NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10848, 14 March 1921, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

The appointment of a. permament director for the Masterton Technical School has been approved by the Education Department.

The census of population will be taken on the night of Sunday, April 17th, and the householders' schedules will bo distributed by the sub-enumer-ators during the previous week.

It is said that several of the commercial houses doing business in the country have found it necessary to substantially, reduce the number of their employees.

The Te Aroha paper says that an employee of the totalisator proprietary was apprehended by the police on a charge of failure to* maintain a dependent. He was cemanded \o Wellington.

“Did I told you that?” asked an excited witness at a northern court. Upon counsel saying /‘Yon did,” the answer was, “I never did told you no such thing; you ought to join the police or detectives,” he finally shouted at the lawyer, and was then gently but firmly removed.

At a meeting of the National Defence League at Masterton, Dr Archer Hosking spoke strongly in favour of work among -Senior Cadets and Territorials on the Community Club system. The meeting resolved to make inquiries regarding a building at Featherston Camp, for which tenders are at present being called.

A small meeting of the Timaru branch of the Farmers’ Union (states a Press Association message) supported the South Canterbury executive in refusing to accept as satisfactory the prices fixed for this year’s wheat. Consideration of the guarantee for the rest of the year was deferred until this year’s price is settled.

“I never saw such generous helpings as they give in New Zealand,” said Miss Julia Fisher, a physical culturiet, to a Christchurch “Press” reporter recently. “We in America certainly don’t eat so much at one time. At every place I go to I have to say ‘Not so much, please.’ My father taught me to clean up my plate, and when I see great loaded plates coming to me I say, ‘I cannot eat all this up, and I cannot have anything else till I finish my first helping.’ ”

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Talisman Consolidated, Ltd., which decided to go into voluntary liquidation, Dr C. Prendergast Knight said he would rather receive 4s a share as a final payment than go into another mining enterprise. A shareholder asked the chairman, Mr A. W. Blanchard, what he thought distribution of the company’s assets would amount to per share. Mr Blanchard said his own' personal opinion was that the final payment would probably bo 6s a share.

During February the value of New Zealand exports was £5,339,392, which is almost a million more than in the first month of 1920. Auckland shipped away £2,345,521 worth of this, which is far more than any other port. Last month’s figure is easily a record for Auckland, the previous best monthly return being £1,453,630, in March last year, which was beaten by Wellington by £BO,OOO, while last May’s Lyttelton figure was just over a million and a half.

Butter was the heaviest of the January exportations, representing £2,081,404 in value, and again "Auckland led. It also sent away the most cheese, beef, hides, gold and timber, but Napier and Lyttelton hold first place for wool; Lyttelton, Wanganui, and Napier held pride of place for mutton; Wellington heads the list for tallow; Lyttelton, Wanganui, and Dunedin are closely akin to Auckland in the worth of "sheepskins sent away, and Wellington proved itself the greatest clearing port for flax fibre.

“We must not encourage young wives to leave their homes,” remarked Mr J. W. Poynton, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court, Auckland, when dismissing an application for separation, maintenance .and guardianship of a child. The facts were unusual in that the wife did not allege drunkenness as the cause of domestic trouble, but said her husband hit her once five years ago, and again, last year. She said she left him because her husband told her to go. Mr Poynton said both parties were young, and should for the children’s sake make up their dispute.

There was a discussion on the question of the moratorium at the meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce recently, and it was decided to forward the following resolution to the Prime Minister: “That at this stage the council take no action whereby the Government may be embarrassed in dealing with a bill which is to be brought before the House at once, but that the matter will be further considered when the provisions of the bill are disclosed. As tho matter is urgent tho chamber would ask to be favoured immediately with the proposed modification to be embodied in the bill.”

The matter of soldiers’ pensions came before the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. After discussion, it was resolved, on the motion of the president: “That the oounoil listened with sympathy to the statements of the deputation from the Returned Soldiers’ Association regarding the inadequacy of the New Zealand pensions for permanently disabled soldiers, hut being of opinion that the scale adopted by the New Zealand Government is, excepting Canada, the most generous of any of the Allied countries engaged in the war, it is considered that the only grounds on which a claim for a temporary review of the pension scale might be based is that of the increased cost of living since the scale was fixed.” . .

