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Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16857, 10 June 1920, Page 6

Captain W. G. Barker, tho „ official cinematographor accompanying the Prince of Wales, is, it seems, a person of some eminence in the film world, apart altogether from his position in connexion with t.'no Royal tour. According to a Melbourne paper, he was with Kitchener at Omrliirnmn, with Roberts at Pairde' erg, with Frerrh and Haig in France; in fact, he and his carnora havo been, and go, everywhere. At one time, before tho war gave such facilities for the invasion of American films by cbs : ng the British. French, and Italian studios, Barker's pictures, which mainly dealt with big outdoor public events, were well known out here. He produced the first- two-reel drama ever filmed at Home, that of "Henry V 311.,'' witn tho late Sir Herbert Beerbohin Tree as tho chief figure. It took five days to secure the film, and Tree was paid £1000 a day for his work. Captain Barker, as a producer, condemns strongly tho ridiculously high rates of pay now offered by American film producers, and made tho welcome statement that British production has a bright future. There must certainlv fie many picture patrons who would like to see a more liberal use made of British films than is now the case, and with five producing companies in the field, they should have a chance of doing so. Tho Commonwealth Government Statistician's investigations into tho cost of food in April reveal the same upward tendency that has been experienc-1 ed here. The increase in prices of food! and groceries for tho month varied from' 3 per cent, in Now South Wales to 8.8 ' per cent, in Victoria . over March's I prices. Taking the thirty principal towns in the Commonwealth, tho per- • centage increase in the prices of food in the various States from July, 1914,1 to April last, is as follows: West Aus-! tralia 51 per cent., South Australia 62, | Tasmania 66.2, Victoria. 73, New South' Wales 77.6, Queensland 86.9. These j increases, it must bo noted, take no; account of advanced cost of clothing, fuel, house rent, and practically everything else. * <o It is not often that the management of one system of transport offers facili-

ties to another and rival system to advertise itself. A correspondent, however, sends us a cutting from a Birmingham paper, which shows that pub-lic-spirited generosity may exist in most unlikely places. Placards, it seems, are displayed at the various tramway termini in Birmingham, giving particulars of the routes, sections, and fares, and at the bottom of these placards appears the words, "Eido a B.S.A. Bicycle/' This is rather in the manner of the famous recipe which, after giving careful directions for the preparation of the stew, concluded with the final instruction, "then throw out of tho window.'' But porlms;s tho advice about the b'cyele is meant only for the ear. or the eye, of the visitor to Borminsrham. —a A petition is being circulated in Auckland for the reprieve of the man recently convicted of murdering the postmaster at Ponsonby. The main ground of the petition is that tho man was convicted through the jury's acceptance of evidence that they were unable verify. The case against conviction on finger-print evidence alone is very ably argued in the petition, and no doubt manv people feel that a jury should not be required to take on trust- evidence which, however strong we may concede it to be, is nevertheless only a series of positive assertions by experts concerning facts upon which the average man's experience gives him no means of forming an opinion. In this particular case, few people really doubt the correctness of the jury's verdict, but the points raised in the potition are important, and ought to be answered. Perhaps the Judge has answered them in his report upon the case. # M Tlie numerous conferences of Labour, or politico-Labour, organisations at Home in the early months of tho year, included one of tho National Federation of General Workers, representing 1,3C0,000 workers in eleven different trades and industries. ' What gave this conference its special importance was that it was called to discuss the acceptance cr rejection of the principle of payment- by results, or piecework, to which it has always been understood unionists in general had a traditional objection. Yet in the end the conference carried a resolution expressing the opinion that "tho question of. payment by results, with proper safeguards, is worthy of consideration by trade unions affiliated to tho Federation.'' On its being pointed out to tho secretary by a Press representative that this was not very definite, he was assured that it meant that the conference had approved of the principle. Tho Federation's idea- of "proper safeguards," it appears, is that piece-work prices shall be so fixed, that no workman shall be worse off than he was, in spite of the shorter week, and that tho average worker shall bo able to earn one-third more than present rates. The advantage to employers in such an arrangement is that they will be able to make contracts ensuring ample work for years to come.