LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2124, 6 May 1920, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of the death of the laic King Edward VII.

Heavy bookings for intercolonial boats going to Australia are reported by the Christchurch Tourist Office.

The war debt per head of the population of the United Kingdom is £157 ss; of Germany, £l2B 6s; of France, £ll4 4s; and of the United States, £55 ss.

What is said to be the" first shipment of Chinese coal to the American continent was made in June, when 1,600 tons were shipped from Chinwangtao to Alaska. In England the average weekly cost to the State of a convict senteneed to penal servitude is £2 2s Od, of a convicted prisoner £1 10s lOd, a pauper £1 0s 6cl, aud a pauper lunatic 18s 8-lcl.

Judgment was given by the Court of Appeal in the appeal Claude Balfour against the verejiet of a jury awarding against him £I,OOO damages in a suit brought by Magdalene Patou Ritchie for breach of promise of marriage. An appeal has been made to Mr Justice Edwards for a new trial, on the ground that the verdict was against the weight of evidence, and the Appeal Court ordered a new trial, holding that justice c-ould not be done without considering correspondence between the parties which had been -produced since the hearing of the action.

„ A meeting of the Poxton Harbour Board will‘be held at Palmerston N, on Monday next, at 1.30 p.m. Business: Election of Chairman; bal-ance-sheet, and general.

Returns of actual threshings received from threshing mill owners by;the Government Statistieidn up to 10th April showed that till then 1,048,313 bushels of wheat and 1,844,881 bushels of oats had been thi’eshed out. The average yield per acre in cases where particulars of areas were furnished worked out at 34.54 bushels for wheat and 39.75 bushels for oats. The bulk of the threshings was in Canterbury. According to advice received in Washington 'from Argentina, the treaty recently negotiated between. Japan and Paraguay provides for Japanese colonial ion of Paraguay, a ml. gives the former “favoured nation 15- privileges. It is also reported that a similar treaty is being negotiated between Japan and Uruguay, and that, in furtherance of Japanese; colonisation plans in South America, Japanese . capitalists have secured large tracts of agricultural land in Northern Peru ami Bolivia.

“Nearly one-third of the people of the United States, or more than thirty millions, live on farms.” slates the Guaranty Trust Company of New York,,in a circular dated February 23ru, 1920. Nearly twenty millions more live in communities having a population of less than 2,500. In other words, nearly onehalf of (he population of the United States is to be found on farms'or in country districts, according to a compilation of agricultural statistics contained in the booklet. “Our Basie Industry.” The value of all farm property is more than that of all the manufacturing establishments, railways, mines, and quarries in America.

The fact cannot be ignored (soys the Lyttelton Times)that the present Ministry, as a eomhination is not a Ministry Of sufficient talent for its responsibilities. Except for Sir Francis Bell and Sir William Herrins, both of whom are desirous of retiring, Mr Massey is the only impressive figure in the Cabinet. He is vainly struggling' under a load of duties and cares which arc obviously beyond the strength of a political giant; and he cannot, on the face of it. obtain very much assistance from (he mediocre and inexperienced members of the team. This position, we feel sure, has been a factor contributing to the exceedingly critical Mate of affairs throughout the Public* Service.

The influx of Asiatics into the Dominion, and the uneasiness occasioned thereby -have not escaped the attention of the Government. Mr Massey stated at Auckland that the difficulty in dealing with the matter was accentuated by the fact that Indians to whose arrival exception is being taken were British subjects. The matter has been referred to the Crown Imw Office to ascertain whether there is sufficient, power at pre-

sent vested in the Government to cheek this immigration. If the powers now existing 1 prove insufficient, (lien Parliament will he asked to deal witli Iho matter as early as possible in the session which commences in dune.

There are people in Wanganui who viil have a somewhat pained remembrance or the “Young PeopleV' sup.per tendered on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales. Ta (ho scramble that followed when the assembly with one accord decided to begin the supper a few dresses and (‘veiling suits were damaged by carelessly handled cups of tea and coffee being passed around. One youtlr held a bottle of aerated water at arm’s length and deftly Slicked off the capsule with a knife, the result being a 'spurting cascade on to the back of a lady in evening dress. There was considerable crushing at the ladies’ dressing room, and in several instances flimsy dross material proved unequal to strains suddenly placed upon it. During the evening several ladies lost articles c.f jewellery. It is not though likely that any light-fingered guest was at work, the reason for the losses probably being the jostling that occasionally went on. —Chronicle.

