The News of the Week

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 5, 29 July 1908, Page 5

The News of the Week

nr THE DOMINION, Th: Chief Justice has graurted leave to the Wanganui College Board of Trustees to borrow up to £35,000. There are two centenarians on the old age pension list—one a widower, aged 107 years, the other a bachelor, aged IM, A further extension of the Wellington tramways is contemplated, to cost £ 10,000. The oldest person in the Dominion is said to be Mr Henry Burling, of Waikanae, who is in his 108th year. The Westport District Gold Miners’ Industrial Union of Workers has applied to cancel its registration under the Arbitration Act. The Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, with a membership of 1070, claims to be the largest trades union in the colony. A meeting of ratepayers on July 21st authorised the Auckland City Council to raise a loan of £130,000 for various city works and street improvements. The total output of coal last year from New Zealand mines was 1,831,009 tons, an increase of 101,473 tons. Northern districts contributed 316,977 tons. ■The post and' telegraph revenue for the Dominion for the quarter ended June 30last was £228,020, as against £212,301 for the correspond'ing quarter of 1907. The latest proposal of the Wellington Harbour Board is a scheme to construct a canal and a dock in the closed western arm of the Hutt River, at a cost of £ 000The Domestic Workers* Union formed in Wellington has been refused registration on the ground “that domestic helps are only kept for comfort and convenience and not for profit.’* During the quarter ended June 30 the amount of deposits in the Savings Banks was £2,607,657, compared with £2,422,440 for the corresponding quarter of 1907. Cable advice was received by the Mayor on July 22 stating that the Wellington city loan of £lOO,OOO (4 per cent debentures at par) has been satisfactorily floated. It is expected that the loan will net the Council about 98. The election of a member of the Civil Service Superannuation Board resulted in the following gentlemen being elected: — Post and Telegraph: Messrs Huggins and MeNickle. Other Departments: Messrs Allport, Spence, and Bishop. Napier Harbour Board returns for the half-year ending June 30 show a satisfactory increase in the trade of the port. Revenue totalled £33,804, as compared with £30,119 for the corresponding period of 1907. Imports increased from 48,750 tons to 54,862 tons, and exports from 12,065 tons to 12,479 tons. Auckland’s poultry industry is growing. For the quarter ended June .30, of this year the number of eggs put through the Government grading depot was 211, 300, or 30,907 more than for the corresponding three months of 1907. Poultry for the same period showed a marked increase also, the figures being, 1908, 8119 head; 1907, 5927. Tire report of a great coal scam being laid bare by a landslip in the Huntly district is discredited. The rumour has probably arisen through some confusion as to locality—the description of the extent of the deposit agreeing with the recent discovery of coal near Ngaruawahia, where there are millions of tons of excellent quality in sight.

The s.s. Wimmera, which arrived at Auckland on Sunday last, had a very rough passage from Sydney, several deck cabins being smashed in by the heavy seas. One of the steerage passengers, named Benjamin Tallents, draper, of Federal-street, Auckland, died on the voyage. Deceased, who was 54 years ot age, had been taken on board ill, and grew gradually worse, and expired as the vessel was coming down the coast. The Wellington Harbour Board decided definitely to enter into an agreement for the acquisition of the Wellington patent slip. The Slip Company is to remain in possession of the property lor 25 years, when the Board shall pay i£ 30,000, and own the slip. A portion of the land not occupied by the slip is to be set apart for the use of the Union Steam Ship Company, which is to have the offer of this portion as a Glasgow lease, at the end of the 25 years.

