News of the Dominion

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVII, Issue 22, 29 May 1912, Page 4

News of the Dominion

Wellington Library. THE bub 'er of books issued from the Wellrngt a Public Library earing the year rkiii ended in March last showed a large in- --- compared with any previously r “? figures. The I eatrai Library •er has a:: wcribexs, and the New tows branch about 900. .••-••: i • . ■ cl - ■ .!«■<. •• a the Cer-.ral Library, which now has fifteen thousand vedunes on the ■ No Uniformity. of diffenng met bed - ' r the i: school teachers by Edu b Boards Mr AR. Mulgtn. <hxf r at A s kland. sasl that in N C.i’.:-rl-ury and WGI-ngton all - are advertised, and thi ap- : , : - are made on the rre tn meninspectors. The Hawke’s Bay F- ■ i : - lately adopted a system of :- -. but the f4ajs has not been aa f.t-i success. and nsay at nay : :e abandoned for the former p-laa . --.-. g. Ike Wbusgamm Board a . - - ily i> very special cireum- ... - lie selection uf lead - - .' : : . . ■ ■: 1 gr - : - - : ■ ■.---: ’ ’• “ s Vi ■ a-p is ffered tot’s • ■ . the - al list, to which the vacancy has ■ s-r- e. If the teaeber concerned is - ; ■-_• t - accept the appointment, - " - . ■ "he next h.-ghest <ra the 37 ; sc on until the position. is fills ’ T“-S - • <4 easnot fail at times z . Ire a certain amount of delay. : e - - le it vc: s well. and has g s ’ ■■’ ;ion. Ethieal Teaching. - A A-s - .- a: Wellington passed a res ._: <r. : • in their opinion it was •’. - : . in se-: ndary s- fool*. A a instructive on t. -jbieet was read by Mr. . 'l.'. . ' ’ ZZ-- ..- - ■ H • . • - of the old tr an— t the ef object of wheel ' - - - : 17 ‘'r — 7.A sell’tr. I- n re. ogslsea in any adeqaate way. In ma-wtaiaing sei el the characters of the masters and the reE«-»’ surt . _r.l ags of the sibool wsre irr.-• ttar.t : trs. Knowledge of ethical pr.n ipl-s w .-'aout the motive power of w . ana emotion was raJueless. Far too lit ’ .e A a systematic way hai bws doss to ft ’.lie this lEstraetlos. EXhwal txa sing st Id be broadly Inwed on data met wth is after life. “We eas asd _ ■ ■ - ■ - • ■ ■ : ‘ : ’ ' “ ’ - :ieals of svmtu’hy and <*rv e -.baa they now appear to be receiving; - 11 at w : — t■■ -- ;-t moral judgments when they so ato the outer world.’ A Delusion. In -> are on * Cad Xew Zealand,’ M’ A. Harr cm I fireetc-r of the Dominion Masenni of WeHmstss sasd he was not .t aM sure that people were right in repre«eating the ancient Maoris as eoa•taatly a: war. Had they teee so. they asui<J not have perfected tar.r notable •gi-an_rai cferat>oc.s. If one rend s-:m.- h.stor.es of England, one would get tie impression that mar own ancestor- were fighting most of the time. ' et was ksre-wr. taat that was K 4 the is So with the Mao.-- Try were iomxt of hgheiatf. but large numbers of m snort have fees a employed sna nty pe-< cfs! o—upa t lows. So. too. it was q-..-..- jUje oSetVc jhe Maor « orsght tn .’lire seen deamhed as savagw. Ther wf-e not unfeeling a»i brutal. They had prJi.be muuaerv -n their »n wav, aw., though; the pokefea very X-rehaved. They took a great deal of piia- w th their Ow- tystem of edueatson. tbwj'b they mace »• rretemee of eq sal oppocmt-i ie* for a : Edoeauoa was on./ fur the upper daises.

