NEWS OF THE DAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10617, 16 June 1920, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY

TEc Wellington Military Officers’ Chib is giving a farewell ‘'social” to His Excellency the Governor-General (the Earl of Liverpool), at Dustin’s Rooms, Cuba street, on Friday evening.

The Dargaville School Committee has been advised by the Hon. J. G. Coates that the Cabinet has approved of a grant of .£‘lsßo lor a now infant school at Dargaville. An area of two acres adjacent to tho primary school has been purchased as a site. The work is to be made urgent.

At a conference of local bodies called at tho'rcqucst of tho Lyttelton Harbour Board to discuss the question of communication between Christchurch and the sea, a motion was carried that the port of Lyttelton should remain the port for Christchurch.—Press Association.

Tho effect of the teredo borer, a marine insect, upon any woodwork used in wharf building was seen in a part of a pile exhibited at a meeting of the Bluff Harbour Board yesterday. Externally tho pile appeared sound, the only thing noticeable being a few pin holes through which tho borer entered. The effect of tbo teredo was seen when the pile was examined internally, the whole interior was pitted with holes from an eighth to a quarter of pn inch in diameter. The pile presented a honeycomb aj>pearance, and was completely riddled.

At the fortnightly meeting of the Pucifio Lodge, U.A.C.D., there' was a good attendance of members and visitors. District President Bio. Pope duly installed 4ho officers for the ensuing term, being assisted by P.D.P. Bro. Johnston. Three new members were initiated into tho order. A very hearty' vote of thanks was passed to J.P.A. Bro. Waddle for tho able manner in which he had carried out his duties. It was resolved that ho, bo presented with a collar and diploma. Bro. Barley was unanimously elected ns delegate to tho R..A.C.

"It has come under our notice that there has been much, I was going to say', petty thieving, but it is more than petty thieving, going on in this district,” remarked the president (Mr W. A. Worth) at the meeting of _ tho Wellington South Progressive Society. Flo instanced cases in which shops had been robbed whilst open for business, and thought that there should bo more police supervision. Another speaker suggested that much of the petty thieving was dUc to tho younger generation becoming acquainted with methods of burglary through going to the pictures. Petty' thefts, it was further mentioned , ’were prevalent right throughout the city.

A fireman belonging to the crew ol the Climaroa was found to be suffering from a mild attack of influenza. Bo was removed to the hospital, and the crew’s quarters were fumigated.

Recently Lord iMifner flow from Gain* to Jerusalem in the iiandleyI’ago aeroplane “Bedouin," accompanied by three other machines. Hio journey occupied 41 hours.

Iho board considering the U.F.C.A. railway case is expected to its work to-day. Tile First Division caao will be proceeded with immediately under the chairmanship of Air Geo. LU holt, of Auyckland.

It is reported that a well-known figure. in New Plymouth will appear at -Magistrate's Court in a lew days to answer charges under tile gaming law. it is understood that fourteen separate charges will bo laid.

The- beekeepers' conference passed a resolution asking the Government to remove the duty on beeswax, and for a tax of £l on beekeepers. The vcliuc of the next conference was left to the executive.

The Kaipara Steamship Company is preparing to erect a large wharf and eoai dump at Dargaville, at a cost of £OOOO. Tlio wharf is expected to he in commission next summer, when a shipment of 4000 tons of coal will be landed from Newcastle.

At present there is a fair, quantity of cheese in store at Dunedin, Bluff, and Lyttelton, but the prospects are that it will be shipped before the next season’s product comes in.' As to butter, all that the South Island had for export has been shipped, and that which Dunedin consumers are now eating is mostly fr.om the Nsrth Island.

Thu first shipment of poles for the Thames Valley Power Board is now in Auckland. These will be shipped to Pacroa for connection with the Horaliora line at Waikino. The line coining down through Pacroa to Thames is expected to reach Thames in twelve mouths. The Power Board has already received applications for current ensuring an annual revenue of £45,000.

