NEWS AND NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 April 1930, Page 7

NEWS AND NOTES.

UNIONISM IN SAMOA

Samoan carpenters form just as close a corporation as the B.M.A. or an\ other professional union, where the etiquette is very strict. In his lecture at Auckland on the Polynesians, Dr P. H. Buck was explaining how' the Samoans held rigidly to their old cusloms—more so t-lian any other people in the Pacific. When he explained the organisation of the carpenters- his hearers were reminded of some ven strict unions of the present day—both of workers and professional men. Samoa had its special guild of carpenters, and its members built all tilt houses. If a person decided that lit wanted a house built, lie had to consult one of the guilt craftsmen, feed all the carpenters while they were at work on the “fale,” and in addition give them a decent tip now and again, if the owner failed to keep up the food supply or the backsheesh, workers would down tools, and the job would be boycotted by the rest of the guild.

DOMINION’S HEAVY FIRE LOSSES.

“jibe insurance business in New Zealand during the past two years hasbeen bad and the fire loss of 21s 9d. per head is the highest in the world,” remarked Mr Edward L. Lumley, who is managing director of Messrs. Bennit P. Cohen and Son, Ltd., Lombard Street, London, and an underwriter at Lloyds, at present touring New Zealand. He said that it was a tribute to New Zealand, that the burglary hazard was very/small—probaby smaller than in any other country. The fire insurance waste, on the othei hand, was the highest, and at the present time amounted to about £SOOO a clay. Statistics to date showed that these happenings came in cyJcs, ant the insurance companies hoped for an improvement. Asked if he coukl assign a reason for tbe fire waste being so high, Air Lumley replied that one factor was the large amount of electric wiring done during the war with inferior material. Then there were many more wooden buildings in New Zealand than in either Australia or England. r h comparison with New Zealand, the loss by fire in Australia was not great.

DAUGHTERS OF EVE

Tho universal feminine habit of subediting the complexion in public has extended to secondary schoolgirls. Behold. therefore, a group of charminu little lnsses (who may be the fashionables of to-morrow) sitting on a luirIjour boat making themselves beaiiti ful for school. It seems that they use a communal face pad of the universal pink kind. This particular group of young ladies passed the face pad and the tiny mirror from hand to hand and carefully dabbed their noses and rubbed their fair cheeks. Then up spoke the eldest of the group. “I hardly ever put colour on my face going to school, hut of course when I go out at night I do.” The wisdom of thirteen years I—Auckland paper.

A NEW EARTH.

These are the days of larger human kindnesses. Kindness is inherent, hut it is better organised than ever. You expect the mates of a smashed bushman to carry him over unthinkable tracks to the best medical aid available. The ill and poor may avail themselves of the best scientific skill. Eminent people will work their .fingers off to save an apparently worthless life. “Save humanity!“ is the cry. “Save the babies!” is a splendid slogan. “Save tli9 mothers!” Is magnificent. Money is spent like water to fight sickness and. poverty, and hope springs eternal in the human breast' that the brotherhood of man and all that will come to earth. And as one reads about all the means kind and gentle humanity is taking to help towards a nice, kind world beautifully spokeshaved and sandpapered, one also reads of the wonderful exploits of manless bombing ’planes which sail up into the 'blue controlled by wireless and which will be capable of raining death on saved babies, saved mothers, saved T.B.’s, cancer funds, dole departments, and all the intensely human arrangements for a new heave;’, on earth.