LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 16 January 1931, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

During the hearing of a case in the Magistrate’s Court tins morning, the Waimea County traffic inspector stated that he considered the taking away of a car driver’s license for a term was a more effective deterrent to speeding than a fine.

As representative of the New Zealand Fruit Control Board in Great Britain and on the Continent Mr H. E. Stephens travelled a 'great deal. Speaking to a reporter to-day, he said it was annoying to find how many people still laboured under the impression that New Zealand was in some way or other connected with Australia. On the Continent there appeared to be a better understanding of the geography of the Pacific and brokers and others talked freely of the different Australian States and they all seemed to be aware of New Zealand's separate identity. The Nelson Horticultural Society will hold its Gladioli show on Thursday and Friday next in the Drill Hall. The display at this show is usually of a very high standard and new varieties are shown each year. Competition will be very keen in the numerous classes.

Loyal Howard Lodge will hold its fortnightly dance in the Oddfellows Hull to-morrow (Saturday) evening. Another bargain for Friday and Saturday at McKay’s! Slightly shop soiled afternoon tea-cloths, pillow shams, toryelolhs, and duchess sets, clearing at half price.*

The Anchor Shipping Company announce postponement in the time of sailing of the Arahura for Wellington this evening. She will leave here at 8.30 p.m. instead of at the usual sailing time of 7.30 p.m.

“Unemployment in Great Britain is enormous,” said Mr H. E. Stephens today when speaking of his experiences abroad as representative of the New Zealand Fruit Control Board. An endeavour to secure the establishment of a plant research station at Lincoln College this year is to be made by the Board of Governors (says the “Times”). The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research approached tho board over twelve months ago with a view to establishing a station near Lincoln College; and the board secured an adjoining area of one hundred acres and prepared the ground. A man from the department actually began sowing, but at the last moment the project was not. proceeded with. At the meeting of the Agricultural Board this week a letter was received from Mr C. H. Hewlett suggesting that steps should be' taken to get tlie department to carry out the scheme, and offering solutions for any domestic difficulties that might arise. It was decided to act on the proposals of tho letter.

The usually placid routine at the Araliura saleyards was somewhat disturbed at the outset of the sale this week. It appears that the auctioneers had recently made an alteration in the conditions pertaining to sales, the purport of which was the insistence of payment for stock before being removed from the yards, as against the fourteen days previously allowed. This intimation had been conveyed to all butchers some weeks v.o. When the first auctioneer opened proceedings it was apparent that some sta.i l was being taken in opposition to Inc new rule. A strike of buyers ensued and, despite negotiations, no public sale was possible, but a quantity of stock was sold privately by auctioneers at prices satisfactory to vendors.

The organised collection of grass seed in and around Auckland by members of the unemployed is reported to have had satisfactory results (reports the Star ). At a recent meeting of the Local Unemployment Committee arrangements were made for 100 unemployed men to form parties and collect the seed on roadsides and properties in Auckland area, lhe men are guaranteed a wage of 7s a day, and the seed gathered will be sold on their behalf. If enough is received to give tho men a further 7s a day, that amount will be paid. If it is insufficient the money available will be shared, and in. the event of a surplus the balance will be paid into the committee’s funds for the relief of others. Reports received at a meeting of the committee this week indicated that the men were mak ing good progress with the work and that a substantial quantity of seed had been collected. Ways and means of dis posing of the seed were discussed, and. according to Mr W. Slaughter, officer in charge of the Labour Department, the probability is that the committee will invite tenders for the purchase of the amount that came to hand. One firm, he stated, had already taken over a quantity of the seed collected.

Inquiries about New Zealand were frequently made at all exhibitions throughout Great Britain in which New Zealand fruit was displayed, said Mr H. E. Stephens, of Stoke, when speaking to-day of his experiences in Great Britain as representative of the Fruit Control Board. Hundreds of inquirers were obviously genuinely interested in this country but their difficulty was in disposing of tlieir English interests.

* “In no. country during my tour abroad did I see roads surfaced with loose metal, such as we have in New Zealand,” said Mr G. O’Halloran, formerly chairman of the Waitemata County Council, who returned to Auckland this week after a nine months trip to the United States. Mr O’Halloran said it was known that the loose metal type of surface was a prolific cause of accidents, yet it was retained in the Dominion. “I do not know where New Zealand got the idea,” he added, “but the Government engineers continue to support this type of road making.” Mr O’Halloran said the roads encountered eyerywhere during his travels were in excellent condition, with the possible exception of some in Ireland, where much was being done to bring the highways into line with modern motoring requirements. In most cases the main traffic roads were surfaced with some form of tar or bitumen. although some of the best roads were in concrete.

