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Otago Witness, Issue 4033, 30 June 1931, Page 3

The annual meeting of the Dunedin Rotary Club was combined with the weekly luncheon on Thursday. Mr F. H. King, president, occupied the chair. The following office-bearers were elected for the ensuing year:—President, Mr P. R. Sargood; vice-president, Mr V. S. Jacobs; directors —Messrs J. G. Dykes, J. H. Kirkwood, H. T. Speight, and R. J. Watts; secretary, Mr W. R. Brown; honorary treasurer, Mr H. H.' Henderson; auditor, Mr W. E. C. Reid.

New regulations relating to Native schools were gazetted last week. The Gazette also' contains several new regulations unde r . the Hawke’s Bay Earthquake Act, 1931, dealing with the licensing of hotels, exemption from stamp duty in certain cases of receipts and legal documents, and financial provisions modifying the Hospital and Charitable Institutions Act, 1926, in their application to the Hawke’s Bay, Wairoa, and Waipawa hospital districts. -'A reduction of one halfpenny in the pound in the Auckland city rates for 1931-32, making 3s llAd, as compared with last year’s figure of 4s, was made by the City Council last week.

The following circumstances reported from Muswellbrook; New South Wales, are probably without parallel in the annals of the Church of England in Australia. In 1850 the Right Rev. Dr Tyrell, Lord Bishop of Newcastle, but recently arrived from England to assume the spiritual oversight of the newly-constituted diocese jf Newcastle (formed in 1847), paid a pastoral visit to Muswellbrook. The bishop was welcomed, among others, by Mrs White, of Edinglassie, accompanied by her daughter, Mrs Wilson, of. The Cottage, Muswellbrook, who is now 89 years old, and at that time was between eight and nine. Since that far-off date Mrs Wilson has joined in welcoming every successive bishop of the diocese —the Right Rev. Drs Pearson, Stretch, Stephen, Long, and recently entertained Bishop Batty and a party at afternoon tea at The Cottage. That the opposition to the sliding scale of duties on wheat was based on an exaggerated view of the effect of the duties on the cost of living was the opinion expressed by Mr H. S. E. Turner (president) in moving the adoption of the quarterly report at the meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday night. Many people were apt to overlook the cardinal principle that New Zealand must be self-supporting as far as wheat was concerned, said Mr Turner. It was the opinion of the Chamber of Commerce that the opposition to the sliding scale was a great deal based on an exaggerated view of the influence of the duties on the cost of living. The Year Book showed that out of an average income of £5 to £5 19s m a group examined, the weekly expenditure on bread and flour was about ss. The Government was talking of a reduction of a penny on a 41b loaf, but this meant roughly only 4d Ho 5d a week. Canterbury could make this reduction without interfering with the sliding scale The controversy was also tending to develop into a conflict of interests of two sections of the community. This should not be. “ I suggest that the interests 1 of the Canterbury farmers are of more importance than the interests of the grain brokers in a certain northern city,” said Mr Turner. It was the general opinion in the north, he added, that Canterbury supported the duties because wheat was a Canterbury product. He could assure opponents of the duties that the chamber would support the duties if wheat were grown in Taranaki or in the Waikato.

A Gazette notice last week authorises that ammunition ordinarily used for sporting rifles may be procured or delivered without a permit in any part of the Dominion.

The exhibition of paintings by Miss Kathleen Salmond attracted a large number of visitors to ths Bristol Concert Chamber during the time it was open, and there was again a fair attendance last night. Before the exhibition, was finally closed, 20 of the pictures—all water colours—found buyers. The floral studies and landscapes proved to be the most attractive types to buyers and nearly all of the pictures which were sold belonged to one or other of these classes.

The allegation is sometimes made that, despite the wage cut of 10 per cent., there has been no corresponding fall in the wholesale prices of woollen goods. It is interesting to record, therefore, that the New Zealand Woollen Mill Owners’ Association has, since the cut has come into operation, made a further substantial reduction in the prices of their manufactures. At the present time the total reduction varies from 10 per cent, to 17J per cent, on the mill prices ruling in November, 1930.

