LOCAL & GENERAL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 170, 5 August 1937, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL

No Rugby Meeting. There was no meetmg of the nnuiagtuient comnxittee of the Hawke's Ba^ Rugby Unjon last evenihg, owiug to the fact that a majority of the meuibers travelled yesterday to Palmerston North for the Manawatu-South Afriea match, and had nct returned a*: thn time of the meeting. Ranfurly Shieid challenge. Hawke's Bay will jn all probabihty play a Ranfurly Shieid challenge matcli thds season, even if the shieid reverts to Otago on the return match at invercargill. If Southiand retains the trophy, it is possible that Hawke's Bay will be able to secure a challenge date befqre the end of the season, while if Otago regains the shieid the original date will be adbered to. Black and White Shieid. The senior Rugby .competition leaders, Maiist, are also at present leadiug in the Black and White fShield competition, points for which are scoreci by clubs in Hawke's Bay province with three or more teams in club competitions in, their respective district. Manst have 72.3 per cent of wins, Hastings H.S.O.B. 67.3 per cent, Hastings 53a per cent, Napier H.S.O.B. 53.1 per cent, Pirates 45.6 per cent, Technicai 45.6 per cent and Celtic 38 per cent Three Captalns. One of three captains.who have been captains of vesseis at the Same time, (Japtain A. J. Phillip, of the steamer Uity of Glascow, now at Auckland, comes from a well-known family of shipmasters. His grandfather for a time was captain of the famous clipper Thermopylae, with his father, who later gained his master's certificate, as chiei mate. Captain A. J. Philip is one oi four mayiners aiioat who can claim the possession of extra-master's ticket in sail. No Forty«Hour Week. A jocular suggestion that the 40hour week should apply to visitors to the New Zeaiand Education jhellowship conference was made by Dr 1. L. Kandel, of New York, a world authorit^ on education, when in Christchurch. Lr Kandel said he landed at Auckland a month before. Half an hour after going ashore he was engaged at a teaching institution, and he had been gomg ever since. He had given lectures in many parts of the North lsland, includine addresses to six branches qf

the New Zealand Educational institute, and he calculated that he had spoken to from 1000 to 1500 teachers already, with (at that stage) a week in Christchurch and a week in Dunedin still to go. A Football Clan. Mr James Cossey, who died at Drury on Saturday, was a keen Rugby entliusiast, and two years ago had the honour pf leadiug on to a football field a full team of Cosseys, reports an Auckland exchange. The family fifteen played the rest of Drury and won the game, Mr Cossey could not play hjmself, owing to his age, but he stood on the sidehne and "barracked" in good style. The referee also was a Cossey, and the linesmen, too, were of the family. Mr Cossey said it was the proudest day of his Ijfe when he led his descendants on to the field for a football battle. The late Mr Cossey was also a keen axeman, and, although he had only one arm, he could beat many men who fancied themselves as axemen. Did Forms of Punishment. References to two severe forxns of norporal punishment infiictefl on schoolboys in New Zealand 50 or 60 years ago were made by veteran old boys at the annual meeting and reunion of the Wanganui branch of the Otago High School Boya' Society. The forms of punishment were the Mnaked robin" and ' ' riding the donkey," the threat of either of which would be sufficient to terrorise a modern schoolboy without recourse to the application thereof. TLe first form of punishment was a

simple matter, for a naked boy was chaged about a room by a master armod with a substantial cane with which he directed heavy blows at the poor unlortunate boy 's exposed anatomy until he tired of the game. In the case of "riding the donkey," the erring youth was placed on a form or simiJar object and made to jump along its length while the irate master rained a shower of blows on a tender spot with a cane or strap. In both cases, the punishment was severe and gave the ofi'enders much to think about until such times as their wcals disappoared. Progress of Navai works. Very rapid progress is being made at the Devonport Naval Base with the extensive prggramxne of improvement and expansion which has been undertaken sincq Commander C. B. Tinley has had charge of the base. Only five more bays fo the extension to Calliope Wharf remain to be built, and the task of putting in the.raker or cross piles, eaeh 83ft long, for the portion which has been almost compjeted is well under waL The reolaiming oi part of Stanley Bay in order to ereot an oil tank to take the place of the Admii'alty tauher Nucula is also progressiug and struc-tui-aj works such as the bnilding of a new boiler-house and other workshops are gradually taking shape. By the end of the year the appearance of the base will liave been afinWt completely trausforinetl.