An attempt is to be made to raise a volunteer corps in Wellington, all the members of which shall be men with war service. Mr. Gardner, who was a sergeant of the Fourth New Zealand Mounted Rifles in Africa and a captain in the Ninth, has the matter in hand. It is not dtated whether the intention is to ask ex-mounted rifles with war service to comprise an infantry or a mounted corps. Men cf all New Zealand contingents and of other irregular corps who have the necessary war service will be eligible. * Railway Statistics. Railway returns for the Dominion extending over four weeks ending June 30 show a grand total revenue on Government lines of £212,545, and expenditure £158,145. The North Island totals were £92,903 and £69,379, and the South Island totals £119,642 and £88,765. On the Auckland main line the revenue was £33,227 and the expenditure £22,865. Whangarie: Revenue, £2,498; expenditure £919. Kaihu: Revenue, £417; expenditure, £410; Kawakawa: Revenue, £117; expenditure, £251. Gisborne-Karaka: Revenue, £670; expenditure, £392. Whcra Trade is Increasing. A return of the increase in trade of the principal ports of the Dominion for the 10 years from 1897 to 1907, laid before the New Plymouth Harbour Board, shows that the trade of New Plymouth increased by 127 per cent. Other figures were as follows: Timaru 138 per cent. Gisborne 132 per cent, Wellington 106 per cent, Napier 93 per cent, Auckland 85 per cent, Invercargill 79 per cent, Lyttelton 68 per cent, Dunedin 50 per cent. Assisted Immigration. The s.s. Rimutaka, which is due at Wellington next, week, from London, brings 102 assisted passengers, 75 of whom are adults with a total declared capital of £3230. One family, consisting of three brothers, brought up as farmers, and their sister, have a joint capital of £ l::6l. Forty-three of the immigrants are nominated by friends in New Zealand, and are coming to situations. Amongst the assisted passengers are 15 farmers, seven farm labourers, and nine domestic servants. Successful Municipalisation. For the past eleven months the electric light works have been owned by the Wellington City Council, and it is estimated by the Mayor that the profits for the year will amount to about £7OO more than the Electrical Syndicate gained during its last year of operations in Wellington. This is in spite of the fact that the municipality lias given consumers the benefit of a reduction in price, which equals £3OOO. Some £13,000 has been set apart out of earnings to form a sinking fund, meet interest charges, and allow for depreciation. After making the deductions, there remains a net profit of about £5OOO for the 11 months’ operations. Auckland Tramways Dispute. On Friday last, Dr. A. McArthur, S.M., the chairman of the Special Board of Conciliators eet up in connection with the industrial dispute between the Auckland Electric Tramways Industrial Union of Workers and the Auckland Electric Tramways Company, Limited, delivered the decision of the Board. All the members of the Board were present, and the company and the union were represented by Mr. J. J. Walklate (general manager) and Mr. A. Rosser (secretary) respectively. The Chairman of the Board was, in his own words, “the deciding element in each clause” —his casting vote having determined all the issues raised. The findings of the Board are thus summarised: — 1. That Conductor Hcrdson b e reinstated in his position. 2. —That the General Manager shall give a written guarantee that in future any employee being dismissed from the ser-

vice shall be given a valid reason for his dismissal.

3. —That any employee being sent to the head office for an alleged fault shall sea all reports made against him and have the right to call evidence on his behalf. 4. —That any inspector proved guilty of making mis-statements or false reports against employees shall be instantly dismissed. 5. —Seeing that Mr. Lysaght's questionable methods were the real cause of the strike of November, 1906, and that the recent harassing of motormen and conductors by ticket inspectors has been in obedience to his instructions, he shall be removed from direct contact with the men. 6. —The Board directs that ths foregoing recommendations shall take effect from the first day of September, 1908, and shall continue in force until the 31st day of August, 1910. Dr. McArthur stated at considerable length his reasons for arriving at these decisions. In reply to a question, he said that no penalties were provided for breach of the award, “but the breaking of the agreement would be a very serious thing for either party.” Religions Instruction in Schools. At the last meeting of the Wanganui School Committee permission was granted to members of the Minister’s Association to give religious instruction from 9 to 9.25 on Wednesday morning of each week. The Chairman of the Education Board has now issued! instructions that school hours must not be altered without permission of the Board. This is practically vetoing the School Committee’s resolution. H.M.S. New Zealand. Captain F. C. D. Sturdee, of H.M.s. New Zealand, wrote to the High Commissioner’s office a day or two ago asking for some music associated with New Zealand, for the use of the battleship’s ba<nd. Mr. Campbell, the librarian, sent him a copy of the song “God Defend New Zealand,” the words of which are by Thomas Bracken, in three verses, of which the first is as follows: — God of Nations, at tby feet In the bonds of love we meet. Hear our voices, we entreat. God defend oar free land! Guard Pacific’s triple star From the shafts of strife and war; Make ner praises heard afar, God defend New Zealand! Captain Sturdee is having band parts made, and proposes to adopt “God Defend New Zealand” for his battleship. He has also accepted with thanks an offer of books of illustrations of Now Zealand for the ship's library. “We.are anxious,” he wrote, “to identify the ship in any way possible with the great Dominion she is named after.” America in the Pacific. The Prime Minister, in a speech delivered at a political social gathering on July 20, justified the expenditure authorised by the Government in the entertainment of the American Fleet, and took occasion to make some rather significant remarks concerning the future of the Pacific, and the peril of a possible Asiatic invasion. Sir Joseph Ward said he was sorry the question of unemployment had been raised at all in regard to the coming and entertainment of the fleet. Putting the matter on the necessary basis of pounds, shillings and pence, he found that the whole cost of entertainment of the fleet would be 3Jd per head of our population. How much we were going to get by entertaining the fleet he would not condescend to say. He could say, however, how much the Government was going to receive from our own people by using our own public services. lie had just had a computation made, which showed that lid per head of our population, at the lowest estimate, would be received. He was simply giving absolute facts from information in the possession of the Railway Department and the Government. Our publie services would bring us back at least £30,000. It would be a different matter if we were going into a discussion of the American laws and our own, but our position as part and parcel of the British Empire could not be ignored. America was a great Power, on friendly terms with the United Kingdom, with which it did 50 millions sterling worth of trade every year. He did not believe that the great mass of our

