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Otago Daily Times, Issue 18512, 24 March 1922, Page 4

THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPART- j MENT. It wag inevitable that Dr M'Hibbin would bo made to suffer for the outspokenness with which, as Medical Officer of Health at Auckland, he reflected on some aspects of the policy the Health Department was adopting in its zeal for plague prevention. His conduct constituted a breach of the Public Service regulations. We do not doubt it. It may be that the regulations are more honoured in the breach than in the observance. The official organs of various organisations in the public service constantly contain reflections upon Ministers that are more serious than any that were made upon Mr Parr by Dr M'Kibbin. Probably these are overlooked because they do not receive the publicity that was given to Dr M'Kibbin's criticism of the Minister of Health. And no doubt the amour propro of the Minister was specially wounded when he was criticised in his own city by an officer who had recently been transferred there. A man of less spirit than Dr M'Kibbin would have submitted meekly to an interference with his performance of his duties and even to a Ministerial castigation of himself, publicly administered. But it was a clear case of lose majesto when, publicly attacked, ho publicly defended himself, and as a consequence he is now subjected to a public disciplining. That was to be expected. Dr M'KibUiu himself will hardly have looked for any other result. He certainly exceeded the limits of discretion when he criticised the Minister in the way he did. His case will doubtless sorve as a warning. An example pointing in a different direction may be found in the case of other Government officials who publicly flatter their Ministers. This should be an offence as great as the public criticism of Ministers, The flatterers, bowover, sit secure in their positions and reap their r«wa«is wheu the Estimates are framed.

Anniversary Day—yesterday—was well observed as a general holiday. A number of iirms flew flags, but otherwise there were very few outward signs to mark the occasion. The weather was calm and fine, with a touch of coldness, and about 7 o'clock rain Bet in again and continued for over an hour, when it cleared off. The wet weather, however, did not prevent the various houses of amusements and other entertainments being well patronised. In the Supremo Court case, W. T. Mansfield (ex-town ,clerk) against the Blenheim Borough Council, a claim, of £IOOO for alleged wrongful dismissal, the plaintiff applied for a change of venue to Wellington (says a Press Association telegram). Mr Justice Hoaking reserved his decision. Our London correspondent, writing on February 1, says the Admiralty announces that war medals are now available for issue to all officers and men of the naval forces, retired, demobilised, etc., who have received or are entitled to the naval award of either the 1914 star or the 1914-15 Star. Issue can also be made to the next-of-kin of those deceased who qualified for either of these stars. Applications should be made to the Accountant-general of thfe Navy, I Medal Branch, Cornwall House, Stamford I street, S.E. 1, accompanied by certificate of service, etc. All service during the 1 war in any other branch of H.M. Forces should be fully stated, quoting regimental number. Those whose services do not qualify for one of the stars are advised not to apply at present, The. result of the gaxden competitions conducted by the Amenities and Town Planning Society were announced yesterday by the judges, Messrs R. Niehol (president of the Dunedin Horticultural Society) and D. Tannock (superintendent of reserves). In the competition for the most attractive t front garden not exceeding 12ft from the fence to the house the first prize was awarded to Mr J. Taylor, of Elder street, arnd the second to Mrs E. Hunter, of Loyalty street. In the competition for gardens not larger than a quarter of an acre, Mr W*. W. Holmes, of Brighton street, was placed first, and Mr R. G. Fountain, of Easther crescent, second. Mr Holmes takes the Horticultural Society's "Cup, but Mr Fountain, by reason of the fact that in this competition and a similar | one judged in November of last year he gained the highest aggregate of points, takes the Champion Cup presented by the Town Planning and Amenities Society. Mr Tannock, in referring to the competition, stated that it had been very surprising to find such a fine display of flowers in many of the gardens considering the bad weather which has prevailed recently. The judges also noted with satisfaction the general improvement which had taken place in the competing gardens since they were last visited. A unique ceremony took place in Sydney recently, when Miss Myrtle Rose, who went to the assistance of Constable Pringle on January 16 while he was being attacked by men who resented the arrest of their ; companion, was presented by Inspector Young with an oak cabinet of cutlery and a cheque. Constables Pringle, Markham, and M'Entee (representing the Police Association) supported remarks made by Inspector Young, and at the conclusion of the presentation three cheers were given for Miss Rose. Representation of country olubss in Plunket Shield matches was dealt with in a letter received at Monday's meeting of the Wellington Cricket Association's committee from the Manawatu Association. " It is felt," the letter stated, " that the only satisfactory solution will be for the minor associations to nominate any player considered worthy of selection in Plunket Shield teams. The idea of a country week does not commend itself for the following reasons:—The home-and-home inter-associa-tion matches created more interest. A ' country week' to be of any use, would have to take place early in December, and that was a difficult time to get a team away from Manawatu. 