CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7869, 3 August 1911, Page 6

CURRENT TOPICS

A WORTHY OBJECT. The poster ball to be held in the Town Hall to-night presents a favourable opportunity for the public to help a cause that needs assistance, and deserves it. The Society for the Health of Women and Children does a very great deal of good with a surprisingly small amount of money. Its Plunkct nurso is at the service of all who require her — so far as one woman can servo a largo community—without fee or reward. The society depends entirely upon voluntary contributions, a circumstance that makes one wonder how it is that its appeals for aid are so seldom heard. Nobody who has not actually come into touch with the activities of the society can quite appreciate the value of its operations, which undoubtedly result in saving many infants* lives and contributing in no small degree to tho comfort and happiness of parents. The society has no “lad"—it proceeds on tho most intelligent lines, impressing always upon mothers that tho three essentials to health are fresh air, sunshine, and natural food. All who attend the ball this evening—and wo hope to see the hall crowded —will be doubly rewarded. They will bo thoroughly entertained, and will have tho satisfaction of contributing, if indirectly, to a fund that is wisely expended in the cans© of humanity, BEWARE—TRANSPARENT ENVELOPES ! . The following reaches the "Now Zealand Tames** from the Secretary of tho Post and Telegraph Department: —The Post Office has considerable difficulty in dealing with ,correspondetnee enclosed in envelopes, i.e., envelopes having in front a panel of transparent paper through which the address on tho enclosure is road. In many instances, through the insufficient transparency of (the material forming the panel, the indistinct writing of the address, or the careless folding of the enclosure, officers are Qiindered jin reading the addresses. In order to avoid the delay thus caused, which may have serious effects in respect of the whole body of mail mutter in hand at a given time, > a regulation lias been framed'providing that letters or other articles contained in "transparent** envelopes, the addresses of which cannot be easily read, shall be put aside to he dealt with when work is leas pressing, even if they should thereby be delayed in despatch or delivery. Articles with enclosures folded in such a manner that the addresses cannot be read will be treated os undeliverable, and articles enclosed in envelopes with the transparency placed crosswise instead of lengthwise in'the'envelope are prohibited, and will bo dealt l with accordingly.

FARMERS AND ARBITRATION ACT. In conformity with a resolution adopted at the New Zealand farmers’ Union Conference - held in Wellington last week —’That a committee be set np, such committee to be the advisory committee of the union, to consider the operations of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and watch tho proposed amending Act now before Parliament, with authority to lay any proposals agreed to by the committee before tho Minister of Labour for his favourable consideration”—information as to the working of the Act will be gathered from tho various branches, and submitted to the advisory committee. This consists of Messrs J. G. Wilson (Dominion president). W. J. Birch (treasurer), J. C. Cooper (Masterton), H. D. Richards (Manawatu), F. F. Hockley (Hunterville), and Ewen Campbell (Wanganui). With this information iri its possession j the advisory committee will bo in a i position to select the representatives of j the union it desires to give evidence before the Labour Bills Committee when j the amending Bill is submitted to Parliament. •WIRELESS CONTRACT. Doubts having been expressed regarding the ownership of the rights of the wireless system- to be used in connection with tho Commonwealth contracts, Mr H. B. Denison, who is the chairman of the Australasian Wireless Co., Ltd., made a statement to a reporter of the ‘Daily Telegraph" with the object of removing them. The company has contracts for the ’erection of stations at Sydney and Fremantle. "We have received information,” said Mr Denison, “that Siemens Bros, and Co., Ltd., British Admiralty contractors, of Caxton House, Westminster, London, have purchased outright tho exclusive patent rights of the Quenched Singing Sparks system of wireless telegraphy, which is being used by the Australasian Wireless Co, in connection with the Commonwealth stations. This information is confirmed by the ‘Electrician’ of June 9th, in these words : —‘Messrs Siemens Bros, have announced that as they anticipate in the future there will be an extensive field in wireless telegraphy apparatus. they have acquired the British rights of the Telefunken system. The decision, the Messrs Siemens state, has been come to after mature consideration. Tho company has made a careful study of all known systems of wireless telegraphy. and they have come to the conclusion that tho Telefunken system offers tho greatest advantages. They have, therefore, entered into arrangements by which they have secured the exclusive fights fog tho use of .this system for the.

United Kingdom and the British colonies/ As this decision of Messrs Siemens has been arrived at since the renowned Parker judgment against the Radio-Telegraph. Co. was given in London, it offers the strongest possible proof that the claims made by the Marconi Co., that all the known commercial systems, including the Singing Sparks Systemj are in infringement of the Marconi original master patent, are utterly untenable Any doubts, therefore, which may bo entertained by the , Commonwealth Government in regard to the system which is being installed by the Australasian Wireless Company should now be removed/'