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Otago Daily Times, Issue 19066, 11 January 1924, Page 6

A matter which has given cause for complaint on the part of importers in Dunedin has been brought to light. The Ruapehu, which arrived in Dunedin on Sunday, brought about 200 tons of cargo for this port. The vessel left for Port Chalmers yesterday, but without discharging her cargo. This will be taken off at Port Chalmers and railed back to Dunedin, while cargo which is at present lying in the sheds at Dunedin for transhipment by the Ruapehu will have to be railed to Port Chalmers and' loaded from there. This has caused great delay, and it would appear that importers have every cause for complaint. The Christchurch Fire Brigade has been having a very busy time of late. Since December I—a1 —a period of 40 days—(says a Press Association ■message) it has received no fewer than 60 calls, including false alarms, as wol] as calls to actual fires. To show tfiat this number of calls is quite out of the ordinary it is stated that the total number received from July 1 to November 30, 1925 (a period of five months) was only 90. “I think we have put up a dominion record,” said Superintendent C. Warner. No doubt the dry weather has had something to do with the increase in the number of calls. Grass and hedge fires have been fairly numerous of late.” After the rush of business experienced by Dunedin shopkeepers during the Christmas and New Year holidays trade is at present rather slack. From all indications, however, there will be an early return to normal conditions.

A man was arrested by Detective Roycroft last evening, and will appear at tbo City Police Court this morning on a charge of incest. Another man was arrested last night by Constable Storey on the St. Kilda beach on a charge of indecently assaulting a boy, and he also will appear before the court this morning.

Everyone passing along the Strand during the last few days (says our London correspondent, writing on November 29) has stopped to look at the attractive display made by the photographs sent to London by the Publicity Department in Wellington. These have been neatly framed, and they make a good show in the larger window. The smaller window, by the way, has this week been devoted to the products’ of Samos, copra, of course, being their foundation. In the background are some typical Samoan scenes.

Through the generosity of Sir Henry (Ferguson the Dunedin Public Art Gallery' has just become the recipient of a picture which is a valuable acquisition to a now steadily growing collection. The work in question is an oil-colour, modest in dimensions,. but outstanding in its quality as would bs expected from the fact that it bears the signature of Arthur Streeton, (the well-known Australian artist. Streeton -is in the very forefront of Australian landscape painters, and his work has a high reputation in the Old Country. For many years he has been represented at the Royal Academy, the Paris Salon, and other exhibitions of note. His contributions were singled out by the critics ns one of the features of the recent display of Australian art in London So the arrival of a Streeton for the Dunedin Art Gallery is a matter for all-round congratulation. The picture presented by Sir Henry Ferguson to the gallery was acquired by him on his recent visit to the commonwealth and was painted in 1921. It is entitled “Sirius Cove,” and gives a charming depiction of one of the very attractive inlets of Sydney Harbour. Art-lovers cannot fail to appreciate the merit of this example of Streeton’s work and style. The tone values are beautifully judged, the picture is aglow with light, and bears the stamp of strength and fidelity throughout. It is, in short, in keeping with the artist’s reputation.