working people were so forgetful of our obligations as to suppose that when the fleet was going to Samoa and Fiji, as at first announced, and afterwards to Australia, that it was for us to have said that we did not want it here. If we had said that, wo should not have sHiwn proper recognition of our duty tn the Empire and to ourselves. (Applause.) We and our children might not sec it, but there would some day be a fight to decide whether the white races should govern Australia, New Zealand, and other islands in the Pacific. If at that time we could have as our ally America, with her powerful fleet, we should be very glad to have them fighting shoulder to shoulder with us; yet when the Government felt it to be its duty to do what would be done in America if New Zealanders went there in a warship, they, unhappily, found the cry raised that the small amount of money that was to ba spent would interfere with the employment of the people. The Government had sufficient resource to do its duty in welcoming the fleet, and also to do what was right in the way of employment for the people. (Applause.) State Coal Mines and Depots. The report of the working of the State coal mines for the year ended March last shows that the total quantity of coal shipped, including briquettes and oggettes, was 237,309 tons, valued at £199,259. The values of the quantities supplied from the Point Elizabeth colliery were as*follows: —Railways. £SB,497; private customers and shipping companies, £35,951; Government Departments other than railways, £41.493. The values of the outputs fro u the Seddonville colliery were as follows:—Railways, £27.826; private customers and shipping companies, £2779; Government Departments other than railways, £2709. It is stated that the Christchurch and Wellington depots did remarkably well during the year, having increased their sales by about 8000 tons each, while at Wanganui, where a depot had been established for 11 months, some 4500 tons of coal had been disposed of. “It is intended,” says the report, “to extend this class of business where the circumstances warrant the establishment of depots, and an endeavour is being mads to arrange with municipal bodies to undertake the sale and distribution of coal in localities where State depots could not be run with financial success. The accounts of the Point Elizabeth colliery show a net profit of £15,431 for the year, whilst the Seddonville colliery shows a loss (including £1125 on the briquette plant) of £5580. Th? net profit on the working of the Wellington depot was £291, and on the Christchurch depot it was £417. The Wanganui depot showed a loss of £ 159. The m t profit for the year on the entire account is shown as £8440.” Steel front Ironsand. An important decision in the matter of an application for patent in connection with the smelting of ironsand has been given by the Registrar of Patents. The decision dealt with the application of Horace Brown, cf America, for a patent for a process in the manufacture of steel in which ore finely divided is showered down a stack and subjected to a highly heated atmosphere. The application was opposed by Moore and Ilcskett, of Victoria, on the ground of nu infringement of a similar process obtaining in connection with their invention. The registrar considered the objection of defendants had been sustained, and refused the application. Bank of England Concessions. As a result of negotiations by Sir Hector Carruthers (ex-Premier of New South Wales), the Bank of England has reduced the charges for the inscription and management ff colonial stocks by 12J per cent. The saving to New South Wales will be about £3OOO annually. It is probable that the reduction will bo extended to Queensland and New Zealand, saving about £3500 and £SOOO respectively. Praise of New ZealandThe Rev. C. G. Ledger, vicar of Tupley, Herefordshire, who had temporary charge of St. Matthew’s Church in Auckland during his visit to New Zealand, has l»een telling Londoners of the wonderful progress which New Zealand has

