LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 May 1921, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Killing operations have been discontinued for the season at the Patea freezing works. It was mentioned at the installation of the Mayor of Pahiatua that the finances of the borough were in such a condition that the council was unable to [pay the honorarium of the retiring Mayor. A large proportion of the unemployed in Auckland at the present time are said to be single men, who have been earning good wages during the last year or two. Thirty-two of the unemployed were sent, to public works on Monday.

That the New Zealand Farmers' Union be divided into two divisions — the dairy division and the graziers’ division—is a remit from the Whekaronga Farmers’ Union to be considered by the Wellington provincial conference at Mast er ton this month.

“Don’t bring along the man with £2OO or £3OO in the bank,” said the Minister of Labor (Hon. G. J. Anderson) at New Plymouth yesterday, as a parting injunction to an interview with a representative of the General Laborers’ Union on the Government’s policy in regard to finding employment for those out of work.

The question as to the date of operation of the Saturday half-holiday in New Plymouth was placed before the Minister of Labor (the Hon. G. J. Anderson) during his visit this week, by the Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson). In reply, the Minister said the official poll had not yet been gazetted, pending further information, and he indicated his willingness to meet local wishes, so that it is likely the change will now be made in the second week in June. It will be recalled that New Plymouth retailers recently passed a resolution asking that the alteration be made, either a fortnight before or after the first week of next month, the object being to avoid the change operating on June 4, the day following ths King’s Birthday, which is a holiday.

London advises that a mail was despatched for New Zealand by the AraWa on May 5, via Panama. Mails which left Wellington on April 5 by the Ta-

hiti, via San Francisco, arrived in London on May 10. Arising out of an incident on Wednesday’s race train from Hawera to New Plymouth, a rnan named Harry Pitt ap-

peared before Mr. T. A. B. Bailey, S.M.. in the New Plymouth Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning, on charges of being found drunk on the Government railways, and of failing to produce his ticket when requested to do so by the guard. Pitt, who was taken into custody on Wednesday night, was also charged with breaking a cell window (valued at 17s Cd). On the charge of being drunk he was convicted and discharged, and on the other two informations orders were made for the payment of the amount of the railway fare (5s 3d) and costs £l, and also for the refund of 17s 6d, the value of the broken window pane.

A concert held in the Workers’ Hall, New Plymouth, last night, under the auspices of St. Mary’s troop of Boy Scouts, was well patronised, and those who attended were rewarded by an enjoyable evening’s entertainment. The programme consisted of vocal numbers, elocutionary items, dancing and comic songs, and numerous recalls were ample evidence of appreciation. Items were contributed as ’ follows: Overtures, Mrs. 11. Fraser and Mr. Gadd; songs, Misses Cocker and Perrott, and Messrs. Fredric and Cocker; Highland dance, Miss Mcßae; sailor’s hornpipe, Mr. Patterson; whistling item, Mr. Booth; comic songs, Messrs Howlett and Booth; monologues, Miss Bedford; dramatic, Mr. Goldsworthy; recitation, Scout D. Wright. The accompaniments were played by Mrs. Fraser and Mr. Fredric.

The Egmont Racing Club’s winter meeting was concluded at Hawera yesterday in fine but cold weather, and there was again a large attendance. Speculation was brisk, the totalisator handling £34,730 for the day, an increase of £BO9 on the corresponding day last year, making the total for the two days £69,158, a decrease of £652 as compared with last year. Racing was very interesting, finishes being very close. The big steeplechase was won by Khartoum, who beat the New Plymouth horse Te Toa by the narrowest of margins, while Kareao won the Atkinson Memorial from. Malaga, who failed to get up by an equally narrow margin.

Entertained at the Soldiers’ Club at Gisborne, the Hon. J. G. Coates, referring to the question of unemployment, stated that throughout the departments controlled by him the ukase had gone forth that ex-service men, with married men, must have the preference in employment and that no returned, soldier must be dismissed. They had first claim on the Government when times, as now, became hard, and he personally would do his best to see that they got first consideration.

A Wanganui Herald reporter was informed by a Patea farmer that a few days ago he was approached by two southern farmers who had learned that his place was for sale. He was asked to put a cash price on the farm, which •he did, a good margin below what it would have realised last year. What do you think those southerners did? queried the farmer. He then went on to state that they dangled the cash in front of him and offered just three-fourths of his already reduced price. “I was hard up,” added the farmer, “but I did not take the bait, as I believe things will right themselves before very long.”

Alan Henry Bradbury, formerly a governing director of Bradbury, Son and Co., Ltd., coalowners and merchants, of Southampton, who was under sentence cf two years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and defrauding the Exchequer of about £50,000 in income tax and excess profits duty, died in hospital at Wormwood Scrubs prison following on a seizure. At the inquest the Coroner said it appeared to be a hard case, as the deceased knew nothing of the frauds, but was responsible as head of the firm for the actions of his employees. Death was due to heart failure, and a verdict' of “death from natural causes” was returned.

In an article on business conditions as they exist to-day the Mercantile Gazette says: “In factories, shops and offices it has been found necessary to reduce the number of hands, partly because of the imperative need of reducing costs and’ partly because there is a lessened volume of trade. But it can be contended with perfect safety that the Arbitration Act is to-day responsible for more persons being out of work than need be the case. Let us illustrate the point. Take the case of a factory employing, say, a hundred workers, finding it necessary to reduce the wages bill. Having to work under Arbitration Court awards and to pay the rates of wages fixed thereby, the employer cannot reduce wages all round, consequently he reduces the number of workers; had it .been possible to make a general reduction in wages it is highly probable that not so many workers would have been thrown out of work. The award is not sufficiently elastic to meet the prevailing conditions, and it seems very probable that the Arbitration Act will be severely tested during the next few months, and it will be found wanting.”