Our London correspondent, writing on November 29, says that the authorities of the Church Army were very much gratified to hear by cablegram from their New Zealand representative that they were to arrange as usual for the annual dinner to take place. Accordingly, at the Guildhall, on December 31, 1200 poor children will be entertained, very largely as the outcome of the generosity of Now Zealand subscribers. There was again another heavy subsidence at Kai-Iwi on Wednesday night (reports our correspondent), a further slice of the cliff which caused the fatal accident on New Year’s Day having come a way. It is considered tliat fully 1000 tons broke away. Among the contributors to the 1924 edition of Whitaker’s Almanack (writes our London correspondent) are Mr Massey and Colonel A. Buckley (Overseas Trade Department). Special pains have bean taken to present statistics dealing with trade in general and with Imperial Preference in particular. Mr Steve Boreham, local secretary of the Otago and Southland branch of the Now Zealand Workers’ Union, who has just returned to Dunedin after an extensive tour of the Otago and Southland industrial district, speaking to a Daily Times reporter yesterday, said that the prospect for members of his union- who follow the seasonal occupation of harvesting were not bright at present, and the same remark applied to the farmers and pastoralists. The farmer, Mr Boreham stated, owing to the long spell of dry weather, had little hope of getting an adequate return for the labour and expense he had been put to in growing wheat, oats, etc., during the last 12 months. The fescue grass seed which in past seasons tided the Waimoa Plains farmer over critical times was a partial failure this season. The .Southland oat crops were exceedingly poor, and in the -South Canterbury and North Otago agricultural areas the position was oven more unsatisfactory, many crops being an absolute failure. Crops and pastures were scorched with the hot sun, and consequently winter feed in the shape of rape, turnips, etc., for lamb fattening would be very scarce unless rain fell soon. In spite of all his worry in this re-spect, the farmer still kept on believing. Mr Boreham states that labour matters in the country are normal, and ho had heard of nothing of a serious nature to disturb the good relations existing between the woolgrowers, shearers, shed hands, and other station employees. There is, however, a probability of the musterers, packers, and drovers filing proposals for a new award at an early date, as it was generally agreed that this class of worker was not adequately remunerated. Mr Boreham condemned the sanitary conditions obtaining at Ranfurly, Oamaru, Balfour, Rivorsdale, and several other places ho had visited during his tour. This condition of affairs, he said, might be due to the long spell of dry and abnormally hot weather, and the evil effects of bad drainage, or no drainage at all in some places. He understood that a movement was on foot to bring Ranfurly up to date in the matter of drainage. .The Court of Arbitration will sit in Dunedin on February 4 next.

In regard to the choice of the Otago swimming team to compete at the championships to be held at Wanganui this year, Miss R Isaacs challenged Miss M. Jepson to a race over 75 yards. The event was held at the baths yesterday afternoon, Miss Jepson gaining the victory by over four yards. The time must come very shortly when the health authorities of the dominion will have to consider very seriously the question of manufacturing insulin in this country (writes a contributor to the Christchurch Press). Just at the present juncture it is probable that the supply which can be obtained from the commonwealth laboratoiies is about sufficient for Now Zealand’s needs, but this state of affairs cannot continue indefinitely, and in tho writer’s opinion tho sooner arrangements are made for the manufacture of this valuable material in New Zealand the better. The first thing that will be needed is a careful census of tho number of people suffering from diabetes in the dominion.

