FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 738, 10 August 1929, Page 10

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

AN OLD STORY

My neighbour has a radio, He listens in at times To concert halls and cabarets, Cathedral clocks and chimes. But when the programme interests -me, “The static's bad today,” says he. lie sits and twists the little dials, But all to no avail. The only sound the ether yields Is one unending wail. And yet if I should go, for sure, Reception would Tie clear and pure. —HETRA DINE. BURE FIRE

A time-honoured quip brought its due reward when a man and woman graduate happened to be called up together to receive degrees at the University graduation ceremony yesterday. Side by side they walked up the aisle, and at the appropriate moment someone in the gallery brought the house down with the cry, “I will.” On the whole It was a quiet capping, yet this Incident served to recall the historic episode at Oxford when a Jewish student happened to have swept the board of honours. “Abraham and bis seed forever,” cried some wit in the back, as the brilliant youth trotted up the aisle for the umpteenth time. And yet that, too, may have been something of a chestnut. CURSE ROMPS HOME Talking of cursing in the refined or poetic sense, it is interesting to observe that the totara seedliug cursed some time ago by an elderly Maori lady has duly passed up the ghost. This lamentable happening may have been due to some very sound physical reason such as fireblight or woolly aphis, but it has nevertheless served to vindicate the said lady’s faith in her divine overlords, and presumably she will now go on cursing with gusto. Of course, she may have known that when a young totara is planted anywhere away from its native forests, the odds are all against its survival. It may be inferred that the Look-out Man is somewhat sceptical of Kohupaki’s powers, but in spite of that he doesn’t want to see her loitering about his vegetable garden. Beans and peas are hard enough to raise, without having Kohupaki around. HAMILTON VANDALISM Many a stranger to Hamilton who has delighted in the beauties of that picturesque town will view with dismay the Borough Council’s proposal to remove the fine old trees that border Grey Street, on the main road out across the river. The glorious old specimens give the street an atmosphere possessed by few if any other streets in New Zealand, and their removal will be a heavy price to pay for the “building progress” which the council has in mind. The occasion seems ripe for someone to go down to Hamilton and recite “Woodman, Spare That Tree,” or some other appropriate plea. If the councillors are as wooden-headed as many of their kind, they should be able to appreciate the position of the trees. UNTO CAESAR Dear L.O.M., —Greater love hath no woman than this, that she shall go without her morning or afternoon tea. Having been a volunteer myself in the good old days of red coats and pipeclay, I have long subscribed to the belief that a volunteer is worth ten pressed men, and here is my conclusive evidence. Yesterday, after letting a charming agent for the St. John Ambulance deprive me of a nimble shilling, I asked her to join me- over a cup of morning tea. “Thanks,” she replied, “but I am sorry I cannot leave the job.” Now I venture to say that any of my business acquaintances in Queen Street would have been willing, like myself, to deprive their employers of ten minutes’ service—that is, had I given ’em the chance. QUEEN TE MARAE

Tomorrow, on the slopes of the mountain at Taupiri, Queen Te Marae, widow of the late King Mahuta, mother of the present King Rata and aunt of Princess Te Puea Heraugi, will be laid to rest in the sacred burial ground of Maori royalty. When old King Tawhaio died, Te Marae, with her husband Mahuta, was called upon to fill a position that carried with it many responsibilities. Years ago she was a well-known figure in Wellington. her husband having accepted a portfolio, as tire Hon. Mahuta Tawhaio Potatau te Whero Whero, a position he held under the Seddon banner from 1903 to 1906. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that many Maoris thought he had suffered a loss of dignity in doing so. In recent years Te Marae had been living in quiet retirement at Waahi, near Huntly. Her last public appearance was at the opening of the meeting house at Ngaruawahia this year, when she and Lady Ngata (who died recently) were among the distinguished Maoris on the platform of honour.