NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 34, 10 February 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Railway Beyenue Decrease; ' The railway revenue for the fourweekly period ended 7th January, 1933, was .£501,801,, as compared, with £567j'£72" for the similar period last yearj a decrease; of & 65,671. The reve-. niie: for the period Ist April, 1932, to; 7% January, 1933, was : £4;404;239,;as compared 'with £4,772,606; for the simi-, lar period.; in. the' previous year, a decrease of •:■;■ ... . \ Bobby Calf; Trade.. ■ ■ Following eoinplaints by several New Zealand 'branches of the -Koyal Society for the of Cruelty to 'Animals; against present practices in the bobby, calf, trade, the Taranaki, Auckland, and Palmerston North societies have been "asked, to furnish a report on the: subject to the London head--quarters of the society, ;,;• The New Zea-; land branches allege that the transporting of calves only a few days old from the farm to the slaughterhouse is riot carried out in a humane manner at present, reports the "Taranaki Daily News," and state that there is'often cruel overcrowding of the infant animals in cattle trucks. The society's representatives in London intend to bring the report under the notice of British meat importers with a view to having a ban placed on any inhumane treatment. . Successful Schemes. • ; The Government's small farm scheme for relieving unemployment, and later the sharemilking scheme which was advocated by prominent Taranaki farmers and adopted by the Government, were not received with much enthusiasm in some quarters. In fact, many publicly claimed that neither was practical and that they,' were doomed to failure from the outset. The reverse has been, the position in the North Taranaki district extending' .from Opunake to Mokau along the coast and inland as far as Inglewood (says the "Taranaki; Herald"). Under ' these two schemes 54 families ' have been settled in this district,' arid all , are thoroughly satisfied with tScir position, and similarly the farmers almost with 1 out exception are satisfied with., their tenants. . Appeal/to Privy Council. . v.Tho Privy Council is to be asked to decide the case between; the New Plymouth Borough Council and the Taranaki Electric Power Board concernings the supply of electricity to Inglewood and Waitara, says the "Taranaki Daily News." The Appeal Court stinie months ago decided against the council) which on. Monday night adopted the proposal of: the' council committee to instruct Messrs. Goyett,: Quilliam, and Hutchen to give effect to their recommendation to proceed with the appeal. Previously, the ■ council had authorised its solicitors to take preliminary steps and lodge £300 with tho Court as security for appeal. Building and Employment. "Eeprosentatives of the, institute have been closely associated with the endeavours made hy.the Allied Building Industries tor relieve unemployment, arid a fair, measure of-success has been achieved both in arranging for now work-to be undertaken and. in the carrying out of alterations; renovations, renewals,, etc.," states the; annual report of the New Zealand Institute-of Architects.. "It is sincerely hoped that the Government will realise/ tho position and assist the huge ■ army of men usually 'associated with, the building trades, who'are no;y timong the unemployed. , The institiito submitted' evidence to a committee of the House' of Representatives on' tho provisions of the proposed legislation dealing with building construction, but when the Bill was brought down'at-the last session of Parliament further objection was made to the Minister in charge as it was considered the proposed legislation would hinder rather than help the. objects'for: which it was'being enacted. As a result of this further representation to the Minister it us hoped that satisfactory legislation will be passed at an early date." . ■'■■■ Clearing. Timber Land. Much''of the timber land around Mount Egmont. will, be stumped and improved if the new unemployment relief scheme which the authorities have in .view is put into -being (reports the "Taranaki Herald"). The scheme provides that areas of land now occupied but not producing anything approaching 'their full capacity will be cleared and given all-the-year access. As payment a portion of the land so cleared will be taken and there will b& settled on it producers who are now unemployed. This was mentioned on Wednesday at the monthly meeting of the Inglewood County Council by the chairman, •Mr. X, Stuart. He said that there were large areas of land in' the west riding of the county in the vicinity of tho Surrey, Norfolk, Durham, Dudley, and Egmont roads, which he considered would bo ideal for the operation of such a scheme. At the present timo very little, if any, of the land was producing its full capacity, yet it would require a lifetime of work, no matter how industrious the farmer was, to get the land into good working order. On the completion of the work on the farm continued Mr. Stuart, a certain percentage: of; the area, to be arranged with the owner, w.ould be taken as payment for.the work, ana ah unemployed man settled oii the section. The area of the section taken would be sufficient for the earning; of a living.' - Not to be Reopened. : . -.Recent activity in the vicinity of the No. .5 oil bore at tho eastern end of tho Taranaki Producers' Freezing Works at Moturba'possibly led .to. the circulation' of a rumour in New Plymouth: on-Wednesday to the effect that a new oil' r company had been formed with the purpose of reopening the bore. A Taranaki Da i]y, News " reporter who visited the bore was informed that the rumour was incorrect. Far from reopening the bore, the man interviewed stated, owing to a Government regulation concerning; disused oil bores, it would be necessary to cement this one in,' owing- to the possibility of water seepages congealing the oil in tho field below and thus hindering tho production of active bores nearby. As far as could be ascertained, no hindrance to other bores had occurred as yet, but there was always such a possibility. Their presence at the bore, after it had been in a disused state for many years, had no doubt attracted the attention of passers-by and thus the rumour had started.

