PROVINCIAL NEWS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21733, 26 August 1932, Page 12

PROVINCIAL NEWS.

SHIPPING NOTESv The Kini is expected this morning to discharge 200 tons of coal from 'Westport. The Waimarino is expected on Monday to load for Wellington and Auckland, via Timaru and Lyttelton. The Kaikorai is expected on Monday to discharge 1200 tons of wheat from Ifhe Poolta is expected’on Tuesday evening to load for Wellington, Napier, and Gisborne, via Timaru and Lyttelton. The Opihi is due about Thursday to, load for Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth and Westport, via Timaru and Lyttelton. ‘ MAJESTIC PICTURES \ “Devil’s Lottery,” the Fox picture, with an all-star cast, headed by Ehssa Landi, which will be shown to-morrow and Monday, is a powerful drama of mystery, love* comedy, and pathos, with unusual entertainment value. Miss Landi rises to new ; dramatic heights in her role of the social outcast who wins a fortune by gambling, and Victor M’Laglan, enacting the role of an ex-prize fighter who finds himself a guest of royalty, gives one of the best performances in the picture. Others in the cast are Alexander Kirkland, Paul Cavanagh,,. Ralph Morgan, Beryl Mercer, Herbert Mundin, and Barbara Weeks. Sam Taylor did an exceptionally fine piece of work in the directing of. the picture. . __ BENEFIT ENTERTAINMENT I The special benefit entertainment ift the Majestic Theatre resulted in 620 parcels of groceries being brought by the children in lieu of admission. The parcels contained a splendid collection of goods, and the Mayoress’s Relief Committee is greatly indebted to Mr Williams (manager) for organising the afternoon. The thanks of the committee were also due to - Messrs’* Archibald) Don, and R. Jenkins for assisting in receiving the parcels, Mrs Cooney and Mis s M’Veigh for helping at, the depot in arranging and classifying the goods. MINIATURE RIFLE SHOOTING ’At the weekly shoot of the Glenavy Club Mr C. J. Dugdale’s trophy was won by D. M'Lean, who also annexed the TisdaT button. R. Cochrane won the ■sniper’s button. The following are the scores;—N. Fleming 80, G. Hamilton 80, D M'Lean 78, J. Paul 78. J. Breen 77, N. Andrew 77, D. Brown 77. B, Duff 77, JNiles 77, R. Searle 77, B Chapman 76, *T. Maiharoa 76, hiiven 76. C. J. Dugdale 75, T. Fleming 75. E. Crimson 75, P Lindsay 75. D. M'Naughton 75, J. Purdie 75. G. Wilson 75, F. Dudman 74, H Fleming 74. H. Jackson 74, A. Lindsay 75, E- Wilson 74, N. Gibson 73. F. Mountford 73, D. M'Culloch 73. G. Todd 73 L Wilson 73, J. Andrews 72. J Brown 7-2. T. Devlin 72, W. Devlin 71, R Lindsay 71, J. M'Culloch 71. W. Berry 70, W Breen 70. R. Hollmnby 70, I. Mountford 70. J. Wall 70 f The results of the weekly shoot of the Volunteers Club are as follow:—J. Heron 7!) 15), 80; G. M. Robertson 78 (6). 80; V Dennison 78 (3), 80; A. G. Robertson 77 (3), 80’; R. Dickson 76 (5), 80; S. Robbie 75 (5). 80; R. Hedges 75 (5), 80; L Whitburn 73 (6). 79; T. Koppert 76 (2) 78; A. Mahan 73 (5), 78: A. Smith 74 (3), 77; E. Necklcn 74 .(3), 77; J. Garlson 73 (4), 77.

NORTH OTAGO.

ACTIVITIES OF THE DISTRICT.

