CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19987, 20 December 1934, Page 4

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS

ITEMS FROM THE CITY CHRISTCHURCH, December 19. Personal : Bishop Brodie returned from Wellington this morning. Mr E. Mcllraith, manager of the Bank of New South Wales at Dumbleyung, Western Australia, is visiting Christchurch. Mr Mcllraith was formerly in the Ashburton and Timaru branches of the bank. Dr. M. C. Franklin has resumed his work as assistant chemist at Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, after having finished his research at Cambridge, and gained his Ph.D. degree. Mr E. W. Hullett, who occupied Dr. Franklin's position, has joined the staff of the Wheat Research Institute, and Mr H. P. Donald has gone to Edinburgh to study animal genetics and breeding. His place has been taken by Mr J. W. McLean, a graduate of the college. Mr Justice Johnston will leave Christchurch this evening to spend the vacation on his farm at Opoutama, Hawke’s Bay. He will return south on February 3, when he will go direct to Timaru Supreme Court criminal sessions there. Milk Poisoning: Mr A. T. Smith, chairman of the Public Health Committee, reported to a meeting of the Hospital Board this morning that since the last meeting of the board fees amounting to £598 18s had been received. The Medical Officer of Health reported that during November 77 infectious diseases cases were reported, compared with 22 last year. This increase was due to 57 cases of milk poisoning which lasted about a fortnight. Schools Close: From now till February 4 the primary schools under the direction of the Canterbury Education Board will be shut, and from their benches the children will depart for the seaside and the country. All have had their prize-givings, and a rather eventful year has come to a conclusion. It has been stated with regard to the great majority of schools in the district that, despite the interruptions caused by widespread outbreaks of measles and whooping cough, to say nothing of the inevitable influenza, excellent progress has been made throughout the year, and that the children, as well as the teachers, have earned their long vacation.

Yachting at Timaru: The Pleasant Point Yacht Club, New Brighton, has received an invitation from the newly-formed South Canterbury Yacht and Motor-Boat Club to send up to eight boats to compete in sailing events to be held at Timaru during the holidays. The South Canterbury Club has offered to provide accommodation for 10 men of the crews for 10 days from December 24, and also to bear the cost of the transport of the boats to Timaru. The members of the Pleasant Point Club are enthusiastic over the invitation and advantage is to be taken of the offer from the South Canterbury Club.

! Positions for Students: The principal of the Christchurch Technical College (Dr. D. E. Hansen) said at the prize-giving ceremony that ►up to the close of the year approxi- ) mately 100 girls and 230 boys had left | the college to enter positions, or, in a ; few instances in the case of the girls, \ to help at home. In addition about 100 : evening and former students nad I obtained positions. Some had secured j jobs through their own initiative, but | most were placed directly through the agency of the college. The type of position offering to the students was on the whole very good. It was noteworthy that pupils taken early from school and placed at work did not in general obtain such satis--1 factory positions as older and better- ! trained pupils, and did not hold the positions so well. Drainage Board Debentures: Though the advertisements had appeared only eight days ago applicaI tions for the conversion of £189,700 of the Christchurch Drainage Board's debentures have been received. Satisfaction at this response was expressed at a meeting of the board by the chairman (Mr H. G. Livingstone), who said that the sum represented about 10 per cent, of the loans being dealt with under the board’s scheme. He added that practically all the work entailed in the conversion .was being carried out by the board's staff, without the assistance of outside experts, who had been employed by i certain local authorities. In some | cases this assistance had cost over I £IOOO. Also, the scheme of conversion ! had been prepared by the Treasury in i Wellington, and had cost the board | nothing. All that would be necessary j for the board to do was to engage one ] or two assistants to help with the ; routine work. j Levy on Wool Scheme: • The reasons why Lincoln College was opposed to the Wool Improvement Bill were given by the chairman of the Board of Governors, Dr H. G. Denham, in his address at the prize-giving ceremony. The college, he said, regarded any scheme of improvement as unsuitable unless it comprehended not only wool itself, but also the feeding and general

health of the sheep that produced it. “Our attitude toward the Wool Improvement Bill should be defined,” said Dr. Denham. “Wool improvement must be associated, and is associated, with breeding, feeding, and health of sheep. A scheme to improve wool must then be built up on a stock improvement plan or scheme associated with research into feeding and diseases of stock. Feeding is understood to include environmental investigations. Any levy then to carry on such a comprehensive scheme must be general, and include not only a levy on wool but on all stock. Killing would be the easiest means of arriving at the source of levy. This puts the whole thing in a nutshell. We have reason to believe that if a Bill on these lines had been introduced we should have had the support of every broadminded sheep owner in New Zealand.”

