WELLINGTON. ROUND ABOUT

Otago Witness, Issue 3861, 13 March 1928, Page 34

WELLINGTON. ROUND ABOUT

By Pencarrow. (Special fob ths Otago Witness.) rm, . March 8. lhe weather is vile, but the country benefits so good citizens should not comp.ain. Yet they do, for with the rmn has come the end of summer time (Sidey variety), and the young things of this community have opportunities to ehat, for many a game of tennis is spoil*—and daylight fades so soon. It is argued by them that daylight saving should have continued till Easter, for here—at least, as a rule—the weather is good at this Season, and given daylight there is opportunity for good tennis in the -late afternoons. The papers are full of letters from correspondents who are not all supporters of Mr T. K. Sidey and what they call his ‘ ewe lamb.” We suspect that these letters come from the country—and with the farmers who find it necessary to work early and late even thoughtless townsfolk sympathise. But summer time is Mi Sidey’s funeral, not ours, so, being human, we just go ahead, thankful on the whole that the experiment has been tried, and hopeful that it may continue. We did not hear the city clocks being altered last Saturday night, so presumably the strike was muted. The post office clock has a very pretty chime which E-ark. the quarter hours. The words of the chimes have this week been published at the request of a country resident, who, like the rest of us, has evidently wondered occasionally, but who has had the energy to make inquiries— All through this hour, Lord, be our guide, And by Thy power No foot shall slide. * * * Extra money will soon be needed for the carillon bells, now being cast at Croydon (England). A public appeal will be made. These bells will ring from the tower which is to be built on the Mount Cook site recently presented to the city by the Government for memorial purposes. The City Memorial Committee has not yet arrived at a definite conclusion, but is awaiting a report from its Advisory Committee before deciding to place our silent memorial at the south end of Kent terrace, as advised by Mr Hurst Seager, who has public opinion behind him. During this last week the Wellington College Old Boys’ Memorial Hall was opened by his Excellency the GovernorGeneral. It was a great occasion, long anticipated. A company of Old Boys, some few of the two thousand who saw service during the war, paraded for inspection. Dr J. S. Elliott presided at the opening ceremony, and among the distinguished people on the platform was Mr Firth, the veteran and loved headmaster during many fateful years, and wh< retired some years ago. His Excellency was in uniform. His brief and very beautiful address was characteristic. He spoke of self-sacrifice, urging the boys of the school to remember that the supreme glory of dfe is in giving, not getting, and that one form of greatness exceeds all others—that of giving, of service, and of love. In recalling the self-sacrifice of those m whose memory this hall is built, his Excellency urged the boys to follow in their footsteps by developing the spirit of selfsacrifice. so that they, too, would be commemorated “ not only by the tablets and inscriptions in their Dative lands, and in foreign lands, but in the hearts of men.” * * * His Uxcellency the Governor General, on March 1, also opened the great new block of Wellington Hospital, which we believe is the most modernly-equipped place of its kind in New Zealand. The memorable occasion was suitably marked, anil a great crowd of invited guests—representative people—had the pleasure of hearing yet another thoughtful speech from one who never fails to rise to an occasion. During the course of that speech his Excellency referred to two classes of sufferers not always so much under the public eye as are the patients in our general hospitals—the mental cases and those who suffer from tuberculosis. It is

bis Excellency’s most earnest desire that still more shall be done for these people, and he believes that given proper and sufficient facilities for the work tuberculosis can be stamped out of New Zealand, and that very much mental suffering can bo prevented if it is detected and treated in its earliest stages. The retiring superintendent of Wellington Hospital, Dr D. M. Wilson, recently visited America, whence he returned with valuable ideas which have been used in the construction of this most wonderful building, the doors of which will now be open continuously. It covers nearly two acres of ground, and provides one and a-half acres of floor .space. Its equipment is regarded as perfect. It so happens that this week notice is drawn to the post-graduate coarse for nurses which is now available here. The institution of this course spells progress. The object is to train fully-qualified and suitable nurses as tutor sisters. Two lady instructors have recently returned from England and Canada, where theyhave been preparing for their work, and they are now ready for the nurses who are about to take the course, and who have come from all parts of the Dominion. These students will attend university classes, and have many opportunities for amassing knowledge and experience.