The' Caledonian Pipe Band played at the Public Hospital yesterday afternoon, when an enjoyable programme ol music was submitted. A collection amounting to ££s 16s was taken up.

Mr S. G. Smith (Taranaki) wishes to ask the Minister for Health whether he can give any information as to when it is proposed to hring down the oftpromised superannuation scheme for nurses of public hospitals ?

Mr H. Vernon Reed (Bay of Islands) desires to ask the Minister for Hands whether he will lay on the table of the House, as soon as received, the report of Mr J. B. Thompson, chief land drainage engineer, upon land drainage and drainage machinery in America,

The Honse of Representatives meets at 2.20 p.m. to-day; and this evening, immediately after the dinner-hour adjournment, the Addxess-in-Reply is to be moved by Mr K. S. Williams, Reform member for the Bay of Plenty, and seconded by Mr James Graigie, Independent member for Timaru.

A carpenter, giving evidence in a civil case at the Wanganui Magistrate’s Court recently, stated that last year he was employed by the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, and was receiving 5s an hour for a 12-hour day. “That works out at £lB a week,” said Mr \Yyvern Wilson, S.M.

When the case of a person who had applied to the Thames Hospital and Charitable Aid Board for assistance came before the hoard, the chairman said that probably all was well. “She was at the races, looking very happy, and apparently doing well,” he drily remarked.

Mr G. Witty, M.P. for Riccarton, has given notice to ask the Government whether it will impose a special tax on all foreigners who reside m New Zealand and who are not naturalised aa British subjects. France, states the hon, member, charges £4 per head per annum on all foreigners living in France.

Mr Witty (Riccarton) intends to ask the Prime Minister whether be will make it compulsory for all persons selling and delivering ooal to private houses to carry registered scales with them so that all purchasers will have an opportunity of knowing that they receive the weight of coal which they pay for ?

Among the large number of pressmen present at the funeral of the late Mr J\ R. Gibbons yesterday were four past and present sub-editors of the “Evening Post,” with which the deceased was associated as chief reporter. These were Messrs J. Parker (the present editor), F. Earle (the present sub-editor), F. Weston (“Hansard” staff), and H. Brfidge. Mr D. G. Sullivan (Avon) asks the Prime Minister whether he will during the debate on the Address-in-Roply define for the benefit of the people of New Zealand the legal position of this country in relation to the Empire and other States with regard to the signing of international treaties: also the extent to which New Zealand is bound by Imperial acts, such as declarations of war, etc. ?

“Were you talking to the gentleman driving the car at .the time of the collision?” asked Mr M. J. Gresson of a lady witness in the Christchurch Magistrate’s Court. “It is an extraordinary thing,” Mr Gresson Continued, “but whenever two people are travelling together in a motor-car they never indulge in conversation! Had you fallen out?” he asked witness, smiling. The lady laughingly replied that die had not. “I had said all I had to say,” die concluded.

A Press Association message states that the committee of the Timaru A. and P. Association unanimously passed a motion moved by Mr B. Tripp and seconded by Mr E. R. Guinness, heartily commending the Prime Minister on the firm stand he had taken with the Imperial authorities regarding freight rates when an increase had been made after a promise of a reduction has been given. The opinion was offered that all farmers’ representatives should express appreciation of the Prime Minister’s effort® on their behalf.

The latest monthly abstract of statistics contains information up to the middle of February, and it sets the index number for the three food groups for the month of January at 1906. This represents a decrease of nine points as compared with last December, and an increase of 78.13 per cent, over the price of these three groups in July, 1914. The decrease, states the abstract, is not so marked as -had been anticipated. In the dairy produce group, the fall of 39 point® is substantially the result of the decreased prices ruling for bacon and ham, and m the case of the meat group, the fall (10 points) is exclusively due to the price of pork.