Says the New Zealand Herald: — The railway strike will prove to be not an unmixed evil if it impresses upon the Government the vital importance of maintaining good roads as an alternative means of transport. As a people we have shamefully neglected our roads. The fadiities for sea transport, the multiplicity of gdod harbours, and the long coastline encouraged this tendency in the first instance. • Settlement hugged the shore, and as it penetrated into the interior it depended upon railways. We have never been forced to develop our inland communications as continental peoples have; we have never learned to value the road us our forefathers valued it before the age of the locomotive. It is dear that this contempt of the road cannot be perpetuated much longer. Our civilisation is growing too complex, and the inland population too numerous to depend so implicitly on coastal services and narrow gauge railways. We must have roads, good roads, and plenty of roads,.roads that are passable in all weathers, and roads that will serve motor transport as’ (lie railways serve steam transport.

Proud Prussia in her anguish (lings • •In throes that ne’er abate— An eagle beating broken wings Against the bars of fate. While eoir.Uieree freed bears far and wide Its blessings on each ocean tide, And those who coughs and colds endure Again have Woods’ Great Peppermint cure. —Ad'vt. 5

- There was (says , a Capetown message) a new departure in aeroplaning when a Handley-Pago machine conveyed the University football team to play Moresburg, a journey of eighty miles.

The woman who low .o’er the cradle bends, whose love for her kin is hcrcreed; whose smile or whose sigh rules this old world of ours — that is the woman we need. —“The Divinity of Motherhood,” Town Hall to-morrow.

“I came back from Samoa more determined than over to light for a white New Zealand,” said Mr S. Co Smith, M.P., during the course of an address in the Workers’ Social Hall, New Plymouth, on Thursday last. “I think we can work Samoa with white labour. We have been told we must, have cheap indentured labour to work the islands, that whiles cannot work them, and there is not a single bit of evidence that anybody ever tried to work the islands with white men.”

The Prime Minister gave a hint on Tuesday, in replying to the Post and Telegraph deputation, of impending increases in postal and railway rates. “I am satisfied,” he said, “that we cannot go on without arranging for additional revenue from the revenue departments of the State. I have not said that before, because 1 thought it could lie avoided.” They must pay (lie men according to the 'advance in the cost of living, and he was afraid that in the future they must arrange for more revenue from the Postal Department and the Railway Department. It was not fair that these increases should come from the Consolidated Fund to be paid by the general taxpayer, though, of course, the money came from the taxpayer in the long run in any ease. A correspondent writes to the Wool Record of January: Members of the wool trade who were in London at the December series of auctions were much impressed with the splendid window show at the New Zealand Government office in the Strand. There was a model of a shearing shed, made by New Zea-land-soldiers, which in its own way is just as interesting to Bradford mill men as the mills are to the spuatters who come over here. Cloths, blankets, scarves, and oilier samples of goods turned out by the New Zealand mills, such as Pelone, Kaiapoi, Mosgiel, and Roslyn, were also on show, and altogether (he exhibit from t he woolmams standpoint was considerably in advance of anything one has seen in this line recently in-the London offices of Colonial Governments.

“Incredible” profits- by shipping companies are regarded as one of Hie important, reasons of high prices throughout the world. Air J. 11. Kusseter, ex-Direelor of Operations of the United Stales Government Shipping Board, giving evidence before the Commerce Committee of the Senate in January last, declared that during the war one vessel, operating between San Francisco and Calcutta under .he direction of the Shipping Board, made over fKit),ooo by a single voyage of 110 days. Another vessel, operating, under arrangement with the Indian Clovernmen't, made nearly £120,000 by a voyage of o‘2 days. Vessels under private management exceeded these earnings. The Senate Committee intend to impure whether similar excessive profits are still being made. There is reason to believe that in some eases pro lit s have increased since 1 ho war.

