NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10604, 1 June 1920, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

A man who had been sought by the police for some time was arrested in '. Auckland by Detective-Sergeant Issell on warrant issued in connection with a false pretence charge in Wellington. The prisoner, an athletic young man known ;is Charles Bernard Allen, or Allison (-2), has been remanded until Friday next.

New Zealand's pension bill for the year ended March 31st last was £2,705,160. This fact is contained in a return received by tho Minister in Charge of the Pensions Department (Sir William Merries) from the Commissioner of Pensions (Mr G. Faclie), which details the various items as follows: —War pensions, £1,773,642; old age, £732,900; widows', £136,815; Maori war, £-15,035; miners', .£16,652.

Defence Headquarters hold several Pports medals which were won in England' and France by members of tliu N.Z.E.F., and which have not yet been, claimed hy the owners. Thoso who have not 'received their medals should communicate with "A-' branch, Headquarters, New Zealand Military Forces, 'supplying particulars of their names and <iicgimental numbers, sto that their claims to the medals may be established.

The slow progress being made in excavating the site for the new Technical College at Mount Cook was remarked upon at- last night's meeting of the Board of Governors of the college, the matter arising from a report submitted by the architects. On tho motion of the chairman it was decided that the board should visit the site, see the ijositiou for itself, and consider what could bo done to expedite the work.

Tho future use of electric radiators in Hamilton is prohibited until a better supply of current is available. The council further decided that any infringement of the order will be penalised by severance of current from establishments where any offence occurs. A general increase in prices is also to be made, making the lighting 9d net and "ower 5d net. The flat rate charge has boen increased 50 per cent., and the price of gas is 12s Gd per 1000 ft.

The phenomenal rise in the. pi ice, of cement has caused a Northern local body to send a circular letter to all local bodies throughout New Zealand unging the Government to lift the duty on imported cement, as by doing so it was considered there would be an increase in tho amount of building concrete. It is thought that it is time the Government took a hand in the matter. Tho cost of cement ban risen from £3 10s per ton before the war to £7 12s 6d.

The Minister for Education (the Hon. C. J. Parr) recently met a deputation at Waitara, when the matters dealt with principally concerned education, air W T. Jennings, M.P., gavo ,iustaiicc« of long delays in connection with schools being ' erected, school children being deprived of education, in some cases, for nearly thrco years. The Hon. C. J. Parr replied that be intended going fully into the question of the long delays represented, and he hoped to go more into tho backblook districts to gauge closely what should be done.

Ymterdny a conference was hold at tho Board of Trade between Messrs W. G. MacDonald and Hart, of the Board of Trade, and the following representatives of : the Women's National Council:—Miss Coad . (president), Mrs Anderson (Free Kindergarten), Mm Forde (Housewives* Union), and Mrs Chaifield (Home Economics). Matters in connection with New Zealand produced goods and their prices were considered, and the points of view of producer and consumer discussed. Tho representatives, of the Board, of Trade commended the movement made by women lately not to buy luxuries, and expressed the hope that it would spread. At the-conclu-sion both sides stated that satisfactory information had been given.

With reference to the attendances of students at compulsory parades, tho Technical College Board of Governors received a letter last night tram the Education Department stating that students, could not, for capitation purposes, be deemed to he present at classes which they did not in fact attend, so capitation could not be paid in such cases. The- director (Mr J. H. Howell) said that it was a- serious matter, as the college not only lost capitation on compulsory parados, but had also lost capitation on tho Prince of Wales's visit. That meant a heavy loss, but they had to pay salaries nil the same. Mr Shand remarked that the position taken up by the department was most unfair. Mr Partridge contended that parades wore a Government matter and the Government should stand the expense. It was loft to tho director to follow tho matter up with the Education Department.

In hw report to tho Board of Governors last night, Mr J. H. Howell (Director of the Technical College) states: "Professor Newton, who was a colleague of mine at King's College, London, has suggested that, in accordance with recent practice at Homo, in tho case of all laboratories that aro intended to bear upon industrial processes, the dividing walls should bo removable and the fixtures as simple as circumstances will allow, so that as the demands of industrial training change, tho laboratories may be adopted to meet them. Professor Newton spoke of largo lahoratorioi in London erected and equipped only a few years ago at a cost of over £200,000, which had virtually to bo dismantled and remodelled to meet the needs of industrial science during the war period. At his suggestion I have written to Sir Frank Heath, tho secretary of the Committee for Industrial Research, for information which may be of use in planning our iioh" laboratokvs • and workshops." ,

All the schools in the Wellington Education Board district a.re to reopen to-day, with the exception of one or two in Marlborough, where belated holidays .are being completed.

