Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 1908. GARDEN HOMES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13750, 12 September 1908, Page 4

Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 1908. GAR DEN HOMES.

; rOrae of tlie most pressing problfcihsL $f^ th,e day in the Old CounJtryv tm& otfce . which has already inacle its Appearance in the larger centred jot New Zealand, is that of coujalbriujting the tendency of •tlje people to ;'ert>^d 'together in <the- eUiefl. • In England whole, I countrjysijles are practically deserted, ?. tlie former rural dwellers having attracted by some ir-> resistible ibrce to- the cities and I .'jt'-ttiy be tliat tlie desire to inlprove their positions has led g;enernlly; to the desertion of the country for the town, tho\igh it inij^jit easily be shown that the chances are much against that result. There is a- iar greater d^fftß ,^poverty and misery in :the centres of population than in the^rtiral (Ustricfa. The country dweller has "opportunities of help.irfg hintself through hard times which <a,Te denied to his fellow in the city. In his spare hours he can grow vegetables to supply }iis family; perhaps feed a pig or keep a cow. If he is out of work temporarily he can employ himself in cultivating his J>it of giound, while the city unemployed -can/ only wait in idleness tiihtil work is given him, or foregather with other unemployed to talk .over their grievances. No, it cannot be because the lot of the worker is better in the cities than in the country that they flock to the centres. It must be because man is a gregarious animal, because it is his nature to herd with his fellows. Otherwise why do men, as we were told the other day, employed outside Wellington choose to live in tlie crowded city instead of where their work is, or even a little frrther afield ? There have been many efforts to overcome this tendency to crowd into the cities. There is an estate at Ealing, near London, owned by the Ealing Copartnership Tenants, Ltd., where an experiment is being made in the direction of building a " garden city." In 1901 a few workmen clubbed together to purchase a plot of land, upon which they erected nine houses. They prospered and at last succeeded in securing forty acres of land, and at the present time there are 140

houses on the estate", every one with a small garden in front and rear, with common provision also for the recreation of both parents and children. About half of the houses are let at 6s Gd per week, a quarter at Ts 6d, and the rest ui> to 17.s Gd. The lit. Hon. John Burns, when opening a recreation ground on the estate recently, spoke of some of the evil effects of the concentration of population, and of the useful purpose these garden homes would serve in counteracting the evil. The spirit of the horde, hv said, was being developed, and whether it be in exhibitions, meetings, sports, games, or legislation, the individual was becoming less and less, and the mass, the mob, was becoming more and more. This was a dangerous tendency, and the best antidote was a good home, thte best counter attraction a good, garden. He denounced overcrowding, saying ■L<? believed if they had more cottnges and fewer public-houses they could do with fewer lunatic asylums, and certainly fewer workhouses. An essential to the success, however, of such schemes as that at Ealing is rapid and cheap transit. The days of home -industries have gone; the large factories have superseded the little wor.kslidps attac&ed to cot-tages-in country lan&s. Modern industries bring large numbers of workpeople together under one roof. The problem is, to provide these people with garden homes at some distance from the fac* tcries, and cheap and rapid transit to and from their work. In New Zealand it is a simpler matter. The Government has the railways in its own hands and thus hasj the means of providing the cheap; and rapid transit in and out of the centres of population. It cannot perhaps entirely overcome the gregarious nature of the people, but it can, and mxist unless Old Country conditions are to be reproduced her 6, do a great deal to give the country dwellers some of the conveniences and privileges townspeople enjoy, such as cheap telephones, and above all facilities for getting in and ou| of town. Why do sp many people choose residence in a crowc|ed tbw^n, surrounded b^ bricW find mortar, or by "rmckingrCa.se", wooden houses, to i home surrounded by trees and flowers*' \n sight of the greei fields? Why? Because if the;p live a tnile ,or two away froii $he centre of the town it is so far for the^ breadwinner , to go to hip office,; or the^ factory, for thj mother to go shopping or calling, for the -children to go to school. They cannot go to the theatre, because of the difficulty of getting home at night. It is s ) dull without a neighbour over th ; garden wall. These disabilities may be largely removed by the provision o£, cheap facilities fojr getting aboutj convenient trainjs or train services. Mr. Johj} Burns, ..speaking at Ealing, predicted that within ten years their would have tramways on the conlduit system all over Greater Lonr don, at a uniform fare of onp penny, from Barking to Barnes, and from .Hampstead to Hithergreen. It is a part of the garden home scheme. , If we in Ne\jr Zealand are wise in time we shall not wait until there are hugfe overgrown cities to be depopuv lated. Better loojk ahead anil provide the facilities necessary t> induce people to live where they may have breathing space. Eve^t here we might tf ell commence tj) plaßfjip* \,tram services runnings say, from Fittfroy to Moturoa anji round the back of the town throtigh Frankleigh Park nnd Vbgeltown. , j !

