NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 56, 3 September 1926, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

The Public Service. By an amendment of the Finance Act made by the House of Representatives yesterday, it is provided that any officer, in any classified division of' the Public Service may be paid a salary in excess of the maximum for the division, conditional On the increase being appropriated by Parliament. The Public Servico Act was also amended by removing the limitation on the number of professional and clerical divisions there may be in the Service. Who Is It To Be? Another forward step was made yesterday in tho appointment of a Town Clerk for Wellington, when a special meeting of the City Council was held for the purpose of interviewing one of the Australian applicants for the position. The same procedure - will be adopted next week, when yet another aspirant for the Town Clerkship will be arriving from Australia. After he has been interviewed in like manner an announcement may be expected as to whom has been chosen to fill the vacancy. A Wife's Divorce Bill. The Select Committee which considered the Mildred Elaine Smyth Divorce Bill reported to ..the House of Representatives on Wednesday that it had carefully considered the clauses, and had no amendment to propose. The allegations of the preamble of the Bill were proved to its satisfaction, subject to a technical amendment, :.which was necessary in order that the date ; of respondent's conviction might be stated. Facial Stories. "What is the psychological effect of a secret?•?',.was! a handed to tlie'aßev.;D.'....M...Niblock' at. the : Concert"Chambo_ last night. "That depends on what the -secret is;" replied the lectureron ."'practical psychology." "I havo many, secrets myself. Suppose it is a'ghost in the cupboard of memory, sometlijng in thepas.t you.want to forget. .That Secret is:all the time, working in:you. Seventy.two men came to my office last week', to confess what they thought.were.secrets,; but most of them'were not secrets at all, but simply shouted out through their face 3. We think wo.hide theni, but they cry out from the mark on our forehead. There was once a.man who- said that if he. were .in.the'dock for murder' his face would hang him, and. it was' true, because ho was a man whoso evil passions wero reflected there." Amalgamation of Counties. A new clause was. added to tho Finance Bill in thq House of Representatives yesterday providing that where two of more counties unite the subsidy payable to the new county shall hot bo less than the aggregate subsidy .that would have been payable to the several counties had the union not taken place. Annuities to Widows. The clause in tho Finance Bill empowering tho Public Service Superannuation Board to agreo with a contributor for a reduction of a•. it-ring allowance in consideration of tho payment of an increased annuity to his widow on his death, has been withdrawn. Tho Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Downie Stewart) stated in the House of Representatives yesterday that it was desired to go into, the matter to see exactly what its effect would be, therefore it was thought desirable to hold it over for another year.

Public Service' Pensions. The annual report of the Public Service Superannuation Board for the year ended 31st March, 1926, states that pensions amounting to £44,525 15s were granted during the year. The total income for the year was £496,889, the principal items being:—Contributions of members £257,378, contributions from the Government £99,269, interest £136,798. Virtue of Pugnacity. , "Christ was not always meek,." said the Rev. D. .-■ Moncur , Niblock at the Concert Chamber - last night, lecturing on "Practical Psychology." "The day is coming when we must call things by other names, because the day has come when we must fight, fight to express our own life, tho life we come here to contribute to. We are all born to make the world better, but nobody else can make the contribution. It is the instinct within us of immortality,' the fighting instinct, tho instinct to make one's the full .life.*"'. , Veterinary Surgeons Bill. Some amendments to the Veterinary Surgeons Bill have been made by the Agricultural and Pastoral Committee of the Legislative Council. The chief alteration consists of a new clause providing that any person who has practised as a veterinary surgeon in Now Zealand for not less than ten years immediately prior to the commencement of this Act may, notwithstanding that ho may not be qualified to be registered under the Act, continue in practice, and may use in connection with his business the designation of " veterinary practitioner" if he lodges his name with the Minister not later than six months after the commencement of the Act, and satisfies him that he has been practising and that he is of good character and repute. The number of persons who may be appointed to the board on the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture, previously one, is made unlimited. Unregistered Dentists. When the Dentists' Amendment Bill was in Committee in the. House of Representatives yesterday, the Hon. D. Buddo (Kaiapoi) ' asked whether the Minister of Health would have any influence