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Otago Witness, Issue 4028, 26 May 1931, Page 46

China is gradually emerging from her former state, and adopting Western methods of civilisation,” said Dr T. Z. Koo, the eminent Chinese visitor, who' arrived in Dunedin on Friday. “ Road building is being undertaken with vigour. The country has only 7000 miles of railways, but bus traffic is a new development.” He added that wireless was becoming popular and there were stations which could communicate with other parts of the world. Even aviation was taking its place in the national scheme of things, there being two air lines, one of 1200 miles from Shanghai to Paiping, and the other of 900 miles from Shanghai to Hankow. The present education system was benefiting the masses of the people. Prior-to the revolution what schools there were had to be provided out of private enterprise, but now the Government had undertaken the. task. The new system had been in operation for only a few years, and it was early yet to tell of results, as many more schools were needed before the system could be entirely established.

“ Statistician ” writes as follows to the Auckland Star:—“Averages, figures, and records always attract interest, perhaps as much for the love of competition as for appreciation of the skill required. It seems impossible that anyone should be able to swim for 72 hours on end, as did Mrs Katerina Nehua when she set a world’s record for both sexes in Sydney recently. But many stranger records are put up for us to wonder at, some of which deserve much more notice than they receive. For instance, a French dancer, Mlle. Veronica, claimed a world record for kicking up her right leg 532 times without a pause. A Bradford man named M'Bride, once played the piano for 77 hours without stopping, thereby eclipsing the puny antics of such fellows as Chopin and Liszt. Signor Tomkinson, of Edinburgh, in 1835, claimed to be the first to have turned a double somersault on any stage, and Rastelli to be the first juggler to keep eight balls in the air. Mr Albert Baker, of Milwaukee, drank 78 cups of coffee in an hour, 280 cups in four hours and a-half, and 8400 cups in five months. Max Hinl, a German shoemaker, ate 75 eggs in 101 minutes, beating the record of John Williams, of America, who could only put away 74 eggs in 12 minutes. Herr Nanas, of Vienna, smoked 680.000 cigars, starting at the age of 13 and ending at 73, an average of about 32 a day. Perhaps the best claim is that of an American, Mr Thomas, of Denver, who accounted for three pints of good whisky daily for 25 years—l3,ooo pints in all.

“ The business of swimming the English Channel is a foolish and expensive game and not worth the time and money that has to be spent on it.” This is an extract from a letter from the chief secretary of the Royal Life Saving Society. London (Mr S. J. Monks), read at the meeting of the Canterbury head centre on Thursday evening. The letter stated that the society had made great progress during the past year, with an increase of 14,000 awards over the previous year, and all the branches were making records. Mr Justice Kennedy has granted probate in the estates of the following persons:—John Christopher Ridder, of Orawia (Mr R. Stout); Margaret Stewart, of Gore (Mr O. J. Howells); Alexander Dick, of Wickcliffe Bay, Portobello (Mr H. Barron); George Gillman Smith, of Dunedin, clerk (Mr P. S. Anderson); Jessie Margaret Haggitt, of Dunedin, widow (Mr F. S. Brent); Margaret Wylie, of Tapanui (Mr W. B. Naylor); and Catherine Colquhoun, of Tapanui (Mr W. B. Naylor).

The tramway manager’s statement of the traffic returns for the past fortnightly, period as compared with the returns for the corresponding period of last year indicates a net decrease in revenue for the period of £406. The net total decrease from April 1 last is £l49B—equal to 6J per cent.

