NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 73, 28 March 1933, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Highest in Dominion. The fact that Southland schools collectively had the-highest average attendance of,'those ofA'any..province'in the Dominion;,was::Commente4 upon by members ;,at the''annual meeting of the Southland jEducation'. Boajrd; ..'.The annual, xeport showed that ttfe^ average attendanie'e for1 the y ; ear was'93- per cent:!-';!''-:-'.-:.'/ i"^-i: ■■•,'.-.■ >-.r/'>-:'-:*\ ■ Morning Bus Runs. : V.:- * As the running of the morning bus services in Hataitai proved r quite unprofitable business, except in wet weather/the City Council recently decided to discontinue the service. Last eve'ning residents of Hataitai met and discussed the matter. The servie'e, is. "of real 'convenience to residents, particularly of the northern part of the district, but it is realised that a service cannot be expected if it is used ofily in bad weather. • Several suggestions were put forward as to the maintaining of a reasonable skeleton service, and these arc to be submitted to the City Council. Seed; Growing in New Zealand. In * discussion which took place* recently at a conference of the Institute of Horticulture on the question of seed growing in New Zealand, it was pointed out that the value seeds imported into Great Britain each year amounted to many millions of pounds, and that New Zealand possessed great potential possibilities as a seed-growing countiy. It was decided to carry out expeiimental tests by tho superintendents of pavks in Dunedin and Christchurch for tho South'lsland and the superintendents of parks in Lower Hutt and Palmerston North for tho Iforth Island. Whale'Feed and Albatrosses. An unusual sight Was witnessed in the outer harbour at Lyttelton on-Sun-day afternoon. When yachtsmen were returning from Port Levy they saw numerous largo shoals of whale feed, through which they passed. These visitations are fairly rare, but Sunday's occurrence was evenZmore interesting on account of the fact that it was accompanied by a visit from threo albatiosscs, which very rarely come so close inshore. For some reason (states fhe "Christchurch Times") one of tho albatrosses alighted on the water and shortly afterwards died. The other two birds which accompanied their mate wheeled about as if mourning-its death. ' Tho reason for tita proximity to tho shore of the huge birds was given' by a mariner as being probably,-duo to a storm off the coast. ' ' Maori and Dog iicence. ' _ Are Maoris obliged by Jaw to pay dog' licence just the same as-pakoha dog owners? This question is likely to be settled by means of a test case in the Magistrate's Court, for it 'was stated at last week's meeting of-tho. Piako County Council that-ono Maori landowner near Waharoa had declined to pay the dog tax,, and expressed his willingness to' bp prosecuted by the County Council div order to test tho matter. '• The clerk explained (states the"Auckland Star") that the present law stated that anyone who is harbouring a dog or is in control, of a (log has to pay the tax. The, county solicitor had advised that under' an,' old Act llaoris did n6t have-to pay dog tax,,but that Act was repealed in 1919, so that now Maoris are liable for the, tax. Lower Hutt Street liights. Last year the 'Lower Hutt Boiough Council economised on street lighting to the extent of £200. The Works Committee recommended to the council last evening, that tho agreement then arrived at with the Power Board should be renewed for another year. Councillor A. Meßain said he desired to. record, his disapproval of the recommendation, and as a member of the committee has already done so at the committee meeting. Ho -considered that the board couH /well find some better way of reducing expenditure. Strong dissatisfaction with the council's action had, been expressed by ratepayers. Councillor Campbell said that to some extent he supported Councillor Meßain. Some of the'' lights could be done without, but' many had boeri curtailed to a dangerous degree.-'/'Coun-cillor Wilson said;he was dissatisfied with the- lighting of tho ramps. Councillor Patrick said that if rates were to be kegt diowjij, ratepayers must: expect; "somo:;'services' to be - reduced. It .was''finally; agreed .that-the Mayor (Mr. W, T,' Strand) and' .".CouncillorsMeßain and^Singor, with the.engineer, .shouJ4^-digous?"''';t%'?.^'inafte't^mth'- v tße; >PoHvejt;^p'ara^;yjrvy^y^;.^, i y''y > ;fi--:~ Soutoa^'^Bta^^^n;'^>v:;..;:,- ; ; r ,vy; A-V'^-nOaiSus|ngf^|or'^'.:-;was >;ioid.''l)y' Mr; A.-Bo'sser, of"Ajiekland>'*to--his brother Justices ;. attending ' the;vNew --JSpaland Justices Federation Conference at Invercargill (states1 ah. exchange).: A Southlarider, accompanied by his' wife, happened to bo, visiting Auckland on holiday when the wife took very illMedicines "were of no avail, the doctor consulted advising that" the patient was pining for the bracing,air of Souths land. Hit by a brain..wave, her husband -went to the garage whore ho had loft his car, secuiod the spare wheel and released the,free air (obtained in Invercargill before tho couple set out on their trip) in tho room whore the woman Iny on liar- sick bed. Needless to gay, she completely and speedily, recovered her health", a fact which eloquently advertised tho "recuperative ■ quiilities.'.of -the Southland climate, added Mr. Eossor amid general laughter.