Regulations made by the Country Roads Board of Victoria some time ago to prohibit the erection of advertising hoardings on or near State highways were enforced from Ist January (states tlie “Argus”). The board’s regulations were challenged unsuccessfully both in the Supreme Court, and the High Court, and their validity having been thus established, it was decided to allow the owners of the hoardings a reasonable period in which to remove them. The period expired at the end of December, and the board now intends to take rigorous action to enforce the regulations. Advertising agencies who fail to remove the signs immediately will be prosecuted. The board regards the regulations as being most important and as affecting the safety of traffic. To attract the attention of persons on both roads, the hoardings are usually erected at important intersections, with the result that they obscure the views of drivers of approaching vehicles, and divert their attention when it is most needed for safety. The board’s notice has recently been directed to the fact that many of the hoardings have been placed immediately behind warning signs at dangerous points, with the result that the warning has been obscured and its value destroyed. Apart from the dangers that the hoardings cause, many complaints that have been received by the board on the ground of their unsightliness.

“Gimme me pipe, and I’m as ’appy as Larry.” Thus an elderly witness in a court case the other day. “Your pipe and your glass, eh?” jocularly suggest* ed Counsel. “Not me !” replied witness. “I’m a T.T. I am.” “Smoking is a pernicious habit,” remarked the Bench. “Shortens life. How old are you?” “Seventy-two,” said witness, “and been been a smoker for fifty years.” (Loud laughter). His Worship was silent. Pact is anti-tobaccoites talk a lot of nonsense about the perniciousness of smoking. Smoking is not pernicious—if you smoko the right tobacco. The foreign brands may be pernicious, because they so often contain an excess of nicotine—a virulent poison, absorbed into the system every time a pipe of the affected tobacco is smoked. But the New Zealand toasrerl brands are perfectly harmless. Thanks jo rite toasting! The process also gives them their unique flavour and fragrance. There are only four toasted brands— Riverhead Gold, Cavendish, Navy Cut No. 3 and Cut Plug No. 10. They are of different strengths but all remarkable for their beautiful quality and exquisite purity.*

At your price! Fancy Bathing Wraps, multi-coloured designs, worth 14/6, usually, McKay’s special price 9/11.* By lubricating the intestinal tract Lubrolax quickly remedies most chronic cases of constipation. Lubrolax is pure paraffin combined with Japanese seaweed. —Nees, Chemist, Hardy-st.* Your child will be dressed more neatly and economically if clothed in a quality College Outfit from McKay’s-*

Growing on the side of the old bed of the Waipa River at Otorohanga is an old and famous kahikatea tree, which marks the place where a battle was fought between the Maniapoto and Ngapuhi tribes in the 60’s. The story goes that the Ngapuhis had captured a number of prisoners, the males for consumption and the women for slaves. One woman escaped and gave the alarm to the waiting Maniapotos, who were camped on the Rangitoto ranges, and the latter silently closed in, surrounded the tent where arms were stored, and uttering their war cries, descended upon the sleeping Ngapuhis and almost exterminated them. The tree is specially protected by an Order-in-Council, and amongst the Maoris is strictly tapu. Last week the Waitomo Electric Power Board’s staff cut the branches away on the south side of the tree, in order to clear electric power lines, with the result that the tree is badly disfigured. Intense indignation has been aroused amongst natives and pakehas, but the damage is done and cannot be remedied (says the “Star”). A metal plate was fastened to the tree forbidding any person 'to tamper with it, but this had been removed by some unauthorised person. When interviewed, the Power Board’s engineer expressed his regret at the happening, and said that had he known that tne tree was protected, he would have given instructions that it should not be touched.

Speaking to a “Mail” representative to-day Mr H. E. Stephens, who has represented New Zealand fruitgrowers in Great Britain for the past three years, stated that probably the average fruitgrower in New Zealand did not realise that England’s production of apples was 16,000,000 bushels. Many of the orchards were from 300 to 500 acres in extent, but were nothing like New Zealand orchards. Grass grew _under the trees and sheep were grazed. One or occasionally two sprays a year was the usual extent of spraying operations. There were, however, a few orchards which were carried on on thoroughly up-to-date lines and from which the fruit was properly graded and packed.

It is understood that the rate of wages paid by farmers in North Taranaki to casual farm workers has been reduced to 12s per day (states the “Herald”).