Triplet Calves Born. A black Holstein cgw wa the pioperty of Mr P. Fabianovich, Tangowahine, has given birth to two bull calves and one heifer calf. The lirsfc calf, born 011 i'uesday, was unusually smail, but the other two, born ou Friday, were oi norinai size. 0ne of the bulls has been sold as a bobby calf, but the other two calves are still on the farni. increasing the Birth-rate. "The only way to increase the birthrate in New Zealand is to scrap all the motor-cars. The only way to arrear the rapid decay of teeth is to do away with all pappy foods and make the youngsters use thejr jaws," declared \)v Alartin Tweed, medical adviser to the Plunket Society, at fche provmcial conterence field in Wanganui of tlie Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children, Sir Francis Bell, Mr W. Downie Stewart is completuig a biograpfiy of "Tfie Life and Times of the iught Hon. Sir Francis H, D. Bell, 1851-1936." The main part of tlie Dook is concerned with the career of Sir rrancis Bell, and will contain many mteresting stories of political life from oehind the scenes as well as personal anecdotes aud characteristics of Sir Francis Bell, who was once described as the "Uncrowned King of New Zealand." Government Buildings. A start will shortly be made upon the construction of tlie ierro-concrete loundations of the new Government ouildings block in Napier on the site xormerly occupied by the Chief Post Office. For the past few weeks work.men have been engaged upon the work of excavation for the foundations and tllA rBHinV^.l nir Mlm. finnnrln-f-.irwici /-vT 4- L ^

wxavj ivmurai Ui UXlt? AU U1FUU/D1U1LS OI 1136 old buiiding, which was destroyed iu the earthquake, and now the construction of boxing for the new foundations is in progress. Rangers Carty Cuns To assist them in deahng with shaga and hawks and ground verinin, rangers on the Internal Affairs Department in t-he Rotorua acclimatisation district are now being supplied with firearins by che department, and an instruction has jeen lssued that all rangers, while on duty, are to carry guns or rihes. It iias ueen the practice for the past two years to issue rangers with ammunition when .equired for the destruction of vermin, and this has been suppiemented more. lecentiy by a further instruction about arearms.

Whisky Diet for Sheep. New Zealand shepherds have adopted nany ingenious medicinal aids for aiimg stock, but lew are ciaimed to" be so emcacious among iambing ewes as the i-emedy prescribed by the manager of a large farm at Whitford. As the result of consistentiy cold and wet weather, many evveg are found m poor condicion after Iambing and to restore theni np has resorted to a drench of several uoaspoonsiul oi whisky in milk. While a normal procedure fqr the expert, it was a somewhat bewildering expefienco ior the owner of the property to be requested for a case of whisky for use on the farm. Blind Institute Anniversary, The inaugural ceremony uf opeuing the new buildings of the Jubilee Institute for tlie Blind, now known as the New Zealand Institute for the Blind, took place 45 years ago yesterday. The buildings, which were then valued at £3000 with the land on which they were erected, had been seeured as the result of the elfortg of a committeo set up in April, 1889, to raise funds for the teaching' of the blind. Bishop Cowie presided at the ceremony, and among those taking part were Ganon, now Archdeacon, MacMurray, Rabbi Goidstein and the Rev. R,. Scott West. Ihe institute had tfien 22 inmates. It has contin ued through the intervening years to make steady progress to the honoured position it now holds aniong such institutions throughout thg world ihortage of Tradesmen

•'We want to bnud houses all ovei ^ew Zealand, but the industry cannot get the skified tradesmen necessary," oaid the acting-Minister of Employinent, thq Hon, P. C. Webb, at a conicrence at New Brighton, when com.nentmg on the effeet.the shortage oi jKilied tradesmen was having on the uovernment housing sgfieme. "We nave money running into millions waitung for expenditure on pnblio buildings ihe work has been long overdue m many gases, but we have not tfie skilled labour available for it. The duilders have had. to go to Australia and even England for some of their tnen." There were 1100 men working pn the State housing schemes, Mr Webb said, but if skilled men wer© available thp number could be doubled. Lack of apprentipeship training in tfie depression was tfie cause oi tbe ejiisting shortage.