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Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 27

A statement by Mr W. J. Jordan. M.P., that an Auckland firm’s contract for the supply of window frames for the Auckland railway station had been refused because its contract price was £5OO above that of the successful tenderer, an overseas firm, was contradicted by the Minister of Railways (Dlr W. A. Veitch). Mr Veitch said that Mr Jordan was wrong as to the facts. The amounts quoted by him as being contract prices were erroneous, and the difference between the lowest overseas tender and tlie local tender was slightly over £2200. Even after taking into account the amount of preference allowed by the Government in comparing local and overseas prices. 25 per cent., the local tender still did not compare favourably with the overseas tender. While it was the deliberate policy of the Government to give preference wherever reasonably possible to local manufacturers, there must be a limit to what could be done in this direction. The contract in question had been very carefully considered by Cabinet, and it had been decided that the margin of the local tender over that of the overseas tender was too great. The accepted tender was from a British firm. “ Our girls’ schools are just about as wrong as any part of our education system can possibly be,” said Professor Shelley at the Parents’ National Educational Union the other evening (says the Christchurch Press). “ The opinion is given after 20 years’ consideration, and it is agreed to by most of the advanced educational authorities of the world. If anybody does not believe that our education of young girls is wrong, let him look at the New Zealand statistics of births, marriages, and divorces. It is easy to blame the events on the previous few months, in each case, but the cause lies years back in the failure to educate for control of emotion, which cannot be achieved by repressing it or damming it up.”