PASSING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 4006, 23 December 1930, Page 3

PASSING NOTES.

Whatever the difference between the Reform political platform and the United political platform may have been in the bad old days of 1928 and 1929, it would not be difficult in these years of grace, 1930 and 1931, to bring to bear upon the rival structure the geometrical test of identity. If Euclid himself were alive to-day, scratching his figures with his Egyptian stick on New Zealand sand, he might well mutter to himself: “For if the polygon O.R.P.P. (old Reform political platform) be superposed »on the N.U.P.P. (New United political platform), so that the point R shall coincide with the point U, and the line R.P. ‘ with the line U.P. .” And he would prove to his own satisfaction, by reductio ad absurdum, that the whole figure O.R.P.P. must coincide at every point with the figure concealed beneath it. If it doesn’t, the whole thing is damnably absurd. For this reason, every elector whose sleep o’ nights is disturbed by nightmare thoughts of the present economic straits of the Dominion looks to

political fusion as his only pillow of rest. He hopes that the suggestion dropped by Mr Downie Stewart will be as a mustard seed—to spring up and flourish very soon, as the Irishman said, as a green bay tree. For a national crisis we require a National Government. The Labour Brahmins, who seem for unaccountable reasons to regard themselves as Untouchables, will still stand aloof, and arrogate to themselves a monopoly of ideals and virtues. Why fiddle on this string, or on any other string, while the city is burning?

Let no one imagine that appeals for rationalisation of dress are directed solely to women. There are signs that the male worm is turning. Says an American review:— The craze for shorts has now reached several men’s colleges. May it grow—as an entirely defensible mode of attire for young men in warm weather, outside the cities. We ourselves. at the risk of again being accused of Bolshevism, would like to put in a word for the Russian blouse for men. Women have long worn it —in adaptations. For men there is no garment comparable to it in comfort; for it does away with coat, vest, collar, and necktie, conceals the belt, and removes the reproach of appearing in shirt sleeves. Only one thing stands in the way of its immediate acceptance,—that it goes over the trousers instead of inside, —which to the American smacks of the exposed shirt-tails of the Oriental. But this method of wearing the blouse is one reason why it is so cool. It looks extremely well on al] but stout men. If only a few hundred college men would don it, as they have the shorts, we believe the victory would be won. Against the wearing of shorts in our short summer weather, the weak understanding of man can present only two arguments—both usually shaky and unreliable. These are the right and left leg. In spite of Communistic doctrines, all men are not born equal. As a standardiser of the male leg the trouser is the world’s greatest hypocrite. And for this part of male attire the sole raison d’etre, fons et origo, causa causans, primum mobile is the fact that it covers a multitude of sins. The wearing of trouser legs is an economic waste. The time spent in straightening and creasing should in these times be devoted to productive labour. Under the tyranny of fashion a man is judged by his trousers. He is, therefore, compelled to live down to his lower limbs, and many a decent citizen with fairly high aspirations has become a slave to his pants. But a Russian blouse worn loose over shorts! Heavens! The blouse might be white.

What man among us does not feel at times that a sure memory must be one of the attributes of divinity—that it is a gift direct from Heaven—that, like the soul, “it hath elsewhere its setting and cometh from afar”? It is one of the strands of those clouds of glory which we trail with us into this world. And—to continue this Wordsworthian imagery —a poor memory is one of the shades of the prison house that soon begin to close round us. For this reason, the platform speaker who cannot bring a quotation at once to heel, or who, on occasions, makes a wrong allocation of authorship, merits our commiseration rather than our derision. And were it not for the fact that Mr Baldwin’s admirers sometimes suggest that he is more at home in literature than in politics, his following lapse of memory would not be at all amusing. Says a writer in a recent English weekly :— An amusing commentary on the neglect of Tennyson is provided from two quarters this week. Mr Baldwin, in his St. Andrews address, re- •

ferred to the saying “ Knowledge comes but Wisdom lingers ” as an “old saw.” And when I asked a Scotsman where the line occurs he told me “ the Proverbs ” — a real complement to “ Locksley Hall.” The other instance is from a charming brochure carrying distinguished names, which appeals tor support for a new sailing ship society, to be called the Sea Lion. Four lines quoted from “ Hands all round "’ are credited to Rudyard Kipling. The auctioneer in “The Mill on the Floss,” we are told, had brought away with him from the Great Mudport Free School “ a sense of understanding Latin generally, though his comprehension of any particular Latin was not ready.” Change “ Latin ” to “ poetry,” and this description of auctioneer scholarship applies to all of us.

