NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11295, 22 August 1922, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

In reply' to inquiries, the Minister for Defence (Sir Heaton Rhodes) has received advice from the High Oommi6sioner (Sir James Allen) that no decision has yet been arrived at by the War Office in regard to the award of clasps to the British War Medal; and that further consideration of this question has been definitely postponed until the next financial year, in April, 1923.

A visitor from America who has been making an extensive tour of New Zealand by motor-car, states that tho roads of the Dominion are the worst he has ever traversed, says a Christchurch paper. They were a bad advertisement, he Baid, for such a glorious country, while from a commercial standpoint they must retard the productivity of the 6oil through the inability of the producers to get their produce to market expeditiously. There were large areas in America which were roadless, he added, but the arterial highways were as perfect as they could possibly be made.

One can. well imagine (says the Wa- ' ngamii “Chronicle”) the chagrin of a bridal party who left Wanganui for Wellington, when they were accosted by a railway porter, who peremptorily asked: “Here, wba-t’s that you’ve got?” The suspicious object referred to was nothing moie than a nicely framed photograph about 18 indhes by 12 inches, and on being advised to this effect the porter continued: “You can’t take that on with yoij, that’s furniture, unless you pay for it.” It cost the travelling party four shillings for permission to oarry tho picture by train, and one can only conclude that it would be cheaper to have presentation pictures framed at their destination or restrict tho size of the photographs.

Sydney is to have a chuTch on wheels. It has been built on a motorlorry chassis and is known as a gospel wagon. It is fitted with sleeping and living accommodation, while one side of at drops down to form a speaking platform. Albo there is an organ and an electric lighting system that throws into bold relief the hymns that are to he sung. Even to a letter-box, the wagon is complete. “In this city,” said Mr W. Bradley, who is the prime mover in this moving mission, “I have been told that 800,000 people never darken the doors of God’s house. I hope that is not true. One could scareely realise such Paganism. The day has come if they will not go to church, then the church will have to go to them.”

Those service men who are in receipt of full permanent pensions are to receive free railway passes, renewable yearly, for life, on the New Zealand railways. Men in receipt of over 50 per cent, pensions for motor disabilities are to be given a certificate whiah will entitle them to first-class tickets for seoond-olass faros. Motor disabilities applies to leg amputees and those receiving pensions in respect of injuries to the spine or legs, dropfoot, etc. Applications in respect of all these oases should ,be made through the local secretaries of the R..8.A.

The restoration of the historio church at Russell is to be undertaken shortly, tenders having been called for the work this week. For some time past it has been the aim of the settlers of the district to have the old church put into a state of good repair, for its liistorio associations make it one of the most interesting places of its kind iq New Zealand. The old church, was built 84 years ago, and New Zealand’s first Governor, Captain W. Hobson, attended service- within its walls. During the stormy days of the “forties” the little building played a conspicuous part in the fighting between Maori and pakeha, its walls still showing the bullet holes made by Hone Heke’s riflee, while in the graveyard outside are headstones hearing the names of those associated with the earliest history of the little township of Kororaraka.

It is probably fifty years ago since Chew Chong, -a Chinese storekeeper in New Plymouth, found out the value of fungus as a marketable commodity, and offered to buy as muoh of it as the poor struggling Taranaki farmer was able to gather from the stumps in the bush-clearing which settlement had made, and was making. After Chew Chong had been dealing in fungus for a short time he decided: to go back to China on a visit, and left a sum of money with a European storekeeper to buy for him all the fungus offering. Many months after, Chew Ohong walked into the storekeeper’s shop and paid over the money for the accumulated fungus. He had found a regular market for the stuff in has own country Where the demand was unlimited, because of the use that was made of it for culinary purposes. What the kauri gum industry was in Auckland so the fungus industry was to Taranaki half a century ago.

