General News

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22511, 20 September 1938, Page 8

General News

State Houses for Woolston The Parliamentary Under-Secretary in charge of Housing (Mr J. A. Lee) announced in Wellington yesterday that the purchase of land in Bamford street, Woolston, sufficient for M houses, had been approved by the Cabinet.— Press Association. No Damage in Storm It was fortunate that, the southerly storm on Saturday night occurred b:fore the trees in the Botanic Gardens were in leaf, said the curator (Mr J. A. McPherson) yesterday. Even so, be has been pleased to discover that no damage was done either to the trees, which were most likely to suffer, or to young plants. We did not lose a twig," he said. "It was lucky that it happened before the leaves were on the trees and there was less resistance to the wind. Amphibian Aeroplane at Wigram Although H.M.S. Achilles did not arrive at Lyttelton until 3.45 p.m. yesterday, the amphibian aeroplane belonging to the ship arrived in Canterbury much earlier, landing at Wigram shortly before noon. The aeroplane was catapulted from the ship at 11 a.m. yesterday and flew to' Wigram. It left there after the arrival of the vessel, and was hoisted aboard again at Lyttelton at 5 p.m. Great Britain and Ireland "All outstanding differences between Ireland and Great Britain have been disposed of, and the only question now remaining is that of a united Ireland," said Mr James Dillon, deputychairman of the United Ireland Party, in Auckland yesterday. He was returning from the British Relations Conference in Sydney. MiDillon said complete unity seemed to be within measurable distance of being achieved. One of the most important factors would be an explicit statement by the British Government that it would welcome the end of partition, and that it considered such would be in the interests of the Empire. If that were made clear the matter could be left to the Irish in Ireland to settle peacefully among themselves. "I cannot but think that the dissemination of the news that Ireland was free, united, and happy would work wonders for the welfare of the commonwealth," concluded Mr Dillon. —Press Association. Tribal Skirmishes in India Waziristan, a province on the north-west frontier of India, which has been a constant source of trouble to the Indian Government since 1860, was the subject of an interesting lecture given at the King Edward Barracks last evening by Captain C. V. Sugden, Adjutant to the Ist Battalion, Canterbury Regiment. The lecture was attended by 120 members of the regiment and by a company of Sea Cadets. Illustrating his remarks with lantern slides, Captain Sugden outlined vividlv the difficulties confronting the army in constant skirmishes with tribes, the members of which eked out a precarious living by raiding and robbing. The region of Waziristan. lying between the districts of Kurram and Khob, was a tangled maze of mountains, barren of any sort of vegetation, and offered everv facility for ambush and skirmishing, he said. -.

Schoolboys Return from Canada

Looking fit and well after being absent frdm Now Zealand for 10 weeks on a visit to Canada, a party of 19 boys from the Waitaki Boys' High School were enthusiastic about the success of their trip when they returned to Auckland by the Niagara yesterday. In addition to attending the Empire Youth Service rallv at Banff, where they camped for a week with 150 other boys from English and Canadian schools, the party covered 1500 miles by rail and about 400 by road on a tour of Canada.—Press Association. Mr Savage's Difficulty The difficulty in making definite arrangements in advance for speaking engagements, in other parts of New Zealand because of the possibility of the international situation demanding his presence in Wellington was mentioned by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) last night. "I hope to leave Wellington by the inter-island steamer express on Monday night to speak in various centres in the South Island," said Mr Savage; '-'but-in view of the uncertainty of the international situation my future movements at the present juncture are indefinite. In these circumstances I cannot be dogmatic and say definitely that I will be leaving Wellington on such and such a day."— Press Association. Dominion's Early Trade The substantial value of the trading done by whalers, ship-builders, and flax-traders who operated on many parts of the New Zealand coast from 1800 to 1840 was mentioned by Professor J. Rutherford, professor of history at Auckland University College, when giving a university extension lecture recently* He said that the annual export of whale oil to Australia alone was often worth about £, 50,000. When the value of the oil obtained by American and French whalers who did not take their yields to Australia was considered, it would be seen that the output from this source alone must have reached a very considerable figure. Dresses for Shop. Assistants Provision is made in the New Zealand retail shop assistants' award for female employees to be provided with free dresses in certain cases. In any establishment where ,an employer requires or it is the customr with the approval of the employer, to dress in any particular style or colour other than in the ' ordinary black dresses and aprons worn, such garment not being the employees' outdoor dress, then it is to be provided free, i^

Fish Skeleton at Balfour

An interesting discovery has been made at the Balfour lime works, Southland, at a depth of about 12 feet. This is the complete skeleton of a fish between six and seven feet long and two and three feet in depth. The vertebrae of the backbone are between four to five inches through. Since the works have been in operation at Balfour several complete and wellpreserved sea shells have been found from time to time, these in some cases being of the same species as those found to-day in Stewart- Island waters. The discovery of the fish skeleton has caused wide interest in the. district, and Mr D. L. Popplewell. of Gore, has agreed to ascertain if it would be possible to. identify the fish. It is thought that some new light may be thrown on the district's already highly interesting geological history as a result of the discoveries at Balfour.

Street Lighting Anniversary

The fiftieth anniversary of the installation of electric street lighting in Wellington was referred to when conferences of electric-power board secretaries and engineers, held in Wellington last week, and attended by delegates from many parts of the Dominion, concluded with a social gathering. Mr H. G. Kemp, immediate past president of the Electric Supply Authority Engineers' Association of New Zealand, said 50 years ago a private company started in Wellington with 500 20 candle-power lamps. The Hon. T. Hislop. father of the present Msyor, later purchased the company s assets on behalf of the municipality, and from this small beginning Wellington's huge electricity and tramways department had been developed. Bulging Muscles Condemned "Vigorous exercise tends to produce hypertrophied or bulging muscles, and for some strange reason the young man with bulging muscles is admired," commented Mr R. M. S. Taylor a doctor of dental surgery, when addressing the dentists' conference in Wanganui. "Bulging muscles are n«t found in those animals that are the most agile, speedy, or powerful for their size. A bulging muscle is an abnormal muscle and does not imply good muscle tone To obtain high muscle tone, which is a sign of physical well-being, vigorous exercise is not necessary, but the existence of such tone ensures that there is a reserve of energy capable of being turned to greater activity if required I believe that we could adopt with great advantage the habit of stretching or leisurely bending accompanied by stretching, a form of exercise that could be practised by any individual at any convenient time, even m a modern flat.*'