The Health Inspector has informed the Petone .Borough- Council of the existence of 13 ca si-s. of influenza and 60 other cases of infectious diseases in the borough.

A councillor at the- meeting of the Pct.une Council stated last night, during a discussion on the coal supply, that he had only been able to get two hundredweight of coal since Christmas.

Bv special request the Sketch Exhibition at the Art Gallery, Whitmoro street, is to remain open until this evening. Prize-winners in the Art Union are asked to select their prizes to-day.

The time for submitting tenders-for the construction of the extension of tlie Port Elizabeth railway line, Greymouth, to link it up with the netf State ecal mine that is being opened up, has been extended until Juno 16th.

It is understood that the net profit from the Royal iUtgby match decided at the Athletic Park during the visit of the Prince of Wales was approximately £-700. Thi.-i money is t4 > JS° towards the formation "of a recreation Kround at Salisbury terrace.

The new 3000 kilowatt generator ■for the new unit at Lake Coleridge hydro-electric plant is now on its way to the power-station... It weighs about 20 tons, and was unloaded off the railway at Coalgatc, from -where it is being hauled by traction engines to Lake Coleridge.

For failing to appear at the Supreme Court yesterday in response to a summons to attend as a juryman, Howard Henry Newton, of 31, Austin street, was. fined by His Honour, Sir John Salmond, the sum of £2 unless good cause could be shown for his non-appearance.

At the meeting of the North Britishi Railway Company in Edinburgh the chairman said that compensation claims for goods lost or stolen numbered the last year 28,14-1-, as against S6lO in 1913. They had Tccently been paying. £IOO daily for whisky stolen in transit.

That tho Government had helped the -New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association in many ways was an opinion expressed by Dr. E. Boxer, Dominion president of the association, a,t the annual conference yesterday. Ho also paid a tribute to departmental officials .who had, he said, helped them in no small degree throughout tho year.

The annual conference of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association was continued yesterday, Dr. E. Boxer (Hastings) presiding over a large attendance of delegates. The report, was considered and adopted, and there- was also some discussion nnent finance and organisation, after which the deliberations were adjourned until 9.30 a.m. to-day. Reports of the proceedings appear under separate headings in this issue.

The. undefended divorce action of Charlotte Mildred" Connor versus William Connor, on the ground of desertion, was concluded yesterday, when His Honour Sir John Salmond heard further evidence. A decree nisi was granted, to be made absolute in threo ■months. A decree absolute was granted in the cn.se of Anne Marion Tozer. and Edward Alfred Tozer. " The peti-, tkmer was allowed the custody of tho children.

"Work short hours if you like. Short hours aro best, I am sure, but remember that you owe -it to your country and to yourself to work bard during those short hours and not to be idle during tlioin, I believe all returned soldiers wish to go down to posterity as 1 good citizens, determined not to try aiid live, on a reputation and at tlie expense of the rest of the community for the rett of their lives." —General'Sir W. E. Birdwood, who is d.ie to arrive at Wellington to-mor-row, addressing "diggers" at the New South Wales capital.

lit the course of the T.B. deputation to the Prime Minister yesterday, Mr Leadloy stressed the necessity for T.B. men to be employed for T.B. men. In one case, he stated, an af-ter-earc officer visiting a sanatorium, had asked a T.B. soldier . what he was before the war. The man replied that he had been a cook. "Why, then," asked tho officer, "could you not k° un ck to vour employment?" But if he had bad sanatorium experience, he would haive known that eniplovment as a cook was one of the occupations that was barred for T:B. men, and would not have asked that "senseless" question.

