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Otago Witness, Issue 3773, 6 July 1926, Page 48

An interesting scheme in the direction of training boy scouts to become successful farmers is being carried out at Te Poi, in the Matamata district, as the result of a proposal which originated from Mr F. G. Southon, who has a large property there (reports the Auckland Star). Mr Southon was for many years a scoutmaster in England, and through his efforts nine lads were sent out to New Zealand under the auspices of the Boy Scouts’ Association of England. Four of the lads are now employed by Mr Southon, and the rest have been placed on other farms in the district. The boys were formerly all members of the First Crowborough (Sussex) Scout Troop. The intention is to give them a thorough experience of practical farming, and, judging by the way that the young immigrants have been shaping, they are expected to make good. A strong band of police constables and warders continued the search on Thursday for William Howell, the youthful Borstal inmate who escaped from custody on Wednesday afternoon. During the night he apparently travelled about 20 miles to Greenhills, where he made a daring visit on Thursday morning to the local store. He was recognised as the “wanted” man. but the residents made no attempt to detain him. and he finally disappeared into the scrub. The search is being continued. The first loan raised by the Christchurch Drainage Board, and the first of its loans to mature, became repayable, and was duly repaid on Wednesday last. The loan amounted to £200.000, and was raised under the board’s Act of 1875, in 1876, at 6 per cent. The sinking fund established in connection with the loan was sufficient to repay it, and to show a margin of a few thousand pounds. Of the total amount borrowed £4400 was held in New Zealand, and the remainder was held in England (states the Press). The repayment of this loan will relieve the ratepayers of the Christchurch drainage district of annual charges of between £13,000 and £14,000, representing interest and sinking fund. When charged in the Auckland Police Court last week with being in a state of intoxication while in charge of a motor lorry, and with negligent driving, William T. Walton pleaded not guilty on the grounds that the symptoms of shock were mistaken for drunkenness, and that the real cause of his collision with a bus was the deceptive nature of the twilight' (says the Auckland Star). He admitted that he had had three drinks after 5 o’clock. He received a shock as the result fif the accident, and considered that this might lead the witness to think that he was intoxicated. The wife of a garage proprietor to whose garage accused went shortly after colliding with a motor bus to arrange for the removal of his lorry, on being called stated that she could not detect any signs of liquor on accused. Fie had a peculiar manner until on? got to know him, said the witness. The Magistrate said that he would give accused the benefit of the doubt on the major charge. This was dismissed. As he had to pay £25 for repairs to his lorry, on the charge of negligent driving he would he convicted and ordered to pay costs. “If he i-» a wise man he will not drink beer when he is driving a car,” added Mr Poynton. A deputation from the Owaka Progress League and Farmers’ Union met the District Railway Traffic Manager (Mr W. I. Hessell), Invercargill, by arrangement on arrival of the train from Balclutlia on Thursday. The x proposals (states the Owaka correspondent of the Free Press), which both parties had previously put forward were discussed, but the traffic manager was not able to hold out much hope of any additional trains being put on. It appears that, especially during the winter, the- passenger traffic is very small, and the revenue derived is not sufficient to meet the cost of running the trains. Mr Hessell admitted that in the latter part of the week the winter service was very poor, but as there appears to be very little prospect of any increase in the passenger traffic he could hardly recommend the running of an extra train. It was pointed out that in pre-war days there was a late train on Saturday nights, which was well patronised. He promised to go into the figures for this train, and if they were satisfactory he said he might consider attaching a carriage to the goods train which now runs nearly every Saturday night from Balclutha to Tahakopa. The running of this train would be more likely to eventuate if the sports bodies, more particularly the footballers, took advantage of it, and played the majority of matches at Balclutha. This might suit the players better than their present arrangement of travelling by motor car to the different centres, which entails a rather heavy expenditure. He thanked the deputation for the very reasonable attitude it had adopted, and assured it that he would do all he could in the interests of the district.

“We have come to & stage when I dislike going on,” said Mr A. Cook, general secretary of the New Zealand Workers’ Union, in the shearers’ and shed hands' dispute in the Arbitration Court on Thursday afternoon (reports the Lyttelton Times). “If this court were a pioperly constituted ring, under the Marquis of Queensberry rules, the towel was been thrown in by the employers. Tins court, not beine a ring, we are, wisely or unwisely, allowed to continue after the towel has been thrown in. It seems to be a caae of the lambe having been delivered. into the hands of the butchers." His Honor: It is a decision on points, not a fight to a finish. Points count here.

