LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 203, 22 May 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

After having been held up at 'Wellington for exactly a week owing to the inability to engage the full complement of firemen, the UniiJn Company'? , ferry steamer Maori sailed at 8 o'clock last night for Lyttelton. The vessel, however, proceeded to tho southern port at n reduced speed, only, as slig was still three men short, at time. The passenger steamer Monowai, which has been relieving tlio Maori, also sailed for Lyttelton last night, and to-day will go on to Dunedin.'

On and from June 1 proximo the for radio telegrams lo or from ships registered in New Zealand or Australia, no matter where trading, and ships trading exclusively between Australia and tho Dominion or exehvively between ports of New Zealand,' wdl be sd. per word. This reduction does not affect the special rate for the ferry service, Wellington-Lyttelton, of 2Jd] per word with a minimum of Is. 3d., or the full rale of 10d. per word to or from ships registered outside the Dominion and Commonwealth, such 'as vessels engaged trading to Great Britain, Europe, United States, otc. All vessels of tlio Union Steam Ship and Hucldurt-Parker Companies may bo considered as registered in New Zealand or the Commonwealth.

Between May 15 and 19 nineteen cases of intiuenza. including one pneumonic case, were notified to Ihe Public Health Department. The cases were distributed as follow:—Auckland district, '5; Wellington, 0 (two in Marton and four in Wellington city); Canterbury, G (including one pneumonic *in Temuka); Otago, 2. i ,

At a meeting of the Canterbury District Repatriation Board last night, says a Press Association telegram, the secretary of the Returned Soldiers'- Association entered an emphatic protest against tho retention of girls in positions previously filled by men who hncl gone to the front and who were now in need of employment. He particularly mentioned in this connection the Hospital Board and various banks. A deputation was appointed to wait ou various public bodies and institutions in connection with the employment of women with a view to having them replaced by returned soldiers.

The question of the establishment of a Slate-owned fleet of steamers was mentioned at last night's meeting of tha Harbour Board, following upon tho receipt of a resolution, t'njm the Milton Borough Council seeking the board's cooperation in urging that the Government should acquire a mercantile fleet. Mr. J. G. Cobbp moved that the board support tho resolution. He said it was. very desirable that a State line of steamers should be established in New Zealand in order to improve the present unsatisfactory condition of affairs. Mr. C. H. ■ Chapman seconded the.motion, and said that many advantages Would bo derived from a properly-conducted Stalo shipping service. Mr. C. M. Turrell thought tha country would be better served by private ownership rather than by State-owned vessels. Tho Government would become a "jack of all trades" if it camo into competition with experts. During tho war the Government controlled the ships, and any trouble that arose in connection with the transport of produce could not be laid at the door of the shipowners. Mr. Cobbe's resolution was carried.

In regard to tho Heckler Memorial Scholarship (presented by Mr. .1. L. Heckler), the Wellington Education Board have Owen fortunate. The Public Trustee has intimated to the board his willingness to administer the funds of tho scholarship free from all charges, and to accept at face value the war l»nds which have been deposited in support of the scholarship. The board passed a hearty vote of thanks to the Public Trusteo for his most generous oiler.

The Christchurch Tramway Employees' Union demands the conditions agreed upon by the .Wellington tramwaymen -with regard to work during ike peaco celebrations. and is threatening to stop the service if they are not granted.—Press Assn.

Some idea of the cost involved A>j the influenza epidemic was given at tho meeting of the Auckland Hospital Board. The chairman stated that tho Minister of Public Health had declined to pay tho epidemic food relief accounts contracted by the sub-committee of the board. These accounts aggregated about i! 1000, and thero seemed nothing for it but for the board to foot the bill. The Minister informed, him recently that tliO; Government had expended in connection with tho epidemic in Auckland alone betwe'm ,£32,000 and .£35,000; in addition, _thc board was paying on behalf of the Government from «£!)00 to .£IOOO per month ill epidemic pensions.

"The day when woman was regarded as of minor, importance 'and influence in connection with our national and municipal life has gone for eger," said tho Hon. G. AY. Russell at the Townplanning Conferenco "The interests ol man in politics are usually .confined_ to what. may bo termed tho 'breeches pocket""of finance. Ou the other hand, tho interests of woman are in the diretV tion of the lmnie ami the - children. It is most important; therefore, , that tho women of the country should have the opportunity of expressing then opinions upon the very important matters which are coming before this con. ferente." A special committee, consisting of the whole of the women delegates, was set up Mr the purpose of considering town-planning from the point of view of tho women, the children, and the* home....

There can lie no definite announcement made as to school holidays in connection v.'ilh tlie peace celebrations until more .definite information is received. At.yesterday's meeting of the Education Board it was decided that notification of the dates of school holidays, etc., m connection with the peace celebrations be deferred pending the announcement 'of State arrangements.

The Eastbourne Borough Council has granted the Defence Department permission to erect a 25yds. rille range for tho training of cadets at Strmgwray Bay.