“A a a shipowner,’ ’ declared a witness in the seamen’s dispute before the Arbitration Court yesterday, “I must protest emphatically against the proposal for stop work meetings for seamen.” It was highly necessary, lie said, that vessels under steam should be kept undter supervision, and! therefore the employ era opposed the _ idea. It should ho possible for the union to arrange its meetings at hours which would uot interfere with the tending of the vessels, and for a certain number of men to he exempted and to remain aboard. The insertion of a provision in the award 1 allowing stop-work meetings for seamen would harm the small companies especially, as absence of the crew would prevent vessels from leaving at short notice according to tides and the state of the bars. Mr M. J. Reardon, the employees’ assessor on the court, said that if the concession was given to the waterside workers the seamen could hardly be refused the same right. It was stated that in Napier the whole work of the port was held up while the watersiders held their meetings, and the seamen had to stand by idle under pay. The witness thought a day might be selected for the meetings on which there was very little shipping to he worked. The idea of holding a meeting while there was pressure of business on the waterfront was abaurd. There were frequent slack days on which meetings could be held.

t£ l don’t think that his weight carries much evidence,” said an excited female witness, when referring to the defendant in a maintenance case, which was dealt with by Mr F. K. Hunt, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

A debtor who attended a meeting of creditors yesterday at Wellington said lie had got work at Dunedin. Asked if he could make an offer he said he had nothing. He had come up from Dunedin, but he did not know how he was going to get back again.

‘‘The health of this country is not good, by any means, in spite of the fact that it is a country with advantages better than those of any other in the world,” declared Dr E. H. Wilkins, chief schools medical officer, in an address to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board.

_ At a bearing before the Official Assignee yesterday, it was stated that part of the assets was stocks of rat poison and borer killer, which had been left behind by dealers who had not been able to place it on the market. A creditor: Sell it to the City Council. Debtor: The City Council has its own rat poison. Regarding the borerkiller, debtor said lie had not tried it so he could not say anything about it. It was an Australian production.

Within the next few weeks 100,000 brown trout fry are to be distributed among the Manawatu fishing waters. Trout are reported to be quite plentiful in the streams in and around Palmerston North, and some particularly big speckled beauties have been observed lately in the Manawatu river between Palmerston North and Longburn. All things considered- the prospects for the coming season are quite promising.

An unusual contract of insurance was mentioned at a meeting of the Insurance Guild. The policy covered the contents of a tombstone-maker’s yard against loss by fire. It 6eemed to the narrator that the premium would be “easy money,” but a fire in an adjoining building proved that the monu-ment-maker was as hard in the head as his wares, as several of the stones were knocked over and broken by the high-pressure water used in fighting the flames.

“I consider your country the gem of the Pacific,” writes an American business man to an Auckland resident, who entertained him during a recent visit to the Dominion. “In the coming December and January I shall picture to myself the pohutukawas in bloom around your picturesque cottage, and shall have a great longing to see them again. I have had to promise our Garden Club in Ridgewood, my home town, to give them a little talk on nature and flowers in New Zealand, and' I really do not know how to describe my admiration of them adequately.”

“People in this country eat far too much,” said Dr E. H. Wilkins, chief schools medical officer to the Hawke’s Boy Education Board. Coming from Wellington in the train, he said, he had noticed that the people at Paekakariki, after being deprived of food for nearly two hours, rushed the refreshment rooms to consume tea and sandwiches. They repeated the performance at Palmerston North, Woodville, and Waipukurau. He looked at them guzzling these things, and he could not help thinking how wrong and contemptible it was.

Apparently those Who seek the protection of the Bankruptcy Court are not expert bookkeepers. Apropos, one learned judge remarked that if a man in business were a skilled bookkeeper he would never reach the Bankruptcy Court, for his knowledge of accountancy would enable him to rectify financial , mistakes before it was too late! At a meeting of creditors yesterday tho Official Assignee (Mr Tansley) expressed the opinion that 75 per cent, of the men who came before him should be prosecuted for not keeping proper books. When asked for a financial statement they could not furnish one. As to whether there was criminal intent—that was another thing. About £4OOO yearly has to be “written off” by the Waikato Hospital Board on its patients’ fees accounts. The secretary asked authority at a recent meeting to write off £16,401 on account of the Waikato Hospital and £62 on behalf of the Kawbia Hospital, the amounts representing an ac cumulation of unpaid fees for several years. Members asked if it would not be wise to appoint a collector to try and gather in- some of the money. The secretary said that every patient was given an account, but in necessitious cases payment had not been enforced, and would appear under the head of “relief.” The board authorised. the “writing-off” of the amounts in question. The present condition of pasture lands in and around_ Auckland indicates that the coming "sea'son will be a good one for the dairy farmer, provided that that most important factor, the price of butter-fat, suffers no downward fluctuations. “With the exception of one or two heavy frosts, the winter has been an exceptionally mild and favourable one for farmers, and never have pastures and stock looked better than at present,” remarked a well-known dairying man to a “New Zealand Herald” reporter. He predicted an early summer, and plentiful supplies of milk, although possibly these favourable conditions might not continue, as a good winter was frequently followed by a long, dry summer. A Hawera solicitor, speaking to a representative of -(the “Star,” stated that he had recently visited the greater portion of the agricultural and pastoral centres of the North Island, and as the result of his inquiries on the subject he is convinced that in South Taranaki the mortgagees generally are meeting mortgagors more readily and more generously than in any other part, probably better than in any other district in New Zealand. His own experience was that mortgagees came to conferences already prepared to meet the mortgagors liberally, and adjustments were made without difficulty. He had seen mortgages up to. £SOOO and £6OOO thrown in and the mortgagor still left with assets.

