TOWN EDITION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15365, 9 November 1920, Page 6

TOWN EDITION.

Mr. F. Carr Rollott, agricultural ed tor of the Auckland Weekly News, is visiting Gisborne in the course of a tour of the East Coast railway from Napier to Gisborno and on to Tauranga and Waihi. Mr. P. Ha'.ly, Conciliation Commissioner, mentioned this afternoon that the parties to the oyster saloon, restaurant, and refreshment, tea and luncheon rooms employees' dispute met this morning and agreed to be governed by the Auckland award, with any amendments ns*to hours made necessary by the Shops and Offices Act Amendment recently passed. Some interesting information concerning the large sun-spot, which appeared on the eastern limb of the sun, is supplied by Mr. G. V. Hudson, of Wellington. Tlie spot, he states, is now very favorably placed for observation. It consists of one large spot and four smaller ones, as well as many others relatively minute. The total length of the group is about 80,CO0 miles._ | l The Conciliation Commissioner, Mr. P. Hally, in referring to the dispute between the employers and employees in the tailoring trade, stated that the parties had agreed on all points of discussion, with the exception of the wages to be paid to j resscrs, the employers refusing to pay the same rates of wagea as to tailors. The matter will be referred to the Arbitration Court. i The position of the Napier Harbor Board in regard to the coal shortage has not to any extent improved. Tlie 40 men who were put off by the board a month ago have not been re-engaged, and the near future does not hold any bright prospects of the men being taken on again. The three dredges and the two locomotives are also still laid up, but is is probable the J.D.O. will be recommissioned shortly. j It- was recently suggested that the prospects of a good market for New Zealand lamb in America would lead to an unusual inquiry 'for Southdown rams. j Reports from Canterbury indicate that i Ashburton flockmasters have been leceiv.ing inquiries for rams of the Southdown and Shropshire breeds, and recently Mr. T. Dowriling of Coniston, sold a large consignment of Southdown.' shear- , lings to North Island buyers. Some years ago the United Commercial Travellers and "Warehousemen's Assoc'ation of Australasia adopted a scheme for insuring its members (life and accident). Tlie scheme is reported to be a great success. The accumulated funds amount to over -818,000. and the annual premium income is £7784. The premium for a full policy (-GSCO) is £2 12s 6d per year. Steps are being taken to bring tbe scheme into operation in New Zealand. Whether a bell or a bugle is the better for summoning pupils to their tasks 1 was humorously discussed by the Auckland Education Board, on an applicat j t'lon for the latter instrument from New Lynn school. The staggering query was 1 put by one member, what would happen ■ if the bunrler boy left the school? But I the satisfactory reply . ..was given ' that such a contingency could not arise if the j headmaster himself were taught the instrument. The board left it, at that. , The Napier Telegraph states : According to a Napier grocer, there is ro i prospect at present of cheaper tea. He pointed out that although prices had .been reduced in Auckland recently, Naipier. retailers made a reduction of 3d sonie months ago. "There is no doubt I that New Zealand just now is flooded with inferior tea," he said,, "but good •tea is still worth its price." The price of popular teas is 3s 6d, although one brand has been selling at 3s 3d.- Prices of commodities remain fairly steady, al-. ' though cheese is becoming dearer. Says the Auckland Star : Tlie cheerful optimism of the average racegoer might well receive a shock from the aggregate figures of totalisator gambling for the season that closed on July 31 last Out of £8,792.000 that went through the machine £1,119,C00 failed to return to the investor, this huge amount being divided up between the Government and the clubs, the former talrfig £417 000 and the clubs £701.000. In this latter sum is included £42.000 that accumulated in fractions that are outside the ridiculously high percentage that the law provides shall be deducted. As illustrating the great- rise in the cost of sporting material, a rowing club official mentioned to-day that his club had been quoted sets of oars at £22 10s per set for practice, and £24 10s for regatta oars. These oars in pre-war days cost, only a fraction of their present price. The reason advanced by the agents for the abnormal increase in cost was that the spruce pine, of which the oars were made, was imported to England from Northern Russia, where the chaotic conditions existing had not only hampered trade with England, but had also been responsible for the destruction of vast areas of the requisite timber. The antics of a horse attached to a breaking-in gig attracted some attention and no little amusement on the Waikanae beach this morning. The . animal rushed into the breakers, where j it commenced to jump and lash out generally. After a considerable amount 'of "persuasion," accompanied by shouting and, the application of the whip, the horse lay down in the waves and declined for some time to budge. Getting on its legs again it still refused to pull, and one of the occupants of the gig hit upon the idea of cl'mbing out on the shaft and mounting the animal astride. No sooner had he done so than he was tossed clear over the horse's head into the water, clothes and . all. Eventually tha stubborn animal was taken out of the gig and led ashore, tb*s conveyance having lo be -pulled out with the aid of a enrt, which was driven into the surf to the rescue. < Regarding the rate of exchange with America, an , Australian merchant* who arrived in Wellington by' the Moana, expressed the opinion to a Dominion reporter- that the. old mercantile theory that a country could get rich by selling and never buying. was long since effete. He. added :- "ldeai- commerce is that in which gold is a nieans and not an end. Balanced trade averts the exchange problems, with which we have been lately overwhelmed. Exchange is essentially a commodity, and subject, to the- law' of supply and' demand. The American exporter is the biggest suf-r* ferer by the low exchange value of the £1 as measured in dollers, ■ because it adds about 30 per cent, to his selling price here, and gives his British com petitor that much advantage. IJuti} the world trade strikes some kind of a balance, exchange will fluctuate. The recuperative power of England has surprised many people, but her experiueo of. 200 years as the world's banker cannot be lost in a day. London still fixes the rate of exchange, although some people did not think so." Tlie following humorous stoiy appi-arcd in Friday's Napier Telegraph under the heading "A New Recoidr-I/zzie Beats Mail Train— Coiiinr rcial Travel ei's Joy," — Soim l flint- on Thursday- morning a well-known commercial traveller realised that lie could not catch the mail train for his business trip to the country — and orders had to be secured. He at once (turned h's attention to his faithful j 'L'zzie' and by a little after nine had that vehicle on the road, heading south for otane. As time was pressing he deHdi'd lo puMi the *uld bus' along, and it . appeared to be ?n excellent humor. The pace was a cracker— everything went will. When Otane was reached the bag. man found that he was first in the field and he joyously proclaimed to all those '•willing to listen that his faithful steod had beaten (he mail train after giving the train fifteen minutes' start. He could talk of nothing el^e— the speed p? that car was marvellous, the older she got the better she pulled he "thought. Just fancy giving the mail trail} twenty minutes'' start and beating it tp Otane; » my word I muft'fcave travelled/ thought he. After having a. most" interesting ; dav t —talking about the wonderful speed ol his car— he returned to town and renew- » ed the attack. He failed, however, tc » understand the ironical smiles, until he l rend in last night's Telegraph that the J mail trr.in left ever an hour late- Tllh iv.'vniing ho applied for a month's leave cf absence.