NEWS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 78, 2 April 1927, Page 8

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Harbour Tragedy.

-V gannet with wide-spread pinions was wheeling over the harbour oif the Devonport wharf ;i few niornings ago, occasionally folding its wings, ami dropping like a plummet into u -lioal of small fish. After one particularly high dive, spectators on a passing launch saw the bird return to the surface, but then there was a violent swirl of water and the gannet disappeared. Immediately afterwards the dorsal tin of a big shark appeared, and the lish cruised for some time ill the locality. Listening-in Troubles. "Tick, tick—tick—tick, lick, tick, tick, rrr-h, huzz-zzz—bang—crash! - ' These incidentals to a wireless concert are not welcomed by listeners-in. Apart from the annoyance th-it results from the howling of radiator receiver;, the reception in Auckland one evening this week, of the Christi lunch station, was completely marred by the Auckland commercial station breaking in ' with the Morse and drowning everything. The combined effect of Morse and the howling of apparently Uiineutralised receiving sets made a rliu to annihilate the faintest trace of musk-. Cost of Bad Roads. The contention often expressed, and it costs more to tolerate a bad road than to pay for a good hard surface, is borne out by figures given to the "Star" correspondent at Morrinsville by a struggling farmer in the .Mangawara Valley. This settler said that the total freight on hie manure supplies cost more than he had paid for the manure it>elf, the charges being made up r follows:—Hail to Morrinsville, 8/ per ton; per lorry to Hoe-o-tainiii (over a good road, distaneo about is miles), 2."»/ per ton; |ier lorry up Mangawara Valley (a distance of live miles, had road). £2 10/ a ton; total freight charge on to the settler's farm, £4 3/ a ton. Soldiers for a Week. Between 000 ami 700 infantry men, comprising members of the Ist Battalion, North Auckland Kegiment, and a number of "casuals" left Auckland for the military camp at Ngu. ::.-.vrania t»y special train this afternoon. Since Wednesday last an advance party has been under canvas, so that everything is in readiness for the men's arrival. A second ramp, that of the 3rd Auckland Mounted Uifles, will also commence to-day. Training will be carried out at the Waiukn Showgrounds, under the command of T.ieutenantt olone.l M. Aldred. The men will break camp on Saturday next. School Committee Elections. The annual meetings of householders for the election of school committees will be held in the school districts of the Auckland Education Boards ' area on Wednesday, April 13. Nominations for members of committees will close with the respective chairmen on Wednesday next. The reports, which are already to hand, show a year of progress in the schools. In almost every instance there has been an increase in the number of scholars. Cheaply-run Service. ■'Von may lie complimented on having the cheapest-running service in the world." This observation was made by counsel m the Takapuna transport appeal case yesterday afternoon, when the respondent, Mr. A. 11. Smith, stated that it coat him 7}d per bus mile to run hie buses between Devon port and Takapuna, this amount covering depreciation as well. His Honor (Mr. Justice Frazer) pointed out that the roads used by the service were excellent. He knew that the Hutt Road in Wellington cut down the running costs for motorists very appreciably. Ellerslie Improvements. Some curiosity haa been excited by the scaffolding around the towers on the Ellerplie grandstand. The authorities of the Auckland Kacing Club explain that the work in hand is nothing more than the periodic painting. As far as possible, the club is avoiding any reduction in its stall, in order not to swell the ranks of the unemployed, but, as the winter approaches, some of the jobs cannot be proceeded with. Between sixty and seventy men are at present engaged on the racecourse and grounds. Within the past few weeks numerous improvements have been carried out, including the complete laying of the lawn and Ledger enclosures in bitumen, to replace the tar and shingle that had to bo renewed periodically. These improvements should be much appreciated at the Easter meeting. Faith in the Golden Fleece.

Encouraging news for New Zealand woolgrowers is contained in the English wool letter appearing in the April issue of "The, New Zealand Farmer." According to the writer, who is u Bradford expert, "although traders in Bradford and in the district do not appear to be in a very optimistic mood, there is good reason for saying that the outlook for the further sale and consumption of wool is encouraging. ... It has been emphasised already that there is no money to be made by topinakers in Bradford except in a rising market, and one can only assume to-day that those who are operating in London and New Zealand selling centres have faith in the present level of raw material values being fully maintained." Concluding, the writer states that it may be expected that all wool supplies will be readily absorbed, and that the market for New Zealand wools will still bo exceedingly good. Large Unsewered Area. The greater portion of Mount Albeit Borough is unsewered. From three-fourths to two-thirds of the area has not been reticulated, and it may lie ten years before all the necessary work has boon carried out. Mr. L. E. Rhodes, Mayor 01 Mount Albert, made a statement to that effect yesterday afternoon, in giving evidence before the Water Commission. Reticulation was being pushed ahead as rapidly as possible, he said, but the borough was plowing so quickly that it was impossible to catch up with the 'work. There were 2500 acres within the boundaries, said Mr. Rhodes, and, on an average, a new house was l)cins built every day. The population was increasing the rate of four people per house. Soak-holes in tlio ground and service carts were the means of disposing of refuse in unreticulated areas. The effluent from septic tanks ran into the subsoil. It was loose volcanic ground, with caves and cavities underground, into which the refuse went. It was never actually proved that a typhoid epidemic, from which the' borough once suffered, was due to contamination of water wells, lint it was thought advipahle to discontinue the use of the local water. Since that time the City Council had supplied the borough's needs. Getting Things Done. A correspondent of the ''Dominion." who has been reading the latest of Henry Fords literarv productions, suggests that the "members of the Cabinet should make themselves familiar with the contents of the volume. "Any Government," he says, •that could permit such'an industry as butter to get into its present tangle, could pay so much for Te Wera so soon after the soldier settlement liasco . . . could develop a system of immigration that has no definite method of absorbing the immigrants, and could say the acute unemployment problem was not a national question, surely could with considerable lienefit to itself swat up 'Great To-day and Greater Future. , The man who gets things done is getting them done all right—to a turn. This virile young country has reached a stage of its development where a man of vision would be of infinitely more use than one whose qualification is throwing a bull. You certainly need your coat off for that. In the days of the pioneer most big rivers had a ford for a" crossing. New Zealand has come to the crossing. Instead of coats off with Coates. how about Fording the ford with Ford?' , Obviously the '-DominionV monopoly of the morning newspaper field is not going to hamper the candid critics of the Prime Minister.