A curious interpretation of the conditions under which a ship is considered to be at sea was given in tho Arbitration Court yesterday. The shipowners suggested in their claims that a vessel should, be considered “at sea” from the time of departure till the time of arrival, and “in port” from tho time of arrival till the time of departure Mr W. T. Young (secretary of the Federated Seamen’s Union) said he knew of a oase where a vessel hail been anchored off the King’s wharf all one Saturday night with a 6tern line from the wharf to steady her. Was she at sea or in port under such circumstances? The witness under examination said that such a thing would not be allowed by the Harbour Board. Tt must have occurred about twenty years ago. Mr Young said he could vouch for the aocuracy of his statement, for he had been aboard at the time. “Do you think she could bo considered at sea?” he asked. “Yes, I do,” replied the witness.

At the meeting of the N.Z.F.A. on Thursday evening, Mr W. G. Bryce had to leave the meeting temporarily in connection with the Wellington amateur billiards championship, and did not vote on the suspension question.

“I secured two men from the Immigration Department,” said a speaker at a Southland Farmers’ Union executive meeting in Invercargill, “and one who came from Scotland was the best man I have ever employed.” He recommended farmers who had a difficulty in securing competent men, that they should follow the same course.

The special competition inaugurated by the New Zealand Alliance in connection with Education Report 13, which closed some time ago, has involved a heavy amount of work in connection with the judging. The judging is now about completed and the results will be announced very shortly.

An interesting dehate is promised at the debate to be held shortly in connection with Worser Bay Wesley Guild, which challenged Hataitai Guild on the subject, “Should the members of Asiatic nations who are not British subjects be excluded from New Zealand?” Worser Bay will take affirmative, and it is stated that they will have strong grounds for their case.

“Some years ago I proposed that tho land (at Tokomaru Bay) be taken under the Public Works Act for a school site,” said Mr W. Oates, a member of the Hawke's Bay Education Board, at a meeting of that body. “At that time the owner wanted £2OO. An official came up from Wellington and sent in a report, the most foolish report that was ever made. Now the owner wants £2000.”

One of the most interesting departments in the new wings at Victoria University College is that of the seismograph and radio-activity. Three researches in radio-activity are going on at the present time. The oscillograph is also attracting a good deal of active attention, showing as it does the effect of pure resistance, pure inductance, ana pure capacity on alternating current.

Giving evidence in the Supreme Court at Palmerston North, a stock agent of twelve years’ experience stated that there had been a falling off of 25 per cent, in the attendance of the public at stock sales. It seemed to him that the public took more interest in a football match in a country centre than was manifested in a sale. Formerly, when the country enjoyed more financial prosperity than was the ease to-day, a sale would have attracted a larger crowd than a football match.

Reasons why the system of rating on unimproved values should not be adopted fpr Northcote were expounded at a public meeting (says the Auckland “Herald”). The Mayor, Mr W. E. Richardson, presided. Several points were emphasised by speakers to indicate that the system would not work equitably in the borough, which was olosely built upon in portions, while a large area was utilised for fruitgrowing and small farms. The unimproved rating, it was maintained, would work inequitably to those engaged in getting their living by cultivating the land.