Commiserations from Australia. An Australian business firm, writing to a client in Gisborne, under date of 31st January, states: "At the outset we would like to extend to you our earnest sympathy in the decision of the New Zealand Government to increase your exchange from 10 to 25 per cent, on English purchases. Having been through the bitter experience in Australia, we can fully appreciate what it means to have the extra impost, and also to realise how disconcerting it is in business having to reconstruct the whole of your prices." Lightning Kills Cattle. A terrific storm burst over Myngapai on Monday afternoon, doing severe damage to stock and farm sheds, states a Whangarei correspondent. Plashes of lightning killed two cows: belonging to Messrs. Blake and Ness, arid Mr. J. Palmer had a sheep killed. Mr. J. Miller had his telephone rendered useless by lightning. The outburst was centred over the three farms mentioned, which are approximately a lhile-dis-^ tant from each other. Torrential rain, thunder, and lightning continued throughout the afternoon and into the night. Deluges of. rain fell and some of the; worst floodings seen for years inundated a large area. / Aerodrome at Stratford. .The establishment of >an aerodrome in Stratford is the proposal mooted by .a number of Stratford citizens interested in the, formation of an aero club in the district, and who are keen to keep up with the march of progress as it concerns aviation. A meeting of those interested; is.to be held, when it is:expected'that some definite information on the matter will be disclosed. A leading citizen interested in the project stated, to the "Stratford Evening Post" that apart from any other reason air aerodrome in Stratford is a necessity, and unless flying facilities were provided Stratford, :he said, would surely be "left," in view of the fact that all progressive towns in the Doriiinion have established or are; in the- course of establishing landing grounds.;: ;. \ '['■■".' '...-. ; ; What Happened at Reno? ' A witness in divorce proceedings in the Supreme Court to-day said that she remembered two of the parties in tho ease, a married man and another man's wife, going to the pictures one night. The picture had something to do with Reno._ This reference to the famous American divorce centre amused the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) and the jury. "And what happened at Reno—l mean, in the picture?" his Honour inquired, smiling. Tho witness, however, was not helpful. She did not know, she said. - Windfall for Tourists; Tourists who arrived by the liner Akaroa from Southampton at Auckland on Wednesday evening were surprised ana delighted to hear that the higher exchange had been, brought into effect in New Zealand : (states the "New Zealand. Herald")- Their meagre wireless, messages received during tho voyage told them that New Zealand was contemplating an increase in the exchange rate and they were under the impression .that' the measure still required ratification by Parliament. Many of the visitors: had figured out their spending power,;, based 'on. the old exchange rate, and[were not slow to see the advantage the Government's move in the interests of the. farmers w.ould give them/, ";■.■',. '■ •'.-.:.". "- : •/ ; ;■;■'.'. Carinthia's^Wprid Cniise. ■ ; • '' .-.. There are .272 '.passengers ;on . tho liner Carinthia, whidh is expected to arriye at Auckland next Friday from the United' States, via Honolulu, Tahiti, and Rarotonga, in. the course of a world cruise: Among the notable figures on board are Messrs. A. and G. Vanderbilt, members of' the celebrated Now York family, -who^ have made arrangements to: spend several days at Russell• big-game^ fishing before rejoining the Carinthia at Wellington. Tho overland trip from Auckland to Wellington will be. made by 120 passengers, of whom 28 will come through by special motor-cars and the remainder by rail. The visitors will call at Rotorua, The Chateau,-;: and Waitpmo Caves. Passages may be booked locally for the remainder of the world tour,; but- passengers will; not be accepted for Sydney only. A Gesture from Gisborne. Mi\ J. R. Kirk, M.8.E., and a former Mayor of Gisborne, has expressed his appreciation of tho new Napier, and of the amicable relationships between it and his'owntown, by presenting1 a sundial to bo placed at the southern end of the grass on the Marine' Parade. The actual: materials of which this acquisition will' be made, are not* yet determined ;'but plans are already in process. The sun-dial will be Of the: Regulation height) three and a half feet. In view of the many abstract forms which eulogy of tho/:;;Marine Parade has : this concrete, -example;: of expressed' pleasui'o; is most timely, remarks the "Ha^kes Bay Herald," and the citizens of.Napier will, no vdoubt take'tfie opportunity of delivering their warm thanks to Mr. Kirk. ~