A valuable addition to the records of the early history of the province in the possession of the Otago Early Settlers’ Association has been made by the presentation by Mrs Macandrew, of Christchurch, to the association of a collection of the personal belongings of Major J. L. C. Richardson, one of the founders of Otago. Included in these is a large number of documents which are likely to prove of very considerable value as well as being of more than passing interest. At the present moment, however, when the work of classifying them has only been begun, it is not possible correctly to estimate their worth, or even to state definitely of what the collection consists. The donor, it may be explained, who is the widow of Dr Herbert Macandrew, is a granddaughter of Major Richardson.

When the members of the Railway Board were at Clifford Bay on Wednesday morning admiring the beautiful sweep of coastline towards the Sounds, a big humpback whale made it the oc-' casion for a visit to the inlet, and as though for the special benefit of the party, swam close inshore, turning broadside on and displaying its great bulk only 30 yards from the beach. One of the board members first sighted the whale over a mile away by its spouting. It then headed straight for the bay, and was soon the target for a battery of cameras. Frequently stopping to spout, its great snout, shining back, bump, and enormous tail were in full view. Presently it came in still closer, right into the breakers, and inside a post driven in the sea by the surveyors; and just as it seemed that the next big wave must land it high and dry on the sand, the humpback turned in leisurely fashion and slowly swam back into deep water. As it wallowed in the breakers the board members were able to estimate its length, which they set down at over 25 feet. When the party reached Kekerangu, Mr E. F. Healy, M.P., sent a telegram to the whaling station at Okukari, in the Tory Channel, advising the whalers that a good catch awaited them at Clifford Bay.

Although there is some confusion on the question among members of both ths licensed trade and the New Zealand Alliance it is clear from the New Zealand Licensing Act (1908) that an early election this year will not affect the holding of the licensing poll. The only exception to the holding of the licensing poll with the electoral poll is when, through dissolution of Parliament, a general election is called within two years of the last. In that case, the result of the licensing poll taken at the previous general election ! olds good until the next election.

With reference to the recent burglaries at Norfolk Island, a letter frem a resident on the island states that thefts have occurred frequently during the last few months, and up to the time of posting no one had been apprehended. The occasion of the burglary of Government House was “ Bounty Day,” one of the major festivals of the year for the islanders, who re-enact the scene of the mutiny of the Bounty.. This is followed by a feast, and later by a ball at Government House. It was during this part of the festival that the strongroom was broken into, the safe opened, and notes to the value of £5OO taken. Mention is also made of the prevalent practice of smuggling liquor ashore from the boats. Bottles have beer, known to be put inside a fish and brought ashore.

breaking of a mirror means a period of bad luck for the person who was responsible for the accident was mentioned by Professor Shelley when he was lecturing in Christchurch on the beginnings of human culture. He said the idea of misfortune coming to the person who broke the mirror was because that person was the last to look in the mirror. Hence, bad luck would come to that person. The explanation was made in connection with a reference to sympathetic magic among primitive people. The lecturer, in explaining the meaning of drawings which had been found in caves in Northern Spain and Southern France, said that these were not works of art to the Neanderthal men whp lived 25,000 to. 30,000 years ago, but were meant to give the power of the beast depicted to the hunter. These people believed .that anything like a thing might be that thing itself.

Differences between the culture of the Maoris of the North Island and those of the South were commented on by Mr W. H. J. Wood, when the old Kaiapoi Pa was visited by a party from the New” Brighton W.E.A. classes (reports the Press). He pointed out that the carving on the monument on the Site was European work based on a North Island model, and that it did not truly represent the South Island Maoris (see photograph in this issue). Although the spiral was not absent from South Island carving and tattooing, the designs generally tended to rectilinear form. In language also there had been a difference, the “ ng of the north being replaced by “k,” so that the true name of the tribe was “ Kai-tahu ” and not “ Ngai-tahu ” as marked down on the monument. The differences applied also to such things as tools and ornaments, and also to .canoes, for while the North Island Maoris had used only the single canoe, the southern tribes had used canoes with outriggers and double canoes. The only specimen of an outrigger canoe that had been found in New Zealand was in the Canterbury Museum.