Four shillings is the price now asked for Taranaki Petroleum shares in Wellington. Still there is no Tesponse.

The orchards in the vicinity of the town are now bursting into blossom. There are all the indications of an abundant fruit crop during the coming season. Peaches are looking particularly well.

The Native Land Court, which has been sitting in New Plymotith under the presidency of Judge Johnson for the last two months, adjourned yesterday. It will ro-open at TJrenm on Tuesday next. On Thursday last Mr W. W. Sraith ? curator of Pukekura Park, accompany ied by several other gentlemen, visited the terminus of the Moxmt Egmont railway line by permission of the Deipartment, and obtained a very large collection of native trees and shrubs. These are now being planted in the park. Although the day was very wet and bitterly cold at that altitude, the party had a very enjoyable trip.

Mr J. C. Williamson's "llumptvj Dumpty" Pantomime Company Jet'tj New Plymouth by the mail train this morning.

The Australasian Concert Company lost £41)70 over the venture of bringing the lloyal Artillery Band to Australia. The expenses totalled £8283, while the receipts were only £'3903.

Next Saturday, September 19, will bo the fifteenth anniversary of the granting of women's franchise in NewZealand by tlie Seddon Government. The occasion is to be made a red-letter day by the Women's Christian Temperance Unions in the Dominion.

At the entertainment of the Central School boys on Wednesday evening, Rev. S. S. Osborne in referring to the conduct and manners of the pupils said that whatever else they were the girls and boys were at least little ladies and gentlemen. j

Nearly three thousand cases of fruit were brought to Wellington by the Maheno, which, arrived from Sydney this week. Citrus fruits preponderated, biit pineapples and passion irniti formed a fairly large proportion of tlie] shipment.

The Wellington (Times has brought a storm upon its head by publishing a correspondent's allegations of rowdyism among the hockey girls who took part in the tournament. The girls have found many cliampions to testify to the absolute ladylikejiess of their conduct, but others confess" disappointment, if not disgust, at the conduct of a few of the girls.

The library of the Polynesian So-J ciety is being moved from the Borough Council Chambers to the room which has been assigned to the society in the Technical School building. This is probably the most complete collection of works on Polynesia and the Pacific in existence, and it is very satisfactory to know that sin future ii; will be housed in a building of practically fire-proof construction.

There was a large attendance at the fortnightly gathering of, the Whiteley Band oi Hope. A programme consisting of the following items was gone through : — Pianofrn-te duet, Misses Brooke and Arnold 7 selections on the Shonograph, Mi*.. E. Chatterton; duet, lessrs. Bullot and Marett; solo, Master James (encored) ; duet, Misses Blanchett and Crisp ; recitation, Miss Eileen McGahey ; recitation, Mr. Scott. Mr. Christopher presided, and -gave an address on the journey through life — the pathway of virtue and that of evil.