made in its brief career. The Dominion is far ahead of other parts of the world, in his opinion, and) so affords many useful object lessons. On the question of the relative cost of living in England and New Zealand, Mr. Ledger believes that if a man is of a really thrifty disposition, he could save more in New Zealand than in England, but must exercise his self-con-trol to do so. Still, he returned from the Dominion feeling that the artisan in good! employment in Englund could get more for his money here than he could get for his larger wages in New Zealand. Mr. Ledger found very little alcoholic intemperance in New Zealand. The people struck him as being great water and tea drinkers. The State schools seemed to be very good. The Sunday schools were fairly vigorous in the towns, but not more than 5 per cent of the children in the country districts know the Lord’s Prayer, according to Mr. Ledger. It also struck him that children in New Zealand have no nursery life. They live with adults and are talked to as if they were adults, with the result that they are neither shy nor impudent, but “ talk like little men and women upon every subject in life.” Their imaginations and sense of fun are cultivated. Mr. Ledger thought the climate of New Zealand was very fine, but just as uncertain as the English climate. Resignation of the High Commissioner’. The Premier announced on July 24 that Mr. W. P. Reeves had resigned the High Commissioners}!ip as from October next, and had accepted the position of Director of Economics and Political Science in the London University. Sir Joseph Ward added that rf-thing had been decided as to the successor of Mr Reeves. The appointment was a very important one, and would require very careful consideration. Tie proposed to make a statement to the House before the end of the session, and would then put on record what he believed to be the general opinion of members regarding the very satisfactory way in which Mr. Reeves had so long and honourably discharged his duties in London. Rumour associate* the name of the Ho:i. W. Hall-Jcnes with the High Commissionership. Other ‘‘probables” mentioned are the Hon. '!. K. Macdonald. Mr Thus. Mackenzie, M.P.. and Mr T. E. Doane, the general manager of the Tourist Department. If is not expected that Ihe appointment will be made for at least three months from now. Tire Industrial Arbitration Act. A combined meeting of labour unions iu Napier passed the following resolution:—“That while unhesitatingly reaffirming th. principle of arbitration mid conciliation. this meeting emphatically condotr.u • iho prep: s< d Arbtration A niendmeiit Bill.” A committee of the Hawke’s Bay Employers’ Association has considered the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Bill and the amendments suggested by the Employers’ Federation. The committee is generally favourable to the proposed amendments made by the federation, but docs not approve of the Canterbury proposal to leave disputes in the hands <f a public conciliator only. In conclusion, the Hawke’s Bay Association Committee says, “The proposed Act appeals to us as a bona fide endeavour to put industrial conditions on a better footing for all concerned, and some such Act is the only hope of preventing compulsory conciliation and arbitration from beiirj swept away altogether.” Maori Traditions. Some time ago, a conference was held in the Wairarapa of Maoris whose ancestors are supposed to have come to New Zealand in the canoe Takitumu. The object of the gathering was to compile and put in writing old traditions, handed down by the tohungas, which were otherwise in danger of being lost. A Wairarapa Native, Whatahora, informed the Maori Congress tnat he has two volumes of these traditions in his possession, it is probable that some of them may prove of considerable interest. Whatahora stated that he had been collecting similar lore since 1864. It is understood that Mr. Elsdon Best, an indefatigable collector of Maori folk-lore and student of the Maori race and customs, has a large quantity of information on these subjects ready for publication.

