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Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 7, 26 August 1932, Page 7

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Ww. ‘ matie Corps was very fully,told. Mz. SERIES of talks on famous murder trials that will command considerable attention was begun by Mr. C. A. L. Treadwell, from 2YA. Although merely dubbed "counsel" in newspaper reports, it was Mr. Treadwell who. defended Coates in the recent Wellington murder case. The first famous trial dealt with was that of/the traitor-Sir Roger:-Casement-~ Mkose career in the British DiploTreadwell is Consul for.Brazil, and in mentioning Casement’s term of office in that country, I rather expected we would hear that it was Casement who was instrumental in exposing the rubber scandals in Brazil, which followed the horror of the Congo exposition. The . Brazilian seandal implicated another Irishman, but Casement. was implacable and he earned the -commendation of the whole civilised world. While this involved Irishman was not considered actually guilty of murder, but guilty only in omission to observe the method by which rubber was-obtained, ' Limerick, where he resided, ostracised him and virtually compelled him to leave the country. This fact I . learned from his nephew, who later lost his life, with a Christchurch boy, in attempting to escape. from the German raider "Wolf" to Sunday Island, in the Kermadec Group. ¢ * Lo EVERYONE will agree with Mr. R. A. Lippincott (1YA, W.E.A. session), that taste and beauty in architecture need to have semblance to utility, that a power-house should not be designed like a mausoleum, and a theatre should not be constructed like a soft-goods emporium; but one may nevertheless ask if the gradu. ated architect is the proper person to be trusted with designs.. The house that Jack built expressed a growing ‘onception, which is beauty in itself, but the architect, often unartistie but with a moiety of knowledge of Grecian expression, occasionally gets his ideas mixed. We have a glaring example of this in one of Wellington’s most’ notable~ buildings--the Central Police Station, where. two columns spring from the first floor to support a portion of the second, over the arch through which ye and mercy flee. I have no doubt the epiphytic idea was conceived by a qualified architect who may possibly have contemplated upon the rata tree, and it makes me wonder if a member of the profession conceived that temple of the arts-1YA studios. i? em , YF all the talks by the Town Planning Institute from 'the YA stations don’t result in the creation of a civic consciousness, it will not be due ‘to shadow-sparring, feinting

or lady-like tapping, nor because broadcasting has not given the Institute a fair spin. I did not think it possible for so much scorn to be poured upon the hetrogeneous oddments that constituted our early city’ fathers, without the shade of Bumble, with his bunny skin, rising to smite the Institute. For real hard thumping Mr. J. W. Mawson should be awarded the belt, for daring to decry the efforts of nearly a couple of dozen bodies that seem necessary to. control the ‘ivic functions of the capital city and its environs. These pufy corporations have offices, telephones and: typists, and sometimes honoraria and pickings, and it. is often the latter which has made the town planning scheme appear superfluous. But what could one expect in olden times when councillors and members of boards had of necessity to be drawn from rich man, poor man, beggar man and thief? To-day, after generations of compulsory education, we elect prohibitionists, trade union officials, and anybody that. does not know much about city management and functions, and everyone must admit that the class drawn from. now is far superior to the former. . If we wait for half a century the truth of this would undoubtedly be apparent. The assertion that not much more than a dozen towns could supply a plan of the services such as water, sewerage, and gas mains, is not surprising, as drawings would only make a litter about the council chamber and permit the butcher member to air his knowledge in proudiy questioning the

engineer. We all know, though, that most town councils would be glad of the opportunity to dig up the streets to make a plan, now that some of them are concrete roads. The Institute has a nose that detects all sorts of defects in our established chaotic customs, and Mr. Mawson’s detection of a nigger in the woodpile in Wellington’s town planning scheme, just shows how nosey a person with ideas ean be. ¢ % * ADVERSITY and, undefined interests make strange bed-fellows. Last week we saw a most unusual thing-three Wellington M.P.’s ranged on the side of monopoly-that awful name which we were taught to believe was synonymous with the grinding of the faces of the poor. It is understood that the PostmasterGeneral has narrowed the interpretation of the regulation goveriing broadcast advertising, and 2ZW n.arshalled a deputation to the Minister. Unlike other centres, Wellington is blessed with only one station that derives its income from sponsored programmes and the threat has been renewed that if latitude is not extended, the station may be compelled to close down. No listener _ 3ires that to happen, but most approve of the regulation that prohibits advertizing on the air. As I read the directio™. no advertising whatever is permitted, and when the license was issued, it is presumed that this was understood. The sponsored programme is pretty wide latitude in my opinion, and I think the authorities are to be com-