In the oases of fraud which from time to time come before the Police Court, there is generally a distinct lack of originality displayed in the methods used by some of the accused. This, however, was not the case with a young man who was brought before the magistrate on Friday on charges of forgery and false pretences. There was nothing stereotyped in hie method of fleecing trusting landlords. For the time being he had assumed the position of Government audit inspector, and a forged telegram found in his possession purported to be from no less a person than the Minister of Finance, commending the accused for his excellent work during the past half-year. Better still was an open envelope, which was handed to the hotel proprietor for safe keeping containing voluminous notes in reference to an extended report on the economic position in New Zealand. It is not anticipated that the economic situation will be altered in any way by this report. The police have it in safe keeping, and it is doubtful whether it will ever be forwarded to the Hon. W. Downie Stewart. Arrangements are now being made for the holding of a World Poultry Congress in the City of Ottawa from July 27 to August 4, 1927. It promises to be the largest international gathering which has taken place in Canada. Before the invitations were issued some 20 countries had already signified their intention of being officially represented. “You might as well expect a man to choose a rattlesnake for a bed-fellow as to expect a unionist to work in harmony with a non-unionist,” said Mr A. Cook, general secretary of the New Zealand Workers’ Union, in the Arbitration Court at Christchurch on Wedneday, when appearing in support of claims advanced by shearers and shed hands (says the Lyttelton Times). “Working in harmony is stipulated in the award, and harmony is impossible. There have been numerous cases of unionists packing their swags rather than work with non-unionists. Now, suppose I were working in a shearing shed alongside my friend Mr J. Roberts (secretary of the New Zealand Alliance of Labour). We would be working under the same conditons, only that Mr Roberts would be paying his union fees in return for the improved conditions, and I, supposedly a non-unionist, would not. I would be getting the advantage of the conditions, and not be paying for them. Could you expect Mr Roberts to work alongside me in harmony and take his turn at sharpening shears on a grindstone with me? Certainly not. It’s more than can be done, and, what’s more, we are not going to do it.” Mr Cook' concluded by urging the Court to grant preference to unionists in the case of pastoral workers. The Public Works Department’s report on the state of the P"ldutha traffic bridge, which was before the Clutha County Council on Tuesday last, contained the following statement. “I would suggest ihe last 15ft beam span and also 13ft span be cut out atogether and filled in and road gr&velled. The protective bank abuts on these spans, and the spans can be cut out and the road filled up more cheaply than by putting in the timber. This will complete the gap in the protective bank. I think the bridge if extremely dangerous with the present traffic. Heavy motors with gross loads up to 12 tons and heavy traction engines with one and two heavilyloaded trucks attached cross the bridge as if they were on a hard, metalled road. To my own knowledge there hoJ been a notice for 11 years restricting loads to eight tons, but it is ignored.” The total cost of repairs was estimated it £6160. The engineer mentioned the possibility of having to reconstruct the bridge in the immediate future, and double its present width, but there is no provision for that in the estimate of cost of the proposed repairs. In establishing the camp for road workers at North Balclutha the Public Works Department neglected to provide firewood for the men (reports our Balclutha correspondent). In consequence the men have been rendered desperate, and anything removable in the ehape of firewood in the vicinity of the camp has been disappearing like snow before the midday sun. The borough foreman’s report, at the meeting ofjhe Balclutha Borough Coundl on Wednesday night last, contained the following sentence: —“About 64 posts and 100 droppers, or the whole length of one fence protecting a ditch in North Balclutha reserve, have been used by Public Works men for firewood; also about two loads of macrocarpa wood from the quarry and a small platform, ladder, and protecting timber at the crusher.” It was also stated that the bunks and wooden floors from unoccupied tents at the camp have been taken, for firewood, and portions of the Bamego settlers’ fences. A councilor (jocularly): It is a good job the Borough Chambers are this side of the river, or they would have removed them piecemeal.—(Laughter.) It was decided that the clerk should write to the district engineer (Mr J. R. Marks) on thd subject, so as to get an undertaking in writing that the damage to the borough’s property would be made good when the camp was struck. Speaking to visitors at the Palmerston North Technical $ School last Tuesday night, Mr R. Edwards said that he viewed with alarm the indications that junior high schools were to be instituted in New Zealand (states the M&nawatu Times). These were not an the least wanted, he said, as the present primary, high, and technical schools were almost perfect, and should not be interfered with. Later, however, Mr W, F. Durward, reassured Mr Edwards on this subject. The junior high school, he said, was an American institution, and, with the American Educational Administration was badly needed. Here in New Zealand, however, the educational administration was different, as the primary school went further than did the Am&ioan, and the high •ohool here picked up where the primary sahool left off. The likelihood of the senior high school being instituted in New Zealand, ha thought, was very remote.