'Country week,' as suggested, would spoil the chances of getting teams away to fulul usual matches and Hawke Cup fixtures." A suggestion was made that New Zealand be divided into four districts —two in each island —and that the boundaries be those allotted to' Otago, Canterbury, Wellington, and Auckland in the Plunket Shield matohe.i, the winner of the North Island inter-association fixture to meet the South Island winner. Details of the proposed inter-club contests were appended, which, it was stated, would do away with distance travelling, and infuse greater interest in the inter-association matches. The letter was received. When Princess Mary receives her greenstone wedding present from the New Zea-. landers resident in Great Britain she will be the second of their Majesties' children to possess a gift of this essentially New Zealand substance (says the Daily Chronicle). The Princes of Wales when on his Australasian toiir was presented with a handsome piece of crystalline rock, enclosed in a special casket, with the expressed hope that it would bring him luck. It is now enclosed in his Royal Hierhness's museum at St. James's Palace. Greenstone was at one time held in almost superstitious awe by the Maoris, it being regarded as an infallible bringer of good fortune. To receive a piece is the highest compliment a New Zealander can confer. Exception to the term sometimes applied to Pitcairn Islanders, " the beggars of the Pacific," is taken by Sir Cecil Rodwell, Governor of Fiji, who recently passed through Auckland by the Makura on his way home from Suva. He states that where charity is concerned, they are selfrespecting and even sensitive, arid, considering their limited means and the scarcity of cash, they themselves are generous contributors to charity. In recent months, they have sent several email contributions to various causes, including the Chinese Famine Fund, and, during his visit to the island, had handed to him £ll for the " Save the Children Fund." " Their chief ambition is to find opportunities of earning a little money with which to buy essential commodities," states his Excellency in a report upon his visit, and the use of the term already referred to is quite unjust. Statistics gazetted yesterday show (says a Wellington Press Association message) that, excluding multiple charges, 14',079 persons, 846 of whom were women, were arrested and dealt with at the Magistrate's Courts of the dominion during the year 1921. Of these 11,562 men and 749 women were summarily convicted, while 914> men and 20 women were committed to the Supremo Court for sentence, and 487 men and 22 women were committed for trial. No fewer than 26,242 distinct cases, of which 1359 wore women, were dealt with on summonses. Of these 20,090 men end 1050 women were summarily convicted, and one woman and 54 men were committed for sentence, while 63 men and 15 women were committed for trial. Of 39,013 civil cases dealt with by the Magistrates' Courts, 34,588, involving £685,479, concerned Europeans only, the total amount recovered being £585,183. The number of cases in which Maoris were concerned, whether as plaintiffs or defendants, was 4425, the total amount involved being £77,126, and the amount recovered £49,680. In the experiments that are being conducted in the endeavour to make night flying safer, a hint is being taken it seems from (he most expert of night fliers—the bat (says the Daily Chronicle). These mammals are able to avoid obstacles that they cannot see by emitting a continuous note, inaudible to human ears, which is sent back from any barrier, thereby conveving accurate information of the position of that obstacle to its sensitive ears. It is thought thnt by the use of extremely sensitivo instruments which are being devised visible records will be made in the cockpit of the 'plane of the position of the obstacles approached. Since sound travels twelve to fourteen times faster than aeroplanes, the warning' should bo received by the pilot in plenty of time to avoid trouble. There oupht to be a big demand for the new American dollar, containing " exactly a dollar's worth of silver," which President Harding has just approved. The old dollar contained only 0.8360 z of silver, and silver is worth about 50 cents at the present price of the metal. The new dollar will contain 1.60 z of silver, or almost twice as much as ihe coin it supersedes. It will' make the British shilling the merest token by comparison. Our shilling used to contain 0.1820 z of silver, but since its " fineness " was reduced to 500 from 925, it has contained only a tenth of an ounce, so that its value as silver is barely 3id now that silver :» hovering around 2s lid an ounce. But if the intention of the American Government is always to put a dollar's worth of tilrer into every dollar minted, the Mint authorities will have to keep a watchful eyo on the upa and downs of the silver jaarkbt.