No Scholarships. ’The feeling is gradually grow: g.“ •wys Mr. A. >1 Muigaa, “that the State has already d<.vr>e so much in olfent-g facilities tor fibber education, that all ■wholarships take the form of boarding aßow-anees to those eon-pelfed to live away from home.’ Already the tXtlliugi.-u Bcurd has reduced its allowanevs to home-living seholarship-w nners to £o per annum, but grants £4O per annum to those unable to live at home. Fhe allowances ro d by the Hawke’s Bay Foard to its junior scholarship holders are L2 16. and £3*) per annum. Ail th? tsords are beginning to think seriously of this matter, so that it is more than proi.vole that, at an early date, only s<r; -larship winners free* country d’s-lrK-‘.s wiß receive aUowa.tr es. The North Canterbury, Wellington, sad Wanganui Boards have divided their --nior scholarships. apportioning a certain number to pupils whose courses inclade a certain amennt of practical work in subjects of n-anual instrw tion. This is done with the object of providing for those pupils who wish eventually to take up industrial or eommeniial work, and whose obvious training ground is the tex-hnkal The Premier Harbour. A review of the operations of the Auckland Harbour Board during the past financial year, givers by the ehairman iMr. J. H. Gunson-, indicated that the year’s opentiens Aad l«een marked by sound finance and a distinct advance in the development of the facilities of the r--rt. The net revenue w.:s £l±s3f*4. this being double the amonut for th? year IW>2_ The increase in ths? net revenue over the year 1910 amouEted to XAi57. Tae net profit realised was £lO.S2l. although £2AOS6 was written off f--r depreciation. 'The board's assets, which to-day are valued at cvep £? - . were va’aed at December 31st. 1911. -’’■ - - - - iiitities. The surplus sh.-.wa was ec-derably beivw the ae:uai r-:s t:on. as th.? valuation of lands and improvements did not take into account any very large increment slsse the date of the last Government assess’sesL A further sale of the board’s debentures under the Auckland Harbour Board E*n-r-’wering Art. 1965. was effected during ' . ■ s’:m of at 4 per cent. par. being issued. Tax: antc-unt, as with previous issues, was expended upon permanent and productive works. Of XIJXJQjOOQ authorised by the Act £500,(<W has ec w ie-ea issued. A Censorship. Th? Wellington City Cocneil Is taking ‘tepss to establish * kind of ecßsorshsp of pKtares to b? seres nei before juvenile spectators. In reply to as interviewer the Mayor stated that he considered aa exhaustive censorship nwne-.-essary. For one tiisg, it would be extremely eostly With the number of i-ktare shows existing it W-lfingtoa the estaS shmrst of as c.fSeial censorship would entail the employment of several rtnesais. who would kave to srend the whole of their time in invpe-ting pietiires before they were screened in pnhiie. The Mayor’s immediate object is to secure that pietares of a groesv-me character shall not be screened in the presence of ch.idrea. As a case in pomt, he meationed a pietare of a hanging, in which almost everytil.ng was shown. Pictures of that class were bound to exert a somewhat unwholesome infiuewee on the minds of spectators of tender years. Lffeetive O rgawisaticn. As mstaadmg the good work being ac-er-nc pi .saed by tie Housewives’ Unacm tw-ing orsanjMed under the I'arted Labour Party, the Hon. G. Fowids states tha: a pr.vposei was made at Invercargill recently to raase the pn e «-f sulk m the wmter time from 4-3 to 51 The Housewives’ Union set to work and made a definite agreement whereby members of the inion were supplied at 3d instead of 4d, and wrtherai any difference being made in the amount rereived by the producers. They were aHo tarkliiur the coal supply quentiou. and expected to pet a redaetioa of 3/ or 4' a ton ou eoal. Members of the «tunn 'w+»l» ladiec in g».i ixwial pieetiona as well u the wives (J workers.

