NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 60, 8 September 1926, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

I Canadian Preference. "New Zealand can send goods into Canada on the lowest tariff of any country in the world," said Mr. C. M. Croft, Canadian Trade Commissioner, at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce on Saturday. "Canada was not a great factor in inter-Empire trade until the beginning of the present century, but the development of- her natural resources has made her the lumber yard of the Empire, and given her an excess of oxports over imports of over £80,000,----000 this year." / A Philatelic Curiosity. There is something about the fourpenny stamp of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition commemorative issue which is of interest to philatelists, The lower left-hand corner stamp of each sheet of 60 has what looks like "postagf" instead of "postage" imprinted upon it. This is due to a flaw in the plate, not to an error in the lettering, but such things are of interest to postage stamp collectors. The value of thin particular stamp has therefore increased considerably since the flaw has been noticed. Comparatively few sheets of the fourpenny .value of the issue were sold, and what remained unsold after the Exhibition post office closed were destroyed, so it is understood; the number of these curiosities is therefore strictly limited. Similar flaws are found on two other stamps in each* sheet of 60, the bottom line of the "E" being broken so that it looks like an "F" with a.full stop, but in neither case is the flaw so noticeable. "Service the Watchword." "Man is something more than the sum of the physical elements that compose his body," said Mr. Justice Adams at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce on Saturday night (reports the "Lyttolton Times"). "Man is a dreamer of dreams, with a strong and wonderful power of bringing those dreams into effect. The spiritual part of man by far transcends the physical. This Chamber of Commerce, realising this, is reaching out to, better things. This gospel of self-help is no gospel in this ago. Service is the watchword. Money is a very small thing beside character. We did not need to wait for Henry Ford to show us that service was the most important thing in life. It is a long time ago sinco it was said that he who lost his life would gain it." "Event of a Lifetime." In connection with the sale of the Maori reserve in Timaru ,to the Timaru Borough Council, Mr. A. N. Booth, of the Maori Land Board, Wellington, arrived at Temuka on Friday with £ 8000 for distribution among the Native owners, writes the Temuka correspondent of the "Lyttelton Times." In addition to Temuka Natives, visitors were present from Otago Heads, Glenavy, Mpryen, and Kaiapoi, and Mr. 11. W. Uru, M.P., for the Southern Maori electorate, waa also there. The meeting hall at Arowhenua was the place of assemblage, and here the Maoris, young and old, in their best clothes and happiest, spirits, gathered for the event of a lifetime. The cheques paid out ranged from 12s to £423 0s 'Id. By virtue of succession rights, some of the participants received two, three, and even four cheques. Another Hulk. Another American sailing vessel is jto be withdrawn from active service and will end her career as a hulk in Auckland Harbour. This is the American four-masted schooner Columbia, now discharging lumber at Napier. She has been purchased by the Devonport Ferry Company, which is going to convert her into a hulk for the storage of coal for the ferry steamers, states the "New Zealand Herald." The company will take delivery of the schooner after she reaches Auckland. The Columbia is a wooden, vessel of 584 tons and was built about 25 years ago. The amount the Ferry. Company paid for the Columbia has not been announced, but it is considerably in excess of what the G. C. Goss was purchased for. Keeping the Tuis. A Waimate correspondent writes to the Dunedin "Star": "Just lately tuis havo come to my garden, and to encourage them to stay I have made, with a glass tube and red worsted, artificial flowers. I tie the flowers to trees and nil the tubes with honey. The tuis come and drink from, these, and I hope that this will be a means to keep them in the garden. I hear that tuis have come to t Dunedin this jrear. Gardens with artificial honey flowers, with tuis drinking out of them, form quite a good proposition, and I hope others will get busy aid see what can be done to encourage'these beautiful birds." New Butter Grading. The distinction of being tho first factory to obtain the "finost" grade for butter under the now grading standards adopted by the Dairy Control Board is claimed by the Clevedon factory of tho New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., a parcel of Anchor butter destined for London having oarnod tho honour. This butter was graded about 9.15 a.m. on Ist September, tho dato on which the new systom came into operation. Previously the highest quality butter was first grade, with a minimum of 90 points. First grade has now been superseded by "finest, 1* with a minimum of 93 points.