The fine weather early on Sunday morning tempted several fishing parties out to the Reefs, about 16 miles from the Otago Heads. The promise of a beautiful day was not maintained, and tow afterwas not maintained, and towards afterwest, and the fishermen were delayed >n the homeward journey. When the main contingent arrived hack at Port Chalmers it was noticed that two launches had not returned, and it was thought at *he time that they must have hove-to for shelter, and little notice was taken of their absence. At 9 p.m., however, there was no sign of them, and it is feared that the owner* must have encountered trouble. One of the vessels was manned by one fisherman. The practice of imprisoning deserting husbands was described in the annual report of the Auckland Ladies' Benevolent Society as futile under the present system by which the earnings could not be transferred to wives until the term of imprisonment had reached three months (says the New Zealand Herald). “At present it is no good to anybody to send them to gaol,” said the Rev. E. C. Budd. He urged that representations should be made to have the prison regulations amended so that whatever the term of imprisonment, the men should be entitled to the earnings which should be transferred to the wives. It was resolved that the Government be urged that wives be paid some portion if it the whole of the earning* of deserting husbands while in prison. The principle of using profits from trading departments for the easing of rates was questioned very sharply by Cr R. M‘Keen, while speaking at Miramar (says the Wellington Evening Post). The Mayor, he said, had been faced with financial problems and had borrowed l*st year £20,000 from the electric lightir department. This year the £20,000 v. not borrowed, but was taken, confiscated, and the problem was solved. Notwithstanding the greater capital burden upon the department, as a result of the change-over, and the great expenditure upon plant, the lighting, heating, and other rates paid by consumers were sufficient to bring about yearly profits of £20,000 and, this year, £19,000. The principle of using such profits to keep down rates, started by the present Mayor, would, he did not doubt, be carried on in the future. But the principle was wrong; if a reduction was to be made, it should be made to the man and woman most closely connected with the department—namely, the consumers. . Mr A. E. Shrimpton, known in wireless circles as 2XA, reports very interesting results of his recent operations (states the Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times). During a considerable time past he has, at various times heard “carrier waves” which he ws satisfied were those of radio-telephony on short wave lengths, but wa9 unable to resolve them and obtain the speech. He stated on Thursday morning, however, that during the past nine or 10 days he has listened regularly during the hours between 5.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. to perfectly clear and distinct speech transmitted on a wave length which is usually 45 metres, but is sometimes about 30 metres transmitted from 2XG. This is the call of the De Forest Telephone and Telegraph Company, New York. Much of the conversation has related to arrangements for systematic tests with members o ( the American Radio Relay League, the great amateur radio organisation of the United States. Mr Shrimpton has been in communication by wireless with interested American amateurs, but has not yet ascertained what power 2XG is using. He remarks that the speech is remarkably steady, and he hears it with a receiver employing two valves, the usual detector and one stage of amplification. The efficiency of this transmission he suggests is most encouraging to the belief in round-the-world conversation as a practical thing. Officers of local bodies in Canterbury, and presumably in other parts of the Dominion, have not received with any outward manifestations of joy a communication from . the Government Statistician asking for more statistics (says the Press). In order to remedy a long-standing defect in the statistics of production, it has been decided to collect statistical information relating to the building industry, and the co-operation of builders, contractors, and others is asked in the initial collection of such information. The forms to be filled in are imposing, and the informaiton asked for ranges from the value of land and buildings used for workshop purposes, the cost on the job of material used, to a list of the wages paid employees. The return is to be made available to officers of the Forestry Deportment, “who will treat the particulars as confidential as far as individual returns are concerned.” The information is to be supplied by the end of the present month, and there is provision for a penalty of £2O for failing to supply the information desired. Deserted by her husband, who had sold most of their furniture while she was in the Christchurch Hospital, a woman called on Mr R. B. Owen, secretary of the Citizens’ Unemployment Committee on Thursday, and asked that her eon, about 20 years of age, who is now laid up with influenza, should be given employment as soon as he had recovered sufficiently (reports the Lyttelton Times). The woman made no appeal for monetary assistance, but, in reply to questions, she informed Mr Owen that with her son she was occupying two rooms, and that on account of the rent having got into arrears she had just received notice to quit. She had no medicine for her son, but a friend had offered to get some that day. All that she asked for was that her son, who had been a worker in the mines on the West Coast, should be given work ae soon a* he got better in order that they might be able to pay their way. This Mr Owen promised to do, and after, some persuasion the woman aocepWd some financial help. The woman explained that she had been reoeiving some groceries from the Hospital Board, her son hating given woric in aetum for them.