Waihi Strike. The aU absorbing topic of pubSe interest at the present moment is the M a:hi miners' strike, and the possibility of it extending. There was apparently no possibility of securing a settlement of the strike between the partk? dirveUy concerned, and the Feders iron ot Labour had to face the big question of “culling out” other affiliated unca*. Several unions had instructed their delegates as to their course of action ia deciding upon this vital issue at the Wellington conference, and the Auckland wratersuiers last week decided to fe*vr tbe>uselves entirely in the hxndof their delegate to the eon*erence. At the same time, the Water-ile Uni-vn decided to make a levy of 2. S per week yer member to assist the men on strike. The strike extended to the Paeroa Gold Extraction Works, and though only 20 out of 70 men employed went out. the 20 men being skilled workers, work hud to be suspended. The finaneial stringency caused by the strike has led ths Waihi Ee-reugh Council to pursue a policy of severe retrenchment. Th ? Mayor’s honorarium has been reduced from £l-50 to £5O, and the engineer has bees asked to resign, with a promise of re-eEgagcment after the strike has t-ee® ended. There is a great curtailment of credit, both by wholesale merchants and retailers, and things generally are looking in a bad way in Waihi. A dispute in the Reefton mining district has resulted in three mines—the Globe. Energetic and Blackwater—being dosed down, and 260 men being thrown out of work. One result is naturally a desperate dullness in the Stock Exchange, and a general shrinkage in values. Teachers Waited. It is staled by Mr. A. K Mulgan. chief inspector at Auckland, that ail Education Boards are experiaeing difficulty in nuding skiable teachers for out-of-the-way eehools, and this difficulty will be .•eventuated considerably next year, when many additional assistants will be required for schools of Grades V. and VI. A. It was hoped that vhe output from the training evlleges would have kept pace with the increasing demand for teachers, but so far this has not been the ease, and the very serious question of how to provide for future needs has still to be faced. New Postage Stamps. The Postmaster-General. Hon. H. G. EH, states that it may be some time before the King George issue of postage stamps is ready. A proof of an approved design was sent to Lonl -n to be engraved. but the work of the engraver is cons.dered to be so unsatisfactory that it has been rejected, and it may now be necessary to eater tuto negotiations with another firm. The PostmasterGeneral is determined that the new issue of scamps shall be in all respects a credit to the Dominion, and it is his intention to spare no pains to attain this result. A Frotest. As aa caatreime of the recent embroglio at the Hospital, and the consequent resignation of the Matron. Miss Griffiths. it as understood that a strong m vvement is afoot among sympathisera with Miss Griffiths to organise a public meeting in the Town Halt to protest against the attitude of the honorary medieal staff to the matron, and incidentally to pass a resolution expressive of indignation at the action of the Board during the inquiry. It is stated that the stand taken by the matron has met with a large share of rut-lie sympathy. and that every effort is being made to have this opinioa pubi-cly voiced a: aa early date. The Board meets again next week to consider its deession ra regard to the recent inquiry, and it k under-t-xid that the Town Hall gathering win le he: 1 as soon afterwards as possible. Special Provision. Mweh ineonvenience has been experienced from time to time through patients suffering from delirium tremeai being «est to hospitals where no special •citable provision is made for violent eases. The Inspector -General now writes that the Department is willing to aeswt boards to provide sach vnnuodattoa. aod also to contribute to the expenses of special aUencma.

Farmer’s Union. The annual conference of the Auck-l-»ud Farmers' Union was held in town during the week. The president, in his address, noted with satisfaction the increasing interest which was taken in the union and its work. He congratulated members on the general progress 01 *ke is rasing industry, and cn tho sausiartory progress oil the diatriek This progress had so far been unchecked, and the prospects for the future were of the brightest, statistics showed a greatlyincreased output for the dairying and other industries, and a still greater increase was anticipated. Prison Labour and Roads. The utilisation of prison labour fcr the making of new roads :n the Lack Hocks was strongly urged by Mr. George Elliot (president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerces in his remariks at the Farmers" Union dinner last week. Mr. Elliott pointed cut that what the country wanted was better roads, which it was inipmsiHe for the local bodies to maintain with the neaiss at hand. A large uamber of pr»?ners were, be said, being employed in planting trees, which woaid be of bo use to aayoae for years to come, and which might be destroyed by lire in a few h.'urs. Tbe Domiuion, he felt, should follow the example of Cape Colony. and pet prisoners to work on the koads. which, if properly niaiataincd, were an asset of enormous value to the country. The old Rmut. reads ;n England were still in use. and the roads eonstTisrted toy the troops during the Maori War were still the best ia this country, showing that res Sy good work in this direction might last for eentnries. The Azricultural “ Dog.” “To these days wages are too to allow the ia«tn»er to employ labour,’ said Captain Colbeck at the Farmers’ Union dinner last week. “The towns are attracting all the goe-d u«n. and in some parts of the country you will see only o’d men and boys. If it were not for the help of the milking machine, I do not know what many dairy farmers would do. The effect of this lack is to appreciate the valve of the better eliss land and to depreciate the value of the poorer, which naturally requires more hands to work it. This is a very serious thing for the country. Then it is impossible for the farmer to pass on the increased cost of production as our local manufacturers do. We manufacture for ourselves in this country—it is a ease of "dag eat dog.’ and if you eat up the agricultural dog. you will find that there is no other dog to eat.” A Labour Victory. The election to fill a vae-xney e*n the Issvereargiil Borough Council, caused by the resignation of Mr. S-visfrv-lt (now Mayor), resulted in Mr. T. OTtryne (Labour) winning by a majority of 224 over his nearest opponent. Mr. H. Mair. There were four eaadidites. Onlv 1939 votes out of a total of over 7ts» were