Whilst the scenery which had been used in the production of "Hnmpty Dumpty" was being { unjoaded at the railway station at an early hour this morning -v, horse attached to a lorry owned by the r Jfew Zealand' 1 Express Company took fright and Doited. The lorry collided with the station verandah and carried three t)f, the pbsts away, letting- down a portion of the structure to the footpath. The damage was rather .extensive. The horse dashed madly to 1 the other' side of the roadway, but pulled lip by the concrete steps. The harness was smashed, enabling the frightened tinrmal to ~ set clear. The veTiicle was not damg&d. The horse was afterwards caught 0 * nhurt. ' • • • A writer in the Sydney, Morning Herald states that amongst the students at the Philadelphia Woman's College is a Miss 4 Olivia Salamanca, from the Philippine Islands, and a. Miss Ethel Das, who comes from-^ei'oajcpere, a little town jiear Lahore-, Tndnt; Both these women are 'studying -medicine, with .. the intention- «f practising amongst the women 1 of' their' native countries; Another 1 from India .who has. shaken off tbW fetters is' Miss Cornelia Soratfji, --. a.* Parsee^mdyV-who was educated at Oxford,,aiftl;how holds a position. in< India as legal, adviser to the Government in cases "Where the zenana and the -rights' of women are .concerned.- £>he^h&s jus-i written a-foook, /'Between the Twilights::' 1 Studies' of Indian Women, 1 '- whick should be very interesting readifig/' ! There afe'imaiiycuriqus. industries in operation m Auckland, and prie is the Sroduction of shark oil. Quite a large emand has set in for this oil, which is extracted from $he liver of sharks. It is being largely used for the feeding of calves, being mixed with skimmflk. Experts hold that for medicinal properties, if, the prejudice against it could be overcome, shark t oil is 1 quite equal to' cod liver, oil. Tlie sliark, however, has more. in him tlian tljis oil, the] body being converted , into! ,a valuablei fertiliser, while the fins are > dried and exported to China, where they are esteemed as a great delicacy. The industry is limited by the number of sharks caught, but it. is urged by experts that the Government jnight be as^ed] to assist the industry by p. bonus to fishermen or others who catch sharks, and thus also improve the fisheries by reducing the ranks of the natural enemy] of marketable fish, , „, : The foppish tendencies of many Maori youths 1 is remarked on by the Inspector of Native Schools, Mr W.j W. Bird. "During one of my inspec-j tion journeys."* he days, "a request came from a boy to his friends for a six-guinea tailor-made suit and some linen collars not less than 2£in. in width. I have seen a girl engaged in cutting flax- dressed in " a blue silk blouse which she -had got while at school. On the 1 day^ 6f . the examination of orie 'School tt creiirir voile dress which bad beeirifrade' to order by a dressmaker arrived* fbr ,a girl wjiose parents lire -*in s a gum^eids district. This kind of 'ihirig' isi happily not' common to all' the schools, but Tarn afraid that unless stern measures are taken to prevent rt the 'cult' will spread. Indeed, I hafrdly 'recognised in an overdressed young" fop 1 meir recently at a Maori gathering &n L ex-pupil of a school where dungaree trousers and bare feet were once de rigfaeur.

The Wellington Post thinks the Government is courting a fia,soo in insisting on the celebration, of Dominion Day on the 26th inst'., which is a. Saturday. The school cadets are %o be ,turned out, and the, child reo are to be mustered to salute and receive the-. Dominion medals. In fact, ihe youngsters are to get a day's work instead of a holiday out of the celebrations. Nobody, with any knowledge of small boy ami small girl nature, would seek to make a ceremony! imposing by ordering them to turn out on a Saturday, which is a holiday in the ordinary course of primary school life. The Government is anxious to make the Dominion festivities "take" with the populace, but does not seenv to be making a good beginning. After all, it appears that the sentiment of the 26th must stand a litle manipulating. A loyal N^ew Zealand can toler-J ate the Mondayising of the Sovereign's birthday. Then why not the birthday of the big "D"? Could not the Government be prosecuted for lese-ma-jeste by sticking to the actual day of its own "D" birthday, but gaily suffering King Edward VII. to be fobbed off till the IVfonday following his natal day? Surety somebody will do some-! thing abonfc it.

There has been an usually large number of runaways in New Plymouth during the last few months, many of thum due to horses being left unattended about the main streets. Still the careless practice continues, however, and it will perhaps be allowed to do so until some serious accident has to be recorded.

A physician received late one evening a note from three of his fellowpraetitioners: "Please step over to tho club, and join us at a rubber of whist." "Kmelie, dear,!' he said to his wife, "here lam called away again. It appears to be a difficult case — there are three other doctors on the spot already."

"There is a house in Timaru," said tlie Mayor of Timaru at a meeting of the Borough Council, "worse than the worst I have ever seen or even read of, not excepting the rat-infested cellars of London in which people lived." The Mayor stated that people were living in the house to which he referred, and he had never before known people to live in so bad a place.

"Common-sense" is, of course, a relative term (remarks' the Wellington Post). "Those who agree with me'have common-sense," .is the average man's notion. "Those \v\\o oppose me ar»» biassed, one-eyed, impossible persons." From the Government's view-pomt 1 a country haa common-sense when it accepts without question the Govern-, ment's policy, and Parliamentarians have commdn-senge when they "vote solid" with the Ministry of the day. "To prove that you have common-sense, follow the line of resistance, which leads to the money-lender's office," is the doctrine preached nowadays. v . .