Examples of similar misquotation or misallocation are not far to seek. G. W. E. Russell gives a few. A favourite type is the ascription of any biblicallysounding sentiment to an imaginary scripture. “ His end was peace,” carefully enshrined within inverted commas, appears on many a tombstone as a scriptural quotation. And “Not lost but gone before.” And “In the midst of life we are in death.” Many attribute to Solomon the phrase “He tempers the wind ‘o the shorn lamb.” Mrs Gamp’s misquotations almost transcend their originals; thus, “ Rich folk may ride on camels, but it ain’t st easy for ’em to see out of a needle’s eye.” At an Oxfdrd examination a student was given the quotation “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” He was asked, “ Who said this, and under what circumstances? ” His answer was, “ Agag, when he was hewn in pieces.” For the concealment of ignorance there are many devices: —

* Mr James Payn used to tell a pleasing tale of a learned gentleman who quoted Greek at dinner. The lady who was sitting by Mr Payn inquired in a whisper what one of these quotations meant. He gave her to understand, _ with a well-assumed blush, that it was scarcely fit for a lady’s ear. “Good heavens!” she exclaimed, “you don’t mean to say ” “Please don’t ask any more," said Payn pleadingly, “ I really could not tell you." Which was true to the ear, if not to the sense. A newly-elected Mayor, in returning thanks for his elevation, said that during his year of office he would lay aside all his political prepossessions and be “ liki Caesar's wife, all things to all men.” Another Mayor, a pompous leading citizen of a little English seaside town, erected some iron benches on the seafront Each bore the inscription: “ Presented by Joseph Buggins, Esq., J.P., to the Borough. ‘The sea is his and he made it.’ ” An old peasant woman of Buckinghamshire, extolling the merits of her favourite curate, said to the rector, “ I do say that Mr Woods is quite an angel in sheep’s clothing.” The more you think of this last, the more sensible and penetrating it becomes.

Dear “ Civis,”—The production of the pantomime “ Cinderella ” by a local operatic society inspires me to seek such information as will forestall the inevitable queries of my young inquiring daughter, aged eight. “Why was Cinderella’s slipper made of glass? How did they make it of glass? Would not glass be uncomfortable? ’’ Can you enlighten me on the point? Pater. The “ glass-slipper ” fallacy is deeply rooted. The original “ Cinder Girl ” wore a fur slipper—a much more sensible foot-gear for a northern winter’s night. And the soft-gliding of a fur slipper is much more attractive than the pattering and clip-clopping of a

slipper of solid glass. ’Tis for this reason that the modern Cinderella who steals out to a dance at night clambers down the fire-escape wearing rubbers. The explanation of the “ glass-slipper ” mistake opens up a whole vista of medieval confusions and misconceptions. In the French version Cinderella wore “ pantoufles en vair.” From this to “ Pantoufles en verre ” is but a step, and fur was changed to glass. By another mistake “ vair,” literally meaning “ variegated,” from Latin “ varius,” became confused with “ vert,” meaning “ green.” And no one knows to this day whether the heroines of medieval romances whose eyes . were “ vairs ” had flashing eyes or piercing eyes, or eyes of grey, bluegrey, or green. By a further extension grey fur received the name “ vair.” In those old days even the bravest of canopied knights and even the fairest of fair ladies had no secondary education available, and their spelling would not have given them a proficiency certificate. But in knowledge of the colour of ladies’ eyes and the shape and texture of ladies’ slippers even the poorest disinherited knight was an expert.

