LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 64, 9 December 1919, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Thfi year 1920 promises to be the Tβoord year for travelling aa tar as Uio number of pcajile leavinp; New Zealand for England is concerned., Tlio bookings for February, March, April, and May, botli in Australia aiul New Zealand, are extremely heavy, and lio one may be sure of a berth in any clas.s until the same is absolutely fixed and n deposit paid. Apart from lihoao Roing direct to Knglnnd either vie tlio States or Suez, there aro good l)ookin»B for round Hip world tours, and a fair demand for ■berths to the East. After five years of Bottled life people who can afford to do bo iire beginning to move round again to see how the world is faring.

The mails which were dispatched from Now Zealand on Ocfober 18, arrived in London on November 29.

Tha suburban train service between Wellington und Lower Hutt was ngain under review at yesterday's meeting of the council of the Wellington Central' Chamber of Commerce., In the course of a discursive discussion tho advantages of electrifying tho lino or of materially increasing the number of motor trains at present operating were pointed out by several members. Ultimately a subcommittee was delegated to wait on tho General Manager of Railways with i regard to tho question of increasing the suburban passenger service, and to report at the next meeting of the council. Tho committee was also instructed to obtain tho views of other local bodies in tho district on the matter.

Mr. Robert Sanders, the well-known contractor, of Wellington and Auckland, who has just .returned from Australia, comes back convinced that the concrete road is tho road of the future-. "They are experimenting just now 'in North Sydney," said Mr. Sanders, "with tho .concrotio road, laying down six inches of concrete and giving it a wearing surface of bitumen, sprayed on. This only gives tho ron<t a film about one-sixteenth of an inch, but it lasts wonderfully well under wear, taking filio shock of the traffic off the concrete. Tho concrete is laid in 20ft. blocks in order to provide an expansion joint, from kerb to kerb, which is filled with bitumen. This joint is only a quarter of an inch wide, but it is sufficient to provide for tho contraction rind expansion of the concrete, and so provide against , the cracking thai lakes placo when it is laid in the solid. In Auckland Ilobsnn Street had, been concreted, but owing", I suppose, to not having been Riven a coat of bitumen or asphalt the road is all pot-holed, which may have boon caused, however, by the concreto having been indifferently mixed. An/.ac Avcntio, on Ulio other hand, lias also been laid down in concreto without a surface, and so far it hue .retained its smoothness wonderfully well."

Councillor Cotton told .the Lowor Tlutt Borough Council last nij;ht that the Government were "very lux" with the hydroelectric scheme, and advocated local bodies "pushing the barrow" to get the. work done. It liixl' boon sußgested, ho snid, that the matter bo placed in. tho Immls of experts, mid (lie Mayor agreed with him that Hie work would bo dono by thom moro oxpoilitiously than by, UiQ.

A great shortage of chinaworo and English crockery is reported by Auckland merchants to exist at tlio present time, according to Auckland files. It wad iduled by 0110 business man that hundreds of pounds worth of crockery had latoly been purchased from retail dealers by shopkeepers in distant towns in the tforth Island, who had found it impossible to secure supplies from tho wholesale houses. They bought at tho full retail price, and were (|uito willing ■to do so rather than loso custom, retailing again at increased prices. Ono rear Boil advanced for the present shortage was that following the armistice last yen' 11 number of dealers grow somewhat "panicky," and, anticipating a, drop in prices, cancelled their orders. _ Instead of coming down, however, prices went up, and with present difficulties in tho matter of peourins; supplies, they were now regretting their over-caution.

A rumour has been current in tho Petono and Lower Hutt districts lately that several young women of the Lower Hutt had been sandbagged by mon who laid in wait for them. It appenra that one. girl returning from the Technical School was struck and knocked down by a hooligan, who immediately ran away. This is tho only case which the police have any knowledge, of.

At last night's meeting of the Lower Hutt Borough Council, Councillors Hobbs, Yt'est, Hardy, and the borough onjjiiiPer wore appointed to meet representatives of the Petone Borough Council to-night at Potono to discus.? tlio question of the adoption of a uniform stale of pay, working hours, and holidavs for tho staffs of both boroughs.

The Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce is keeping a watchful eye on the progress Iwing made with the preliminary work in connection with tho Mangah'ao hydro-electric power scheme. At its meeting yesterday Mr. W. T. totton stated that ho had been, informed by two men who had been recently employed at tho works that there were now oniy seven surfacemen left on the job. The remainder of the men had "cleared out"- until February next, on account of the bad conditions which were accentuated by unseasonable weather. The meetini; decided to ask the Vigilance Committee of the Mangahno Hydro-electric League to report as to the number of men nt present on tlio job and tho capacities in which they were employed

A trial shipment- of Nino Island bananas was brought to Auckland by the auxiliary schooner Jubilee last week. This is the lirst fruit brought from Txiue for marketing nt Auckland, and it is hoped that the experiment will result in the opening up of a regular trade. Tho consignment; consisted of about 50 oases of fruit, and, considering the lengthy trip and the rough weather experienced, tho Iwnanas-arrived in fair condition.

Speaking to a Dominion reporter yesterday Mr. AV. Stuart Wilson said ho hod been informed that tho Government wns spending .£SOOO on the otherside of the Pnekakariki nUI. This expenditure, ho said, would be of very little use, sinco that portion of the road had ,1 level surface already. If money wero to bo spent anywhere 0)1 the roiid, it should be on the Wellington side of tho hill, which was the dangerous portion. In any ense, the expenditure represented mere tinkering, since the essential work was tho proposed deviation. .

' The secretary of tho Hutt Amateur Athletic Club wrote to the Lower Hutt Borough Council asking that they bo granted the use of the recreation ground and pavilion for a sports meeting on •Tanuwy I, with permission to charge for adults and for permission to erect a marquee on tho ground for dispensing afternoon tea. Last night tho Mayor sni:l ho thought they' should do all possible to foster athletic sport.. Councillor Miiciiskill moved and Councillor Knight seconded that it bo granted. Councillor West's amendment that' ladies be admitted free was lost and the motion was curried.

Drastic proposals affecting the management of tho New Zealand Railways were contained in a, circular from the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce'read at yesterday's meeting of the council of tho Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce. . The Canterbury body wrote advocating tho establishment of a railways board to lake over the running of the whole of the New Zealand Eailirays and the construction of any new lines, with the right of. veto in tho hands of the Goveruor-in-Cpuneil. The board would, it was proposed, comprise thirtyono members, presided over by the Minister, representative of the various commercial and other interests. ' Members were all impressed with the fact that the proposals were very drastic and weighty and would ■ require very careful consideration before arriving at any expression of opinion. With this object in view, the resolution -was referred to the Transportation Committee for consideration, jn conjunction with Mr. Holmes.

At yesterday's meeting of the council of the Wellington. Central Chamber of Commerce, Mr. 11. AV. Tolan reported on a recent interview he had had with the General Manager ,of llaihrnys (Mr. HI. W. M'Villy) touching the request of the Greytown Chamber of • Commerce for a speeding-up of the ■AVelliiitftou-WairarajM mail train Service. Mr. M'Villy had intimated that ho was not surprised (it (lie rMiuest. which he himself had had in mind. It wag the policy of the Department to run non-stop trains wherever possible, nnd he (Mr. M'Villy) seemed to think that something would ultimately bo done jf the opportunity occurred to give effect to the Greytown suggestion That the Wairnrapa mail train should have a non-stop run between Wellington nnd Upper Hntt. Mr. Tolan further stated that Mr. M'Villy had informed him that he was, nt the same time, up against a Petone 'request that the traji should stop at that town. It was decided to write to the Greytown Chamber, pointinpr out tho position nnd asking it to enlist the sympathies of other local bodies in the Wnirarapa.

Tho matter of naming the streets and numbering the houses of the Lower Hutt was mentioned by Councillor Maenskill at tho Borough Council meeting last night. The Mayor said something would be done early next yenr, but it would be necessary to get someone to do the work, as they could not do it with tho present staff.

