News of the Dominion

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVII, Issue 20, 15 May 1912, Page 4

News of the Dominion

Are We Getting Value! THE Hob. J. A. Hanan, discussing the Education system, said the question was frequently asked, "Are we getting value for the moaey s:. t on edtuatii-i; On that point inin various dire s. One of tin two ■ ; ’ . . , . ; , shortly appointed to un- ' .11. I.ati< n of school children A • mmission t ■ t . [ State educa’..11 uouil te set up after the next ttiiig of Ca-'uiet. It would consist of representatives of education beards high 'looi boards, srhocl teachers an I it.sjsc to. «. rvpi* s* ntativcs of technical . . .... utati es of the G '- v e rument. M-nntain of Greenstone. The almost unbelievable find of a mountain c-f New Zealand greenstone cn the V.'i -i Coast, reported some tune ago. is I.■ w a ccrt.i nty, and particulars Ct the v :y valuable discovery are disclose I in the ’prospectus of a company which has been floated in a surprising short space of time in Sydney to work tha greenstone mine. The shares have been fully taken up already, and interest ia the venture, as far as most New Zealanders are concerned, will lie in the prosperts ef having greenstone mantlepi. •=, carved tabletops, and other ambit.. is artales of furniture, which could r.<have been dreamed of a year age. A Closed Mine. A depute with the coal mine workers on Green Island (Dunedin), resulted in cessation cf work and at a recent meeting : owners, Christie Bros, stated that as the maintenance men had gone out with t rest cf the i■ . the existing fires in the mine had g t cut cf hand, ne.es- -nting ;L e e-alin. :p cf t'.e mine, »!>: h r.-ass that the --resent section will be closed for months at lea-t. In the meantime another section cf the he’d -» II he opened up, and by forecl shifts it is hoped in a very short time to have es for a r...nicer ef men. Not Wanud. There is a strong agitation afoot to prevent the establishment cf Chinese furniture factories in New Zealand. It is urged that every endeavour should be made to fr.i-trate the proposal that sinh a factory be established in Christchurch, and that a protest f« made against the gal wed t aperate ia the furniture trade anywhere in New Zealand. in vi-'-v ef the exr-riencee ef Australia. Differential Rating. The NZ. Farmers* Union b. again s; p roa 1 the (.bamber cf Commerce '■ r mpathet < side rat icn of its protest against differential rating cn the railways against imported goods. The Chamber has r» ph. >1 that the question is more one for eo-asideration ly Parliament than ly the Chamber.

Unduly Hard. An affiliation ease presenting unusual feature} came before Mr. C. I. Kettle. S.M., in. which a young woman made a claim for maintenance of an illegitimate child against the father of a young man alleged to be the parent. It was stateel that at the end of November la«t the young man had disap-peared, leaving no trace. He had been ordered to join the territorials, and he had told his parents that he intended to leave the Dominion rather than serve. They presumed that this was his reason for leaving, as they knew cf no other circumstances that would cause him to go away. The magistrate. after hearing evidence, said he eons.dered the corroboration of the girl » story was sufficiently strong to warrant i.is making an order, though he admitted that the iaw as it stood seemed unduly .hard in making the putative grandparents responsible for the sins of their prodigal sons. An order was for 7/d a week, together with £5 —,« arrears, and £7 16/ birth expenses. Mr. Sehnauer appeared for the complainant, and Mr. Hackett for the defendant. New Post Office. Although the external appearance ot the new Post Office indicates the approaching < •nipletion of the work, it is understood that at least three months will elapse before the business of the Department can be removed from the c-id offices in ShorGand-street. It will neeeßsarily be a big undertaking to transfer the postal equipment without stopping the service in any way, and this work wild need to be carried out by dngrees. The appointments ef the new offices are excellent in the main, but ,-dverse opinions have been expressed concerning the facilities of the private letter boxes. The spaces cn the baek of these are said to be too small to allow the staff to fully index the addresses which apply to each box. It may ba that the Department intends to give effect to a suggestioa that was made some - : me ago. to only place inside e- letters which are fully a-i-dresse «.-.h its number. A.t present this rule is not insisted upon. The provision of a writing room for the use cf private box hosiers will be appreciated. Railway Fares. An important matter was brought up for discussion at the last meeting of the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce when Mr. T. N. McLean moved that the Minister for Railways be approached in regard to general reduction of fares. It was dc--ired that the rates be lowered to tourist and health resorts which are largely State-owned properties but are by no means so well treated in regard to railway facilities as in other directions: that week-end tickets be issued between stations that would give the system a fair trial; and that the sliding scale adopted during Sir Joseph Ward's administration be reverted to. Mr. McLean quoted figt s the al lition : the T<-llcy cf a sliding scale the traffic to Rotor.:a had been much affected.

