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Otago Witness, Issue 3619, 24 July 1923, Page 3

The annual report of the Dunedin Fire Brigades states that the insured loss for t-ije year was £15,113, and the uninsured loss £770, a total of £15,883. The insured value of property actually of fire was £78,852, whilst the uninsured had a value of £14,912, a total of £93,764. The largest individual loss was in a clothing factory and warehouse, wherein the amount lost was £5998 ; whilst the next most serious outbreak occurred in a painter and decorator’s establishment, causing fire damage to the extent of £2559. Cabinet last week approved of a grant of £25,000 for a new dental school in connection with the Otago University at Dunedin (reports our Wellington correspondent).

During shunting operations at Lyttelton on Monday (says a Christchurch Press Association telegram) seven railway trucks, having too much way on, jumpfed the buffers on No. 7 wharf and fell into the harbour. Until they are salvaged vessels will not be allowed to use one side of the wharf. A report on faith-healing, presented by Mr Kenneth Mackenzie, was considered in committee by the Auckland Presbytery last Tuesday evening, a motion for its adoption subsequently being defeated by one vote. An amendment that presbytery uphold the pronouncement cf the last General Assembly on the question of faith-healing was carried. Air W. Poison (dominion president) has sent a telegram to the secretary of the Ashburton Farmers’ Union as follows (says an Ashburton Press Association telegram) : The Press Association circulating a statement, on the authority of your branch, that the Agricultural Banking Bill was handed by me io the Opposition for party purposes. Please have this contradicted. The proposals for the Bill were handed to Mr Massey last year, and this year to every member simultaneously. Mr Wilford’s action was on a private member’s own initiative. In replying to Mr Edie, the Hon. R. F. Bollard states that at a conference recently held in Wellington it was decided that protection should be removed from deer in aieas to be determined by the interested departments in consultation with the acclimatisation societies (reports our Wellington correspondent). One of such areas is in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains, and the necessary steps in the matter are now being taken. Acclimatisation societies have already been authorised to Thin out deer in their respective districts. The Prime Minister last week gave a further undertaking that there would be no delay in bringing down the Government's proposals regarding soldier sat*tors’ blocks (reports our Wellington correspondent). The 11 boards had now furnished their reports which were in the hands of the Lands Department, and the work of co-ordinating and making them uniform was now proceeding. He was aware that spring was coming on, and the settlers would like to make their arrangements, and lie was anxious that there should not be a day's delay. Mr Duncan Wright, who is still an active worker amongst the aged poor of the city despite the fact that he kept his 83rd birthday last week, has received a cheque for £SO from a lady to assist in his mission of mercy. Needless to say, Mr Wright greatly appreciated the generosity of the donor, and it is just as needless to say that the expenditure of the sum will resnlt in benefits that will be greatly appreciated by those receiving them. It is difficult to get any definite information yet relative to the sheep losses by snow, but what information is available seems to be rather reassuring. It was at first reported that Teviot station, which is at present controlled by the I-ands Department,'bad lost heavily, but Mr M'Gill, the manager, has advised that so fgr as can be ascertained no sheep are likely to be lost. The mild weather prevailing at present will doubtless bring about a rapid thaiv, and many sheep considered to be lost may be got out. 'The storm would, however, appear to have been very severe in some localities, and the teeperature was unusually low. This was particularly the case at Arrowtown where 32 degrees of frost were registered. The dispute over the new harbour steamer Muritai has been settled (states a Wellington Press Association telegram). Tho Eastbourne Borough has agreed to take her over, notwithstanding her deficient- speed, but new propellors are to be provided, which, it is expected, will raise her speed to that required; and if not the point will be settled by arbitration. In correspondence published between the Rev. J. Kelly, editor of tho Tablet, and Sir Francis Bell, then Minister of Justice (says a Wellington Press Assoriation telegram) the former accused the Government of allowing armed policemen to go round the country in order to make it safe for persons to calumniate Roman Catholics. Being invited to specify a particular occasion, he replied that an armed polioe guard went through Otago Central protecting persons who were attacking his Church, and that Sir Francis Bell had made it clear that they need “expect no protection for our good name from the Massey Government and its officials.” Sir Francis Bell replied that inquiry had been made, that Dr Kelly had been misled, and that the statement was contrary to fact. Dr Kelly refused to accept this denial, and asserted that a policeman, whose name he g-ave, did go through Central Otago as a guard for Messrs Howard Elliott and Griffith. He might not have carried a revolver, but Dr Kelly presumed he had a baton, and contended that, in that sense, he was armed.

