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Otago Witness, Issue 3958, 21 January 1930, Page 46

It has been definitely settled that the Maui Pomare will not call at Dunedin on her present trip to the Dominion. The agents of the vessel (Messrs Tapley and Co.) have informed us that a wireless message had been sent to the Maui Pomare, which accordingly altered her course to YY’ellington, where she arrived late on Sunday’ afternoon. The vessel will reach Lyttelton to-day, and the Dunedin shipment of fruit on board will come south on YY’ednesday.

Speaking at the teachers’ summer school at New Plymouth, Mr H. Atmore (Minister of Education) said that one of the reforms in education that must be made was the reduction in the size of classes. He wanted it to be said that every scholar was known to the teacher—not merely that classes were rows of faces, or names in a register, but that personal and individual training could be given to each child, and that the remaining years of school life must proceed along the line that was calculated to give the best results. He was confident something worth while would come out of the Parliamentary Committee’s deliberations, which could be put into effect in a way which would make the Dominion lead the world in education as it had in humane and social legislation in days gone by. He thought they would be able to place the New Zealand system in the forefront of the systems of the world, by bringing its system more into relation with the requirements of the life of the people. Strange are the uses of chewing gum. On a recent evening at the YY’estern Springs speedway (says the Auckland Star), Harry Mangham, the well-known speed demon, discovered to his dismay that the petrol tank of his high-powered motor cycle had been punctured on the steamer which brought the machine f'om Australia, where it had carried its rider in a series of most successful races. Only a few minutes remained before the start of an important race, and Mangham bad no means of mending the tank in a permanent fashion. Among the friends who came to his assistance was a young man with a bright idea and an abundant supply of chewing gum. The sticky confection was distributed round the circle in generous measure, and soon Mangham and his friends were chewing vigorously. As each helper masticated the gum and reduced it to a pulpy mess, he would remove the clot from his mouth and slap it over the hole in the tank. Soon the puncture was covered, and the coating of gum was bound to the tank with strips of adhesive tape. Petrol was poured, and Mangham made off round the cinder track in high glee.

Some years ago wharf labourers in Hamburg were kept cheerful at their work by means of judiciously apportioned rations of gin. This interesting piece of information comes from a former deepsea skipper now resident in Auckland (says the Sun). He speaks further of what many may regard as the world’s best job—that of the man who distributes the gin. Hour after hour, throughout the eight days the informant was taking on cargo at the German port, men tramped about among the gangs of labourers, each with a large demijohn of square gin strapped about his shoulders. He carried a graduated glass from which all took their nip. little caring that the glass passed from lips to lips without any cleansing save by the horny hand of the drinker. YY hen he had served every man the “ gin-man ” replenished his supplies and started on another round. Each shift of workers had its official supplier of liquor. Lest this reminiscence should, precipitate a migration of wharf labourers to share the idyllic conditions enjoyed by the workers at Hamburg, it had better be made quite clear that the skipper who gave the information had not been at the port for many years and conditions may well have changed. The Aucklander recalled that his ship used to run grain from Newport News to Hamburg, carrying back beet sugar. The cargo of 5000 tons was put out in eight days of continuous work, and the winches never stopped during that time. In reference to the young sea lion at Auckland Zoo, it appears (says a Press Association telegram from YY’ellington) that this is not the first born in capti\ ity in New Zealand. Three have been born at the YY’ellington Zoo—in 1912. 1914, and 191 <. Strange to say. young sea lions have to be taught by their mothers to swim. Two of the YY ellington ones were drowned. After the first drowning. a man was told off to watch the second until it had learned to swim, but during his absence for some reason, the tragedy occurred. The third was lost through the death of its mother, the mother being, as a matter of fact, killed by her mate when enraged at her entering the water when another male was swimming there. An attempt to rear the baby on the bottle was unsuccessful.

The extreme care of the Japanese for cleanliness was stressed by Dr P. Marshall at the teachers’ summer school. New Plymouth, the other evening (states the Taranaki Daily News). At a hotel in the country’ he had managed after some difficulty to make the maid understand that he wanted a bath. She led him through long passages until they came to a place where there was a considerable amount of steam and hot water. She pushed him through and followed. There w r as a man in there as well. The two of them then set to work, undressed him and scrubbed him thoroughly. After he had been thoroughly scrubbed, he was allowed to get into the bath. “ I think,” he added, “ that with their extreme passion for cleanliness they were making sure that the bath water would not get dirty.”

