General News.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19142, 27 October 1927, Page 8

General News.

A Wellington listener last Saturday night heard a Russian sixty-metre sta tiou with perfect clarity on a loud speaker. It announced itself as IFN This is the call of the Khabarovsk sta tion.

Most of the secretaries of Christchurch trades unions leave to-night for Wellington to attend a deputation to the Hon. Mr Anderson, Minister for Labour, on the proposed amendments to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. At the bakers' conference. \lr .1. McGregor, of Auckland, was elected president, and Mr G. K. Mathieson (New Zealand), one of the vice-presi-dents. All the other officers are Aus tralians. The next conference will l>held in Perth.—Auckland Message.

AYork has recommenced at Aul.sebrook's factory in all departments, including the biscuit-baking factory, where two ovens are again in commission. Temporary packing accommodation lias been provided. Nearly all the hands are again employed, and the rest will start again next week.

The students of the School of Forestry have nearly completed their season's work on the small demonstration and experimental nursery at Opawa. Over •1000 seedlings of insignis pine were raised and about 4000 have been "lined out." These plants will bo used for planting out small areas on some of the Canterbury College estates.

It was related at a recent meeting of the Te Puke Town Board that the respected owner of the Igcal picture theatre has been accustomed to place notice boards of forthcoming productions against various business places in the main street. No objection has ever been taken to this, but when a well-known solicitor found a board with the words in large lettering across it, "The Devil's Perch," leaning against Lis doorway, he felt impelled to protest.

The maximum load at Lake Coleridge power station during the week ended the 23rd inst. was 16,300 k.w. (previous week, 16,060 k.w.) experienced between 7 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. on the 21st. At the Addington sub-station the maximum was 12,640 k.w. (previous week, 12,040 k.w.) recorded in the same half-hour aa the load at the power station. The lake level was at 1668.83 ft (previous week, 1668.9 ft), and the average inflow from the Harper River was 2G cusecs (previous week, -8 cusecs). "The congratulations of the-Council have already been extended to Mr T. K. Sidey, M.P., for his valiant efforts to bring this Bill on to the Statute Book of Now Zealand. Mr Sidey continued to press for this reform when he might well have been discouraged: Cricketers of this Dominion will have reason to remember with kindly appreciation Mr Sidey's untiring efforts to obtain this change of time, which is sure to.prove of great benefit to the cricket of this country."—Annual report of the ■ New Zealand Cricket Council.

The Canterbury College School of Forestry has recently had an interesting exhibit given to it by the directors of New Zealand .Redwood Forests, Limited. The exhibit comprises a plank cut longitudinally from the centre of a redwood tree grown in' the Waikato. The age of the tree was 42 years, its height 105 feet, and the average diametor of the butt 4£ feet. Altogether 4460 superficial feet of timber had been cut from this tree. The other exhibits comprise a number of enlargements of photographs of redwoods growing in various parts of Now Zealand and elsewhere. It was suggested by Mr H. M. Patrick, vice-president of the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Association, at the Auckland annual reunion; that the profits of the Post and Telegraph Department should be distributed amongst the employees who made them. He expressed the hope that the Post and Telegraph Department would be raised to the same status as other Government Departments. There had been a succession of Postmaster-Gen-erals who had promised things, and given nothing. He was glad to let it be known that there was at present a man in charge who had the welfare of Post and Telegraph employees at heart.

After outlining the wid<j range of the" statistics prepared and the volume of work dealt with by the Census and Statistics Office, Mr Malcolm Frascr, Government Statistician, in an address to the Wellington Rotary Club, mentioned that the duties were full of interest and variety, lightened now and again by quaint touches of humour. In the last Census papers, he said, one lady cook of some 38 summers answered the question asking -her to state her conjugal condition by saving, "Not married, but hoping." (Laughter.) In another case a Maori returned the occupation of his baby as "Him sleep; him play." An allegation that the Land Purchase Board had divulged his business to the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., and that the company had used this information and the weight of a second mortgage to compel him to sell the Balachraggan Estate, near Waitoa, to the Government at under its fair value, is made by Matthew Henry, of Hamilton, in a petition presented to Parliament yesterday. The petitioner asserts that the Board a.greed not to divulge his business to the company and also that three members pf the Board were agreeable to his receiving £IBOO above the price at which the Government took over the property.—Press Service.

The St. Andrew's College Cadet Corps will compete for the Riddiford Cup. which is open for competition throughout the Dominion. The corps has been selected as the most efficient secondary school company in Canterbury. The three companies in the Southern Command now competing for the Riddiford Cup are: Nelson College, St,. Andrew's College, and Otago Boys' High School. Lieut.-Colonel N. W. B. B. Thorns, D.5.0., and Captain M.' A. Stedman, M.C., have ' inspected the Otago Boys High School Company. On Friday they will inspect the Nelson College Cadets, and on November 3rd tho St. Andrew's College Company. Iliey will then select the best company of the three, which in turrt will he. reviewed _bv the General Headquarters Lxammmg Board.

There is a Papatoetoe farmer who i$ looking for a man who sold him a patent device for weaning a calf off its mother (states the Auckland "Star"). It was described as the latest invention by the salesman, who averred that it bad brought joy to the hearts of countless Waikato dairymen. It was simplicity itself, merely a muzzle to lit over the calf s nose, one ornamented with a few sharp spikes on the end. The salesman explained that a properlybehaved cow disapproved of a calf with a prickly nose, and,' when it nosed round, the offspring would be gently chidod. At least, this was the theory of the thing, and the Papatoetoe farmer was so impressed that he bought a muzzle, and lost no time in affixing it to tho calf's nose. As was expected, the calf went in search of refreshment. The effect on tho cow was electrical. It leaped a fairly high fence, tore through a garden where there were young peas and beans growing, and finally vanished in the distance with a cucumber frame festooned round its neck. On Saturday morping an anxious farmer was still searching for his cow.

The Hotel Federal's new and up-to-date dining-room is now completed with accommodation for 200 guests, and specialising in casual luncheons from 12.30 to 2 p.m. Six courses (including grills), 2s 6d. 'Phone 1040 to reserve tables. —6