It was announced shortly after the earthquake in February that the tram service in Napier would probably be permanently suspended as being uneconomic, and that announcement was confirmed at a conference Oast week between the commissioners, Messrs J. S. Barton and L. B. Campbell, and the council Transport Committee. A statement of finances for the past year (formally up to March 31, though no trams were operated after February 3) showed that the expenditure had totalled £12,133, and the receipts from fares and various sources amounted to £10,097, giving a debit balance of £2036. Interest, sinking fund, and other charges brought the debit balance up to £6028. After considering the figures the conference decided to suspend the operation of the system, and to endeavour to institute a service of another type.

"In self-defence England must have a tariff,” said Sir James Parr, speaking at Cambridge, Waikato, on the subject of Empire trade and connections. “ Freetrade does not square with modern ideas and modern practice. Behind a tariff wall England could encourage large-scale production, and would then be able to send cheaper goods to New Zealand.” Sir James pleaded for a closer trade relationship between the dominions and the Old Country. “ There are already indications,” he said, “of the falling to pieces of the British Empire. All the constitutional links are gone. The King is the only link that holds the .Empire together. He is a strong link, but not strong enough. If you want the Empire to survive, you have got to bind it together by more substantial links than sentiment and th 6 Crowm. There is no sentiment so strong in the world to-day as trade, and that is what will bind us together.” The birthday of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales was marked in Dunedin on Tuesby flags being flown from the 'Government buildings and several business premises.

Upon its arrival at Auckland from Norfolk Island the steamer Hikurangi was boarded by detectives and searched. It is understand that they were looking for the sum of £5OO in rates recently stolen from the Administrator’s safe at Government House, Norfolk Island. The money was not found on the ship. "

The Governor-General (Lord Bledisloe) has received the following acknowledgment fffom the Prince of Wales: —“ I much appreciate the kind message which your Excellency has sent me in the name of the Government and the people of New Zealand on the occasion of my birthday.” Delayed by a shunting derailment at M’Nab, the through express for the north did not reach Dunedin yesterday until three minutes after mid-day—43 minutes behind scheduled time. The train left for Christchurch at 12.23 p.m.

Advice has been received by the secretary of the Otago Motor 'Club that one of die principal questions dealt with at the assembly of the Alliance Internationale de Tourisme, which was held at Prague in May last, was theudevelopment of a scheme proposed by the Automobile Association of Great Britain for an international highway joining London and Stamboul, and eventually London and India. The project had already been accepted in principle, and as a result of the assembly’s deliberations satisfactory progress was made towards a practical realisation of a tourists highway through Europe. The alliance embraces all forms of touring, and works in the interests of no fewer than 5,000,600 tourists represented by its constituent associations.

A novel suggestion, the carrying out of which ought not only to enhance the interest in the next series of test matches but become a source of material gain to Australia, is engaging the attention of travel organisations in London. The chief points are the chartering of a vessel at a special fare to carry 500 passengers to Australia in time to witness the 1932 Melbourne Cup and all five test matches, at which special accommodation might be arranged. Between tests, it is suggested, the visitors may divide into smaller parties, see the various parts of Australia, according to individual taste, engage in sport themselves, and inspect land on which they may feel disposed to settle their sons. Advocates of the scheme say that the allurement of such events as the test matches and the Melbourne Cup, and a long tour in the company of the most desirable type of sportsman, might easily overcome the Englishmen’s alleged objection to travelling en bloc. It is understood that the Marylebone Cricket Club heartily approves the proposal, on which work must' be begun immediately in order to succeed.

