The Otago Witness WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED Till SOUTHERN MERCURY. (TUESDAY, JUNE 19. 1923.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3614, 19 June 1923, Page 39

The Otago Witness WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED Till SOUTHERN MERCURY. (TUESDAY, JUNE 19. 1923.) THE WEEK.

•'Nunquam allnd natura, allud saptentia --JuvbxaL. . . . „ “Good natnre and good sense must ever jetn. For*. Parliament opened last week fm- ' vhat ‘ l ® anticipated will be a short. „ , session but to which tho SUuation political situation lends an element of uncertainty. I he Sneech of the Governor-General did not S much illumination on the more prospect, save when emphasis was laid upon the importance of the presence at the Imperial Conference m London of the Prime P Minister, the onnuor.at lm same time being expressed hat oug grave urgency in the domestic affans et the Dominion” could excuse M - ~ • absence “from conferences called by the Prime Minister of Great Britain for consideration of matters which concern the E nnhe of which it is our privilege to be an 1 te"ral part.” Whether or no the domestic situation will develop an urgency comnellin" Mr Masseys presence in the Dominion is the principal question whirl P-rl-Vment will speedily be called upon decide™ Already Mr Wilford has tabled a lengthy want-of-confide.ice motion which, evidently drafted prior to a perusal of the Governor-General’s speech, embodies s in the Liberal programme measures already adopted bv the Government as its own.* To 1 recall a famous car- ” vf 4 & gfc&.'-sa te'tvS I n cover Mr W ilford s political nuditv have been cruelly filched from bun bv a "leading Opposition .journal sincej the Zealand Times trenchantly denounces the proposals for a State Bank and prm nortional representation ’as opposed to the principles of Lijenahsm and - tend; things o considered Mr Wilford will do well to meditate ere he drives another nail },; s political coffin by putting '/''-Licks n the way of the Prime Minister proceeding to London. Mr -Massey i*>‘ed with a verv difficult proposition in an attempt to 'carry on the business of tho country while armed with an exceedingly narrow majority ; the strength o. In* \ {> - Don consists in the tact that -either Mr Wilford nor Mr Holland can offe-single-handed to form a Ministry and b th are prevented by election pledges from combining to form an aUernative Governif ic possible that a situaui n n MR arise in which by a combination of the forces of the Liberals and the Labourites a vote might be snatched m the present Parliament adveise to tho Government; but by.no practicable combination could a Ministry be evolved able and willing to take office. L ndei t in ci oumstances it by no means foUot s that even an adverse vote would fence Mr Massev to resign office; still less to make another appeal to the constituencies. Ihe manifest difficulties under which Mr .Massey labours have been increased by the unfortunate illness of Mr Guthrie, Minister of Lands, although this handicap will oe lessened by the offer both on the part of

Mr Wilford and Mr Holland to grant Mr Guthrie a pair for the session. Another of Mr Massey's difficulties is to adequately till the vacancy in the Cabinet caused Dy the defeat of Mr Lee. The name of Mr F. Bollard, the member for Raglan, is credibly mentioned as in the running, although at the time of writing, no official intimation on the subject has been made. The appointment of Mr Bollard, if confirmed, spells the substitution in the Cabinet of a North Island member for a Minister in the South island ; apart from this consideration, however, it is questionable whether the member for Raglan, who has only hitherto proved himseii as an excellent Senior \\ hip, possesses those qualities which will materially strengthen Mr Massey’s Ministry. And the expected absence of the Prime Minister in London calls for such an accession of strength as will compensate for Mr Massey s absence.