Further fteta(l&.|>fitfW>fl&ceideiit which ,occurred while Wirth's Circus was m Orange (New South Wales) are contained in Australian papers just to m nd. A strong gale sprang up while a performance was in progress, blowing ! th« tent over oh to the audience. A wild scene of confusion followed; People scrambled out of the ruins of the tent amidst a driving storm of rain ; people calling to each other in the darkness, and screams and shrieks of women and children. When matters righted somewhat it was seen that tl'ougli nobody was killed, several f>eople were sevcrolyV injured, while a argo number had received minor in- 1 juries by hehvg trampled on and struck by the ' falling tent and poles. The main poles of the tent collapsed under the strain, and fell into the ring, otherwise the injuries wqukl^Uaye been inora serious. "- '•>>'"* • r

"People have an idea out here that ' everything is so much better at Homo than in the colonies," said Mr. W. H. Tisdall, of Wellington, who retnrned from England by the lonic on Tuesday. "They are mistaken in quite a number of instances. Take the. shops, for instance. The shops of Wellington are much better, on Stile whole, than they ar«» sn~the provincial towns of England wits five or sis 'times the population of Wellington. «. Jkkjtt., my, town, Birmingham, with ftStffirif anaillion inhabr--tantl—the shops there are not nearly so "ffne &s in L > Wellington, and what is more, you-idon** feet- the selection you do here. ■ 'The "reason is* not far to seek. The provincial shopkeepers are so near to the 'manufacturers tnat fcj»ov do not care, . nor is there the need. to carry heavy stocks, and for the same reason the choice or variety of goods is inferior at. Home* Don't you make any mistake, the colonies are right to-date, and are supplied with tno latest as soon as English provincial' towns are. Out here they go«fpr auv^ thing new, but- they move slo'wiy ntf provincial England.'* Tlie liberation of the. prisoner Archibald McNeil from the habitual criminals' wing of tb* New Plymouth gaol is further commented on by the Wellington Times, thus: — "No doubt solitary confinement preyed upon this malefactor's mind, but that seems an altogether illegitimate reason why he should be d^gain at large to plunder , law-abiding citizens, as he is doing. In any case solitary confinement can surely only have been inflicted for some grave breach of discipline. We are not to suppose that it represents the normal condition of affairs at the reformatory. If it does \i is barbarity. If the management of the prison for habit uals is .to ue carried .on in the way that is by a telegram published in another column, and we are going to |iave hardened offenders released on je£sy parole after sKdrt detention, the instead of providing protection tto the public will be a distinct menace. |The farce has clearly gone far enough, Hand* the" fteed for a full statement by jthe Minister of the methods andjnten,titons of his department is more press,mg than ever,." > . ; • ; < fin reference xto the human bones found on Dr. Chappie's property at jShannon, Mr Hamilton, Director of $he Dominion Museum, expresses the ;dpinion that the skeletdns are seventy years old. - They are "the bones of a Jnale and' female Adult and a child. |@ne of the left upper arm bones (humerus) has on ifs'an ante-Bio^tem wound *vhich, Mr Halniilfoltv says, ' could not iiaVe been l inflicted with. , any Maori ..weapon. It could only haVe been made Vitfi a sharp .steel instrument. The wound must ha^e been caused immediately before death; as there is no appearance of organised bone tissue, and it is in the place .in which one would expect it to be in the Case of a combatant defending himself with the left arm raised. The skeletons were huddled together on the surface of the ground at the root of a tree, and oma sloping terrace, which nntil recently was covered with thick forest. As Te Rauparaha was marauding in this district in the thirties, the bones are most probably those of some of his yiotims. The bones were a good d«ar* burnt '"by the recent forest fire, but what is left of the male skull suggests^— though it does not prove — that it is the skull of a Maori. ,;>,-;,, " : ' >'■ An extraordinary case of apparent neglect was reported at thie week's meeting of the Auckland Charitable Aid Board. ' The case in question w%a ono in which a man had been admitted to ■ the Costley Home from a nursing home in the suburbs, and his condition was sp bad that Dr. King, the medical officer in charge of the: institution, considered it advisable to send in a j report. "On Saturday; .last,'' •he j wrote, " t sw at this institution a man, and on examining, his body found him in a terrible state of decay, with l>ed sores varying*, from three inches in diameter to one raeh. I consider him in a state which will very soon terminate in death, but at any rate, I consider that he has not been looked after as he should have been before admitted here.?'/ Asked if he knew the name,, of the nursing home from which .the man came, the secretary replied :*" ITttofficially, yes." Mr. P. Mackay, a 1 member of the board, submitted- thfet the matter should be reported, to the Minister, whoj if the facts i as st^ied were correct, could cancel \ the license. It was decided to get fuller and in" the meantime to forward a copy 6f Dr. King's report to the nursing home in question, i