Financial. In the course of a conversation with a pressnun on the financial situation, Mr. H. Beauchamp, former ehairman of directors of the Bank of New Zealand, expressed the opinion that the heavy demands for money in many countries at the present time is exercising a hardening effect on money, for which reason he thought the present would be inopportune for attempting to rate large loans, either cn the part cf the Government or of municipalities. The restrictive policy being parsaed by the bunks and lending institutions in Australia is also having the effect of advancing the rate of interest over there, the reflex of whiih shows itself in New Zealand as a matter c-f course. In faet, he said, it would net be surprising to him to see interest on first-class mortgagee touch per eent. before very long. The Tetanus Danger. According to medical opinion offered at an inquiry at the Auckland Hospital, the hidden daug-rs <1 tetanns are ix-nsider-atle. Five p-ereent. c-f adult persons walk about with the tetanus germ in their intestines, and this accounts for the fact that people sometimes die from this terrible disease without their bodies showing even a "microscopic scratch.'* One doctc-r declared that the volcanic soil round Auckland teemed with tetanus bacilli, and there was always a risk in gardening with a cut c-r scratched finger. The consumption of nneooked vegetables, and even the sucking c-f a straw, had l-een known sources cf infection. Lockjaw in horses had also been traced to the smallest scratch in the mouth, and the consumption cf chaff which contained the tetanus germ. Tetanus in children, as the result of using powders mainly consisting of earth, were also cited.

Aueklawd Exhibition. The guarantee fund of the exhibition to be opened in Auckland next year now approximates £16,060. In view cf the enthusiasm with which the event is being le-oked forward to by the people of Auckland, an! the keenness displayed by business firms from all parts of the Dominion in seeking for space, the financial success c-f the undertaking appears to be quite assured. Furthermore, the selection of the Domain grounds as a site is apparently meeting with popular approval. It is anticipated that there will be a big influx of visitors from all parts cf NewZealand and from Australia, during the exhibition seasen. Forestalled. In connection with the prcpvcsed purchase of the Orakei block by the Auckland City Council from the Maori owners, it transpired during the week that attemp-ts had been made by private speculators to acquire portions of the land. Representations were made by the Mayor cf Auckland to the Government, with the result that an orderin council was gazetted prohibiting the alienation cf any portion of the block for twelve mouths.

Muonic. The Grand Lodge of Freewui}On« mefl in Christchurch during the week for the annual communication. The Board of Benevolence distributed £240 during the year, and appeals through lodges realised £I,OBB. The Board recommended the extension of their power ta relieve from £SO to £IOO. During the year the Grand Lodge funds increased by £2.956; permanent investments increased from £25,500 to £26,000. Bro. Mauriee Thompson, of Invercargill, was elected Grand Master for the eurrenti year. The next annual eommnnieatioa takes plaee to-day. Dear Telephones. A deputation waited upon il.e Post-master-General at Christchurch in connection with the charges for suburban telephones voicing a substantial grievance. The ether day Mr. Ell '«< talking of reduced charges, but his Department has suddenly increased the rates all around. Christchurch, and re-idents of Lyttelton, Sumner, New Brighton, Tai Tap'J, and

Other districts are up in arms. The position is illustrated by the experience oi One man ■who has had a telephone for about 20 years from the. city to his business premises at the seaside. He paid for the first five years at the rate of £l3 a year, then the charge was raised to £22 a year, and now he is asked to pay £2B a year. Mr. Ell explained that the inerease had been made because the oil rates did not pay the Department. With regard to the increase being introspective, he promised to.look into this aspect of the question. Against Borrowing. The Prime Minister received a deputation from the Catlin* Railway League. •They asked that a sufficient sum be jdaeed on the Estimates to complete the line within a year, jjr. Mackenzie said he did not think possible, in view of the opinion expressed by ihe country against the great that had taken place. Rightly or wrongly the people were against (borrowing, and if lessened borrowing occurred in future, pro rata this line would get its share. He would do his utmost to continue the policy of progress in regard to the Carlins line. It was one of the great feeders of Dunedin. A Big Deal. Th? sale of a block of 10,000 acres of good grazing land, known as ‘Crossland,” situated ten miles from Helensvilie, has been sold to a Dunedin farmer. Although the price has not transpired, it is understood to be close, oa '£40,699, including all stock and implements. Citizens' Ball. Arrangements for the citizens' ball to 1>? given next week in honour of its Excellency trie Governor and Lady Islington are almost complete, and Mr. E. A. pargaville, the hon. see., is receiving a large number of applications for tickets. The decorations are to be on a lavish Erale, and the event promises to be one of the most brilliant gatherings we have had in Auckland for many years. population. The net gain of the Dominion’s population by arrivals over departures for the year ended March 31 was 5,892, as against- 2,671 for the previous year.