CoRRIiSPONDENX.) LADIES’ HOCKEY Pirata A team to play Rovers!—-A. Rawcliffe, E. Bedford, R. Clare, E. Malcolm, C.' Clare, R. Lowan, K. Weavers. M. Dwyer, J. Watterreus. Pirata B team: —F. Easton, 0. Eraser. J. M‘Kay, J. Tait, W. Berry, C. Clare, A. Bedford. M. Patou, J. Duncan, D. Berry, J. M'Leod. Pirata C team;—E. Cleverley, K. Wright, G. Grocott, M. Bain, 0. Franklin, P. Leslie, C. M'Leod, H. Roily, I. Doran, M. M'Kerrow, J. Adamson. The B team to play Maheno leaves the Farmers’ Co-op. corner at 2 p.m. MEN’S GOLF The following is the draw for to-mor-row: — Knock-out.—lreland v, Ralph Hedges. Burton v. Farrell, W. K. Tomlinson v. Main. Championship. —Steven v. M Donald, Grater v. Findlay, Widdowson v. G. Robertson, Stewart v. Gilchrist, M'Ewan v. Familton. Medal—D. Reid v. Milnes. Ewart v. M'Donald, Roll v. M'Beath, S. .Cuthbertson v. Banks, Bailey v. Mulligan, Kilpatrick v. H. P. S. Familton, C. Hedges v. Nichols, G. Cuthbertson v. R. Hedges, T. Wright v. E, M'Kenzie, K. Kinder v M. Ryan, Humphries v. Rees, Domigan v. Hopgood, Fowler v. Hewat, Armstrong v! Wilson, E. K, Tomlinson v. Woodward Cook v. Treseder, Bates v. Catto. D. L. Paterson v. Graham Robertson, Skirving v. Banks, H. L. Familton v, M'Culloch, Watson, v. T. Hedges, Stark v. Findlay, Maude v. Miller, Smith v. M'Laren. MUNICIPAL GAS. DEPARTMENT The ihanager of the Municipal Gas De- t partment reported to the Oamaru Borough Council last night that during June and July the department had manufactured 5,266,889 cubic feet of gas. The demand for coke had brightened considerably, and during the month following the reduction in price the department sold 514 bags more than for the same period last year. During the two months the department had installed three services, repaired six faulty ones, sold one ealefont and five fires, and converted three wash boilers. Altogether, the %taff executed 238 jobs' for consumers.: Both the Government meter inspector and Government gas-xx-aminer had visited the works, and the department had complied with all'requirements. —The report was received. MINIATURE; RIFLE NOTES By SIOHTEK. The positions of the clubs this week in order of averages are as follow, the averages for last week being given in parentheses: —Awamoko, 76.6 (75.5); Railway, 76.6 (75.1); Enfield, 76.4 (76.2); Oamaru, 76.2 (76.4); Maheno, 76.2 (75.6); Volunteers, 76.2 (73.2); Cromwell, 75.4 (73.4); Totara, 75.0 (76.4); Weston, 73.7 (76.7); Duutroon, 73.6 ( —) . Awamoko and Railway shared honours for the beet average this week. Enfieldwas the next best, while Weston dropped back jto its average of a fortnight ago. The shooting, throughout the clubs was quite satisfactory, and an average of 75.59 was attained for the district. It is interesting to note the averages of the various clubs for the last five shoots. Oamaru has the beat average, with Awamoko second and Totara a close third. The averages for the last five weeksjare as follow: - Oamaru 76.06 I ■■ Awamoko .. .. •• )• •• .75.98 Totara 75.92 Railway •• «• 75.68 Enfield 75.6 Weston .. 75.14 ' Cromwell .. 74.58 Volunteers .. .. .. 74.32 Duntroon .. ... 73.4 The fourth round of the shield competition has been completed, and Enfield C is now in the lead, being one point ahead of Volunteers G. - Totara D is third; on 'the list, being seven points,behind Volunteers. Only one more shield shoot remains to be fired, and the competition should be very keen between these two leading clubs. , The following'are the positions of the teams in the shield competition:—Enfield C, 1591; Volunteers C, 1590; Totara D, 1583; Oamaru B, 1572; Totara B, 1575; Duntroon C, 1569; Awamoko A, ,1568; Oamaru F, 1566; Weston A, 1562;'Railway A, 1562; Railway C. 1661; Duntroon A, '1561; Oamaru A, 1561; Totara A, 1556; Oamaru C, 1555; Cromwell A, 1555; Weston B, 1552; Volunteers A, 1552; Enfield A, 1551; Cromwell B, 1550; Enfield D, 1546; Weston C, 1545; Maheno B, 1543; Totara C, 1541; Enfield B, 1541; Cromwell C, 1538; Cromwell D, 1538; Railway B, 1536; Volunteers B, 1533; Oamaru D, 1529; Maheno A 1529; Awamoko C, 1525; Awamoko B, 1523; Cromwell E, 1515; Duntroon B, 1510- Oamaru E, 1500; Duntroon D, 1496. A. Gibson went up two nicks this week to head the Awamoko shoot. The next best