NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Issue 126, 29 May 1936, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY

Rationalising' Rail and Road.

The Railway Department's purchase of road service fleets, followed by coordination of service, means lower operating costs, slates the General Manager of Railways in the "Railways Magazine." "The new arrangements will enable visitors to the South Island to make better connections as between road and rail when travelling to the tourist resorts with which all these recently-acquired services are connected. The magnetic attractiveness of the mountain and lake scenery and the romantic appeal they hold for the tourist and holiday-maker in winter time are increasing in popularity from season to season, and they will undoubtedly receive more attention from the holi-day-making public in all seasons now that the access and the transport services have been so much improved. These co-ordinated services will also enhance the prospects of the summer tourist traffic, which, next season, promises to be exceptionally heavy. In time, too, there will be further progress by co-ordination through rail cars which will be operating both in the South and North Islands. As these units operate at a cost very much below that of the ordinary steam train they will be used to improve the frequency, comfort, and cleanliness of the service, whilst their capacity for maintaining a much faster time-table will also be appreciated." School Committee Dilemma. Elected to the committee of the Ngaio School at a meeting of householders on May 4, and later appointed chairman, Mr. F. G. Molesworth will have' to relinquish both positions, as he has not lived in the district for the required three months and his children were not enrolled at the school until the day after nominations closed. The secretary of the Wellington Education Board, Mr. E. S. Hylton, told a "Post" reporter today that it was the only case of its kind he had known during his long experience. At the meeting of householders there were ten nominees for the nine vacancies, and the vacancy on the committee caused by Mr. Molesworth's retirement will automatically be filled by Mr. E. Turksma, who was the tenth nominee. Hobson Anniversary. The 99th anniversary of Captain William Hobson's first arrival at the Bay of Islands in H.M.S. Rattlesnake, fell yesterday, states the "New Zealand Herald." Hobson had been sent to the Bay of Islands by Governor Bourke, of New South Wales, on account of reported Native warfare, with directions to report upon the state of the country, and what means could be used to secure the common interests of Natives and settlers. He recommended the establishment of "factories" after the model of those in Canada and India, under the charge of factors who should be Magistrates and political agents accredited to the chiefs, in order to restrain unruly Europeans. The scheme did not come to fruition, but the practical wisdom shown by Hobson led to his selection as first Lieu-tenant-Governor of New Zealand less than two years later. A,Husband's Signature. In a divorce case before Mr. Justice Callan at the Auckland Supreme Court on Wednesday, the wife, who was the petitioner, could recall only three occasions on which she had seen her husband's signature—on the marriage certificate, on the only letter he had ever written her, and on his "dole" papers, states the "New Zealand Herald." ' "It is well that it should be understood," said his Honour, "that it does not necessarily follow that a wife is so familiar with her husband's signature as to be able to swear to it anywhere. Where a wife has been a wife for only a month something more is needed." He added that affidavits of service in a big city like Auckland should state the exact address at which the summons was served, as this would help to identify the person concerned. Mishap to Aeroplane. Landing at the Tauhara- Aerodrome after experiencing trouble with the oil pressure, a Vickers Vildebeeste bomber, which was returning to the Hobsonville Air Base from Hastings on Tuesday afternoon, ran along the landing ground and then tipped forward (states a Taupo correspondent), ft came to rest with its tail in the air and the propeller buried in the ground. The pilot, Flying-Officer A. G. Lester, and Aircraftman B. G. Johnstone, who were the only occupants of the machine, were unhurt. Both men climbed from the cockpit unaided. The aeroplane was tied down and the airmen spent the night in Taupo. The machine was righted on Wednesday morning and a preliminary examination showed that damage had been done to the undercarriage, propeller, and engine. The lower starboard win? was crumpled. Flying-Officer Kay and Sergeant Sorrell arrived from Hobsonville in a Moth about 11 o'clock on Wednesday morning. After inspecting the damaged machine, Flying-Officer Kay returned to Auckland with FlyingOfncer Lester, and a repair truck left for Taupo soon after their arrival. Repairs will probably take Jour or Jive days,

Science Congresses,

The next meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science is to be held in Auckland next year, the dale iixed being January 14. Although not directly concerned in making arrangements for this meeting, the Council of the Royal Society of New Zealand at its meeting today expressed sympathetic and practical interest. The 1037 meeting of the Pacific Science Association is to be held in Fiji, and the suggestion has been made that the one after that should be held in New Zealand in 1940, coinciding with centenary celebrations. The Government lias already been approached on the matter and has promised sympathetic consideration as far as financial assistance is concerned. There is also the possibility of the British Association and of the British Medical Association each selecting New Zealand as the country for a conference in 1940, and the question was discussed at the Royal Society's meeting as to which body an invitation should be extended. It would be impossible, it was stated, to finance all of them. Finally it was decided to extend an invitation to the British • Association, and a deputation was elected to wait upon the Government with a view to obtaining financial support. A Matter of Money. In a letter to the Wellington Hospital Board, read at last night's meeting of the board, Dr. M. H. Watt, Director-General of Health, stated that in further reference to the arrangement made by the board for the visit of Mr. Stephenson, consultant architect, Melbourne, he regretted to say that he could not see the justification for the board, either alone or in conjunction with any other board, incurring expense in discussing the possibility of arranging consultant services with the board's architects. "It appears to me." said Dr. Watt, "that such an arrangement should have been left entirely to the board's architects, whose scale of remuneration is ordinarily deemed to cover the cost of professional consultations of a general nature." Miss A. Kane: "Where do we stand now?" The chairman (Mr. F. Castle): 'iThere is, of course, the question of whether travelling expenses should be paid. The board has made an arrangement with the architect, and I think we are within our power to handle the matter in the ordinary way by commission." Army of Young Kauris. "A wonderful object lesson for treeplanters," writes "Tangiwai" in the "Railways Magazine," is "the young kauri nursery on the Waitangi endowment block, at the Bay of Islands, which the country owes to the great generosity of Lord and Lady Bledisloe. Ten pounds in weight of kauri seeds taken from the Waipoua forest and set on a piece of land near the hill called Mount Bledisloe germinated rapidly, and within ten days thirty thousand seedlings had appeared above the ground. The little kauris are to be planted out over an area of 2400 acres on the Waitangi block. This will be glad news to Lord Bledisloe, at whose request the experiment was made."