GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1921, Page 12

GENERAL NEWS.

A sculling match between “Dick” Arnst and “Pat” Hannan is expected take place on the Wairau river or at Picton in May. Measures to advertise New Zealand are being taken by the High Commissioner for the Dominion in London, Sir James Allen. In a communication received by the Auckland City Council he tasked for one or more panorama pictures of Auckland, also an assortment of whole-plate photographs. The latter, he said, would be used for making lantern slides and for reproduction in books, and in some of the illustrated papers in Britain. It was decided to despatch the pictures asked for. The Mayor, Mr. J. H. Gunson, stated tht the request was really the outcome of a communication from the council in response to statements by New Zealanders, who had been in London, to the effect that the photographs in the High Commissioner’s office dilapidated and out of date. A number of pictures were' almost ready to forward to England. The following is an extract from a letter received last mail from an American correspondent (says the Otago Daily Times): —“The exchange situation is going to be better, although it is very bad right now, and one of the best ways to help it to get better is for you to do some exporting. The. yellow Press in this country is discounted to a great extent by all the thinking people. The Trish question is not as serious in' the United States as some would think It is true that we have some public officials who do not know their places, and? welcome Irish Bolshevists with open arms, but they are in a very small minority compared with the rest of the 120.000,000 people in this country.”

How many ice creams are consumed in Wellington in a week? With the assistance of a very reliable authority a Post reporter was able to arrive at an estimate, and the total was surprisingly large—l2o,ooo. or 20.000 a day. This provides for the division of a gallon of ice cream among 100 customers, and means a production of 200 gallons per day. The Post informant, who is prominent in the ice cream trade, stated that the demand this year was 50 per cent greater than it was last year. Ice cream is certainly growing in popularity. At least one-fifth of Wellington’s population, it would seem, is glad to follow the example of Charles 1., who, it is said, tasted the first ice cream made m England. Tt was made for him by a French chef, so the story goes, and the chef was honored because the King’s palate had been so well satisfied. It was long before the reign of Charles I. that a Japanese introduced ice cream to Europe. America is now the ice cream centre of the world, and the ice cream bill in the States is set down at £30,000,000 per annum.

Proposals have been submitted to the Commonwealth Ministry, and-are now under consideration, which, if adopted, will shorten the time occupied in travelling from London to' Melbourne to 20 days, says the Age. The scheme has nothing to do with modern aeroplanes, but is a proposition involving the use of an improved type of triple expansion steam engine with the application of a similar class of engine to the locomotives of the trans-continental railway. The proposition has been made byrtlie Weiry Engine Sydnicate, Ltd., and the original patents were Australian. It is proposed to provide for the Australian trade vessels of 13,500 tons and 576 feet in length. These, propelled by engines of 34,000 horse power, would, it is claimed, be capable of a speed of 25 knots an hour on the run from Suez to Fremantle. Passengers would leave London by the overland route, and travel by that means to Brindisi, there bqfird a 23-knot vessel to Port Said, and there tranship [o a 25kpot vessel for Fremantle. Thtf proposition is that these vessels, capable of accommodating 750 passengers, should be owned and run by the Commonwealth Government. The Werry engines, it is claimed, lend themselves equally well to railway locomotive work, and the proposals submitted contain a suggestion for the building of several engines capable of a speed of 65 miles an hour, reducing the time occupied in the overland journey considerably. Support for the poultry industry from the master bakers of the Dominion was solicited by a deputation from the New Zealand Poultry Association that waited on the Bakers’ Conference. Mr. J. B. Merrett saated that a large number of returned soldiers had taken up poultry farming, and he urged the bakers to give these men every possible support by using only locally-produced eggs. He suggested that if the master bakers would give an assurance that they would purchase eggs from the poultrymen at a price to be agreed upon it would greatly encourage the returned soldiers who had enterdd this industry. Mr. Merrett stated that the importation of eggs into Australia had been, prohibited; whereas the importations into New Zealand last year amounted in value to about £45,000. To this had to bn added tlie duty paid on the eggs imported. The conference decided to appoint a special committee to. consider the question and report.