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Otago Witness, Issue 3673, 5 August 1924, Page 3

In a paragraph in last week’s issue it was stated that a unique honour, in that it was the first of its kind, was accorded Mr J. F. Arnold, ex-M.P., and president of the South Canterbury branch of the association, at Wellington recently, when the New Zealand Public Service Association elected him the first honorary life member of the association. We have since been informed that the first life member of the association was the late Mr George Allport (past president), who had the honour of life membership conferred on him in 1919. Louis Hart, the notorious Australian criminal, known as the “Leadlight King," who lately escaped from custody at a Sydney Court, and was afterwards recaptured, has caused further trouble. He had made a boast that he would commit suicide rather than serve the sentence of four years ordered at the time he was declared an habitual criminal. Since his return to Long Bay Penitentiary, a close watch has been kept on Hart’s movements to prevent any repetition of his suicidal attempts. On July 12 it was discovered that-, despite the car© exercised in his case, he had made a fourth attempt on his own life. When his cell was opened at 1 p.m., he was found nursing his right wrist, from which blood was oozing. He was taken at once to the hospital, where the cut —a shallow jagged one —was bound up and the bleeding stopped. Then he was returned to the cell. Hart had partly sharpened the edge of one of the cell utensils by rubbing it on the store floor. With thia blunt edge he had attempted to saw through the flesh and bones to cut liis veins again, but the process must have been too slow and painful, and he was forced to stop. “By the end of this present planting season the State plantations ■will cover 60,500 acres (this year the service is planting 8500 acres which is over five times the average of the years before the establishment of the Forest Service),” said Captain Macintosh Ellis to the Dominion Farmers’ Convention on Friday night. “In five years as large an acreage of plantations has been established as would have taken 14 years under the old regime.” “The annual sale of trees to farmers, settlers, and local bodies by the service has increased eight times since 1919 from 300,000 to 2,500,000 this year and the cost of trees has been reduced by nearly one-half during the same period. Eadh year’s savings and economies in production are passed on to the customers of the service.” A remarkable document was produced in the Auckland Police Court last week in an application for a separation and maintenance order by Alice May Badham against Charles Wain. Badham. The defendant admitted his signature to the following document bearing the name of himself and another woman living at the same address:—“That the contracting parties hereby agree to become married by all lawful rites within three months of Charles Wain Bedham obtaining a divorce from Alice May Badham, each of the parties promising to be true to and to love the other. That in the event of their proceeding to Australia Badham insures for £500.” Defendant, however, denied that he was living with another woman. The magistrate granted the separation order, and ordered Badham to continue paying £3 per week for his wife and four children. As showing the mildness of the present winter, Mrs Williams, of Normanby, has been picking strawberries from her garden, continuously since the end of last season. Mrs Williams showed a Daily Times reporter yeterday a beautiful sample of ripe fruit. * There was about a pound weight of strawberries in the sample. “There is nothing in the modern life & ugly, joy-dispelling, and utterly dismal, as one of our modern burial grounds, which should be places of peace and beauty and rest,” said Mr R. O. Gross, in an address at the Auckland Art Society’s Gallery the other evening. “In no other branch of art have we fallen so far behind; our poverty of idea and lack of appreciation, of the essential are beyond description. Perhaps the idea is to make death and its attendant associations terrible and repulsive. It is no use blaming individuals. The root of the trouble goes deeper than the mason’s yards. It is the lack of inporter on Tuesday a beautiful sample of ripe fruit. There was about a pound weight the blame and responsibility.” The disabilities under which country folk enjoy their pleasures is seldom without ita humorous side (remarks the New Zealand Herald). A dance was held recently at Waimauku, and the problem presented itself to one enthusiast as to how he was to cover the short stretch of mud and holes serving as a road between himself and the township and yet present a respectable figure at the ball. A suitcase, a pair of gum boots, and a bathing costume offered tha solution. The trip was made in the costume and gum boots, the suitcase revealing its contents later on, after a bath had prepared the way for the donning of the evening splendour. It is pleasant to add that the funotion proved one of the most enjoyable and most successful that has been held at Waimauku.

The Customs returns for the month of July, just expired, are as follow: —Met Customs, £73,305 13s, 9d; beer duty, £16,897 Is sd. For July. 1923, the Customs duty was £80,927 16s 2d; beer duty, £16,877 17s Bd. There has been an increase in the ordinary Customs duty of £6722 • the beer duty remaining just about the same. The vital statistics for last month are: Births 123. deaths 105, and. marriages 47 For July of last year the figures were Births 154, deaths 171, and marriages 45. To hear a Taieri farmer on Thursday complaining about the “terrible” weather seemed to a reporter to be rather incongruous. The speaker went on to say how greatly preferable 10 times more content with the present conditions, but it may not have struck him that hard frosts are just as important as warm sunshine and an abundance of rain. Large areas of the Taieri Plain have already been ploughed, and the discs are now contributing their share towards tilling the soil. But, whereas frost breaks up the soil and reduces it to a state which facilitates the work of the harrows, the continual sunshine is making the surface so hard that it cannot be brought to the condition of fineness necessary to give the best results.