Speaking at a public meeting convened by the Upper Clutha Progressive League held in Cromwell, Mr J. L. Stewart Wright urged Mr Bodkin, M.P., that he should represent to the general manager of railways the inefficiency’ of the service at present supplied. He quoted a recent trip from Dunedin which he had made by train. Dunedin was left at 7.40 a.m., Cromwell (a distance of 155 miles) w r as reached in 11 j hours. “No wonder,” said Mr YY right, “ the motor services were so well patronised.” Mr Robert Orr immediately rose to say that the Central Otago train was mentioned in the Bible, and quoted “God made all things, creeping and crawling.”

The appointment of Mr Duncan M Lennan as a member of the Otago Land Board is notified in the latest issue of the New Zealand Gazette.

On June 21 of last year a man named Henry Alexander Yorston, aged 35 years, was found lying dead in a drain containing a few inches of water in the Kaikorai Y alley, and at the inquest the coroner brought in a verdict that the deceased had died from exhaustion. The parents of the deceased, however, apparently considered that some other agencies had caused the death of their son, and engaged an inquiry agent to go into the matter. The agent finally obtained permission from the Minister of Health, Mr A. J. Stallworthy, to have the body, which had been buried at Anderson's Bay. exhumed. The exhumation took place on YY ednesday, and the body’ was removed to the Morgue. Here it was examined by Dr D’Ath, who found, however, that it was practically impossible to come to any conclusions owing to the decomposed state of the remains. Dr D'Ath removed the contents of the stomach, and these may be analysed if it is considered necessary. There wore also present at the Morgue Drs de Lautour, Grcenslade, Marshal Macdonald.

and Dr G. Barnett (acting police surgeon). Representatives of the Police Department were also in attendance. The

body was afterwards rointerrcl at *hc Anderson’s Bay Cemetery. According to information which is baseu i,u undoubted authority, it would appear that the reasons which prompted the exhumation of the bad.v are rather peculiar. ’J lie position is. apparently, that a close relative of the deceased had consulted a person wiio cl.limed to have a knowledge of things not revealed to the ordinary mortal, and that she stated that the deceased had not met his death under the circumstances disclosed by the evidence at the inquest This evidence went to show that the cause of death was exhaustion brought about by exposure, and the coroner (Mill. YY’. Bundle) returned a verdict to that effect.

Six firemen off the steamer Mahia, which sailed from Lyttelton for London on Thursday afternoon, had to be escorted by the police in a launch to the ship which waited in the stream (says the Christchurch Times). At 3 p.m. the ship sounded her siren as a warning of her impending departure, but the six firemen took no notice of it. YY’ord was sent to the police station and four men were sent out to search. They did not have to look far, but the job of getting the men down to the launch proved more difficult Persuasion had little effect on the men. so force hail to be used. The escorts finally cornered the firemen in the Shaw. Savill and Albion Company's office, but they refused to go aboard the launch, so they were forced into it, one at a time. Before the launch cast off, the men rushed the escort, but they were overpowered. They were bristling with bottles of beer and on the way out much liquor was consumed. The police took the precaution of throwing the “ empties ” overboard in case they shoudl be used as weapons against them. YY hen the launch reached the Mahia, the crew lined up along the rail and jeered at the officers of the law. Evidently realising that they were then on the high seas, the firemen boarded the ship without trouble.

Full membership of the Commercial Travellers’ Association has been extended to the Governor-General (Sir Charles Fergusson). At a farewell gathering last night, the president (Mr Arthur Jacobs) presented the badge of the association to his Excellency, and in doing so said that they had a membership of 5000 in Nev’ Zealand, and it was the wish of them all that Sir Charles should be one of them. His Excellency, in replying, announced that it was his birthday, which brought forth a spontaneous outburst of cheering and good wishes.

Some time ago a company known as YY estern 1- isheries, Ltd., was formed in Dunedin to exploit the fishing grounds in the YY’est Coast Sounds, and for this purpose it purchased the well-known coastal trader Stella. The vessel was fitted out at great expense with freezing chambers for the storage of the catches, and a second purchase was made of the large launch Mahoe, which the company intended to use to take the fish to Bluff, whence a large proportion was to be shipped to Australia. Tire Stella was towed by one of the Union Steam Ship Company's vessels to Dusky Sound, where it now lies at anchor. The expectations of the company were not realised, and it recently went into liquidation. On Friday the vesssels were sold at auction on behalf of the liquidators by Messrs Alexander Harris, Ltd., the purchaser being Mr J. Lindsay, a local merchant. The purchase, it is understood, was made on behalf of a syndicate which intends to carry on the business.