A Christchurch resident (says the Times) is under some doubt as to the way in which the police enforce the provisions of the Arms Act. He states that he failed to notify a change of address, after having registered an old revolver, a souvenir, and that he ■was subsequently visited by the local constable. The point which puzzled him, he said, was that the constable gave him to understand that if he surrendered the weapon and did not ask for compensation there would be no prosecution. “Is that just one way to gather in all revolvers? ” he asked. “ Surely the police should prosecute or do nothing.” The police throughout New Zealand (says the paper) enforce the provisions of the Arms Act rigidly. An inquiry drew a denial that there was any definite policy of confiscation. Prosecutions follow almost every breach of the Act, but, as in every other department, occasional individual cases are treated on their merits.

A case of pride in a family not bowed by starvation knocking at the door is told by an Auckland shopkeeper, who is intimately acquainted with the circumstances The father and the son of the family of three were'out of work for some considerable time, and had reached that point when all available resources had been exhausted, and they were slowly starving. Help was offered by several people who knew of their condition, but it was resolutely refused. Their plight was apparent from their appearance, which, states the shopkeeper, was such that it inspired pity at once. On day he saw the lad and gave him a large bundle of vegetables and fruit to take home. He hesitatingly accepted it, but in the morning the shopkeeper found the bundle placed outside his shop door, unopened. Residents were resolved that this state of things should not continue, and subsequently the son was secured a permanent position, which immediately restored the happiness of the family.

The secretary of the Otago Aero Club (Mr J. A. Robinson) has received, for presentation to Mr S. T. Hudson, the Wigram Cup, which has been presented to the aero clubs of the Dominion for an annual landing competition among clubtrained pilots holding “A " certificates. Mounted on a fumed oak pedestal, this handsome silver trophy, which stands 18 inches in height, is of elegant design, and with it will be given a miniature, which will become the holder’s property. Mr Hudson, who received his training under Flying-officer Olson at the Taieri Aerodrome, won the trophy at the North Island official air pageant which was held at Masterton in March of this year, and thus, to a member of the local aero club, belongs the honour of being the first pilat to hold the cup.

A Press Association telegram from New Plymouth states that the North Taranaki Radio Society, which was formed originally to further the establishment of sta tion 2YB, passed the following resolution:—"That in view of the announcement by the Postmaster-general that the Government intends to assume active control of radio broadcasting in New Zealand, this meeting records its emphatic disagreement with such proposal and urges that as the present licensees have pioneered the service up to date they should be given an extension of their license for a further period, after which the position could be reviewed if necessary.”

Impressed by the urgent need for the alleviation of the acute distress prevalent in the city at the present time, Sir John Roberts has forwarded a cheque for £5OO to Mrs Marshall Macdonald for the relief of cases of actual hardship and privation consequent on the present conditions, intensified as they are, by the severity of the season. It is the desire of Sir John that one-half of the amount should be devoted to the provision of food for the men listed at the Mayor’s Unemployment Depot and also to meet the cases of unregistered men whose earnings are insufficient to provide them with the necessaries of life. The remaining £250 is to be devoted to the purchase of boots and clothing for the Dowling street depot.

That nothing is to be left to chance in the construction of the new Post Office is shown by the fact that the plans comprise no fewer than 96 sheets, and it is apparent that a tremendous amount of work was involved in their preparation. According to the practice that is always followed in the erection of public buildings every detail is specified. and the plans show the manner in which joints are to be made and even the number of rivets that are to be used. Tenders will not be closed until January 12 of next year, so that tenderers will be allowed the liberal period of nearly seven months in which to make the necessary preparations. It is worthy of note that if viewed from the air the building would appear to be U-shaped. There will be a deep recess on the Bond street side made necessary by the difficulty of providing adequate lighting for such a large building.

