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Otago Daily Times, Issue 18349, 13 September 1921, Page 4

A return issued yesterday shows the effect of the increases in tram fares imposed by the Wellington Council during the past year (says a Wellington Press Association message). For the four weeks ended August 18, a credit balance of £751 is shown against a debit balance of £65 foi the corresponding period of last year. For the 20 weekly period prior to August 18, a credit balance of £3324 is shown against a debit ■ balance for the corresponding period of last year of £6340. At the annual meeting of the Lake County A. and P. Society on Saturday, Mr Loo Loo was unanimously re-elested president, with Mr W. S'. Reid vice-president (writes our Queenstowon ■ correspondent). It was decided to ask the Agricultural Department to put up a mixer exhibit at the forthcoming show on the third Wednesday in March.’ The annual statement of accounts showed a credit balance of £2.3s 2d on the year’s operations. There appears to have been a reduction in the maximum, amounts which may be granted by the Government by way of loan to returned soldiers for the construction or the acquiring oh dwellings (wires our Christchurch correspondent). No official announcement has been made on- the matter, but in respect cf the grants now being approved through the Canterbury Land Board a reduction is apparent. Hitherto the maximum was £990 for the building, and £250 for the section. The maximum now appears to Ije £750 for the building and £IOO for the section. An impression is also apparent in some quarters, adds the Sun, that granting of loans to returned soldiers by present methods will not be continued for many more months. Soldiers riiay bo given some form of * preference under the advances to settlers and to workers’ schemes.

At a sitting of the Lyttelton Magistrate’s Court, Senior Sergeant Jackson described > John Finlayson (seaman), charged with drunkenness, as being the “ champion meanest man of New Zealand” (wires our Christchurch correspondent). He said Finlayson fell into the inner harbour about 11 p.m. on Saturday, and when cries for assistance were heard by the Harbour Board’s night watchman the latter immediately ran to the stone of tho accident, and, after considerable trouble, managed to got Finlayson up on to tho wharf. The man _ was drunk, and stated that he had no’ friends, and nowhere to go. Tile night watchman took him to the police station, where, on being searched, it -was found that he had about £SO in his possession. Finlayson refused to give his rescurer a small donation in recognition of his services, when a hint to that effect was made by the police. Sugar from Java is duo to arrive - inChristchurch on Wednesday or Thursday (says the Star). It was expected that two or three months jago this consignment could have been sold retail at sd, and so compete favourably against the Government sugar from Fiji at 6d. Three factors now operating against this possibility (wires our Christchurch correspondent) are heavy transport costs, smallness of shipment, and recent rises in price on the Java- market. In addition tho hardening of the Java market generally is certain to effect the anticipated reduction in the price of Fiji sugar, and there will be nothing like a drop of £lO per ton unless, of course, there is some change in the quotation lists. Tho New Zealand Government, so merchants say . has not made a success of past contracts with tho Colonial Sugar Company, and it will endeavour to make up the deficit as best ‘it can, 'and there will be a distinct lowering of price unless outside influences force the situation.

By the will of the late Mr John Guthrie Wood Aitken, the Public Trustee is appointed executor and trustee, and Mr Henry Hall, of Wellington, solicitor, is appointed advisory trustee. The will provides for the following charitable bequests: £IOOO to St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Wellington; £250 to the Ministers’ Widows and Orphans’ Fund of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand; £3CO to the Wellington Society for the Relief of the Aged Needy; £250 to the Presbyterian Orphanage and Social Service Association connected with the Presbytery of Wellington; £SOO to the Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church of' New Zealand; £250 to the Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. The residue of the estate is given in varying proportions to relatives and friends of the late Mr Aitken. •*r A first offender, on a charge of drunkenness, was fined 20s at the Port Chalmers Court yesterday. The drunkenness had occurred on Sunday. Mr N. Dodds was the presiding J.P. With fine pride of country, Mr F. C. Daniell, of Hamilton, who has just returned from America, labelled his touring ear in the United States “New Zealand” in large characters. Whilst the car was parked outside the Capitol in Washington, an American, with the curiosity of his kind, stopped up to the owner and said, “ Say, stranger, but in what part of California is New Zealand?” Mr Daniell explained, gently and firmly, that New Zealand was a country on the other side of the Pacific. “Is that so?” said tho American. “It’s strange I should meet two of you in the same week. I had some speech with a fellow from your way yesterday.” “Where from?” asked Mr Daniell. “ From Sydney !” was tho reply. Then the New Zealander took down the sign, and wrote to tho papers about tho way the study of geography was neglected in American schools, pointing out that there was quite a lot of territory outside of “ tho land of the free.”