The -report on the cool stores at thr. last meeting of the Bluff Harbour Board stated that 36,840 crates of clrceso -were in store on May 9th. TheUpawa was to load 14,000 and a. Blither shipment of SCKX> was booked hi the Zcalandic, duo on June 12th. The receipts of cheese at the store had about reached the level of last year, soma 76,000 crates having come in.

llcccntly, an old man died in Auckland who had passed by a year or two the allotted span of life of threescore years and ten. His life had been a very full one, and he left many children and grandchildren to mourn Ids loss, but a very remarkable and almost unprecedented event at the funeral was that his aged father of ovpr ninety years of age was one of his chief mourners.

So great is the southern apple crop this year that in many places the trees arc almost unable to stand up beneath the great weight of fruit (states the •‘Marlborough Express”), ’there will be nearly 100,000 cases of apples for export, and then plenty left for home use. The crops are good almost everywhere in the Dominion. So far as export goes shipping will ho the difficult}', and if any tiro exported probably they will go to England.

A Dunedin resident, who is interested in rubber-growing in the Malay States, and who l)as recently returned from the liunt, states that the rice crop in both Java and Siam has been a comparative failure for the past two yeans, and that many rubber-growers have been compelled to reduce their labour force, not being able to obtain sfiliiciont rice to food the natives usually employed. This is having a serious effect on the rubber-growing industry.

It is hoped that a large number of returned soldiers will attend the reception to be tendered to tie amid Booth to-morrow afternoon at 3 o'clock, it is Worship the Mayor has kindly reserved a number of seats for returned soldiers ami their friends. The returned soldier lias ever sung the praise df the work of the Salvation Army during the war, and this is a golden opportunity for them to show their appreciation, and the executive of the W ellington K.S.A. appeals to all wh® can to attend the reception.

In a preliminary search necessary for tho investigation of tho estate of a lady resident in the north end of Dunedin, who died recently, u sum ol about £3O in threepenny pieces (something like 3000 coins) was discovered wrapped up in cloth. A sunt of nearly £2tiO was also found in the house, in notes and gbkl. together with a considerable quantity of jewellery. The whole property is estimated to bo worth over £2OOO, and the beneficiaries are understood to he cousins living in Dunedin, in England, and in America.

During the discussion on tho question of agricultural training in priinnry schools at a ■ conference of Taranaki School .Committees (says the “Taranaki News”), the. chairman (.Mr -S. G. Smith, 41.1?.), said there was a good deal of misapprehension in regard what was being done in agriculture, hub tho Minister for Edffbation, when he recently visited Taranaki, had been astounded bo see so much being done in that subject in the Taranaki schools, and had admitted that, the Taranaki Education Board was doing more in that direction than any other board in New Zealand.

A) wonderful new telephone apparatus has been devised (states the “Illustrated Loudon .News”) by means of which it may be possible for people at Manchester, .say, to listen to a speech delivered in London. An experiment, recently conducted at the works of the Western Electric Company, at North Woolwich, lias demonstrated that it is now possible for a public speaker in a hall to have placed before him a telephone transmitter, in such a. position as not to hinder him at all during his speech, and, by tho aid of .loud-speak-ing trumpet-shaped receivers suspended overhead, to be heard at an overflow meeting, held in any largo space, no matter how distant.

The scenic attractions of the MotuOpotiki road, declared by Mr T. M. WiH'ord, M.P., to he equal to anything in Europe, are threatened with destruction. This fact was pointed out to the Hon. J. G. Ooates, Minister for Public Works, during tho overland trip from Gisborne, by the Hon. VV. D. S. MacDonald, who urgpd that, the Minister should confer with the Minister in Charge of Scenery Preservation on the subject. Mr Coates acknowledged that the destruction of tho virgin bush was utterly unjustifiable, as disclosed bv the unprofitable clearance that had been effected at several points. He said immediate stops should ho taken to stop any further felling.

There are’ll.ooo British troops still rationed An Franco as guard to ‘■dumps” ot war material.

It was stated that a raid was mado a day or two ago on the promises of an alleged sly grog seller in Master-ion, and that tho matter will shortly be given further publicity in the S.M. Court.

