NEAR AND FAR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 155, 23 February 1932, Page 4

NEAR AND FAR

Pathetic Sig.ht. . "It us really a pathetic sight to see the Polar bears sniffing eagerly at the breeze coming off the sea— thejr native hahitat," said Mr. J. O. Jamespn,, : chairman in descrihing the placirig on ship-board of the stock. of Wirth's Circus, ( at a meeting of the committee of the Canterbury Society, for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "I fully agree with the statement in our inspector's report, namely, that it is only a matter "of time - before .it will be an offence to cage wild animals." • . * "Duckings" at Oxford. The allegation was made in the last issue. of the "Cherwell" that members of Christ Church, Oxford, . some of them ,in their third year, who do not take part in.hunting or athletics of any description, have been ducked in the fountain of Tom Quad. The senior censpr of Christ Church (Mr. H. R. F. Harrod) admitted that duckings had taken place. "Duckings are not a usual occurrence," he said, "and I am pretty sure that they will not occur again. We look upon this horseplay wtih sevqre displeasure, and if the. people taking part are reported, they ,are punished. In this case certain people have been punished." Friendly Gesture. A woman in the Maintenance Court at Christchurch recently assqrted that she only nagged at her husband when he came home swearing and drunk, which was practically every evening. "Onee when he came at me with 'a bar of iron I threw a bag of wood at !}im," sbe said. Counsel: "And did it hit him?" "It may have; but I didli't mean to." Counsel: "Oh, I see, it was just a friendly gesture. The yesult of this encounter was that you threw a log of wood at him and hit him in the eye. Did it lay him out ? " Witness: "Oh, no! He was running about swearing after that."

— — i Record Diarist. To keep a record of the day's happenings for nearly 60 years is no mean effort, yet Mr. J. O. Newbery, of Redcliffs, can boast of this feat (says the Christchurch Times). Mr. Newbery, who should be a serious rival of Samuel Pepys, has kept a record of his life for 56 years, beginning in 1876, when he was about 11 years of age. It is a personal record, but includes a weather report for each day, and comprises 50 volumes. For the first six years - of its existence the diary was contained in one volume. Since 1882, however, it has fillpd one volume a year. Mr. Newbery is able to traee his life and can recall past events with certainty. He is well known at Redcliffs, not as a diarist, but as the owner of Newbery's boat yard, where he has followed the craft of boatbuilding for many years. His diary should constitute a record for New Zealand at ieast. Potato Grows in Jam Tin, The wandering propensities of potato roost were exeniplified in a nexhibit by Mr. E. j. Buttimore, of Carter's Flat. ,In an ordinary 11b. jam1 tin were two good sized potatoes, the root of the potato having entered the tin through the partly closed lid, and the tubers. had formed and matured inside the tin. It might be explained that the particular potato plant was a selfsown one that had grown on a rubbish tip. Mr. Buttimore also stated that from another plant nearby he had found a potato growing inside a bottle the neck .of which had been broken. "Best in the World." The statement that men in New Zealand had often been convicted and pent to prison for long terrns as the resiilt of false identification was made hy counsel in a crimipql case at the Wanganui Supreme Court. The case | before the Court hinged solely on the j question of the identification of the | accused man, and the jury found a j verdict of guilty. Mr. Justice Smith i queried the use of the word "often," jhut counsel said that he did not think that there was any need for him to modify his statement. "Innocent men have been convicted in every country in the world," he said, "although not so often in Britain as in other countrie*s, for undoubtedly the British system is the hest in the world." Not Enough Population. "Wanganui i1} a pretty little pia.ce," remarked Captain Marikawa, of a Japanese steamer to a Poyerty Bay Herald reporter. "However, you have not enough population in New Zealand. The country . from what I can see, is very sparsely populated, seeing that you have so much land that you can cultivate." The reporter replied that the Government was at its wits' end to know how to deal with the unemployed. The captain added: "In my country we manage to keep them all and each person finds something to do until he gets too old to work or becomes sick." Wise Move. The manner in which one Repongaere farmer began to move his stock is reported to have been the cause of activity on the part of others in the district. This farmer received a message from his son, who was on a visit t'o the Mangatu area, to the effect that a big flood was likely, judging by the large amount of water in the upper reaches of the Waipoa, and advising the removal of stock to higher ground. The farmer, . believipg it to be an alarmist ipport, was not keen to act, but nevertheless considered it might he wise to move at least his son's stock. This he accordingly set ahout doing. Gradually the news spread that this man was moving his cattle and sheep as a precaution against flood, and, although the settlers .of the district were .then unaware of the great flood with which they were threatened, 'they hegan to follow suit. It was wise that they did, b.ecause the losses would have been much heavier if the example had not been set them by tl;q man \Yh° .believed he was acting on an alarmist suggestion.