mended for keeping a tight hold on the rein so long as the regulations stand as' they are. The stress laid upon thé community service in the eause of charity leaves me cold. 2ZW has a long journey to catch up on the many who have assisted charity’s institutions, gratis, and done so without making a fetish of deputations. ; = ze x. CAN’T say that I like Mr. Voco’s innovation from 2ZW. Imuch preferred his varied bijou conceérts which aroused goodwill and his interesting talks on oil, motor-cars and things appertaining to oil. Mr. Voco once stated that he understood a number .of listeners switched off when he started to talk, but nevertheless, there were a number that didn’t. Some, perhaps, could not be bothered. At the risk of encouraging beliefs that might result in-a head-swelling, I am brave enough to suggest that a return be made to former procedure, for the new departure won’t keep listeners’ attention. Many of the talks were of absorbing interest, although few are as much concerned about what makes a motor-car go as they are about what makes the darn thing stop. If housewives listen to Miss Laurel and apply her recommendations, there will be many husbands leaving home through an allpervading odour of kerosene. % bd % DON’T know whether it is the invariable closing-down announcement or not, but I heard one of the southern "B" stations make a very definite announcement the other evenirg. It stated: "After our next musical item we shall go right off the ‘air.’ There wasn’t any doubt about it, either. They did! * + THE new competition from the "A" stations is excellent entertainment, even for those who do not feel inclined to rack their memories and upset the order of the _ book-case. Though it seems improbable that there will be as many competitors as in the ,music-lovers’ competition, the entertainment is quite as good as the earlier one. 8 mz e HE terse but very comprehensive review of the problems confronting the Ottawa Conference by Dr. Guy H. Scholefield, from 2YA, has certainly made the interested listener but casual reader, well informed upon the difficulties. Mention that South Africa was desirous of entering into competition with Argentina in the beef trade, and that South Africa’s 11,000,000 head of cattle was an in- different one in quality, perhaps needs a little amplification. South Africa has had great. difficulty with her eattle, due to disease transmitted and

earried by wild animals, the zebra being one of the worst offenders, and the disinclination of the Boer to apply modern methods. Nevertheless, the whole of South Africa’s beef cattle are not of indifferent quality, and some of the herds in Southern Natal compare favourably with those of any other country. Regulations restricting movement of beasts and up-to-date methods have resulted in the creation of some excellent herds, and it is safe to say that much c" their beef is equal to Australia’s best and vastly superior to any we have in New Zealand. Whether the British consumer should pay to encourage the application of scientific farming routine in a country where so many are anti-British is another matter, and although many of our own stock must necessarily suffer, I personally think it would be unwise for Britain to give a preference without ample guarantee of reciprocity. We seem to have got out of the habit of interEmpire trading. After the South African War the Rt. Hon. R. J. Seddon was instrumental in inaugurating a direct line of shipping between between South Africa and New Zealand, but I can’t remember what we sold one another. At the present time we could do with a lot of Africa’s ever-marketable productgold. @ m be

A TALK that I liked very much was that by Mr. J. T. Burrows (8YA) on sight-seeing in South Africa, but I was a little surprised when he referred to the crocodiles he saw in the Zambesi River as slimy brutes. I have seen many thousands of "crocs," and never noticed that slime was an outstanding feature. I have seen their abbreviated legs mudcovered, and one may presume that their underparts, which they are not given to showing, are smeared with the glutinous, viscous ooze that usually lines the banks of tropical rivers, when they proceed on shore to get out of the wet. I don’t think Mr. Burrows meant that the saurian’s mental make-up was slimy, although that slang term would fit quite well, so [ should think the view was not a real close-up, but no one will blame Mr. Burrows’s caution which permitted his mistaking a glistening skin for aslimy one. Live crocodiles can be much more likeable than dead ones. I recall an occasion when a would-be benefactor poisoned a "eroc" with about a whole pound of poison. These relics of the dim past are cannibal and within a few hours hundreds of dead crocodiles lined the banks of the backwater, about which was a thickly populated area. Ina few days the stench was so overpowering that the European women and children had to be sent away. The natives, however, loved it, and later earnestly asked for a second helping.

