LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 September 1938, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Destructive Birds. The town sparrow seems to be imbued with the" spirit of mischief, for it indulges in stripping flowers from plants without any attempt to devour them. In one Masterton garden a “thing of beauty,” namely, a flowering almond tree, on Sunday was stripped Of its blooms by these feathered pests. Liquor Poll Conditions. In a news item which appeared yesterday it was stated in error that the local no-licence issue in Masterton would be determined on the basis of a two-thirds majority. This was a slip. The actual position is that a three-fifths majority is required to carry the local restoration of licences. In the absence of that majority for local restoration, local no-licence remains in force. Mercenary Coolie’s Fate. A story of a coolie whose plan for making money led to disaster is related in a letter from Dr H. C. Tremewan, a New Zealand doctor engaged in relief work at Ichang, in China. “When people here are inoculated against cholera they receive a slip of paper to prove they have been done,” he writes. “Injection is no joke, and consequently they try. all sorts of ways of avoiding it. One coolie who was injected found a market for his slip of paper at 20 cents —approximately 2d in New Zealand money. He got 20 more injections that day, sold them all —and . died that night.” Keeping Down Cat Population. Mention of a “dumping ground” for stray cats at Runanga, on the West Coast, was made by a witness in the Dominion local body drivers’ dispute in the Second Court of Arbitration at Christchurch, when he was asked during cross-examination to describe his duties. “I have to clean out the refuse in the open drains,” he said, “and I continually find sugar bags in the larger drains. Although I do not investigate the contents I have a strong suspicion that the residents consider this to be a very convenient method of keeping down the cat population.” Young Farmers from Overseas. Young farmers from overseas will be invited to visit the Dominion and hold a camp with New Zealand young farmers, at the time of the Centennial Exhibition in Wellington in 1940. The Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, which held its annual meeting in Christchurch recently, discussed a suggestion that 50 delegates should be invited from Australia. A member said that this number might be hard to find in the Commonwealth, where the movement was not so strong. It would be better, he said, to include visitors from England and Canada. It was decided that visitors from further afield should be invited to the camp, which wilt be held near Wellington. Modern Tokio. The distinction of having the finest display of electric signs in the world belongs to Tokio, according to Mr E. Nichol, Junr., who gave an address on Japan to the Invercargill Orphans’ Club. “Tokio is a beautiful city by night,” Mr Nichol said, “and it is lighted by thousands of Japanese lanterns, as well as electric signs, which can be seen everywhere.” He added that there was also an excellent railway system with five tracks, and sometimes five trains passed one another at the same time. They were all electric, travelled very fast, and ran very regularly. So accurate a time-table did they keep that passengers were advised to set their watches by railway time, and they could then tell the names of various places of interest merely by referring to their watches and railway guides. Rarely was a Japanese train more than three minutes late. Second Arbitration Court. The nomination of a workers’ representative on the Second Court of Arbitration to succeed Mr A. W. Croskery will be made to the Minister of Labour, the Hon H. T. Armstrong, by the Federation of Labour, a Christchurch Press Association message states. The selection will be made by the federation after it has received nominations from the various district councils throughout New Zealand. The Canterbury council will not meet for nearly another fortnight. Although the Second Court was appointed for one year from last November it is expected in trades union circles in Christchurch that the court must necessarily continue in existence for a much longer period. An enormous amount of work still faces the court, and the ability of one court to handle all cases, even after the present arrears have been wiped off, is questioned. Gun Dog Championships. Additional results at the North Island and Wairarapa gun dog championships held at Masterton during the weekend are:—Wairarapa Water Championship: Mr G. C. Mayo’s Labrador retriever Tararua Constance, lOOpts, 1; Mr P. C. Crooke’s Springer Spaniel Carnarvon Rex, 99pts, 2; Mr R. V. Mason’s F.T.Ch. Silky Sue, 98pts, 3. Wairarapa Land Championship: Mr T. Bradshaw’s Cocker Spaniel Brunlea Doll, 82pts, 1; Mr J. C. Timm’s Labrador 8010 of Riversdene, and Mr R. V. Mason’s F.T.Ch. Silky Sue, 81 pts, equal, 2; Dr G. F. V. Anson’s Labradorretriever Tararua Jill, 79pts, 4. North Island Champion:—On a recount of points Dr G. F. V. Anson’s Labrador Tararua Jill gains third place from Mr W. G. Green’s Irish Setter Lorna’s Boy. North Island Water Championship:—Dr G. F. V. Anson’s Tararua Jill beats Mr W. G. Green’s Lorna’s Boy on a recount.

Copy of Famous Painting. Any mystery that may have surrounded the painting of a Maori which was recently purchased in a Sydney dealer’s shop ■by Mr T. H. Smith, of Wanganui, has been cleared up by the Auckland artist, Mr C. F. Goldie, to whom the picture was attributed. Mr Goldie received a photograph of the picture from Wellington, and pronounced it to be a copy by some other hand of a painting by him, “A Warm Day,” which hangs in the Christchurch Art Gallery. “A Warm Day,” said Mr Goldie, represented the famous old chief, Patara Te Tuhi, asleep in the sun, with his shirt open at. the neck.. It had been reproduced in colour a number of years ago as a supplement to the Christmas issue of the “Weekly Press,” Christchurch. The reproduction had enjoyed wide popularity, and numbers of prints were still to be seen all over the Dominion. The Sydney painting was clearly a copy which had been made from the reproduction. “I consider it an unskilful copy,” added Mr Goldie. “The lower part of the picture, for example, is a good deal out of drawing.”