LOCAL AND GENERAL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 255, 22 July 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Postal authorities have received advice from Sydney that the s.s. Manuka sailed at 4 p.m. on July 20 for ■Wellington. She carries 230 bags from Australia, 14 bags from elsewhere, and 123 parcel receptacles, including 10 from tho East and two from Africa. Tho Mayor (Mr, R. A. Wright, M.P.) is extending a civic reception to the Springtoks in the Town Rail at 12.15 p.m. to-day. The Hon. Sir Francis Bell (Acting-Prime Minister) and Dr. Newman have signified their intention of toing present, and will speak on the occasion.

A light form of gastric influenza is prevalent in Wellington at present, and is the basis of a good deal of tho sickness which has occurred here during thelast month. A recent arrival from Australia states that the same malady has been epidemic is Sydney recently. A medical man, referring to the complaint, eaid it was quite a nasty form of mild influenza, which had to be taken care of to prevent developments which may prove serious.

Suburban complaints against valuations will be heard by tho Assessment Court to-day. At tho conclusion of tho hearing of suburban appeals, the Court will adjourn until August 15. A notice appears in the Gazette authorising the Wellington City Council to transfer £13.800 from the electric power station loan account to its general loan account.

“I cannot conclude without congratulating Sir Francis Bell on the judicious way he procured by purchase the area of kauri bush next to that reserve which Mr. Trounson so generously donated to the public,” remarked Sir James Wilson in his presidential address to the annual meeting of the Forestry League last night. "It was done so quietly and at such a. reasonable price, and astonished us all. As Sir Francis once told us,' he prefers demands to congratulations. I am sure I am speaking for the league when I ask that he should not bo weary of well-doing, but repurchase, if necessary, several hundred thousands of acres of suitable land, so as to extend the area of kauri forests yet remaining in tho hands of the Crown, which would provide timber for the future.”

The prohibition of the exportation of sugar, jam, confectionery, and other articles of food preserved with, sugar has broil revoked, and a notice to thnt effect was gazetted last evening.

The Pctono Borough Council has asked the Wellington City Council whether it will agree to supply 2100 h.p.. to Petone when' the Mangahao power is available. The City Council has decided to reply that it” will be prepared to "consider the matter favourably on conditions to be arranged.” "We find the same old story," remarked Mr. A. Hanson, Chief Inspector of "Forests, in tho course of an address last night, "of tho forest being considered a nuisance by the people who had to get their living Through farming, un. til an increased population and increased demand for woods, together with the damage done to the farm lands through floods from the denuded hills, made the people realise the value of the forest; and so they Blurted forestry, namely, through proper management and utilisation to extend and perpetuate tho life of the forest so as to ensure normal living conditions for years to come."

The direct results obtainable from forestry work are rather striking. In the course of his lecture to the Forestry League last evening, Mr. A. Hanson, Chief Inspector of Forests, stated that fin 1830, after forestry had been practised only a short time in Germany, the forest lands of that country produced about 29 cubic feet per acre. In 1907 the production had increased to 61 cubic feet por acre, which meant that the forester had made three trees grow where formerly only one grow. "It is also a fact," he continued, "that one of the German States with an area, of forests only half of that of the province of Ontario—one of the best timber provinces in Canada—with a well-organised forest service, produces seven times the net income of that derived in Ontario, without touching the capital, aif Ontario is doing. Another example of results achieved we find in France. During the last 60 years nearly 25 million acres of wasto lands were reclaimed by planting at a cost of £3,000,000. These areas are to-day worth £25,000,000, and furnish an annual crop worth nearly £‘2,000,000, or two-thirds of the initial outlay. Results like these can be found in many more instances—in fact, you have something at Rotorua which will run close to anything produced in Europe."

The City Council last night decided that arrangements should be mad© for the provision of a sentry box at the end of Kent Terrace, for the police constable on point duty. Viscount Bryce’s dictum that a country got the sort of Government it deserved wits quoted by Mr. L. J. Wild in a lecture to the Council of Agriculture conference yesterday, when ho disgressed from a discussion of soil surveys to express his views upon rural education. He told the conference that just as a country got tho Government it deserved it also got. the sort or education it deserved. The fact was that thousands of children in tho New Zealand country districts were merely receiving a secondrate town education in place of an education that would lit 'them for the life they should be intending to follow. Was it anv wonder,, then, that the young conntry people drifted into the towns? The farmers had been given the kind of education that they allowed the Government to give them. As a teacher, Mr. Wild said that he had been sent in his most inefficient years to do the most important and exacting work—the work of conducting a country school attended bv twenty-five children. He knew of a case in which. Latin was taught at a country school in Canterbury by a teacher resident in the district; while the teaching of agriculture, which should certninlv have had precedence over the teaching of Latin, was left, to an instructor who had to come down from Christchurch.

