NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 135, 9 June 1937, Page 10

NEWS OF THE DAY

Something' to See.

Facts which seem scarcely credible for a country as small as New Zealand are revealed in a letter of appeal received by the organising secretary of the New Zealand Industries Fair, Christchurch, from the headmaster of a schopl in an isolated hamlet on the West Coast. The letter states that the writer hopes to bring about twenty children to see the fair. Most of them have never seen a train, a tramcar, a field of wheat, a reaper and binder, or even a town of any size. Sharing the Work. "The Court is paid to do this sort of thing, and there is 1 no reason why they should not have their share of the detail work as well as us." said the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. M. J. Reardon) during the hearing of the carpenters' and joiners' dispute yesterday. Mr. Reardon suggested that if it was obvious there would be no agreement on. any of the clauses, the matters should be referred to the Court without undue delay. Differing Points of View. The city of Montreal possesses a magnificent park, nearly 100 acres in extent. This used to be the'property of an Irishman, so the Rev. J. R. Blanchard told his Rotarian audience yesterday when talking about his recent trip in Canada. When this Irishman was old, it came to his knowledge that his relatives were already planning what they would do with this land when he had passed on/ He thereupon sold it to the municipality for a dollar. The relatives, said Mr. Blanchard, called it "a dirty bit of Irish," but the city fathers "a most munificent gift." An Elusive Circle. "We don't know what man is, and we don't know what his environment is, so you will see the difficulty I am faced with tonight," said Professor J. Shelley, giving the first of a series of addresses on "Man and his Environment" arranged by the Royal Society of New Zealand (Canterbury branch) at Canterbury University College (reports the "Press"). "Man is really the centre of a circle and his environment is the circumference, but the problem is that we do not know where the centre of the circle is, or where its circumference is. The result is, we just go round in circles. Where we begin and end I'm sure I do not know." A Clean Bill, Apparently last night's weather proved too discouraging for anyone to be tempted to break the law, for at the normal time of- opening of the Magistrate's Court today there was no one to appear before the Magistrate. This is quite an unusual occurrence in Wellington, for the day's work at the court is usually begun by the appearance of at least an offender for drunkenness. Several cases of an indictable nature heard durihg the past .week or so were remanded to today week, the next indictable day. This morning was quite a busy one in the Coroner's Court, however, as five inquests were held. Canton Island. A graphic verbal picture of Canton Island, where the New Zealand solar eclipse expedition is located, was given by the Rev. J. R. Blanchard yesterday when he was describing to Rotarians his impressions of a twelve weeks' trip across Canada and the United States. Seen from the sea, he said, Canton Island was conspicuous for the picture it presented of a lone palm tree and a heap of brushwood. The island was only a few feet above sea level and surrounded 'a large lagoon. It was frequented by gannetlike booby birds, so called because they allowed other birda to take from them the fish they had caught. As the island swarmed with rats, the scientists, he imagined, would be having plenty to occupy them besides the eclipse.

Counterfeit Coin. A counterfeit florin made its appearance at Hawera during the weekend, states an exchange. Made to the pattern of Australian coinage, it was a remarkably good imitation and could easily have been passed as genuine. Their Problem Too. "Last month there were so many road accidents. Be careful." Notices i thus worded, with the number altered , each month, confront the road user in Canada, remarked the Rev. J. R. Blanchard during the course of a travel talk given yesterday to Rotarians. He said that tnere. as here, efforts were being made to educate the community to have regard for the safety of life and limb when using the roads. Shetland Pony on Ship. In a comfortable stall deep down in the forehold of the motor liner Wanganella, a tiny Shetland pony arrived in Wellington this morning. Dwarfed in comparison with a full-sized racehorse in the adjacent stall, the pony was hardly noticeable until the dark corners of the hold were inspected closely. It comes from "Van Yean," Victoria, and is bound for Himatangi, where it will be used for breeding purposes. Why Not "King's Day"? "No King, notwithstanding his high rank, can have two birthdays in a year. Therefore it is absurd when talking of today to call it 'the King's N Birthday,'" remarked a prominent business man this morning. He added that it would be far more sensible to talk about today and its holiday as "King's Day" rather than call it the King's Birthday, which it is not. Confusion with the real birthday date in December would thus be obviated. "King's Day" races and other holiday fixtures should figure on sporting programmes, rather than the present appellation. Australia, he added, had adopted "King's Day" instead of the fictitious "King's Birthday." Three Holidays in Twelve Months. Probably never before has the birthday of the reigning British Sovereign been celebrated three times within a period of twelve months. Because December 14, the birthday of ' King George VI, was considered an unsuitable date for the observance of the holiday, the date was this yean fixed for June 9, although this will be subject to review later. New Zealand has already celebrated the" birthday within the twelve months, on December 14 last, and on June 23 it observed the birthday of King Edward VIII. Opossums in Water Board Area. In the opinion of Mr. A. N. Perham, the forestry officer of the City and Suburban Water Board, the closing of the board's lands against trapping for a couple of years would be advisable, for the return of skins from the trapping blocks had fallen lower and lower each year and there was a danger of the land being trapped out, causing loss of revenue to the board while restocking took place.' Mr. Perham said that at one time the tally of opossum skins was as high as 3000 for the season, but it had dropped to 2500, 2000, and 1800. He remarked also that fashion in the colour of skins influenced the amount of revenue from trapping rights/ At 'present grey was in favour, but in the Akatarawa area black skins predominated, though in>_ the Wainui black and grey might be found in about equal proportions. The board I has accepted tenders for trapping most of the block this winter and has referred them to the City Council for confirmation. Regarded as a Hoax. A message 'purporting to come from Mr. C. T. P. Ulm, who was lost while flying across the Pacific in December, 1934, has been found in the Invercargill estuary. It was picked up on June 1 by Mr. W. J. T. Faulin, of Tramway Road, in a bottle which was lying on the beach on the east side of the estuary, opposite Clifton. The police at Invercargill, to whom the message was handed, are of the opinion that it is a hoax. Scrawled on a dirty piecel of note paper, apparently with a piece of charred cork or bark, the message is very cryptic. It is headed "Ulm" and continues: "Am on Pacific Isle, midPacific." On the other side of the scrap of paper is another message, this one more personal. "I hope wife is well," it reads, and is signed "Ulm." The whisky bottle which carried the rather vague information bore no label, but the cork shows little sign of the long immersion in salt water it should have had in its journey from the "Pacific isle in the mid-Pacific." "In my opinion this is just another hoax," SeniorSergeant Kelly told the "Southland Times." "Ulm would surely have been able to give more exact particulars concerning the position of the island. And it seems strange that the bottle should have found its way into the estuary."