General News

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22520, 30 September 1938, Page 12

General News

Information Appreciated Appreciation of the information concerning the international situation that has been received by the New Zealand Government during the crisis is expressed in a message which the New Zealand Government has sent by cablegram to the British Government. In a statement yesterday the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) announced that the following message had been sent to England: "His Majesty's Government in New Zealand greatly appreciates the very full and detailed information on the international situation that has been supplied to it during the crisis. It would be grateful if the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom could be informed that the New Zealand Government most earnestly supports his continued and determined efforts for the peace of Europe and the world, which it sincerely trusts will. be crowned with success."—Press Association. Daffodils Still at Their Best Those who have not yet had an opportunity to visit the Botanic Gardens to see the fine display of daffodils under the trees in the area between the river and the hospital boundary will be pleased to learn that, because of the recent cool weather, the blooms are still at their best. The curator of the gardens (Mr J. A. McPherson) said that there was every indication that the'daffodils would look as well next Sunday as they did last Sunday, when "daffodil day" was observed. Last Sunday the opportunity to visit the Achilles may have proved a counter-attraction, and it is possible that an even larger number of people may be free to visit the gardens this Sunday. A Problem of Gyration The repairs to the tramway tracks in the north-east corner of Cathedral square have impaired to some extent the efficiency of the gyratory system of traffic control. For three days the route between Colombo street north and Worcester street east has been barricaded with "road stopped" signs, and motorists and others seeking access to Warner's Hotel, "The Press" office, and other buildings in this part of the Square have been forced to look for other avenues of approach. At least one motorist yesterday found, that the rigours of the gyratory system were not to be waived in the special circumstances, and when he began tq turn to the right into the Square from Worcester street east he received a solemn warning from a traffic inspector, upon whom no amount of protestations about "road stopped" signs had any effect. He found eventually that he could pick his gyratory way among these signs and their accompanying barricades and red flags, and ultimately reached his destination. South African War Medals After lodging his application five years ago, Air E. H. Foley, of Westerfield, Ashburton County, has just received two South African War medals in recognition of his services. Mr Foley, who was first a lance-corporal in Prince Alfred's Volunteer Guards, and then a private in Marshall's Horse, asked the Veterans' Association (Christchurch) five years ago if it could assist him to obtain the service medals. The association took up the request through the military authorities to the War Office, London, which searched the records made about 37 years ago to verify Mr Foley's claim and dispatched the medals, which arrived in New Zealand a few weeks ago. , The Church In Scotland Although he feels that the time is past when everyone is a member of the church in Scotland, the Rev. Alan Brash, who returned to Wellington by the Remuera yesterday, does not consider this to represent a serious loss. On the contrary, he said his opinion is that the church has gained as a result, because those who were members of the church were exceedingly keen. Mr Brash, whose parents are Mr and Mrs T. C. Brash, residents of Wellington, has spent three years in Edinburgh, where he completed his theological course and took his B.D. degree with distinction. He was first in theology in Edinburgh and third for the whole of Scotland, and was assistant-minister at the Lockhart Memorial Church, Edinburgh. Mr Brash referred to the great slum clearance movement in Britain and their replacement by modern flats, and he spoke also of the warm hospitality he had experienced during his sojourn in Scotland. "I have never experienced anything like it anywhere else," he said. Mr Brash has been called to St. Andrew's Church. Wanganui.—"The Press" Special Service. Rumour About Bread Denied "We only wish that there were some truth in the statement," said Mr S. S. Green, secretary of the Auckland Master Bakers' Association, when asked to comment on the statement made by' the National candidate for the Dunedin Central seat, Mr W. J. Meade, that the Labour Government had come to an agreement with the Master Bakers' Association to allow them to increase the price of bread to meet the higher wages under the new award. Mr Meade alleged that one of the terms under this agreement was that the decision should not be disclosed until after the election, so that if the National Party went into power the blame of the increase would fall on the new government. Mr Breen denied absolutely that any such arrangement as suggested by Mr Meade had been made. He said that, in view o.f the problems now being faced by the trade, such an arrangement as alleged by Mr Meade would be very acceptable to bakers; but" unfortunately there was no truth in the .statement. —"The Press" Special Service. Choice of Rhodes Scholars The reasons why few New Zealand Rhodes Scholars returned to the Dominion were discussed by the Rev. Martin Sullivan, of Te Awamutu, at the Hamilton Rotary Club luncheon recently. He said one reason was that there was not sufficient scope or opportunity in New Zealand for men of outstanding ability. Mr Sullivan asked whether the best men were being chosen as Rhodes Scholars, and added that during the period from 1904 to 1928 only one or two of the selected candidates had proved to be exceptional for qualities of leadership. "It appears that Cecil Rhodes's chief aim, the selection- of men having exceptional qualities of moral worth and leadership, has been overlooked," said Mr Sullivan. There was also a weakness in the system under which the candidates were examined by the central selection committee in Wellington. A candidate who had all his goods in the front window in the form of an impressive personality had a better chance of selection than a more worthy but more retiring competitor. He knew several instances where the best men offering had not been selected. ' A Descendant of Fletcher Christian Mr Parkins Christian, a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian, the leader of the mutineers of the Bounty, and founder of the colony at Pitcairn Island, arrived in Wellington yesterday J>y the Remuera. He joined the liner at Pitcairn, where she called on her way from London, via Panama. He said he had come to visit his son, a pupil at the Longburn Mission School. A large, dark man, standing about 6ft 3in, he appeared ill at ease in the formal garments of civilisation after the freedom of his tropic isle. He said that he was of the fifth generation since Fletcher Christian, whose descendants comprised a large family to-day.— Press Association The School Motto "Many schools have a motto in Latin; at least, it is supposed to be Latin," said Mr Julius Hogben in an address to members of the Auckland Creditmen's Club on the subject of "This Old School Tie Business." "If you ask a boy what the motto of his school means in English he will probably tell you he does not take Latin," added Mr Hogben. "One school has the motto 'per angusta ad augusta,' which I have been told means 'through the depression and onward and upward.'" Remarkable Meteor An enormous meteor flashed across the eastern sky near Auckland about midnight on Tuesday night, its brilliance being so great that details of the landscape could be discerned as clearly as by daylight. As the meteor burst three large red masses of light, shaped like I torpedoes, fell earthward. An eerie green, glow i persisted behind them.