NEAR AND FAR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 92, 9 December 1931, Page 4

NEAR AND FAR

Eugenic City. A very interesting experiment is being tried near Strashurg. The municipality provided an area of land on free ' lease, the manufacturers subscrihed £100,000, and between them they built a new garden city. Only married^cOuples of'the aftisan class are allowed to rent the hofises, and every couple must pass a strict test of fitness. Births exceed deaths in this garden siiburb hy 3S per cent., compared with 2 per cent, in Strashurg, there is no disease, and the children are * the strofigest} tallest, and most beautiful 1 ' t'O be "fouiid in France. The ob ject of the experiment is to demonstrate the wisdom of encouraging thes fittest, in contrast to the dole, insufance, and charity methods of encouraging the unfit that find favour in; most countries. Past Election Methods. Fifty years ago the General Election produced some amusing phasfes. "It appears that "they have a cheerful way in the Wairarapa, when an elec-

tion is about to take place, pf getting all the eandidates to address the eleOtors at the same , 'meeting. There is a lot to he said for this, in spite of the consequence that some lively scenes occasionally take place. Rival eandidates cross-examine each Other, ^ their respective supporters interchange compliments; ' and the only wonder is that sometimes the free and ; independent electors do not come to blows. At Masterton, Where a pieeting of this kind took place,. there Were some Jamusing episodes. . When Mr. Jones tried to give his address, his stampings, sltippings, struttihgs, and chest-thumpings' would, aceording to the. local newspaper, put to shame any Maori war "daittcef, hut UOt a word could he heard for the shouting, hooting, whistling, cheers, grbaning, and laughter of the audience, the chairman, eandidates, and all .laughing till tears ran down their eheeks, It all finished hy Mr. Jones and the other eandidates being firmly but eourteously led off the stage. Not Understood. "Scottish thrift has often been misunderstood," said Dr. S. F. Hunter, of Knox College, Dunedin, in'his St. Andrew's Day sermon at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church. "The people who give the biggest sums to charities and deserving institutions are Scotsmen. This liberality is made possible hy this very thriftiness. But the saving eharacteristie has often become sheer meanness, and a mean Scot is just about the meanest crea-

ture on earth. Ride of Death. While 'excavating at Saulzy sur Moselle, France, workmen discovered the skeleton of a man still mounted on his horse. A pocket hook was found eontaining the papers of a German trooper from tJlm, and a purse lying near was filled with coins, inclhding a 20-mark gold piece. From the position of the skeleton, and its m'ount, it is assumed that they were killed hy the explosion of a shell and buried Under the earth, where they haVe been sinee 1914. Maori Place Names. In order to make the name of the sch'ool uniform with thai? of the post office in the district, and to keep alive the Maori nomettclature, the Southland " Education Board decided at its moiithly meeting the Other day tq communicate with the Wild Bush S'chool Committee asking if it had any objection to the name of the SChool being changed to Waipango, ahd thus avoid any possible dorifusion. "Black water" was the meaning of the name Waipango, the chairman (Mr. J. C. Thomson) informed the meeting. While on the subject of place names, Mr. W. Grieve remarked that according to Bishop Bennett, | the name Waihopai meant "leave the place well." This bore reference ro the camping ground, which the Maoris were enjoined to leave in good order for the next occupants. Rich on 5s a Day. 1 "I don't know what has overtakeh ' some people, said an old settler to | a' Taranaki News representative the s other day. "For more years than I I care to remember I never i'eceived j more than 5s* a day, yet I was ahle to put aside £600 with which I pur- ; chased a property I hold to-day. We ; have never been short of anyHiing, we j have paid our way always, not going j in for anything until the money was j there to pay for it; we have educated ! our children, and in two years my jwife and I are retiring from active ; work." ! r t