13672, 13 February 1908, Page 7

SANITATION.

Sir,lf all is j|»u* that hi* been gUtod, in 'the SflW»p*p?M about .■ putf«>sr*(«c bac- :''<•' teria (a* our health tJhV*v* would have uffl believe) what can ■be »*kl or don« to ■<&%%■ ''■:]. sanitary iit*pieeio« when ■ they indulge lin/''^ : such an abominable practice ■**'■; wUft.- / holding closet pan* from house,*;,where : the : -- landlord s* in arrears with his due? to th* . Council for attending to the removal of. the uightsoil? I have heard of two such■*..:.: cases this week—no fault of either tenant— , : and in one house there are seven person . Are the landlords, in length with th« do*tors and chemists? or is there no truth in : the statement that microbe* breed whir»••■". thero are filthy tonditiout? Surely lh# municipal authorities have the same pull on. ,; '' the landlord or hi* agem for the removal of tnghtsoil as trey have for the recovery of rates. Again, if a, few 'live" inspector* wen? appointed to look a»er ■' the sanitary •'■';»«• difion of the city,, and compel landlord* to mufce if possible for tenants, by the erection of pro'M'r bin* for the reeeptioa of refuse. 10 he ftp their placed tidy (as dow- ■ ns more up-to-date eomtnunitWj we would •'•: i-ee )!'>t only cleaner backyards, but : lew '■'■' accumulation of rubbish along the '■ leading to offices in some of the block* in *: Queen-street, which, in addition to being a menace to public health, increases very cifiisiileraiily the risks of fsi*»«. ■ ■ S.witATtos Vv to D.sxr . ■'■

PROGRESS ASSOCIATIONS. -::-.■ Sir,—l notice in your issue of this morning a lament that the beiiuty spot in the environs of Auckland are largely neglected in favour ot remote but more generally known retorts. It, con i« rat her as a surprise to ono that the qwn-n city of tsje Dominion does not j-«vst>ss tlmfe almost ceasary adjunct of- "the other side I moan a progress association. -a The junction* of this Rsswjiatton are to disseminate; useful knowledge as to the beauty spots : of tho town or district, to issue such informa(ion as to fares, hotels, *;{c, in a. pictorial book fornix, and is usually maintained by subscript h'M from leading , resident*, and, from advertisements in the pictorial booklots issued. Almost every watering-place, and many inland cities of Tasmania and Australia, possess such an association* which* materially conduces to the advancement of the towns that hare.thcru, and, although".a beneficent and paternal Government is i-ii' dently willing to do this with regard tc places of Bomo importance, as Waiwera, etc-, there is no reason why the queen city ol the Dominion should not *be xriath) more widely known, not only Mo the advantiiK*,' of the ■ tourist, but indirectly al*o iin vtW'; more rapid growth and development of-the citv of Auckland. E. LxwiH-PCRBBtdt" 1

DUAL CONTROL. Having read " Ik-Teacher'* " letter in the Herald of the 4th inst, I must, cordially endorse his sentiments regarding school committees*. I, wag a member of * school committee for two year*, and alw held office- as secretary during thut;period. S and can vouch for the titter usclessnewi and farce of such committees as fa? us my low ' experience goes. In calling meetings it wt* almost impoiwiblo to get a quorum, .member* telling mo I knew what to do without troubling them, and if a quorum wa* obtained the meeting would simply bo a farce and develop into a school for scandal, the secretary being left to take the rcdpomiihilitios of the whole committee. The duties of a committee being mainly to arraugo for cleaning and-fire-wood, surely this could bo managed by. ttrf head teacher. The average member, of «, country school committee has no idea, of what hia duties are, and is frequently; '6'fti v qf the worst offenders hi not sending hPsHMV' dren regularly to school. An bftioialifctiort! visitor or ■• correspondent should[■- -bo- "<jvH-e«r-sufficient, the title " school commissioner " being too exalted for the position, andLis also confusing with the school commissioner* who have control of school lands. By the way, why are the duties of this latter 'body not carried out by the education boards? Th* f abolition of school committer and the paymeat of all local expenses direct by the Hoard would save in the Auckland province alone over £200 a year in bank charge* for keeping accounts. Ex-CoMMtTTHKMAS.'