target was returned by W. Gibson with 78, while 77’s were secured by G. Gibson, D. Borrie, R. Fillmgham. The shooting was an improvement on last week’s shoot. . ~ There was a general improvement in the Cromwell Club’s scores this week. W Webb registered a good target with 79. ail increase of three poijjts on bis previous effort. G. M'Lachlan struck good form this week, and made amends by notching a good target with 77. Duntroon tried conclusions with Awamoko, and the match resulted in for the last-named by a margin of 43 points. Awamoko registered a good shoot, A. Gibson, R. Fillingham, and R. Gibson scoring 79’s. W. Rutherford, with 78. and JV M'Cully (76) were the only riflemen who showed true form in the Duntroon team. Enfield again came to light with a good shoot, and this club has shown about the best improvement this season.. The shooting for the last few weeks has been of a much higher standard than that attained earlier in the season. G, Allen and A. M'Naughton shot well to receive 78 apiece. J. Allan, A. Anderson, and W. Fallon were responsible for the 77’s. ■ Several good targets were returned at the weekly shoot of the Maheno Club. D. Grant just missed securing the possible by one point, while J. Clark and H. Davis showed improved targets with 77’s The average for the last 12 shoots of the Maheno Club is 74.41. The average on Monday night is the best so far secured this season. , H. Koppert and O. Glynn led the Oamaru men this week, and in the shoot-on for the Palliser button the first-named returned the jDest score. E, Swinard and J. Caldwell kept up their reputations with 77 apiece. T. Kennedy has been taking a back seat this season, and he has not been seen very often amongst the foremost of Oamarfi's shots. . The Railway Club has been ■ firing a series of shoots with the Timaru Railway Club, the aggregate points of which are’ to count for a shield. The Oamaru Club secured a lead of 73 points in the first round. G. Brightwell and C. M'Donald registered 78’s, while the three best Timaru riflemen only returned 75’s. My correspondent, “All In,’ writes thatpin its effort to keep near the top of the ladder for the week, Totara failed badly on Monday night. The first four riflemen did not do so bad, but the “ tail ” forgot to wag. However, with the help of a few crushed oats and a bit of advice the club hopes to do better in the future. D. Marshall notched a good 78, This marksman, in the writer's opinion, is in tho first five in North

i • Otago. He has been improving for some time past, and can hardly miss a place in the North Otago first 10. W. Smith, after a week under the veterinary surgeon, responded with a 78,. and had an eight in hie score (carelessness, Bill). “ Curly ” Seaton’s 77 was a good effort, and this rifleman is making good. V. Perry, with 76, was next, and then the tail soon fell away. H. Blair slipped badly, ns did S. Wilson. Sam is taking . the proposed football match against Awamoko rather seriously, and will do much better once it is over. In fact, it was more under discussion than the shoot on Monday night, and was. perhaps, responsible for, the low scores. Johnny Carrig has not approached his 79 of a few weeks ago by a big margin, and is, no doubt, holding off for another £1 prize. M. Sinclair slipped very badly, and went down to 73. Don Clark also went back a nick or two". The writer hopes that Awamoko will hurry up and get the football match over, or Totara will be dragging the chain. In his last week's notes a critic stated that the Totara rifleman responsible for the outburst in connection with rule 6 sought to convey the impression that he officially represented the opinion of the club. The writer wishes to inform the critic that the matter was freely discussed by members at the shoot of a week or two ago. In his remarks the writer wished to convey the opinion of the whole club, - and not of one mdi victual member. The following team has been proposed to represent Totara in a football match against all-comers: Fullback, G. Bruce, sen.; three-quarters—J un M’Donald, W, Perry, J. Briscoe; fiveeighths, T. Cooper, J. Greaney; half-back, J. Hollow; forwards—W. Marshall, JE. Ewing (captain), J. Fulton, W. Wharton (lock), Jack Cooper, At