The Dominion Conference of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association at Wellington adopted the following resolution:—“That as a due appreciation of the national achievement and selfsacrifice and heroism inspires succeeding generations to live up to the finest tradi-tions-of their country, the solemnity which now characterises the observance of Anzac Day should be fully maintained, and all efforts to lower this standard should be firmly resisted.”

A statement issued by the Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes) reviewing the operations of the Local Government Loans Board states that the applications for the past year amounted to £3,840,505. New amounts sanctioned totalled £1,766,256 and renewals £838.901. During the four years of the operation of the Act the applications amounted to £18,702,930. New’ amounts sanctioned totalled £12,408,834 and renewals £3,664,793.

The New Zealand Astronomical Society has received a cablegram from the International Astronomical Union in Copenhagen announcing the rediscovery of Encke’s Comet. This is a short period comet —about three and a-quarter years on this occasion. It W’as discovered about June 22 when it was relatively bright being of the ninth magnitude. Its right ascension at the time of its discovery on June 22 was 7 hours 35 minutes north declination 8 degrees 22 minutes. It is travelling south and east and is near the star Procyon. On June 22 it was about two degrees north of that star. The comet is now getting into a good position for observation in the southern hemisphere.

“ Never was it more necessary for the Dominion to make the most of every natural resource, so as to have more than one string to its bow in times of financial stress,” states a bulletin issued by the New Zealand Tourist League. “ If, as many people think, wool, butter and other primary products remain at lower price levels, then it is vitally important that something else must be utilised to make up the deficiency in the national income. Banking and other competent authorities are now agreed that the returns from the payments made by tourists are the most profitable a country can earn. Though this country now receives nearly £1,000,000 from this source, it is recognised that only the fringe of our possibilities in this direction have been touched. A 50 per cent, increase in the tourist traffic would enable the revenue from this source to equal the whole of the deficit of £1,500,000 in the Railway Department’s figures.”

From General Headquarters has been issued a little book of instructions for the training of the new Volunteer Defence Force. It defines the scope of the annual training to be carried out, the methods to be adopted in putting it into execution, and also detailed instruction for the training of the various arms and services. Particular emphasis is laid on the importance of carefully graduated training programmes in which drill is reduced to a minimum and field work takes precedence. Since the time available for training is limited it has been decided that for the training year 1931-32 all units shall concentrate on carrying out exercises, both theoretical and practical, in advanced guards. For many years the world’s supply of iodine has come as a by-product from the treatment of Chilean nitrate. The iodine was placed on the market through a trust, at a price out of all proportion to the cost of production. But monopoly against the public interest inevitably meets its Waterloo. The discovery that the salt water from many Californian oil wells contained iodine in commercial quantity has opened a new page in the history of this important but high-priced commodity. Improved technological methods of extraction, based on intensive chemical research, point to large-scale production at an early date at greatly reduced cost to the public.

Monday, July 6, promises to be a redletter day in the history of Oamaru, if one can judge by the activity of the committees that have in hand the arrangements for " Made in New Zealand Week ” in the White Stone City. The Retailers’ Committee has completed a canvass of the shopkeepers, who have taken up the proposal very enthusiastically, some 75 retailers having agreed to make window displays of New Zealandmade goods during the second week in July. Leading manufacturers of this city are co-operating with them by supplying the goods, advertising novelties, showcards etc. The Power Board has generously agreed to arrange special street lighting and the Borough Council has made a donation to the funds. An influential committee, including the Mayor, with representatives from the Harbour Board, Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary Club, is arranging for a big public - meeting in the Town Hall on the evening of the opening day. whe n speeches will be delivered by representative business men from Dunedin and also by Mr Frank Milner, of the Waitaki Boys’ High School, who has a world-wide reputation as an orator. The musical items for this meeting are in the capable hands of the Oamaru Rotary Club. Among the other attractions for the “ week ” are addresses to the boys and girls of the high schools, essay competitions, and gas and electric cooking demonstrations, while the bands have offered to play every evening during the display. The main street in Oamaru lends itself to a display worthy of our manufacturing industries, and with the co-operation of all sections of • the community the efforts of the committees in charge of the “ week ” should be crowned with success. It is probable that: a big delegation of Dunedin business men will visit Oamaru on the opening day- and take part in the proceedings. "In making the 1922 Order for the general reduction in wages, the court had very largely to take into consideration the cost of living,” said Mr Justice Fraser in the Arbitration Court in Christchurch on Wednesday, when the application of the Lyttelton tally clerks for exclusion from the terms of the recent General Order imposing the 10 per cent, reduction in wages was being heard. “In making, the 1931 Order, however, the cost of living was only one of a number of factors, the general state of industry and commerce being the determining ones. However, the grounds for exemption are the same to-day as they were in 1922, namely, exceptional circumstances.”