Consideration has been given by .the Finance Committee of the City Council to a proposal from the Otago Aero Club that the new airport site at the Taieri be vested in the council in trust on the same conditions as the airport site at Green Island. The new site, which cost £lO,OOO, is a valuable area of land and is stated to be unsurpassed in the Dominion for the purposes of an aerodrome. The committee is of opinion that, as in the case of the Green Island site, the new site should be vested in the council, and further recommends that the council assist the club in the matter of payment of interest on its mortgage, by making a grant of £360 per annum for a period of three years, the matter to be further reviewed at the expiration of that period. Under the foregoing proposal the club would occupy and use the airport under lease from the council, and a draft of such lease is to be submitted for approval. The term is 21 years at a peppercorn rental, and the conditions otherwise ensure that the ground will be secured to the public as an airport, and not merely for the benefit of club members.

Mr D. E. S. Mason, engineer of the Bluff Harbour Board, will shortly leave for England on behalf of the board to acquire a tug suitable for the board’s requirements, to study harbour works abroad in the light of certain proposals which the board has in mind, and also to make inquiries for the purchase of suitable dredging plant capable of handling a scheme for widening the harbour channel.

An interesting exhibit of locally-grown tobacco leaf and the manufactured article is shown in the window of Matheson and Roberts, Ltd., Octagon. The plants have been grown by Mr A. Timms, at Outram, and the varieties are Havana, Kentucky, and Virginian. In spite of the unfavourable season the grower was successful in curing the leaf, and the quality of the prepared tobacco has been commented on favourably by smokers.

In an address to the Junior Reform League in Wellington, Mr H. F. Johnston, K.C., asked if it was thought that fusion of the United and Reform Parties would prolong the life of the present Parliament and defeat the triennial Act. It was a principle that the life of Parliament must not be prolonged without consulting the people, and if it was done now, and later another party came into power, it might well extend the life of Parliament to five or even seven years. Why had some people supported the idea of fusion? It was because of their fear of Labour, and no other reason, yet Labour had a right to go into power if the votes of the people placed it there. Mr Forbes was at the end of his resources, without any policy, and without any Cabinet ability to carry on, broken down in all their administrations. The United Party accepted a heavy responsibility when it put the Reform Party out and had increased the economic difficulties a hundredfold. Mr Johnston strongly supported the attitude taken by Mr Coates and his actions as Leader of the Reform Party, saying that Mr Coates was the only man in New Zealand capable of holding that position. He had served the country loyally and well.

“ These figures are excellent arguments against Government interference in business,” said Mr F. A. Snell at a meeting of the Auckland Education Board recently, when a statement was submitted showing the prices at which the railway workshops could supply school furniture. The statement was received in committee, but on resuming in open board the chairman, Mr A. Burns, said the prices quoted by the manager of the Otahuhu Railway Workshops for the furniture were considerably higher than the amount paid by the board to the present contractor. It was decided to send the comparative prices to the Education Department.

It has been stated that large numbers, are evading payment of the unemployment levy. Speaking at Papatoetoe on Saturday night , the Minister of Labour (Mr S. G. Smith) said the facts were that 465,000 males were registered under the Act and in December, 1930, 398,500 had paid the levy then due. From the number registered must be deducted soldiers on full pension, old age pensioners, prisoners, and others exempt from the levy. “We know almost to a man who has shirked his responsibility, and we shall rope all defaulters in,” he stated.

With the object of assisting the in-' dustry which has been built up in the : manufacture of women’s hats, the Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes) has agreed to admit free of duty certain imported materials and place under the British preferential schedule other materials employed in the hat-making process. This action has been taken following representations to the Prime Minister by the Minister of Health (Mr A. J. Stallworthy). It was stated that owing to the heavy duties hitherto imposed on these materials the local industry was in jeopardy, and 500 women factory hands were in danger of losing their employment. The Prime Minister has replied to Mr Stallworthy as follows:—“I understand the request made by the hat manufacturers is for admission free of woven hoods of foreign origin, because the cloth is dutiable. I have decided to admit free foreign hemp cloth of a quality similar to the sample submitted to the Customs Department, provided a declaration is made that it will be used only in hat manufacture. The Customs Department will admit at the British preferential rate foreign-made unblocked woven hoods if not sewn, cut, or otherwise manufactured.”