Two Taranaki factories— Pihama am] Oaonni— have, wo are informed, sold thS! output of butter for the season J ma Jcr 11). Messrs Nathan and Co., of Wellington, are the buyers. On Keview day during Fleet Week in Melbourne 52,272 passengers were carried by rail to c j£s*7JS* highest record was 44,000 on Melbourne Cup day of 1888, in the "boom period. During July and August of this year the Commonwealth shipped 43* tons ot butter to the United K » n g dom - ** *aF corresponding period last JW (&**&* was shipped, while in aX 1905 the total reached 1909 tons. Onehunga is not a most desirably place for a stranger to spend a rogh. - Fn according to a lytter sent to the Borough Council of that place by Mm. KcL Stephen, of Jloslyn, Ptmedir. This lady wrote: "To the Mayor anci } CVrucillors,— Ere this reaches you 1 will be miles away, but for the sako of the many I beg of you tpi, help the travelling public. I had occaao" recently to stay in Onohunga, and vehto a Urge hoarduighmwe, but they would npt take me in. . I remonstrated, and they said: 'That is nothing; soro.* neoplo have to sleep m sheds and «ij bcate.' I then called at a hotel, am! had to go to the bar to ask for ,*\ tad. The woman rushed tip ami showed me my room, and there_l wait loft. You have the Oii?hnnga Woollen Mills rifeht at hand but the blankets in this place were that Oil that .they were only fit for floorcloths. This w all genuine truth lam writing, For mercy sake take some notice of th:s and help the weary traveller." Tho letter was referred to the police. The champion sculler of Australia, Ben Thoroughgood, or, as he is better known among sculling enthusiasts,. t " Big Ben," has practically got everything ready for a race with the NewZealand sculler Wheloh, who accepted a challenge issued by the Australian for a face to be rowed in New Sduth. Wales for £200 a-side. When issuing the challenge, Thoroughgood intimated that the race to take place either on the Parramatta Iliver or on the Hunter River, over the Raymond Terrarer course 4 and since Whelch cabled his intention of "picking up the gauntlet," the Stockton sculler has decided that tlie race will be rowed over the latter course. - Recently he put up £25 with^ the- stakeholder (M%\ Tom Dover) to bind the match, and then left imme-i distely for Port Stephens, where hft< will put in a few weeks' training, and* reduce iasr weight by several pounds.^ When nis* deposit is covered by, tht^, New Zealander, he will get back to-thi*'" Terrace and start work in earnest.^ He will allow Whelch £50 for expenses. The date for the match has. not yet been fixed. ;

The Sydney police are engaged in investigating a cloverly-planited ami dexterously-executed robbery at ibe largo establishment of David Jones and ' Company, Limited. The thieves (as tho cables reported) got away^f wi^h gcods valued at .about £400. . Tho authorities are of opinion that several men must have taken part in tfie removal of the articles, which cc*Dpris© ; jewellery, Masonic emblems; expensive.' jki^-bags, • portmanteaux, drapery and clothing, and that a horse and cart niuVt have been employed to take^tbem away. The first discovery that any--.? thing was wrong was made by a watch- x man, who when going his rounds at night observed, that, one of the ,doors. iiu Barrack Street was open. it was. not until next morning, however; that tho list of missing goods coulo^>^l sup-^ plied to the detectives. As th«! loclc* of the door had been wrenchefl of^j from the inside, % is surmised^ that oun of the gang^&ad secreted himself iv the establishment before closing timer on Saturday afternoon, and hadß at a time Agreed upon admitted his 4ccom-. plices! In order to get the article* which they made off with, the rbbbe^s hail to ransack several departments. Tha firm is offering a reward 0$ £50 for information which will leacl to the arrest of tlie depredators. The services at Fitzroy Primitive* Methodist Church will foe conducted by Mr Lijley at 11 a.m. and by Rev. H. ' White at 7 p.m.— Advt. TJie anniversary of the Queen Street Primitive Methodist Church will bo celebrated to-morrow. The morning^ . service will be conducted py Rev. John" Laird, and the evening iservice by Rev. J. Guy.— Advt. , : . W.C.T.U.— The monthly, meeting wilf he neld in the Baptist Church,.* GUl Street, on Saturday - { next, 19th *ins\. (anniversary of thegranting of women's franchise in New Zealand), at 2 p.m., instead of on Wednesday. Visitors cordially invited. — Advt. : e344 Members of the Equitable Building Society of New Plymouth (First and Second Groups) are notified that subscriptions will be due and payable en Monday, at the Secretary's Office, Cutrie Street, from 9 a.m, to 12.30, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 9p.in.