It is the fashion in communistic quarters to denounce the Hank of The- Bank o! New Zealand and to consign New Zealand, the shareholders in that institution to a parasitic hades into which all who support the capitalistic system will ultimately be cast. The average normal man, however, has come to regard the existing arrangement between State and bank as one which combines all the security of a State banking system with the freedom of individualistic enterprise. . Moreover, the same average normal man views with a degree of complacency the prosperity of the Bank of New Zealand as reflecting the general prosperity of the community as a whole. That is why the annual meeting of uhe Bank of New Zealand becomes spmetli.ng of .an event in the financial world and the speech of the chairman is regarded as an authentative utterance on the financial condition and prospects of the dominion. It has always to be remembered that the co-operation of the State with the Bank of New Zealand was no carefully devised ulan or the result of a carefully thoughtout policy; like Topsey, it grew in a moment out of one cf those financial crisis which are apt to occur in any part cf the world. The failure of the Alliance Bank of Simla, India, and the reported series of Wall Street failures in New York are samples of the sort of thing to which existing financial systems are always liable; but which the arrangement between the Government and the Bank of New Zealand to a large extent offer the Dominion a safeguard from. The decision of the directors of the Bank of New Zealand to increase its capital by £1,125,000 may be taken as an indication of » growing volume of business wherein and whereby the increased capital can profitably be employed. Of this new capital the Government has the privilege of taking up £375,000 preference shares at par and doubtless this privilege will be availed cf since these shares carry a guaranteed dividend of 10 per cent. Already the Government has £1,125,000 invested in the bank’s preference shares and the new issue will bring the Government's holding un to a million and a-half. The investment of the ordinary shareholders in the bank totals £2,250,000, and they will be offered an additional £750,000 of shares at par, aking the holding of the ordinary shareholders three million pounds or twice the state of the Government. And of the six directors of the bank the Government nominates four, thus securing that the affairs of the bank will be managed impartially in the interests of both State and shareholder. It is stated that new money is needed for expanding the business of the bank and that there is a general demand for more capital for farming, manufacturing purposes. At the same time it may be questioned whether the directors will be able to maintain the dividend on ordinary shares at the present high rate of £l3 6s 8d per cent. In his address as chairman at the annual meet ing of the bank Sir George Elliot made reference to the rapidly improving financial situation in the Dominion; and he entered a strong plea for the removal jf the moratorium, as an artificial check on economic development, while highly necessary during the rigour and strees of war time, has to-day more than out-lived its usefulness. Sir George Elliot unhesitatingly declared that the Mortgages Moratorium Act had “dried up to a large extent the sources from which money from mortgages sprung and has driven investors to look in another direction for an outlet for their savings.” With the removal of the moratorium and the increased elasticity of the Bank of New Zealand by virtue of increased capital, there is a "prospect of cheaper money and consequent economic and industrial development. Tile settlers on the Taieri have acted wisely in giving tentative Ths Taieri assent to the Prime Flood Area. Minister’s proposals for the financing of the necessary protective works to give relief from the menace of recurring floods and for the reclamation of the extensive area at present placed beyond the possibilities of cultivation. There are two sides to the question, to both of which Mr Massey was bound to give heed—viz., the consideration of the State and tlie consideration of the individual settler, and necessary the two will clash when certain aspects of the case are discussed. The fact that something like 18,000 acres of erstwhile fertile land lias been filched by the flood wateis and ceases to be productive is a natural misfortune and it is clearly the duty of the State to come to the aid of tlie settlers. At the same time, while every sympathy will be felt for the plight of the settlers in the flooded area, placed in that position owing to circumstances over which they have no control, the State is entitled to some quid pro quo for coining to their relief; they cannot be expected to be relieved altogether from the penalty of their misfortune. Mr Massey has only made his proposal in broad outline; Lie details have yet to be worked out, but thy rock on which they are likely to split is that of valuation. Mr Massey suggests that the State take over the whole of the flooded area at a valuation, carry

out the necessary protective works and then allow the original settlers to reacquire their holdings at a fresh valuation which shall carry a proportion of the cost of the protective work. The first questions which emerges, and this was evident during the discussion at the meeting at Momona on Saturday night last, is what shall be the basis of the valuation on which the Government takes over the flooded land. Obviously it cannot be the pre-flood value and equally obviously it cannot be the post-flood area, manifestly it will be a compromise between the two. -In which case, how can the interests of the mortgagees be saleguarded ; and will the load placed on the land by the cost of the protective works be more than its productive ability will warrant. The settlers are quite right in their demand that the details of the scheme be placed before them and that they be not asked to blindly assent to the proposal and hand over the land without knowing where they are. it may ce hoped, however, that the matter will be thoroughly threshed out by the deputation appointed to proceed to Wellington

to interview the Prime Minister at the end of the week, and that Mr Massey may be able to place before Parliament a scheme for the relief of the Taieri settlers which will carry the judgment of members and achieve the end in view without detriment to the'State.

