NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4476, 10 July 1930, Page 4

NEWS AND NOTES.

“You’ll be the only one in the fashion before very long,” prophesised the Governor-General, when, in the course of his inspection of the school children at Waitarn, lie came across a little girl who, unlike her companions, had a long “pigtail” of the kind that girls used to wear a few years ago.

;So far the Tory Channel whalers have dispatched 14 whales this season, but all were very thin and in poor condition. One which was caught .a week or two ago had been bombed with a type of bomb which went out of use seven years ago, so that it has been carrying the bomb about for at least that period.

An employee at the Wanganui gasworks had a unique experience iccently. The staff received a complaint from a consumer that he had been billed for gas for 'the stove and had not used it. A man was sent to discover the leak, and there he saw a gas heater alight. He pointed out to the householder that the gas was being used in the gas radiator. “But,” replied the lady, “1 thought it was an electric one. It looked so like it.”

Pew of the passengers travelling bv train from Greytnoulh to Christchurch on a recent date knew, comments a southern exchange, that in one of the vans was a safe containing probably £IO,OOO worth of gold. The shipment had been waiting transportation from one of the Gveyinouth banks by a steamer, which had been liar-bound in the port for some time, but as some of the 27,000 ounces had to connect with overseas liners for New York and London banks, it was necessary to send the shipment overland. The gold was divided into four parcels, and railed across in a small safe.

The Royal Agricultural Society, at its conference in Wellington last week, passed a remit excluding Alsatian dogs from Royal Shows in future. A delegate said New Zealand would do well not to encourage the breeding of those dogs, for even half-breeds were not reliable, lie had a half-bred Alsatian sheepdog pup which was very docile, and ho had tried to bring it up as a sheep dog. As it. got older it developed a, habit of jumping into the Hock and knocking 'the sheep down, and the next thing it started mauling them. The, only remedy was to take a gun and shoot it. Another delegate mentioned an instance of .an Alsatian dog which crushed the heads of 40 sheep with one bite each.

On Sunday afternoon when the Aorangi was off the coast of New Zealand, those on board were treated, for a few minutes at least, to what was thought to be one of those oft-related ■ mysteries of the sea. Many yards away, something floated about. It attracted the glare of the strong sun and shone out as silver. Passengers gathered on deck and peered out. What was it? -Even the captain of the vessel could not enlighten his curious passengers, but he held doubts and thought it looked uncommonly like an upturned lifeboat. It was only necessary for the Aorangi’s course to be altered slightly to solve the mystery for there, tossing slowly with the slight. swell, was a dead whale, floating on its back.

That a hot bath is sometimes impossible in rigorous weather was impressed upon a Gisborne visitor to Hawke's Bay recently. The householder with whom the Gisborne man was staying spoke in glowing terms of the efficiency of

his hotwater service, and the visitor, a believer in a morning bath, suggested that he might continue the practice while on his holiday. “Certainly; there will be plenty of hot water,” replied the host. The visitor found next morning that there was certainly plenty of hot water, but a heavy frost —15deg. of it —whitened the countryside, and at the same time froze all cold water pipes. The visitor filled the bath with boilingi hot water, but the frozen cold water laps refused to yield anything to temper the water.

That New Zealand is not the only country where motor traffic has seriously affected the railway, was made clear in a statement made to a Christchurch Times reporter by Mr. Walter Burnet, assistant lecturer in mechanical engineering at Sheffield University, wlm is visiting New Zealand after an absence of 25 years. He stated that as a result of motor competition several lof the railway concerns in England had been obliged to amalgamate to effect a reduction of overhead charges. The railway systems in consequence have been reduced to four groups —the London, Midland and Scottish, the Great North Eastern, and Southern and the Great Western, aft of which were making great efforts to counteract the effects of competition by motor buses.

One of the Indian coal- trimmers of the crew of the New Zealand ■Shipping Company’s steamer Argyllshire, which arrived from Liverpool last week, died during the voyage, a week after the vessel left Panama. The man was a Mahoimnedan, and the funeral rites of that sect were duly performed by the head scrang and other Mahommedans, of whom there were a number among the crew. The vessel was stopped and the body buried at sea.

Miss Amy Johnson was impersonated by a number of university students, who held a rag in Melbourne recently. So successful was the impersonation that great numbers of people were deceived, and upon seeing the approach of a motor-car draped with a Union Jack and a fair “lady” inside, they Hocked on to the roadways and gave rousing cheers. Even the policemen on point duty saluted gallantly as the ear moved down Bour.ke Street, where groups of students were posted to attract the attention of the crowd and to lead the cheers. Turning from Elizabeth Street into Collins Street the ear stopped, and it was found, that one of the hack wheels was in danger of falling oil’. “Miss Jonhson” was I lien transferred to a closed car, and, accompanied by two attendants and a. chauffeur in uniform, continued his lour of the streets, waving cheer fullv to I,’lie crowd.

(Mr. Deavoll, private secretary to 1 lie Hon. 11. Atmore, at the Post and Telegraph annual re-union at Nelson, told the following story concerning Sir Joseph Ward: “Sir Joseph Ward, when passing through the United States of America, called on the postal officials and was shown through 'the Post and Telegraph office. In the telegraphic office an officer started to explain Morse, thinking Sir .Joseph was a novice. He asked. Sir Joseph if he would like him to call up so-and-so, and when Sir Joseph assented the official sent the following message: ‘I have a gay here from New Zealand anxious to know about things.’ Sir Joseph, who had read the message, there upon asked if he might try to send a message, and getting the officer’s consent, called up the same place and tapped at high speed. “The guy from Now Zealand is the Postmaster-General, and once held a certificate for high speed.’ ”