NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 106, 7 May 1934, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Accession Say.

A Boyal salute of 21 guvs was fired from the defence battory at Point Jcrningham at noon today in commemoration of the accession of King Geovgo-V in 1910. The 'anniversary actually occurred yesterday, but the regulations 'provido when Accession Day falls on a. Sunday tho salute is to bo fired on tho following day. Miniature Torrents. During tho heavy rain on Friday and Saturday, channels, soruo of them surprisingly large, formed in many of the steep paths in the Botanical Gardens. ( At tho Height of the rainstorms these channels rapidly filled with, water, which, cascaded down them with great' force.' It was difficult to avoid getting one's feet thoroughly wet, and this, could only, bo done by walking along the "banks" of the miniature torrents. So great was the force of water on one path that a child, aged about four, was swept off his feet and almost enveloped by it. He emerged slightly wetter than he was before. Capitation Grants to Schools. ■"The- majority of the Wellington city schools are of the old type, and must of necessity require additional care and attention, but the committees do not receive any additional capitation grant," slates the' executive* committeo of tho Wellington School Comnuttoes* Federation in its annual report. "A flat rato is set,, irrespective of whether it is a Hew school or an old one. A little elasticity in the payment of capitation grants would be 'beneficial not only to the committees but to the Education Department." None Keen to lie Foreman. No Jcoenness to take tho position of foreman was shown by any one of the twelve jurors ompanuelled in the Supremo Court, today to . try a civil action. Whilo the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) sat smiling on tho Bench, watching the sorting out process, and counsel waited', each 'juror,-it seemed, was endeavouring to porsuado someone else to tako tho job. One man half rose, and the Court Crier, with a'swift dart forward and a rustle of his gown, thought he had the foreman at last, but ho was mistaken. The juror rose merely to propose a inuii in the back row. "It appears to mo that they are selecting tho third man at tho back," said his Honour. "No, sir, the second,", corrected the man who had got up from his seat before. Still there was no one anxious to accept tho job. "You must select somebody, you know, gentlemen, please," said his Honour. Eventually the second man in the back row agreed to take tho position. A Test for Deafness. Applicants for exemption from jury service on the ground of deafness arc sometimes found to bo not quite deaf enough'to be relieved from attendance: in other words, they do not survive the presiding Judge's test. When a man comes before them1 and asks to be excused on the ground of deafness, Judges in tho questions thoy put vary tho tono of their -voice, and often tho applicant fails to establish that he is deaf to any extent. This was not so, however, with one man. who applied for exemption to the Cliiof Justice (Sir Michael Myers) in tho Supreme Court today. After his first question his Honour lowered his voice, and the applii cant came out with flying1 colours. He even did not hear his Honour's "Very well, you may go." ..-;.. Saving Sick Oaks. ..;',■/ "I do not want to anticipate the report of the expert from the Cawthron Institute, but I think I am safe in announcing that we have beaten the 'golden scale' in the oaks in our parks and domains," said Mr. H. Kitson, chairman of the Christehurch Domains Board, speaking at the meeting of the board on Friday afternoon, reports "The Press." Mr. Kitson was leferring to the visit of Mr. Gourlay., of the Cawthron Institute, recently. To''com-: bat further the pustular scale—"golden scale"—on the oak, trees a consignment of 20j200 Habroldpsis was received from tho Cawthron".-Instituto and liberated during" November last year in Hagley Park. It was to note" the result-of that liberation that Mr. Gourlay '3 investigation".was.partly directecl. His report is expected soon.: ' ■-..- v, Notes :of a Different Kind. :, >; ; In a recent: collection taken in a churchrin the Beef ton district appeared a betting note connected with a recent race meeting, states the' Beefton correspondent of the "Grey Biver Argus." This did not surprise the churchwardens, as at different times all sorts of odd contributions-appear in the plate. A, little later the same evening, however, the vicar had a call from two men, one of whom had attended the church service that evening, and was asked whether any note or other untoward article had appeared in tho collection. The vicar replied that he had taken a betting noto from the plate, but he regarded .it'lisa joke." One of tho applicants thereupon apologised to tho vicar for tho strange contribution, saying that ho did not often go to church, and he intended giving a 10s note to make up for his non-attendance. He asked tho vicar to take that sum and return the betting slip, which was done with a good laugh betfween the parties,

Tine Stag Shot. A fine stag was shot recently near tho old Hoehstotter claim, a few .miles from Ahaura, Westland, by Mr. Georgo Halm, jun., of Ahaura, states the Christchurch "Press." The head is considered one of the best obtained in tho Grey district for years.' It had a spread of £0 inches and a length of 41 inches. Thero .were 13 fighting tines and 15 points. The weight of tho bare skull and horns was 181b. Tho shape "was very even. ' Permanent Carnival Organiser. A proposal to appoint a' carnival organiser tit a salary of per -annum was considered by the Kotorua Borough Council, it being suggested that ho be employed to organise Christmas, May, and spring carnivals, promote the holding of.conferences in the town, aiid generally deal;with tho task of enhancing Kotorua's value as a. holi-day-resort,, states a local correspondent. The majority of the councillors recognised; that the- appointment of an organiser was essential in the best interests of the town, but a: suggestion was made by Mr. X Goodsbii that ,an attempt should bo made.to combine the duties of "organiser... and bandmaster. The general-trend of opinion was that such a combination.would riot be suitable, as a goofl musician would not be suitablo-for the work which an organiser, would have to undertake.- . However, it was left to the finance and advancement committees to decide upon tho possibility of such an arrangement. The bandmaster is at present paid fi225 per annum. Paid in Full. ■ Ample evidence of the truth of the old adage "that procrastination is the thief of time," is to be found in the circumstances of the administration of a. bankrupt estate which 'has recently been finally dealt with by tho Official Assignee in Timarn, states the "Herald. 3 It is only on very rare occasions that any bankrupt estate realises 20s in the. £~ plus interest on proved claims, but such an instance has just occurred where, after a lapse of 24 years following the bankruptcy, money paid to the Assignee, as afteracquired assets, have resulted in the payment, in full, plus interest, on the proved debts, which, through the effluxion of time, have more than doubled their value. The ; bankrupt filed on May 10, 1910, his estate showing debts, to unsecured creditors of £132 13s 7d, and assets nil.' Tho meeting of creditors lapsed for want of a quorum, and only one-sixth of the creditors were sufficiently interested register proof of debt; And now, after 24 years, these creditors have reaped the benofit of their ordinary business caution by receiving the full amount of their claims plus interest at tho rate of 6 per cent, for tho whole1"of tho term. Five-year-old. Children. ' - • "The Minister' continues to disregard tho appeals of tho people who have realised the folly of oxcluding the. five-yoar-old children from public buildings where tho facilities "await their education—either £6rmal or informal—and. the staffs aro available for tho teaching/ 1 states the Executive Committee of the Wellington School Committees' Association in its annual report. "If the Minister was guided by a desire to economise when he approved ■ the recommendation of tho National Economy Committee to cxcludo the five-year-olds, it is time ho realised that this so-called economy-is fast proving a pieco of false economy legislation, and will, ere long reflect disastrously on the State educational system by the alarmingly increasing number of private and denominational kindergarten schools. Wo appreciate what Mr. Masters has done in making concessions up to a certain point,, but would urgo a total reinstatement of the five-year-olds without further delay. '' -. . >. ,■;