Tho recent Labour Party conference passed a motion protesting against the use of coloured troops by’ the French Government in the Rhine provinces of Germany as 'part of the arpiy of occupation, and gave instructions to the national executive io forward a cablegram to tho Imperial Conference conveying the opinion of tho party on tho matter. The following cable message has accordingly liscn sent: —"Premiers’ Conference, 10 Downing Street, London.—Dominion Labour Conference protests to Imperial Conference against presence of French coloured troops in Germany, and demands withdrawal.—Cooke, president; Armstrong, vice-president: Ayrton, secretary.” Copies of the cablegram have been forwarded to the. head office of tho British Labour Party at 33 Ecoleston Square, London, and to the Union of Democratic Control.

On tho motion of Sir James Wilson, tho Council of Agriculture yesterday resolved to impress upon the authorities "tho necessity of establishing a chair of agriculture in New Zealand." 'The following recommendation of the Reserves Committoe was adopted ut last night’s meeting of the City Council: — That a lease of portion of tho Town Helt be. granted to the Wellington Technical College Board of Governors for a playing area for the Technical College, on the following conditions: (a) Payment of rental of £5 per annum; (b) term of lease 21 years; (c) a recreation ground in accordance with the levels prepared by the city engineer to be constructed within n period of threo years. The possibilities of securing timber in New Zealand from which newsprint could bo made were referred to by Sir Walter Buchanan at tho annual meeting of the Forestry League last night. He spoke of the enormous quantity of paper imported into tho Dominion year after year from other countries at high prices. During tho war, and even at the present time, there was difficulty in obtaining paper in New Zealand for newspapers, books, and general printing purposes. He expressed a desire to know what wore tho most suitable varieties of timber that would grow in New Zealand and thnt could be used for the manufacture of paper. Captain Macintosh Ellis, Director of the State Forest Service, replied that six samples of New Zealand trees bad been sent to the Imperial Institute for investigation. At present reports were to hand as to trees suitable for the manufacture of wrapping paper. Ho thought the report on newsprint possibilities would bo to hand in a few months.

“In view of the plethora of coal in Wellington, can you give us any information as to whether there is likely to be a reduction in the price paid by the council?” queried Councillor C. 11. Chapman of the Mayor at last, night’s meeting of the City Council. Councillor Chapman also asked how the council was situated in regard to coal stocks. Replying through the Mayor, the city engineer, Mr. W. 11. Morton, said that the council had got ouite a good stock in hand. With regard to tho other point raised by Councillor Chapman, the Mayor said that the price had gone up 2s. 9d. per ton on West Coast coal.

Tho Minister of Education assured representatives of the School Committees’ Association yesterday that he would not be a party to any changes involving the abolition of the committees or the curtailment of their powers. He regarded the school committees as valuable parts of tho educational machine. They were directly representative of the parents, and they were in direct touch with the schools. Ho knew that they took an active interest in their work, and he had found that their advice was practical. Some education boards seemed rather to resent his coming into touch with the committees, but he did not think that attitude was reasonable. The committees were statutory bodies, and he was glad to have their advice and assistance.