MINE MANAGERS* ■ CERTIFICATES, Sir,—Professor Jarman doubts my •eriouf noes in asserting " that the man woo Ji»rtj» practical mining roost rapidly is he who lias been brought up ill' a mining: utmost pherc, and not tho highly-trained graduated" Evidently the professor doubts tin influence of environment/ as ho apparently i; : under-rates the value of practical expert- ■■■•■: once. But there are other factor* wbmbj favour thi> goldfield man, as anyone who fa*!''.'.-; been about mines cannot have failed; to - notice. The professor goes on to say that my ' assertion is equivalent to'saying that**' > a training as laid down by the most-eminent engineers and scientists the graduate taunt bo content to be rated as inferior todh« non-technical man." My assertion was- that he was an inferior miner, not an inferior man. No. one object* to the graduate.plying the calling for which he was trained—;- , that of a mining engineer—but until he ha?, had ample practical experience he is incompetent to judge whether a working, :fac«.,iii! dangerous or not, and until .ho become,; competent he is not qualified to hold th( position of mine manager. /, '■';•.'. ;".' *", t Again, I was not aware that in the Dominion mining education had reached the (standard an laid down by tho .highest authorities. If it baa, whew is that valuable adjunct, the "mining laboratory,*' with it* power plant and testing: accessories,- blacksmith and machine shops, hydraulic laboratory, dynamos and motor*!, crushing, concentrating, and smelting plants, etc.? where- is tho three months' course in commercial surveying (nine hours per day), and tho summer school of mining, where the V. students go out to a mine, and under the V professor examine, sample, and report/pc ' same, then after dilution with practical' ;, miners the students, "strip off" and break the ore, which is finally handed over to them for treatment, and for the value of which they are held responsible? No, sir! Mining education in New Zealand is still an infanta' class, but it is to bo hoped that money and energy will not be wanting to equip the Auckland Mining School, a* well as the Canterbury School of Mechani- . cal, Civil, and Electrical Engineering, of which Professor Scott may justly feel proud. In stating that he considers a graduate with fivo years* experience superior to a nontechnical man .villi .'an': equal amount of training Professor Jannan need cot fear contradiction, for, other things being equal, the balance of power must always lie on the hide of the technically-trained man; but: ".. the difference between the graduate with three years* experience and tho man .of long service is that the latter" knows hiss? but can do more." Hence his position~ir: the industry. That I did not err in stating that a stu- . dent can get in 13 months' practical work during his four years at college cm be proved from the professor's own. paragraph on the subject. Since an Auckland student -,\ is within six hours' run of, the ■'goldSoUw be can easily sp<>nd two of his throe weeks vacation in practical work. This, then, gir« him four and a half month.-)' practice pet year, or 13 months in four f years. I aw pleased to see that tho professor ha? re duced the period of technical training froa four years to three, but on his own statements another eight months must bo deducted, leaving two and a-third years of technical training, not four years,' a* ifa; ; professors at-Ota>/.o and ■ Auckland tried*: tv make us believe. At present there is tit connection between goldfield and university schools of mines, and a student who wini tho Mines Department scholarshin hao lie standing whatever at the university, al though he is better prepared for. the a*- * similation of mining engineering than f any ■; student who comes from any other .plana oschool. Here is a chance to remove an in justice to, and prejudice against, the stu dent from the goldheld schools. In conclusion, I must express my disapproval of Professor Park's scheme, as it] would tend to develop that class of man who gets practical experience- by observation only; but it is generally recognised that there is ass important element one does not get by watching others work. A man often thinks he understands a thing ho sees an other do, but such knowledge is superficial and is dangerous; it suffices only for amateurs and dilettanti, hot for real professions 1 , men. It is the complete, ingrained mas- ' tery, obtained by long familiarity with hi*. ; work that—in the ease of emergency—make!' the practical man superior to the id?w " looker-on in Venice." • ' It. 15. Macduff, Director Kar*ugahako School of Mice*