LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 192, 10 May 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P., will bo installed as Mayor of Wellington at the Council Chamber at noon to-morrow. A meeting of the City Council will follow. Mr. G. V. Hudson informed a Dominion reporter last, night that a rather extensive group oi sunspots had appeared on the eastern limb of the sun yesterday morning and would be well placed for observation towards the end of the week.

The Hon. C. J. Parr (Minister of Public Health and Education) stated yesterday that during 'his trip to the South Island he visited, with Dr. W. Wylie (Director-General of Hospitals), the Medical School and the Dental School at Dunedin to inquire into the conditions there and the requests for expenditure in connection with the schools. I have reached certain conclusions,” stated the Minister, “with regard to the Medical School and the Dental School, and the claims of the Otago University for large expenditure on new buildings, .and these conclusions will be submitted to Cabinet this week in the form of a report.”

The British Government’s control of insulated shipping space ended, as far as New Zealand was concerned, on April 30. Ships are now being loaded under the arrangement made by the shipping companies direct with the freezing companies.

With all the recounts over in connection with the rdeent c.vic elections, the forty clerks engaged on the work for seven days were released on Saturday evening, and were able to resume their ordinary vocations yesterday. After the recount all the election papers were bundled up and packed tightly into ton sacks. These will be delivered to the clerk of the S.M. Court to-day to be kept for some six months, at the termination of which period the papers will be destroyed by fire

A movement is being initiated in tho Dominion to petition Parliament to vote pensions for the blind. At the present time there are between 506 and 600 persons in New Zealand whose sight lias gone, and, in the majority of instances they’ are dependent on charity. The Jubilee Institute for the Blind, Auckland, undertakes, in return for a maintenance charge of .£25 a year, to teach blind persons basket-making, knitting, etc., but it is very difficult for them to secure employment after they have become proficient. A new agreement regarding wages and hours is being sought by the Wellington Gasworks Employees’ Union. Already a conference between representatives of-the employers and men has taken place before the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. W. Newton), and an agreement reached. The terms have yet to he ratified by the parties before the agreement can take effect, and an announcement on this point will probably be made within the course of the next‘few days.

, Mr. Rupert Hughes, the prominent American author, has taken up the cudgels against motion picture censorship. At a meeting of the Commercial Board of Los Angeles he delivered what was referred to as “a stirring speech,” in which he said: “This cry for censorship is the cry of the chronic reformer. The reformers are calling the pictures vulgar, just as they called the first English’ novels vulgar. People to-day try io believe themselves better than picture folk just as in other days they thought themselves better than Shakespeare. ; A Dominion conference of employers and employees will be held to endeavour Io settle the industrial dispute of the Retail Shop Assistants’ Union. A three dovs’ sitting of the Conciliation Council’ was held in Christchurch last week, bill very few of the clauses were agreed to. As the findings of the council would have affected the whole of the Dominion, it was felt that other centres should have some say in the making ot (he award. It is hoped that some settlement will be reached by the conference. which will sit in Christchurch, commencing, probably, on June 1. - s the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. M. H Hugger) hail heard Die arguments from both sides and had presided over tho sittings just completed, it. was decided that he should preside at the conferenee. "With butter down to 1925. on the Txmdoii market, what is the outlook today for the dairy farmer?” says the “New Zealand Herald. “We will surely not be accused of being .alarmist if ,we say it is serious. The truth is that prices’ have got to fall in New Zealand as well as everywhere else, an” to try to shore them up by artificial means is only putting off the evil day and running the risk of disaster. There must be ® lower level for prices of primary products, land values, everything. Pricefixing. subsidies, and moratoriums have no effect against such an economic tide as is running in the world to-day. Ih« process of adjustment is going to be difficult and painful, but the sooner and more courageously it is faced the better for all concerned.’’

That New' Zealand has one of the highest death rates in the world in maternity cases is the statement made by an American authority. The Dominion s rate of mortality in such cases is stated to over 6 per 1000, while the Italian rate, for example, is in the neighbourhood Of 2 per 1060. The Minister of Health (Hon. C. J. Parr) has asked the officers of his Department to investigate this American statement and inform him of the facts.

During last week representatives of a large constructional engineering firm in Australia, who have been approached to finance and construct the proposed light railwav lines to Raglan and Kawhia from Hamilton, paid a visit to the districts concerned. They were shown the route of the. proposed lines by the president of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. They seemed greatly impressed with the scheme, says the "Herald.' and stated that if their principals agreed to construct the lines the work won id not take long to complete.

An invitation issued by the Labour Pnrtv for the unemployed in Auckland to enrol at the Trades Hall on Friday was accepted by about 140 men. Messrs. M J Savage and W- E. Parry, M.P. s, stated subsequently that a. large number were young, well-dressed, single men, the remainder being- married, many having six or seven dependants. All classes of occupation were represented, from clerical to manual work, while there were a number of returned soldiers. A number of women also made application. Particulars elicited from the showed that they comprised both skilled and unskilled workers, some of whom were paying as much as 21s. a week for a single furnished room, while several were forced to sleep in the parks. A young man who was travelling io visit some friends in To Kuiti missed the express, and went, on by one of the slow trains. A long stop at Ohnupo was followed by another at Te Awamutu, and when about half an hour had been spent at' Te Knwa. the guard slouched through the train, and the young man said to him: "I say, guard, are we likely to reach To Kuiti. to-night? T have only come from Frankton Junction, nnd. so far I have been on the train four hours.” "That’s nothing,” replied tho rniird, “I've been on it tour years.” "Great Scott!” exclaimed tho young man, , t 4-

"you must have come right through from Auckland!” The roar of laughter from the other passengers drowned the guard’s reply. A starfish which was recently caught off Mokohinau Island by the Auckland Citv Council’s trawlor Cowan has been sent io the Auckland Museum for classification and exhibition. The curator of the museum, Mr. T. F. Cheeseman, states that, besides being unusually large, the largest, in fact, in his recoli lection that Ims been caught off the New Zealand coast, the fish is of a sjiecies i which, so far, he has not been able to . identify. It hits been Fhi.ced on exhi--1 bition in tho permanent collection.