Passenger boats from England and America to New Zealand in September are expected by the shipping companies to be well booked up (says an Auckland exchange), as the flow of New Zealand visitors to the Empire Exhibition back again to the dominion is expected to take place I about that time. It is thought that most of the people who left here in time to arrive in England last spring will want to be back here by Christmas; and the passenger trade with Honolulu, which is attracting an increasing number of New Zealanders, promises to reach record figures J between September and November. I At the Auckland Supreme Court the Grand Jury submitted to Mr Justice Stringer the following resolution: —“The jury draws attention to the fact that indecent assaults upon children are still common, and expresses the hope that the administration of justice will be directed towards a reduction of this type of crime, which we feel is a •stigma on the dominion.” His Honor referred to the inquiry into sexual crime which was now proceeding, and said that some useful information might soon be available. Many of the crimes were attributed to menial deficiency.

A deputation from the Otago Motor Club consisting of Messrs W. Wright and A. E. Ansel! waited on the Otago Expansion League to place before it the condition of the Leith-Waitati road. Mr Wright said the league had been already interested in the matter. There was a passable road from the Leith as far as the saddle, and they would like to see the road put in good order right on to Waitati. It made a very fine scenic run, and the latter part of it was now practically impassable for motor traffic. If it were put in order it would considerably relieve the traffic on the Main North road to Waitati and simplify the difficult problem of keeping it in good order. The Motor Club greatly appreciated the courtesies and assistance extended to it by the Expansion League. Mr S. B. Macdonald, president of the league, asked how it was suggested to find the money to put the road in order. Mr Wright said it was desirable in the first place to enlist the sympathies of both the councils concerned, and possibly the Motor Club would give a donation. Ho had no idea approximate'y of what the cost would be, Mr Ansel 1 said that ho felt that it would be a good thing for Dunedin if this beautiful piece of scenery could be made more accessible to visitors. From an Exhibition point of view it would be a great advertisement for Dunedin. Their members were most enthusiastic, and were prepared to contribute a considerable sum. He asked if the league would join the club in sending delegates to the Waikouaiti County Council. He did not think the repairing of. the road would be a very difficult job. There were two bridges, but neither of them was very large. They also desired- the league to join with them in waiting on the City Council. They believed in striking while the iron was hot. The club was actuated by a desire to. further the interests of the whole community. Mr C. Todd suggested that an engineer’s rough estimate of the cost should be first obtained. Mr Macdonald said there was no finer drive than the Leith-Waitati road. He was sure the league would be only too glad to appoint delegates as suggested and to . assist in any possible way. Mr Tamblyn expressed the view that the first thing to be done was to put the Main North road in order. -The president and Mr Todd were appointed to co-operate with the Motor Club in this matter. The directors of a large Auckland business establishment called a meeting to discuss the question of tea-drinking by girls on the staff during working hours. One business man said the tea habit was turning his establishment into a girls’ club. About an hour each day was wasted, if the time spent fiddling with their hair, powdering faces, and manicuring nails was also considered. The easier conditions were made for girls, the slacker they became. Yes, indeed. “Treat em’ rough,” is the motto (says a writer in the Sydney Sun). A man who knocks his typist about will find she will follow him like a dog. Why should a girl have tea, why should she drink at all in the boss’s time? In a properly regulated office a typist or girl clerk would be chained to her desk at 9 a.m., and be released at 5 p.m., having 10 minutes off in the day for a light lunch of bread and water. So that she should not fiddle with her hair it should be cut short, not bobbed, but out right short like a man’s, and if she insisted on manicuring her nails or powdering her face her nails would be extracted, and her face taken off during working hours. A better way would bo to employ men. Men never waste time discussing pony races or women, never run off for a “spot,” never sneak a half-day off, and are always punctual. You never have to speak to a man, he always spells correctly, and acids up accurately. One wishes the Auckland business men well in their attempts to keep the girls humble and obedient. The writer has been trying with one woman all liis life and hasn’t succeeded, but maybe those directors know more about women than he does. The criticism that has rested upon New Zealand, in that it has not appreciated its own painters, but has preferred to purchase inferior paintings by foreign artists (says the Auckland Star), is being lifted by the success of Mr Sydney Thompson, who has recently returned home after spending 13 years in France. His successful sales in Wellington of £BOO worth of pictures and a former exhibition in Christchurch, at which a sum of £7OO was realised, is being further augmented in the latter city, where ho has opened a second exhibition and within three days has disposed of £350 worth of pictures. It was his intention to take the rest of his pictures to Sydnej 7 and hold an exhibition there, but so rapidly have his canvases sold in his own land that nothingwill be left for the Australian public to purchase. Two Auckland men who have left New Zealand for the older world, MiFrank M‘Cracken and Mr John Weeks, are also obtaining success. They have had their pictures accepted by the Scottish Academy. Both exhibited two landscapes in oil, which have been well spoken of by the critics. “The time for little wooden churches in both town and country is gone,” said Archbishop Julius in the course of his sermon at the new church of St. James, Lower Riecarton, Christchurch, when complimenting the people of the parish on erecting such a. substantial stone building. The Archbishop added that wooden churches were net abiding, and the times:had come when they should build nobler structures, as their fathers had done in the Old Land. The previous church in the Lower Riccarton parish had been destroyed by fire. “Wooden churches ought to be destroyed by fire or in some other way,” the Archbishop added. Deer came in for unpleasant mention by Mr L. Macintosh Ellis, Director of Forestry, in the course of his address to tha Farmers’ Union conference (says a northern exchange). “The deer menace,” he said, “t----the forests and to pastoral lands has been tackled, and a beginning made in bringing this vermin under reasonable control.” He had a good word, however, for the native birds, and summed up his views in a piefor “the complete elimination of the deer and wild pig pests, and the conservation of our bird life so essential to the perpetuation of the indigenous forests,”