It is expected that the inquest on the bodies of the two men who were killed in the motor accident on the Lower Portobello road on New Year’s Day will be held in about a fortnight's time. One of the men who was injured is still in hospital, and the inquest will necessarily be held up until he is discharged.

“ YY'ith its attendant evils, price-cutting has been prevalent, from the North Cape to the Bluff in the past year,” said the retiring president (Mr A. YV. Anderson), in his annual report to the Master Grocers’ Federation at Christchurch. “YVhilst the evils resulting from pricecutting are always in evidence, I would venture to express a hope that as there are lessons to learn, members of our affiliated associations will take advantage of a survey of business conditions with a •view to seeing how they can he best improved. so that out of evil good may come. In my humble opinion, one great lesson resulting from the prevalence of pricecutting is the added emphasis which it gives to the importance of our association movement, and the urgent need for closer co-operation amongst members of the trade throughout the Dominion, Hitherto there has been a tendency on the part of many grocers to consider themselves able to paddle their own canoes and their failure to realise their, responsibility in regard to their fellowtraders has invariably been to the detriment of their own business.”

The assistance of nurserymen in encouraging the planting of berry-bear: ng trees so as to provide food for native birds was sought by Mr L. 0. 11. Tripp in an address to the conference of the Horticultural Trades Association. MrTripp. who is president of both the YY’ellington Acclimatisation Society and the New Zealand Association of Acclimatisation Societies, referred to the depredations of the stoat, weasel, and hedgehog, but. in spite of this, he expressed the hope that everything possible would be done to increase the food supply for the birds. It was economically sound to suggest that in the case of fire breaks on the outskirts of forestry plantations they be planted with trees —particularly native trees —which would supply food for the birds. Not only would the birds have protection, but they would eat the pests that attacked the forestry plantations. Mr Tripp suggested that when nurserymen issued their catalogues they should give the names of trees, exotic and native, particularly native, that would be suitable for providing such a food supply.

According to an incident related at the meeting of the New Zealand Flaxmillers’ Association at Foxton. last week, strikes from the earliest times have characterised this industry (states a northern exchange). Many years ago, when the industry was in its infamy, a veteran milletnow resident in the Foxton district, opened a mill at the head of Lake YY’anaka in the South Island. The mill was supplied by an excellent vallej’ of flax and men were engaged to cut the green blade at a figure in the vicinity of 5s per ton. They started all right, but it was not long before they decided to strike for higher pay as they considered it impossible to cut a ton a day. YY'hen the miller heard of the matter he met the men and told them he could easily cut two tons of flax a day, and there was no reason why they could not do the same. The men took him at his word and challenged him to try his hand at the hook. Although he had not cut flax for some years, he took off his coat and in five and a-half hours had cut two tons of the green blade. Having proved his statement, the men were quite prepared to return to their cutting at the figure stated, and the strike was called off.

The position of the child endowment scheme in New South YY’ales was mentioned by Mr Justice Piddington, when he passed through Christchurch on his way to YY’ellington. His Honor said that as a result of State legislation last month the current living wage had been reduced by 2s 6d a week, while the endowment for children, coming within the scope of the Family Endowment Act, now was limited to children beyond the first child, and. with that limitation, was retained at 5s a week, in respect to the second and the succeeding children. Ask'ed as to the method of financing the family endowment in New South YY’ales, Mr Justice Piddington said that the percentage tax on the wages bill of all employers had been found to be a great deal more remunerative than was at first expected by experts who examined the position before the Act was passed. The reason for that was that the total sum paid in salaries throughout the State far exceeded the estimated sum in actual practice. The present system of family endowment, as recently reduced in New South YY’ales, could be financed with a tax of slightly more than J per cent, on the wages bill, so that the only additional burden to industry would be that where an employer's wages bill ran into, say, £lOO a year, the addition of the tax would increase it to £lOO 10s. and so on in proportion. YY’ith a male living wage of £4 2s 6d, the additional burden is the equivalent of about 5d per week added to the living wage as far as those living wage-earners are concerned. The reason for the lightness of the burden is the immense catchment area, the total wages bill of New South. YY’ales having turned out to bo £170,000,000 per annum. The bush along ths coastal road is presenting a fine spectacle at. present (saya the Grey River Argus). The rata growth is very luxuriant and the crimson biossom a decidedly picturesque contrast against its more sombre background.