A correspondent sends me an extract from the scrapbook of an English monthly:— Subserviency of nurses to doctors—meaning exaggerated hospital etiquette —was attacked by Miss Effie Taylor, professor of nursing and superintendent of Yale University’s school of nursing, before the League of Nursing Education at its annual conference in Atlantic City. Miss Taylor described this white-capped subservience as a relic of the Dark Ages, alleging that only persons with an inferiority complex would adopt it unquestioningly. A much over-worked term is this newfangled “ inferiority complex.” The psychology of my school days knew not the phrase—and yet “ the world went very well then.” Evidently we are each of us born with an inferiority complex or a superiority complex, according as our custom is to look at our fellows up our brows or down our noses. But that nurses are born with an “ inferiority ” complex, is a new one on me. Recollections of my own patient days credit them with a decided complex of superiority, which threw at the time a pleasant atmosphere of confidence over my apologetic feeling of inferiority. With which complex was I born? Goodness knows. I am like the hare in the old fable—and if any creature is entitled to an inferiority complex it is the unfortunate timid hare. Hunted here, hunted there, running in terror from every noise and movement, he one day approached the border of a swamp. Immediately, myriads of frogs scuttled in fright to their deep abodes. “Ho Ho. ” exclaimed the hare, “ I strike terror into a whole section of creation. I am a thunderbolt of war. ” Have nurses, have patients, have even doctors an inferiority complex or one of superiority? It all depends. Most of us vary day by day, hour by hour, from the worm to the thunderbolt of war. It all depends.

From an old friend: Dear “ Civis,” —I am constrained to break a rule I have set myself, not to address you more than once a quarter. This constraint is put upon me by the announcement that the authorities in Wellington have decided to rename a portion of that scenic reserve, known affectionately to Wellingtonians as Wilton’s Bush. The name chosen is “ Bledisloe Gorge.” There seems to me something terrifying in the juxtaposition of these two names. What would Mathew Arnold have thought of such a cacophony? You. will doubtless recall his essay in which he mentions the unfortunate Ragg. Of course it is suitable that the name of our present Governor-General should be perpetuated, but not in conjunction with a “gorge.” The name, illustrious as it is, is from a purely aesthetic point of view a difficult one to fit into the landscape. Is there no pleasaunee, or demesne, no peak or water, lake, or fiord, that could be associated with this somewhat untractable name? Discipulus. The ideas expressed by “ Discipulus ” jump with mine. Though etymologically “ gorge ” means a gurgitating whirlpool, it has acquired unpleasant associations with a gurgitating human throat. Its further extension of meaning to a narrow passage in external nature is a natural transition. The word itself is ineuphonic. His Excellency’s name, too, has a difficult conjunction of consonants. My experience of old English names is that they are rarely pronounced as spelt. I should therefore have expected the name to sound as Bisley, or Blaze, or Bell. Unless a question of precedence is involved, I should suggest a common noun that could precede the proper. Mount Bledisloe would sound quite right. Civis.

Mr H. S. Steffan, hunter and taxidermist, of Oamaru tells an amusing tale of the old days at Mount Cook, where he was once a guide. While the Governor of the time was camping at Governor's Bush, near where the Hermitage now stands, a case of champagne wag missed. It was generally believed that the robber had hidden his loot in the bush and been unable to rescue it from there. “Nobody seemed very sure about it,” said Mr Steffan, “but the rumour was enough for us. Whenever we guides had time off, or the weather was wet, we used to go up and hunt for the champagne. That was 25 years ago, and Governor’s Bush still holds its buried treasure.”

The Rotary Club in Christchurch organised a street collection on Friday to provide Christinas cheer for the poor of the city. A total sum of £995 was realised (says a Press Association telegram. Of this, club members and friends subscribed £315, an organ recital by Dr Edgar Ford raised £35, and £645 was collected on the streets.