with the Senate.in the matter of examinations. Tho Hon. J. A. Young replied that tho Senate would no doubt be guided by the recommendations, oi tho Royal Commission. If ho had the power ho would recommend the Senate to conduct the examination in accordance with the Commission's recommendation. In answer to further questions, tne Minister said he advised those concerned to make application for, registration at the earliest date. Unregistered dentists would be able to carry on work under supervision until 31st March, 1929, unless they passed an examination in the meantime. The Bill was passed. ■ • • - ■ Observe, But Do Not Shoot. During the lecture last night on our native birds, Mr. E. Stead said:— "When you see a strange bird in tho garden, or your children come and tell you . about one, tell them to leave it alone. Do not go and • get a gun to c iot it; there are other and better ways of finding out all. about it.'' Mr. Stead said that there were many instances of birds coming back after 20 years' absence, and becoming plentiful again. The bellbird was a case in point. They survived' for some time but gradually decreased. In the year 1910 they began- to increase, till to-day they had come back to the bush they had forsaken, and now they were plentiful. If the pioneers were treated properly when they got,back to civilisation and to our gardens, wo would have a great many birds not there at present. And while he recognised the claims for sanctuaries, and the importance of the rarer, forms of science, what was of greatest importance,, he held,. was that we should be able to rub shoulders with our birds. The Spring Menu. Spring is always popular for the fruit and vegetables it brings, W well as for the many other blessings that follow it. Its rapid approach is signified this year by the appearance on the. market of green peas, i associated from time immemorial will spring lamb, while new potatoes aro coming in in sufficiently large quantities to-make their appearance on Auckland menus, together with the lamb and the. peas (states the "New Zealand Herald"). However, it is still very early for green peas, as is shown by the high prices at the Auckland city markets on Tuesday, Is lid per lb being realised. New potatoes are less expensive, the choicest varieties bringing from 3d to 4Jd a lb. A Comparison Breaks Down. "They say in the street that we are a 'dud' board, and are floundering about like rhinoceroses in the mud," said Dr. Thacker at the meeting of "the Lyttelton Harbour Board on Wednesday, when asking how it was that the ■receipts since the last meeting amounted to £8007 16s sd, compared with £8755 ls for.the same period last year. He claimed that the. board was not progressive, and was in consequence losing revenue. Mr. M. J. Miller said that the board had shown more progress in the last five or six years than in the previous fifty years, reports the "Christchurch "Press." Tho secretary, Mr. C. J, R, Williams, said that it was a mistake to assume from one month's figures that the board was losing revenue. As a matter of fact, it was the other way about, as the figures for two-thirds of the present financial year compared with a similar period last year showed ah increase, of about £9000. Colonists' Collection. ' ' ;' . Li tho presence of pioneers and descendants of pioneers the Old Colonists' room at the Carnegie Institute was reopened by the Mayor of New Plymouth (Mr. F. E. Wilson) on Wednesday afternoon, says tho Taranaki "Daily News." A portrait of tho late .F. ■A: Carrington, founder ,of the - town, was unveiled by his ' daughter,. Mrs. Jessie Deacon, and presented to; the Mayor and burgesses. The oak-framed showcases, the gift of Mrs. Alice Houeyfield, of Sydney, wore also formally given to the borough. The" curator (Mr. E. B. Ellcnn) has devoted much time to setting up the room, and-his ; work has been eminently successful; but 'he would not havo had it to do-r-indeed,:thoro would have been no collection •at all—had it not.been for the enthusiasm and generosity of Mr. W.H.. Skinner. To him once belonged all the records dealing with early, colonisation and all the military records. > Half the sketches, paintings,- ' and .photographs on the walls wero his, and through him a.great many of the other donations have been made. On ono occasion he. rescued numerous papers that would.'otherwise havo been consigned to the fire by a Government official who did not know their value, and ho expressed keen regret that he had not been in a position to save others that were destroyed. To Mr. Skinner the town and-district owo tho fact that there is a place where their early nis'tory may bo studied in a much hotter way than through the reading of text books. Have you seen the beautiful Old Bleach Linens' at Kirkcaldie and Stains, Ltd. They are a duplicate set of those shown at the recent Drapery Exhibition in London. If you have not already seen them do so early. They are the best products of. the famous ' Old Bleach Company.—Advt. Wellington Stationers are out for a higher standard of thinking, hence their enthusiasm for the "Thinker" Notebooks at 3d; "Thinker" Writing Tablets, 6d; "Thinker" School .Exercise Books, 3d and 6d j "Golden Rule Rulers, 4d. "The Post" assisting.—Advt.