Some interesting figures relative to New Zealand’s war expenses were’ given to a representative of the Christchurch Press by the Hon. Sir Heaton Rhodes, Minister of Defence. The total approximate amount charged against the War Expenses Account and Vote to 31st March, 1921, was £71,000,000, which included £30,380,000 for pay and allowances. In view of the fact that the Treasury had not yet balanced to 3.lst March, the approximate amount only could be given. The gratuities paid to date were 94,015, totalling £5,473,680. Of the soldiers still living, all but BG, who were practically untraceable, had received gratuities. The retrospective allowances paid to bring allowances already paid up to the highest rate for the full period of the war were as follow:—(a) Retrospective married allowances, £512,564; (b) children’s allowances, £290,839; (c) dependents’ allowances, £120,189. The total sum expended on educational and vocational training was £123,000, and the amount contributed to the Imperia) War Graves Commission for lay-out and upkeep of New Zealand graves overseas was £21,266. It was estimated that the further amount required under this heading for the year ending 31st March-, 1922, would be £50,000. -Sir Heaton Rhodes added that the number of pensions granted was 31,764, representing £1,748,865 a year, the average pension being £55.

Men are no less keen on a bargain than the ladies. Confirmation of this has lately been apparent at the Melbourne’s sensational sale, where the men’s secl- - is quite as busy as the women’s. Saddle tweed trousers, working trousers and shirts, hats and winter apparel of all descriptions have been eagerly purchased at the reduced prices.

The Wairarapa Lake has been successfully opened, and this has caused an exodus of Maoris, who during the past few weeks have captured tons of eels. A couple of years . back Mr. A. P. Whatman, to provide cheap food for people in Great Britain, captured half a ton of eels and had them frozen for shipment abroad.

“The development of hydro-electricity is not going to be curtailed as a result of the financial ’stre.through which the Dominion is passing,” stated the Minister for Public Works, the Hon. J. G. Coates, recently. He added that whatever should happen this work would be pushed on at all speed. * The Auckland Herald correspondent at Rotorua states that on account of unemployment and the financial stringency and the consequent decision of the Government to stop all buildings except those for which contracts have been let, and which are absolutely necessary, the erection of a new blue bath (swimming bath) and other -projected works at Rotorua has been postponed indefinitely.

A comparison of the deposits in the Savings Banks of New Zealand with other countries reflects great credit on the Dominion, according to the view put forward by Mr. L. G. Watkins at the Central Chamber of Commerce, Wei lington, on Tuesday. While the deposits per head of population in Australia totalled £26, and in America £l2, they aggregated £37 for every man, woman and child in New Zealand, or £lBO per household.

In painting to the present-day difficulties of farmers, Mr. W. C. Prime, an employers’ representative at Tuesday’s sittings of the Conciliation Council at Wellington, stated that the Government compelled a farmer to contribute to the war loan the amount of his in-come-tax. But, it had to be remembered that £lOO put into the war loan was not worth £lOO to-day; it was worth about £7B or £79, and the farmer was losing the rest. He could not finance it to the extent of £79, because he had not got the money. “The hotel accommodation in New Zealand, especially at our tourist resorts, is the worst in the world, and visitors from overseas have said they would never come here again,” declared Mr. L. G. Watkins on Tuesday at the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce, in discussing a proposal from the Westland chamber that the period between licensing polls be extended from three to nine years. Mr. W. T. Cotton, a member of the Hutt Valley Licensing Committee, said there were hotels that were maintained solely as “drinking shops.” After further discussion, it was decided to take no action on the proposal from the West Coast.

The following paragraph is clipped from the London Daily Chronicle: —“The suggestion of an All-Chinese cricket team coming here after the ‘ashes’ of English cricket is not so improbable as some readers may imagine. There are some first rate all-round sportsmen amongst the Chinese in Hong Kong, and in the Straits Settlements. For several years the Chinese Recreation Olu-b has taken a prominent place in the Hong Kong Cricket League, and a year or two ago a Chinese—Ng Sze Kwong—made more than one century, heading the batting averages, and took a high position as a bowler. This Ng Sze Kwong has held the tennis championship of the colony for three or four years, and two local Chinese hold the doubles championship. All of these players would make a decent showing at Wimbledon, and some of the Straits and Hong Kong billiard amateurs might make S. H. Fry and J. R. Hooper sit up and take notice.”

“One of the most abhorrent remits I have ever seen before a teachers’ conference,” was the description applied by Mr. A. Gray (director of the Hawera Technical College) to the following remit which was moved at the Technical Education Conference on Tuesday: “That the Department be asked to allow the time spent at physical and military drill and at school games by teachers selected for this work, to be counted as teaching time.” Mr. Gray considered that the remit was opposed to the best traditions of voluntary service on the sports field. Mr. J. P. Kalaugher, of Auckland, urged that there was another side to the matter. Those teachers who spent time regularly in fostering sport saw other teachers who gave no such service receiving the same payment and enjoying more leisure. The remit was lost on the voices.