His Honor, Mr Justice Kennedy, has granted probate in the tollowing deceased estates: —Richard Talbot Davis (Mr W. R. Brugh); Nellie Elizabeth Douglass, Waikouaiti (Mr A. N. Haggitt); Robert Ross M‘Donald (Mr A. J. Dowling) ; Samuel Young (Mr E. E. Collier); Lye Bow. Alexandra (Mr D. A. Solomon); Samuel English M'Craeken (Mr John Wilkinson); Helen Simpson (Mr G. Gallaway) ; Susan Abbott (Mr E. J. Smith) ; Mary Ellen Braudigan, Tapanui (Mr W« B. Naylor); Isabella Margaret M‘Lean, Pine Bush (Mr H. J. Macalister); Sarah Jane Hazlett, Invercargill (Mr J. L. M‘G. Watson); Alexander Diack, Tauta. pere (Mr J. L. M’G. Watson); Petrea Wilhelmina Driscoll, Gore (Mr A. L. Dolamore); William Sampson, Invercargill (Mr C. S. Louquet); Peter Short, West Plains (Mr F. G. O’Beirne); Jessie Lennie, Otautau (Mr J. A. C. Mackenzie). Letters of administration have been granted in the following estates:—Joseph Kennedy Houghton, Roxburgh (Mr R. S. Brown; Virginia Lucy Nichols, Kuriheka (Mr W. R. Brugh).

An American visitor to New Zealand who called at the Government Tourist Bureau in Christchurch a few days ago was inquiring as to the means of getting to Paradise, at the head of Lake Wakatipu. “It isn’t that I’m really anxious to see the place,” he explained, “ but I’ve been to a place called Hell in Norway and another called Purgatory in Alaska,' so I thought that it would be rather nice to see Paradise, then I’ll have done the round trip, which is more than most earthly or even heavenly dwellers can boast.”

“If a man commits a crime and thinks he can get probation when brought before the court, he is making a mistake,” said Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., during the hearing of a case in the Magistrate’s Court at Christchurch on Thursday. “Probation is not a mild term of punishment, less than going to gaol. It is a different thing altogether. Isn't there some misconception over it? Here is a man of 46 years of age who has had an unblemished record. The probationary system is not meant to be extended to him, for his crimes were extended over a long period. Probation is a punishment with the object of supervising conduct and helping men to live decent lives. A man of 46 years of age does not need supervision of that kind."

The following is the complete text of the dismissal notices received from General Headquarters by numerous Defence staff members:—“My Dear , I regret to advise you that consequent! upon the reorganisation of the staff of the department, it becomes necessary to retire you as from March 31 next. Please, therefore, accept this as an intimation that your retirement will take effect on expiry of three months’ notice from December 31. Any accumulated and current leave to which you may be entitled, together with special privilege leave of three months, is to be regarded as running concurrently with the three months’ notice of retirement. You will be relieved of your duties on December 15, and thereafter your salary will continue to be paid until March 31 next. In order that there may be no delay in the payment of your salary during the period December 16. 1930, to March 31, 1931, please keep the department posted with your address. The Minister of Defence has instructed me to say that he much regrets having to take this step after your long and honourable service in the department, but suspension of militarytraining leaves him no option hut to reduce the personnel to meet the altered conditions.”

A letter was received by the Otago Edu. eation Board at its meeting on Wednesday morning from the teacher of the Awamoko School, stating that a good record of attendance had been attained by Annie Richardson, who had not been absent one half-day from the school for over eight years. The family drove three miles and a-half daily to the school, and came down a very long, steep road. The Premier of Quebec recently made the prediction that in 10 years the province of Quebec will be making half the paper used in the world. He based his expectation on the fact that 25 per cent, of the world’s supply of newsprint now is produced in Quebec, that the industry is expanding rapidly and that the pulpwood supply is practically inexhaustible.

The Chocolate plane, formerly the property of Messrs Cadbury Fry Hudson, Ltd., has been purchased by the Otago Aero Club (inc.), so that when the new all-metal Moth machine, now at Wigram, has been taken over, the club will be in possession of three first class planes. Evidence of the interest that the club’s activities are creating was given on Tuesday, when two handsome donations towards its funds were received —one of £lOO from Mr Ambrose Hudson and one of £5O from the Evening Star Company.