For the past thirty years the Spanish chestnut has been almost exterminated in the United States, but lately a campaign for its revival has been waged by Dr. John Stuart Thomson. Blight played havoc with the trees, which are said to be America’s most valuable cabinet-wood tree. Dr. Thomson is seeking immune seeds. His efforts have met with the appreciation of the United States .Department of Agriculture, and the doctor is known as the “father” of the revived chestnut tree. Mr J. Young, curator of the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, said this week that there were a few specimens in the gardens. They were all perfectly healthy and always had been; there was a fine specimen by the bridge near the tea kiosk. As distinct from horse chestnuts Spanish chestnuts were edible and the wood was very valuable. The roof of Westminster Abbey was composed of it. With stimulated demand in Great Britain owing to lower retail prices the position of New Zealand butter appears much brighter than it did a month ago. Stocks are at a low level and there seem to be prospects of a generally better tone. During the past six weeks the cheese market has been fairly stable at about :38s to 60s, and though stocks are heavy many authorities are of opinion that bottom has been reached at these prices. From the point of view of production the season has been a successful one and in most cases last year’s output lias been more' than maintained. The “Taranaki News” states that the opinion is prevalent that butter prices will not return to the low levels reached earlier in the season, and' on this assumption the majority of factories are continuing with the policy of consigning that was thrust on all at the beginning of the season. There have, however, been a fair number of sales at prices varying between IOJd. and Is.

The perversion of science to put into the hands of mankind diabolical means of destruction was referred to by MrFrank Milner, in an address to the Teachers’ Summer School in Christchurch. “If you read the article on chemical gases in the last edition of the ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica’,” he said, “you will find that gases infinitely more deadly than anything that was conceived in the last war have been invented and are available in the future if the madness of mankind should precipitate another conflict. One gas is so deadly that only one part of it to every 10,000,000 parts of air is sufficient to lacerate the mucous membrane of the nose and throat, so that a gas-mask is useless. It is estimated that there are three factories in Hamburg that could produce 100 tons of that gas a day and forty tons of it would be sufficient to asphyxiate the whole of London. Aeroplanes could drop that amount on London in one night.”

“One feels the manTSpn the land in Great Britain hardly has a chance,” said Mr IT. E. Stephens, of Stoke, who has just returned to Nelson after three years as the Fruit Control Board representative in Great Britain and the Con tinent. “Stuff is dumped into England from all parts of the world and the English growers’ own markets are demoralised. Last year, for instance, hundreds of acres of small fruits such as raspberries, currants, plums, gooseberries, were not even picked owing to the markets being flooded with earlier -Continental supplies.” Even in Manchester Japanese cotton goods were sold in the shops, and mills and operatives were idle. There was evidence everywhere of a general awakening to the need for some form of protection.”

The construction of the Stratford Main Trunk railway is being proceeded with expeditiously both from the Strafford and the eastern ends and provided that no unforeseen difficulties arise the rails should meet about the end of- the year though it will probably be several months after that before the ballasting and general cleaning up work is completed and the line is handed over to tire Railway Department. The present terminus of the line is at Tahora, 47 miles 12 chains from Stratford, and the Railway Department does not run a regular service beyond that township, but the line is now completed to Tanagarakau (50 miles 40 chains) except for the small matter of boxing in the ballast. At Tangarakau the station yard earthwork is nearing completion. Alfred Gould advertises details of the auction sale of the freehold residential property, household furniture, cie., to be sold at Richmond at 2 p.m. next T'ues day on account of Mr 11. Henman. Friday and Saturday bring special bargains in all departments at McKay’s.* Just a suggestion of colour on the lips produced with a Godet perfumed lipstick, adds greatly to your charm.—W. McKay and Sons. Ltd.* Chronic Constipation, Rheumatism and poor blood circulation troubled a resident of Lyttelton for many years until a friend told him about Dr. Don’s Granules—a physician’s prescription for purifying the poisoned blood system. 1/6 box.—R. W. Martin, Chemist. Ask for Free Samples.* Constipation is crinpling! Take Dr. Don’s Granules. —Hodgson’s Stores, Wakefield, Motupiko and Murchison.*

When the hefty New Zealand cricket captain, Tom Lowry, went into bat for his club, Moawhango, in a recent match, six men were back in the pavilion (?) with 22 runs up (writes the “Star’s” Taihape correspondent). Exactly half an hour later the whole side were out, but the total was 159. Lowry was in skittish mood, and after making a paltry 50 in a quarter of an hour, decided to have a hit. ’ It took two more overs for him to reach his century, 25 runs exactly coming from each over. He went two sixes later, having taken 25 minutes for 113 runs. With great presence of mind, the opposing skipper, Dr. Sinclair, by putting a fieldsman on the stockyard rails and another over the brow of the hill, prevented the only ball from being lost.