New Zealand

Southland Times, Issue 22999, 19 September 1936, Page 21 (Supplement)

New Zealand

Parliament. The Prime Minister stated in th' House this week that he expects th, present session of Parliament to ent about the middle of October. Most o the important Bills have now beei brought down by the Govemmen but there is a number of necessary minor measures which have to bi passed before the recess. Public Works. The Public Works statement wa; released this week. Summarized thi proposed exepnditure is as follows £ (1) Construction of means of communication and transport (railways highways, roads, harbours and aerodromes) 5,605,70! (2) Land development, including settlement of unemployed workers 959,00! (3) Erection of public buildings 1,215,00! (4) Development of electric power 764,00! £8,543,70! “Railways will this year form s much larger proportion of the cost of the first item than they have foi the past few years,” stated Mr Semple. “Work has been recommenced on the Napier-Gisborne railway, the South Island Main Trunk railway, and the Westport-Inangahua railway. Additional railway construction under the control of the Public Works Department will be the TurakinaOkoia deviation on the WellingtonNew Plymouth railway. “The proposed expenditure on road communications is very much larger this year than it has ever been in the past, and is more than half the total for all public works. On main highways alone it is proposed to expend £3,050,000, but more than £2,000,000 of this is received from revenue. “The Government is anxious to embark on an extensive programme for the elimination of railway levelcrossings over main highways, and is prepared to place a very considerable sum of money on the estimates for this purpose. The design of these crossings, however, involves in each case a problem of its own, and some time must elapse before the full effect of the programme is felt, but I have instructed the Department to expedite the the work as much as possible. In a few months’ time a very large number of these works will be under way.”. All Blacks Win Again. By defeating the Australians in the second test at Dunedin last Saturday the All Blacks won the Bledisloe Cup which had been captured by Australia in 1934. In the first spell the visitors did well and at half time they led 13—11. But the All Blacks played splendidly in the second half and scored 27 points to their opponents’ none. It was a fast and interesting match but the Australians could not maintain the pace at which they began and were well beaten at the finish.

Wrong Diet. ~ Malnutrition, arising from defects in the quality rather than the quantity of food eaten by New Zealand children, is commented on by Dr. A. G. Paterson in the annual report on the Division of School Hygiene. In New Zealand the essentials for an adequate diet should be within the purchasing power of all classes of the community, she states. “The necessity for popular education — more discipline and intelligence in the choice of food and more skill in its preparation—is shown by the fact that tinned and prepared foods are often bought at greater expense and with less benefit than would be derived from the home-grown article. It is shown also by such an anomalous position existing as that in country districts numbers of farmers’ children (estimated in one investigation at 10 per cent.) do not drink milk. The value of skimmed milk is not sufficiently recognized, though its protein, vitamin, calcium and other mineral content make; it a cheap protective food.”

Operation at Sea. Operations at sea are not altogether uncommon, but it is very seldom that the patient is the captain of the ship. When the inter-colonial passenger steamer Marama was travelling from Sydney to Wellington last week-end the captain, Mr R. M. Kane, contracted acute appendicitis and an immediate operation was considered necessary. Dr. Orbell, who was travelling as a passenger, performed the operation with the assistance of the ship’s doctor and a steward; and when the ship berthed at Wellington on Monday the captain was reported to be “doing very well.”

Japan Buying New Zealand Wool.

It is expected that, because of Japan’s intention to boycott the Australian wool sales owing to the trade dispute between the two countries, Japanese wool buyers will be operating much more freely in New Zealand this season. A prominent American wool broker confirmed this prediction on arrival at Auckland this week. He also said that America would probably be buying a lot more New Zealand wool this season.

The Manukau Seat.

When Mr W. J. Jordan was appointed High Commissionei’ he had to resign his seat in Parliament. A by-election to fill the vacancy was rendered necessary and the campaign is now in full swing. The Nationalist candidate is Mr F. W. Doidge, who was for many years a journalist in England. He describes himself as an anti-Socialist and is keen to see a new National Party of which neither Mr Coates nor Mr Forbes is the leader. The Labour candidate, Mr A. G. Osborne, has been less conspicuous on the platform so far but the general opinion is that he will win.