The tender of Messrs J. W. Beanland and Sons for the erection of the nurses’ home connected with the Christchurch Hospital was accepted by the North Canterbury Hospital Board yesterday. The amount of the tender is over £50,000. Nine other tenders were received, one of them being slightly over £60,000. The work will be put in hand immediately, and will absorb a considerable amount of labour. I The building will take about 18 months 1 to complete.

At a meeting of the Rural Intermediate Credit Board in Wellington consideration was given to the present difficult position in which farmers are placed on. account of the general fall in prices obtained for primary products, with a view to affording full protection to debenture-holders whose moneys are invested in the board s business, and at the same time avoiding the imposition of any general hardship upon borrowers. Although the period of the year during which farmers normally arrange their finance has. now passed, a steady volume of applications continues to be received, and the amount of business reported to the board is greater than that recorded at the corresponding period during the previous years in which the board has been operating.

Authority has been granted by the Finance Committee of the Otago Hospital Board to write to the Department of Health in regard to the preparation of plans for the proposed new Maternity Hospital, and a deputation from the board is to wait upon the Ministers of Public Works and Public Health urging that these plans should be prepared by the board’s architects and not by the Public ■Works Department.

In the course of his address in ‘Wellington last week Dr Ralph Noble,. who represented Australia at the recent inter- i national conference on mental hygiene, I referred to the coming visit of the founder I of the mental hygiene movement (Mr Clifford Beers) to New Zealand. “You will find Mr Beers,” said Dr Noble, “ a . remarkably interesting man, a versatile ' speaker, full of original ideas, and he has a wonderful gift of persuading people to do things they would never otherwise think of doing. He will even persuade the Government to do something.— (Laughter.) Mr Beers really needs a holiday. He will enjoy the holiday m New Zealand, and you will get in return a wonderful impetus and a wonderful inspiration from what he has to say, and the suggestions he will make.” It is a remarkable thing that Mr Beers, the founder of what has become an international movement, was himself for three years an inmate of several mental hospitals in the United States. He recovered his reason, and told his story in a book which has become a classic, “ A Mind That Found Itself.” This man, the genius of whose mind among a million saw opportunity where no one else had seen it for a century, has devoted the intervening time to furthering the cause of the study of mental diseases, and promoting measures for the amelioration of the conditions of those who are patients in mental institutions.

The sale of small fireworks will not be restricted in any way this year, but Christmas and the New Year will be free from the din of exploding bombs and large crackers. Permits to let off heavy fireworks will be given by the inspector of explosives only to responsible persons wishing to hold a special demonstration. It is set out in the Police Offences Act that no person can offer firearms or explosives for sale without a permit from the police. Explosives are defined as any article of which an explosive forms a part, and which is capable of destructive effect. Roman candles and Catherine wheels are outside the scope of the Act, but all crackers, however mild, are included.

“As soon as finance is available action will be taken to combine the hospital and allied services at Rotorua,” said the Minister of Health (Mr A. J. Stallworthy) when outlining the reasons for closing the orthopaedic section of the King George Hospital at Rotorua. Being practically a tourist base, it should have hospital facilities of an appropriate standard, he said. A scheme had been approved under which an up-to-date sanatorium would be built. Rotorua, under proper tourist conditions, with hydrotherapy, special baths, etc., was one place where a properly-run institution should be self-supporting. The King George Hospital would not be closed, and it was not proposed to close the orthoptedic section summarily. Some of the children would remain until their treatment was completed, some would be trans, ferred to hospitals in other districts, and some would return home.

In conversation with our representative last week, an old miner, who claims to have had considerable knowledge of the Molyneux River extending over a lengthy period, stated that he had thought out the main features of a scheme which he felt sure would be worthy of consideration as one means of coping with the unemployment problem. He said his idea was to start about halfway between Cromwell and Clyde, and by means of a double tunnel at least a mile long divert the water and then construct a canal some 10 miles in length down to the Earnscleugh flats, where the water discharged could be used for irrigation purposes. He pointed out that in the early days exceptionally good yields of gold were got until the river rose, and contended that a large quantity of gold at the side of the river had never been recovered owing to inability of the dredges to reach the ground there. Until a detailed survey was made he could not estimate the cost of the work, but it would probably run into some £500,000, which would, however, be spread over several years. In regard to working expenses he suggested that portion of the wages of the unemployed should be devoted to that purpose.

