CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7319, 24 December 1910, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS

PRIMARY SCHOOL STAFFING. Regulations were gazetted this week Consolidating those which were drafted j to meet the new conditions of salaries : and staffing provided in the Education Act, 1908, and the amendment passed ■ last session. There is only one new fea- ! ture of general interest, this being the remedying of an awkward defect of the ■ previous regulations wherein appeared tables showing the progressive stages of j staffing and salaries as the average at-; tendance increased. But there was no | table to guide education authorities in j readjusting stafis where the average attendance diminished. Congested city schools , might sufier . a drop throngh a new school being provided in an adjacent district. The new "C” table enables prompt adjnstments to be made each quarter while the average attendance is diminishing. The amending Act

comes into operation on January lst»* and as it was only passed at the end of the session, the Education Department, seems to have displayed groat promptitude in the preparation of the up-to-date regulations. PROSPECTING IN WESTLAND. The Westland County Council has received word from Wellington that a Keystone driller, for which the council has been seeking for the purposes of prospecting in Westland, has arrived, and is to bo sent "by the Government direct to Hokitika. The Mines Department stipulates that tho drill must, while on, hire, bo in sole control of an engineer to be appointed by the Minister, and whoso wages of M per week must bo paid by the hirer, who nt the same time is to be held responsible for any injury to tho machine, and must on the cessation of boring operations put the driller in thorough repair, and deliver it where required by the Minister. The driller may be removed from the use of the hirer if the work is delayed unnecessarily, or the engineer’s salary not paid regularly. Tho Stafford Prospecting Syndicate (represented by Mr G. Wilson) were the first applicants for the drill, and they have (says the Greymouth “Star”) the first offer for the machine. There is also an application from the Mikonui Prospecting Syndicate and other applications will be considered in order of their priority; ’ THE TOURIST TRAFFIC. The tourist traffic, as was anticipated) is setting in with a full tide this to the large content of hotel and board-housc-keepers, tourist agents, and all other caterers to the thousand and one wants of the man who’travels round to see things with a well-lined purse as his vade mecum (says .the “Auckland Star”). And the advent of tlm P. and 0. steamers is justly credited with being no small a lever of the flow in our direction. “Tho class of tourist coming along by the P. and O. boats is reminiscent of the days when the Oceanic steamers used to visit Auckland. We have not seen .anything like it for years/' remarked the representative of a big tourist agency in oppressing tho opinion that the present season would prove a veritable boom one, and see more money for spending than had come into the pockets of the Dominion, froml the tourist source for many a long day.. The traffic Homeward this season is also, exceptional, accommodation on outward boats in March and April particularly Jiaving now been reduced to a very narrow margin, for which, of course, the Coronation ceremonies are in a large degree responsible. In short, it will be a year of coming and going to an Extent that on the present outlook promises to constitute a record.

PLEA FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION,; The Rev. Father Graham, late of St. Patrick's College, who is to bo the priu-* cipal of the Catholic High School in Christchurch, speaking to a “Lyttelton Times" reporter, said that it had been decided to establish a school in Christ- 1 church as a plea for religious educa-i tiou. Tho school would be somewhat in 1 the nature of an 'experiment, but he had no doubt that it would receiva. sufficient support to ensure, its success.* The object of the scheme would be tOl provide secondary education for Catholic 5 boys, who would, in addition to : their, ordinary school studies, bo able to learn more of*their religion. Christchurch had a very good primary school and splendid high schools for girls, but none for boys. Bishop Grimes had had the ideal of establishing such a school before him. ever since his arrival in Christchurch, and it was now hoped , that a success would bo made of the venture. The school, which would be located in tho building .until recently occupied by tho. Nazareth. Sisters, would probably be. opened early in February, and it was expected that about i forty or fifty boys would attend. The teachers would bo drawn from . the Marist Fathers, but up to the present no appointments had been made. The school would be a day school, and would enable parents * who: j objected to a boarding school or conidi not afford St; Patrick's College to give their children, a good Catholic secondary education. The work; of fitting the build.: ing for its new work had been commenced, and the .furniture would bd. arrange! soon after the New Year. CAUSES OF FIRES. The matter of holding inquests into the cause of all tires was referred to at the meeting of the Dunedin' Fire Hoard in connection with the adoption by it ; of ; the annual: report of InspectorHugo on the fire brigades of the Do- 1 , minion. . In’.,tl\at report it .was stated that in New Zealand yearly damage to the extent of over ,£556,000 was done by fires, giving an annual loss per 1 head* of population of about 12s 6d. : Thte X’ate is abnormal, and has often been referred. to. The suggestion lias been made that an inquest should be held into the cause of every fire, and the Fire Board, has the option of doing this. The board l has, however, refrained from doing so; until the general practice was intrc-i duced throughout the Dominion, on tho, ground that a special inquiry places individuals in a. somewhat : invidious position. The feeling, however; is that an inquiry in every case would remove that feeling and materially lessen the number of fires. At Wednesday's meeting of the board the xnatter was (eayfl. tho "Otago Daily Times") once more* discussed, but - it wag decided to again! 'urge tho Government to introduce the system generally. The motion passed was as follows:—“That tho report be received, and that, with reference to a resolution adopted by this boai’d oxil. March 24th, 1909, during the Minister of Internal Affairs to take steps to have inquiries made into the circumstances surrounding all fires, the view therein expressed lia6 now received substantial! confirmation in the last annual report of the Inspector of Fire' Brxgadoa. and also in the report of tho Australian Royal, Commission on Insurance, and it is therefore desirable to again address the; Minister. of Internal -Affaii’s upon the subject, urging that effect t be; given to the resolution referred to." 1 THE POLITICAL PAST. Mr George Laurenson, M.P. for Lyttelton, addi’essing his constituents on Wednesday night/ said the past few months, politically, had been the most bitter and, aggravating that he had experienced fori a long time. The Government party had. been opposed by an opposition that was without a past, a platform, or a future.) One of its proposals was that the rail-! ways should be run by commissioners.. . They desired to get back to the days; when the labourer was paid 6s or less a day. Since the Liberal Administration had come into office the average, wages of tho railway workers had increased by 33 1-3 per cent, and the hours of labour had decreased by 20 per cent., and notwithstanding that the railway revenue had been checked by huge -remissions, it had largely increased. He did not want the Government to abandon control and leave the railways in the hands of two or three irresponsible persons. The ghastly experience of Victoria in the matter of accidents was quite a sufficient warning against the system of commissioners. The Opposition had opposed tlxo Land for; Settlement Act, had opposed Labour legislation, advances to settlers, old ago pensions, but all their prophecies about the ruin of the country had come to nothing. Discussing Parliamentary reform, Mr Laurenson said that he would like to see the House with the power of closure and a fixed hour of rising at midnight. He also looked for-, ward to the election of the Ministry by the members, the referendum with the. initiative, and national pensions for widows and children below the present age limit. He was opposed to any fur-, ther sal© of Crown: land, and* etrongly advocated an increase of the. progressive) land tax. - Ho desired to see the State; securing some part of the unearned ins creraent of land. Tho unexampled pros-* perity of the Dominion had .been re-

ilocted foremost in tho increased vnlud of land, and this should be a subject of special taxation. H#? wished to see all iuturo reductions on the railways applied to second class passenger rates, particularly, with greater concessions to menl with families.