The Star. MONDAY, APRIL 50, 1928. NOTES OF THE DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18451, 30 April 1928, Page 8

The Star. MONDAY, APRIL 50, 1928. NOTES OF THE DAY.

/CITIZENS who are interested in Ihe preservation of the beauties of Cathedral Square should note the invitation given to them by the Minister of Health to give evidence on tlie subject before the committee of the Board of Health on Wednesday. It may lie taken for granted that the City Council, which desires to carry out an outrageous programme of disfigurement, with lavatories and rest rooms in the centre of the Square, will attempt to make out a very strong case before the committee, and if the committee is influenced merely by “ weight of evidence,” the city may be saddled with a permanent disfigurement simply because citizens are diffident about taking up a public matter individually. We hope, therefore, that there will be a very full response to the Minister’s invitation.

TJfiAISE of Scotland Yard methods can hardly be exaggeraled in the case of the Essex murder trial, which, despite its revelations of the organisation and methods of desperate criminals, must belli to give a feeling of security to law-abiding citizens, and to emphasise, incidentally, the difference between British and American methods of pursuing and dealing with crime. The gathering of clues was, indeed, a masterpiece without example in the most sensational detective fiction, and it is highly significant that Scotland Yard, at every stage of the process, enlisted the help of the Press to the utmost, and even after the arrest of Kennedy made an official statement which, while in no way prejudicing the accused, precluded the publication of sensational conjectures. The conviction of Browne and Kennedy will be bailed with satisfaction by the public, particularly as it represents an effective notice to the underworld that the police cannot be attacked with impunity. T'VKSC.RIBKD by Abe Mitchell as the greatest event in * British golf history, the defeat of Walter Ilagcn by Archie Compston, a leading British , professional, will set tongues wagging all over Ihe world. Indeed, the accuracy of the cablegram almost comes under suspicion when its full import is considered. To win the first eighteen holes of a match against a player who has held the American open championship on several occasions is next door to miraculous, because it means that the winner was at least eighteen strokes better than his opponent, and stroke play is Hagen’s strong point. Hagen, two years ago, won the open championship of Britain (and, incidentally, made himself a little bit unpopular by some indiscreet but painfully true remarks about British golfers). The only explanation of bis crushing defeat by Compston is that be was right off his game and that Compston was playing inspired golf. It would be particularly interesting to know how many strokes Compston took for the eighteen holes. NEW ZEALANDERS will read wi th disgust to-day the statement of an immigrant who has recently returned to England after an experience in New' Zealand, and has taken the trouble to contribute an article to “ Public Opinion ’’ on labour conditions in New Zealand. The article is simply a tissue of mis-statements from beginning to end. It is true enough that the immigration policy of New Zealand during the recent depression increased the unemployment problem to some extent, but it is utterly absurd to say that on this account any immigrant arriving in New Zealand finds himself in “ enemy country.” Fortunately for the good name of New Zealand, the writer of the article has given his whole case away by constant exaggeration. The story of the mechanic who has been seven years in New Zealand, and is now living with a family of five in one room, and sharing one kitchen with seven other families, does not ring true. It is simply not true that the rent of two rooms is £2 10s a week, or that £4 a week in New' Zealand is the equivalent of 25s at Home. It is not true that in Wellington there is only one store in the egg and fruit business that is not in the hands of Chinese, or that all truck farming lias become a Chinese monopoly. It is not true, either, that there are whole colonies of rabbit hutches of 15 feet by 20 feet springing up around the towns. Fortunately, the whole article is transparently inaccurate. The only pity is that it was nobody’s business to deny it as soon as it appeared.