A memento of the Hawke’s Bay earthquake has come into the possession of the library of the General Assembly as a gift from the Governor-General (Lord. Bledisloe). After the earthquake Punch reproduced ever the title “An Empire’s Lamentation, Hawke’s Bay, February 3,” a cartoon by Sir Bernard Partridge depicting Britannia standing by a halfmasted Union Jack and surveying the destruction of Napier. On seeing the cartoon, Lord Bledisloe got into touch with Sir Bernard, and was able to purchase the drawing, which he has presented to the General Assembly for its library. This cartoon was reproduced in the Otago Witness on March 31. An adventurous career was closed on Saturday by the death of Mr Edward John Martin, of Foxton, aged 91 years. When a young man be was attached to the French Foreign Legion and served with the French transport service during the Crimean War. At Balaclava he deserted and succeeded in boarding one of the British vessels engaged in the bombardment of Sebastopol. In 1863 Mr Martin arrived in New Zealand aboard the ship Accrington. At Lyttelton he left the vessel, which, after leaving New Zealand, was lost with all bands. For the next 14 years he was engaged various occupations in the South Island, including gold mining on the West Coast. In 1877 he married and settled in Christchurch, where he went into business as a well borer. Two years later he went to the North Island and settled in Palmerston North, where he continued operating as a well borer. About 25 years ago he removed to Foxton, where he resided until the time of his death. The petition for world disarmament, which for some weeks past has been circulated in Auckland by the local branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, is now being distributed in Christchurch by the National Peace Council of New Zealand. This petition is being circulated in 40 countries, and the aim is to secure 20,000,000 signatures. It will be presented at the Disarmament Conference, which the League of Nations has convened to be held at Geneva in 1932. In the foreword it is stated that the signatories are convinced that competition in armaments is leading all countries to ruin without bringing them security, and that the assurances of Governments that they will pursue a peaceful policy will be valueless so long as disarmament is delayed.

Utilisation of the cigarette coupon system for the purpose of conducting a Stato lottery to encourage the purchase of New Zealand-made goods was suggested in a letter from Mr Edward Crow, civil engineer, of Wellington, received at a meeting of the Wellington Manufacturers’ Association on Tuesday. Mr Crow suggested that all purchasers of New Zealand-mado articles should receive, in the form of coupons, discount to the value of 24 per cent. Every 2s 6d worth of these coupons would qualify the holder for a ticket in a State lottery, to be drawn every two months or at intervals to be determined from time to time; the value of prizes could also be determined by the amount of support received from the purchasing public. In addition, provision might bo made for the sale of tickets at 5s each to the travelling public and to those who did not make their own purchases. “ I’nj afraid wte have a dog’s show for a Stato lottery here,” said the chairman, Mr Spear, when the letter was read. He added that the cigarette coupon system would be illegal soon. Another member said that at one time such propositions as this were legal in New Zealand. What had killed them, mainly, he thought, xsas the action of one promoter who absconded with all the proceeds a few days beforq the draw in a lottery was to have takeq place. The association decided tb take no action.