AUCKLAND NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 8 September 1931, Page 3

AUCKLAND NOTES

From Our Correspondent. The Auckland Stock Exchange strongly deprecates the agitation bv strong local bodies to obtain legislative authority to reduce interest pay- . ments on existing debenture issues, or , to defer payments to sinking funds. 1 It points out that such action not only , means the breaking of contracts, but . must result in destruction of the credit ; of the local bodies concerned. i , ***** i A painful sensation was caused locally by what at one time was feared would prove a terrible mountaineering catastrophe at Ruapehu. Thanks to the gallant efforts of search parties, at time of writing, all the members of the missing party with the exception ot one—Mr Warwick Stanton —have been rescued, and hope has not yet been abandoned that he ,too, will be found. The dangers attending alpine climbing have, however, been emphasised, and legislation with a view to minimising such dangers will in all probability bo passed this session. ***** The activities of the Communists in Auckland still continue, but without much success. There has b,een no further trouble at the City Mission since the twelve or fourteen trouble-makers were fired out. These however, proceeded to “boycott” three hotels and two milk shops where they maintained wages “cuts” had been made, but their futile efforts were again unsuccessful. Then a quantity of Bolshevik literature was sent to the unemployed in Hamilton, who promptly burned it. and notified the Bolshy headquarters that they didn’t want any more ot that stuff. Then these trouble-makers or some of them, proceeded to distribute similar literature in the Auckland streets, and three of them were prosecuted and fined for distributing literature without an imprint. The defence set up was that these leaflets were circulars typed at Trades Hall and' headed as coming from there. As Trades Hall is of course the headquarters of the Labour Unions, though the defence did not save the men ‘fronl being fined, it was instructive as showing that if the poisonous stuff did not emanate from there it appears at least to have been sanctioned, or tolerated. ***** A very pleasant meeting of old shipmates who had not met for 52 years occurred here recently when Mr T. 1. Edmonds of Christchurch, the founder of the big manufacturing business in baking powder, and Mr J. S. Dawes formerly well known on the Coast ioregathered. Both had come out in the ship' Waitangi, arriving in Lyttelton in 1879. There was naturally a lengthy and interesting interchange of experiences between these two old colonists who had passed' over half a century in the land of their adoption. ***** The world-wide trade slump has ex tended even to the Solomon Islands. The Rev. G. T. Warren who has been stationed there since 1913, and who has just passed through Auckland on furlough, states that copra is now practically unsaleable and is only worth about a tenth of what it was some years ago. This has not only seriously affected the traders, but also the Melanesian Mission funds, as some of the island missions were in the past partly self supporting through the copra supplied by the native converts. This source of revenue has now practically disappeared. ***** There has been a good deal of “grousing” in New Zealand about the wage cut of ten per cent. It is instructive and refreshing therefore to turn to Melanesia where the wages of the mission staff were always based on the bare cost of subsistance, and where recruits were always warned by the Bishop that if they were not possessed of private means they would have to exercise great care to make ends meet. Owing to shrinkage of funds the position. had to be placed before the staff, and without exception they voluntarily agreed to reduction in their small stipends ranging from 13 to as much as 40 per cent, rather than see their numbers reduced. As regards the native teachers, one who was receiving £ls a year refused to accept more than £8; another refused to accept more than £6; and junior teachers gave up all pay due to them to September thus saving the mission funds some £2B. If this spirit of real self sacrifice could only spread throughout the world there would soon be art end to our economic troubles aim perplexities. ***** In Mount Albert, one of the Auckland suburbs there is over £30,000 of rates outstanding. It is stated this is largely due to properties being covered by mortgages t-o the Crown in which cases the Council can do nothing, and the greater part of the rates will probably never be received. It is evidently time the matter of local body finance received the attention of the Government. *****

Starting with a trifling dispute involving 26/11 the miners and the safety molv were called out by their union at Wilsons Portland Cement coal mine at Hikurangi. The mine is now flooding and the news to-day is that it will be definitely closed down and abandoned

at the end of the week. Some 150 men have been thrown out of work, and if, ns is probable the adjoining mine of the Hikurangi Company is flooded some 300 men will los e their employment, and the townspeople of Hikurangi will probably cease to exist. There is just a chance, at time of writing, that this wilful destruction of property will be to some extent averted. Ti‘ not it will be a severe reflection on our elaborate and costly system of conciliation and arbitration.