Mr A. E. Ansell; M.P., was the guest on Tuesday evening of the Mayor (Mr W. G. Love) and councillors at Port Chalmers. Mr Love expressed indebtedness to Mr Ansell for all he had done for the town since he had been a member of Parliament. It was very gratifying to find that matters referred to their member were so readily and practically dealt with. The Mayor said that he and his councillors desired to thank Mr Ansell very heartily and to convey to him and Mrs Ansell the season’s greetings. In reply, Mr Ansell said it had been a pleasure to help the Mayor and councillors of Port Chalmers in their endeavour to promote the progress of the town, and his services were freely given. He was glad to learn that what little he had been able to do was so highly appreciated.

It is not every indigenous shrub or tree that can be taken from its native habitat in the bush and made to adapt itself to the varying conditions of urban horticulture, but Mr J. B. M'Dougall, of St. Clair, has been fortunate enough to get good strikes from three cuttings of a manuka bush of rare beauty and unusual profusion of foliage which he found oh a recent holiday trip in the back-country of the Catline district. The species, which had not previously been registered, is, at the suggestion of Mr H. Hart, to bear the name Sir George Fenwick. The plants are making a good showing this season and have already been the subject of much admiring comment. To date, all efforts to find the parent bush, which bears a pure white double flower, have proved ip vain.

Tables containing details regarding the sick and special leave granted to teachers in New Zealand during the period extending from June, 1929, till May, 1930, have been forwarded by the Education Department to J. he Otago Education Board. The figures showed that out of 6438 teachers in the Dominion, 1830 (or 28 per cent.) had been given sick leave and 405 (6 per cent.) special leave. The figures for Otago were: —630 teachers, 168 (26 per cent.) on sick leave and 26 (4 per cent.) on special leave. Out of 376 teachers in Southland, 122 (32 per cent.) received sick leave and 17 (4 per cent.) special leave. It was noted that the figures for Otago were below the average in .each case.

Mr Justice Kennedy has granted probate in the estates of the following deceased persons: —George Arthur Tidey, of Cromwell (Mr J. C. Parcell); Hugh Findlay, of Green Island (Mr W. Allan); James Robertson, of Kaka Point (Mr W. G. Hay); Alexander Polwarth, of Dunedin (Mr J. N. Thompson); Edwin John Wright, of Oamaru (Mr A. Hamilton) ; John Joseph Murphy, of Dunedin (Mr Gallaway); John Sime, of Awatea (Mr H. C. Alloo), and Lavinia Priscilla Farrow, of Musselburgh (Mr F. B. Adams). Messrs Aulsebrook and Co., Ltd., of Christchurch, the well-known biscuit, chocolate, and confectionery manufacturers, have purchased a warehouse property in Moray place, and intend to open up a branch office and store early in the New Year. Mr A. C. Gray, for many years the Wanganui representative of the firm, has been appointed manager, and he will have with him an efficient and reliable staff. The -warehouse will shortly be altered to suit the requirements of the firm and the showroom will be one of the main features.

The Otago Education Board has received an intimation from the department that, owing to lack of funds, no further subsidies can be approved this financial year. Further, the Treasury has notified the department that the amount allocated for subsidies has been exhausted and that no further payments can be made until after March 31 next. ‘When the matter came up for discussion at the meeting of the Education Board on Tuesday the chairman (Mr J. A. Wallace) said he was not going to say hard things about the Government, because it was as hard up as the rest of them, but he thought it should make it clear that any funds raised locally by committees in expectation of receiving subsidies should not be subject to the 12 months’ period. He thought they should point out to the Government that many school committees held funds and that their applications for subsidies should be protected. It seemed very hard that after the board had spent money a subsidy could not be given. Subsidies for works that had been carried out had been turned down till after March 31. It was decided to write to the department on the lines suggested by the chairman. “ Statements have been made to the effect that members of the Unemployment Board are being well paid for their services,” said the Minister of Labour (Mr S. G. Smith), in addressing a meeting at the Town Hall concert chamber in Auck-