Correspondence between the Rev. James Kelly (editor of the Tablet) and the Minister of Justice on the subject of police protection was commented on by the Rev. Howard Elliott, of the Protestant Political Association (says an Auckland Press Association message). Mr Elliott said that when it was proposed to hold a series of meetings throughout Central Otago threats were received that the meetings would be prevented by force. In view of his experience at Feeding and Greymouth, the matter was laid before the Inspector of Police. The Dunedin police, after inquiry, decided to strengthen the somewhat meagre police force to prevent any disturbance, as the sheetings proposed were legal and within

the rights of the association. The special constable detailed was not armed even with a walking-stick. The police action safeguarded loyal and law-abiding citizens, and if Protestants threatened to disturb meetings addressed by Roman Catholics the Rev. Mr Kelly would be justified in applying for similar protection. The returns of the Dunedin Savings Bank for the quarter ended June 30 show that the deposits during that period amounted to £135,506 9s 3d, and (he withdrawals to £103,119 10s sd. The total amount standing to the credit of depositors on June 30 was £798,125 19s 7d. The interest allowed to depositors is at the rate of 4| per cent.

Considerable quantities of Java sugar are finding their way on to the Auckland market (says the Star). The third shipment this year will arrive by the Dutch steamer De Greve on July 27 from Sonrabaya, and will bring up the total to over 16,000 tons for the past six months. The previous shipments were brought by the steamers Ppringburn and Rona, all for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company. Jhe total area comprised in the national endowment on March 31 was approximately 9,058,355 acres (reports our Wellington correspondent). Of this, an area of 6.912,262 acres was held on lease or license and subdivided into 4457 holdings, the annual rental payable being £139,637, while 1,650,300 acres have been set aside as a provisional State forest. The total revenue derived from this endowment during the past year was £144,843. The annual report states that the present financial position is responsible for the small number of lessees of national endowment lands who desire to take advantage of the facilities provided for acquiring the foe simple. D uring the course of his address at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Forestry League in Wellington last week, Sir James Wilson said a matter which the league deemed very important and bearing upon the encouragement of private planting was taxation. When a farmer fenced off a part of his farm to form a plantation, the land in use was taxed upon the unimproved value cf it at the same rate as his adjoining land from which he received —or at least hoped to receive ; and there had been many cases of disappointment in this direction recently—an annual return. The trees would return nothing for many years, and this discouraged many from planting. It most certainly was to the. advantage of the State that tree-planting should he encouraged, and it. was hoped that some fairer basis of taxation would be arrived at. Even if these areas were tax free, it would be no serious loss to the State, and he was sure would result in much more planting being done. Already we had seen the great increase of planting which had taken place owing to State assistance by way of young trees being supplied for shelter and timber purposes, but when they found they had to pay an annual tax upon the land devoted to this purpose, their enthusiasm would, to s3y the least of it, be dampened. A letter from the Taieri Ferry School Committee asking the approval of the Education Board for the appointment of the local teacher, Mr L. H. Murray, as clerk of the committee for the current year, roused a little discussion in the board yesterday on a somewhat wider question. The Chairman, Mr J. Wallace, said t-liis was a growing practice, and he did not think it was a good one. He considered that meetings of school committees should be hold without the headmaster being present.—-(“Hoar, hear.”) Mr J. H. Wilkinson said his experience had been just, the opposite. He had sat with the headmaster present at committee meetings for 25 out of 26 years, and his presence had contributed to the efficiency of the committee. He felt also that the headmaster’s presence with them contributed to the harmony and good feeling between the staff and members of committee. As far as having a member of the staff acting as secretary was concerned, however, he did not think it was wise. On the motion of the Hon. D. T. Fleming, the board, nevertheless, decided to grant the committee’s request. Members pointed out that it was sometimes impossible to get anyone else to act. It will be remembered that, on April 24 the body of an unknown man who had been drowned in the Waikoaiti River was found. An inquest that w'as opened and adjourned in order that identification could be proved was resumed at Palmerston before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M.. on Monday, when James Crossan and William Duncan Crossan, of Woodward, identified the body from a photograph as that of William HenryHall. It was stated that the deceased had had no fixed abode for the past 15 years, and that he had gone about the country carrying a tent and a billy, working on farms and on threshing mills. A verdict of “Accidentally drowned” was returned. Reference to the Farmers’ School that was held in Dunedin recently was made by Mr T. Scott, the chairman of the Technical College Board of Managers, at a meeting of that body yesterday. Now that they had had a farmers’ school, he said, they should aim at obtaining a school farm. When he had interviewed Ministers on the subject in Wellington, the lack of money had been raised as an obstacle. However, the financial position was not now so acute, and they should keep earnestly before them the objective of a place where the boys cf this producing country would be able to gather practical knowledge of agriculture.—(“Hear, hear.”) The Board of Education decided to approach other education boards with a view to agreeing to ask the Government to raise £1,000,000 for educational purposes (says an Auckland Press Association message). The secretary stated that since 1916 the average attendance in the Auckland district had increased from 40,000 to 56,000. Mr M'Phail contended that the local members of Parliament had more influence with the Department than the combined weights of education boards would have. The Chairman said that the Department as a whole treated the Auckland Board well, and the Minister of Education was good to them. Tiie demand for beef in Melbourne, with its large population, has apparently exceeded the supply, and Mr Keith M'Loan, a, wellknown Australian fat stock buyer, who is at present in Now Zealand, has purchased in the neighbourhood of 2000 head of prime. fat bullocks, of which over 1400 have already been shipped to Melbourne. 'ihe cattle w-ere loaded at Wellington, the carrying vessel being the Union Steam Ship Company’s Waihora, which was specially fitted up for the live cargo. The export of so many cattle from New Zealand and the consequent inflow of Australian money is of great benefit to the dominion. The bullocks are being sold at auction in Melbourne, and as they are of excellent quality, the advertisement to New Zealand is a valuable one.