“ A night ouUwith the boys,” as ho described it, was spent by the Prince qf Wales at the Lambeth Baths (London): where ho addressed the unemployed and watched a boxing tournament givpn for their benefit. “ I am very proud indeed to be' the patron hero to-night,” said the Prince. “ First, because the proceeds are being devoted to the very important object —the unemployed—and secondly, because, as the Duke of Cornwall, I am very closely connected ’with Lambeth. My eincerast sympathy is with those who have the misfortune to bo out of a job. It is the greatest possible satisfaction to me to bo able to help them in any way, particularly my own comrades—the. ox-Servicc men—(cheers) —and, 'may I add, above all, those who are on my own property?”—(Cheers.) Much amusement was created during an interval, when Mr Johnny Thwaites auctioned various articles, which brought in £ll7. Several articles were sold and resold many times, and a bottle of oatmeal stout fetched £SO. A brooch made of a shilling, which the Prince had given to a taxi cab driver, was secured by the Prince himself at £lO. He offered it back to the taxi cabman’s wife, and, when she refused it, the Prince decided to put it up to a “silent auction. and repurchased it himself for another £ls. “ I intend to send it to the woman’s little daughter by post,” he said, as ho put the brooch in his pocket.

The’ dominion president of the Fanners? Union (Mr W. J. Poison), the vice-presi-dent (Captain Colbeck), and the dominion secretary (Ml E. C. Jack) are about ’to engage on a tour in the interests of the union; covering the whole of the South Island in a fortnight. Mr Hugh Mitchell (local secretary) has received word that the party expects to arrive here on the night of the 22nd inst., to visit Palmerston South on the 24th, Invercargill on the 26th and 27th, returning to Balclutha on the 2Sth, and to Oama.ru on the ,29th. They intend to'go on to Timaru the same evening-, Mr Hugh Mitchell (provincial secretary of the Farmers’ Union) is in receipt of a wire from the Hon. W. Nosworthy, stating that he will be unable to be present at the conference of llarmers’ Union delegates, to bo held here on September 23, but that the department will be represented by Dr Peakes. On Friday last, at Balclutha, the District High School held the half-yearly box-open-ing ceremony for the benefit of Dr Barnardo’s Homos.' The rector (Mr J. M. Nico’.son) addressed the pupils and read to them an interesting letter giving an account of the occupant of their cot at Woodford Bridge. The collection amounted to £27 3s l£d. Australian trade with the East has fallen off to such an extent (says the Melbourne Argus) that many of the shipping companies have been obliged to curtail steamer services between Australia and Hongkong and Yokohama. No steamer of the Osaki Shosen Kaisha Line has come to Melbourne for about three months, and until trade improves Sydney will be the terminal port of the steamers of this line. Cargo for Melbourne will be transhipped at Sydney, and brought on by steamer at the earliest possible’ opportunity. The China*Australian Line has also announced the withdrawal of the steamer Hwah Ping from its Eastern service, which will now be carried on by the steamer Victoria. Another withdrawal is the Eastern and Australian Line steamer Kanowna. Her place will be taken by the former German steamer Arafura, which will run in association with the steamers Eastern and St. Albans. Discussing the condition of trade with the East, a representative of one of the shipping companies trading to Japan said that trade had never been worse, and it was evident that the war-time profits of shipping companies whose steamers were engaged in the Eastern trade were now being eaten away by the heavy losses. The shipping companies were only'running their steamers in order to maintain the services already established, and. with the hope that trade would soon improve. Steamers, added the official, which some years ago left Japan with 4000 tons of cargo, now carried only 300 or 500 tons, while there was practically no passenger traffic. At one time large quantities of flour were taken to Manila and Japan from Australia, but this trade had been lost because supplies could now be obtained cheaper in Manchuria and America. Several Japanese steamers which had called at Melbourne recently had practically left in ballast, while others had gone to Newcastle to load coal. The position was not likely to improve until the present industrial -depression lifted and manufacturing costs were reduced. There is at present a, considerable demand for farm labourers in the Auckland province (states the Herald). Almost every labour bureau in the city is being deluged with applications by farmers for men skilledin farm work, especially milking and dairy farm work generally. The demand far exceeds the supply, and it is estimated that fully 1000 competent Men could, bo placed in the'province without the slightest difficulty. Now that -cows are coming into profit farmers will have some trouble in getting sufficient skilled labour, to carry on on a scale prepared for in view of the favourable prices at present being realised for dairy produce. Referring to this matter, the provincial secretary to the Farmers’ Union, Mr W. Huey, said the shortage of farm labour was likely to affect production considerably. There were a large number of men offering for wprk, but they were not suitable. There was no immediate prospect of the acute position being relieved. Last year at this season ho placed over 300 immigrants with farmers, and. within the last 10 days he had received no fewer than 50 requests from farmers for assistants, in view of the approaching busy season. Mr Huey said there wore approximately 15,000 farmers in the Auckland province, and the majority of these could well do with a man or two in addition to the members of their family, who, of course, assisted with the farm work. The people of Mercer, on the Waikato River, Auckland, have devised a war memorial which is certainly unique, whatever its artistic merits may be. The body of the memorial is the actual gun turret from the old river gunboat Rangiriri, which saw service in the Maori war, especially near Rangiriri. The turret, which is loopholed for guns and rifles, has been placed on a substantial concrete base, and will be surmounted by a full-sized bronze figure of a soldier in full fighting kit. Upon the sides will be affixed two tablets, one giving the names of those men from the Mercer district who fell- in the Great War, and the other, as far as possible, recording the names of those who fell in the Maori wan The monument-is being erected upon the old “ Mercer Cab Stand,” known as such to the pioneers