M Intoeh, W. Needs, and Jim Blair; emergencies— T. Jackman, Joe Williams, and R. Moir. The shoot at Weston on Monday mgnt was very poor, and the same average of a week ago was again returned. A. Howell and G. Campbell registered the best scores, with 77 apiece. The Waimate championship shoot will be fired .on September 1, and, no doubt, several riflemen will be making the trip. “ Sighter ” believes that the Totara Club intends sending a team to compete. WOMEN’S INSTITUTE DANCE The Awamoa-Alma Women’s Institute held its third dance in the Totara Hall on Wednesday night. There was a good attendance of residents present, and a very pleasant time was spent in dancing until the early hours of the morning. Mr Jackson supplied good music,'while extras were played by Messrs W. and M. Sinclair. The duties of M.C. were carried out by Messrs J. (Jlreahey and S. Wilson. A very enjoyable supper was provided, and these dances are proving very “popular with dancing patrons. OAMARU DAY BY DAY y (Contributed.) In common with other centres, Oamaru residents have had the pleasure of spending a few evenings in the company of. : George Arliss. It is almost regrettable that more time could not be spent in such good company. If our men folk, one and all, were to study the integrity and strength of character depicted in Alexander Hamilton,” what a different world this would be. Much, of the strife and pettiness would disappear from our public Alexander Hamilton was a man imbued with the highest principles, whose word was his bond, and who almMj; worshipped the one to whom he had plignted lis troth. Yet in spite of that.'and tor the sake ot his beloved States, he was prepared to accept the taunts of his countrymen. Can anyone imagine a more despicable character than that intriguer and accuser who tried to bring about this noble man s disgrace and downfall? If there is a more degrading character, it is probably portrayed in that bargaining political colleague, Roberts, who, for the sake of eslt, would sell his soul. In these enlightened days I sometimes wonder if the moral standard has -advanced with the times. Divorce is no disgrace to-day, and one sometimes wonders if the Seventh Commandment has been effaced from the tables of stone. . , . , Men whose- private life will not stand exposure to even the flicker of a candle, let alone the light of day, stand out and tell the -world what they are prepared to do for the sake of principle. But I am too serious; no one takes those matters seriously to-day, otherwise life would be cleaner, better, brighter, and happier for everyone. The affairs of our town glide along, not smoothly, I am sorry to say. Why? MethinkS that some of our noisy, yea, and even some of our meek, citizens, too, might cross the firth and find a new land wherein to dwell, or perhaps they would rather ford the stream and with kindred spirits sing “ Auld Lang Syne ” in the forest under the baking rays of the sun 'and enjoy . a drop of Guinness or Johnnie Walker. Whether in the circumstances either proposal is wise I do'not know, but anyhow this is. a free burgh, even if a bit noisy at times. WOMEN’S DIVISION, FARMERS’ . UNION Mrs J. D. Taylor presided over a wellattended meeting of the Duntroon branch of the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union. Motions of sympathy were passed with bereaved members and carried in the usual manner. l A home science box on “The Making and Hanging of Curtains ” was opened, and proved very interesting. A competition, “ Something New From Something Old,” proved very amusing, and'a prize given by Mrs G. G. Sutherland was won by Mrs Hood. The competition for nest meeting will be a hand-made handkerchief. There was a large attendance of members at the monthly meeting of the Airedale branch, held at the residence of Mrs Elder. The president (Mrs Buick) occupied the chair. Various parcels from one shilling’s worth of material were opened. Miss Manson gave a very interesting demonstration on making an eiderdown quilt from fleece wool. A social hour was then enjoyed, Miss B. Stephens giving a recitation, and an enjoyable supper was provided by Mrs and Miss Eider. - ■•- ' ; WINDSOR WOMEN’S INSTITUTE ' At the monthly meeting of the