Considerable disappointment •will be felt at the fact that a Koyal Show will not be held at Palmerston North this year (states the Manawatu Smndard). The Manawatu A. and P. Association had been led to believe that this classio fixture —the first of its kind in New Zealand —would take place this year, but on account of the financial stringency a postponement has been rendered necessary until next year. In this connection the secretary of the Association has received advice from the Council of Agriculture that the question has been referred to the annual conference for further consideration. As the conference is not held until July, it is a foregone conclusion that the Royal Show is " off" so far as this year is concerned. The comparatively small response on the part of breeders in the matter of providing the necessary finance is said to have influenced the Council of Agriculture in its decision. " Well, it was something new; it is no* the class of country I have been accustomed to see," was the reply given by the Prime Minister (Mr Massey) to the request made by a representative of the Christohurch Press for his impressions of his first visit to the Mount Oook region. " Mount Cook ia undoubtedly unique," Mr Massey continued, "and in time to come will (if one is to go by what happens in other countries) attract numbers of visitors from within New Zealand and tourists from other countries. , I had never seen it before, and I have often heard that there was nothing in tilp%ie scenery to beat it; now that I have v seen it for myself I can understand that to be the case. I have had an opportunity of seeing the Canadian Rockies on, several occasions, and I believe that the scenery in the neighbourhood of the Hermitage, Mount Cook, is equal to that to be seen crossing the American continent. As a resting-place for busy men, I know _ of nothing to equal it. I think lam justified in saying that the Hermitage appears to be very well managed, and visitors are well looked after and made fairly comfortable—> at least, that was my experience." Another instance of the way in which British women throughout the world helped to keep things going while their men folk were fighting for the Empire was related to the New Zealand Herald by Mr H. H. Rushton. who occupied a Government position in British East Africa during the war, and who saw service with the British troops* " One of the most interesting memoriae ot the campaign," said Mr Rushton, " is the way the women managed the farms. They were not. small holdings, either, but estates) of three or four thousand acres, and somoi times women managed three or four farms each. The native workers were for the most part loyal, or else, of course, it never could have been done. There were sporadic risings among one very strong tribe, _ the Masai, and attacks were made upon BritisS stations, but no serious damage was done. They were heavily fined for these outbreaks, and the money used to replace losses to British settlers. • By Order-in-Council gazetted last week, iti is provided that an applicant for the transfer of an existing telephone exchange connection shall pay a transfer fee of ss, which must be deposited with the application. This fee is in addition to any charges which may become due for any work involved in the removal of the telephone instrument or the; alteration of the line. Recently there appeared in the Southland News an article contributed in the Daily Mail by HBrry Dykes, a well-known violin expert, entitled " Fortunes in Fiddles,'* in the course of which instances were given of old violins picked up at auction for a trifle realising in later years large stuns. Incidentally the writer stated: " The famous) Bett's Stradivarius was purchased one hundred years since from a gentleman's servant for £l. It is a beautiful violin, and I know it well, its present value being' £5000." In this connection it is interesting to note that an Inveroargill resident has had in his possession for twenty years an old violin on the inside of which are printed) the words "Antonius Btradivariu* Creinoneufis. Faciebat Anno, 1736." This would seem to indicate that the instrument is 186 years old, 'in which case it would be hard to estimate its value if a genuine Stradivarius as seems probable. , Supplies of fish from the Hauraki Gulf to the city markets are being well maintained, supplemented by increased quantities of flounder and Kaipara mullet (says die New Zealand Herald). Auckland mullet is somewhat scarce, and fishermen are declining 3d per lb in the rough. The fishermen are now being paid up to 6d per lb for flounder. The ruling wholesale price for schn«pper is 3£d per lb and 4d cleaned. A collapsible crate for loading frozen mutton or butter into ships has been invented by Mr T. Dingley, of Auckland. The bottom and two ends are made of wood and the sides are of canvas. The ends of the latter are on rings, and slide down if necessary when cargo is being loaded into the crate. The bottom of the orate is five inches above the wharf, which ensures the meat or butter being kept clean. The crate holds about 30 carcases of mutton. Iron stays inside it keep it from crushing the contents when the cargo is being Twisted on to the ship. When not in uea the crate can be folded flat. An amusing incident occurred on the beach at Otalri during a surf club carnival. Included in the members of one team was one weighing in the vicinity of 24 stone, who drew the position of "shark's bait," or subject for rescue. The belt man reached him in double-quick time; then the linemen pulled them both on shore. It is the duty of the linesman to take over the subject from the beltman once he is in shallow water, but owing to the subject being so heavy, they were unable to carry him; they therefore rolled him over and over as one would a barrel, until he was fairly on terra firma. Constandy-expressed patriotism toward Ireland was more than apparent at the Irish concert in the Auddand Town Hall on Friday evening (says the New Zealand Herald). The school children had 6ung "A Nation Once Again," and the deafening applause had almost died away when a woman in the gallery with tears and pleading in her voice, entreated "Sing it again. " They sang it again, in part. Some amusement was caused by an old woman who, throughout the evening, was quite lost in her enthusiasm, rising at the end of each item and waving her handkerchief to the performers. Jigs and reels by child dancers brought her to her feet, and her interpretation of Ireland's national dances received almost as much attention from the audience as did that of the stage performers. Some interesting facte in regard to the fish-curing business were brought forth during the hearing of a case at the Magistrate's Court at Blenheim. A witness stated that with big fish such as conger eel, the loss of weight as a result of smokxg was about 25 per cent In addition to this, a conger eel weighing 251 b had a head weighing 41b or 51b, and this had to be o:it off, while the backbone, which was also lost to the fishmonger, weighed about ljlb. Altogether, a fish lost between 40 and 50 pe:- cent, of its weight as a result of smoking Another witness, with lengthy experience, stated that a "green" blue cod weighing 41b would, after smoking, weigh only 2ilb.