With a view to promoting the study of natural history, the Dunedin Naturalists’ Field Club invite country residents to become corresponding members at an annual subscription of 2s fed, and to assist beginners the club will, as far as possible, identify specimens and supply information on natural history subjects by correspondence, this step should prove a material help to observers who come across seme plant or small animal which they are not able to identify. Inquiries should be directed to Dr Stuart Moore, 7 Selkirk street, Roslyn. There are at present a number of cases of influenza in Dunedin. Most of them seem to be of a mild type, but there are instances of disturbingly high temperatures being recorded. Some of the business places are running with short staffs owing to the prevalence of the trouble. Mrs Annie .T. Corliss, widow of the late Mr P. C. Corliss (Commissioner of Stamps), lias petitioned Parliament for a gratuity in addition to the £ISOO granted last year (reports our Wellington correspondent). The petition points out that under a section of the Civil Service Act the Governor-General is authorised to grant the petitioner £2200, being the aggregate of two years of the deceased’s salary at the time of his death. A new fishing reef was recently discovered off Otago Heads, and the lucky finder landed some big hauls. Then one foggy morning another fishing boat dropped unawares on this new reef, and when the fog lifted the original finder of the reef discovered that his was net the only boat ihere. The news spread through the fishing fleet, and many boats made good hauls. This newly-discovered reef is evidently ot shelving formation with sharp projecting edges of rock, which sever the anchor ropes of fishing boats. Eight boats are said to have lost anchors last week, (he sharp rook edges chafing through the anchor ropes, thus cutting the boats adrift while fishing operations were going cn. In the course of a lecture on the early days of New Zealand at Auckland, Mr J. VY. tShaw said that in perusing the roll of the Endeavour’s crew he found (hat it contained 37 Englishmen, seven Scotsmen, four Welshmen, two Irishmen, and two American colonists. That, said Mr Shaw, showed the truly Imperial character of Captain Cook’s epoch-making voyage of discovery. As the American colony at that time was Britain's only overseas possession the expedition was Imperially representative, while it was also a fitting opening to the history of New Zealand. An interesting extract from the “Constitutional History and Laws of New Zealand” was read by Councillor Moffait at a meeting of the Nelson Council (states the Nelson Evening Mail). In the second session of the Legislative Council in 1841-42 it was laid down as follows : —“The seventeenth ordinance imposed a tax of £2O a year on houses made of raupo, nikau, toit.oi, wiwi, kakaho, straw, or thatclq existing in towns, and provided that after a certain date no such houses should be erected therein. By proclamation of May 16, 1842, part of Auckland was brought within the operation of the ordinance; on March 30, 1843, a similar proclamation was issued in respect of Wellington, and on January 28, 1850, it was proclaimed that the ordinance would lie enforced within Dunedin and Port Chalmers.” Speaking last week at the annual meeting of the Bank of New Zealand, Sir Geo. Elliot, chairman of directors, said that if the leans maturing during the next six years—about, £13.000.000 in London in addition to nearly £45,000,000 in Australia and New Zealand —were to be renewed on advantageous terms, it was imperative that the present status of the dominion on the London money market should be maintained. To that end, Government loan expenditure should be confined to work that was essential, and the severest economy should be practised in all the Government departments. A further adjournment of one week in the Hayne case was made in the Pol ice Court on Friday by Mr H. \V. Bundle. S.M. Mr Hanlon, with Mr Irwin, appeared for the accused. At present there are two charges, one charging James Reynolds Hayne with unlawfully using an instrument on Alay 18 with intent to procure ti miscarriage, and the second charging him jointly with Elizabeth Simpson Inglis with unlawfully using an instrument or other moans to procure miscarriage on Alay 19. The accused were remanded till next Friday, bail in each case being fixed as before. Sergeant Dunlop, in response to Mr Hanlon, said it was not intended to proceed with both charges, but to substitute one for tho other.