Municipal Trading. At the annual conference of the Gas Companies' Association, which has just been held in Wellington, it was agreed to bring under the notice, of the Government the matter of payment of income tax by municipal trading concerns. The members of the association considered that municipal gas and electric undertakings, also power boards, should be subject to the same income tax as companies, because they are in exactly the same business, and even in competition in the same town. The Government's intention is also to be drawn to the fact that Customs duty is much higher on gas appliances than on gas and electric goods. They ask that a similar duty be imposed on both classes of goods. The Minimum Wage. "The duty of the Court, as I read it, is to fix a minimum wage; in fact, that is all that it is empowered to fix. But my idea of the minimum wage is that employers should do the right and proper thing by their employees Dy paying more than the minimum when trade is prosperous. In times of trade depression the minimum wage may have to be reverted to; but if a man is worth more than the minimum to his employer he should get it. On the other hand there should not be complaint when work is slack and the wage reverts to the minimum." This was the pronouncement of his Honour Mr. Justice Frazer to-day when the Arbitration Court was hearing the timber yard and I sawmill workers' dispute. Farmers' Interest. Conditions which have prevailed in the dairy industry during the past season and the fall in the price of wool caused the collection of interest by the Public Trust Office during the past year to be attended with some difficulty. The Public Trustee (Mr. J. W. Macdonald) says in his annual report that many applications for extension of time have been received, and in w\etief\ily o-.-ery case the extension asked for has been granted without infliction of t.ao vcnul rate of interest > provided for in" the mortgage deed. These concessions granted by the Office have been much appreciated by the mortgagors, and in mo3t cases the interest has been forthcom; ing before the expiry of the period of extension. Notwithstanding the unfavourable conditions and the increase for the year in the amount of funds invested, the amount of interest overdue on the 31st March, 1926, was only slightly in excess of the amount outstanding on the 31st March, 1925. The position may be regarded as very satisfactory. Public Benefactions. Thero died recently in Wellington Mrs. Mary Ann Buckley, widow of the. late General Augustus Buckley, who served with the Army in India. The late Mrs. Buckley made the following charitable bequests:—£soo to the crippled children in London; £500 to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (New Zealand); £500 to the Blind Institute in New Zealand. Dr. Barnado's Home benefits to the extent of £1000, but the immediate enjoyment of this gift is postponed. The income on the sum is enjoyed by the life 'tenant. The same charities share in the proceeds of the residuary estate, when, the period arrives for distribution. The Public Trustee is the executor of the estate. Racecourse Water. At present the Wellington , Baciug Club is charged 9d per thousand gallons with a minimum charge of £150 per annum for water supplied at the Trentham Racecourse by tho Upper Hutt Borough Council. At last night's meeting of the council a letter was received from the secretary of the club (Mr. J. M. Griffiths) mentioning that at the time this arrangement was made large quantities of water were being used' in building operations at the course, but now that these were completed, water was required for track purposes only. During the past year, at a charge of 9d 'per 1000 gallons, water to the value of only £48 had been used. As the club has its own reservoir, it was only dependent on the Upper Hutt supply for three, months in the year at the most, and it was felt that £150 was very high for an annual minimum charge, and, if maintained, it might pay the club to put in its own artesian installation. A reduction to £75 was sought, such reduction to be retrospective to cover the past year. The question of reduction, and a suggestion by Councillor J. K. Johnston, that the minimum should be £75 with a charge of Is per 1000 gallons for all water used in excess, was referred to the Public Services Committee for a report. Building Slump in Auckland. The figures supplied by the Auckland City Council relative to the building returns fpr August show an enormous decrease in valne as compared with the same period of last year, states the "Auckland Star." This is accounted for by the fact that in 1925 several large structures were commenced, and one building involved a greater amount thaa the whole of the returns for last month. There were 246 permits issued in August at a total value of £89,028. Of these 47 were for dwellings. The largest contract was £8000, for the erection of the scenic railway, near the waterfront, and then came a contract of £4000 for additions to the National Bank. There were several contracts valued at £3000, but on the whole there was an absence of any big contracts. On the other hand, the largest contract during August, 1925, was that for the Dilworth Trust Building in Queen street, which was valued at £113,717, more than the total of the permits issued for last month. Then came the contract for; alterations and additions to St. Kevin's Arcade, in Newton, valued at £12,345, while another at £11,900 was also taken in hand. The number of permits issued in August, 1925, was only 215, at a total value of £232,842, representing .M 43,814 more than the total, for last month. In 1925 fifty permits were for dwellings. The present month has seen only one contract of any substance, and that is one of, £45,395 for the hall and shops being' erected for the Manchester Unity Oddfellows:

In introducing an' item on the programme of a Maori pageant at Wanganui, says an exchange, the Eev. F. A. Bennett suggested that there was nothing like a haka to produce physical fitness. He said that the Government had introduced drill to the schools of the Dominion from Sweden, but here, in this country, there was a form of drill and play combined that was much more effective in creating physical giants. He thought Maori hakas wore superior in that respect to Swedish drill, and that hakas would be greatly appreciated by students of physical culture.

As the result of his bicycle colliding with a motor-car in Jervois quay late yesterday afternoon, Leonard Bennett, aged 17, who lives at 45, Hopper street, was admitted to the Hospital with minor injuries to a leg. His condition is satisfactory.