land on Saturday evening. “ Some people have said that each member of the board is getting £2OOO a year from the Government. This is altogether wrong. Members receive £2 2s a day while they are engaged on the business of the board and travelling expenses. In cash, they , lose rather than gain through their activities, but all are willing to do what they can at any cost. The Minister, as chairman of the board, receives no additional salary at all. Administrative costs are being kept down to a minimum, and there is no intention of forming a large department necessitating heavy expenditure.”

“The effect of paying 14s a day on relief -works.” said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr J. G. Coates) in an address at Hastings recently, “ has been to draw young men, very many of them under 20 years of age, and formerly employed in trades or on farms as farmers’ sons, away from tbeir proper employment and on to relief works where the sudden lure of 14s a day has been more than they could withstand. When the country is up against it we want our young men to help our farmers. Ido not for a moment think that we should pay them cut rates, but they should certainly be paid only what the industry can afford to pay them. There must be an equality of sacrifice by all classes of the community. The Leader and members of the Reform Party are out to see a fair thing done, but we say that the cost of living must come down and that other costs must come down correspondingly. We stand for rigid economy and for the reduction of taxation, and, among other things, for a thorough overhaul and reform of the Unemployment Act. You should see to it that you return to Parliament men who, when they give you a promise, will redeem it.” Another meeting of the creditors of Philip Schneideman, tailer, formerly of Auckland, now residing at Christchurch, was held following the receipt of medical

reports concerning, the bankrupt’s fitness to come to Auckland for examination on oath. The following motion was carried unanimously (says a Press Association telegram from Auckland)That in view of the weight of the medical evidence the creditors are compelled to forgo the examination of the bankrupt, but they desire to place on record their strong disapproval of the conduct of the bankrupt in incurring large liabilities. No satisfactory explanation is forthcoming to show what has become of assets. The creditors are of opinion that the debtor should not be given his discharge, and should not be given facilities for again carrying on business.”

A weakness in the activites of the Government Publicity Department (says the Christchurch Times) came under the notice of a South Island resident who returned to New Zealand by the Makura, which arrived at Wellington from San Francisco last week. “It was a surprise to me to see two publicity officers come on board the vessel at Wellington, and when I saw them making a display of literature I thought that the department was at last thoroughly up-to-date,” he said. “ But on examination I found that all the literature displayed referred only to Rotorua and other North Island re- I sorts, there being nothing shown dealing with the attractions of the South Island. ' It was only with the greatest difficulty that I was able to dig up any South Island publicity, and if I had not been per- I sistent none would have been shown.” On | board the vessel, he added, were two American tourists who were coming to New Zealand especially to visit Milford Sound, and there were, other tourists on board who were interested in the South Island resorts. During the trip from San Francisco the mail officer gave out information concerning tourist resorts in New Zealand. There were about a dozen American tourists on the Makura, most of them being elderly people who wanted to see Australia and New Zealand. When an application for additional hat and coat racks at the new Caversham School came up for discussion at the meeting of the Education Board on Tuesday, Mr R. H. Todd stated that more than 100 coats had been left in the school. The headmaster had done everything possible to trace the owners, but without success, although he had gone to the trouble to send out circulars to parents. The chairman of the board (Mr J. Wallace) stated that in one school in which he was interested fully 100 coats had been left. After a certain lapse of time they were sent to the orphanages. It was extraordinary how parents lost the run of their children’s clothing.