Windsor Women’s Institute the president (Miss Taylor) occupied the chair. The roll call. “My Favourite Author,” was well responded to. A competition for the most useful household article resulted: Misses Taylor and Kennedy (equal) 1 and Mrs Little 2. The hostesses for the afternoon were Mrs Lory, sen., and Miss M Farlane. NORTH OTAGO FARMERS’ COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION Adverse trading conditions experienced last year accentuated by a further decline in value of primary products, in addition to the experience in North Otago of one of the worst droughts in its history are set out in the annual report the North Otago Farmers’ Co-operative Association, which discloses a loss or £4152 0s 6d on the year’s operations. It was confidently anticipated at the begin ning of the year that reductions m salaries and general expenditure amounting to £3005 would have produced more satisfactory results/but on account of the abnor mal conditions prevailing these expectations had not been realised. Greatly reduced prices of stock and produce were reflected in the shrinkage in commission earnings, while the reduced spending power of the pfiblic had appreciably affected the volume of business in practically all departments. It was a matter for regret that directors had been com pelled to provide for further possible losses in connection with fanners’ advance accounts, which, under the circumstances was inevitable. The retiring directors arc Messrs L. >v Brewster, A. Gray, R. Hamilton, J. Newlands, L. Pavletich, G. Pringle, all of I

whom offer themselves for re-election. Messrs D. V, G. Smith and W. J. Davies are the retiring auditors, and offer themselves for re-election. RUGBY FOOTBALL The following will represent Athletic Third Grade to play Waimate to-mor-row;—Murtagh, Farell, Judkins, Moore, Mather, Wilson, Doran, Cunningham, Budd, Taylor, Sparks (2), Harney, Shand, Harrington; emergencies, Robertson and May, The following players have been selected to represent South Canterbury against North Otago at Timaru on Saturday:—L. Connolly, T. Morrison, A. Gaffaney, E. Ryan. ,C. Cartwright, K. Blyth, G. Gaffaney, R. Seaton. J. Cailanan, Giddins, Addis, Caird, D. Callanan, P. Shewan, W. Duke. Reserves —Forward, G. Kelly; back, N. Satterthwaite. Athletic senior seven-a-side team; Brown, D. Wilson, Turvey, Sullivan, Ashton, Stichman, FaJloon. ' SEVEN-A-SIDE TOURNAMENT The following is the draw for the Waitaki Rugby Sub-union’s seven-a-side tournament to be held at Duntroon on S,qturdT’ PRIMARY SCHOOLS. First Round.—Duntroon v. Otekaike, Kurow A v. Ngapara, Papakaio v. Kurow B. SENIORS. First Round.—Duntroon B v. Ngapara A, Tokarahi C v. Georgetown A, Kurow A v. Duntroon C, Tokarahi A v. Kurow A, Omarama v. Excelsior, Awakino r B v: Athletic, Pareora v. Duntroon A, Tokarahi B v. Old Boys, Ngapara B v. Awakin© A, Georgetown B v. Maheno, Humia a bye. The games will commence in order as drawn. The primary school matches will start at 11 a.m., and the senior games at 12.30 p.m. , The following will represent Ngapara to-morrow: —A team—P. Watson, J. O’Brien, G. Hampton, T. Watson, A. Behold, H. Munro, D. Watson; B team —B Geary, J, Cooke, T. Holmes, G. Watson., N, Newlands, B. Hampton, D. Keane. PERSONAL Mr F. W. Belton, chief engineer of the Christchurch Gasworks, is at present visitin, friends in Oamaru. , New Club Hotel. —Mr E. R.'Smith, Mr and Mrs Goddard, Mr H. E. Eckhoff (Dunedin), Mr C. A. Robinson (Timaru), Mr H. M. Conway, Mr T. M. Jollands t Wellington), Mr E. K. Humphries i At the Oamaru Borough Council meet ing the Mayor (Mr J. M. Forrester) referred to the deep regret which they al! felt at the passing of Mts W. H. Frith, .whose charming manner and kindly nature had endeared her to all. She had seconded Mr Frith well during his terra as Mayor of Oamaru, and all would remember her work for the soldiers at home and abroad during the war years. A resolution was carried by the council in the, usual way recording the grateful appreciation of the community of the services rendered by Mrs Frith, particularly in her years as Mayoress, and deepest sympathy with Mr Frith and family, COLLECTION OF CUPS A very fine collection of cups presented to the North Otago