CURRENT TOPICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7870, 4 August 1911, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS

"WANGANUI HARBOUR. Schemes for the improvement of the Wanganui harbour .are discussed in a report made t-o the Minister for Marino by the engineer-in-chief of the department, Mr Holmes. Ho says that the construction of the berthage and turning basin at the heads is, from the harbour point of view, both the cheapest as regards capital expenditure, and also, as regards maintenance, but whether it would b© ultimately cheaper in the interests of the district as a whole h© is not in a position, at-present to say. His estimates of expenditure aro as under:— Deep-sea harbour near town—training wall completion to root of south mole, <£12,000; training wall upstream from north mole, <£26,000; dredging, including basin, £90,000; wharf and sheds, <£30,000; engineering and contingencies, <£15,000; total, <£175,000; dredge, <£30,000. Extension of harbour entrance—Extension of moles, .£102,000; engineering and contingencies, £20,000; dredging up to root of moke, £6000; total, <£218,000. Inner harbour, Castlecliff—Wharf and sheds, .£30,000; dredging basin of 25 acre?, .£15,000; wall to basin, <£23,000; completing south training wall, .£12,000; engineering and contingencies, <£8000; total, £87,000; improving channel to tow above basin to 12ft, £40,900; maintenance of channel at 12ft, £2600 a year- Summary —Harbour at Heads, £335,000; maintenance of depth per annum, £4OOO. Harbour at tow, £421,000; maintenance of depth per annum, £15,000.

CONTROL or DENTAL DISORDERS. There is now a very general recognition of the dangers which arise from the extraordinary prevalence of dental disorders among school children. Decayed teeth are at least a contributory factor in the causing of many serious defects and illnesses; and over 90 per cent, of the elementary school children in Great Britain have teeth which are either decayed or show signs of decay. Yet (says the "Westminster Gazette") the record of the Cambridge dental clinic founded four years ago by the geuerosity of Mr Sedley Taylor, aud now maintained by the Borough Council, shows how successfully the evil can be controlled, i When the clinic was opened 50 per cent, of the children, of thirteen years of age had each nine or more permanent teeth carious. Now the borough dentist is able to report that ho and his assistants ■ have succeeded in keeping the teeth of 70 per cent, of the children dealt with free from caries. One expects that when the clinic,,has been established so long that every child has been in its care since entering the school, that figure will be even higher. It is a sufficiently remarkable result of four years’ work, to demonstrate the great value and the small cost of the dental clinic; one could wish indeed that every educational authority had already .imitated the Cambridge Borough Council. A TEAR OF PROGRESS. Commissioner Hay, addressing the Australasian Congress of the. Salvation. Army at Melbourne, said that during the lost two years there had been a substantial advauce all along the line. As many as ten now corps of soldiers had been added to the general strength, as well as eightyfour new officers, and 156 corps of cadets for training for army service. The openair work had increased in volume by 10 per cent., the aggregate attendances at indoor meetings by 53,000 iveekly, whilst the circulation of the "War Cry" had gone up by 14,000 weekly. , Twelve new homes had been erected, with an increased aggregate accommodation for 198 women and 608 men and hoys. In addition there had been built, or were/ in course of being built, seventy new halls and social institutions; and the recentlyformed anti-smoking aud anti-gambling leagues had already a membership of 53,000 hoys." The special purpose of the present congress. Commissioner Hay went on to explain, was to discuss and arrange a new' programme of aggressive work fqr Australasia, but a programme in . harmony with the peculiar needs of Australasia- The army, he declared, was strong all over.the world in its powers of adaptation, and general measures which called for special application in America called also for a special application here. They needed another seventy halls, and were face to face with the necessity of making further advances in inebriate rescue work along the skilful' modern lines already adopted in their sanatoria, w-hero some 300 patients were now under treatment. And through it all they were inspired by the example, energy, fidelity, and sincerity of their "General," the Rev. William Booth.

THE BOUNHAKITES QUESTION.

Tile Hon. T. Mackenzie, speaking at Dunedin on tile general question of the readjustment of boundaries, remarked: X say it is nothing short of an abominable and expensive nuisance to the whole of tlio Dominion. Under' present conditions it is' next to impossible for the commissioners to give any heed to what should be a dominant- factor—namely, community of interest. And what has been the result of all this readjustment? To take the census and then to make the necessary readjustment must cost anything from .£50,000 to .£70,000. • You are continually throwing public men togeth& to fight each other, and this means excluding tried men from Parliament when tho country desires to see them there. Take the history of one or two recent electorates. First ’ ift Waihemo, John McKenzie and Buckland were thrown together, then Scobie Mackenzie and Vincent Dyke; the two Mackenzies survived, only to be later thrown against each other, and I believe tho strain of that contest laid the. foundation of the diseases which carried off both these eminent_statesmen. Ten years ago I followed Sir John McKenzie at Waihemo, and , shortly afterwards the seat was wiped out. I then stood for Waikouaiti, and again that seat went. Now it would seem that tho one X now represent is among those that are threat-

ened either with extinction or distortion* As is well known, four years ago I i*»ndeavoured to have matters adjusted ai.ui had a majority of the members of the* House in favour of the scheme; but it did not moot with the approval of some members, and as tho 'Representation Act is a most difficult ono to deal with the matter was not taken up. Lest time a measure of this nature was before tho House there was a -stonewall which lasted for six days and six nights and was then only ended by a compromise hoing agreed to. I think we must soon realise the necessity for a change in the* present state of things. But it is n. pity that, oven an tho readjustment o i electorates, political reflections should b<s indulged in, especially when the charged made aro absolutely groundless.

STEAM AND ITS RIVALS. The work of tho Inspection; of Machinery Department, according to the animal report, has gone on smoothly during the year. Tho advance of the gas, oil, and gas-producer engine is noted, t<h© report stating that these types are displacing tho steam engine, except where steam is required for manufacturing purposes. "Most of tho engines referred te are imported, and are sold at prices against which it would bo almost impose sible for firms in the Dominion to compete. This is not only a great monetary loss to the Dominion, but it also restricts the education of our young and rising engineers in tho engineering trade, who miss the opportunity of seeing such machinery manufactured and handled while they are serving their apprenticeships." SOUTH AURIGA. In the leisure of a short sea trip (wrote Sir Henry Lucy in Juno last), I had an ; interesting convocation with the head of) ono of tho groat firms that have for the last thirty years ministered to tho commorcdal prosperity of South Africa*. Whilst we are congratulating ourselves in Parliament, the press, and on the platforms, at tho marvellous union picturesquely represented just now by the presence of General Botha in London, this high authority does not believe in the reality of the situation. He says the Boers are top-dog, and mean not only to keep 1 their dominant position, but te strengthen it. As an instance of their traditional slimness, ho quotes the alleged fact that the present Government do all they safely can to discourage immigration. u What South Africa wants above all things is men of the class capable of cultivating its vast umtroddcn velts. This policy, diligently pursued, would mean a steady flow of Britons, with their wives and families, thus' plac* ing tho purely white man in the majority. Whilst my friend- speaks with tho authority of one having intimate knowledge of the country, I fancy he is nob free from the prejudice against tho Boers, doubtless justified by tho adminie* tration of President Kruger whilst at, tho pinnacle of power, which culminated ,in the Jameson Raid. Nevertheless, comI ing from tho quarter where it was spoken, tho opinion is worth record, and perhaps consideration.