Colder Than in England. Although tho weather in Christehurch on Saturday, the second day of the first Test between tho M.C.C. team and New Zealand, was regarded by the spectators and the New Zealand team as warm, the Englishmen were of a different opinion. Practically all of them wore sweaters, and on their ai'rival in Wellington this/morning' they .said the day was colder than what they: "were accustomed, to in England. The gale which sprang up yesterday -afternoon,* though -'of fcrief. "duration, was. very fierce'./.-;VY-V.'- "":"■' :- >.■. • The Church'Militant.-.;/•. ,- '.'The■■.;■ '~.i Governor-General - .■; (Lord Bledislpe)*. often, uses tho phrase, 'the church' ''mijitarit/f. and; it '...is a phrase which I'-Vlijto Very .much. ■ Our • old church was: militant, and^ I hope to see it become - ;again. a'ggressively militant and ready "to fight for the cause with the spirit evident-in the. first days of the Salvation Army. I love the term." —Commissioner; 'John ~iCunningham, when . speaking at the' public jubilee congress'meeting of the Salvation Army in Christchufch' (reports'"The Press"). Eoad ParceivCiarges. ; : • - The; point i-wap; laised.by 'Mr. F. W.I Aielciiiy.fepreße'nting'J.therEailway Department at' the-meeting of. the Central Licensing Authority r-£pday, "that some uniformity, in the Bcale of parcel charges by •motor services .would Be lan advantage. There -were: .cases of. two services from, the same''town charging different scales. Perhaps special,zones could: be demarcated as was'done by the railways. At present-some services charged 50 per cent, more than the railways for parcels, and some 50 per cent; less. The chairman (Colonel S. S. Allen) thought that the question of parcel charges should really be considered in the case of each application by tho road services, as road conditions varied so considerably; Had Never Seen an Aeroplane. A gracious act. on. the,part of Sir Charles Kingsfcrrd Smith is much appreciated at Canvastown. A resident of that place communicated -with him when he was in Blenheim and informed him of the case of a lady who had, been invalided there' for several years (says the "Marlborough Express'^)- She had never seen an aeroplane because of the prolonged •confinement: to her room, and had expressed a. wist- to "see the Southern Cross. Sir' Charles replied that he would "fly over Canvastown en route to Nelson next;.day. He :dia so, and kept his promisesto the extent of flying so low at that stage that the numbers on the aeroplane:,:,were^plainly.readable.; His eonsideratehess, characteristic of the man, has left a very pleasant impression at Canvastown. > Child Contradicts Teacher. It is not often that a child in a classroom has the temerity,to rise boldly from, its seat and raise an angry voico of protest against the teacher (states the "Taumarunui Press',')- But such a thing happened the other day at a school not very far removed from Pirongia. The class was t being told the story of .the Maori,' arid . somewhat eloquently' the teacher was explaining the barbaric habits of an old Maori chief. The class was informed that ho was a murderer and,cannibal. Tho spell Jof wonderment was broken when a small-child rose indignantly to protest." "He did nothing of the sort —I know, 'cause he was my greatgrandfather." Noisy Motor-cycles. Noisy motor-cycles were,the subject of complaints made by Petono Borough Councillors at their meeting last night. It was. suggested by Councillor ,V. E. Jacobson that motor-cyclists when obtaining their driving licences- should be made to demonstrate to the inspector that i their machines were reasonably quiet, but Councillor B. W. Toomath pointed put that