Kennel Club is at present on view in Mr Wylie’s shop window. The collection comprises the club cup, the Lafayette Cup (presented by Mr Notman), the Simpson Cup (Mr J. Simpson), the Cumbrae Cup (Dr Smith Morton), the Hall Cup (Mr L. L. Hall),,thro Wylie Cup (Mr W. H, Wylie), the Storey Cup (Mr E. D. Storey), the Crawley Cup (Mr D. Crawley), the Donaldson Cup (Mr G. Donaldson), and the Aulsebrook Cup (Messrs Aulsebrook and Co.). OAMARU HOMING PIGEON SOCIETY The hnnual meeting of the Oamaru Homing Pigeon Society was held last night, Mr J. Meikle occupying the chair. The annual report of the New Zealand Homing Pigeon Federation was received. The society’s annual report and balance sheet, which showed a credit balance of £9 Is 3d, were adopted. The election of officers resulted as follows: —Patron, Mr W. Grenfell; vice-pat-rons —Messrs Turvey, H. E. Wedde, S Roberts, Maude,. Stevenson (Dunedin), Rae (Dunedin), Cooney, D. Sparks, J. M. Robertson, J. S. Genge, W. Newton, Mallard, W. Gordon, and A. North; president, Mr J. Meikle; vice-president, Mr Steenie Browne; secretary, Mr A. Ruddock. The usual sub-committees were appointed. ! It was decided to affiliate with the federation for the year. The annual subscription was fixed at the same as for the last year, any member registered a« unemployed to be admitted to the membership free. ’ OAMARU BOROUGH COUNCIL The fortnightly meeting of the Oamaru Borough Council was held last night when there present the Mayor (Mr JM. Forrester), and Crs R. Milligan, N. H. Colquhoun, A. R. Tait, J. C. Kirkness, M. F. Cooney, R. Jenkins, F. Butterfield, D. S. Bain, N, Familton, and A. Wilson. The Waitaki Hospital Board asked for the- council’s assurance that no charge for maintenance would be made against the board when the new road through the hospital property was completed.—lt was decided to give the board the required assurance. ' ' The Oamaru . Competitions Society applied for a rebate of one night’s rent of the Opera House.—The matter was referred to the Town Hall Committee. _ J. T. Brocken applied for a reduction of rent on a borough lease at Deborah. — Referred to the chairman of the Finance Committee for a report. Mr Roxby and Mrs Hunter wrote requesting that certain trees near Victoria Home be cut down. —Referred to the Reserves Committee. The commissioner of Crown lands advised that the existing right granted to the council in 1923 to occupy part of- the Post Office reserve ■would expire in June, 1933, but when the question of renewal had been placed before the Post and Telegraph Department, the Postmaster-general had approved of the council being given the free use of the land ’ upon which the public conveniences were placed, for an indefinite period, to be terminable on one year’s notice. —Received. The North Otago Ladies’ Hockey Association advised that the association had no rule debarring playing on the' side Ijne at Takaro Park, and that on no occasion had any team’s name been mentioned as defying the association’s authority in this bpstippl —-RpppivPfl. The Finance Committee, reported the following balances: —D.F. account-Jdebit) £9858 13s Id, loan account (credit) £SB 13s lOd. General accounts amounting to £646 19s Sd and loan £3 4s were passed for payment. . The Finance -Committee recommended that the proposal to limit the number of witnesses to two on either side in connection with the rent of a borough lease, on the hearing before the Adjustment Commissioners. be adopted.—Approved. The Waitaki Hospital Board advised that the board had decided to protest against the fees charged by the Audit Office, and it was decided to support the protest. The Finance Committee recommended that the usual grant of £5 5s be made to the Workers’ Educational Association.— Approved. The By-laws Committee recommended that the necessary steps be taken to remove the parking stand in Coquet street further eastward, to comply with the request of Messrs T. H. Green and Co.. Ltd. —Approved. The Health Committee had no further recommendation to make in connection with the proposed terms of settlement in the matter of Brown versus the council. . The recommendations of the Works Committee that Caledonian road be covered with a light coat of metal, and that a new pump be purchased for the tar sprayer, were approved. The Lighting Committee recommended that an extra light he placed in Clyde street. —Approved. The Reserves Committee recommended that the Municipal Band be granted permission to hold a fireworks display in the Public Gardens on NovembeV 5, provided any damage which may bo done is made good.—Approved. The Reserves Committee recommended that the balance of the Garden Fete funds be expended by purchasing material for a bridge, and should sufficient funds