The incorporation of Ihe Nelson Colonist with the Nelson Evening Mail brings to a close the life of a 'newspaper which has had a long and useful career.- At one period of the Dominion’s early development, Nelson, because, perhaps, a number of English gentlemen of culture and literary tastes settled there, set a high standard in the quality of its journalism. The first sheet published there was the Nelson Examiner, which was founded on 12th .March, 1842, the plant for which was brought from England. Eor fifteen years (he Examiner flourished unopposed, selling at Is per copy, or „C2 being charged for a year’s subscription. The founder was Mr Charles Elliott, Among its distinguished contributors were Mr Alfred Domett, Dr. Monro (afterwards Sir David), the Hon. Constantine Willon, Mr E. D. Bell (afterwards Sir Francis), Mr E. IV. Stafford, and the Hon. -I. C. Richmond. In 1872 the paper succumbed to financial troubles. Meanwhile, in 1857, with the growth of what was then known as the “Liberal” party in Nelson, the Colonist was established, itsvhief mission being to fight the landed interests of the town and district, whose mouthpiece, history records, the Examiner had become." Mr William Nation, of Sydney, was the first registered proprietor. Six years later Mr D. M. Luckic, whose trenchant writings attracted considerable attention, became editor and partproprietor, and the business was conducted under the' name of Nation and Luekie. In 1874 Messrs Bond, Finney, and Co. purchased the paper, and though the sons of, the original firm have been conducting its affairs in latter years, the proprietorship lias, not changed, THE COSTLY COUGH.

The uneared for cough, the cough you let go on, hoping it will cure itself, is the costly cough. It is the cough that: annoys you, keeps-on hacking and tearing the delicate and sensitive membranes and tissues of the throat until it is almost impossible to get relief. Take care of your cough now. Take Chamberlain’s Cough Remedy. You will be surprised how quickly it will soothe and relieve your cough. For sale everywhere.—Advt.

Mr Vanderlip, the well-known American banker, discussing conditions in Japan and America,- said they were parallel, both having vastly increased credits anjl inhaled currency, but conditions in Japan wore even more aggravated. Mr Vanderlip added that he believed dangerous conditions were approaching, involving the possibilities of serious trouble.

“New Zealand ranks as perhaps the lowest country in the world when it comes to estimating the number of men out: of work,” said Mr N. B. McCallum, president of the Christchurch K.S.A.. at the animal meeting of that body recently, when paying a high tribute to the work of the Repatriation Department in assisting returned men to.resume their places in civilian society.

About Kit) children from the local Stale school visited Palmerston N, on Tuesday in connection with the Royal visit, under the charge of the leaching staff and members of the School Committee. They were accompanied hy the Seoul Trumpet Band. The marching of (he Foxton children was very favourably commented on, it being easily the bos! display of any of the school children that look part.

At the conclusion of the supper tendered to the Prince of Wales at Wanganui, a careful tally by the caterers disclosed that tine following articles had disappeared: —Four silver vases; in all, 120 yards of royal blue and silver ribbon; 39 dozen tumblers; 18 dozen tea spoons; 34 dozen cups and saucers. In addition can be mentioned a silver pair of nut crackers, nine serviettes, and the shades off a silver candelabrum, th latter being loaned by the Mayoress. Mr Robert Semple, former organiser of .the Federation of Labour, and ex-member for 'Wellington South, is at the head of a party of workers who propose to undertake the construction of a long tunnel through a range of hills enabling Wellington City to tap an additional supply of water for its largest reservoir. The principle of co-opera-tive labour in connection with the construction of the tunnel has been 'approved by the City Council. A. loan will have to be authorised by ratepayers for the work.

The report of the Sydney Public, Tien It !j Department on hi si yeur’s influenza 'epidemic shows Ihe percentage of dentils of those attacked to lie I.T Early treatment nod confinement to bod and absolute 1 rest' were the most potent factors in combating the disease. Amongst preventative measures, inoculation was (lie most valuable, and mitigated the, progress of (he disease to a large extent. Amongst those inoculated three times the ■mortality' ah hospitals was just one-half that of those who were not inoculated. Those inoculated once or twice benefited, but not to the sa.me extent.

