NEAR AND FAR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 221, 12 May 1932, Page 4

NEAR AND FAR

Dinner Given Up. "It has been the custom for the chairman to give an annual dinner to members of the board, hut I want to break away from that tradition," said the chairman, Captain H. Munro, at a meeting of the Lyttelton Harbour Board last week. "There are so many 'down and outs,' and the board mem-" bers look so well fed that instead of the dinner I propose to hand 20 guineas to the Salvation Army for the relief of distress." Mr. W. T: Lester and others commended the chairman's proposal, which was agreed to. Radio Taxi. One taxi service in Dunedin is keeping abreast of the times in providing its passengers with radio entertainment. A powerful wireless set has heen neatly installed in one of its cars, and operates according to the wish of* the passenger. The set is controlled from the instrument panel, and is within easy reach of the driver. Reception has proved excellent. The set is a novelty* that has attracted much attention.

Bccoirang a Habit. Some months ago a Pukeroro lady lent a new hicycle to her son to ride into town." The lad left the cycle in the street, and during the time it was unattended someone removed the saddle. At the Cambridge trots on Saturdajr the lad was an investor in h small way on the totalisator, and was f ortunate enough to show a 'profit of a few pounds in his speculations. Remembering the incident of his mother's lost hicycle saddle, the boy went to a dealer's and purchased the best new saddle in the establishment. On Sunday night last the lady cycled into town to attend church, and when she went to mount her hicycle to return home, to her amazement she found that the new saddle had also been stolen. Shocking Distress. "Some shocking cases of distress have come to my notice lately," said the Rev. L. McMaster, of Woolston, Christchurch. Mln one house there was no food, no furniture — not even so much as a tahle or a chair — the gas and electric ligh't were eut off, and the woman, a young mother, was desperately ill. Luckily, I was able to provide them with a double bed and a cot, a tahle and some chairs, and a little food, and it seems to have encouraged them to make a fresh start." Cheap Fencing Posts. Pinus insignis timber treated with creosote is being experimented with by Mr. W. B. Fussell, Waiongona, as fencing posts. So far the posts have been in use only a year, so it is too early to say whether the experiment will he successful. The posts are showing no signs of deterioration, and if the treatment is successful in extending their time of usefulness for a number of years the question of cheap fencing posts for farmers will he largely solved. Blessing of Depress'ion. A suggestion that the depression might confer a blessing on the dairy industry was made hy Mr. C. M, Hume, supervisor of the New Zealand Federation of Herd-Testing Associations, when speaking at Midhirst. He said he hoped that when they looked back on the season 1931-32 they would be able to say that the slump had had a good effect in that it had forced the dairymen of the Dominion to in~ crease production per cow and per acre. Question of Coxnpulsion. The question whether it was com- ] pulsory for the Taxation Department j to take an average over three years in assessing income tax was brought up at a recent meeting of the Canterbury Sheepfarmers' Union. It ..was pointed out that. under section 81 of the Land and Income Tax Act, 1923, any taxpayer who satis'fies the com- . missioner that he has incurred a loss in any year in his business shall he entitled* to claim that such loss. shall be'carri'ed forward, and, as far as may be, deducted from or set off against his assessable income for the three following years. In England, an average of three years is taken, hut this is not the case in New Zealand, and the Act is clear that it is not compulsory for the department in assessing income tax to take an average over the three years. Standard values of stock for assessment purpos'es is provide d for in the Land and Income Tax Act, 1929, which enables the taxpayer, with the concurrence of the eommissioner, to fix a standard value with respeet to any live stock, hut it is not obligatory for the farmer so to fix such values. Native Welfare. In the course of a recent meeting of delegates from the various Maori settlements in Poverty Bay convened by the Tairawhiti Maori Association, warm endorsement was given to proposals outlined by Captain W. T. Pitt, Moari Welfare Officer, for promoting the economic welfare of the tribes hy developing small areas of native land not at present involved in any improvement scheme. Other suhjects diseussed" included the payment of contributions for hospital treatment, which would

secure a, certain revenue for the hospital boards and at the same time ; relieve individual natives of the wor "y of hospital bills at a time when earnings were limited hy sickness. A similar sch'eme has heen in operation elsewhere, based upon that adopted by friendly societies throughout the country, and the adoption of such action in the Poverty Bay district would not he impossible, it was agreed. The meeting decided unanimously to form a special diyision of the Tairawhiti associaton, for the purpose of dealng with specific prohlems of every-day native life, and espeeially with utilisation of small areas of land for cropping. M.—C.—B.—S.— Means Malcolm's Cash Boot Store, as everyhody knows. It also means more cash banked securely hy saving money on your footwear from us. This is easily proved by giving us a trial for your •next footwear. .Low prices with -us. do not mean . poor quality. ' - .Our- * quality is the highest and our s priees .