Last week' tho following notico was posted at the Kaitangata mine: "To tho fCnitonimta Employees.—We regret very much the frequency of stop-work meetings, and tho recent decision to adopt a. policy to fritter away time for.a bnrowagc. As you know, nn offer 'lias been mado to increase the picce-workors' wago by 10 per coiit., and llie wage-man's raw by 15 per cent. We agree that the cost of living is liijh, but you must admit Vliat tho condition of the worker is not improved by refraining to work and in deciding to accept a small, wago when a much higher pay can be earned in tho Rinne timo by doing an honest day's work. Surely, if a .meeting is necessary, it can bo held after 3 p.m., when most of the men are free, and without interfering with your d.iilv work. Now. to far as I am' aware, the management have no dispute with their workmen; we are working under <v registered industrial agreement, and as this agreement expires} iii a short time wo are prepared to meet your representatives in tho matter of a new agreement to l>o registered under the Conciliation ami Arbitration Act. Men of common sense must admit that an nprccniont which is not binding on both efdes is absolutely useless, nnd that it is to the 'best interest of all concerned, including! workmen, management, and the public, to work harmoniously togothw.—l am, yours sincerely, (Signed), \\*. Carson, mine mnnairer." Anxiety which was caused 'by the sudden disappenrnnco of the well-known Aucklnnd auctioneer, Mr. Louis Lewis, was allayed on Sunday evening when the missing citizen was found by the waterfront polico (states a Press Association message). Mr. Lewis disappeared from his homo just a week ago, and inquiries had- failed to elicit anything definite as to his whereabouts, lie has. been wnndoring about during the past few days, and when found on Sunday evening showed signs of mental depression, believed to have ken occasioned by simstroke.

The Pacific Cablo Board notify- Conditions imurovinif. Estimate delay on traffic to United Kingdom as a few hours onlv. and on outward traffic lira to two and a half days. Delay on Amenean traffic still heavy lioth ways."

From tho evening of December 21 to January 7 for tho office, and December 25 2(5 and 27 and January 1 and 2 for thp outdoor stall', were tho holidays deci'lcd on by the Lower Hutt Boronsjir Council at'its meeting last night. It was also decided to close the. library on. December 24 wid, §5 an,d i aAft 3,

The Lower Hutt Town Work informed t:lic council lost night at its meeting that X'ilOO moro in rates had been collected to date than had been the case last year.

At a meeting of representatives of philanthropic and other societies last night, says a Press Association telegram from Duuedin, the following motion wns agreed to: "That . this confereuco affirms the principle" of it federation of public subscription lists, and agrees to submit to tolio various organisations interested for their favourable consideration thp ftdyisability of nn annual appeal for funds for maintenance purposes and the fornvation of an association for this purpose." The confereueo adjourned; until February.

Tlio Medical Board at its last meeting considered thu question of a State- modicul sorvice for outlying districts. Dr. Jiakgill, Acting-Chief Health Oißccr, placed before tiie board copies uf two memoranda wJiich ho had s«it to district health officers on tho subject, and iilso.a communication ho had received l'roin Dr. -Ferguson. He stated that ho was anxious to co-oporato with tho medical profession in any stops which might bo taken to establish a State medical service. Tho board.agreed that a Stato medical service would eventually ramo in New Zealand, and considered it would bi! wise for the profession to tnJce an interest in tho niattor, with a. new to seeing that such was established along right lines.

Referring to allowances to epidemic widows, tlio "Publis Health Journal" tskites: "Allowances are not given to widows in cases where tlio children aro placed in homes, the woman herdelf being in good healtn and quite jblo to work,. The allowance is given for the purpose of enabling the children to liavo the mother's care and attention and the hi.mo upbringing; tho allowance certainly not being given to unable women to get rid of, iheir. responsibilities in this respect. Peculiar situations liavo, however, sometimes arisen—for example, a ease cauio before the Department of a woman with two children, aged nine and eleven. Tho woman .goes to work at a local hotel, returiiidg at night. Her two children aro at 6011001 during the day; and tho case, therefore, is entirely dilferent from thu caso of a womun with infants or very young children who re 7 quire their mother's care and Attention, and could not be left by themselves, If a hard-and-fast rule were adhered to this woman's allowance of XI 55. , a weok would have to bo stopped, which would mean that she would probably bo working for nothing, aa sho would' hardly be receiving more than this amount for the work sho, was doing. It. is presumed that she would undoubtedly prefer to receive tho £1 ss. a week without having to work, and such a hard-and-fast rule, therefore, would tend to place a premium on laziness. In another case a woman with three children, aged eleven, nine, and three, was receiving tho usual allowance of 10s. Gd. for each child together with £1 ss. for herself. Sho has, however, now obtained employment as a housemaid at tlio rale of £1 7s. Cd. a week. It would be similarly undesirable if tlio whole of her allowance were stopped. In cases eucli as this tho Alinister has approved of boards being informed that, though they should not give the full allowauce of *1 is. a week, I hey would be allowed to give an allowance up to 10s. Gd. a week, each case Ixiing specially reviewed after the lapse of, say, twelve mouths.