“Travellers in this country should not complain of the railways,” said Mr J. B. Merrett to a representative of the Daily Times on Thursday. “While ' our railways lack the speed and comforts of the English ami Continental railways, there are none so good in the facilities provided for the receipt and despatch of telegrams from travellers. Nowhere in the 10 countries I recently visited can you get so good a meal, even at double the price charged in our station diningrooms, while the fares compare 'favourably with the best. There is less anxiety over luggage in New Zealand than anywhere I have visited.” “I dislike hearing New Zealand belittled in matters in which it excels,” said Mr J. B. Merrett during his recent visit to Dunedin. “I hear of New Zealand’s exhibit at Wembley being decried. It certainly stands in an isolated position anc has not the advantage of proximity with other pavilions. -Still, it is a practical display. The goods are not shown ns artistically as they might be, though they show what New Zealand can produce. Let any critic tell us where there is a better display of frozen meat, butter, cheese, and wool. New Zealand excels all the other countries in these things Again, where is there a better booklet- than ‘New Zealand in 1924-?’ It is the most compact, best written, and illustrated booklet in the whole of the British Empire Exhibition. The New Zealand re-

presentatives in charge of the dominion s section arrived late, and even two months after the opening it was incomplete. Little weaknesses are gradually being rectified. The dominion lost a chance in not having a working exhibit of milking machines as there is not one in the whole of the exhibition.” The Marlborough Banners’ Union has resolved that the secretary shall inquire into the position in regard to the inspection of internal combustion engines used on farms, as, in the opinion of the executive, it is unnecessary to insist upon an inspection. In moving the motion (says the Express) Mr Ferguson said it was ridiculous to think ' hat a small, low horse-powered petrol engine used a fevv hours —or days, perhaps—a year, should have to be inspected annually at the cost of the farmer by a Government official, while the high-powered motor cars which were used every day and held a greater risk, were not subject to supervision. Inspection was all very well in the days of tlio steam engine, but now, with the safe motor engine, it was obsolete and only served to keep a host of inspectors in jobs at great expense to the country and annoyance to the farmers. In the course of discussion several members agreed that it was perfectly right that all engines should bo inspected after installation' to ensure that they were properly protected.

“Parliament, looked at through the spectacles of the average elector, is an extraordinary place,” remarked the Mayor of Wellington (Mr R. A. Wright, M.P.), at the official dinner to the All Blacks (says the Post). “The average citizen thinks that politicians are rail-sitters and twisters, and that time in the House is wasted. It is absolutely impossible for public men to go through their publio career without changing their minds. Publio opinion changes, and varies from point to point without at times any reason at ail. That fact U often forgotten.” He considered that in the New Zealand Parliament to-day there were fewer “rail-sitters” and “twisters” than in any other Parliament in the world. “The man who complains about the High Commissioner’s Office in London must he hard to please,” said Mr Merrett in an interview on Thursday. “Some, no doubt, expect the whole staff to give up work and dance attendance on them. I met with every courtesy and attention; in fact, the hearty co-operation of Sir James Allen and Mr Crabbe (the secretary) enabled me to achieve what I desired in my mission in half the time I would otherwise have taken. I think matters might be improved if the work were divided. Sir James Allen’s time is so occupied with social, diplomatic, and Government affairs that he cannot ’give as much attention to produce matters as he should. We ought to have a representative to relieve him of this department, one who could give his whole time to die marketing conditions of the dominion’s produce.”