Interest is being taken in the case of a partially blind woman recovering full xiossession of her sight through the shock of a fall which occurred aboard the Remuera on a voyage from England (says a Press Association message from Auckland). Mrs Parker had partially lost: her sight, and two Scottish specialists had said they could do nothing for her. She fell down the ship’s gangway on the voyage out, and fractured a leg. A few days afterwards her sight was completely restored, and this is attributed to the shock of the fall. At a sitting of the Supreme Court: on Friday, before Ins Honor Mr Justice Sim, a man named William Henry Harris, who had pleaded guilty to two charges of theft at the Punchbowl, came up for sentence. Air Hanlon, who appeared tor the accused, said bis client had had a quarrel with a hut mate, the sequel being a tussle. That night, out of spite, the accused had gone to the ether man’s box. and had taken £ll from a wallet. Two days later he returned and took £4O 7s lid in money and a suit of clothes belonging to the same man. Those things were hidden, and the accused told a story about the place having been entered by burglars. The accused, who was a single man, was 51 years of age. He bad been to the war twice —first with the Fifteenth Reinforcements and afterwards with the Thirty-seventh Reinforcements. He was invalided home on the first occasion. lie was not addicted to drink, and his employer had given him credit for being a hard worker. His Honor remarked that the police described the accused as sober and industrious, but said he had three previous convictions against him, and had served three years for having counterfeit coins in his possession. Air Hanlon said that had happened when the accused was 18 years of age. His Honor said it was strange that a man should leave £SO in a hut when there were so many banks and other places where he could leave it. Mr F. G. Gumming (probation officer) presented a report from the probation officer in the district in which the accused had worked. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr F. B. Adams) pointed out that the theft was a rather mean one, and had been carefully planned. The accused had slipped back to the hut. taken the money, and then disarranged things so as to indicate that burglars had entered the place. lie had then brazened the matter out with the police, until the goods hud been found. His Honor said the probation officer had recommended that, the accused be released on probation, and he felt justified in -adopting that course, even though the man was not a first offender. His last offence was committed in 1910. and he had borne quite a good character since then. The accused would be released on probation for four years, on condition that lie paid the costs of the prosecution f£2 8s). Mr Hanlon undertook to see that the missing money (£11) was returned. An accident occurred in the railway goods yard, opposite the Union Steam Ship Company’s offices, yesterday afternoon, but fortunately it was not attended by any very serious damage or any serious dislocation of the yard working. An engine was corning from the engine shells to ihe railway station, when by some means or other it. took the wrong points and ran on to a “dead end,” over the end of the rails, and became embedded in the ballast. The engine stopped just short of one of the tall posts on which the signals at this locality •are placed. Several attempts were made by other engines to pull the derailed engine back on to the line, but without immediate success. Eventually, at 7.30 p.m., three large locomotives were successful in the attempt to replace the engine on the rails. The Ashburton Farmers’ Union (reports a Press Association telegram) resolved unanimously to ask the Government, immediately to place an embargo oil imported potatoes unti the local price reaches £lO. The Mayor of Palmerston North recently: found it necessary to reprimand a workman for “loafing on his job.” The latter replied by 7 forwarding an impertinent letter to the (Mayor, whereupon the Mayor suspended the writer. At the subsequent meeting of the council the action of the Mayor was endorsed, and the man, who bad been punished by loss of a fortnight’s work during suspension, was reinstated. Mr Rod M‘Donald, of Levin (says an exchange), in an interesting article on racing in the early days at Otaki says: “Horses would be run by different tribes and old tribal jealousies assured an enthusiasm which can hardiy be imagined. All over the course liakas of defiance would be danced, boosting a particular horse against the world, and at the conclusion of a race the tribe which owned ihe winning horse would dash out on the course, ana lead in their champion, dancing now 7 a haka of triumph. 1 have on three occasions had victories of my own horses greeted in this way, though not at Otaki, two occasions being at Foxton, and the third, and last, at Levin.”