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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16628, 23 April 1928, Page 6

When the Government took over the Napier-Hastings buses, the Hastings Borough Council lost the rates that were usually collected on _ the bus gareges. The Mayor stated at this week's meeting that he had been successful in getting a promise from the Government that in future the rates would be paid for the-garages that have been'leased by them for the buses. .'■:;:,! *

Beginning from to-day, a new timetable will come into operation on the Bay of Plenty railway. Passengers leaving Taneatua at 10.55 o'clock in the morning will arrive in Auckland by the 11 o'clock train from Frankton Junction in the evening. This service will be run only three days a week—on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It may be speeded up when the. Railway Department officially takes over the whole length of line in June.

A decrease of nine is noted in the 'number' of names on the books of the Labor Department at .Gisborne as compared with tho total announced a week ago, the placing of several men in employment being the cause to some of the reduction. The number seeking work, through the Gisborne Labor office now totals 51, of whom 32 arc married men. There were 17 new applications during the week, and eight men were placed in employment, one in private work, while seven were sent to tho relief works at Mangapoike. This is tho last batch to bo sent to Mangapoike, but it is thought that before long further works will bo opened. Official confirmation of this is lacking, however, and no indication has been given, as, to when theworks will be opened', or in connection with their location or extent.

"It is not often farmers will admit that they have had a prosperous time. Such, however, was admitted at a meeting of the Hawke's Bay Farmers' Union, when Mr. G. Priest stated thai, this had been the. best of the past six years for the fanning community. Another admission was mad.e by the president, when two resignations from the union were read. Ho expressed the opinion that the resignations were due to the prosperous year, a prosperous year being the worst thing possible for the keeping up of interest in the Farmers' Union.

The Napier Chamber of Commerce is again to urge on the Government the necessity for efficient insulation in (meat trucks that carry the ' frozen produce from the works to the port for shipment. Previously opinions were expressed that the insulation was not all that could be desired, with the result that the meat became warm and misshapen, thus being detrimentally affected in its competition with other lines on the Home market. The chamber' then decided to approncli the Government on the matter.

An expression of appreciation of the board's system of the school adoption scheme was placed before Friday's meeting of the Hawke's Bay Education Board in a letter from the Gisborno Headmasters' Association, the members of which considered that a ureat deal could be done by special visits of headmasters to outlying schools. In this, however, considerable travelling expenses would be incurred by the headmasters, and the board was asked to contribute.—it was decided to reply that the board had no power to grant financial assistance in this connection.

There,were laughs'round the table: at a' meeting of the Napier Chamber of Commerce, when a matter that is considerably exercising the minds of business, men just now was referred to- The Associated Banks advised that the matter of reducing the rate of interest on overdrafts would be taken in hand as soon as the circumstances permitted; Mr. S. H. Tusk That seems to mean 'Thank'you for nothing.' The president, Mr. Somerset W. Smith: Oh, I think the banks have the matter in hand. Mr. J. H. Edmundson : They will get cramp holding it there, sir. "(Loud laughter.) No ■ action was taken on the matter by the meeting. .

Interest in England regarding the voyages of Captain Cook i,s increasing as the bicentenary of the great circumnavigator's birth draws near. The following letter from Mr. H. T. B. Drew, of the New Zealand Publicity Office in London, appeared in a recent' issue of the Northern Echo, published at Priestgate, Darlington: "In the Northern Echo of February 6 it was stated that one memorial to Captain Cook exists in New Zealand —at Poverty Bay. As a matter of fact, a second monument to~ Cook was erected in Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, in the north of the South Island of New,Zealand, about 16 years ago, so that there are now two monuments in New Zealand to the great explorer. The second one, which marks the place where Cook lay up with his ships for a little time, was erected as the result of the activities of the late Dr. McNab, a New Zealand historian, who collected much valuable record material concerning Cook's voyages." At a meeting of the Hawke's Bay Farmers' Union, Mr. W. J. Livingstone made an objection to the setting of speed traps for motorists and contended that a motorist caught on a first offence of speeding, should be let off with a warning. Just a little note warning him that the Second offence would mean prosecution would do good, and in any case the setting of traps and prosecuting a man who happened to/ be in a hurry was wrong. What was done to-day was not British fair play. He moved that the suggestion be brought uncjer the notice of the Hawke's Bay Automobile Association and the County Council. Mr. Erikson said that the county had received complaints of speeding at Pnkowhai, near and had had to place a /man there. He agreed that •'» warning for a first offence would meet the case: Mr. Field wished .it made clear that the suggestion was to cover speeding under safe conditions, only and not what would termed dangerous driving. The resolution was carried. The Native Lands Consolidation Commission, sitting at Te Kniti, arrived at a satisfactory settlement with the Maniapoto tribe. It then waited on the Waitomo County Council and presented the natives' offer of £7OOO, being onefourth of the total amount of rates covering the period from 1924 to 19Z0, together with the sum of £SOO, being onehalf the cost of Land Court charging orders. .The council unanimously agreed to accept the offer. A similar offer is to be made to the Taumarunui, Kawhia, Otorohanga and Ohura local body representatives who are to confer with the commissioner. It is considered that the terms in each case will he accepted, i