be available, in providing more seating accommodation. —Approved. -

The Mayor reported that at a meeting of the committee dealing with employment for boys, Mr H. J. Jenkins had offered, on behalf of the Motor Association, to provide the material for a bridge at the motor camp which would provide an interesting job for boys under the supervision of an expert man. —The offer was accepted by the council, the details of erection being left in the hands of the committee. Cr Wilson said that the great improvement in the motor, camp reflected credit on Mr Lee and the Motor Association for carrying out such work. Cr Colquhoun said that the services rendered by Mr Lee were worthy of commendation and a resolution of appreciation was recorded. UNEMPLOYED BOYS’ COMMITTEE A strong deputation from the committee handling the unemployed boys problem in Oamaru waited on the Oamaru Borough. Council seeking financial assistance for a scheme for giving boys employment. Mr W. G. Grave, the Rev. Maclean, and Messrs J, T. Calder and B. B. Walton put the case before the councillors, explaining that 85 boys were registered and 32 placed in employment. The committee required a fund of £l5O, and requested a grant, of £SO from the council,, Private citizens were also offering help. The council unanimously decided to grant £SO to the committee’s funds, expressing approbation of the objects for which the committee was striving. DRAINAGE CERTIFICATES Following on the discussion at the previous meeting of the Oamaru Borough Council on the question of the issue of certificates on the completion of drainage and plumbing woik connecting with the sewerage system, five letters were received at the council meeting last night, showing the general practice adopted in this respect by other borough councils and drainage boards. The .Ashburton Borough Council wrote that while there was provision for the issue of certificates in the by-laws, -it had never been carried out, and the town clerk had not issued a single certificate. The Invercargill Borough Council wrote that.while there was a bylaw requiring the obtaining of a clear certificate before the building was in use, in practice this had not been enforced, and certificates were issued only upon the application of the plumber and owner The Christchurch Drainage Board advised that certificates were issued only at the request of the owner or contract »r. The, majority of certificates issued were to absentee owners who were desirous of knowing if the work complied with the board’s requirements before payment w;as mafie, but the demand for these certificates was very small. The Timaru Borough Council advised that certificates were not issued on the completion of drainage or plumbing work, except upon application. At the present period a certificate was seldom asked for. provided all the work was found upon completion to comply with the borough bylaws, and no. further action had been necessary. The Dunedin Drainage and Sewerage Board wrote that its practice was to issue such certificates only upon the application of the owner or contractor.

Cr Familton stated that the Finance Committee had gone fully into the matter and it was admitted that certificates should have been issued in compliance with the resolution of the previous council. The committee spent a long time and decided that certificates should be issued for new work and for recent work on application. He would like to make it perfectly clear that inspection fees that had been paid by ratepayers went to the council. Inspector .Fischer had been asked on several occasions if fees were given to him. In fairness to Inspector Fischer, Cr Familton pointed out that the fees went td the council.