it was possible to operate avmotor-cycle to the satisfaction of the . inspector and then, around the corner, make as much noise as tho owner liked. Councillor E.'T. E. Hogg thought that the police could help in catching noisy motor-cyclists. It was finally left to tho council's inspector to take what action he thought fit to have the nuisance abated. Horse Eaces at Sports Meeting. Horse races are. to fce held at the Kerepeehi' Sports Association's meeting on 'Easter Monday, with tho fnil sanction of tho Minister of Internal Affairs, the New Zealand Eaeing' Conference and the New Zealand Trotting Conference (reports' the "Auckland Star").. Horses, riders, owners, etc., and the association's officials will,not, therefore, be, liable to disqualification, as they were last year,' and as they would have been this year, had the' decision to run straightout races been^adhered to. "When application was made last month to the Minister under>,th"? Bac'e Meetings Act, 1909, he^dvise'd the association to obtain the permission of the Bacing and Trotting Conferences. Eealising that straightout races would not bo sanctioned by these bodies, the sports committee added novelty conditions, and tho programme^ was then approved, on condition that the club-was registered. These registrations have npwbeen effected,^ and formal permission from the.'Miniater is expected within a few days. „('; ' r Appointment Declined. . , - K The annual appointment of representatives to'.the council of" the InverQargill Chamber of Commerce usually gives rise to some amusement at tho Southland Executive of tho Farmers' Union, and there was no exception at its last meeting, states the "Southland Times." It was- suggested' that Mr. William Co.uscr be rcappointed, but he declined and gave his reasons as follows: (1) Notice of the meeting did not reach him,in time; (2) as the meeting was,held at 4, o'clock on a.Thursday afternoon it c'dst him two days from home to.attend; and (3) tho-company was not congenial to him. Mr. William ITord, the other retiring representative, also declined nomination, and said that ho. "had his reasons." Messrs. A. McKenzie and G. S. Stevens were appointed. . ■ ■ Fish' Stories and the riood. The recent flood at Taumarunui-has beon responsible for some extraordinary fish stories (states the "Taumarunui Press"). Since the flood water has receded to the river channel the Maoris living in the of the Cherry Grove have been seen dipping. their hands and arms in the soft silt up to their elbows pulling out trout and potatqes buried.by the deposits on their lancL* vThOv MaorisV'arfcat present enjoying -a real,fish'-and diet!. The Maoris assert tjiat,';when: theVwater left ; j£e\ «>adßeading to ttne > Cherijr 'Grove, ho|' in'ariy:ya,rds.; fr,om the, Mayor'sVpresentation ;gates ■;ay fine specimen'of.; a trput^whieh'^urheaHhe Jsealesoatj3,2lb was'f bund/ ""oMr.' Beattie,; when'•■'sorting but. cattle/from the/saJeyards -last Wednesdayy"found''thirty^ trout wtfich were turned to good use "for 'breakfast "by himself and others dnthejob. At Mr. Bert Carter's property, over the.river past Sunshine Town, it is said that quite a large. number of trout were strewn about the land and one trout was actually deposited with the sijt on the floor of his kitchen all ready for the frying panJ A good story is told about one resident of the Mat, who, while the waters woro still deep enough, put out a net in his back yard and, landed quite a decent liauU-' 'It is true, however, that a large Jiumbci- of trout .were loft high, and dry on the Kecreatiori' Ground because seagulls and shags were seen hovering over the Domain' for some timo' until the supply'was'exhausted."''