LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17177, 3 June 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

.;'. •/! ;;'V-V'V ''••'"■.*.? "'•■ "■*»''■■'—-— ; The local i Department of Labour reports . that, there lias been very littlo doing in labour matters in Auckland recently. There have been few applications for labcur, and only a very small number of men rave called at the office in search of employment. Considerable discussion occurred at the "North Auckland Dairy Conference'yesterday on a suggestion that a greater difference should bo made in the price- paid for varying grades of cream, as an incentive to farmers to strive for tho first grade. One delegate said tho practice of his company was to make any third grade cream received at the factory into butter and send it back to the supplier. " And it serves him right if ho lias to eat it," lie concluded. I The birthday of His Majesty King George V. will bo observed as a holiday in Auckland to-day. The principal attractions will be the Auckland Racing Club's Winter Meeting at Ellerslie, and the Waikato Winter Show at Hamilton. Tho Auckland Golf Club will hold two competitions at the Middlemore links, and a hockey tournament will be played at Rcmuera. Tho Football Association will hold a tournament at the Domain. Four cases of influenza wore reported to the Public Health Department at Auckland from noon on Thursday tilt noon yesterday, against one for the corresponding period last week. One severe case was reported in Auckland City, two mild cases (both in one house) at Takanini, and one at Huntly. A second case of lethargic inccphalitis was reported to have occurred in Auckland. Tho following cases of diphtheria have also been reported for the week. ending Juno 2:— Auckland hospital district, 2; Waikato, 5; Bay of Plenty, 1. The secretary of mo branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, Mr. J. Tizard,, has received advice from the genoral secretary, Mr. M. J. Mack, that the 44 hours' week will come into operation on Monday, June 9. This has realljObcen in operation since April 1, 1919, among workshop employees, which includes way and works men, but they have been working 48 hours a week, receiving payment for the extra four hours. An anomaly now exists in tho hours of men employed in the maintenance department. Way and works men emp'oyed on new station buildings or bridges have a 44 hours' week, while plate-laying gangs puttine down new eidinas in connection with such station buildings have, to work 48 hours a week. The appointment of a bacteriologist for service with the Government dairy division was urged at the North Auckland Dairy Conference yesterday, by Mr. T. Bassctt, representing tho Northern Wairoa Dairy Company, who said that his company, in the course of experiments in byproducts, had to send a sample to America for a report. The conference agreed that an industry producing foodstuffs to the value of £8,000,000 annually warranted the appointment of a bacteriologist, especially as greater attention was being given to the question of public health. It was essential that dairy factory managers should have the advantage of all the scientific knowledge which could be placed at their disposal. The conference approved the proposal, and it was decided to send the resolution to the National Dairy Association, for consideration at the forth-, coming conference at Palmerston North. I The great demand that exists in Auckland at the present time for increased telephone connections emphasises the tremendous growth of the system throughout New Zealand in recent years. In March, 1882, there were 116 direct connections to exchanges; within the next 20 years, tho number increased to 9260. An increase of 22,000 was recorded in the next 10 years, the number of connections in 1912 being over 31,030. Within the i next six years a still greater increase was recorded, the total number in March, 1918, being 53,501. The opinion that the municipal play.ground should be instituted as a thing altogether apart and separate from the school playground, was expressed by Mr. C. J. Parr, M.P., in tho course of the gaper he road at the recent Town-planning Conference in Wellington. Where there were large playing spaces attached to primary schools, however, ho considered that some portion might well be utilised I bv the municipal authorities as general) playing grounds. Not enough uso was : made of school playgrounds. By muni- , cipal aid and supervision they could be : greatly improved, and more widely and usefully employed. The extension of the slot-telephone system in Auckland has been greatly hampered during the war period, owing to shortage of apparatus, but it is hoped that half a dozen more wil be erected shortly at central points in tho city and suburbs. There are now 52 slot-telephones boxes in and around the city. A slight rearrangement of the boxes at Hie Chief Post Office has recently been effected. One of tho boxes having been removed to the pavement from inside. There are now three boxes for bureau communication inside the post office, and eight outside for ordinary ' connections. The grfat public convenience of these boxes is evidenced by the fact that nt frequent intervals during the day all are in simultaneous use, and people are constantly to be seen outside awaiting their turn. , Arrangements are being made for the through passengers on tho Niagara to be t taken to Sydney by the Moeraki. A notice posted up on board the Niagara' yesterday stated that " it has been prac- 1 tically definitely decided that the Moeraki will take the Niagara'." passengers to ' Sydney. 'Fio Moeraki will possibly sail, at noon on Wednesday." " I An adjourned sitting of the Conciliation J Council in the Auckland retail chemists' j assistants' dispute was held yesterday, the commissioner, Mr, T. Harle Giles, presid-, ing. A partial agreement on many of J tho points at issue was arrived at, but the questions of hours and wages were referred to the Arbitration Court. , The war record of the Railway Department's staff was mentioned by Mr. E. H. Hiley at the gathering which farewelled him in Wellington on Friday evening. He said the six yearn of his regime hi\d been times of stress and trial, and he thought the railwaymen of New Zealand were en- ! titled to credit for having carried on the , transport business of the Dominion with- j out interruption and without imperilling the trade of the Dominion, which, was so essential to the good of the Empire. It J was true that passenger services had to be restricted, but he believed that the public realised that this was necessary be- ; cause of short staffs and of the need for conserving coal and material. When war requirements became acute it became necessary tor the Department to liberate every man possible for service. He be- I lieved that at some future time tho De- | partment would bo given credit for having i sent abroad every fit singlo man from the service. In nil 7000 trained railwaymon J had gone—-practically 40 per cent, of the trained staff. Without the co-operation of the staff this could never have been done, and he claimed no special credit for the management for having carried on with a. diminished staff The acute shortage of coal has caused a heavy call on all the available supplies of firewood in Wellington. The Htttt River Board recently decided to place one the market at a reasonable rate the firewood reclaimed from the river bed. When this became known the clerk was deluged with orders from as far afield as Wellington, Khandallah, and Eastbourne. The result was that the available supplies were exhausted on the first day. Referring to a suggestion that the Government should make inquiries as to public feeling in the United States, Canada, and other countries on the liquor question, Sir James Allen said he did not think any steps would be taken in that direction. " The public is fully enlightened by the newspaper press," he said, "and the Government does not need to do anything in the matter,"