That it is possible to completely clear rabbits from pastoral country is proved by a definite example which has just been recorded in Central Otago. Colonel A. R. Young (Director of the Live Stock Division of tho Agricultural Department) informed a Dominion reporter last week that good work was being done in the way of ridding the country of the rabbit pest and he had just received a report from one of the department’s officers in Otago which bore this out. A great many years ago a settler bought a station in Central Otago which was infested with rabbits from one end to the other. It was then carrying 2380 sheep. To give some idea of its condition, 20,000 rabbits were taken off 100 acres of flat land during the first year that he held the run. Immediately after getting possession of the station this owner started to destroy the rabbits. He recognised from the start that it was only by hard and constant work that he would succeed, and he did succeed. He used every known method —poisoning with phosphorised pollard and oats, trapping, shooting, dogging, ferreting, fumigating, and digging in. At the beginning 12s 6d per 100 was paid for skins, but after a few years rabbiters would not stay on the place at £1 per week and £2 per 100 for skins. The country was cleared, and the carrying capacity had increased to over 10,000 sheep. The owner held this run for about 15 years, and when he sold it it was carrying between 10,000 and 11,000 sheep. During the last five years no trapping was done, and no skins were sold off the place. There was hardly a rabbit to be seen, and the only work done was pollard poisoning. Some interesting comments on the state of agriculture in the Homeland were made by Mr Thomas Gee, a former member of the Canterbury Land Board, and one of the first settlers on the Cheviot estate when it was cut up for closer settlement. He has just returned from a lengthy visit to EngInnd and the Continent. Mr Gee said that farmers, particularly those growing wheat, oats, and barley, seemed to be in a bad way, and did not appear to be able to meet foreign competition. Compared with Now Zealand methods, Mr Gee did - not think the English farmer always got the best results.. “During harvest,” Mr Gee said, 'T passed through different parts of i-ngland, and on Saturday afternoons and Sundays I never saw any harvesting done. In a country wher© the climate is so unreliable it struck me that undue risk was being run. I venture to think if the farmers in New Zealand, where the climate conditions are more favourable, were not to get their crops in when they were cut as quickly as possible, they would not' be so successful as they are. There is certainly something wrong with an industry that oannot pay more than 27s 6d a week to a farm hand with a wife and family to maintain. In' New Zealand such jobs are usually taken by single men, who are found in addition to receiving wages.” Mr Gee learned when conversing with farm hands he met at the shows that the question of passage money to New Zealand was the chief difficulty they met with when they thought of emigrating. Somebody made a very bad start for the year 1924 (remarks the Wanganui Chronicle). At the Kai Iwi bathing sheds on New Year’s Day a collection box had been placed conveniently, inviting contributions towards the cost of construction. In the evening, when the box was sent for, the contents could not be- found, for some person had broken into it and taken all the money placed therein. On Sunday last the box had also been put into position inviting donations, but despit© the fact that hundreds of balhers used the sheds, the box held only 2s 8d when opened—one halfcrown and two pennies. “I would like to shake hands with the man who donated the half-crown,” was the earnest comment of a member of the gala committee. Returning thanks for a welcome at New Plymouth, Dr Clapp, a visiting geologist, said he had not yet carried his investigations sufficiently far to warrant an expression of opinion concerning the newly-discovered Taranaki oilfields. Moreover, his first report would naturally be made to those who had engaged his services. He hoped, however, that oil would be found in commercially payable quantities. One thing he would like to compliment thp district on was the very fine roads which it was unsual to find in the vicinity of an oilfield. Geologists, he added, usually made their travels over the world on bad roads, his last tour of exploration, in Central China, being made principally on mule back! Dr Clapp (says the Taranaki Nows) commented on the great amount of actual exploring work that had to be clone before a geologist could report on an oilfield. Sometimes it was necessary to visit all the country for a hundred miles around to study the formation and outcrops. Such an investigation could not be made in a few days, and for that reason he never bound himself down to time in making an examination report. Tic ere were many problems which might arise, and each had to be inveltigated fully. So far as he had been able to study the New Plymouth wells he thought it a pity that the early wells had not been properly cased and plugged, so pieventing the intrusion of waters into the oil measures that had prejudicially affected the winning of oil.

The mining field at Puhipuhi. some four miles from Whakapara, between Whangarei and Russell, has already produced mercury, gold, silver, and antimony (reports the Herald). The most recent spoil from this area is a siliceous deposit of thousands of tons, on a face of 30 feet high, which lends itself to a remarkable number of uses. Dr M’Laurin, Government analyst, reports that the deposit contains from 82 to 90 per cent, of silica, the grains of which are globular, and therefore ideal for polishing purposes. About 8 per cent, of alumina is present, and 1.6 "er cent, of iron oxide, which is the only flaw. No trace of lime or alkali is present, and the loss upon ignition is 5.6 per cent, the clay being without chemical in itself and absolutely harmless. Being of such composition, it a first-class polish, but there are many other uses to which it can be put. A first offender for drunkenness was fined 10s in default 34 hours’ imprisonment at the City Police Court yesterday before Mr TT W. Bundle, S.M. A. E. 3. Blakeley, dentist. Bank of Ana tralasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 1869. Advt Choice Jewellery; compare our values; large selection diamond rings, watches, bracelets, silverware, etc. —Peter Dick, jewellers. 490 Moray place.—Advt. The Pacific Starr-Bow kett Building Society invites applications for membership in No. 5 Gronp. Call for booklet. Office, 86 King Edward street. —Advt,