The value of the British fisheries in 1920 was estimated at £29,000,000, declared the Hon. G. M. Thomson, M.L.C., when addressing the Rotary; Club, while Japan, another maritime nation, valued hers at £21,000,000 (reports our Wellington correspondent). The approximate value of the New Zealand fisheries was £385,000. Mr Thomson also pointed out that Britain landed some 1,000,000 tons cf fish annually, while the dominion’s total was 1200 tons. The successful acclimatisation of Atlantic salmon led Mr Thomson to hope that the turbot and the English lobster might yet be found in our waters. The tenth annual report of the New Zealand Public Service Association gives the membership at March 31, 1923, as 5535 (reports our Wellington correspondent). Of these no fewer than 2040 belong to the Wellington Association, £O9 are Aucklanders, 614 appear under the Canterbury heading, and 482 under that of Otago. Farmers in North Taieri arc petitioning Parliament regarding the postal boxes placed on gates on the public roads fronting their properties. They state that the Department has notified them that the boxes must be removed to points a considerable distance — and, in some eases, two miles—from their farms. This will, they sav, cause inconvenience that may result in the theft of letters. They ask (telegraphs our own correspondent) that the boxes be left on their own gates. Mr Bundle, S.M., delivered judgment at Gamaru last week in the case of the Inspector of Awards v. Charles Alexander Symon and others, members of the executive of the Watersiders’ Federation at Gamaru. He nonsuited the inspector. The case against the executive was for not compelling men out of work to accept certain work offering. This upsets the recent decision given at Wellington.

The South Otago Freezing Company’s works at Finegand. which closed down for the season last week, had the same experience as the Southland works, in that the number of stock put through showed a fall-ing-off compared with the 1922 season, and there was also an unusually large percentage of second-grade lambs killed. This is attributable to the wet reason, which prevented the stock fattening. The numbers put through at Finegand were: Sheep and lambs 106,434, compared with 118.155 last season (not including the spring killings). There were 74,716 first quality and 25,217 second qualitv lambs killed, as against 86,73-8 and 23,539 respectively last season. The season just closed at the Makarewa and Mat-aura freezing works has, considering all things, been a good one for the Southland Frozen Meat Company (says the Invercargill Times). The season last year was a phenomenally good one for the frozen meat industry, and it was anticipated that the season just closed would show a decrease in the number of animals dealt with. This has been borne out by the figures for this season, which shows that the numbers dealt with at the Makarewa works were 138,444 sheep and 915 cattle, while at the Makarewa works the figures were 149,000 anxl 101 respectively. Compared with last year tins year’s figures show decreases of 24,000 sheep and 348 cattle. The principal factor accounting for the decrease this year was the continued wet weather and also that the past season was. much shorter in duration, it having commenced on January. 18 and finished at the end of June. At a meeting of the Roa Miners’ Union on Tuesday evening a majority favoured the resumption of work, which was recommended on Wednesday (says a Greymouth Press Association message).