Tlio purchase of a block of land as a site, for model'dwellings in GTiristchurcli Wiia foreshadowed by the Mayor of that cih'i (Dr. Tliackcr) yesterday. Dr. Th'acker stated that he had under offer to lum twenty acres of land on tlio outskirts of Christchurch, and ho was going to ask his city council to buy this land as a site for a group of homes built on town-planning lines. He hoped that Mr. S. Hurst Seager, the organising director of the Town-planning' Conference, would be allowed to lay out the land and directthe erection of suitable houses, thus becoming tlio pioneer of practical townplanning in New Zealand. ■

The grievance of some returned soldiers was mentioned at the \ Town;planning> Conference by the Mayor of Christchurch (Dr. H. T. J. Tlmcker). Some men who are being treated in the orthopaedic hospital at Christchurch will continuo to require attention for a year or more. In the meantime they are still members of the Expeditionary-Force, and sothcy are denied the benefits offered to discharged solitiefs, including assistance in the purchase of houses.! Dr. Thacker said somo of these men had n stronger claim to assistance in establishing homos than had tin fit men. Tlio Government, in his opinion, was treating tliem very unfairly.

A proposal put forward by tho Wadestown Municipal Electors' Association to have tho band rotunda on the Thorndon Esplanade removed to Wndestown Hush is now under consideration by the City Council authorities.

The water in v lake Rotorua at present is lower, somo old Maoris say, than it has over been at this season. Tho long continuance of fine weather has been to extent beneficial K the town of Kotonia, as it lies contributed to prevent a falling-off m the number of visitors, which has been much larger than is usual at this time of the year.

The Wellington Industrial Association, wishing to make u gift of ,£ISOO to the proposed new Technical Collide in Wellington, recently approached the Wellington Technical College managers, soliciting their aid in obtaining a refund of JCISOO, which had been expended by the association on a brick building in. Wakefield Street, for years in the. occupation of t!ie Technical School, and which now automatically becomes ..the property of the Wellington Education Board. The association did not want the money'back, but wished that it should still be used for the purposo originally intended, viz., technical education, «At yesterday's meeting of the board it was decided that the managers of the Technical Collese be informed that' the board had been advised that it had' no legal power (o'comply with tlio request of the Industrial by Mr. L. 1!. Partridge.

Australia has provided a large portion ot tho exhibits at the Town-plan-' liing Conference, but the Australian delegates who intended to come to Wellington, have been J;ept away by the quarantine restrictions. Yesterday the .iton. G. W. ltussell expressed his regret. as president of tho cunlerence, that circumstances had prevented the attendance of the Hon. .11. D. EitzGerald, Minister of Town-planning for i\cw.South Wales; the lion. T. Iluxliam. Minister for Local Government.; and Mr. Gall, .Under-Secretary iur Local Government of Iji'.eensland; also other delegates from Victoria, who were unable 16 be present a-j thev intended. Tlio conference lost very much in interest by the absence of Ml'. I'itzGerald, who, however, had forwarded two papers. The Government, added Mr. Hussell, was indebted for exhibits to the lion. 11. D. I'itzGerald, lo the municipalities of Melbourne and Brisbane; to Mr. J. C. Bradlield, chief railway engineer for New Soutii Wabs; to the Government of South Australia) to Mr Lloyd Jones, of Sydney; and to Mr. Charles Roade, South Australian Government Town-planner.

Hot drinks for school children was a. matter.which car/.* before the Wellington Education l!ourd .yesterday. The secretory (Mr. CI. L. Stewart) reported thnt he had circularised school committees asking for an expression of opinion on the proposal. Only ten committees had replied, all but one endorsing the new idea. In somo cases country school committees said that a simple scheme o.' tko sort was already in operation, the children bringing sma'll contributions each week to cover tho cost. It was stated thnt perhaps some of tho other committees had not yet had the opportunity of discussing the hot-drink proposal. The board decided to postpone any action until next meeting.

At the monthly meeting of the Wellingon Education Board yesterday a suggestion was put forward that pupils of the Fifth and Sixth Standards should be given the opportunity of visiting the exhibition at the .Town Hall in connection with the Town-planning Conference. Tho chairman (Mr. T. Forsyth), who mado the suggestion, said thai tho masters should be instructed to see that their scholars were given tho opportunity of visiting the exhibition, lie was sure that the school children would learn a great deal if they visited tho exhibition. The proposal was adopted.

The ceremony in hdnour of the University graduates of the year is to bo held on June 19. At last evening's meeting of tho Victoria College Council, it was decided to grant a sum of in this connection.

A Press Association telegram_ from Christchurch states that the Conciliation Council failed to'agree as to wages and hoius for retail hardware employees. ' A settlement is dependent on the conditions accepted by tlie drapers. A conferenco will be held on Friday.

A special'committee of the Eastbourno Borough Council has been set up to consider the question of a resident doctor for tho district.

It wns decided at yesterday's meeting of the Education Board that tlio conference of education boards be held at a later date than usual, such date to be determined by the opening of Parliament. The confereneo of education hoard architects will be held immediately before the board's conference.

