NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 106, 7 May 1934, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Coincidence in Rainfall Figures. A remarkable coincidence is shown in the weather report for April from Ruiipima, Mid- I Canterbury. During tlic month 203 points of rain were recorded on nine daye. In Mkrelij the same total on the same number of days was recorded, while the average rainfall for April during the last live yeare is 203 points. A Pion,eer Educationist. One of tlie ancient prints included in the exhibition recently held at the Wellington Concert Chamber gives a portrait of the lute Mr. E; Toomiith, who is described as the first , school teacher in Canterbury. He is believed to have been concerned in the establishment of Christ's College in Christchurch. Later lie went to Wellington, and for j'ears supervised a school there. ETis son, also an cx-school-master, in the secretary of the Wellington ' Early Settlers' and Historical Association. Bell of H.M.s. Veronica. Some months a'ro the Napier Borough Council made an application to the British: Admiralty that the bell of H.M.s. Veronica be 1 presented to Xapier as a souvenir. No reply 1 from the Admiralty has so far been received, I states the "Hawke's Bay Herald." The sloop Veronica, which has been consigned to the scrap heap after years of service in New Zealand waters, was nt the port of Napier dunng.j the 1931 earthquake, and the personnel of the i vessel rendered valuable service to the town. It is because of this that the borough council i desires to have the bell as a souvenir. Toasts for the Wedding. Wedding festivities must have l>ooll conducted in great style by two men who provided a little humour in the Wellington Magistrate's Court on Thursday. One, a seaman, was fined X.l for drunkenness. "May 1 have time to pay, your Worship?" he inquired of Mr. E. Page, S.M. "I only got married yesterday morning." "Perhaps we should allow him a chance," the police representative remarked. "Very well, I'll allow him a week to pay," said the magistrate. As defendant stepped out of the dock another man, charged with the same offence, stepped in. "I was the host man at the wedding," he told the magistrate, in asking for time to pay his £1 line. He also was allowed a week. Tribute from Kemal Pasha. Kemal Pasha, now Dictator of Turkey, who was one of the leaders of the Turkish Army at Anzac, sent the following Anzac Day message to Melbourne on Anzac Day: "The landing at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, and thei fighting which took place on the peninsula, will never bo forgotten. They showed to the world the heroism of all those who shed their blood there. How heartrending for their nations were the losses that this struggle caused." Kemal Pasha, then Mustafa Kemal Bey, achieved a military reputation during the fighting on the Qallipoli Peninsula. On the day of the landing he was in command of ( the 10th Turkish Division and led the counterattack against the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Such Is Luck. Speaking of luck, the tale is told locally thnt the first prize in the art union drawn last week went to a syndicate of three employees in an Auckland business linn. The syndicate for several occasions had included four fellow workmen, but when the day arrived for the usual investment in the "Lucky Cat ,, lottery, one of the party intimated that he had decided to withdraw and take a ticket separately. He was sent round to the ticket-seller's stand, and proffered a! £1 note for his ticket, but the vendor had not the requisite cha;ige, so lie got the syndi-l cate ticket With the half-crown subscribed by his mates, and later, when he had changed I the £1 note, purchased his own ticket. First prize went to the ticket purchased by him on behalf of the syndicate, being the ticket he would have had if the vendor hud been able to change his £1 note. M[elbourhe-Bluff Service. It was announced last week that arrangements have been made for the resumption of the passenger service between South Island porte and Melbourne. The steamer Maheno, which has bden laid up at Port Chalmers since 1931, is to be recommissioned, and will make her first sailing from Port Chalmers for Bluff and Melbourne on November 0, continuing to run until .the . middle of March, 1935. Her regular ports of call on the inward trip will bo Melbourne, BlufF, Dunedin, Lyttelton and Wellington, and on the outward trip she will proceed from Wellington to Melbourne, via Bluff. The Maheno will make six round voyages at approximately three-weekly intervals until her arrival at Dunedin on March 19. On her inward trip from Melbourne in December she will call at Milford Sound, and in January calls will be made at the Sound on both the inward and outward journeys. Another visit to Milford will be paid on her outward trip from Wellington in March. Too Many Rabbits. Rabbits are again becoming a nuisance to the sheepowners of the runs in the borough of Sumncr, states the "Christchurcli Times." There are so many now that parties go regularly over the hills with .the assurance that a good bag will be the result. In full view of Stunner these animals are shot every day, while on the runs towards Taylor's Mistake they are increasing at a very fast rate. Some years ago they were apparently almost extinct, and their sudden reappearance after a lapse of nearly ten years is difficult to explain. So thick were they about twelve years ago that trappers went out on horseback to pick up their catches, and often returned with loads which almost hid the horses that carried them. Then extensive and' consistent poisoning was organised, and in one season the pest was eradicated. From the way the animals are increasing it would appear that the hills will spon he overrun unless another systematic campaign is undertaken against them. World's Largest Elevator. The world's largest canal boat elevator was completed in March at Niederflnow, near! Eberswalde, Germany. The elevator, which has created world-wide interest in engineering circles, will replace a series of four locks on the Hohenzollern Canal, which connects Berlin with the canal to Stettin, where it leaves the Barnim high plateau for the lowlands of the Oder. It has taken over two hours to lock one Berlin "Masskahn," a canal boat of 350 net register tons, or two "Finow" boats, through the four chambers of the series. The new elevator will reduce this time to twenty minutes for one Berlin canal boat and two Finows or four of the latter, including time taken in entering and leaving the lift "trough." The "fall" ie 110 ft. The work was put in hand in 1920, partly owing to the expectation of greatly increased traffic with the completion of the new Mittelland Canal. Despite the vast dimensions of everything else connected with this great engineering work, the power required to operate it is ; strikingly small. For not only is the weight of the full trough completely balanced by the counterweights, buE even the weight of the suspending cables, which is added to the weight of the counterweights when the trough! is at the top of the lift, is compensated by four chains which run from the lower end of the counterweights over a cylinder and are fastened to the bottom of the trough. Thus trough and counterweights arc .exactly bal-' anced, and the trough can be elevated or low- i ered with its vessels by four electric motors 5 of 75 h.p. each. The motors, which stand on and form part of the trough, are so connected '. with each other that if one of the four fails ■ the total 300 is <

Fifty-eight Years a Caretaker. When the West Christchurch School bell rim-s out at the jubilee function to be held at the school on the afternoon of Saturday, . May 2(i it will be rung by Mrs. R. Beattie, who for 58 years, has been a caretaker at ■ the 'school. Mrs. Beattio's late husband was "caretaker at the school for many years and "■since bis death Mm. Beattie has carried on • the work with her son, Mr. Arthur Beattie. False Packing of Wool. "It is a serious matter, but I suppose . there are a few black sheep among the farmin" community," remarked the president. Mr. ', W, J Poison, M.P., at a meeting of the Domi- ! nion executive of the New-Zealand Farmers' : Union when reference was made to a recent i case of false packing of wool. A Southland ,'i delegate said that his branch took a very ['serious view of the matter, and desired to ! place its opinion on record. Mr. Poison said J that the New Zealand Farmers' Union could not be held responsible for a farmer who broke the law, any more than it could be responsible for any other offender. Ryeland Sheep for Australia. On Tuesday last' week a consignment of Ryeland ram lambs from the stud flocks of Messrs. H. C. B. Withell (Ealing) and J. F. [■j Luiyhuret (Temuka) were trucked to Lyttel- , ton for shipment to Australia. Mr. Hayhurst'e stud flock is well known all over South . Canterbury, having for some years past taken ; all the prizes in this section at the Win- ' I Chester show. Mr. Withell is aleo a success:i ful breeder of this class of sheep. There ie a growing reputation in Australia of South Can-terbury-bred Kyelands, and the present sbinment should enhance the prospects of breeders on the other side, of the Tasman, states tne "Christchurch Times." Married Twice Over. An unusual circumstance was revealed in the Wellington Supreme Court last week during the hearing of an undefended petition for divorce. Counsel, Mr. R. E. Pope, produced ■ two'marriage certificates concerning the mar- : riage of the parties, one marriage being certi'fied as having taken place in a registry office and the other in a church. There was a difference of 13 days in the dates. Asked by Mr. Justice Reed why she had been through the marriage ceremony twice, petitioner answered tjhat her parents had expressed the wish that she be married at a church An amendment of the date of the marriage was made in the petition, his Honor remarking that the first marriage ceremony was the effective one. The Most Permanent Investment. I "Above all, lay the greatest emphasis on your piirks, gardens and sea front," said Mr. J. \V. Mawson, during an