I was sorry time did not allow Mr. Burrows to tell us of the sights of Capetown and its environs, for I gathered from his capital descriptions of the Victoria Falls and the Zulu "korero" that he could have made a good job of it. No city is more delightfully situated than Capetown, where the sun shines in a cloudless sky nearly every day of the year, and temperate sea breezes make its warmth endurable. No city has a marine drive that compares with that hundred odd miles of beautiful road

that skirts the Atlantic‘and the Indian Oceans. But Capetown needs to be seen in the spring and the summer. Around Table Mountain, an ‘area about that of Canterbury, grow more wild flowers than anywhere in the world, with, perhaps, Hong Kong excepted. In that small region there are about 200 more species of flowers than in the whole of Great Britain, while on the mountain itself grow 96 different kinds of heath. The establishment of a colony at the Cape was the dawn of a new era, when Europe shook off the traditions and ignorant beliefs of its thousand years of dark-

ness. Although the Dutch had merely the object of founding a farm that could supply fresh food to her merchantmen trading between Holland and the Spice Islands, the Boers, with their sprinkling of Huguenots, imported and cultivated a culture that gives charm to this city of tradition to-day. Culture had to thrive. Nowhere in the world are there such wistful colourings as around the Cape. The painter who is attracted by the beauties of Wellington’s own Ward Island in the setting sun, cannot but stand fascinated and bewildered when he views the glories of the Cape of Good Hope. The Dutch opened a produce market at Capetown to pursue the wealth of the East, little knowing that 200 years later, diamonds and gold, a veritable Aladdin’s Cave, ‘ ould be stumbled upon within the country and just behind their cabbage vows. 2 = a

HE one thing that nearly every listener to 2YA would like was the unctuous friendliness of Mr. Anderton, one of the joint managers of the professional football team at present on tour, gathering cash for personal benefit, in the cause of sport. I always liked the idea of joint managership when the spondulicks are flowing in, and somehow it reminds me of the appointment of two sidesmen to fill one vaeancy in church, one to take the collection and the other to see that the job was not made a twohanded one. The supposedl7 humorous incidents in Australia that

"tittled" the Northeountrymen did not "tittle"? me very much, possibly because I know Australian ‘ways. When oné of the sportsmen remarked they had had a great time at one township-two cups of tea and eight speeches -he was probably undware that béer is not the wine of Australia. That was Australia’s way of showing friendliness, but I’m glad to say New Zealand can show the world how these things should be done. We gave this band of hard working men a civic reception and an invitation to the talk shop, where our legislators make history. No wonder Mr. Anderton felt friendly, just at the time of the Empire Conference, too, and I’m sure nearly everybody would be glad to hear him, in making his farewell, say "Good-bye, brothers and_ sisters,’ One irascible friend of mine informs me that he vocally answered the farewell, adding something about a soldiex’s good-bye. s *

"PICTURES in Music" might. well be dubbed the specialty of aydistinguished member of a of musical brothers, one Haydn Wwod, who has already translated three famous pictures into music, viz., Luke Fildes’ "The Doctor," and "Village Wedding," and Franz Hal’s "Laughing Cavalier." I should like to direct Mr. De Mauny’s attention to these charming compositions, which should make attractive radio musical fare. This composer, Haydn Wood, was brought to mind by the prospective performance at 2YA on Saturday of his "Manx Rhapsody." Born in that very musical centre, the West Riding of Yorkshire, Haydn Wood is a Slaithwaite man, and was a brilliant student of the Royal College of Musie for six years, under Arbos, after carrying on his violin studies under Cesar Thomson in Brussels. He toured extensively as a solo violinist in a company which included Madame Albani. He has, as a composer, earned the gratitude of all who love light and cheerful music, and his songs, such as "Roses of Picardy," enjoy a wide popularity. His musical output is not deficient in more serious works, which include a piano c-ncerto, suite de ballet and variotis other suites, orchestral variations and a string quartet. His "Harlequinade’"’ is a gratifying piece of diverting programme music which Cepicts Columbine, Harlequin, Clown and Pantaloon. Haydn Wood is obviously a musician of ideas, and his "Manx Rhapsody" should prove interesting. There may be some dim and distant connection between the subject ‘pf the rhapsody and the fact that as a little boy of six, Haydn made his debut as a solo violinist in Mendelssohin’s Concerto, at Douglas, Isle of an.