The Mayor made the following statement on the subject:— “ The publicity that has been given to this matter may have caused the feeling in the minds of property owners that all ,ig not well with our drainage system. Matters of small moment have been made to appear as serious defects, and naturally people are nervous with regard to the main drainage system. You have .already heard the opinion of an outside expert that the design of the system and liquifying tanks is quite satisfactory. Any trouble that may have been experienced at the outfall, is not due to any defect in the design. Then it has been suggested that the inflow, of a certain amount of storm has caused a derangement in the liquifying tanks. This is a wrong assumption, for the amount of storm water likely to enter the system is very small indeed, and rather than being a detriment, is a distinct advantage for reasons well known to authorities bn the subject, and in our case was permitted for that reason. In a separate system like ours the admission of a great deal of storm water might severely tax the carrying capacity of the pipes, but that is non-existent, for here the amount admitted is infinitesimal. The question of certificates of completion has been made much of, but surely it is sufficient to say that Christchurch. Dunedin, and other towns we have heard from, place scant value on such documents. Then why need we have all this worry about them here? After the publicity that has been given to one side of the question, it is only right that as much publicity as possible should bo given to the other side. The tion that Mr Fischer has shown a want of care in carrying out his duties is not borne out by facts and it is the duty of the . council, to make- the position thoroughly clear. Mr Fischer has had an onerous job indeed, which he has carried out, along with his multifarious duties in connection with public health matters. I am afraid that few people realise the amount of detail work involved in'inspecting and recording drainage arrangements on private propertywork that has involved a very great deal of overtime. I do appreciate the extent of work Mr Fischer has done, and perhaps I may be allowed to speak as an authority on the subject of plans and records in a kindly spirit. I suggest that if, in future, anyone has a complaint to make against a'public official he will first go to the officer concerned. Many matters should thus be cleared up without causing public officials the pain of publicity, which, in the case in question, had not one iota of justification. It would, too, save a great deal of time for councillors generally.” . Cr Wilson asked what Cr Familton meant by recent work. Cr Familton replying said “The work carried out by the present inspector.” The Mayor added that he had seen Cr Crawshaw about the matter, who said that the intention of the resolution was not that certificates should be given on all occasions, but only on request. Cr Cooney said he did not think it was intended to grant certificates to everyone. The Mayor said that as the public might have got a wrong impression, it was due to Inspector Fischer to have the matter cleared up. One down pipe had been quoted as discharging water into the drain, but it had turned out this was a dummy pipe soldered up by Mr Fischer’s orders rather than put a man to the expense of tearing the roughcast out. Cr Familton said he appreciated the motive of the Mayor’s report, but he was sorry it did not go to a committee. He pointed out that there was a distinct resolution on November 8, 1928, by which it was decided that on all works being completed certificates would be issued. He did not wish to enlarge on the subject, but in rebuttal he quoted a letter from Mr James Douglas saying that certificates protected property owners from bad work, or the council or Drainage Board would be responsible for defective work He held that certificates should have been issued to protect the property owners. A certificate wa s a guarantee to the property owner that the work had been carried out in accordance with the bylaw. Much as he respected the Mayor’s judgment on the certificates, he could not agree with it in the face of what Mr Douglas had said. He would not like it to go out that the certificates were of no value. The council made it mandatory and certificates should have been issued’ Cr Cooney said it had been created in the minds of people that something was wrong with the drainage system, and he congratulated the Mayor on his report. Cr Milligan said there was no need to discuss, whether certificates should have been issued in view of Mr Fischer’s statement that certificates should have been issued. As to the future, he disagreed

that certificates should be issued only on application. They should be issued automatically as a protection to property owners.

Cr Bain said that the committee came to the conclusion that certificates were worthless, and he was surprised that Crs Familton and Milligan had brought it up again to-night. It was purely electioneering. Cr Wilson said that if one were entitled to a certificate, all were. Cr .Cooney said that he agreed with that part of the Mayor’s statement of members not approaching officials as these practices were lowering the tone of public life here. Cr Jenkins said that Mr Fischer had stated that he would not issue certificates unless he inspected old work thoroughly, as damage might have been done. Cr Kirkness said that he wished to correct the statement that Mr Fischer had said that certificates should have been issued. Mr Fischer had expressed his regret for not having carried out the resolution of the council, and his apology had been accepted. There was a difference in the two statements. It was explained that Mr Fischer was overworked, and they all agreed. It was a pity the matter had been given such publicity, as it was not doing the town any good. Cr Milligan commented that there was little difference between ' the two statements.

Cr Cooney said that Mr Douglas’s letter was not of practical value when they had an authoritative statement from the board. The talk of certificates was only a smoke screen to cover up something else. It was pointed out that only on one occasion did Mr Fischer refuse a certificate when asked.