"It is well-known that I have a programme to give every settler in my riding a metalled road right; up to his door within the next five years," stated 'Mr. V. Barry, member of the Waiknri riding, at the Hawko's Bay County Council's meeting, when a petition signed by a number of ratepayers was received asking that part of the Waipunga and Kaiwaka South roads bo metalled. "Since I havo entered upon the programme I have had 11 miles of new metalled road put down, and given another ; two weeks' fine weather that will be increased to U," lie added. -"I have already told the ratepayers that the work is to be done from a metal head, and not in patches. I regret that these settlers are on the edge .of the riding. As the result of I.ls inches of rain at ono time recently and 14ins. at another time some 5000 yards of eartli have had to be removed from cuttings. The maintenance of the roads has been better and we have had one new bridge erected. If thev ask for anything better than that'they had better find a better financier than me." On Mr. Barry's proposal.it was decided to tell the settlers of tho programmo of work, and inform them that it would proceed as finances allow. . ,

"May 1 say, in passing," remarked Mr. M. Myers, K.C. (Wellington), at tho Legal Conference at ,Christchurch (reports the Press), in the course of a paper dealing with the outlook of the \ profession; "that I regret that I was not here yesterday when, I understand, the Attorney-General said that the Government would do nothing in the way of improving the salaries and -pensions relating to 'the judicial office. (Hear, hear). "Had I been here," Mr. Myers went on, "I should have said to him what I said 10 years ago and more to (lie powers that then were, that unless something were done to improve, the conditions in relation to the salaries and pensions of Judges, tho time would come when the Government would be forced to make some alteration, and then •it would be forced to give these increases to second-rate men, because, by that time, second-rate men would have got on the Bench. And I <would havo said that I had made a mistake 10 years ago—a mistake in saving 'second rate': I should have said 'third rate.' (Laughter.) Don't, think that T am criticising * the Bench of to-day. I am looking to the future, and I say that is what will inevitably happen unless' the Government is a little more symoathetic to our profession, and I include in our profession the judiciary because, after all, it is a.branch of the profession," (Applause.)

The question of unpaid fees was discussed at a meeting of the Wanganui Hospital Board, when the chairman recommended that fees totalling be written off. Many of the debts, it was stated, dated back five or six years, s and all possible avenues of collection had W been explored without avail. The chair- J man said it was no use keeping assets f that were not assets at all. It was agreed to write the amount off- / An indignant parent, residing in the Kaitaia district, has complained that children are being conveyed to school in a lorry used at other times to cart pigs. The complaint was forwarded by the school committee to the Auckland Education Board, which decided to take no action. "The contractor who conveys the children to school _ admits that he ence carried a pig in his vehicle, which was thoroughly scoured out afterwards, and I .understand the man who made the complaint is not a. friend of his," commented the chairman curtly.

A remarkable decrease of 218,730 in the number of passengers carried on. trains throughout the Auckland Bailway Division is shown in the official compiled for the year ended Marcc A. Keen competition from mote- passenger services is held to account for the decline. However, the railways are mora than holding their own in the carriage of freight, lor the ultimate result of the * year's working compares favorably with that of the previous 12 months.":- Substantial increases in other than passehger traffic resulted in a ftdling-off in revenue by only .23 per cent. The total revenue'was £2,052,904, as against £2,057,689 for the previous year.

•'Apart from the spiritual, there is no question of more vital importance to the .Maori people to r day than' that of medical supervision," declared the .Rjev. -\ A. -.,'F.. Bennett; addressing thfe iMayri'.jl gathering at Pakipaki, hear Hastings. f| •• Wo are a small people," he went on to say, "surrounded by all- sorts of epidemics and we must look to the Health, Department for greater help and more practical assistance." It was impossible for one man in charge of Maori hygiene to do more than scratch the surface, seeing that the Maori population was approximately 60,000. His suggestion was that there should be at least three medical officers, one in each of the three Maori". • electorates, but the great obstacle, to this would probably be .finance. Contributing to the discussion, Sir Apirana Ngata said.that the question was a difficult one. "The present position />f the medical man in charge of Maori hygiene is.like the fifth wheel in a coach, and I do not hold out much hope of getting anything done when the outlook of the Health Department ion Maori problems is such . as it is at the present time."

Since the-end of the financial year of the Post Office, just closed, aU telegrams delivered from post offices in the ; four main centres have been on a new, type of form designed to save the use '. of the old familiar pink envelope and also time in dispatch. Between eight and nine million .telegrams are dealt with in New Zealand .every year v : ; and the economy in, the use of envelopes will be considerable. The new form is similar to that which was given a trial some years ago, but the arrangement for folding is much bettef. A gum Med Hap is provided and receivers will have noticed that there is no possibility ofthe gum damaging the text of the message'. The original address on the mes-. ,; sage is used for delivery: purposes, thus * eliminating the necessity of addressing an envelope. Telegrams from offices which operate the Murray Multiplex printer have to be copied only, once from the original, the receiver getting the automatically-printed copy direct; The possibility of mistakes in addresses is thus-eliminated..

Work on the railway deviation at i Palmerston North is progressing well, and as the weeks pass tho changes that arc being wrought on. the northern side of the town become more and more apparent; There aro at present over 200 men .employed wdrking in two shifts. At Milson's Line all the piers for the overhead bridge have now boon started, and, in fact several completion. Over hall tho length of the temporary track to Longburn has been laid, and,'as in thD re- < maining portion, there is but little filling work to be done, this should be finished in quicker time than was the first portion. At Longburn itself the siding erected by the Railway Department has boon finished, and as \ soon as the line is linked up it will be possible for alb tho material required ,; at the deviation to go'direct by rail. Almost one-quarter of tho excavation for the goods yard has been completed. There are three steam shovels employed at this site". ' ' , k