Geologists have found that. Africa contains less coal than any other continent, and that of the 67,000,000,01)0 tons estimated to exist there, the Onion ot South Africa has about 97 per cent.

At a recent meeting of the Thames Borough Council a letter was received from the ondor-Sccrctary for Mines slating that a permanent scheme for coping with the mine-water Sending difficulty was receiving consideration.

London is no longer the most populated city in the world. Greater Now fork, according to the latest returns, now claims over 8,000,000 -inhabitants, against the 7,400,000 of Greater London.

“Parliament looks very nice from the outside, hut it is a great deal difluront when you get inside—as a member. It is line marriage—the glamour weal's off afterwards.'-' —Mr I{. A. Wright, M.P., at the P. and T. smoke contort last night.

The Land Purchase Commissioners (the Christchurch “Sun’’ states) have completed the-purchase of 650 acres of dairying land at Hinds from Mr John Robertson for settlement by discharged so.diers. Another block of agricultural land at Lyndhurst has been acquired from Messrs W. and I). Boag at Lyndhurst for subdivision.

It is now proposed to make those who keep motor-cars iiay for the pleasure (sax's the' Glasgow “Herald”). Pleasure ears arc to he taxed ■£! per liorsc-power, and motor-cycles arc topay from £1 10s to £3 or £4 when they carry a Side-car. And the commercial vehicle is to range from £1)1 to £3U a year 1

A‘ Press Association telegram from Christchurch states that at a largelyattended meeting of women yesterday afternoon it was agreed to present a petition to Parliament as loilows: — "We, the undersigned women of Christchurch, respectfully urge you to use every possible means through the powers vested m you to bring about a substantial reduction m the present excessive cost of the necessities of life.” .

“Increased taxation is like water; it finds 1 its own level. It is always passed on to the consumer. He always pays. When tho heaven-born genius who can devise ways and means whereby increased taxation can be levied without- it being passed on to tho consumer happens along, then that man will be able to reign in any country jn the world until he dies.”—-Mr R. A. Wright, M.V.. at the P. and T. smoko concert last nisht.

A Press Association message from Christchurch appearing in yesterday’s issue made it appear that the Typographical Federation's industrial disputo was sot down for hearing in that city on the 21st inst. 'This is not correct. The dispute was to have been heard there subject to the consent of the master printers and the newspaper proprietors being obtained. This consent has not been given, hence the case will not he taken until the Wellington sitting of the court.

A young man, Horace Molesworth Searle, alias Lake, who was arrested on Monday upon charges of having stolen coats from motor-cars and other vehicles in the' city, appeared before Mr E. Page, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday. Gluef-Detectivo Ward, in asking for a remand until Monday, stated, that there were many other changes to ho preferred against Searle, and it was understood that Searle would plead guilty to them,. The remand was granted.

Among the exhibits made by soldier hoepitaj patients for the coming Palmerston North Winter Show will be a quantity of tweed woven at, the King George V. Military Hospital, Rotorua. The cloth is the work of Privates Burton and Dickenson, who have become very proficient in this work, and intend taking it up permanently on their discharge ironi hospital. Private Burton ia unable to carry on his pro-war occupation through contracting paralysis in the legs as the result of a gunshot wound m the head.

The opinion that Cabinet Ministers arc hampered in their work by too many portfolios was expressed by Colonel G. A. Mitchell, M.P. for Wellington South, at the P. and X. smoko concert last night. He considered than an important department like the Post and Telegraph, for instance, should bo the care of one Minister. In addition to that important portfolio, the Hon. J. Gordon Coates was asked to make Public Works and Defence his concern —an impossible task. Many other Cabinet Ministers were in an equally invidious position. It should not be, and, therefore, the Prime Minister should seriously consider the advisability of appointing more . Ministers. Mr Massey himself should be free of all departments as a Minister. He should be free to give his attention in a, supervising capacity, and to deal with ” matters of moment that from time to time were of sufficient importance to claim all his attention.