“A Curious Report:” Some criticism of the Library Survey issued recently by the Libraries Association of New Zealand, which reported on the general library question throughout New Zealand, was expressed at a meeting of the Canterbury College Council. Dr G. M. L. Lester, chairman of the Museum and Library Committee, referred to it as “a curious report, and not a very good one.”

He mentioned one referrence which was a mis-statement of fact. The report spoke of the Canterbury library staff as “young and enthusiastic,” but commented that it had not taken advantage of the training available from the Libraries Association, London. It was a fact that it was a member of the Christchurch staff who was the first in New Zealand to take this course, said Dr Lester, and that since then three others had taken it. The comment in the report was due to lack of information.

“The newspapers did not give the report its full merits, though,” continued Dr Lester, “nor did they do justice to the Christchurch library.” The chairman (Mr C. T. Aschman) supported Dr Lester, but the subject was not discussed any further.

Must Face Situation: Pointing out that within the next 12 months they would have to face uo to the situation, Dr H. G. Denham, chairman of the Board of Governors of Lincoln College, speaking at a prize-giving ceremony, referred to the question of meat quotas. “So far,” he said, “we have adopted the good old British method—drifting. New Zealand derives a large percentage of its revenue from the export of its primary produce, and our welfare is, therefore, closely dependent upon the policy of our customers,” said Dr Denham. “The recently announced imposition of a dairy and meat quota has naturally had a serious repercussion among the farming community in this country, and it is difficult to see just how the desired restrictions can most justly be

brought about. Undoubtedly it entails careful planning of a type for which we are not yet prepared. The immediate future will need very wise guidance if we are going to avoid rather grave disturbances in t'.e manner in which our agricultural production has hitherto been handled.

“In other respects, too, the pro- ! spects have not been made easier for J us. Thus, the unsettled state of some of the European countries has un- j doubtedly adversely affected the re- j cent wool market, but in spite of these j almost ominous sings on the horizon. I the country is more firmly on its feet | than at this time last year, and on the | whole we seem to be once more on the ! upward grade.” Curiosity Regarding Resignation: Curiosity as to the reason for the resignation from the position of assistant medical superintendent of Dr W. Hamilton, was expressed by members of the North Canterbury Hospital Board to-day, when some reference was made to the number of resignations received by the board and to “something behind it.” The chairman (Mr H. J. Otley) j declared that resignations were re- j ceived because junior officers were always on the lookout for better positions. The Hospital Committee reported | that Dr Hamilton’s resignation had I been received, and recommended that ! it be accepted with regret, and that the ; committee be given the authority to j make the appointment to fill the ‘ vacancy. Mr J. S. Barnett asked why Dr Ham- ; ilton had resigned. He would like a return showing how many medical ! officers had resigned in the past four years. The chairman said that he did not j know why the doctor had resigned. Junior medical officers were on the i lookout for better appointments. No j reason had been given for the resignation, but he took it that Dr Hamil- | ton had a better appointment. The Rev. J. K. Archer said that Dr Hamilton had previously resigned and had then withdrawn his resignation. Now he was resigning again and as a matter of courtesy he might have given a reason. One of the worst things to experience on a public body was suspicion. There was a suspicion that there was something behind these resignations. He did not know if there was anything behind them, but he thought the board should know what the position was. Mr Barnett asked if other boards experienced the same difficulty. The chairman said that the Dunedin board certainly did. He felt sure that the reason for Dr Hamilton’s resignation was that he had secured a better position.

The report was received and the recommendations adopted.