Trades and Labour Conference. The annual session of the Trades and Labour Councils of the Dominion has been sitting at Wellington during the past week. A long series of resolutions was adopted dealing with the proposed amendment of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and suggested new provisions in the interests of labour. It was also resolved that the workers be urged to vote No-License, with a view to the State assuming control of the liquor traffic. The Conference decided to recommend that old . pensions be increased to 12/6 per week, and that all persons rendered incapable of earning their living either from accident, sickness, or natural infirmities should be entitled to a pension regardless of age limit. The Conference considered the following remits:— From Southland: “That the Government be urged to nationalise the following industries of the Dominion, viz., by starting State Departments, (a) sawmilling, (b) ironworks, (c) boot factories, (d) bakeries, (c) clothing factories, (f) banking facilities.” From Otago: “That the Government be urged to establish clothing and boot factories, Hour and woollen mills, bakeries ironworks, and iron shipbuilding yards, and to nationalise the marine coastal and intercolonial service. An amendment was moved that the Government nationalise all industries when opportunity offered. The amendment was carried and was subsequently amended by the addition of the words “especially these industries connected with the necessaries of life.” Thx'eatened Coal Strike. A strike of some dimensions, it is stated, is threatened in connection with the coal mining industry. The Minister for Labour (the Hon. J. A. Millar) has been informed by telegram from the officers of the Miners’ Union, Otago, that unless a settlement of the existing dispute between the miners and the coal mineowners is arrived at by Monday next 9000 men will go out on strike. This decision is the outcome of negotiations that have been in progress for some time past. The miners went before the Arbitration Court in Dunedin, and tiic' Court instructed them to go back to the employers and try to arrange a conference with a view to settlement. They state that they had previously endeavoured to settle their differences by this means without success. Regarding the threatened miners’ strike, the Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister for Labour, states that he has received information from the West Coast that they have no knowledge of the proposed strike. “I am also informed,’’ lie adds, “that if a strike does occur it can, under the worst circumstances, only affect Green Island miners, who number sixty or seventy. At latest advices, there was every prospect of settling the difficulty. I am pleased to hear that the matter is not likely to be so serious as was represented by alarmist reports.” Accidents, Suicides, etc. A young jockey named George Webster was killed as the result of a tram accident in Karangahape-road, Auckl-.nd, on April 22. A little boy was leading a horse at Methven an Tuesday, when the animal bolted, dashing him against a post, with iatal results. A fatal accident was caused at Bartholomew’s mill, Levin, by a knife, which Hew out of a planing machine, striking a mill hand named John Stanley Widdows on the side of the head, breaking his jaw and neck. Death was instantaneous. An inquest was held on July 23 concerning death of a young woman named Laura Goodwin, who was killed by the express train from Christchurch on Tuesday last. Evidence showed that deceased had been unwell, and that when she went upon the carriage platform, she fainted and fell between the carriages. A verdict of accidental death was returned. A labouring man named John William Walsh, aged about 38, committed suicide in Wellington harbour by jumping off the outer tee of Queen’s Wharf. The act was deliberate, the man stripping off all his clothes and 1 leaving them on the wharf under some bricks. He was seen to jump in by a stevedore working on the forehatch of the steamer Victoria. The body was soon recovered, but life was extinct. While the police were ap-

plying artificial respiration the man’s wife arrived, having discovered a note in his bedroom saying that his clothes would be found on the wharf.

A young man named S. Davis fell from Roman rings in St. Peter’s gymnasium, Hamilton, and was taken to the hospital, where it was found that his upper and jower jaw and nose were fractured. It is also feared his skull is fractured.

Emanuel Edmund Deer, an aged resident of the Bluff, was burnt to death on July 25th under peculiar circumstances. Deer lived by himself in a fourroomed house, and at about 11.30 p.m. a passcr-by noticed the flames through the window, and on knocking at the door Deer replied that he would be out in a minute. The passer-by then went to give the alarm, but Deer, it is presumed, had waited too long, and had been overcome by smoke. Close by the body, when found, was a purse containing a number of charred notes and several pieces of gold, which, no doubt, he tried to save.

Alexander Webster, believed to have been a shearer, was run over in Wellington on July 24 by the 8.30 train from Wellington to Tc Aro. Both legs were taken off, and his right arm was badly crushed. Webster was removed to the hospital, where he died at 11 o’clock. The deceased was a married man, about 30 years of age, and was a resident of Petone.

An elderly widow named Mary Hobbins, was killed on July 22 by falling from Parnell railway bridge, Auckland, on to the roadway, nearly 30 feet below. A man named Jas. Craw, while duckshooting on the Kaituna river, near Christchurch, on July 24, was accidentally drowned. At the Auckland Working Men’s Club on July 26, a labourer named Wm. Jackson, died suddenly after having a bath. The door of the bathroom had to be burst open.