NEAR AND FAR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 8, 1 September 1931, Page 2

NEAR AND FAR

New Form of Brigandage, Brigandage has taken on a new form at Melbourne, where not only are clothes lines robbed, but people are aetually stripped of their clothes in the street. A young man and his fiancee returning home along a quiet street in Malvern the other other were accosted and stripped of everything but their singlets, though the night was cold and wet. They were in dire distress, for when applying at nearby houses for help doors were promptly shut in their faces. Finally a taxi came along and took them to their homes. The young lady suffered severely from shock and . exposure.

Married Women Teachef-s. There is a possibility that women school teachers may be required to resign when they marry if a recommendation made by the Canterbury Education Board to the Direetor of Education, Mr. T. B„ Strong, is included in new legislation, states the Christchurch Times. The question was brought up by Mr. R. Wild,. who asked Mr. Strong. to consider the suggested amendment, with power to reappoint the teachers if necessary. An amendment on these lines would bring the service into line with the aceepted business practice. Mr. Strong said that he would bring this phase of the matter before the Minister.

Bulk of Correspondence. Some ideas of the amount of correspondence which has to be dealt with as part of the operations of the Unemployment Board was given to a Christchurch Sun reporter recently. It was learnt that an average of 2900 letters is received at the Wellington headquarters of the Board each week, the hulk of them,presumably, being from thd 250 local committees scattered all over the Dominion.

Chileans Show Agility. Several cattle, to be used as provision for the voyage, were being hoisted aboard the Chilean training ship General Baquedano just before its departure, when a young bullock got free from a sling, which struck against a high railing. Infuriated, the animal took temporary charge on the deck. Men and officers -sped in all directions, including up the rigging. Baffled in an attempt to reach a fleeing sailor across on overbridge, the bullock turned and tried to go down a companionway, but alte"red its mind and raced round the other side of the deck and toward a inast base, where several buckets were knocked helter-skelter. The animal becamehopelessly tangled in ropes and was soon recaptured.

False Alarm. Excitement was caused among the workers in a large Auckland building when a Mills bomb was discovered on the stairway between the basement and the first floor. Investigation proved that it was a "dud," and contained neither detonator nor powder, although the- pin was still attached. Nevertheless, the bomb was handled gingerly, and placed in a safe overnight and handed to the police next day.

Test Case. "The idea of postponing the lieensing poll is all wrong, in-my opinion," said a hotellceeper to a Christchurch Sun reporter. "If they held the poll this year, and used the result as a test cast to consider whether it was advisable contiuning "the triennial poll, it would he a much sounder scheme. Besides, Invercargill always understood that it would have the opportunity of voting on the question of restoration every three years." Traffic in Timber and CAlves. The eutting up of pinus insignis trets is proceeding in many parts of the Stratford district, and lorries laden with logs for delivery .to the timber mills are to be seen daily on the road. One motorist who uses the Mountain Road frequently in the course of his journeyings factiously remarked the other day that loads of pinus insignis logs and bobby ca-lves formed the main portion of the traffic nowadays. Trout for the Streams. The eyed ova received from the 'South Island some weeks ago at the Hawera Acclimatisation Society's hatcberies has now completed matching and is in fine condition. The balance of the orders given, 150,000 from "Canterbury, has now arrived at the batcheries, and been put down for hatching and is proving as good as th^ former shipment. The total reaches the large figure of 3S00,000.

Midnight Hiking. Christchurch has introduced night hiking to New Zealand. A party of six' set out from the tram terminus at Cashmere shortly after three o'clock on Saturday afternoon with the object of walking to Port Levy before midnight. Their destination was reached a little behind scheduled time, although the actual walking time ior the 32-mile journey was a few minutes over 8£ hours. Dairy Settlement Flooded. , As the result of the collapse of protective banks at Walls Flat, an Adelaide broadcast reports, the Murray River has spread over five dairy settlements, driving out the farmers, whose losses are calculated at £12,000. One farmer, Mr. A., J. Hayward, lost £3500. The settlers are now seeking agistment for 1200 cows. Tour on a Tractor. Eric Stewart, a New Zealander, is engaged on a novel tour round Australia. He hopes to aecomplish the 11,000 miles journey in a tractor travelling at a speed of three miles per hour by December, 1932. The route will be from Adelaide to Perth, Wyndham and Darwin, thence hack to Adelaide via Brishane, Sydney and Melbourne. New Taxi Fares. The new taxi fares provide the cheapest taxi travel ever known in Auckland, ls for the first mile, and ls 6d for over a mile and up to five miles. The tariff will operate for 24 hours a day, and seven days a week, ' no extra charge being made for night work or Sunday service. The - new rates are irrespective of the number of passengers carried, so that five people will be able to travel five miles 'for ls 6d.