DOMINION NEWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 September 1927, Page 3

DOMINION NEWS.

(By Telegraph—Per Press Association. SEQUEL TO ASSAULT. WELLINGTON, Sept 13. Detective William Robert Cooper resigned from the New Zealand Police Forte mi Monday and was discharged. The cause being his assault on a seaman. awarded £l3 damages against Cooper in the .Magistrate's Cunt. Prior to that he was fined £2 for the offcai a at a private police inquiry. He then admitted being previously fined C 3 for assault. Commissioner Mclh on y said to-day he would not tolerate such conduct ns Cooper's in the Force under any cir cumstanees.

RAILWAY REGRADING. WELLINGTON. Sept. 13. ‘‘Somebody got a little twisted when lie made this statement,” said the Superintendent of Staff in tlm Railway Head Office (Mr .(. Brown), when approached on the subject of a telegram from Christchurch relative to the re"railing of staffs. ‘•Sime time a"o a Commission was appointed to regrade positions in the iirst division, find it furnished a report dealing with the whole of the iirst division positions in the Railway .service. Certain positions have been given higher grading, and so there will be a certain number of transfers. I here never lias ticen a thorough regrading in the railway service before- - such as lias taken place every five years or so in the P. and T. Department and others. Regrade positions in the Railway service arc advertised by circular, and members ol the staff who are qualified to fill them may apply for them; several of them, if they choose. It is positions that have been regraded, and not men, though naturally some transfers will be neces-

sary for some of the positions. ,\ large number of men will be qualified, such as those holding the position of stationnmster, while a number will he available for other positions, wTi'ich will be more limited.” Tlio position was further explained by another railwayman, who expressed the view that while in the past general demand had been lor versatility [amongst railway officers, who were encouraged to tit themselves to till .•imposition in lower and intermediate grades at short notice, ihe railway? had now become so big a concern that more specialisation would he necessary in more important positions, and that while encouragement of general knowledge of service would still be the ease in. lower grades, specialisation in work for which junior officers showed most aptitude would eventually come within the limits of opportunists of .service. Thu policy recently adapted by the Government had been in the direction of producing greater uniformity in methods .of control throughout all State Departments.

raglan bye-election. tmm.TON, Sept. 13. The selection of M.r A. Mngttor, of le Ivowhai, as its official candidate, was confirmed by a conference of the Central Executive of the Country Party at Hamilton to-day. Several others names was also considered. A PROTEST. PALMERSTON N\. Sept. 13. The Palmerston North Chamber of Commerce to-night passed the following resolution : “ That the suggestion that salaries ol members of Parliament lie increased is most inopportune and Hint apart from tho question of the additional expenditure which must come out of the pocket ol the people, it would set a had example in the. matter of economy, which tlie country is so badlv in need of.

Ibis chamber views with grave concern and disapproval the recent increase in the income tax, it being felt that if additional revenue is required, it should h e obtained by economies rather than by additional taxation.

A. SUDDEN DEATH. CHRISTCHURCH, Sept. it. M iss Ida Cooper. Organising Secretary to the British and Foreign Bible Society, died, suddenly at her lodgings yesterday. She was a daughter of Mr W. Cooper, formerly in the Treasury at Wellington. She was secretary to Mr Wilford when he .was Leader of the Opposition and she went home during the war to take war work in hand. TENDER ACCEPTED. CHRISTCHURCH. Sept. 11. Tenders for the work of diveifinrj the Eyre river into the Wniniaka'firi. and making a cut to prevent flood waters from going through Kaiapoi. wore received at yesterday’s meeting of the Waimakariri River Trust. That of Parkinson (New Zealand) Ltd., a. Wellington firm, was accepted. Hie amount being £9127, which is lower than the estimate of 'the Resident Engineer who allowed a sum of £10.090 for the work. PICTURE DISPLAY HELD UP. AUCKLAND. Sept. 14.

The screening of the picture Palestine at the Town Hall last night was forbidden at the last moment by the Department of Internal Affairs. Permission had been granted, provided the local inspector was satisfied with the arrangements made. It- is stated that the Inspector expressed dissatisfaction with the operating box. hut agreed at three o’clock yesterday afternoon to permit the screening on this occasion. The manager was therefore greatly surprised when two hours later a telegram from Wellington forbade the screening, stating that the operating box, to which exception had boon taken, had been passed by the Department’s Inspectors on numerous previous occasions.