Writing to-die Levin Chronicle from Papeete (Tahiti), Mr M. Fos-

cl hi, late of Levin, s-;;iys : —“The heat is unbearable. Wc arc sell led in a furnished hold (The Armexee), and lake our meals in another plane (the, Aiare). The food is not congenial (o our taste. Meal and poultry are very lough; fish is good, and also the

crabs. We drink iced wine—lea is out of (he question —take a small cup of splendid coffee after each meal. Mill: and butter come in (ins from New Zealand. There are very few cows, but plenty of mosquitoes of a ferocious disposition, and very fond of new arrivals.”

Palmerston North gave a great reception to the Prince of Wales on Tuesday, huge crowds cheering him along the route from the station to the Square, where addresses were presented by the Mayor (Mr J. A. Nash, M.P.) on behalf of the borough, and Mr 1. Linklater (chairman of the Kairanga County Council) on helm if of the ratepayersof (hat body. The Maoris of the Kangitane, Muaupoka, and Ngatiapa tribes presented an address of loyally. Afterwards the Prince inspected returned soldiers and nurses, and drove around the Square, cheered by the school children and (lie people.

The reporters have been “letting themselves go” in describing the journeys of the Prince. One enthusiast, describing the journey from Auckland by (rain, writes about “the landscape beaming as a face that had been washed by tears of sadness at parting,” and he also gets to work on the piston rods of the engines “singing a song of triumph.” Next please! No one has yet written about the coal shining like the eyes of fair women; nor the sweatrags of the loco.. drivers exhaling lovely incense; or the sleepers singing a paen of joy. It the piston rods sing -triumphantly, there is no reason why the sleepers should not have a chorus. Come on ye knights of the pen. “Let her go, Gallagher!”

Discussing the work of the Board of Trade, particularly as it related to the suppression of profiteering, the Prime Minister, said in Auckland that he know that the administration of the Act was being proceeded with energetically by the Board, and also that the local tribunals that had been set up were working very well (reports the Star). Ho added that a. large number of cases had been inquired into, and he understood that they were now lief ore the Crown Law Office, which has to decide regarding the legal position. “The public can rest assured,” added Mr Massey, “that where the Crown Law Office decides that there is good cause for a Court prosecution, that prosecution will take place. The •Government -is determined to see Dial the Act is administered in the public interest.”

A witness at the inquest at Raugiotu yesterday, warned by the Coroner of the consequences of commil ting perjury, volunteered I he informatidn that lie had been drunk all - his life, hut was nevertheless eapof telling the truth. The poll of ratepayers at Palmerston North yesterday on the proposal to borrow £IOO,OOO for the purpose of installing electric lighting and power for the borough, resulted as follows; —For 450, against 70.

The Feilding Silver Band are in splendid form, and a message to hand is to the effect that they will arrive at 4.30 on Saturday afternoon next, and will be received by the Scout Trumpet Band at the Post Office.

.Mrs F. Robinson has convened a public meeting to be bold in the Council Chamber next Wednesday afternoon, at 3 o'clock, tor the purpose of forming a Beautifying Society for the borough. One has only to look round our town to sec the necessity for such a society, and it is to he hoped that everyone who is able to will make a point of being present at next Wednesday afternoon’s meeting. In the closing stages-of tin* supper tendered the Prince of Woles at Wanganui, after the Royal visitor had departed the souvenir craze — this is using (he mildest term possible —set in, and looting on a large scale commenced to develop. Anything movable was quickly taken possession of, and one elderly lady, who was mildly remonstrated with when found in possession of a threedecker cake, remarked with asperity that she was a ratepayer.

If the railway crisis emphasises one thing’ more than another, if is that the country is seriously handicapped in having a Ministry that is without business or commercial training, says the Wairarapa Age. It also emphasises the' fact that Mr Massey is undertaking far too much personal responsibility. He has enough to do to carry out the duties ■ of Prime Minister without accepting the burdens of the railways, finance, labour, and other important brandies of the administration. The Ministry should be reorganised and strengthened as speedily as possible.