Untitled

Evening Star, Issue 23678, 11 September 1940, Page 6

“ Look around you in any room in which thousands of people meet and you will not see pictures,” said Mr H. C. D. Somerset, of Feilding, when addressing the Manawatu Women’s Club. That was typical of New Zealand, the speaker contended. He urged members to arrive at a point where they had fine pictures in their places of meeting as well as in their homes. In reply to the offer of a Palmerston North woman to fill the position of a civil servant who had volunteered for the Army, the following was received : ” Where possible, all such positions are temporarily tilled by a member of the enlisted man’s family, so that when the war ends each party may be more readily restored to their original status.”-

A bequest of £2,000 to-the New Zealand Government to be applied towards defraying the expenses of the war is contained in the will of Mrs Hannah Vealc Bayly, of Auckland, who died on June 26. Probate has been granted in the estate, which has been sworn at under £IO,OOO.

The Army authorities at the Kensington Drill Hall have now obtained a supplv of volunteer badges for issue to men who were classified as unfit for service. Those who arc entitled to wear them will receive them upon application to tho registration office at the Drill Hall.

A silting of the Land Board was commenced this morning, the Commissioner (Mr W. E. Shaw) presiding. Business of a routine nature only came before the meeting, which will be continued to-morrow.

For the past three days the Bluff vessel Rauui, of 20 tons, has been berthed alongside the coal hulk at the Rattray street wharf, where her engines and winch have been undergoing overhaul. Usually this has been done at Bluff. The Ranui was to leave to-day on her return south.

“We don’t endorse Sunday play on this side of the mountains. Whatever is done on tho other side is no concern of ours,” said Mr J. K. Moloney, president, at a meeting of the Management Committee of the Canterbury Rugby Union last evening, when an application was received from a club team for permission to visit the West Coast to play a Sunday match against a West Coast club. The committee merely granted the club permission to travel.

A truck load of magazines arrived at the Canterbury Public Library yesterday from Dunedin (says the 1 Press’). They are to be sorted and distributed to military establishments for the use of soldiers, sailors, and airmen. An appeal for magazines for this purpose was launched in Christchurch some time ago, but the librarian, Mr E. J. Bell, said yesterday that the response recently had been poor, and the consignment of 800 magazines from Dunedin was most welcome.

Apt reference to the resolution of the British people in war time as expressed by the Prime Minister. Mr Churchill, was made by Mr H. Tai Mitchell at Auckland wken making a presentation to Mr C. E. MacCormick, Chief Judge of the Native Land Court. In-handing over a carved patu, Mr Mitchell said the carvers had sought to depict Mr Churchill “ breathing defiance to the foe.” He also said the Arawa carvers were working on a swagger-stick which was to be sent to the High Commissioner in London. Mr W. J. Jordan, to be presented to Mr Churchill. “The carving will represent the strength and man power of Britain to-day,” added Mr Mitchell.

A Dunedin soldier on service with the N.Z.E.P, in Egypt, in a letter to his parents, expresses keen appreciation of the work being done by the N.A.A.F.I. This, he explains, is the “ Navy Army, and Air Force Institute.” which consists of huge canteens where one can buy anything from groceries to clothes, sports goods, camp equipment, liquor—in fact, everything that one wants —and it actually goes into the field with the troops. All net profits, of course, come back to the troops. The British residents of Egypt have also presented two huge motor vans called “ Kumangetit,” which go right to the front troops, carrying beer, lemonade, chocolate, etc. The same letter makes reference to the presentation on August 21 of colours to the Free French troops in Egypt, “and,” the writer proceeds, “ although they do not drill as well as we do it was very impressive, and they look as though they can do a job of work, which, after all, is the main thing.” Addressing the Wanganui Rotary Club, Mr M. Sendyk, a Bole, who left his country some 18 months ago, said that one of the measures taken by his people to retard the Nazi invasion was to destroy railway time-tables. .That, he said, might not seem impressive to Wanganui people, but when it is known that trains, both international and national, had to pass through Warsaw every few minutes, something of the intricacies of the time-table could be imagined. He said that it was estimated that it ■would take competent engineers and train administrators 15 years to restore the time-tables to proper shape and sequence. Mr Sendyk also said that many of the oil-carrying trucks were effectively punctured by the Boles and the oil allowed to run to waste.'

“ My club “wishes to know,” said a member of the Otago Cricket Association Committee at its meeting Jast night, “ whether it is not time the association had some new certificates printed. Those which are handed out to the winning clubs were obviously printed in the ’eighties, the edges are faded, and the cricketers depicted upon them wea - - beards.” The secretary of the association (Mr E. S. Wilson) admitted that he had taken them over from the previous secretary some 37 years ago, and that there were still some left. It was agreed to have a newer type of certificate printed, the president (Mr A. H. Allen) causing amusement when he remarked that the balance of the old ones might be kept aside “in case beards amongst cricketers became fashionable again.”

Dunedin’s harbour basin softly echoed the “putt-putt” of a motor- vessel’s engines around the wharves this morning as the Port Whangarei (504 tons) gracefully made her way in a circle, starting from her Rattray street berth and terminating at the same point. It was a test of her engines, upon which work has been carried out during the past week to repair the water-cooling system, which had broken down last week.

When they recall their voyage from England and the 25 depth charges dropped by escorting destroyers the third day out women and children who arrived at New • Plymouth last week wonder whether the submarine was sunk. The British Broadcasting Corporation announced later that a submarine lying in wait for a convoy was destroyed. Next day the ship passed within a mile of a derelict tanker, half sunk, with smoke still pouring from its funnel. It had apparently been torpedoed. It was at 7.30 a.m. that one of the two escorting destroyers suddenly dashed aside about a mile away to drop a depth charge. Others followed, columns of water spurted high in the air, and the ship was jolted as it raced away on a zig-zag course.

The influence which judges of the Native Land Court exercise in reconciling differences between the Maori and the pakeha was mentioned by a former Chief Judge, Mr P. N. Jones, when speaking at a farewell tendered at Auckland to Mr C. E. MacCormick, the present Chief Judge, whose retirement takes effect next month. Mr Jones said the Chief Judge had acted as a nation builder and deserved credit for his work in helping to cement the good relationship between the two races. “ We look across the seas to-day and see the two races, the Maori and the pakeha, standing shoulder to shoulder fierhting in defence of freedom,”- he added.

A Hokitika Association message states that the Westland County Council decided at a meeting yesterday afternoon, as a mark of appreciation of New Zealand airmen’s service in the defence of Britain, to contribute £250 to the New Zealand Aeroplane Fund for the use of the Dominion squadron on sewvice. Wellington is putting up something of a record in the matter of wet weekends (says the ‘Dominion’). The latest was the fifth in succession. A rather curious thing about them was that for the most part they have a character of their own, which countrymen would probably characterise as “ ideal spring weather,” soft, persistent rain, with moderate temperatures and little wind. When this form of rain comes from the south it is sometimes the materialisation of a heavy sea-fog that rolls through Cook Strait at this time of the year, and is local in area. An example of this localisation of weather conditions was afforded at the beginning of September, when, though Wellington was smothered in a dense seafog, brilliant sunshine was experienced beyond the Paekakariki Hill and the Rimutakas.

Two spring lambs in great condition yarded at the Burnside sales of stock to-day bore testimony to the fine open weather experienced this season, these two making a very early appearance, although not quite the earliest of the past few years. At times lambs have been ou sale as early as September 6. They weighed about 32-33! b each, and tbeir respective prices were 37s Od and 38s 6d. From their condition it seems there will be some excellent lamb available very shortly.