address at Napier. "Nature is your best friend, and a generous friend," he' continued. "There in nothing which gives eueh complete satisfaction or which ministers to the health and well-being of visitors and residents alike as welldesigned -and laid-out parks and gardens. I Every penny spent on these amenities is money well spent. They are the most permanent form of investment in the world, ami assets of incalculable value to any town, but, above all, to towns which live by t h eir amenities. Aim high. Don't let the question of ultimate cost frighten you. He was not built in a day. New Zealand will not always be in the doldrums. It is far better to go slowly and spend an amount each year well within your resources so long as you are sure that you are doing the right thing." Nelson's Apple Export. A further record was established at the port of Mapua on May Day, when a total of I 400,000 cases of export fruit was reached. ■ The load of fruit to achieve the distinction of passing the 400,000 mark was. grown by Mr. Max Deck, of Tasmania, and a case of extra raney Dougherty was selected and decorated with appropriate blue ribbon. Later in the day panels on each side of the ease were marked oft* suri'outided by the rublier stamps showing the registered numbers of the growers who helped to make up this huge total, and also the signatures of a very large number of growers. The case will be forwarded to London under n special bill of hiding, and its future career will be watched with great interest. The export season at Mapua is by no means finished, and already there is speculation as to whether it will be possible for the district to reach the halfmillion mark next year. Much of the credit for the success of the year's work must be given to the Nelson Harboiir Board, which has done much to improve shipping facilities during the past few years. Days of Toll Gates. The recent reference in the "Star" to the dvine toll system in England has brought to nfinl ra any stirring toll gate incidents ot dnvs which are past in New Zealand A very notable case was that of the toll gate which was erected at the Kapuni River bridge, between Eltham and Opuuake. This was much resented bv th< settlers who lived in the vicinity, because they had to pass through the sate oftener than the ordinary travellers on the road, especially going with their milkto the dairy factories either at Rivcrlea or \watuna. Times were hard 30 years ago, and the settlers thought some concession should be made to them by buying one pass, for the day, instead of having to pay every | time they went through. Protests were unavailing, so one pitch-dark night, with the rain coming down in torrents and a gale blowin", it was decided to tie the door of the gatekeeper's hut, then to take the gate from its hinges and throw it over a deep bank of the river, Where-the water was closely confined by the banks, so that it was a raging torrent aiid would deal effectively with the obstacle of their hatred. The deed wae done. Such an act of lawlessness could not go unchecked, and the ablest of the police force in the district were sent to bring the culprits to book, but it remained an. unsolved crime. The First Combustion Motor. The hundredth anniversary of the birth of Gottlieb Daimler, inventor of the motor car, at Schorndorf, near Stuttgart, was celebrated on March 17. As a boy Daimler showed a marked technical talent, and at 19 became I an apprentice in a tool machine factory in Grafenstadt, Alsace. From there he studied at the Polytechnicum, Stuttgart, to-day's University of Technology, spent some years' in England, and finally became a director of a factory at Deutz, near. Cologne. There, with Wilhclm Maybaeh, he built the first 100 h.p. gas motor. Although it caused a sensation, it was only a signpost for Daimler. If a motor could produce power in a workshop, why could it not also propel a vehicle? Tn 1882 Daimler went to Cannstatt, now a euburb of Stuttgart, and established his own workshop. Maybaeh soon followed him, and the two worked on the idea of an automobile. Work was carried on behind curtained windows and with such secrecy that the police descended on the shop, believing counterfeit coins were being made. On August 10, 1883, the first combustion motor appeared. It had a horizontal, air-cooled cylinder and a wrought iron flywheel, which turned at 900 revolutions per minute. A second motor followed in November o'f the same year, and a third in 18S4, which was later built into a bicycle— the world's first motor cycle. The first use of the motor for propulsive purposes was made by Daimler for a boat. A trusted workman carried the motor down to the Neckar at night, where it was mounted on a skiff, and the first trip began, which lasted until dawn, when the motor was hurriedly taken out and brought back by stealth to the factory. Night aleo cloaked the first tripe with the "horseless carriage," but gradually the local inhabitants became accustomed to the new vehicle. By 1890 the Daimle- Motor Company -had been founded, and the great JSggg^^S^w.tßnta^egajngj^jjekjMed^bTOad^g^,