when the railway only ran to Mercer, and it will look out upon a river and district rich in historical associations. The history of the turret is very interesting. It weighs three and a-hal£ tons, and is made of iron, flush-joined so that the bullets would slide off easily. The gunboat Rangiriri was built by the Imperial Government, brought out in sections, and put together at- Onehunga; the engines and winch were mado by Russell and Co., Sydney, in 1863, and these engines and the winch are now in constant use in the steamer Freetrader on the Waikato. The gun turret has had many uses during the long years, and was once used as a look-up for drunks on the very spot where it has now been placed as a war memorial. The turret of the Pioneer, the Rangiriri’s sister boat, now lies in a swamp some two miles below Merces.

The children of the Presbyterian Sunday Schools will give a concert in Bums Hall to-night at 7.30. The concert is in aid of the Union’s Prize Fund, which each year has to provide some £4O for prizes won by the schools in tho presbytery. The date of Mr A. S. Malconn’s meeting at Pukerau has been changed to Thursday night. . • . . The University Literary Society is giving two plays of tho famous Irish poet and dramatist, J. M. Synge, in Allen Hall tomorrow evening. , _ „ Mrs E. Schutze lectured at Kroons Hall, Moray place, on Sunday night, and kept her audience thoroughly interested in the subject of “Psychic Phenomena.” The lecturer pointed out tho danger of the indiscriminate study and practice of a subject as yet so little understood. Mr R. J. Burrow, of the Bolivian Indian Mission, ‘'will give his illustrated lecture on “Bolivia and Its Inhabitants” this (Tuesday) evening 'at the Sailors’ Rest, Port Chalmers, and at St. Clair Presbyterian Church to-morrow (Wednesday) evening.

Never a mechanical stop-when you ride a Harley-Dnvidson motor cycle. Otago agents: W. A. Justice and Co., Imperial Garage. 292 Princes street. Dunedin.—Advt.. “Simplv marvellous how ‘No-rubbing’ Laundry Help acts up to its good 1 name!” From all stores.—Advt Knitters please note: We have wool for jumper blouses, etc., in shades of helio, s«.xe, and vieux rose, at Is 4d per skein.— Mollisons (Ltd.). —Advt.

“Cheerio.” Conviviality and friendship suggest the'best—Watson's No. 10 whisky. —Advt. A E J. Blakeley, dentist. Bank of Aug. tralasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 1859. For Influenza take Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure. —Advt. Save Your Eyes.—Consult Peter G. Dick, D.8.0.A., F. 1.0., London, consulting* and oculists’ optician.—“ Peter Dick,” jeweller# and opticians, Moray place, Dunedin.—Advt. SOUTHLAND POWER BOARD

MR PARRY REFUSES APPOINTMENT. (Peh United Press Association.) INVERCARGILL, September 12. Mr Evan Parry has intimated that he is unable to accept the Southland Power Board’s offer of appointment as chief electrical engineer, and the board has decided to invite applications for the position in the dominion and Australia at a salary of £I2OO nar annum. , * '