An uncommon incident occurred at the Magistrate’s Court in Auckland recently, when the plaintiff in an affiliation case was a young woman who was a deaf mute, and in the absence of the man concerned it fell on her to prove her unfortunate story. Luckily she had previously written out her evidence, and on being sworn (by writing) she had merely to write down, in reply to a question put in writing, that such story was true. In this manner the evidence was put before the magistrate without loss of time. The court was also assisted by the fact that the man had made admissions to a witness whose speech was unimpaired, and the witness was able to corroborate the girl’s evidence. An order of 20s a week was made, the amount being more than usual because the girl’s physical disabilities decreased her earning opportunities. The police at Birmingham, Alabama, have been baffled by a series of murders committed with an axe. which have resulted in death or serious injury to 36 people. The latest victim is a shopkeeper, who was discovered with his skull crushed by a blow from an s.xe. This brings the death total to 19. An axe with shortened handle was found behind the door. Most of the injured persons have tip to the present refused to prosecute or to co-operate in obtaining convictions. On account of the similarity of the crimes the theory is held that one person or group, possibly drug addicts, is responsible for the atrocities. The Customs duties collected last year amounted to £6,153,972 (telegraphs our Wellington correspondent). The beer duty was £612,143, the light dues £39,698, gold duty £10,537, and meat export levy £33,034. The net collections of Customs duties and other revenue at the main ports were: Auckland, £2,050,917; Wellington, £1,755,448; Lyttelton, £990.535; Dunedin, £907,542; Invercargill, £134,925; Napier, £161,575; and Wanganui, £111,058. The Rev. R. Fairmaid, the well-known philanthropic worker in the south end of the city, received a welcome surprise the other day in the shape of a donation of £lB 13s from the Winton and Oreti Presbyterian Church, Southland, to be used for relief purposes among the poor and needy in the district. At a meeting of dairy company delegates, representing one-third of the companies in New Zealand, the following resolution was carried respecting the Dairy Produce Control Bill (says a Wellington Press Association message) :—“We oppose the whole Bill, but recognise that there is room for an improvement in the present system. With that end in view we are unanimously in favour of immediate legislation providing for the constitution of a Producers’ Board, to be elected by the producers by ballot for a term of three years, the chief function of the board to be arranging all matters appertaining to the shipping and the transit of dairy produce for export, on behalf of the owners, and to constitute an efficient intelligence department.” Erosion is said to be steadily diminishing the area of the flats near the entrance of the harbour. Every winter the south-west wind drives the waters of the harbour against the sandhill formation of the flats, and the sand washes back into the harbour. A resident of that locality estimates that this winter about an acre has been washed away. During the past 12 years erosion has accounted for the loss of Ato or six acres, and the tide at high water now washes across the roadline near the gum trees at the southern end of the flats. The secretary of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers' Association (Mr A. C. Laing) has received the following letter from the officer in charge of the War Accounts Office, Wellington:—“l have been requested by Lieutenant Kenneth W. M. Lowe, whose present address is Societe des Agences Rennies, 42 Rue du Boc, 42 Paris, to ask you to notify former members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force that if they require any help or information that he oould give he would gladly be of assistance. ” This generous offer will no doubt be" availed of by large numbers of returned men who wish to renew their acquaintances with their French comrades beside whom they fought during the Great War. Statistics are valiant destroyers of illusions. It has been widely aocepted that, since the war, the general tendency has been for both men and women to marry later (says the Manchester Guardian). The British Regis-trar-General’s figures for 1921 show that the favourite age for men is 24, and for women 21. Moreover, nearly one-fifth of the persons who married in that year were under 21. W itli the exception of the periods 1915-1920, there has not been so busy a marrying year since 1874. Yet the birth-rate was the lowest since 1837, when the statistics began, again with the exception of the war years—a fact from which two or throe morals not necessarily in agreement with each other, may be drawn. Nor does this end the ’’records” of 1921, for in that year there was again arT increase in the number of divorces. The bad eminence of 1920 in this respect was replaced by the much worse eminence of 1921, when there were 3522 decrees absolute, as against 3090. Hasty war marriages were responsible for many of them. Hurrying into marriage is too often the prelude to hurrying out of it.