Among the passengers due to arrive at Auckland from Vancouver about the eiul of the month is Commissioner Thomas Henry Howard, who was foreign secretary to the Salvation Army in London under the late General William Booth, and who on the latter's death succeeded General Bramwell Booth as chief-of-the-staff at headquarters. Commissioner Howard is not exactly a stranger to this part of the world, as lie was the first commissioner of Australia and New Zealand away back 'in 18834, so that he will bo going over familiar ground. On his arrival Commissioner Howard will conduct a series of meetings in Auckland, after which be will come .south, en route to Christclrarchj wliero he is scheduled to arrive on June 7. Time will not permit of the commissioner going to Dunedin, so lie will return to Wellington from Christclmrch, and will conduct here a big campaign and preside over a monster congress of officers from all parts of New Zealand. These meetings will last from June 11 to June IG. After the Wellington campaign, the commissioner will leave for. Australia, where he will preside over State congresses in the different centres. Commissioner Howard is accompanied by Brigadier Joy, staff officer.

The following are the official delegates from tho New Zealand Association of Nurserymen (incorporated) to the Townplanning Conference:—Messrs. Robeit Nairn, of Christchurch (president), representing also Otago and Timaru District Councils; A. W. Buxton, representing Canterbury District Council; George A. Green, Auckland, national secretary, representing Auckland and AYangamii District Councils; G. Clnpcott, Invercargill; Thomas AVaugli, F. Cooper, and H. C. Gibbons, Wellington; A. W. Hamilton, Hawko's Bay; R. Jl'lv. Morison, Taranaki. •

Cohicillor H. Black lias been appointed a delegate to represent the Eastbourne Borough Council at • the forthcoming Chamber of Commerce Conference. Councillor AY. R. G. Macpherson has been appointed tho council's representative on the Ilutt Park Committee.

What .wonders an energetic and resourceful school committee can achieve by industry and forethought was demonstrated to the members of the Education Board yesterday by the committee' of the Wellington South (Kintoul Street) School per medium of «i framed photograph of the school and its surroundings. l?rom a baro clay 'lot the school grounds have been skilfully laid out and artistically beautified by garden plots, nursery beds, well graded paths, etc. The school grounds are a credit to the successive school committees who have shown such skill and judgment, and .is a permanent examplo as to what other committees could accomplish if actuated by tlio right spirit.

"After all, it is very difficult to beautify a city like Wellington," said a local delegate to tlio Town-planning Conference to a Dominion reporter yesterday, "wliero the majority of the streets were unalterably narrow and the bulk of the residences are 'old wooden houses. No architect can make the show in wo<Kl that he can with stone ursbrick. and we have no building stone, and a stupid old tradition having to do with earthquakes prevented Wellington being other than a wooden-built town. Now we are cursed, with a chronic shortage of everything— shortage of timber, shortage of bricks, shortngo of roofing materials, shortage ot plumbers—and unearthly prices being charged for goods, often indifferent in quality. The first step,towards the city beautiful should be the home sound and comfortable, but until conditions become more settled people ;\innot be expccted to rebuild picturesquely and durably. The trouble at present is for peoplo to get any sort of roof over their heads, without any consideration for the house beautiful. What ivo want are raw materials—good clay , to make good bricks, and hero tlio City Council could help by leasing such portions of the Town Belt as provide brick clay. I believe there uro only two brickworks left in Wellington—the others aro worked out—yet half of .Wellington should be rebuilt in the next decade."

Speeding by motorists on a publio thoroughfare near a school was' the subject of a letter received by tho Wellington Education Board from Mr. It. L. Jones, of Lyall Bay. Tho gentloman pointed out the extreme danger to life and limb wliicli existed daily as far as the children who attended tho lyali Bay School were concerned. ' Motorists and motor cyclists acted as though they had a special license to exceed all speed limits in traversing tho Queen's Drivo, and this they did past the school grounds, although there was a warning notice. The board agreed with the writer that there was a real danger in the "scorching mania" of motorists, and hoped that it would bo checked before many more accidents occurred. It was really a matter lor the police. .

"We want to know wliother the board has any power to prevent ships coming alongside the wliuitcs when we know there are cases of influenza aboard?" was a question asked by Mr. L. Glovqr, president ot the Waterside Workers' Union, during tli£ course of a deputation to the Harbour Board last night. Mr. Glover said the members of the union had decided not to work infected ships until six days- after (lie last case had been removed. Tho union did not want to interfere with tho working of the ships, but desired to co-operate -with the board in preventing (he introduction of influenza to the Dominion. The ciiairman of the board. Mr. .T. Ci. Harkness, said the union had the sympathy of tho 'board in tho matter. The question was whether the board had power to prevent infected ships from coming alongside. lie could only say that tho Auckland Harbour Board had been unable to adopt such a course. The matte, rested entirely with tho Health Department, but (lie board would do its best to assist the union if it co-opera(cd with (lie board on right and proper lilies. Mr. J. G. Bruce, a member of tho deputation, thought that the union and the board should unite in demanding from tho Government that proper quarantine regulations should be framed for tho benefit of the people of the Dominion.