DOMINION ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 7 January 1925, Page 4

DOMINION ITEMS.

[by TELEGRArH—PER TRESS ASSOCIATION. ADIHFT ON A HAFT. WELLINGTON. January T The drifting of a raft on which one of them had been placing was followed by •in unpleasant experience for two hoys at Oriental Hay yesterday afternoon. Jeffrey Hyde was standing on the raft, which was unmoored, near the band rotunda, when the wind carried it out to sea. His companion. W illitun Young, .swam, out after the drifting raft, but, overcome hv cramp, he was obliged to scramble on board himself. Constable Robb, advised of the youngsters’ plight, secured a yacht, but when the craft was within easy distance of the raft it was seen that Captain Wilkinson, of the Invercargill, had taken the hoys aboard. Neither lad was much the worse for the experience. LOST BAG WITH CoOO. WELLINGTON, January o. A handbag, the contents of which were valued at U'oOO, which was lost at Muritai on Saturday, was available for its owners at the local Detective Ollice to-dhv. A worn,‘in who travelled to Eastbourne by the Cobar early on Saturday morning made the unpleasant discovery, oil her arrival at Murntai, that she had mislaid her handbag, which contained L‘s() in money and bonds of the total value of .-CoOO. The woman returned to Wellington by motor-car and the matter was placed in the hands of Detective Thomas, who later learned that the missing property had been found in Afuritai Hark by a young man who was picnicking there, lie had endeavoured to find the owner liv means of advertisement. AN INTERVIEW. AUCKLAND. January o. Included among the passengers who arrived at Auekland by the Alakura. on route to Sydney, was Sir Lyttelton Groom, Attorney-General in Australia and chief delegate from Australia at the 1921 silting of the Assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva. He met Sir James Allen, who was representing '.New Zealand there, and co-operated with him. Sir Lyttelton was not inclined to discuss detail business in connexion with the Assembly, hut was of the opinion much good had been done aL the 1921 sitting. At the conclusion of the sitting Bir Lyttelton visited England, and there he was

struck by the sympathy for the Dominions that was evident on all sides. Special interest was also being manifested on all 'questions relating to Empire development. While ill London Sir Lyttelton visited the British Empire Exhibition.

(in his way home to Australia. Sir Lyltollun visited Canada, and there had the opportunity of meeting many public men. lie addressed gatherings on two or three occasions, including a speech at a function at the Empire Club iu Toronto. He had found that keen interest was being taken in Australia and New Zealand by Canadians more especially iu regard to the products of these countries. There was a general inclination towards more intimate trade relations and anything relating to Australia and New Zealand excited great interest.

Sir l.yltelton Groom i.s a barrister by profession, and in addition, to holding various .Ministerial | orlfolh s in the Federal Harlianieiit has at ted as Die-' triet Coin t Judge. He has been Attor-ney-General since 1921. lie has been joint-editor of several legal textbooks, including "The Judhiul Bower of the Ciinimuiiw v.'illli." Sir l.yltelton is accompli niel by Lady Lyttelton Groom. Miss Groom and Mr H. S. Knonles. of the Commonwealth Law Department. The party are leaving by the Makura to-morrow fur Sydney.

THE MOUTH OHGAN. A I STB A LEVS NATIONAL IXSTKr.MK.NT. WELLINGTON. January o. The New Zealand composer, .Mr Allred Hill, who is associated with Uie New South Wales ('un.servalorium of .Music, has made an Australian discovery. the story of which is amusingly told b.v I’rofessor Frank Hutchins, another New Zealander on the CenserViitorinm staff, who lias arrived, to visit his Taranaki birthplace. When asked about .Mr Alfred Hill lie replied: “ Oh. lie has taken up a new study, the national instrument of Australia, lie was judging at the Ballarat Eisteddfod. and some of the events were eartied on till one in the morning. It was very heavy, very trying for the judges. However, by way of consolation, some of us gave a little support to Alfred llill, ami it was there' that he referred to Australia's 'national instrument. It would have to be recognised, he said. Everyone was agog. What could it he? Pianoforte? No. Violin? No Flute? No Gramophone No. Jew’s harp?. No '■'.Mouth-organ. That's Australia’s national instillment as I see it.’ said .Mr Hill. Everyone laughed, hut he was quite serious. So. too. was an Australian of means, who heard ol' Mill ill's remark, and offered CoO in prizes for mouth-organ playing. “Well, Alfred Hill lias let himself in for something. It’s no joke, I assure you. They’ll be going to Ballarat in platoons. These mouth-or-ganists from the hush, they’ll ho after that C-TO. Some of them will win it. There will lie some city entrants, no doubt, but it seems pretty clear that the mouth-organ is coming into its own at future competitions. I don’t know what New Zealand is going to do about it, but soldiers know and sailors know that there is a good deal to be got out of a mouth-organ in the hands or rather against the teeth of able but quite untutored perlonners."

RUTTER PRODUCTION. AUCKLAND, January !>. Records in butter production in Auckland province continue to he es-

tablished. This season the receipts at the grading stores for December totalled 259.257 boxes, compared with ■-’(17.777 in December 1923, an increase of 01.-iso boxes. This exceeds by 39,233 boxes the previous record for December established in 1922. The season's output to the end of December is aKo a record. From July Ist to December 31st, the quantity received for grading totalled 884,5 <S boxes, compared with i2s.n(> lor the corresponding period oi 192.1. an increase of 159,192 boxes. These figures surpass the record total for the period I established in 1922 by 113,725 boxes. The fact that there is still a progressive weekly increase in the output indicates that a great record in production will be established this season provided favourable weather is experienced during the autumn. Hitherto, the conditions have been exceptionally good. ' Cheese shows a slight decrease.