Reference was made by the Director of the Technical College in his report last night to the Board of Governors to Councillor MciKcnzic's effort to provide both an attractive sporting fixture for the Prince of Wales's visit to Wellington and a memorial of that visit in the shape of a- sports park. "The success of the effort (states Mr Howell) was a vital concern to the Technical College, which will benefit largely by the park; and pupils and masters alike—tlio former by selling tickets and tho latter by acting as stewards—did their best to help the movement. Over £3O worth of tickets were disposed of by the school ''

"I want to paj- a tribute to tho adaptability of the returned soldier to new conditions," remarked Dr E. Boxer, president of -the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association yesterday. There were many details yet unsettled, and there were many men wbo wanted tbinus done, birt as far ai--the 'country itself was coneerned, tho problem of repa.triatipn . had been largely .solved. That was a great tribute to the adaptability of the men who had been repatriated.: It said much for the N.Z.E.F. that many of them had on account of war disabilities taken up with success avocations that they had never dreamt of working at before tbey to tho war.

"As the reconstruction of our education system is iu the air, and it is probable that a bill dealing with it may be brought before Parliament during tho coming session." stated Mr J. H. Howell (director of the Technical College) in his report to the Board of Governors Inst night, "I would suggest that the -board consider whether it would not be advisable to formulato a policy with regard to matters that specially concern technical education. I would suggest the following:—The constitution of technical boards; the payment of teachers < according to scale; tho school leaving age; the ago at which some differentiation of training should take place; tho training of apprentices and the means for securing an adequate supply." The suggestions were referred to committee.

The Technical College Board of Governors received at its meeting last a letter from the lion, secretary to" the Streets Decoration Committee, thankinor yi r Ellis and the students for their services in connection with the decorations for the Prince of Wales's visit.

A member of the T.B. deputation to the Prime Minister yesterday mentioned a case of a tubercular soldier in the hotel he was staying at in Wellington. General McGavin said that that illustrated the difficulty of getting hold of the men. They oiteti heard of canes in that chance way.

"One of the. best war memorials I have seen is at Prahran, a suburb of Melbourne, where 10 cottages have been built for the widows of soldiers. These are nice comfortable cottages, and the rent is one. shilling per week." General Sir W. R. Birdfrood, lato Commander-in-Chief of the -0. F., who is due to • arrive at Wellington from Sydney to-morrow evening.

"Last year the Hon. G. W. Bussell intended to bring down his TownPlanning Bill,'* state* iho annual Jreport of the Greater Wellington TownPlanning Association, "but the dissolution of the Coalition Government prevented this being done. 'The strongest possible efforts arc being made to induce the Government to bring down up-to-date t o\v n-pl annin g legislation this year."

"Classes in physical eidi-ure are now taken by Miss Whish in St. Andrew's Hall on Friday afternoons and are very much <p.ppreciated by the senioi girls," stated the director of the Technical College in his report to the Board of Governors last night. -Next term I hope that two additional classes will be formed from the junior school, so that practically all the girjs may have the advantage of this valuable training.'' ' t

• The standing committee of the Technical College Board of Governors reported at lust night's meeting of the hoard that it had received'a report on the architectural classes from the instructor and the director, and recommended that the classes he continued «uext term as at present; but that unless considerable improvement was then shown, the classes? should be suspended until the new buildings were available. The report was adopted.

The report recently presented to the City Council by its electrical engineer (Mr W. H. Morton) upon his observations \yhile' abroad studying methods of road formation, etc., has been read. with interest by members of the Greater Wellington Towii-P]an-ning Association, as recorded in tho annual report of that hotly presented at its meeting- last night. The association hopes that the City Council and the ' ratepayers will heartily support Mr Moa-ton* in lub endeavour to carry out town-planning principles in future works and extensions in Wellington.

Dr Boxer (president of tho New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association) argued at the T.B. deputation to Ur Massey yesterday that there was a subtle difference between tho case of tho T.B. man and the limbless maii. Tho T.B. man's injury was such that he was advised that ho should only do certain work, and so many hour's work a day; and tbut was the reason why the conference was so keen to help especially T.B. caies. He thought" that something should he done in the Lands Department and the repatriation. Department to recognise the . difference.

'•We should like to express-our appreciation of the many courtesies extended to the association during the rear by the Mayor and various members of the City Council staff," Mates the annual report of the Greater Wellington -.Town-Planning Assoeintion. prcsentexl-at tho annual meeting last liight. "Our civic authorities realise" that this association is composed of citizens whose sole aim is to see Wellington develop along the best lines and in time become the most attractive and most efficiently run city in the: Dominion; We want to help the rcouncil and its staff in etcry way possible, and civic patriotism is so rare a quality in Wellington that wo feel sure the authorities, frons His Worship down, will gladly accept our co-opera-tion."