From Richon Lezion, in Palestine, comes a message to the Anzaes from Mr Leo Amtchislawsky, who signs himself “ a grateful old farmer.” Every year since the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade returned from Palestine, Mr Amtchislawsky has sent a Christmas message to them. He says:—“ Happy Christmas, Happy New Year. Thirteen years passed and the memory of the New Zealand and Australian troops, Anzac, remains carved in our hearts. You won the highest praise for your spendid valour right throughout the campaign and no less than your valour in battle was your chivalry to the people of the country. We wish you all well. We wish you a safe and pleasant life.” That the project has been abandoned in the meantime owing to opposition in the district was the reply made by the Minister of Public Works (Mr W. B. Taverner) to a letter from the Otago Expansion League with respect to the proposed construction of a road from Titri to Taieri Mouth for unemployment relief. The Minister added that an alternative proposal is being examined by his department, and that he will communicate with the league on receipt of a report on the scheme.

The importance of attributes other than the ability to win prizes was stressed by Father Dowling, rector of St. Patrick’s College, Wellington, at the prize-giving ceremony the other day. After quoting the examination successes of the year, Father Dowling said: “In mentioning the results, I do not wish to convey that the gaining of certificates, important though it is, is the first aim of the school. Many of those who in after life reflected greatest credit on this college left it without a certificate, but had energy and ambition, courage and perseverance.” By a recent mail the town clerk of Wellington (Mr E. P. Norman) has received from the Rev. E. Hampden Cook, formerly Congregational minister at Thames and now residing at Cambridge, England, a very old manuscript Maori grammar compiled by the late Mr George Samuel Evans, one of the founders of Wellington, and once Chief Justice. Mr Evans was the principal promoter of the New Zealand Company in 1838-39, and chairman of the Settlers’ Governing Committee. The manuscript has been handed to the chief librarian (Mr Norrie) and will be carefully preserved in the collection of records.

The clerical staff of the City Corporation had a particularly busy day on Thurs. day, the last day upon which the payment of rates could be made without incurring the 10 per cent, penalty. Altogether a total of £54,000, involving 2600 accounts, was paid in on Thursday, leaving £31,000 outstanding. To-day’s mail should also bring in a considerable sum, as for the last year or two, the following day’s mail has accounted for a further £15,000 to £20,000. Last year £48,000 was paid in on the final day, and the amount outstanding was precisely the same as this year. It is anticipated, therefore, that, despite the present financial stringency, the amount still unpaid at the end of the year will not be much more than was the case last year.

Mr J. O’Neill, of Takapuna, who sailed from Auckland on May 10 in the auxiliaryschooner Navanora (formerly the Saucy Kate), returned last week by the Melanesian Mission steamer Southern Cross, after spending six months in the New Hebrides and Solomons. Mr O’Neill spent six weeks on Reef Island, in the Swallow group of the Solomon Islands, being the only white man on the island at the time. He spent his time fishing and pigeon shooting, fish, pigeons, and wild fowl being his staple diet. “ The water at Reef Island is almost unbelievably clear,” said Mr O’Neill. “ You must be able to see two chains down on to the coral reef, which is like a peep into paradise with coloured fish as clear as celluloid fish in a toy shop window. The natives dive for shells and green snails, i and do not seem in the least worried by i sharks.”

Variation in the standard of marking for the same subject from year to year and for different subjects in the same year in the university entrance examination, formed the subject of a complaint by Miss E. M. Johnston, headmistress of the Auckland Girls’ Grammar School, at the annual prize-giving of the school last week. Mies Johnston said these variations were most unfair to the candidates. A system of scaling marks would obviate some of the difficulties, but it seemed that the only real solution of the problem was for the university to raise the entrance examination from fifth to sixth form standard. This raising of the standard would automatically reduce the number of candidates, so that each candidate’s work would be given fuller and fairer consideration, and would ensure the fitness of the successful candidates to undertake university work, which was not the ease with fifth form candidates at present. If the Education Department would issue fifth form certificates, probably by accrediting, the certificates would serve as a guide to employers and others as to the standard of education reached by the holders and would help the university, in that it could refuse to accept entries for the entrance examination except from those who had held a fifth form certificate, or its equivalent, for at least a year. One of the most unsatisfactory features of the present system was that neither the university nor the schools had any power to refuse entries, even from the weakest candidates.