The Minister of Public Works intends during his coming visit to Awapuni.to examine the new plans thoroughly with his engineers. He will not make any definite statement regarding the future of the Arapuni scheme until he has been over the ground again. It may be taken for granted now that the Arapuni site will be confirmed. Tho plans and estimates for the gravity dam provide a satisfactory ’basis of operations. But whether or not the Minister will be able under present financial conditions to promise nn early start with the work is another question. Some Auckland members of Parliament are going to meet Mr. Coates at Arapuni and they may fiet information on the point. Passengers who landed in New York recently from the Cunnrd liner Caronia give a vivid description of a battle in the forecastle between the ship’s carpenter and a giant octopus (states an exchange). In a gale off the coast of Ireland the vessel took a heavy sea, and the carpenter went forward to see if any damage Bad been done. He found nn’octopus wedged between two winches. It "made a long arm” and endeavoured to gather the carpenter to its bosom. The carpenter, resisting strenuously, belaboured the creature with an iron bar. The octopus spouted an inky fluid in large quantities and fastened several more tontaeles around tho carpenter. It took the carpenter 15 minutes to kill the creature and free himself from its clutches. The octopus weighed 401 b.. and one of its tentacles was over sft. in length. It is destined for the Liverpool Museum. Tho spirit of good will toward a new settler in their midst received practical demonstration on a recent morning at the instigation of tho neighbours along the Coal-pit road, Menzies Ferry, and near about, gays the Wyndham paper. The recent arrival is a returned soldier, who was the successful applicant at the ballot for a property. No fewer than seventeen teams—fifteen with ploughs and two with discs—paraded nt the appointed hour, and soon got to work with skill and will. At the close of the day’s work nearlv forty acres of land had been turned over, and a good portion of it disced.

Recently the street fruit stands in ■Wellington were balloted by the City Corporation. Some of them fetched high figures, and all were knocked down to Hindus. One stand, nt the corner of Dixon and Cuba Streets, was not balloted for. It was sold at a small upset price to a European. Questions were asked regarding the mutter by Councillor P. Fraser at last night’s meeting of the City Council. In reply, Councillor M. F. Luckie (as chairman of the By-Laws Committee) said that the European in question was the only white man who competed for the stands. He was a married man and had a family to support, and he had occupied the stand at the corner of Dixon and Cuba Streets for a considerable time. . In the circumstances the committee felt justified in giving him a concession. If it were a ouestion of two Europeans competing for* the stand they would have hud to settle the matter at the ballot. Referring to the chief sanitary inspector’s lecture to the Hindus on the occasion of the last ballot, Councillor Luckie said it may have come to the notice of Mr. Doyle that tho sanitary conditions under which the Hindus lived were not all that could to desired, but so far the committee had received no special report on the subject.

"There ore times when the Railway Department ought to 100 prosecuted for cruelty’ to dumb animals,” said Mr. D. W Westenra (Canterbury) at the conference of the Council of Agriculture yesterday. Several other delegates had previously spoken very critically of tho arrangements made for the carriage of K toek —chiefly show stock. Mr. Westenra satd that he had driven his horses 30 miles rather than send them by rail. It was not the fault of the stationmasters, but of the Department.

It was recently pointed out to the Public Trustee by the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association that the Public Trust Office is bolding sums of money in trust for many ex-members of the N.Z.E.F. now in mental hospitals. The association inquired as to the policy of tho office in regard to dependants of men who are likely to remain in such institutions, and the reply received was as follows: "In those cases where there are dependants in need of assistance the Public. Trustee applies such portions of the patients’ estates a are from time to time necessary to provide, such maintenance. In cases of undischarged soldiers, tho Defence authorities provide for ihe maintenance of the patients in mental hospitals; in other cases the Mental Hospitals Department is always quite reasonable. and where the necessity arises postpones making any claim on a patient’s estate until those dependants in need of assistance have been provided for."

The By-Laws Committee of the City Council last night reported that it had received a letter from the Commissioner of Police stilting that arrangements had been made,so far as the strength of the force under his control would permit, for a traffic control officer to be placed on duty at the junction of Courtenay Place, Clyde Quay, and Kent Terrace. "If on account of the shortage of officers it is found that a pointsman cannot bo provided for duty from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., stated the commit tee, "arrangements will be made for an officer to be on duty during the busiest hniirs of traffic."

At the annual meeting of the Dominion Estate Agents and Land Auctioneers’ Association yesterday a motion of condolence was passed in connection with the death of Mr. Jarnos Clark, a vicepresident of the association, who was killed in an aeroplane accident at New Plymouth a few months ago. Regulations for the purposes of flection 142 of tho Health Act, 1926, in respect to the committal of aged, infirm, incurable, or destitute persons who may be living in insanitary conditions are gazetted.

A remit withdrawn from the Council of Agriculture yesterday was the following; "That it is not in the best interests of Now Zealand that Indian coolies should be allowed free entry.” The delegate who wap to have moved the remit remarked that it wan being dealt with elsewhere. "At the: Imperial Conference,” he added, when inquiring looks appeared on the faces of a few other delegates.